Too much nostalgia

I haven't forgotten that I need to tell the Angry Whopper story, but that's still formulating in my head, and so in the meantime I'm gonna subject you to a long-ass meme that mostly looks back on elementary school and high school. Some of the questions actually forced me to think, because they asked about stuff I haven't considered in ages.
Here it is:


01. I call myself: Jenny....

02. I am this old: 30

03. I hate it when: I feel lonely or spineless....

04. I love it when: I’m with the friends who put me at ease....

05. My favorite thing to drink is: Diet Coke....

06. My favorite food is: Bread. Put just about any kind in front of me and I’ll make it disappear.....

07. I am this tall: 5 ft. 3 in.

08. I weigh this much: Too much for you to know.

09. My favorite shoes to wear are: My black low-top Converse One-Stars

10. My favorite article of clothing is: My green Adidas hoodie with the white racing stripes across the chest. It’s getting pretty worn, though, so I might have to replace it soon.

11. When I get up in the morning the first thing I do is: Hit the snooze button.

12. The last thing I do before I go to bed is: Roll onto my right side and curl into the fetal position.


Shower Time:
01. I take baths or showers: Showers mostly, but I luuurve me some baths when I can access a tub that allows me to fully submerge.

02. My favorite soap to use is: I was once gifted with a Bath and Body Works Midnight Pomegranate body wash that I really liked, but I’m not enough of a brand whore to actively seek it out.

03. I use this shampoo: Suave. It’s cheap and it smells nice.

04. I use this conditioner: None.

05. I use a comb or a brush: Comb. Although I do own a round brush that I’ll play around with when I have time to experiment with actually styling my hair.

06. I blow dry my hair or let it air dry: Usually air dry overnight. I own a blow dryer, but I try to use it sparingly because it kills my hair.

07. I use this kind of shaving gel/cream: Again, not a brand whore. I’ll try whatever is on sale.....

08. My toothpaste is: Aim or Aquafresh

09. My toothbrush is this color: Purple? I think?

10. I like hot or cold showers: Hot enough to turn my skin pink.

11. What I think about in the shower: Anything and everything. Sometimes nothing, and that’s even better.

12. My favorite thing about the shower is: I get some of my best creative ideas there.....

13. I listen to this kind of music when in the shower: Whatever I feel like singing.....

14. I lock the bathroom door when in the shower: Don’t have to. I live alone, and even when I didn’t there was no need.


Elementary School:
01. My mom drove me to school or I rode the bus: Screw either of those. I used my own two feet to get to school.

02. I went to kindergarten and my teacher’s name was: Mrs. Roz

03. My favorite teacher was: Mrs. Johnson from first grade, and Miss Jordan from third grade

04. My least favorite teacher was: Mr. Boudreaux, the art teacher

05. My first field trip was to: Probably Brookfield Zoo or Lincoln Park Zoo. I don’t fully remember.

06. My favorite field trip was to: There were a number of good ones. I’ll go with the big eighth grade trip to Milwaukee, where we visited the zoo, took a boat ride on Lake Michigan and went to some sort of interactive children’s museum.

07. What I remember most about elementary/primary school is: Reading a story I wrote over the intercom to the entire building.....

08. I attended this elementary school: McKinley from K-3, Burnham from 4-8.


High School:
01. My favorite subject in high school was: English. Is that any surprise?

02. My favorite teacher(s) was/were: Mrs. Stebbins, Mr. Caravello, and Mr. Lynn

03. My least favorite teacher(s) was/were: Any gym teachers.

04. We had this many class periods: 8 or 9, I think. It changed at some point.

05. My favorite activity in high school: Hanging out in the Westsider office.

06: I was in the band and I played: I was a newspaper geek, not a band geek.

07. I did marching band and was in squad number(s): See number 6.

08. I was in this school play(s): Again, I expressed myself with ink, not performance.

09. I was in this crowd at school: I can’t really say I had a crowd. My core group of friends were some girls who were as quiet as I was, but I definitely had friendships that fell outside that circle. Wasn’t popular, I’ll tell you that much.

10. I had detention this many times: Never

11. I drove to school: Never. I was the lame-ass who had to bum a ride from other folks when I wasn’t walking.....

12. I skipped class this many times: Once. Ask me about that story some time.....

13. I was always late for class: Only first hour senior year…I was getting a ride from my mom’s boyfriend, who always operated on a different space/time continuum.

14. Best friend in high school: I had several. Sara and Sarah and Nancy and Lisa and Dawn.

15. Name the guys/girls you dated: Dating? What is this dating you speak of? Oh, maybe that’s what you’d call the short-lived relationship I had with a boy named Nick.

16. Name the guys/girls you wanted to date: Eugene, Dan, and Wes. The third one I don’t think I ever admitted to anyone until now.

17. I went to prom with: Rob K. Although technically I had two dates for the price of one, since we had to get a ride there from his best friend Tony’s dad.

18. I went to this many football games: I dunno? Maybe three or four?

19. My favorite trip was: To Whitewater, Wisconsin, where I attended a student journalism conference with my fellow newspaper editors and our advisor.

20. I was in the principal’s office this many times: Never

21. What I miss most about high school: Seeing Dawn on a daily basis.

22. What I don’t miss at all about high school: All the ridiculous drama and my perpetual sense of alienation.

23. I will/was remembered for: A small handful of people might remember that I was one of the smart kids. But I think I was too shy to make a lasting impression.

24. I graduated in: 1996

25. I was _ out of _ in my class: 5 out of something like 300 or 400 graduates.

26. My GPA was: 3.95

27. I went to this high school: Morton West


Miscellaneous:
01. I still write letters and mail them out: No, but I would if I had more time.

02. I spend this much time online a day: Too much.

04. My favorite place to travel to is: the West Coast. Ireland is pretty awesome as well

05. My favorite phrase is: Lately I’ve been saying, “Hot stuff” a lot.

06. My favorite quote is: I don’t have one.

07. I really want to go here someday: London

08. I live in a(n) house, trailer, apartment, townhouse, condo: Condo.....

09. I’ve always wanted to own one of these: Puppy

10. My most treasured item is: Tie between my laptop, my He-Man statue, and all my old journals.

11. My goals in life are: To publish at least one novel.

12. My favorite sport to watch is: Rasslin’

13. The friend I couldn’t live without: Dawn

14. I collect this/these: Not much of a collector unless you count books or music.....

15. This is on my walls: A framed lithograph featuring the Powerpuff Girls....

16. The thing that drives me completely crazy is: Ignorance

I need some more novel help

Okay, so remember how a month or so back I posted a snippet of my novel and requested some feedback?

Well, I've gotten through that chapter, but now I'm feeling totally stuck in terms of what needs to be told next. The scene ends with Julie securing the job she interviewed for, and learning that her new workplace is going to be hosting a wrestling show the following week. One of the performers due to appear on the show is a guy she recognizes from her childhood, and in seeing him she's surprised to feel a pang of longing and nostalgia. She then agrees to make the day of the show her first day of work, and is excited to have something to look forward to.

The thing I'm hung up on is whether it would be more useful to follow this with a chapter that halts the narrative to provide more context about Julie's history with wrestling, and her friendship with Tim, or if I should just move to the next moment in the story, and figure out a way to work in that information on the fly.

I'm gonna paste the end of the finished chapter below, and I'd really appreciate it if you could tell me what sort of questions it creates for you, and what you as a reader would most like to see next. This really helped last time, so I'm hoping it works again...



I lowered myself back in the chair, fiddling with the drawstrings of my hoodie. Beth's offer of dress clothes floated to the front of my mind, an offer that seemed much more appealing now that this was an interview situation.
Theresa slipped on a pair of glasses pulled from the bottom paper tray and began reading, tapping one of the dead pens on her desktop.
“Almost done with high school, I see. Got any plans for college?”
The question sent a shudder through my body, and I held back a grimace as I answered. “Yeah I was supposed to go away to Stanford, but that didn’t work out. I’m looking into Morton College instead.”
A wide grin broke across Theresa’s face. “You’re starting college at Morton? I got my degree there!” She continued reading. “Honor roll? Advanced placement classes?” She set the paper aside and studied me curiously for an uncomfortable minute. “So I gotta ask. Why lifeguarding?”
This was my big chance to wow her. "I've been on the swim team since freshman year," I explained, hoping I didn’t sound too rehearsed. “I'm certified in CPR and lifesaving. I love the water." My voice stalled out as I realized how lame that last one sounded.
Theresa laughed. "You love the water. Is that seriously why you applied?”
I shifted in my seat, worried my answer could make or break this interview. When the silence got too uncomfortable, I admitted. "I saw the flier yesterday. It seemed like a good idea."
I pulled the folded sheet of paper out of my purse and handed it to Theresa. Her eyes lit up as she studied the stock photo, and she traced the length of rope around the lifeguard’s neck with a finger, stopping when she reached his muscled pecs. "Have fun and get paid," she read aloud. With a wink she added, “I guess I can see the appeal. But what if I told you I had something better?”
“Better?” I asked.
Theresa gestured toward the second desk. "I need an events assistant. Twenty hours a week. Seven bucks an hour. You help people register for classes. You help the outside groups that rent the gym. You answer the phone every so often. And you get your own desk."
Something was really appealing about the promise of my own workspace. It gave me a sense of power and importance, almost enough to make me forget that I'd be sharing that space with rodents and dangling wires, and that just a half an hour earlier I'd been reluctant to enter the building.
Theresa leaned in, smelling my interest. "It's a buck and a half more than you'd make as a lifeguard. And we can make it official right now. Otherwise you have to do a second interview with Tom, the head lifeguard, and that man is cree-py!"
To demonstrate, she scribbled chest hair and a mustache on the photo of the beefcake lifeguard, and held the image over her face. In a slow, breathy voice she said, "Hi, Julie. I see you have fair skin, Julie. Would you like me to help with your sunblock, Julie?" She peeped over the edge of the flier, waggling her eyebrows and licking her lips.
That was the moment I decided that Theresa would be the coolest boss ever. When I stopped giggling over her lifeguard impression I took a deep breath and said, "Let's make it official."
Theresa crumbled the flier into a ball and shot it toward the garbage can. It bounced off the rim, and I snatched it from the air before it reached my feet. At Theresa's urging, I tossed it back to her so she could try again. This time it was nothing but net.
She came from behind her desk to give me a high five, and then pulled my arm down into a more formal handshake.
"I had a good feeling the moment I saw you," Theresa smiled. "Sometimes you just know..." she trailed off as the knob on the door jiggled. "Food!" She turned to open it and I followed directly behind.
Arturo balanced a drink tray on the palm of one hand and clutched a fat paper bag in the other. His forehead was sweaty, and his cheeks were flushed bright pink, probably more from anxiety than exertion.
I relieved him of the drinks, while Theresa pawed through the bag. She pushed aside a few things, and then glared at Arturo.
"You forgot napkins," she said.
Arturo’s eyes bugged out, and Theresa burst into laughter.
"Just messin." She pulled a fistful of mismatched napkins from her desk drawer and fanned them out like a deck of cards. "Take a bunch, and pull up a chair. We're celebrating a new hire."
Arturo lifted his sleeve, exposing a watch too large for his wrist. "I gotta go home. My uncle's taking me to wrestling."
Theresa nodded while swallowing a fry. "Speaking of, you know there's a show here next Saturday, right?" She tapped my shoulder and motioned at the desk that now belonged to me. "Can you check the bulletin board? I swear there's something."
I scanned the array of colorful notices, stopping when I found a large poster with a dark red background and a collage of muscular, snarling men. I pointed at the Latino man at the center of the collage. He had grayish, feathered hair, dark blue trunks, and a pearly white smile. He was so familiar, but I wasn’t sure why.
Arturo approached the desk, shoving me aside for a better look.
"Tito Santana!" he exclaimed. "I'm telling my uncle!"

The name Tito Santana struck a deep chord, and suddenly I recognized him as a childhood hero. A surprisingly intense pang of longing welled up as I recalled sitting Indian-style before my living room console with my friend Tim every Saturday morning, clamoring for Tito’s latest motor-mouthed rant. We both loved how he talked louder and faster until he finally caught his breath, raised his fist, and shouted "Arriba."
"Julie, I could use your help that night." Theresa brought me back to earth. "We get some big crowds for wrestling and boxing shows...you wanna just make that your first day?
"Sure!" I made a mental note to call Beth and thank her for her advice at the nearest pay phone. Now I had a fun way to save for Stanford, and the chance to see a celebrity I actually admired live and in person. Sure, I was still stuck in Cicero, but at least I'd have a good time while I was there.



Thanks in advance for your feedback!