My auntied e-mailed me today….
Hmmm…I thought that was the phonetic spelling of that word….ok…joking. Yeah…sorry about the mis-spellings…sometimes I’m justing typing on the run and I didn’t spell-check the entry…and other times…well…I’m just careless - no worries on spelling errors for my news stories - they go through a few levels of editing before they’re sent off to the press. Even then…I found one caption, for a picture I got published, that spelled Berkeley : Berkley…..I checked my story and my e-mail and I got it right….so it was the newspaper who slipped up.
the landlord for our London flat e-mailed the rental agency, Foxton’s. He told them everything was cool on the place and we should get our deposit…..he e-mailed Foxton’s the day before Christmas Eve….still - no money 
DON’T USE FOXTON’S - if you’re looking for a place to live in London. They steal your money.
Tried to im Mark at work - but he’s working….so…too busy to chat. Actually, we’re not allowed to im in the newsroom….but hey…I only heard it from another student - not the tech guy…so I’ll log in to AOL every now and then…to see if I want to talk to anybody….
I attended three different high schools in California. I remember starting at DBHS, in my hometown, as a junior. For the past two years, other DBHS students, my age, created memories together: fell in love, got into fights, got moody, got depressed, shared happy stuff, developed inside jokes and nicknames and grew-up - together. I knew some folks from junior high - but they ran with the honor class crowd….I had a boyfriend for about a week and then the bitch in choir stole him away.
Then I was alone. It’s so hard for me to talk to new people. Still is. Mark think it’s BS when I say so….but it’s true. I think about screwing up the chit chat and finding some way to offend new people….I also worry about sounding stupid and ditzy - I feel like a moron when folks can go off on a number of local issues, sports and jokes. I smile. I try to keep my cool. I try to remember to breathe.
The first few weeks as a junior at DBHS - I ate lunch on my own. I found a flight of stairs that connected the classrooms to the tennis courts. I found a spot and ate my sandwiches there. I brought a book from the library and caught up on Stephen King and VC Andrews. I once tried to find a spot of my own in the library - but it was packed with the other loners. So, I was even an outcast among the loners. Nice.
Then, I caught up on homework during lunch-time….Unlike the honor crowd who can finish a five page trig assignment in 30 minutes with time to spare for their favorite prime time programming - sometimes, I didn’t get around to working on the problem sets because I had skating sessions - before school and after school….and then I wanted to catch up on my favorite TV shows….so, I would save homework for lunchtime. It was an hour-long lunch, afterall. Besides, I had to finish my homework so that other students could ask me about the problem sets, when our next period started up. People liked to talk to me about homework…..they liked to look at my homework….they liked to ignore me when they were finished talking about homework.
I wondered how people got invited to lunch. I walked by groups lounging by the courtyard, outside the drama room, on the balcony overlooking the locker area….I walked by and stared straight ahead. I could still the see the cliches out of the corner of my eyes. Sometimes they appeared fuzzy, when I wore glasses.
I took dance for PE…..made friends with some sophmores in there…they had a tendancy to stand behind me while we learned new combinations….so they could copy my moves. I took drama as well. Met the thespians and they became my new lunch crew…..that happened in the spring semester. Before that….I ate lunch on my own….oh yeah….and two new guys found me by the stairs…we ended up reluctant lunch buddies and fast friends as seniors. One came out of the closet to me…the other became my prom date.
So…now…I have my lunch from home and I’m in front of my computer…checking e-mail and my aol im. I smile each time I can connect with a friend electronically….heck, I was bouncing out of my seat to get an e-mail from auntie. At least, people online seem interested in how I’m doing…..can’t say it’s the same for the folks who took off for lunch….
and I still wonder….how do I get invited to lunch?
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