sto lat

left hand starting to get cranky too..

well, it is the 25th anniversary of the b. college christmas dance of 1987, adjusting for the time difference. this was not the most exciting dance of my high school career, but in high school my creed was not yet 'vissi d'arte' but 'girls just want to have fun', so its importance loomed large in my consciousness at that time and of course i wrote a report in my diary.

and here is where i am most exceedingly cross with my teenage self. instead of infusing the custard of the report with the vanilla pod of 1980s cultural detail, i mostly listed who didn't go and who did. some of the boys i seemed to have danced with i simply cannot recall. they are merely names without even the association of a shiny 80s shirt. i suppose the slavonic names give an indication of immigration patterns, but come on. i didn't as much as mention the songs played, although i did mention U2 so now a faint recollection of "With or Without You" comes to mind. and i see now (as i do a close reading) that i danced this solemn ballad with my principal crush object--result!

what saves the entry as any kind of historical record is my sketch of my dance outfit. if you are an eavesdropper you are now about to be even more bored, but this is for girls and girls tend to love this stuff. when my friend lily got engaged i asked her what she was wearing and she said 'i knew you would ask' and told me in detail.

anyway my outfit, mostly purchased at a shop for teenagers called le chateau, involved big gold square earrings, a black turtleneck, a red plaid miniskirt, contrasting red plaid tights and brand new black ballet flats. so if any eavesdropper happened to have been born--far far away--during the b. college christmas dance of 1987, you may have been purple and screaming, but i looked fabulous.

Update: Scotland, 2012, 1:01 AM. Returned from party in Edinburgh's New Town. Very 1930s long black dress, black net stockings, black pumps with feathers, feather hair-clip, black opera gloves, grandmother's diamond dinner ring, MAC lipstick (Russian Red), mink coat. Many Slavonic names, indicating migration patterns, or at least Edinburgh as student destination. Quality and quantity of vodka has vastly improved since days of extreme youth.

Now recognize "Miłość Ci wszystko wybaczy" as easily as solemn U2 ballads and helped to make the pierogi, both of which actions would have been extremely unpredictable in 1987. Cab fare £16, and I do not want to think what that was worth 25 years ago. Eeek. Sincerely hope parish youth whom I convinced to supply protective services felt spiritual reward inherent in seeing parish lady into cab. Cab driver indigenous to Scotland. Night bitterly cold so 21st century global warming disaster not in evidence. Vaguely recall leaving lipstick prints on just about everyone who crossed path in last hour except cab driver who was protected by plexiglass screen.