Thursday, August 17, 2006
A Trip Back in Time
My ten-year high school reunion is coming up over Labor Day weekend. Since I'm from a small town, this is an event that will include both standing around in a park for several hours pretending to be interested in other people's kids and getting shitcanned at the "trendiest" of the approximately five bars in town. Many of my friends will probably not be there, since most people I actually hung out with have either moved far away, gotten incarcerated, or really screwed themselves up on drugs. I'm sure I will get to chat at length with the girl who played Mrs. Washington when I was George in the third grade production of "All About Our Presidents," though, so it will definitely be a worthwhile trip.
Looking back on high school does make me a little bit sad, though, because it reminds me of how much more fun life was before I had, you know, an actual job and responsibilities. Back then worrying about who would ask you to the Sadie Hawkins dance and whether you would get to sing "What I Did for Love" in the Spring Talent Show was about as intense as it got. I recall having a very intense German project to complete once (we translated and refilmed an entire episode of Baywatch), but generally I stood around in the hallways talking bad about people behind their backs and trading quotes from Seinfeld. It was a kinder, gentler era.
Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly content with my life now, and particularly happy to have cast aside the flannel shirts and angsty music, but man do teenagers have it good. They won't even let me within 100 feet of the set of TRL.
My ten-year high school reunion is coming up over Labor Day weekend. Since I'm from a small town, this is an event that will include both standing around in a park for several hours pretending to be interested in other people's kids and getting shitcanned at the "trendiest" of the approximately five bars in town. Many of my friends will probably not be there, since most people I actually hung out with have either moved far away, gotten incarcerated, or really screwed themselves up on drugs. I'm sure I will get to chat at length with the girl who played Mrs. Washington when I was George in the third grade production of "All About Our Presidents," though, so it will definitely be a worthwhile trip.
Looking back on high school does make me a little bit sad, though, because it reminds me of how much more fun life was before I had, you know, an actual job and responsibilities. Back then worrying about who would ask you to the Sadie Hawkins dance and whether you would get to sing "What I Did for Love" in the Spring Talent Show was about as intense as it got. I recall having a very intense German project to complete once (we translated and refilmed an entire episode of Baywatch), but generally I stood around in the hallways talking bad about people behind their backs and trading quotes from Seinfeld. It was a kinder, gentler era.
Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly content with my life now, and particularly happy to have cast aside the flannel shirts and angsty music, but man do teenagers have it good. They won't even let me within 100 feet of the set of TRL.
