memory book

I found my "memory book" from my senior year of high school. I think it came with the Jostens graduation announcements package. Anyway, in 1998...

The coolest things this year
Clothes: t-shirts with an unbuttoned flannel shirt
Music Styles: alternative, whatever they call this new stuff (alternative music literally went off the air in Cleveland a year later)
Cars: Kia, the new Beetle

The price of life
Gallon of gas: $1.12
Candy bar: 60 cents (school vending machine)
Pair of jeans: $30 for Levi's (these are actually *cheaper* today, probably because they've moved their business to China since then)
Haircut: $8 at the place I went to (it's $10 now)

Our [group of friends'] favorite sayings are/we always laugh at:
(keep in mind these will make NO sense to anyone outside of our group; Tom, Hasko, have at it)
Mwa mwa mwa... (lizard)
Could it be a... MEAT HOOK?!?
Huzzah! {open Altoids tin}
McCloud!
Look out! It's the iceberg! (Titanic)
Is that the iceberg? {point to random object}
Is that the comet? (Deep Impact)
Is she the comet? (Tea Leoni in Deep Impact)
...Almost as much fun as getting a paper cut and rubbing lemon juice all over it...
Does anyone want this lesbian salad?
That's so budget.
That's so ghetto.
Unit elastic! Strawberries! Truck farmer! Bowed-out! (AP Economics class)
Inside joke with myself, just like the coffee maker, or the copy machine.
Let's break out the book of Arbor Day Carols and sing, Sing, SING!
Sometimes you get the elevator, and sometimes you get the shaft.

My favorite weekend thing is:
Watching movies with friends and making sarcastic comments and inside jokes about them MST3K-style

I hang out with:
Holly, Tom, Bond Steve Bond, Schitz, Erin, Psycho

Winter vacation:
Had a few Madrigals gigs, then Christmas, then played Civilization II for days on end

Prom
Theme: One Last Dance
My Date: Holly
We traveled to the prom by: Mom's teal Thunderbird (which was still in style at the time)
At our dinner table: Hasko and "Buffalo Girl" Alison, Steve and Sarah, Amanda and Dave, and the two JVS lesbians who never showed up (hence the leftover salads).
Afterwards, we: went to Holly's house with our table companions to watch Airplane!

Advice from my family and friends: Don't change... they all say that. I hate it when they say that.

Now here's the truly funny stuff:
Future Plans
My career will be: Syndicated freelance cartoonist.
Marriage outlook: Yes. To a woman.
Family plans: Yes. Two or three kids?
I'll drive a: Car. Maybe a minivan for the kids.
I will live in: A house, perhaps in Elyria.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to wipe the coffee off the screen after laughing so hard.


The last page is scrawled chock full of inside jokes and other such references to senior year, such as:

Ajijuy
MONORAIL! Mono-- doh!
Great flaming oogleykerkles!
Qxzbnm (new letter of the alphabet)
Jon = Sling Monkey, Sling Mono, Chim-chim, Chimothy, Boris Yeltschim, Monica Lewchimsky
"Larry!..."
Grelngjz (also a letter of the alphabet, but with two invisible, silent x's at the end)
"Trumpy! You can do stupid things!" "It could be a small potato... or a flying potato... I like potatoes..."
Bleng!
Nnergh!


And lastly, the haikus of Steve Bond:

Stupid cat climbs up
Up on the table she eats
She likes potatoes

Stupid me climbs up
I saw the cat do this once
I like potatoes

To write a haiku
All you need is the correct
Number of syllab--

I like Fruit Roll-Ups
Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm
Do you have any?


Ah, memories.