Who was your first prom date?
I only had one prom date. Not for lack of trying. I asked the guy I was in love with to my junior prom and HE SAID NO. Horror. But I did end up going to my senior prom with the guy I had been dating, and it was kind of a disaster. Wish I could have a “do-over” on that one. Wish I had been able to enjoy the time at the table with all of my friends – too much else was going on, it was a crazy night. But the whole thing was gorgeous: it was at a Newport mansion, it was pouring rain, my contact lenses not only acted up but infected my eyes so I had to wear my glasses to the prom. This was bad enough. But even worse – my eyes were so irritated I could barely wear any eye makeup. If you don’t understand why this cut through my soul like a dagger, then you have no heart. I felt cursed.
It was a terrible night. For many reasons.
Again: could I have a do-over on that one, please? So that I could just relax and enjoy myself with my friends?
Who were your first roommates?
First roommate was Krista in college. I got assigned to the only girl’s dorm on campus – which, again, felt like a curse to me. I so did not want to be in the girls dorm. I wanted to be in a co-ed dorm. I suppose I could have requested to get it changed, but … I don’t know – the bureaucracy got me down.
And you know what? I was right to not want to be in that dorm. I was on a floor full of bitchy SLUTS who snickered at me because I liked to spend time writing. “Do you want to come have a drink in our room, Sheila, or do you –” (said in a sneering voice) “want to write in your diary?”
Bitches.
BUT. My roommate was a great girl. A total lunatic. She helped me come out of my shell. She had no fear. She accepted me. She came to see all my plays. She did my makeup for me. She was a LUNATIC. Someday I should write down all of our adventures. We didn’t stay in touch after that year – our paths just never crossed – but I always look back on her fondly.
What alcoholic beverage did you drink the first time you got drunk?
Beer. Awful.
What was your first job?
Paper route.
What was your first car?
I never had my own car. First car I bought was with my first boyfriend. A Nissan 300 ZX. It was gold. It was ludicrous.
When did you go to your first funeral?
I was a small child. I think the first funeral I went to was for Pop. I was too young to really understand what was happening.
How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown?
21. I moved to Philadelphia.
Who was your first grade teacher?
Miss Molly. She was sweet, and soft-spoken (a lovely change from my terrifying kindergarden teacher) – and she looked like Julie Andrews. I thought she was beautiful.
Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
Ireland. And whaddya know, it was recorded in my journal.
When did you sneak out of the house for the first time, and who was it with?
I don’t think I ever did sneak out of the house.
Who was your first best friend, and are you still friends?
My first best friend was J. And – no, we’re not still friends. We hover on the edges of becoming friends again. We make shy little overtures and then run away again. I don’t list her name because of her fame, and I’m just sensitive to stuff like that. Because of her fame, I hear OF her all the time. But it’s not an impossibility that we would become friends again. There were DECADES when it would have been an impossibility – but now not so much.
But then my OTHER best friends – Betsy (met her when I was 10), and Beth and Mere (we all met when we were 12) … we’re all still thick as thieves. Mere sends us daily photos of her injured bloody toe – so we can see how the bruises change, how the wound morphs … This should give you some idea of the level of contact we all share.
Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parent’s house?
The aforesaid mentioned bitchy girls dorm.
Who is the first person you call after a bad day?
I don’t really call anyone.
Whose wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid?
Mere!!! We all were bridesmaids. I’m lucky. I haven’t had the bad experiences with being a bridesmaid that other people have had.
What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Brush teeth.
What was the first concert you went to?
Huey Lewis and the News!!! Went with Mere, Jayne, and Dolores. It was at the Civic Center in Providence, RI.
First tattoo or piercing?
Ears pierced when I was 15 or 16, I guess. I remember getting them done at a little place at the Midland Mall. I rarely wear earrings, to this day … Just not a big jewelry gal, I guess.
First (and only tattoo) – on my upper back. I drew it myself. It was highly symbolic to me – and it’s something that I will never be sorry for. I won’t get another one. I also love the story of HOW I got the damn thing.
First Celebrity Crush?
Yay! I love this question. I believe it was Lance Kerwin when he was doing James at 15 – but my whole celeb-crush philosophy REALLY kicked in in junior high during Ralph Macchio’s stint on Eight is Enough. I lost my mind about that guy.
Age of First Kiss?
17.
First crush?
First real one? Keith M. in 4th grade.
(via Roo)
My friends make fun of me because I freakin love this kind of list. It’s amazing what you can learn about your friends, about whom you may think you already know everything.
And Sheila, please stop posting because I am at work and must actually DO some work instead of darting back here every five minutes to read and ponder. I have no self control. Honestly, you’ll get me fired.
I’m having a rough day … and lists like this relax me for some reason. I can’t focus on writing an actual post – but I could focus on doing THAT.
Oh, and don’t get fired cause of my stupid blog!!
It’s NOT stupid…it has rekindled interests in literature, cinema, and learning in general that I thought were dead in me. I was an English major, and read voraciously, but it’s been years since I let that part of me breathe. Your posts affect who knows how many people in positive, interesting, and often unexpected ways. Think on that, and have a better afternoon!
Meme Day
Because I’m lazy and can’t think of anything else. Stolen from Sheila….
My favorite things….these lists. I don’t care what anyone says.
I’m so pissed off at those icky girls that said that nasty thing about you writing in your Diary. Bitches. That really hurt my feelngs. Makes me want to find them and beat the snot out of them.
And…Lance Kerwin. Stop it right now.
hahahahahaha
LANCE KERWIN! Come on!!!
Man, bitchy sluts are a draaag. I thought the whole point of slutdom was to be, you know, friendly.
They’re friendly to GUYS, of course. But friendly to their competition – other girls?? Absolutely not.
I mean – there were a lot of nice girls, too – but there were enough sluts to make the very NAME of my dorm a JOKE on campus.
I figured. The juxtaposition of the words struck me as funny, that’s all. ;-)
Bitchy Sluts Gone Wild!!
Hahaha. Bitchy Sluts Gone Wild.
Watch the diet wine coolers and Baked Lays fly!
Emily – oh man, you SO know exactly the kind of girls I’m talkin’ about. TOTALLY! hahahahahahaha
the bitchy sluts thing is why i tend to avoid all-female groupings whenever possible–because all-female groupings tend, in my experience, to be drama-filled, more so even than a MOSTLY female grouping. i don’t particularly get why–i don’t buy the “girls are inherently more emotional” explanation. i think there are so many girls who have bought in to that “competition” crap…feminists call it a “lack of solidarity”.
anyway, long story short (too late) you have my sympathies at being stuck in that situation, sheila.
oh, and the prom thing, too. i am so with you there. i also had someone i was in love with jr. year but never got the chance to ask him to the prom, plus he had a gf anyway…i totally deemed it a mark of my WORTH AS A HUMAN BEING that i only went to one prom. i went with a friend who’s like a brother…wore an old dress…and my hair was a DISASTER. i SO feel you on the prom disappointment.
I think it’s great that the trend now in proms is that you can go with a group of your friends, and you just whoop it up with THEM. That would have been so much funner for all of us.
That just was not done in my school at the time – you had a date, or you didn’t go!!
Silly.
bullet points:
-didnt both J. and I also attend Mere’s wedding?
-Lance Kerwin..yummy.
-Midland Mall..hahaha
-Tony Orlando and Dawn …also at the Providence Civic Center..i will never call it the Dunkin *&^%$# Center…blastphemy!
-two proms…both with Liz… junior prom i had my license for less than a week and i hit two lesbians in a Camaro trying to pull out of a spot in the Bickfords parking lot…also i wore a white tux…what???
-the bitchy slutty girls are UNINHIBITED!!!!!!!!
I will never call it the Dunkin Donuts Center! DD can kiss my uninHIBITED Rhode Island ass.
I cannot stop laughing at your references: white tux, camaro, Bickford’s parking lot, you hitting 2 lesbians (why don’t I know this story??)
And yes – you were my date for Mere’s wedding! And J was also a bridesmaid.
u looked beautiful in that bridesmaid’s dress(it was burgundy..right?) and ur hair was awesome…i didnt even own a suit..i think i wore a cardigan???? a cardigan??? a white tux??? am i really gay???? get it together!!!
Of course, Mitchell, the cardigan (and yes, it was a cardigan) was NOTHING compared to the mis-matched outfits we wore to that random wedding we went to … You wore many layers. I wore this blue and white sundress. I had on my glasses.
I don’t even know WHAT we were doing there.
do you remember the picture of the two of us? We look AWFUL. HAHAHAHAHAHA
And I caught the bouquet – and I didn’t even KNOW those people???
I am shaking with laughter. I wore white pumps too – white pumps. I mean … we had to have been on drugs!
//I will never call it the Dunkin Donuts Center! DD can kiss my uninHIBITED Rhode Island ass.//
Seriously. And it’s Great Fuckin’ Woods – not the Tweeter Center.
Sell my childhood will you…
Like – they’re gonna look at their wedding album – and see this random woman in white pumps leaping to catch the bouquet – and be like: “Who the hell was that? Did we invite her?”
Dan – totally. I REFUSE to say anything other than Great Woods!!!
so many great concerts at Great Woods…lyle lovett,bonnie raitt, barry manilow,eurythmics,fleetwood mac, tina turner..to name a few..loved it there!!…and sheil..whose wedding was it???? i vaguely remember my dumb outfit..so u remember it? layers?
It was my co-worker at the pizza place I worked at. But you know – we just didn’t know each other.
There’s a close-up of the two of us smiling. My glasses look HUGE like Gloria Steinem’s. We both have a fine layer of sweat over our faces.
You are wearing a finely checked blazer – and a dark grey vest – and a shirt under that – and a tie – but then you are also wearing a cardigan, I believe under the blazer … and all of these fabrics (this is silk … and this is ALSO silk) have different textures and checks and stripes …
I have no idea what we were doing there.
thats fucking crazy! we are nuts.
MITCHELL! I did the girls’ hair for Mere’s wedding- cause you taught me how to French Braid!! So, everyone got French Braids and Holly in their hair! WHat gorgeous dresses- black velvet on top, and burgundy taffeta on the bottom. Nighttime wedding, right after Christmas. Member it started to snow?? And that HUGE stained glass circular window in the stone church?? Beautiful.
PS Sheila- I owe you a huge long email- I am leaving for Virginia at o’dark hundred and will be back Tuesday. But I will be checking my email and your blog from Smith Mountain Lake. All is well- just taking a much, much needed vacation. Love you.
Let’s not forget Jeff M. having to lift each of us over the snowbank in front of Mere’s house…
We really did have such a great time –
And…Mitchell – I recall a few Mitchell high school stories from Sue Whipple’s house. I believe she lived right near that Bickfords – right?
u did an awesome job on the braids!!!..i specifically remember how fab they looked..have fun on ur well-deserved va-kay!!!
I think it’s so cool that so many of your readers/commenters are also friends that actually remember some of your firsts. I’m having fun reading your interactions.
Ah, Great Woods. I will never tweet against thee.
That’s right!! Jeff carried us! hahahaha so awesome
Beth – have a great great vacation – enjoy yourself!! Happy easter!
First!
Stolen from Sheila
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