The lovely Diane Mandy of Martinis For Two tagged my for this meme. Unfortunately I am not unfashionably late, just plain late…but not that kind of late. I have been ass-over-tea-kettle-busy. Good busy, not bad busy…not that anyone wants to hear about re-grouting the shower.

On to the meme!

Archive Meme Instructions: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. … but there is a catch: Link 1 must be about family. Link 2 must be about friends. Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about. Link 4 must be about something you love. Link 5 can be anything you choose. I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone had written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments.

1. Family: I have a tendency to vent on my blog when things aren’t going well. Contrary to content posted here, I am not estranged from my family, nor do I dislike them. I admit they frequently embarrass me, but what good is family if they don’t humiliate you with regularity…this post isn’t about that. It’s about feeling the energy.

2. Friends: I have a long history of transient friends. Maybe you know the type. They tend to be high-quality. You can call them for damn near anything. The problem is they are only in your life for a limited period of time. Every moment you have them, they’re a gift.

3. I rock: Actually I just roll with the punches, utter something irreverent and wait for the next one. Sometimes you get surprised and something good happens.

4. I love: Big. That places you at risk for being hurt, big. My relationship with my better half is like mountain road. You never know what’s around the blind curve, but it’s worth taking the risk for the view.

5. My favorite post: I don’t know about favorite, the word sounds too absolute. The post that says the most about the kind of person I am is this one.

I saw this meme, and decided it was time to embrace my inner angst driven teenager. Now if I can only remember to kick the bitch to the curb when this post is complete…. If you’re interested in comparing notes, here are others: meno, liv, bob, chani, and flutter.

Some refer to high school as their glory days, but for me they were anything but. I wasn’t shagging the captain of the football team (my gain), but I wasn’t getting pantsed in gym either. My freshman year, I changed schools, because mine closed. My friends former classmates went to one school and I went to another.

1. Who was your best friend? Didn’t really have one. My senior year, there was Robin, a transfer student. She was smart, charismatic, and had a stronger sense of social justice than your average teenager.

2. What sports did you play? Nada.

3. What kind of car did you drive? 1969 Volkswagon Beetle. I had saved up for a car since I was thirteen. I did all kinds of non-social-security-number-cash-and-carry-jobs. I tended horses, cut grass, picked black berries, painted shirts, swept pine straw, and once painted a logo on a truck. It was a great first car with a few unfortunate electrical gremlins.

4. It’s Friday night, where were you? There was a rare football game. By my senior year, my sister had a teaching job, thirty minutes away. She welcomed weekend company, and bought beer.

5. Were you a party animal? Not unless you count #4. My parents kept a watchful eye over me. They asked so many questions, I never tried to go to the really good parties. Of course it was a non-issue, since I usually wasn’t invited.

6. Were you considered a flirt? No. I wasn’t good at flirting with guys my age.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No

8. Were you a nerd? In the traditional connotation of the word, no. I was a fringe person, who could communicate equally well with the different castes in my high school. I wasn’t part of any cliques, just non-threatening.

9. Did you get suspended/expelled? Nope

10. Can you sing the fight song? WTF? I wasn’t in the band or the chorus

11. Who was your favorite teacher? Mrs. Bou, my art teacher. She checked me out of school more than my own parents. She understood teenage angst better than most adults. She was also kind enough to pretend she didn’t hear me threaten another student who nailed me between the eyes with a wad of clay. She helped me earn a partial art scholarship. I still keep in touch.

12. School mascot? goat Ram.

13. Did you go to Prom? Not junior year, but I decorated for it. I was often enlisted pressured to decorate for dances because I could draw. I decorated for at least five dances I didn’t attend. We always picked themes and one year we chose an ocean theme. There was a large mural of King Neptune in his chariot. Neptune was anatomically correct and hung to his knees. The art teacher tried to de-emphasize his mythological proportions, but just emphasized them instead. And no, I wasn’t responsible.

14. If you could go back and do it over, would you? Did you read items 1-13? Hell, no.

15. What do you remember most about graduation? I remember being irked about having to attend. I hate participating in formal ceremonies. I wore white shorts under my gown because I hated dresses. That was the night my parents found out about my scholarship. I also remember coming home early, because I was too tired to stay out . The night before I hung out with a handful of other nerds and we went swimming at 2AM…. at the principal’s house.

16. Where were you on senior skip day? Probably school. I had perfect attendance my senior year. What a loser!

17. Did you have a job your senior year? I worked at a pharmacy.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch? For the first two years, I hung out in the courtyard. Junior year, I studied in the library. Senior year, I worked in the art studio compiling a portfolio.

19. Have you gained weight since then? I’ve yoyo-ed. I’m not sure if I weight five pounds more or less, but I know I need to scrap ten.

20. What did you do after graduation? Started college within twenty days, and worked part-time. After two quarters I had enough credit to qualify as a sophomore.

21. Who was your Senior prom date? Ryan. It was an unexpected invitation. He’s one of the most inspiring people I have ever met. Kind, determined and fucking brilliant. I should probably frame the context better. He was born with physical limitations and overcame a lot of obstacles just to walk. He was intelligent and charming. I was the lucky one.

23. Are you going / did you go to your 10 year reunion? No. My mother and I had an argument about this. I requested she not distribute my address. Her response? What should I tell them? I don’t want to be contacted. Seems straight forward to me.

24. Who was your home room teacher? Mrs. Stewart, she taught typing. I dropped her typing class my senior year because I sucked. Three weeks in, I begged the guidance counselor to move to physics instead.

25. Who will repost this after you? About a thousand other people who don’t read this blog, but read one of many others that have already posted.

I know this is pretty chintzy grabbing the same meme twice. I’m already fretting over this month and I’m only three days into it. Several opportunities to travel are on the horizon, two are almost guaranteed, two more are possibilities, and one is a complete unknown, and there’s a menial trip to the dentist. I’m not complaining, these are good problems to have, but I guess I shouldn’t call a an opportunity a problem.

Okay eight interesting, weird, normal things:

1. When the Mister and I moved in together, he wanted a Christmas tree. I had never bothered with decorations during my single years, and he lost his decorations in his divorce. I collected Altoid tins so we’d have stuff to hang on the tree. Mints and sours. Eventually any small decorative item became fair game. People still save them for me.
2. I don’t spend much time cooking, but I hardly ever prepare food from a can or a cardboard box. I use lots of fresh produce and grill often. I don’t keep much processed food either. I don’t have anything against it, but I feel better when I eat fresh vegetables. I guess I’m doing penance for all the chicken strips, french fries, and ice cream I ate when I was single.
3. After two margaritas at a Mexican restaurant, I get tipsy enough to speak to the waiters in Spanish. I was required to take Spanish for two years in high school, but I can’t seem to remember it when I’m sober. “Uno mas, por favor” is the extent of my sober Spanish.
4. In the eight years the Mister and I have been together, We have only gone on two vacations in which I have not been on my period. Two. We travel fairly often. I even tried planning around the damn thing. It has a mind of its own, and shows up too early or too late. I know there are pills for this. but giving mother nature the finger makes me a little nervous.
5. I didn’t try sneaking out of the house until I was twenty-two. I was home from college on Spring Break. It might not qualify as sneaking out when you are over the age of consent, but my Mom was still paying my expenses, so by her standards, I was still subjected to her rules. I snuck out because he had a flat tire and couldn’t sneak over. I didn’t get caught, but the baggage was not worth it…
6. When I was working, I gently jabbed my boss in the stomach after his hernia surgery. I didn’t know he had the surgery. He started it. He wrapped one arm around in a headlock, and delivered the mock adolescent punch to the stomach. I returned the favor but not as lightly, because I refuse to fight like a girl. He cried uncle…literally. I managed to hold onto the job a few more years. For those of you thinking, hmmm sexual harassment. Yes, but that wasn’t the incident or the offender.
7. I love music. It is a source of sanity. I am convinced I would have left my last job two years earlier if I had not been allowed to stream in audio from the internet. I often engage in music lyric philosophy. I never listen to the radio in my car except for NPR or cd’s. I don’t care for much of mainstream music, and prefer variety.
8. I took three years of ballet as a kid. It didn’t do me a damn bit of good in the grace department. I am agile, but I was never very coordinated when I was younger. I was a late bloomer. My brother was shocked to learn I could catch a football in my thirties. Mocked by a forty year old man with a spare tire.