what defines us: my 80's self

There was a writer's workshop prompt Mama Kat gave a few months back that I wanted to do-- but didn't for some reason-- so I decided to give it a whirl now. The challenge was: With your eyes closed, open up a dictionary and point to a word. Tell us what that word means to you.


Well, believe it or not I DO keep a dictionary by my computer. I dug it out and put it there last December when Blogger's spell check was down for weeks and weeks (those were some great, crazy weeks to see everyone's poor spelling--mine included :) !).


Anyhow, the first word I pointed to was foreshorten. That word had absolutely no meaning to me whatsoever. Next I got strontium ( a yellowish, reactive, metallic element). That one, too, not having a lot of meaning for me. Then I got Lastex, depredate, and talc. No, no and no. Hmmmmm......I was thinking that the dictionary thing was not going to work after all! And then it dawned on me.....this post didn't want to be about the word, but about the dictionary itself. Because for the many "pointless" words that were in my dictionary.....I couldn't help but think of all the words that WEREN'T in it.




You see, my dictionary is from *1987.*



It went through junior high and high school and even college with me. It skips from "internee" to "internest" with nary a mention of INTERNET. There are no i- anythings or e- anythings. No GPS. No cell phone. No Google. "Blockade" is right before "Blond" (or the feminine "blonde") without even a hint of the word "blog". They. didn't. even. exist.....and now I can't imagine any of those things NOT existing.



Yet 1987 doesn't seem like that long ago to me! I wore Keds with pushed down socks, and a fringed denim jacket, and Exclamation! perfume. I listened to Depeche Mode's 'Music for the Masses' tape on my "boom box" (do you think "boom box" is still in today's dictionary?....what about "Walkman"?...). I had a crush on the actor Chad Allen. I used a curling iron shaped like a triangle (it was suppose to make triangle curls, but, mmmm....not so much.). I had teal mascara.....and I actually wore it! My mom drove me to piano lessons every Wednesday and did cross word puzzles while she waited. My best friends were Tara and Summer and Michelle. I had my first kiss and hated it. I had a Swatch. I carried a Benetton bag to school. *** That world is still so real to me..... and yet it was a world soooo different than the one I'm in--that we're ALL in-- now. I think I'm beginning to understand what my mom meant when she told me: it doesn't matter how smart you are, there is no substitute for life experience. ~She was right.~



Does that mean I'm getting old......and wise?






Oh, 80's self.....if only you'd known....you would have just enjoyed doing cheerleading routines to "You Spin me Round Like a Record"-- and not worried so much about growing up!



*sigh*


SO----






Wanna know what I looked like in the 80's?!?! .....






My friends and I use to do modeling work for Maurices. This was taken backstage at one of the fashion shows. I can't believe all our hair fit in this picture! (I'm the one in the middle.....I was 14!):

Notice my friend Michelle has on one black shoe and one white shoe? Classic!

And now a dance picture with my friend Danny Nava. I think I was 13 here ---

This must have been the year I wore nothing but black and white! Notice the scrunchy around my ankle? Was I making a fashion statement?! Also---all my fingernails are black and white! And look at Danny sporting his 80's mini-mullet, red skater high tops, tucked-in surf shirt, and swatch---complete with the plastic "swatch guard" thingie!

This last picture isn't of me. It's of my friend Becky. She was this sweet, quiet, non-makeup wearing girl who I thought needed a little more "pizazz". So I offered to give her a makeover. This is how she turned out.....(nothing could be more 80's than this)......

Wouldn't you have wanted one of my makeovers too?!?! Oh, I'm laughing so hard looking at this I can hardly type anymore!

***You are all so totally rad!!! :)***

(private note here, the rest of you can move to comments!): X'ioq, Kh'ao Ao Kh'ie B'iook R'iuq A H'iatie H'iae Aq IA J'ioqp K'abie! Ch'iak E'ioieo Kh'iak O'iau Iam'ioiuk Bu J'arie.... :) ?!