Jerzei Collie's journal

During Saturday's 30th high school reunion dinner, I saw a few classmates that were also at the 20th reunion along with several others. I got to see some friends from the school orchestra and the school newspaper. One classmate said he admired my courage to do a stand-up comedy set for the school talent show.

Due to a combination of shyness and feeling insecure about my weight/looks, I seem to be cursed with finding the worst place to stand when posing for a group picture. First, there was my 20th high school reunion picture from last year:



Then the group photo from my Toastmasters club:



And finally, the group fursuit photo at Rocky Mountain Fur Con (sorry about the pixelation):



Hopefully my continued weight loss and psychologist visits will help me feel more secure being in or toward the front of future pictures, or at least give me the ability to determine if I'm being blocked.

My high school reunion last night was fantastic. I took a Xanax before the event and brought another one just in case I needed it, but I didn't. At the entrance, everyone was given a name tag containing their high school pictures. I heard a few people making remarks about the hairstyles they wore back then. My hairstyle was pretty much the same as it is now (except I had much more hair back then.) I had a laugh about the glasses I wore back then. I think they were out of style even for 1989!

Whenever my hair started to grow long, my mother would always threaten me with "Get it cut or we're changing your name to Joanne."

I saw quite a few high school friends and classmates (including my dentist, who I haven't visited in a while.) One woman at the reunion told me her child is in the same class as my nephew.



The memory book for the "Classes of 1989" (there was more than one?) had a page of statistics and events for the year. The U.S. population in 1989 was 246.8 million (compared to nearly 307 million today,) a gallon of gas cost only 97 cents (around $2.40 locally today, after a period of topping $4 in some cities) and a first class postage stamp was only 25 cents (43 cents today.) 1989 was also the year where the Berlin Wall came down, "The Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie was sentenced to death (but never actually captured or killed) by Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini, and thousands of Chinese students were killed rallying for democracy in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. "Rain Man" won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The Grammy for Record and Song of the Year went to "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin, and the Album of the Year was George Michael's "Faith."

My high school reunion is this Saturday. It starts with a lunchtime school tour (no specific time has been announced yet,) then the evening reception starts at 6:30 PM. The problem is my Saturday shift at KRCC runs from 2-8 PM, and nearly all of the substitutes I've contacted so far are either working at another job or helping out at the Blues Under The Bridge concert, which also happens Saturday. I couldn't reach one of the last two substitutes I tried to contact because her phone's voice mail is full. The other one works the 8-11 PM shift after me. I'm considering asking him to do the second half of my shift (5-8 PM) if he is unavailable for the whole shift.

I'm getting really pissed off with all the calls I've been receiving from telemarketers and nonprofits seeking donations. Some of the nonprofits are understanding when I say I can't afford to donate at this time. They thank me and end the call. Unfortunately, most of them keep trying to guilt-trip me and get me to donate a lower amount. I lost one of my jobs, most of my money goes to paying my bills and my credit cards are almost maxed out.

UPDATE: The second substitute offered to come in at 5 PM, so I will do 2-5 PM then go home and change before the reunion.