That high school meme
Surprise! I'm actually doing a meme!!
When I was in high school . . . (for the record, I graduated in 1979)
1. Did you know your spouse/partner?
HAHAHAHAHA not really funny.
2. Did you carpool to school?
I rode the bus. My mother was my bus driver. She was the only driver in the system who didn't let shit happen on her bus, so I loved it.
3. What kind of car did you have?
None. I occasionally drove my parents' very old Plymouth station wagon. The epitome of the uncool car, heh.
4. What kind of car do you have now?
I have a 2014 Prius. I HAVE A COOL CAR NOW.
5. It's Saturday night . . . where were you?
Most weekends, at home reading. But some weekends . . . I joined the SCA at the end of 9th grade, founded a shire in my home town because the nearest group was a two-hour drive each way, and spent a lot of weekends at events, many of them out of town. See the response to #8.
6. What kind of job did you have in high school?
I did odd jobs, and I had an assistantship in my senior year.
7. What kind of job do you have now?
I manage operations and IT for an investment management firm. This is my second career; my first career, I made high-end costumes for professional theatre, mostly at the Seattle Opera.
8. Were you a party animal?
In a funny way, yes -- in the SCA, I often went to out-of-town events that included music and booze and socializing. I sure as hell never attended any parties at high school, though.
If anyone at the high school had seen me at an SCA event -- wearing low-cut dresses, drinking, flirting, singing till the wee hours -- they would probably have assumed I was my own evil twin.
9. Were you a cheerleader?
HELL NO. I was one of the designated pariahs of my small, isolated, insular, insufferable town.
10. Were you considered a jock?
HELL NO. I was the last to be chosen for any team, due to my physical weakness and awkwardness, and the fact that I hated all sports (except hiking). Funnily enough, when you hate sports, you suck at them, and when you suck at sports, you hate them.
In my private time, I hiked for hours and climbed cliffs. Nobody guessed that I had any physical activity that I did on my own. Pity there was no hiking team.
11. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
I was in the chorus, but did not shine. I played guitar and sang a LOT in my not-at-school life, but that was the SCA.
12. Were you a nerd?
Hell yes. In the straight-A student meaning, in the awkward-person-who-everyone-hates-and-mocks meaning, in the passionately-loves-things-nobody-else-gets meaning. Also in the Grew-Up-To-Be-A-Lot-Better-While-Still-Remaining-A-Nerd meaning.
13. Did you get suspended or expelled?
HAHA, no. I was hopelessly priggish. Also, I don't think anybody could get expelled at my school; it was all about Understanding the Little Darlings. None of the people who stalked me, abused me, beat me up, etc., ever had any repercussions come down for their behaviour.
OTOH, I was so straight an arrow that when I did do things that might have potentially caused problems -- such as the underage drinking, and learning to fight back effectively so that I started winning the fights that others picked -- I got a pass on my behaviour. The last couple of fights, I got a nod along the lines of "We know she didn't start the problem."
14. Can you sing the fight song?
I suppose we had one, but I have no recollection of it and certainly never learned it.
15. Who was/were your favorite high school teacher?
I had one quite good English teacher, but the best ones were a couple of the science teachers, plus one priceless math teacher -- the only female math teacher I ever had, who did her damnedest to reverse the damage done by years of incompetent dudes. Also, I had a massive crush on the choir director.
As a top student who genuinely liked learning, I usually got on very well with my teachers; it was a real disappointment when I got the rare one who wasn't charmed. It's funny, though; I don't remember most of the teachers. My college professors made far more of an impression on me.
16. Where did you sit for lunch?
All by myself at the end of a table, eating as fast as possible so I could leave the cafeteria ASAP and go spend the rest of the period in the library.
17. What was your school's full name?
Not going to answer that because privacy. It was the name of the town, because it was the only high school.
18. What was your school mascot?
Believe it or not, a top hat.
19. If you could go back and do it again, would you?
HELL NO
20. Did you have fun at Prom?
HAHAHAHA not funny.
21. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with?
HAHAHAHA still not funny.
I'm pretty sure that, if I had actually been asked to prom, it would have been for a Carrie-style setup.
22. Are you planning on going to your next reunion?
HAHAHA
I'm one of those people whose only possible high school reunion scenario is along the lines of "Parachute in from my private plane with David Tennant/George Clooney/Helen Mirren as my date, look around disdainfully and leave." I realized years ago that I have absolutely no reasons to attend any such event, except for ugly nasty reasons along the lines of "Point at the losers who made my life hell in school, laugh at how old and fat they are now, and leave." Why would I take precious time out of my life to do something like that? I'd rather go somewhere fun and have a great time.
I made it to one college reunion, though, and would be happy to get to another. With my wife. :)
23. Are you still in contact with people from school?
See above. I actually do know a couple people from high school who have connected with me on Facebook; they were fellow pariahs. We don't talk about old times.
24. What are/were your school's colors?
Green and gold. "Green for the evergreen trees, gold for the aspen leaves in fall". The town was way up in the Rocky Mountains. That was pretty much the only good thing about it.
25. What did you do on senior skip day?
Went to class, of course. The only people who ditched school on the pseudo-official "skip day" were the entitled assholes, so that meant, on that day, there were fewer assholes at school. Yay.