Homecoming report
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| Sat, 10-27-2007 - 6:01pm |
So, this weekend marked my very first high school homecoming!! LOL! You see, when I was in HS, I never went because I lived far away from school and so didn't have the social network plus I worked a lot.
I hooked up with one of the alumni from my class through facebook. And this was very good luck because she knows everyone!! She told me about the homecoming game and how a lot of the alumni get together and it is always fun.
It was a lot of fun to see everyone - and I understand that they would have had an even bigger turnout if it wasn't for the rain. We did get rained out at half time - but no worries - everyone went out afterwards. I had fun talking to all of the alumni - from a lot of grades not just mine.
One of the guys was a huge party animal - apparently all of the kids (who number 6) in his family are like that - and none of them had kids!! Imagine his poor mom that she has no grandchildren after having THAT many kids!!
2 more had never been married and were cute and came to talk to me. But one of them was shy and is a CPA and has no interests and no ability to hold any sort of conversation. Okay. Next! Well his friend must have felt my "next vibe" because he came to talk to me. He explained who he was and that he thought I was nice. But he went on this huge story telling mission about how he always wanted to be a doctor like his brother but is now a landscape architect but loves medical research. He cut off his arm with a chainsaw by accident and was able to instruct all of the hospital personal on what to do and what doctors to call and stuff like that - which totally creeped me out. Not so much the accident but his intent on being like a doctor when he is not. And then he lit up a cigarette!! I am like, WTF? And NEXT! Was he trying to IMPRESS me with that story?
And there were 2 older guys I liked and spent time chatting with. They know how to get ahold of me if they should choose - one was a runner.
And another one bought me a drink - but I did not find that out until I was leaving and he was like I just bought you a drink. He was cute and smiling at me. But there was something about his jeans and sloppy tee shirt and him playing pool that reminded me of the lifeguard so I thanked him but left anyway because I was tired.
I met a single mom from my class who broke my heart. Apparently her husband left her with twin daughters because he fell in love with someone else. She is attractive but has lost her zeal for life - and that is so sad. I really felt sorry for her. I am going to get her email address and tell her about our board.
My friend who I connected and went with is amazing at networking and working a room - I must say I learned a lot from her. We had one of the mayor candidates there and she gave him her card and said I will help you with your campaign - what a good idea and she has the time.
Another single girl is from a very rich well to do family. And she attended the best schools and had a great career. But she is totally freaked out because she is 40 and has never been married and wants a baby really bad. The trouble is that she LOOKS/ACTS desperate and the dating market does not seem to bear the fruit she would desire.
But the best story and perhaps lesson about people was from meeting a guy from my class. I never saw that much of him. And it was because he worked a lot. He said that his parents could not afford that high school but he really wanted to go. So he washed pots to pay for the $90 per month tuition (keep in mind this was 27 years ago and minimum wage back then was $2). And now he is extremely wealthy and has 4 kids. And yes he is happily married. But I think it shows that someone who has ambition and a good work ethic carries that through life. I also noted that he was very nice and could really talk and empathize with people around him. So he is a model for what I want.
All in all I was happy to go and meet so many people. I would wish for everyone to live in their hometown so they could use this alumni thing as a great way to meet more people.
I have not heard from MrEngineerAlumni yet - he is off with his dad. We did talk a lot on the phone on Thursday and exchanged some emails on Friday. So will see what next week brings. And next week I have a bike race.
Am out and about girls!!

That's cool about the reunion event!
It's sad that the 2 reunions I've been to (for my graduating class only, not an alumni mix), are just events of "the return of high school" and not as inspiring as what you experienced. It's sad that many of the people in my class are still as snobbish as they were back then, and haven't changed! It's good though- that the ones who were cool back then, are still cool people now. But it was disheartening that it had to be so "high school" even years and years later. And many of the classmates I really wanted to reconnect with the most... they didn't come. :-(
But I'm glad you had a nice time! I hope you get to meet up with Mr. Alumni Engineer soon.
~shrimpy
~shrimpy
"A man who wants something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse." ~Stephen Dolley Jr.
~<
I think the thing that was so fun is that it is a big mix of classes. Not just our class. There were people there from 1966 through 2006. And a lot of the people in my class had like 5 or 6 or 7 brothers and sisters and knew a lot of people and introduced them. And I got good at just striking up a conversation about "what year did you graduate and what do you do now" - it seemed natural to meet a lot of new people that way.
I heard that a lot of them get together in this sports bar once a month to watch the college football games - apparently a lot of them went to some of the big FL universities here. So those could be good too.
Sorry to hear your class was so snobby!
My high school reunions have been like yours. In the past, we have been having one every 5 years. I attended the first two, but after that, I didn't go to them anymore. It just seemed like the same ole high school crap. Almost like "who has and who doesn't have". Kind of pathetic really. ME?...I just really didnt' care.
Although I had a reunion similar to Judy's where it was many,many classes and that was a hoot! There were people that I knew who were in my brother's and sister's classes and they knew me. I liked it a lot better. I think it would be a lot more fun if they would have like at least 10 years at one time. For that much, in high school I was hanging and partying with my older sisters and I wasn't really close to anyone in my class too much. I had friends my age, but didn't hang with them a whole lot. Probably why I'm not much of a partier...sowed all my oats late teen early 20's. I think by 28 or 29 I was done.
I guess I should clarify that this is not a reunion but a football game (Homecoming) that has a strong alumni attendance. I guess that is the ticket from reading all of this - that you want to attend alumni events but not necessarily class reunions which are seldom anyway.
The alumni event I went to a few years ago was a football game but it was special in that it was I think the 50th time we played our rival but that evening there was a huge party for all of the alumni. It was a blast.