5th Year Reunion...

So last night I attended my fifth year high school reunion. Crazy, isn't it? After getting the invitation to this event a couple months ago, conversations among old friends have been dominated by the subject: Are you going? Who do you think will be there? The common response was something like "Ohhh I don't know.. I mean, I'll be in town, so..." Unless anyone had a great excuse, it looked like we'd all go. But there were several conditions involved: must not show up alone, must not show up exactly on time, must have consumed at least a couple drinks before arriving, must stick together.

Don't get your hopes up, there will be no names named in this post. I just realized how dangerous that could be, particularly because I have no idea who actually reads this.

So there I was with the handful of high school folks I actually keep in touch with, pulling into the parking lot of Kilroy's (495 & Braddock Road-- with a convenient location right in a strip mall, I might just have to become a regular there) and quickly freaking out. (Squealing like a child, actually, to be specific). But we pressed on, walked into the place and immediately saw some old faces. We made a quick trip to the bar before heading to the outdoor patio out back, where all the action was set to take place.

The first two minutes or so weren't so bad-- it was more overwhelming than anything, tons of faces passing before you, trying to acquaint yourself with the surroundings. The five to ten minutes that followed this initial settling were possibly the most awkward. This was when you realized you didn't actually want to talk to anyone you didn't already know. Ok, that's not really true, but I was definitely forced into some bizarre small-talk run-ins. Most of the conversations went something like this:

"Hey!!! What's up??"
(me:) "Not much, how are you doing?"
"Good. What are you up to?"
"_____(some exaggerated version of my life)____"
"Oh wow, that's cool."
"Yeah. How about you?"
"You know, working/school. (___insert name of consulting/IT firm/govt agency/grad school here___)"
"So are you still around the area?"
"Yeah, living at home.."
"Yeah. Me too. No shame."
"Cool."


After this it got pretty weird. And then the other person would bolt off without really ending the conversation, only so I could run into them again 15 minutes later and have the same conversation. So it was a lot of that for about 3 hours, but truth be told, this blog is making it sound more excrutiating than it actually was.

This means that there were actually some highlights. Nothing too interesting, but a couple surprising run-ins with people I didn't really know who turned out to be more interesting than people I "kind of" knew. Maybe it was just refreshing to acquaint myself with complete strangers who I recognized from the hallways but never knew knew.

Sadly, there was no big drama at the reunion. I guess all the people who got pregnant or super fat or skinny or hot didn't show up. Everything was basically as expected, some improved haircuts, some fresh beer bellies, some hoochie clothing, but nothing out of this world.

All told, it was a good time (the vodka tonics were helpful) and at the very least I was able to hang out with some friends and laugh at the entire hilarity of the situation.

The ten year reunion should definitely be more interesting. Let's hope that by then I've stopped working for free and that oh, I dunno, I have a J.Crew model for a boyfriend (current favorite is guy on far left). That would rule.

To close, let's give one final Cheers to Five Years. (So embarassing, but I can't help myself.)


Current Music: Lithium, by Nirvana
Current Mood: not bad