78uuu lumière des étoiles

Dusty:Starlight:Culture



E-BAY helps relive the not-so-glory days
2004-05-27   11:56 a.m.

Lord, do I feel better. I ran forever yesterday. There's just something about the endorphins released when you go past a mile. I was lifting at the Y when a staff/trainer lady called me "a little powerhouse", I guess because I was lifting a lot of weight. Since I felt so weak, helpless and incompetent all day because of how stressed I was the night before, this was very nice to hear.

Then Steve and I met Andrew and saw Supersize Me, which was so well done it rivals Bowling For Columbine in my mind as the best documentary I've seen in the last two years. I was so disgusted by some of the information it presented - like that 60%(!!!) of our nation's population is OBESE (not just overweight) - that I am going to save my discussion of it for another day.

I think my being somewhat irrationally distressed over that Sopranos episode (though not so irrationally I suppose, as I drew loose connections between the characters' and my friends' lives - thanks for the supportive emails, btw) actually gave me a needed emotional release. I am still worried and will continue to worry about that which I discussed, but dwelling on it will get me and everyone else nowhere. Suffice it to say that it's a constant reminder how important the work that I do is; raising the level of self-awareness and empowerment-education in young people is exactly what combats falling prey to abusive relationships, even if on the smallest of scales. It's what I can do to feel constructive or productive, rather than helpless; teaching these classes makes me not just a viewer but a fighter. How else can I help myself sort through all of this? I must think of things this way.

I'm off to try and make this eggplant dish that Steve's mom is particularly good at making. All I can do is try. First, though, got nothin to do for a few minutes? Oh good, then help me make a decision.

As I’ve already gleefully explained, Crazy Dancer Guy is throwing an 80’s prom at a VFW in mid-June. I think real proms are just supposed to be bad: nearly no one I’ve talked to enjoyed theirs. There are no really traumatic stories among us, mind you, just ones that are similar to mine: gross hockey players trying to grope you, awkward moments where you try to appear shorter than you really are, really really baaaad music, nasty waiters, wilted chrysanthemums, drunk rich girls puking in the bathroom, and the sudden realization that you don’t like teenagers very much, even though you yourself are one. But my prom wasn’t in the 80’s, it was in the early 90’s. So maybe 80’s proms were just more fun; at least John Hughes made it all feel that way.

This one will be fun regardless, ‘cause Tony really knows how to put on a good show. The last couple parties were a blast, and we’ve already gathered a pretty big group to go to this one. So what I need help with is my attire.

I have a few friends scouring two thrift stores this week for all of us, and Thomas is going to case his sisters’ houses for their old bridesmaid dresses. Another friend who works at a trendy retail store is getting me FINGERLESS LACE GLOVES and a fedora! I think Bridesmaid dresses, notoriously hideous no matter what, are a good place to start – if anyone reading this has one they’re looking to unload that’s around a size 8 (no smaller than 7 no larger than 10 – I’m not skilled enough to do too many alterations) and UGLY AS HELL, I will so trade you something or pay you for it. Drop me a line!

I have been finding the most wonderfully hideous dresses on ebay. The more I search, though, the more my idea for what to wear changes. Do I…

Go still-kind-of-cute-in-a-punk-retro-way 80’s?

Go all-out-pink-taffeta-bridesmaid’s-worst-nightmare 80’s?

Go bad-yuppie-cocktail-dress 80’s? (yowza!)

Go color-block-shoulder-pads-Blair-from-Facts-of-Life 80’s?

Go oh-my-god-I-so-had-this-dress-when-I-was-Thirteen 80’s?

Go ZZ-Top-Girl/woah-oh-here-she-comes-she’s-a-man-eater 80’s?

(not that I’d pay THAT price for THAT dress, but you get the idea).

This is a much better kind of stress than I experienced the other day. Pretty soon summer session will start, and I’ll be busy all over again, grading papers, advocating the proper use of commas and recoiling at dangling modifiers, training grad students to teach feminist theory to undergrads, and packing and repacking millions of times. Since I was also busy all year, I suppose I’m rewarding myself by having fun sorting through all these god-awful dresses and wondering where I can find huge, plastic tacky earrings and some EXC!AMATION or Electric Youth perfume. Next up is our choice of Steve’s outfit. Thomas can just wear his prom outfit from 1988, undoubtedly in pristine condition, tucked away somewhere in his closet. I’m sure it still fits. Bruno, Michael, and Nicole are second hand store deities and can find anything. Julie has massive discounts at a few different trendy stores. Good thing the kids are still doing the 80’s trashy retro thing.

The prom will be fun this time around.

xo,