Sunday, November 24, 2013

catching up with the boys

My 20 year high school reunion was last night. It was great. There was a huge turn out and I managed to talk to almost everyone who was there. I had great conversations with all the blokes I spoke to...even the ones who were not so nice at school.

I have to admit that I did have difficulties recognising a few of my fellow students. Some seemed to have aged a great deal while others were completely unrecognisable. Without the benefit of a name tag (and not wanting to sound rude for not reciprocating recognition), I left the night still unsure about who some of the people actually were.

Oh, and the most memorable moment of the night? Some drunk woman from another party tried to pick me up.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

hanging about

I spent the day doing a major rehang of the art inside the apartment to accommodate some recent acquisitions. I've been saying it for a while now but I think I can now officially declare that I have no empty wall space left. And to think when I first moved in, I was hoping to achieve a more minimalist aesthetic.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

blast from the past

I got an unexpected email this morning...from my grade 5 teacher. Admittedly, I didn't know who she was at first and it took a couple of email exchanges before I made the realisation.

Teacher (email 1): "This is just a query....did you attend [name of school] in Canberra?"

Me: "Hi Jennifer. Yes I did."

Teacher (email 2): "Think I taught you in year 5. Remember the feast your parents put on when you made communion." (everybody from year 5 remembers the feast).

Me: "Ahhh...yes...of course Miss [surname of teacher]."

What followed was a series of email exchanges where I learnt that she is still teaching, albeit at different school in NSW and that she has two boys aged in their 20s.

I remember my teacher being really skinny with big permed hair. She was a great teacher, very funny. I also remember learning about Australian history...I recall learning about Willem Jansz and New Holland and the gold rush and the Eureka stockade. She must have been a great teacher because I don't really remember much else from primary school.




Sunday, November 3, 2013

reunion

I have my twenty-year (!!) high school reunion coming up in a few weeks. We didn't have a ten-year reunion. No one bothered to organise one. This time, however, one of the guys went to great lengths to contact people. There are about 50 signed up for the catch up drinks, which will take place on a Saturday night. The following day will be a family day and tour of the school. Although I signed up for the both events, I must admit to having some reservations. On the one hand, I'd like to think we were a pretty decent cohort so am looking forward to catching up with the boys. On the other, going to a reunion feels a bit like going backwards. I wonder if that is one reason why some folks choose not to go. Oh, and then there is the whole "I am gay " thing. Let's see how that goes down (I went to an all-boys catholic school where everyone, it seemed, was straight). I'm sure no one will give a shit but it might potentially crop up when conversations turn to marriage and kids.

Tea cup disaster

Our friend's daughter wanted a tea cup dog. I had not heard of tea cup dogs before but did some research. What I read was frightening and both Nathan and I tried to convince our friend that she shouldn't get one. She went ahead anyway. It did not end well. The dog died in transit. Very sad.