Reunion '98

Tinytin's recent post about her 10th high school reunion resonates with me right now; I just received an Evite for my 10th year reunion, which is happening over Thanksgiving. Fancy that!

In addition to telling J that high school isn't the be all end all in life, we had another discussion on that TAASC trip about high school. Friends of mine who are married started TAASC in 2006 and both of them were on the paddling part of the TAASC trip with me. Husband is from South Africa and thinks that folks from the US are a bit ridiculous with all of the graduations and proms and whatnot. Wife is from Michigan, blonde, beautiful, funny, and was a gymnast growing up.

We were talking about high school on that course and Michigan said casually, "I was the Prom Queen, " and motioned while saying, "Elbow, elbow. Wrist, wrist. Touch the pearls. Blow a kiss."

The story went on. "So of all the possible boys who were on the court, who ended up being Prom King?"

Pause.

"My twin brother!"

She went on, "And not only that, but we had to have the first slow dance together. Take My Breath Away will always make me shiver a little bit. As we were dancing, everyone started chanting, 'Kiss kiss kiss kiss!' I was mortified."

............

My friend from high school lives in my same town now; we spoke about the reunion yesterday while going for a walk. He's going to be in NJ for Thanksgiving and several of our friends are going. Some of my friends are actually organizing it, which is weird because I can't bash the idea as I normally would; one actually quipped, "When I ran for Class Historian at the age of 17, I didn't think that I'd be locked into organizing these things!" I didn't hate high school, but I don't really want to go to the reunion. We walked and went back and forth:

Pros:

See what people look like

See who has spouses or babies

Gossip

Cons:

Ego enhancer (obviously, because my life is so much more exciting than most of their lives)

Cost (obviously, because with that interesting life comes a salary equivalent to my classmates' end-of-year bonuses)

Gossip (I don't want to waste energy on it)

.......................................

I finally told my friend, "I think that I'll just stay in our little city for Thanksgiving. I'll go to the 20th when we're all 38 years old."

He said, "I bet that we'll be walking down the street and having this same conversation in another 10 years."

............................................

Maybe. Or maybe we'll be gossiping with the others. Or maybe we'll be targets for gossip. Let's hope that we have wonderful and juicy things happen between now and then!

Livin' on a Prayer

This morning in the office Roomie was singing, "Oh, we're halfway there. Oh oh! Livin' on a prayer," when she quickly said, "I don't want to be singing Bon Jovi right now."

I had a flashback to around the time of that Meadowbrook '91 photo.

Being from NJ and being so hip (like Blondish, I also sported leggings with my oversized tee shirts and added some wigwam socks thanks to seeing my older sister with that fashion choice), I clearly loved Bon Jovi.

The flashback is audible. Yes, I used a mini recorder to record my voice singing that very song. Yes, I bet I can find that mini tape and play it once again. Yes, I have a high pitch voice and a thick Jersey accent.

Teenage Fashion and Literary Cannon Review: Summer 2008

We were playing "Twenty Questions: Literary Character Edition" while hiking on my last trip. One of the girls had a character in mind, and we asked questions like:

"Is it a man or woman?"

"Is the character older than us?"

"Older than Katie?"

This continued until we got to J, who is a sometimes surly/sometimes funny rising sophomore in the city high school.

..................................................................

SIDENOTE: Here's a little background on J:

Despite being in TAASC for over two years and knowing the discomfort and danger of wearing cotton on a backpacking trip (annoying because it never dries if it gets wet and risky because of getting hypothermia in the rain...), this kid chooses to hike in blue jeans.

Every summer he wears a pair (and somehow doesn't get heat stroke either) and then cuts them with the first aid kit's trauma shears into his leisure wear around camp on the river section of the trip. Luckily, he now brings a pair of synthetic shorts as well for paddling.

Along with these jeans is a tee shirt (also cotton and usually filthy by day 2), long hair (this year with a bandana), and sideburns. I felt like I was in an episode of The Wonder Years. See below for a sliver of two boys sporting the 1973 look:

Also, J forgot his spoon so the pocket that wasn't occupied by a toothbrush carried one of the cooking spoons as his new personal spoon.

When he isn't complaining, I think he's hilarious.

...................................

So we were going down the line with questions when J deadpans, "Is this character from a book I would actually know, or is it one of those horsey girl books?"

I laughed because I knew those horsey girls who would read books like this:

No one else thought it was as funny as I did.

When I got home, I thought about J's surliness and sarcasm. I secretly know that J is hiding in his jeans and jokes like Judy in the Belle and Sebastian Song who reads books about horses under her covers because "The best looking boys are taken. The best looking boys are staying inside."

This 15 year old probably doesn't ask people on dates. He is cool now, but needs to get out of high school to know it. Until then he'll play video games; complain about hiking, paddling, backpacking, cooking, cleaning pots, sitting, and breathing; and carry his toothbrush in his dirty pocket.

Antony and Cleopatra

Tonight I went to see a Shakespeare in the park production of Antony and Cleopatra. It was good, I thought, even if everyone dies. I wish I had written down some of the lines like, "Oh, fetch me an onion." (Not the direct line, but I'm going to strive to say it frequently to say, "Oh, I may as well just CRY about it...").

Friends and I drank wine and ate strawberries and other snacks while watching the production. In the intermission they played music like Wolf Parade (thanks BJaxn for the reference check) and Wilco; mostly because it fit with Shakespeare so well.

On a different note, here's a picture of me (with my elementary school best friend) from the 5th grade that someone posted on facebook. It makes me feel great about eating that bowl of ice cream at 10:45 tonight:

Go find me a purple scrunchie, a bad hairdresser, and an onion.

Resolved

Tinytin told me that the pictures in the two posts below didn't show up. I was in the middle of a TAASC trip (just on a transition evening between backpacking and paddling) when I got that message, but now am back and posted a taste of what I had up there.

There was still less crying, no vomiting, and more hiking and paddling on the "olders" trip. I'll have some stories and photos from that trip in a jiffy. For now: ice cream and movie.

Ahh, electricity.

1st half of "30 notes" in photos

Here are a few photos from the section with bugbites and swimming.

(I left out lightning drill, homesick, and vomiting photos... it was one of our "munchin" nine year olds who was sick, not me by the way.)

I'll have more on my picasa webpage... nothing beats swimming.

2nd half of photos from "30 notes..."

Okay, here are just a few pictures from the second half of the list. More photos to come.

Thirty notes on the past couple of weeks

1. gnats
2. lightning drill
3. homesickness
4. vomiting
5. navigation
6. tent
7. burritos made of refried beans and corn (only)
8. games
9. swimming holes
10. jokes (from kids and adults...)
11. stinging nettle
12. ticks
13. sunrises
14. sunsets
15. manicures/pedicures
16. gourmet everything
17. art
18. beauty
19. friendship
20. love
21. dancing
22. incredible... everything
23. reunion
24. generosity
25. poetry
26. stories
27. memories
28. red velvet cake
29. grits
30. cosmos

Dehydrated Milk and the Blessed Shovel

Dear Readers,

For the next week or so I'll be exploring with TAASC kids in the land of incredible.

Okay, so it's late and I'm wiped. Anyhow, check back for another post on Tuesday, JUNE 17th.

Throughout the summer, I'm at least going to post on Tuesdays, even when I'm in the woods. It's magic and Lyssie told me all about it.

This month's theme is "being open to risk." If you wish, meditate on that theme and email or send a comment about your thoughts. I'm not only talking about physical risk...

All Staff Part Two.

Another game.

Meggies once again.

Another game. I adore that horse who's riding that cow. (It's part of the game, horse on a cow, I'm not insulting them.) He's my hero.

A little bit of sharing with Cedar Rock in the background.

All Staff Part One

Early in the morning. Computers in the lodge.

Checking out the policies...

Some of the things we like to do.

Cats! What's a matta with all of these cats these days...

I've been hanging with some kitties for the past few days. When I wasn't there, another friend released a bird that Annie Oakley caught and brought into the house.

Today, it was my turn. I had to put the three cats in a room while I used the broom to encourage a robin-looking bird to go outside. Annie O seemed a bit frightened with its flapping around.

Notice the feathers next to the broom.


Skeletor investigates the scene.
The bird seemed pretty weak and disoriented by the time it fluttered out, but the cats didn't bother to chase it; all went to their food bowls after the event as if to say, "Why work for the food? It's too hot to be climbing trees and whatnot. The food's right here..."

Annie Oakley settles for kibble. I had several pictures of Porter (the other cat) eating, but none captured his elegance quite right.

Skelly thinks, is this it lady?



Annie rolls around to help digestion.

A (which stands for Atlanta) and K (which stands for K) are not happy with the kitties. I told Annie that although she is gorgeous, she can't go around killing birds.

Summer.

It has been in the 90s for the last few days. People are moving slowly, and I sleep with the covers off and fan on. Folks go to the movies and feel chilly for a bit.

I've been dripping after biking, running, dancing, and breathing. (In the South, where women "glisten" instead of sweat, "drip" would be so undignified.)

Neighbors bought a grill. We ate on their back porch tonight.

Others down the block eat dinner on the front porch. Mosquitoes and no-see-ums have their appetites once again. Strawberries are happening! The man who sells them is coming to local restaurants, asking patrons if they would like to buy a pint to clear their palates.

Backpacking season begins for me next week.

Biggest birthday celebration in Canada (Bat Mitzvah-esque celebration). More backpacking. More paddling. More climbing and visiting... Summer.

Summer. Sip a lemonade and breathe in the thick air. Watch the sunscreen in the eyes.

Jump off the diving board or dock into chilly water. Take a short inhale from the chilly surprise, then tread while you call out speciality dives for your friends to attempt. "Can opener! Pencil! That guy that walks down the street and doesn't know that he's about to fall into water! Pretend you are a donkey when you jump!" Ah, summer.

On absence

For all of you who thought I was writing "on abstinence," you'll have to wait for another post. So much more than the PCE happened at that All Staff celebration, but I'm going to hold off on other details for now. (Those two sentences are unrelated by the way.)

While I was at base, I didn't have my computer (and didn't really want to check email anyway) and my cell phone didn't work. It was refreshing to be away from it all for a couple of days; it reminded me of times when I would be in the field for longer courses. I realized when I was driving back to town and received 14 new messages that I need to get back into the practice of letting family and friends know where I'll be... I got a few messages from different people saying, "It's Friday call me if you want to go out tonight" and then "It's Tuesday. Where are you? Is everything okay?"

I'll have to post about my adventures during the snippets of time when I'm in front of the electronic hum.

On CPR Aerobics and a Zen PCE

I just returned from a few days at a basecamp. First, I attended a CPR training in which a DVD prompted us to pump on the heart whilst a soundtrack pumped its own vivid beat. It was like an aerobics class. I passed with flying colors (FYI Speed, it was a better score than my GMAT); however, I hope I don't have to use that skill.

Afterwards, we had two days of training and celebration for the beginning of the North Carolina Outward Bound's summer season. As part of that All Staff celebration, we run a route that we often run at the end of courses with students. This Personal Challenge Event (PCE) is a 7 mile trail/dirt road run up, up and down and over and through. I love it.

Immediately after I crossed the finish line, I said to Surfer friend, "Three highlights of that run..."

He laughed, "You're going to debrief it like you would on course? Highs and lows?"

I said, "Well, only highs for now. One, feeling that rush of cold air after coming over Chestnut Mountain. Two, running by John Huie* on the last section of road because he yelled, 'Remember to keep those arms loose!' Three, passing a pair of women's black underwear on the driveway near the end.**"


*John Huie was one of the earliest NC Outward Bound School directors. He's now in his 70s and still ran with the rest of the staff. He yelled that advice to me without even nodding hello that many runners did when passing each other on this run.

**It seemed a bit fitting that such an intimate item were dropped in front of everyone in a place in which we work and live together. It was almost a symbol of mixing that personal realm with the professional.



As I reflected, I had one--albeit humorous-- low during this run. We highlight to Outward Bound students that this run is not a race. Rather, it is a celebration of physical fitness and a chance to reflect at the end of course. I'm sure that there is a bit of competition among the front runners during their PCEs just as when the staff run it without students, there's an underlying race mentality for some folks.

In years past, because I had never been at the front, I didn't think about racing; it would have bummed me out too much. This year, I was running strong and was able to stick with some speedy folks for a while. When they peeled off at Margarine Gap, I was content to keep my stride and let my friend Boss Lady pass me. (And I knew that it pushed my "place" among the women from second to third... could you tell that I wasn't focusing on competition?)

Soon after she passed me, I thought about trying to quell my ego both in this run as well as in other aspects of my life. I felt good and glad to have been able to sweat despite starting in the 6am mist. I didn't have a watch, so I couldn't use time as a gauge for success. Instead, I had to feel where I could push myself harder and where I had to use my breathing to relax. I continued this all the way up to the road, and up our driveway to the lodge. In that last section, I was running near my analytical Climber friend.

He was just behind me as we rounded the last corner and saw the last 100 yards to the pond. He started to sprint. I started to sprint. And for the split second that he was next me, I instinctively turned my head and said, "Hey, let's race."

Hmm, 7 miles of meditation on losing the ego...