"friday five" ... remember the days of the old schoolyard ?

... we used to smoke a lot ... ;)

Published on October 1, 2004 By mignuna In Philosophy

This week, we're going back to school. *Sigh*. Like it or hate it (or, in my case, utterly despise it), we’ve all been there.

No matter who we ultimately turned out to be, our young years were all the same: full of crushes, awkward moments, and events both momentous and minor that began to shape the adult we would become.

So, were your schooldays filled with cheerful, childish, laughter, uneventful education and sugar-sweet dreams of the future ? ... or were you a heinous brat like my good self ? (surprise, surprise ).

Remember the days of the old schoolyard ? ...

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?.

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?.

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?.

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?.

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?.

Everyone is welcome. As usual, alter or delete anything as you wish ... Happy reminiscing .

Comments

chiprj

on Oct 01, 2004

Remember the days of the old schoolyard ? ...

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?. Chip... but that's been a nickname all my life. No others, though..

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?. I was one of those students that got things easily in school so I didn't have to study hard to get my good grades... so, I never developed good study habits. That has bitten me in the butt as an adult, because the brain has dimmed and I no longer get things as easily...

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?. Not in elementary school. I occasionally got a note sent home with me for needing a haircut when I went to Catholic school. Never kissed a goon at a dance, but I did kiss girls. Skipped the occasional school day in high school...

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?. I remember her. Never won her heart...

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?. In high school, I was on the track and cross country teams. I also participated in the Marine Biology Club, but that was more a social group. I was also in the National Honors Society, Spanish National Honors Society, and the Mu Alpha THeta (MATH) club... I was a bit of a nerd, just not nerdy... I got along well with most groups and cliques at school.

BlueDev

on Oct 01, 2004

1) Did you have a nickname?
Nope. Some friends would call me "Pete" for short, but my mother hated it, so I never really liked it either. Close friends I would let get away with it. Others, I told them quite clearly that my name was Peter.

2) Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards?
I was a nerd. What can I say? I was really uptight about grades. My lowest grade in Elementary school was in penmanship. And even then I was a bit uptight about it.

3) Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform?
Really boring here. No, no, no, no, and no (never went to a school where we had uniforms).

4) Do you recall your first crush? Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire? Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands?
I most certainly do remember my first crush from Kindergarten. I even woke up early one day to draw a picture for her. Had lots of hearts, flowers, that kind of crap. My mother saw it that morning and thought it was for her. I told her I needed to take it to school for some reason, then it just never made it back home. To be honest though, I don't remember what happened. I know the girl and I were friends through Elementary school, but don't recall any other specifics.

5) What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in?
I was in some school plays, on a math competition team (that placed at state!), on the yearbook staff, played intramural sports (basketball being the favorite). By the time I got to High School, though, I was so focused on making sure I didn't have to pay for college that I didn't have a lot of free time. I was still in the National Honor Society and a couple other nerdy groups. Once again the nerd factor.

LadyCleve

on Oct 01, 2004

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?.
This could be a bit telling. I've had alot of nicknames over the years, but the one I was the most proud of (at the time) was one from junior high.......Psycho-bimbo-bitch-from-hell. I'm not really sure where the bimbo part came in, but at the time I fancied myself as a real badass, spent alot of time beating people up (mostly boys), and formed a gang with a bunch of my friends. We ended up deciding that we didn't want to be a gang, so we were instead, a non-conformist club. I can't believe I was such a dork.

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?.
Things came easily to me as well, so I never 'worked to the best of my ability', but I rarely got bad grades either.

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?.
The only one of these classics I came close to was playing truant, but I never skipped a whole day, and I never got caught. We had a closed campus where only the seniors were allowed to be outside of the building (except for PE and class things), and I got really good at sneaking out--I rigged a window in a girls bathroom on the second floor and climbed up and down the wall outside it--none of the adults could figure it out.

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?.
My first crush? Yes, I remember. I used to chase him around the playground and tackle him so I could kiss him when we were in first grade. I mailed him a love letter and his parents found it and talked to my parents. They weren't too happy. His family moved away not long after that, and then mine did too, in different directions.

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?.
National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society, Mathletes (in jr high), Band, Orchestra, Choir, Drama, TAG (Talented and Gifted program), drinking (although that wasn't a school recognized activity), yearbook, literary magazine

Wow, this takes me back!

mignuna

on Oct 01, 2004

That has bitten me in the butt as an adult, because the brain has dimmed and I no longer get things as easily

i feel your pain, chip !

but I did kiss girls.

i bet you did, too !

was a nerd. What can I say? I was really uptight about grades. My lowest grade in Elementary school was in penmanship. And even then I was a bit uptight about it.

aww, bluedev, i actually think that's really nice

I was still in the National Honor Society and a couple other nerdy groups. Once again the nerd factor.

i love nerdy men !!!

Psycho-bimbo-bitch-from-hell

oh, be proud, ladycleve !. be damned proud, i would be

My first crush? Yes, I remember. I used to chase him around the playground and tackle him so I could kiss him when we were in first grade.

oh ladycleve, that's co cute !. i bet he only pretended to run

mig XXX

crimson

on Oct 01, 2004

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?. WE had a nickname (my twin and I). We were The Dancing Gibobo Sisters. An old childhood friend brought in pictures of my sister and I in our old recital uniforms when we were in junior high. The name stuck. Unfortunately.

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?. I never hid report cards, but I was very guilty about my poor standing as a student. I ditched alot, too. I always got the "If she put her mind to it..." kind of quote on my cards.

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?. Yes, yes, yes to both, yes and no. But if we were made to wear uniforms judging by the previous answers, I would have answered 'yes' as well, I suppose.

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?. Well, considering I was just a child at the time I can't say that it was a 'happily ever after' ending. I did, however, write about it here once before. (See link)

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?. basketball, volleyball, field hockey and track and field. I also played the saxaphone in band and did a drama thing once or twice.

I was definitely into school for the social aspect of it. Plus the fact that I had to go there. If there had of been a choice I wouldn't have made it past kindergarden at all.

Link

citahellion

on Oct 01, 2004

1/ Nickname? Not that I know of or can recall.... Doesn't mean I didn't have one, though.
2/ study ethic? I was a last-minute kind of student. Papers got written the night before they were due, etc. (This is pretty normal in grade-school, though, since they give you a lot of stuff that's due the next day.) Always got straight A's. As with chip, this eventually hurt me in college and other areas.
3/ Evil little bastard? No, only once, no, no, no. Never smoked; walked out of school once mid-day when they were making me sit in the office missing classes because I wasn't in proper uniform that day (no tie on tie day); never got in any trouble (not even for that walking out incident--never heard a thing about it); never went to a dance, much less hit on somebody; other than forgetting the tie a couple of times, never messed with the uniform.
4/ Crush? Sure I remember. No, never acted on it. Only ever even told one person about it. Wouldn't call that fate, though.
5/ Activities? Band, Soccer, Chess, Go, Spelling Bees, a couple of academic competitions, taking college courses in math and logic, and skipping 11th grade completely.

foreverserenity

on Oct 01, 2004

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?.
Ms. Tourist. Where I grew up, my language skills were a lot better than most kids. I didn't speak with the usual inflection in tone or dialect.

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?.
I did well in school. Never had to hide a report card.

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?.
I don't smoke - tried it but not in the loo. Played truant once in a while, home sick in bed til my dad got wise to it. I did miss a few language classes hanging with my girlfriends in the loo! Nope, no kissing, all girls school.

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?.
My first crush was this boy in grade school, I had it bad. My younger sister found out and told him, man was I embarrassed.

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?.
Gardening club, Drama Club. I did sports only in the Physical Ed classes and loved Volleyball and soccer.

cactoblasta

on Oct 01, 2004

Remember the days of the old schoolyard ? ...

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?.
Not really. It was a private Catholic school so I got called by my last name.

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?.
Like Chiprj and cita I was naturally talented. I got straight As in the humanities without doing more than about an hour's work per assignment. Maths was the only area where I had to study, but I was able to drop that in years 11 and 12.

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?.
No, yes, no/no, yes, yes. I never got caught though. One of the funnest things I did was get together with some mates and use petrol to kill the grass on the school oval so the words "______ sucks a fat one" were burned into the grass by school open day (_____ was the name of the principal).

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?.
Utter and dismal failure. But I had a new crush the next week that worked out better, so it wasn't all bad.

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?.
I used to swim, row and play rugby, all of it for the social clubs rather than the competitive ones.

mignuna

on Oct 01, 2004

We were The Dancing Gibobo Sisters.

i love it, nic !

I ditched alot, too. I always got the "If she put her mind to it..." kind of quote on my cards.

just like me, nic. "... vanessa has potential but does not apply herself" hehe

No, only once, no, no, no

oh citahellion, what a good boy you were !

Band, Soccer, Chess, Go, Spelling Bees, a couple of academic competitions, taking college courses in math and logic, and skipping 11th grade completely

oh, i had such crushes on boys like you at school, citahellion !

I did miss a few language classes hanging with my girlfriends in the loo!

i did, too, foreverserenity !. except we used to avoid sports on the boiling hot days hehe.

My first crush was this boy in grade school, I had it bad. My younger sister found out and told him, man was I embarrassed.

awww, foreverserenity, the pain of first love. this is so sweet

One of the funnest things I did was get together with some mates and use petrol to kill the grass on the school oval so the words "______ sucks a fat one" were burned into the grass by school open day (_____ was the name of the principal).

bwaaa haaaa. 'sucks a fat one ?". that's hilarious, cactoblaster !

Utter and dismal failure. But I had a new crush the next week that worked out better, so it wasn't all bad.

true. at least these kiddie crushes were easier to disentangle oneself from !

thanks everyone

mig XXX

Texas Wahine

on Oct 01, 2004

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?.

My childhood best friend and I came up with a code and my code name was "Barfbag." I picked it out myself . . . why, oh why? FYI, hers was "Putty."

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?.

In elementary school through junior high, I put forth quite a bit of effort. I became a bit of a bad girl in high school and stopped working at it. My parents were pretty strict on me and expected As in most things, though they let some Cs slide in things like Chemistry and Algebra.

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?.

I did a lot of naughty things, but of the above mentioned, the only one I did was kiss a goon at a school dance . . . but I didn't kiss him, he kissed me. I was a Freshman and he was a Senior, and I really wasn't interested in him (though he thought I was) and when I wouldn't kiss him back, he got his feelings hurt and went outside and punched a door. Whatta goon, huh?

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?.

I had a dramatic romantic relationship with a little boy named Justin when I was in third grade. We were madly in love and then we hated each other and then we were madly in love again. I dated him again in high school, but alas, the passion was gone.

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?.

I've been in the National Honor Society, Drama club, UIL competitions, GT, school newspaper editor, ummm . . . there's a few more, but I can't remember without digging through yearbooks and such upstairs. I wasn't spectacularly involved in anything. I suck at most everything that one would want to be good at.

mignuna

on Oct 01, 2004

I had a dramatic romantic relationship with a little boy named Justin when I was in third grade. We were madly in love and then we hated each other and then we were madly in love again. I dated him again in high school, but alas, the passion was gone

oh, the sad fate the star-crossed young lovers, texas and justin *sobs*

I became a bit of a bad girl in high school and stopped working at it.

texas wahine, i feellike i'm reading my own life with your comments here !

my code name was "Barfbag." I picked it out myself . . . why, oh why?

indeed texas wahine. what were you thinking ?. that's hilarious ! (in a gross kinda way hehe)

mig XX

trina_p

on Oct 01, 2004

You know I don't know if I want to answer these anymore Mig - school wasn't all that long ago for me (I graduated in 2000) Plus I sound like a goody-two-shoes sandra dee (I watched Grease yesterday)

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?. most of primary school I was Katrina to everyone but at home, highschool I got Kattie (kat-ty) shortened to Kat in grade 10/11 -- and then it evolved to trina (which is what my family called me except my dad which was reen)
But I think the kind of nickname you're looking for is "tree-hugging hippy - shortened to hippy1" - this evolved because I was selling badges for the WWF (worlf wildlife fund) because I was in the student council and these guys said no WWF is world wrestling foundation - and from then on I was treehugging hippy or hippy treehugger or just hippy1 (my best friend who had nothing to do with anything except that she was my friend became hippy2 -- to this day I don't think those guys knew our real names. And they sat with our group for two years.

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?. I was a "pleasure to teach"

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?. I had a couple uniform detentions for wearing a different coloured jumper and not bothering to get a note from my mum or a redslip.

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?. In grade 7 (that's as early as I'll go) - actually I don't think I want to tell this story - it's very lame and embarrassing

Okay - so I liked this guy and I wrote him a letter, (and I have NO idea what it said probably something really lame - I was 12) and I think my friend must have told him I'd written him this letter - or maybe I did - anyway I ripped it up - and he asked for the pieces - And I GAVE them to HIM (what am I nuts?) anyway he sits down in the middle of the basketball (this is before school) and tries to put them together - he sat behind me at this point -- hmm maybe I should just tell you about the boy who liked me in grade 3 who wrote me love letters and stalked me by kissing me when I wasn't looking - it was really gross and I hated it - I told the Principal -- or maybe I should tell you about the guy who wrote me love letters in grade 9 and I ripped them up and burnt them and gave them back to him - or the time I poured a can of sars on his head?

No? okay so he told me that I didn't have to stop talking to him and I said ..something lame - after school he asked to meet me and he asked me out -- And I told him I'd have to ask my parents.
Nothing happened - we hardly even talked - Two weeks later he dumped me for Sharna Barnes (who had her first child at 15 - not to him I don't think)

Later that year (I still liked him) at our grade 7 graduation dance we danced - it was nice - we went to different highschools but he came to mine in grade 11 -- by this time he was into drugs and drinking and smoking - he had an eyebrow ring (was still cute) and an attitude - and yeah - I was still shy... I much preferred to not have a boyfriend - or anyone liking me - I made at least 3 boys cry in highschool.

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?. Nothing school related outside school hours - Inside I was in the student council from 8 to 11 and I did the activities involved with that - grade 10 we ran a cafe. Grades 11-12 I was in the Peer Support Group (peer counciling - we dealt with the small stuff that the guidance councillors had too much big stuff to do -- Plus we had a grade 8 class that we visited once a week to talk to and they'd come up to us at lunch if they had any problems - just to make sure they settled in okay. I was also on the fashion parade committee (organisal) and the fashion parade set design/decorating commitee -- Lot's of painting

MarcieMoo

on Oct 02, 2004

1/ Did you have a nickname ?. What was it, and how did it come about ?.
Hmmm...well...that depends. When I was in third grade, my "crew" and I were obsessed with aliens, so my name, of course, was "Martian" and my best friend Kathy was "Kathian"...I think we stopped that silliness the day of our "Tilly the Tooth" play when Kathy slipped on an ice hill and split open her lip...lol. During college, my nickname was "Sistah Weezel" because a) our college was in a crappy part of St. Paul, and

I had (and still do) to pee alot. Some of my other friends had names like "Foo Dawg" and "J-Bomb"...

Those were good times.

2/ Were you a student who ‘worked to the best of their ability’, or were you a serial-hider of report-cards ?.
Hmmm....again...this depends. If I had a teacher I despised and was horrible to me, I pretty much shut down...i.e. Mrs. Olson in 5th grade. She insisted that I wasn't "ladylike" enough and that I was obsessed with Desert Storm at the time. What a yutz. When I was a senior in HS my dad was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery and chemo six hours away at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. I missed my allowed 7 days of school for the semester and should have made it up...but when you've got beloved relatives working for the district, and its a small district and you're a good kid, they overlook those things for you.

3/ Did you commit any or all of the ‘classic five school naughties’ of: smoking in the loo, playing truant, getting suspended/expelled, kissing some goon at a school dance, or altering your uniform ?.
Nada. I tried smoking once, but it was at work by myself when I was 19, I never really played truant...I was gone for good reasons...and I didn't kiss my first (and last!) boy until I was 22...

4/ Do you recall your first crush ?. Did you win the object of your hearts’ desire ?. Or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands ?.
Yeah...I recall him. I saw him in February and he's still on my contact lists. I fell in love with him in elementary school. Our families were close. He was the only person I asked to prom, and he said no, but if the person he asked said no, he'd think about it. Well...it doesn't really matter anyway. He's turned out to be a holier-than-thou, know-it-all, cynical creep, I just keep him around for gossip purposes.

5/ What extra-curricular activities (eg: sports, clubs, etc) did you participate in ?.
I was supposed to be the next shot put and discus prodigy, so I started working with the varsity track team when I was in elementary school even. So, I did that in HS until the coach turned out to be a jerk. I also played basketball in 7th grade as well as softball. I played one full season of golf. I was on student council one year, the knowledge bowl team all throughout high school, National Honor Society...hmmmm...I'm sure there's more...but that's about the jist of it.

DylanZimmerman

on Oct 02, 2004

1) Did you have a nickname? -Not really..Pretty much always been "Dyl ". Got the occasional "D" or "Deedee" but they never stuck.

2)were you a student who worked to the best of their abilities?Or a serial hider of report cards?- I didn't work at all really. I got by at the things I was naturally good at anyway- languages, art, english , biology(although my english teacher hated me) without having to do much, and just failed everything I was bad at -chemistry, math, etc. I think I had a good balance hehe..I didn't hide report cards, grades weren't an issue in our house really.

3)Did you commit any of the classic 5 school naughties,of- smoking in the loo, playing traunt, getting suspended,kissing some goon at the school dance,or altering your uniform?-I didn't smoke in the bathrooms but i did ditch school to go wander the streets and smoke (so glamorous, I know), I never got suspended or expelled (I think I left before they had the chance), I never went to a single school dance because they repulsed me,( I would rather have stayed home with my nose in a book) and we didn't have a uniform so i used to drift around in the classic 90s grunge jeans and jumper look (gorgeous ), and the occasional thrift store dress (not cool at the time). I was the height of "weird".

4) Do you recall your first crush?Did you win the object of your heart's desire?or did fate cruelly snatch young love from between your nubile hands (nicely written Vanessa hehe)-I do recall my first crush although I don't recall his name. I think it was maybe 8th grade, and in retrospect he was not an attractive young man. But love is blind isn't it? I didn't win him, no, being shy I prefered to worship my crushes from afar, suffering tragically, in the manner of "Young Werther". I was kind of a romantic.

5)What extra curricular activities did you participate in? - none. The less time I spent in that hellhole the better!

This was fun Vanessa, thankyou!

Dyl xx

ShitsNgiggles

on Oct 07, 2004

1) my last name is goble, and i happen to be fat. People started calling me Gobble. Then they started calling me Global; get it? I got alot of those kinds of names. It eventually just became Gobes, which i despised. I had some i actually enjoyed though, like tons of mufins. Also fatty mcfat fatty fat, hehe.

2) I conveniently "lost" many a report card

3) I "played truant" often, got suspended a time or two, i dont kiss goons, and we dont have uniforms.

4)Yes, no, no not really

5) Football, wrestling, marching band and academic club, haha

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