Tuesday, September 7, 2010

A Day in the Life: 1989

A Day In The Life 1989

6:30: The alarm goes off. I groan. Another day. I have a Spanish test in fourth period. I have a zit on my chin. I am sure I will have a bad hair day.

7:00 I am at war with my hair. My weapons: A curling iron and can of hairspray. After thirty minutes of fighting, the hair wins- it's stuck in a clumsy ponytail, just like every other day. How can hair be so damaged at 14?

7:40: No time for breakfast, I head off in sub zero temperatures to school, wearing an unzipped leather jacket (with shoulder pads), no hat and no gloves-because come on, when was comfort cool?

7:55: Homeroom. Announcements. A "Mixer" will be held this Friday night. I'm going to have to go. "He" might be there! Heart flutters.

8:50: It's between classes. I alter my route to the next destination to make sure I pass by "his" locker. He isn't there, even though I walked by very slowly. And lingered. Oh well.

11:00: Spanish Test. F*ck. I hate Spanish. I suck at Spanish. No comprendo, Senior Gonzales! No comprendo! No mas! No mas! I am sure I flunked. (* as a side note, I never did flunk, but usually ended up with a low B in espanol).

11:55: Lunch. Decisions, decisions. Lunch in the school cafeteria? NEVER. Options are: Walk to "Joe's" the little corner grocery store where the line for a cheap sandwich and a frosted brownie wrapped around the block, or pay a buck for day old bread at Big Mike's Super Subs. Today-I'll opt for the bread and a diet coke. Balanced diet-no doubt.

2:00: Gym. F*ck. Again. I hate gym. I am not athletic. I hate changing in the locker room. Double dread. I sulk on over to change in the locker room. I have a special maneuver that allows me to remove one shirt while replacing another without exposing any actual flesh. But I catch a glimpse of "Barbie" a row over. Are we from the same species? Where did she get those?

2:15: Playing badminton with a girlfriend in the gym. By playing I mean we are singing Steve Miller Band songs and talking about the upcoming mixer while occasionally hitting the stupid plastic birdie. As consequence, gym was the only "C" I actually earned, in my life.

3:45: It's quitting time. Another decision to be made. Do I go to my friend Angie's house and watch the Day's of Our Lives re-runs which she has taped on her VCR, or do I return home to study for the fetal pig dissection exam tomorrow? If I go to Angie's we can binge on cookie dough. Also Angie might french braid my hair, and I will feel pretty for a few hours. If I don't study for the piggy test however, I will surely flunk, since I was squeamish and didn't actually dissect the animal during lab.

5:30- I arrive home from Angie's house. Dinner is on the table. Baked chicken again? Blech. When is going to be taco night for crying out loud? I pick at my food, inform my mother about Friday night's mixer (which will require her taxi services), and then retreat to my room to study for the damn pig test. I push "play" on my boom box and fill my room with Steve Miller Band's "Jungle Love" while I lie on pink carpet and get serious with my homework.

9:30. I open up my diary and fill 12 pages with sappy declarations of love for "him" and four more about my ugly hair and fat butt.

10:30: Set my alarm clock and tuck into bed, full of dread for the biology test, and hope that my skin will clear up by morning....

9 comments:

  1. So that's why I could never find you when I would walk by your locker to say hi...you were always walking past *his* locker! :-)

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  2. Oh Josh- I so should have loved you the most!

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  3. So many things we should have done differently. I remember I got a C in gym at Brooklyn College because my best friend, Arlene and I took it together and talked through golf (yeah Brooklyn girls really need to learn how to play golf. We were also sarcastic with the instructor. Hence, a "C". it was so much fun, though.

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  4. P.S. What's with the "taco night"? Either you or your sister never would have eaten it! Between you and Erica, there were no foods on the "approved list!". At one point, even spaghetti was not favored :)

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  5. I had to tape Days of Our Lives in high school, but in College I could actually register for classes that did not conflict with my lunch hour treat! Unfortunately, during my first semester I had to miss most of the show because I didn't realize in Eau Claire it was on from 12:30 - 1:30 instead of noon - 1:00 like at home, oh the humanity. There was actually a TV lounge in the student center FILLED every day to standing capacity only with diehard Days fans hanging on Bo's every word, and hoping fervently that Sammie would get her come-up-ance. Even though I was surrounded by like-minded folks, it wasn't the same as watching it one-on-one with my best bud Rach.

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  6. Angie-I am pretty sure that Bo is still on the show, and I am pretty sure he has not aged. He has probably survived several motorcycle crashes, multiple personality disorder, being possessed by a devil, being held at gun point by a stalker, being kidnapped and held hostage for a full six months and everything in between.

    Mom-maybe it has something to do with the fact that you cooked without the use of butter, oil, or salt. :)

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  7. Who uses butter in spaghetti sauce?

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  8. you forgot one:
    4:15: ride bikes past *his* house a few times in hopes that you might "accidentally" bump into him... or at least see him through the upstairs window.
    {please tell me that wasn't just me.}

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  9. Good times! What I wouldn't give to fake-play badmitton with a girlfriend!

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