High School Reunion

High School reunions are a funny thing.  I dreaded mine with such force that I nearly vomited in the bathroom as I was putting my make up on.

But hey, it wasn’t that bad. A small turn out, maybe a quarter of our graduating grade, rocked up, quite a few with their offspring, had a few drinks, then left.

Polite conversation ensued, the standard “So what are you doing with yourself” question, which after an hour I was incredibly bored of answering.  And I know that I was rude when I couldn’t muster up the enthusiasm to ask them in return. What I do care about is “Are you well, are you happy” which nobody will really reply to honestly anyway.

But it was, despite my misgivings, an interesting night.  And I’m glad I rustled up the courage to get in my car and go. 

There was afterwards a disappointing turn out for the pub, but five of us hit the town with an enthusiasm that would have rivalled a fat man attacked a hot dog.  We made up for the fact that we had zero children our spouses by singing power ballads and ending up at a house party full of dressed up hippies, some whom were partaking in tantric sex on the balcony and dancing flamboyantly in the living room.

Looking back, my high school starry eyed self imagined that life would be a lot different in ten years then it actually is. All hopes of becoming an Academy Award winning actress and marrying my high school sweetheart (for the record I had ZERO boyfriends in high school) are now well and truly shot.

But I got something better than those dreams. I’ve lived and seen more in the past ten years than some people do and see their entire lives.

And for that, dear readers, I am truly grateful. 

Facebook: Taking the Mystery out of the World

I’m coming up shortly to my ten year high school reunion.  An ominous affair which I am not sure whether or not I am looking forward to.

The thing is.. with Facebook “re-connecting” people from your past, I know what 75% of my former class mates are up to, or at least what they want the world to think they are up to, via status updates and photos.

Today I ran into one of my good friends from high school, and over the years had completely lost contact with.  I knew immediately that the attractive blonde was his wife, I knew that he had a fabulous job.. and I knew it all from facebook. 

In fact, I know who got married, had kids, got boob jobs, got engaged, moved away etc etc because Facebook tells me on a daily basis.

The only people that I am curious as to what happened to them in the past 10 years is the people who are not on Facebook, and who are also therefore are unlikely to attend the organised-on-Facebook reunion. 

Has our addiction to social networking taken all the mystery out of the world?  In the days before the internet one could day-dream about ex-lovers being utterly miserable, or the mean girl from school getting fat.  Now, through Facebook, I am aware of the truth that your ex is happily shacked up with his new family he left you for, rather than suffering a severe case of genital warts and premature balding.  I also know that the mean girls from my past are all looking obscenely fabulous, which irks me greatly. 

Whilst I’d never be one to ditch my social networking (am far too addicted), I dream of the day when I run into someone from my past, and can be honestly surprised at their news.

Assessement Positive

Today I received back my first assignment feedback from the writing course I am doing by distance education.

Having been out of school and university for so long (10 years since High School, 7 since University) I have forgotten the sheer elation that one gets when you receive positive feedback on your work.  Sure, I get praise from my boss from time to time, however this is not as satisfying as I'm PAID to do a good job and quite frankly if it wasn't praise worthy I would be dissapointed in myself. 

This however is much different.  This is something I have written for myself, that a respected journalist has praised. Quite frankly I am as pleased as punch. In fact I am nearly as elated as when my favourite romance novelist posted on her Facebook page that my blog was a "Great Column".  

What is even better is that it is marked in far less red pen than the copy that I write for work is.  As mentioned before, I work with former teachers, who seem to find it their duty to find things wrong with your work and write all over it in red pen.  The first few times this happened I felt like I did during my first semester at university when my tutor gave me back my assignment scribbled all over with "acceptable" written on the front.  This, I might add was the first time in my life I had ever received a grade less than "Above Average" and this made me VERY irritable indeed. 

So dear readers, my positive grade is making me feel positive about life again and my potential career as a columnist.  However far into the future that may be.  

2000 – 2009: A Decade In Review

Today is the 2nd of January 2010.  The second day of the year and the second day of the new decade.

The “Noughties” was a decade of change for me.

2000: Year 12, don’t work as hard as I should have but received good grades nonetheless. Am awkward looking, all legs, ass and arms as boobs have not yet arrived.  Awful fashion sense.  Very sad to leave school.

2001: Started university.  Studying (to my dismay) business, when would have rather been studying at NIDA or similar.  Think about leaving but decide to stick it out as was the easy thing to do.  Hoped to make lots of new friends at university, but found that it was as cliquey as High School.

2002: Year two of university.  Change my major from Tourism (pft.. what a joke) to International Business.  Decide that I want to travel. Obtain drivers license and first car – a 1987 Toyota Cressida with blue velour interior. Pa dies. 

2003: Final year of university.  Finish degree successfully, but having not tried nearly as hard as I should have.  Finally hook up with boy I had had crush on for year.  Boobs arrive. 

2004: Embark on a camping trip of Europe and see things I have dreamed about seeing all my life. Travel to Dublin, France, Spain, Andorra, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Corfu, Germany, Liechtenstein. Set out on my new life in London but quickly find that it was more expensive that I thought and had no chance of getting a decent job.  Return home with tail between legs.  Get job in Real Estate.  Turn 21.

2005: A bleak year where I realise coming home from London was stupidest thing I had ever done.  Despise my job.  Take up Latin Dancing and quickly become very good at it. See Meat Loaf in concert. 

2006: Have nervous breakdown and run away from Sunshine Coast.  Arrive Terminal 1 Heathrow 19th June.  Bum around for awhile.  Go to Prague, Liverpool. Live in a hostel. Have heaps of fun drinking.  Hook up with lots of boys.  First cold Christmas. Work in a bookstore.

2007: Meet THE-Ex and start a disastrous 2 year love affair destined to end in tears.  Travel to Amsterdam, Dublin, Croatia.  Get a job in television.  Meet some of the best friends I have ever had. Spend Christmas in Scottish Highlands alone as THE-Ex was off cheating on me on a ski trip. 

2008: Move out of hostel into The Vale.  Ditch THE-Ex.  Meet the loveliest boy in the world, who I treated terribly.  Travel to Turkey, Oktoberfest, Copenhagen, Sweden, La Tomatina Festival and all around the UK.  Meet some more of the best friends I have ever had.  Do good in career. Start seeing THE-Ex again.  Leave London in a blaze of glory to return home.  Turn 25. Job prospects look bleak.  Very depressed end to the year.  But best New Years Eve ever.

2009: Go to Perth, have heart broken by THE-Ex again.  Spend a miserable 6 months on the dole due to the Global Financial Crisis.  Granny dies. Get job in supermarket.  Meet some friends at job, but find my soul slowly dying from mindless, monotonous job.  Turn 26.  Pleasant Christmas & New Years. Finally get a career job to start on January 4th. 

So that’s my decade in review.  Bring on the next decade, which there still seems to be much debate as to what we are calling it.  The teens? The tens?  I hope someone decides soon. 

Old Insecurities Run Deep

When I was in Bundy over the weekend I got a bit of a shock.  I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a girl I went to high school with.  After some sneaky reconnaissance I established that it was definitely her and a funny thing happened.  My confidence levels and happy drunken high dropped and I felt nauseas in my tummy.

Isn’t it funny how you can not see someone for years and they still make you feel the same way that they did 9 years ago?  We were quite good friends, but for the four years at high school she was constantly putting me down in a non-obvious way. And the most I ever did to stand up for myself was not accept her friend request on Facebook last year.

Obvious put-downs I can handle. I’m prepared for them and can let them slide of my back.  It’s one disguised as favours or compliments that I have never been able to deal with.  Perhaps because my Mother is such an expert at these. Anyway this girl used to do allot of “let’s give you a make over so a boy may actually be interested in you” etc etc, which quite frankly made me want to crawl into the cupboard under the stairs and cry.  Because I knew perfectly well that I wasn’t very attractive at the age of 15 (I didn’t get boobs or hips until about 20), and I was a bit strange back then as well.  And people drawing attention to this bothered me.

It bothered me as much as people saying “You’re so funny Ginger”.  People have been saying this to me for as long as I can remember and every time, even when its from people whom I genuinely love and I know genuinely love me, it’s like a little punch in the gut.  Because I feel deep down that they mean ‘Funny Peculiar’ not ‘Funny Ha Ha’. 

I wish I could say I was brave and went and spoke to High School Girl on Saturday night, but I didn’t. I just couldn’t face it. Especially the “What are you up to now” conversation that is obligatory.  So I avoided her, and soothed my distress with Vodka and dancing to Sexy Guitarist.

POST / DAY 15 of 365