Friday, August 31, 2007

Sorry, I have to do it

In every situation, in spite of tragedy or sorrow, there are little nuggets of humor that get us through. If we are lucky enough to find them.

To get the proper context, I must explain a Sonic commercial currently running (at least in California). Sonic is a fast food place that now has some sort of Cranberry drink. A wife and husband are in their car, enjoying the drink and he starts adding "CR" to words like "can't" which makes it "CRan't" or aunt which becomes "CRaunt". As in, "I CRan't get over how good this tastes - we should tell your CRaunt Ruth". The wife finds him annoying. You get the idea.

Well, at the mortuary meeting, it was decided my father-in-law wanted to be cremated rather than buried. And the director was telling us about the costs. And then he said "The county requires an $11 permit to distribute the cremains". Cremains? I thought I heard wrong. I've heard of a persons remains but cremains? Maybe he was getting choked up or had to cough. But he said it again - cremains. And then it was like he used it in every sentence. And the more he said it - the more I thought of that stupid commerical until by the time the meeting was over I was nearly in tears trying not to laugh. And it took all my will-power not to turn to him and say "So let me get this straight -without a permit we CRan't have the CRemains?".

Small spot in a rough day. Still pretty funny.

CRanthony Butler

Elena And Matt

Elena, looking wonderful with a nice family, I am going to definitely try being pregnant. It was on my to-do list anyway. And since I already look like I'm in my 2nd trimester, why not?

Matt, I hope the reunion allows you to regress as far as my hairline recedes! I guess aging was kind of a "downer" topic. But handled with some humor, I thought it was something we could all relate to. I'm sure with the help of Richard Blade, we can 'party like it's 1999' - or back when that song seemed like it was going to be forever until 1999.

On another "downer" note, I regrettfully lost my father-in-law this week. He passed away quite unexpectedly. So, anyone who has become hooked on my sardonic brand of blogging, I may be away a bit.

In the meantime, as Lisa Macias requested, it would be nice if some of you wallflowers would get out on the blogging dance floor. If a near-middle aged, overweight, balding, man on his second wife, that came close to an alcohol problem (didn't I mention that before - I smoked too - don't judge me, love me) who plays with dirt for a living, can write - YOU CAN. Unless you had a sex-change and then had it reversed - in which case we won't know the difference and you can keep it to your self. WRITE IN!

Anthony "Formerly Antonia but now back to Anthony" Butler
(I SWEAR that is a joke!)

What are they doing now?

What ever happened to Cheri Hester? If memory serves, she was the world's biggest Rush fan. Remember when she and her boyfriend Mike drove through the Burger King Drive-thru in reverse and they wouldn't serve her?

How about our very own Boy George fan, Margaret Munro? I know she didn't graduate with us, but I wonder where she is and what she is doing?

And what about Renee Magana? The only person I've ever met who actually looked good with a mohawk.

Lastly, remember when Jill Tregillis tried to get an "M" tattoo on her arm (for Morrisey), but only got 1 dot finished?

Thursday, August 30, 2007

So many memories and many more laughs....


Greetings from Marie-Elena Manzur (Vinciguerra). Wow, reading everybody's postings has made me laugh... I even found myself nodding in agreement with many of the aging comments (Amy right there with you on the whole boob thing, and Anthony, think aging is tough, try adding pregnancy during the hottest month of the year to the mix).

Let's see, the past 20 years... Well, went to CSUN, but things like, food and rent became more important than tuition and books, and... at that young age, the inability to work, play and go to school at the same time... something had to give. Hindsight man... wish I had cut back on the play and stayed in school.

Well, married my college sweetie after 9 years of dating, great man, but not the right one for me, divorced 7 yrs later with no kids. We stayed friends and kept in touch for a few years, until his current wife found out, and quickly ended that.

I've had a variety of jobs, that I thought were all just great at the time. Most were fundraising and event planning, which sounds glamorous and fun, but is very competitive and cut-throat (especially the 8 yrs of political fundraising I did), and tends to turn even the kindest most generous people into pompous fools. Finally, I saw myself as someone I didn't like anymore and just quit, not remembering that I had bought a new car the day before.

I suddenly found myself needing a job and became a bartender at the neighborhood watering hole (a total dive). Turns out to be the BEST thing I had ever done in my life. Why you ask, well, one of my regulars always had his boss come in on Fridays to pay him (and in turn pay me the bar tab). Suspiciously this man starting coming around on all of my shifts - to "hang out" with his drunken, toothless employee. Finally he asked me out. Our first date was October 1, 2003. He had asked my parents' permission to marry me by Thanksgiving. We were engaged on January 1, 2004, unofficially married the next day and officially married on February 7 where I became Mrs. Manzur.

I then started the best job and happiest part of my life, as a stay-at-home mommy when Yoram and I had our first daughter Rebecca Anne, on September 16, 2004. Our second child, Sarah Naomi is scheduled to arrive on October 24th. We'll try for a boy with a 3rd, but, boy or girl, it will be my last. I'm not getting any younger, and pregnancy just doesn't get any easier.

I think the reunion sounds like a blast! My husband keeps trying to convince me to go, but I'm afraid my water will break with all of the excitement. Not to mention Richard Blade and that 80's music.... we certainly had an "active and interesting" dancing style then. Maybe I'll reconsider. It is a once in a lifetme opportunity. I'll at least try to go to the family picnic on Sunday (It's much more affordable, and if I have the baby early, it won't be so tough to swallow the financial loss).

Really great to read about everybody's lives. Anytime any of you are in Simi Valley and want to get together and let the kids play, just email me at: memanzur@sbcglobal.net.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Oh no.....

I was sitting in my chair doing a little work on my laptop when I thought to myself, "I wonder if the Chami Blog has any new posts....I haven't looked since June...." April & May were a little light when it first got started so I thought for sure our 20 year reunion was going to be the 23 year reunion.

An hour and a half later, my work is not done and I have to get up in 6 hours.

Anthony you are cracking me up. However, I was planning on using the reunion to regress (at least for a short while) back to the days when I had little responsibility and a lot more hair and a much smaller waist size!!! If I had only weighed this much when I played football, they wouldnt have had to lie about my weight in the program.

It's really cool to see so many more posts and to read about what people have been up to.

Oh no... Part 2. I guess now I am actually blogging. I never imagined I would do such a thing. I guess I have to get a myspace page as well and start using things like :-p and :-<>

Here's a question: How many times have you been cleaning out your garage or closet and found that one or two boxes of high school stuff. You start digging through it and the next thing you know 2 hours have gone by and your garage/closet is still a mess.

Anyone still have a "God is Rad!" rock. My 7 year old keeps it in her room now, and I can't remember which retreat it is from.

I was in that AP Physics class with Reeves and the "sock incident". However, I am still not sure how I ended up there and actually thought Mr. Reeves was trying to use Joel to demonstrate some important topic in class. Glad I was able to keep the curve down for everyone else......

Salute to the start of school for our kids! A toast to all parents ready for their kids to be back in school again!!!

Last thing - I know our class was small and now spread across the globe but... If anyone is going to the NASCAR races at California Speedway this weekend, feel free to stop by and say Hi. Me and a couple buddies have an RV in Turn 3 Row 2 and will be at the track from Friday on. Since almost 150,000 people will be there on Sunday I thought the odds might allow for 1 or 2 other Eagles to be there. I know what your thinking..... my wife has the same thoughts.... I wasn't a redneck when I was younger, What happened? I am not sure but it's a fun weekend I try to do every other year. We'll have a couple iced barley pops available, send me an email (below.)

Enough.... another hour has gone by. (I type fast but badly and have to reread things several times.) Looks like a double coffee morning tomorrow.

Amy & Lisa - If you need some stuff for the White House or family picnic let me know. Lighting, dance floors, tables, chairs, canopies, linen, catering equipment, etc.

Feel free to contact me at mwiltshire@classicpartyrentals.com

Stay well.

Matt

Monday, August 27, 2007

Observation

Saturday night, I was in my backyard. This is a small miracle given that with DVD, Cable, an Ipod, and a computer I was even outside. But my 5 year old son wanted to draw on the patio with "chops" (chalks - I kicked him in the head a lot as a baby) so I was outside.

It was there, by the BBQ, that I noticed a gathering of three black widows. What were they doing out here - I wondered. And why were they gathering? Having grown up and remained in the Valley, I am suspicious of any gathering. And to me, anything more than 2 constitutes a 'gang'. So be they Crips. Bloods, or The Axe Gang (see Kung Foo Hustle) I needed to take action. I ushered my son into the house, gathered my flashlight and lemon scented Raid, and set out to distribute Suburban justice.

Got the inital three. Something odd in me loves the way spiders dance just as they realize they have been poisoned. Really funky! Then, my light spotted yet another group. Going around my house, I ended up slaying (to kill more than 10 counts as slaying) no less than 17 black widows and three cricket bystanders. I was astounded. I never knew how many creepy things come out at night surrounding my house.

But it wasn't over. I decided to go around the fence of my yard looking for spiders in the ivy. I did not get but 5 steps into the yard when a spider dropped down from a tree. Apparently, it's web went from the tree to the wall to the ground, spanning at least 5 feet. And it was not a normal spider. It was a monster. It was like Hagrid's spider from Harry Potter! And when I sprayed it, it had all these crazy kung-fu web moves like an eight legged ninja. I could barely keep my light focused on him, and when I swung to the right, I caught another one in my light. I sprayed him too and he fell to the ground.

I took a few more steps into the darkness of the yard and decided the spiders were only bound to get bigger as I went. As I was heading back to the house, I noticed that the second spider had crawled back up his web, crinkled up, and died swinging in the wind from his own web. To someone new on the scene, it would almost appear as if the spider commited suicide. I wondered if spiders had honor, and if killing oneself held more respect than being snuffed out by a blast of lemony fresh insecticide.

Anthony Butler - have you flipped your bisquit?!?!? What the hell are you talking about? How can this be related to anything of the last 20 years?

Twenty years ago, school lasted ffffooooooorrrrreeeeeevvvvveeeeeerrrrrrr. We were always waiting for the day to end, for the weekend to come, the year to be over. Then summer came and went in a flash and we did it all again. But in always looking forward - did we miss details? Did we remember everything we should have? What did we put aside as not important? We had nothing but time - in our minds - and things were not necessarily crucial to notice.

Now, to me, time is flying. My son is entering kindergarten and I can't believe he's not a baby. I am almost 40 (38 on September 2). My hair is now graying and I have been at my current job 6 years. One year blends into another. I find I am forced to pay attention. The minute details have become the major ones. No, not details about spider hunting, but the things I know I'll want to remember and need to pay attention to now. Granted, not everyone's experiences are the same as mine, but I'm willing to bet some of you have noticed this sort of change in attitude as the years pass for us.

Anthony "Spider Hunter" Butler

Au Contraire, Lucy Braker

Never would I compliment someone in a sophisticated sarcasm way. Though most of my snargy commentary is meant to illicit laughter, my compliments are always heart-felt, sincere, and genuine.

Anthony "I meant every word" Butler

Friday, August 24, 2007

Hey Now, Lucy!

Yes, I NOW know Johnny is in all the other yearbooks in our class. But when I didn't find him in our senior book next to you, I went to the class of '88s junior pictures and he wasn't there. Then I grabbed the year before us, and he wasn't in that graduating class. So I was getting awfully confused!

I didn't even know that snapshot was in that '86 yearbook. Thanks for pointing that out.

And, yes, my eyesight should most likely be added to my list of failings, though they are doing better than my other body parts.

My credit will hopefully be Amy Keating Rogers, though sometimes it ends up just Amy Rogers. I guess I'll find out in an hour! I'm glad your son watches the show! It's a fun one.

Amy

Amy, add one more item to your list...

Amy...you should go ahead and add "loss of sight" as your fourth aging woe... after I read your blog, I went and dug out my '86 Aerie, because I thought...now, I know Johnny didn't make the senior book, but he should have been in every other one...and, sure enough, in the '86 yearbook, not only is he there (as he is in every other book), right before me (you see...J. Braker comes right before L. Braker...that's the thing about twins...same age, same grade, etc.), your lovely smiling face is in the snapshot almost directly above him, you big dork!!! Had to go there...sorry for calling you out, girl! ;)

And to both you and Anthony...don't know about the gorgeous thing, but love the fact that at least someone relates the qualities of kindness and lovliness to me...I know it sounds kinda corny, but I love it! ;) Best compliment all year! Thanks, Mr. Butler! Assuming, of course, that statement is not included in your general overture of sophisticated sarcarsm...uh oh...now you got me thinkin'...

And by the way...so cool about Danny Phantom!!!! My 4-yr old watches all that stuff! Now we have personal ties to it...very cool! :) We'll be on the lookout for the "written by Amy Keating" credits...and I can say, "Hey Kobe...Mommy knows her!!!"

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

In Case Anyone Is Interested...

An episode I wrote of the animated series Danny Phantom will airing for the first time this Friday, September 24th, on Nickelodeon!

There's a Danny Phantom marathon on that day, but the one I wrote is called "D-Stabilized." According to my TiVo, it will be on at 1 EST and 4 PST, but check your local listings.

If you haven't seen it, Danny Phantom is a show about a boy with ghost powers. It's a cool series created by the same man who created The Fairly Oddparents. I was lucky enough to write this one episode in the final season of Danny Phantom. And I actually haven't seen the finished product, so I'll be watching it for the first time myself.

Check it out!

Amy

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Dora Atkinson

I have just received a personal e-mail from Dora Atkinson. It was brief, one sentence, in which she informed me that my blogs were "killing her".

This is just another example of the senseless "white-on-white" crime I have been trying to bring to the public eye for years. A perfectly good white woman, innocently using her computer to gain informtion (and possibly porn - I don't know, I don't judge) and she is killed by a white mans blog. What is this world becoming!?

Actually, my mother is Mexican so it is more of a "white-on-sort of a light mocha creme unless I'm in the sun and then I'm a gold-brown like a waffle" crime. That's too much to say. We'll leave it at "white on white" and you'll just know I am slightly darker than the average "white" person.

Dora, it is possible you just meant they make you laugh - and we had a lot of good laughs back in the day - so it's nice that 20 years has changed nothing.

Anthony "Antman" (do you remember that Dora?) Butler

It's True...

I will never be as gorgeous as Anthony Butler. He's been very kind over the years and not rubbed it in, knowing that it was a sore point that would never heal.

And since Anthony brought up (and Nanette confirmed) that aging has not been pretty, I will list the 3 things that are currently failing me as I get older.

1. My memory--In proof of this, I recently had an email exchange with Lucy Braker and she told me that her brother said, “Hi.” I wracked my brains trying to remember if I knew Lucy’s brother.

So then I went to our yearbook. No “Braker” brother in our graduating class. I looked in the years before and behind with other yearbooks. Still coming up with nothing, I finally admitted to Lucy that I didn’t remember her brother.

Well, as I’m sure many of you without failing memory know, Lucy has a twin brother John! I'd been in school with him since junior high. Embarrassing.

2. My hair color--More and more gray seems to be creeping through taking over where brown used to be. Thank goodness for highlighs and hair dye.

3. My boobs--Now I was hardly a busty lass in high school, but man, having kids did a number on what I have. My daughter often asks me why my "boobs hang down like that." I tell her it's because I gave her life. She then hands me my bra and I hoist them back up where they belong.

Amy

Margaret Bacon

Margaret,

When Lucy Braker thinks of you, she remembers "smiles, smiles, and more smiles".

When I think of you, I think of bacon. And then I want an Bacon Ultimate Cheeseburger from Jack in the Box.

That means 20 years later, you still make me drool, baby.

Of course now, I have to think of a Bacon-Smith Ultimate Cheeseburger. It's not the same.

Glad all is well with you.

Anthony "Horace on alternate nights" Butler

Let's Be Honest . . . .

Let's be honest . . . . most of you will never be as gorgeous as ME either. It's not just Lucy Braker.

But for $19.95 plus shipping, I will send you my book "How To Be As Funny As Anthony Butler Without Undressing". One woman from Winnemucca, Nevada bought my book and now she is the funniest person in Winnemucca*.(It wasn't that hard).

Still not enough? Well, I'll also throw in my DVD "Using Household Items As Joke Props". You can be the next Carrot Top in your own kitchen!

Wait there's more! Send your money now and you get a free bottle of my "Comedy Car Wax" and faux leather shammy. Now your pimped out ride can be as fly, fresh, and funny as you are!

*Results are not typical. You may or may not be funny as a result of using this product.

Anthony "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" Butler

Monday, August 20, 2007

Blog Invite--Again!

Yes, it's my monthly annoying email inviting folks, once again, to blog. Sorry if you are getting this when you've already joined. I do my best.

But, hey, let's get a move on people! Yes, we all can't be as funny as Anthony Butler or as gorgeous as Lucy Braker. But face it, we never were.

Or at least...I never was. I embraced this fact back in the 7th grade and moved on.

Really. I did (she writes, balled up in a corner, listening to her "Tears for Fears" album).

Seriously people, our reunion is 8 weeks away! Catch people up! Get chatting! Get BLOGGING!

Amy

Lucy Braker

Dear Lucy,

Of course I remember you. Loveliness and kindness are memorable qualities.

And I think I know that there was something you wanted to ask me but didn't want to make public on the BLOG. . . . . . . . . .

Well, the answer is YES, YES, a thousand times YES. I will be the centerfold in the next issue of your magazine. I feel truly flattered and it was silly of you to be afraid to ask.

Now, I'm not as thin as highschool so we may need a panoramic lense. And about a gallon of paint for airbrushing. But we can work out the details later. :)

Anthony "I've got a staple in my belly button" Butler

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Hello from Haase...

Hi everyone!
I've so enjoyed reading the blogs too and hearing what everyone's been up to... this whole 20 year thing is still unsettling to me - really 20 years? ugh...

I have kept in touch with a number of people from high school... Mindi, Caroline, Ken, Sue and look forward to reconnecting and seeing many others at the reunion!

My story is pretty similar... well not really... there are some key elements missing.

After high school I attended Pierce College shortly (Jen Mitchell and I did a study abroad program in Cambridge England which was a blast and a bit of a blur)... and then I was off to CSUN where I majored in Radio/Tv/Film... while in college I got involved in the music scene in Los Angeles working as a door girl at different clubs and meeting my then future husband, a musician, at one of the them... We dated for 8 years finally marrying in 1998 and sadly (actually not so sadly) divorcing 2 years later... proving to be one of the best decisions I ever made - the divorce that is.

During that time, I worked for 11 years in music video production back when they made music videos and was fortunate enough to represent some very talented directors at a great but now defunct production company called Satellite Films. After Executive Producing, I decided to get out of music videos and I switched careers in the business a year ago and am now wardrobe styling for commercials and loving it. I'm thoroughly enjoying the freelance life, being out of the office, traveling, and basically being paid to shop for a living... not so bad for a single girl!!

Although I don't have any kids (yet) I do get to enjoy my friends children and my brother Gary just had a beautiful little girl, Mika, who I just adore. Children can be like therapy or a nice distraction, at least for me since I don't have to bring them home!

That's it. That's my story basically...

I look forward to seeing everyone... such a weird nostalgic feeling... but only great memories from those high school days...
(wait I just remembered how I would have to carpool in junior high with Mrs Rudkin! - weird).

All the best,
Janet Haase

ps - I ran into Tina Ryan at the airport (who was recently on the same plane to London with her entire family) but now I can't find her info... She seemed great though - living in Santa Barbara working as a lawyer with her husband at their own firm. (god I hope i got that all right) - She also had a lot of gorgeous children! I can't remember how many though - maybe 5? 6?
and I'm pretty sure I remember who Margaret had a crush on!!

Greetings from Lucy....

Wow...I can't believe how addictive this blog has become...hate to admit it here (and Margaret...I probably fall under that category of "bloggin' looky-loos" (is that how you spell looky loos"?), but I do have to admit that I find myself checking this thing 2-3 times a day, just to see who's been bloggin'... Quite honestly, and maybe I'm just a gadget fool (I am the only one in my household that doesn't own her own IPOD, although I have recently elevated my "cool" factor by purchasing a brand new iMac...which nobody in my family is allowed to touch....), but this is actually the first time that I've ever blogged...I feel like a bloggin' virgin, and am actually quite intimidated by the whole concept...so much pressure to be witty and cool, and successful, and humble...waaaayyyyy too much pressure on a girl...but, before I get started on the quick recap of the past 20 years....wanted to make a few quick comments:

1) Anthony Butler...you kill me! ;) Way to just let it "hang out"...not quite sure if you remember me or not, but I always remembered you as being a "happy-go-lucky guy" who lived life his own way...glad to see things haven't changed! :)

2) Margaret Bacon-Smith - Just curious who you actually had a crush on in school...since you did mention it as one of the main reasons to trek on back to the valley this October.... ;) Just between you and I...wanna share???? ;) We'll make sure he shows up! ;) All I can think of, when I think of Margaret Bacon, is smiles, smiles, and more smiles...way to keep up that school spirit and rally the troops! And of course...have to remember the cool Northridge parties...right off of Wilbur Avenue! So glad to hear your parents are doing well!!!

3) Lisa, Carol, Amy, and Corrinne - Thanks for taking the lead (as always) and organizing what seems will be a great reunion! On behalf of our '87 class, your effort and hard work is much appreciated!!!

4) Kristine I-Wa-Fuchi!!!! - what's up, girl????? so great to hear from you!!!! My brother will probably kill me, but he always had a crush on you...ok...maybe I'll push my wine glass away now...or not! ;)

5) To Doug Nelson, Charles Burke, Jim McCue, Jodi Kyman, Jen, and everybody else who has written in...loved reading your updates...like Margaret, Lisa, Carol, and Amy have urged...for the rest of you...jump on in...would love to hear from you!

6) And, on a serious note...my heartfet condolences go out to the Woiwoide, Francis, and Vote family...can't believe they're gone...our prayers are with you...

7) For the rest of you...get up and blog!!! :)

ok...now that that's all said and done...let me set the mood...have to download some Berlin, some Prince, some Thompson Twins, some Joe Jackson, some Genesis, and some Phil Collins to bring me back to the day....


After graduation, I moved out to Tucson, AZ to attend the University of Arizona. Played, for a second, on the volleyball team in the off-season, and dabbled with classes here and there. During my sophomore year , I met my hubby, Glenn, (he claims he met me during my freshman year, but freshman year was a little "hazy"), and have been together ever since....just celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary, and have been together almost 20 years...crazy!!! Glenn played football at the U of A, is hugley involved in the community and now trains athletes full-time, as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the U of A Rugby team, the Pima College Football team, and other elite level athletes in Southern Arizona, to develop their speed, power, and performance training. A few weeks ago, I tried testing my shuttle run (which I used to be really good at...) and lost my balance on the first directional shift...Anthony...I hear you loud and clear! I still feel young and agile, but my body doesn't move like it used to 20 years ago...kind of frustrating...

Finally graduated 6, (or maybe 7) years later with a bachelor's in Business Management. Spent ages 18-24 as a college student and bartender...very fun. Spent ages 24-28 as a Sales Manager and Fitness Instructor at Bally's. After that, sold copiers, in the businessworld for about a year, then went to selling financial services, on a national level, for the next ten years, through 2005. Finally got to a point...way too much travelling selling something and schmoozing with people that I could care less about. In 2001, right before Sept 11, my mom got really ill...her 7 year bout with cancer was about t o take its toll, and three weeks after Sept 11, she passed away. For those curious, on more detail, go to http://www.tucsonsport.net/artman/publish/article_30.php...she is the inspiration behind my current project...

With Sept 11 happening and my mom passing away, it became very clear that life was way too precious to live it doing something I didn't care about, so I re-focused my priorities, and energies, and launched a magazine in Feb 2006 called Tucson SPORT...Embrace FAMILY. Engage SPORT. Celebrate LIFE. (www.tucsonsport.net) We're about a year and half into it, and its been a challenging and exhilerating ride, but I'm so excited to take it to the next level this year, as we combat the critical issues of childhood obesity, physical inactivity rates, and lack of physical education in our school systems. This is a picture of the Mayor of Tucson and I at a VIP reception I held last week, as we work together and try to establish Tucson as a global hub for community wellness. I was also blessed to have the 17th US Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona, who is on my Advisory board, attending, as well, who happened to give Tucson SPORT major props for supporting educational enrichment resources to promote health literacy in our schools...pretty cool.... :)

We're blessed with two beautiful, healthy, bright, and athletic kids, Haley, 12, and Kobe, 4. I'm gearing up to start coaching another season for my daughter's 7th grade volleyball team, and am looking forward to starting up my monthly golf outings, weekly tennis lessons, and weekly volleyball league again, now that school's back in session!
As you can see...sport is still with me, in a big way! :)




I think that wraps it up for now...sorry for taking so much space!

I'm looking forward to catching up with you all in the valley in October.

Hope this finds you all in good health and great spirits...
If anybody feels like reaching out, feel free to drop me an e-mail at lhowell@tucsonsport.net.

See ya! :)

Lucy (Braker) Howell

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

One More Thing

A lot of people have written in with some amazing things they have done. But they are all on the "normal" side. Great achievements - but within the boundaries of normalcy.

Isn't there anyone who lives on an island as the ruler of a small colony of talking shrimp? Holds the world record for the most nachos eaten in a minute while in a shark tank? Someone who married a sock puppet? Anyone? No? Oh well.

Anthony "Whoopi Goldberg's Love Child" Butler

Enough is enough

God forbid I should begrudge anyone their success or hapiness but really . . . . enough is enough. Story after story of these amazing lives and accomplishments (how come no one has crossed the boundaries of good taste and written about their freaky sex life?). Let's put some real facts of the last 20 years on the table.

Yes, I am talking about aging. You know what I am talking about. We did not all just flash forward 20 years as our younger persona. Looks like I'm going to have go first.

Let's start with hair. It's going. I tried to cover the fact with hats only to find they make it worse. I have been on the verge of deciding just to shave my head - but I don't think I have the face for it. What is left is beginning to gray or "salt and pepper" as most hairstyling chefs say. My "washboard abs" are now "washing machine abs" complete with matching dryer. Okay, I never had "washboard abs" to begin with. I have been walking and jogging for exercise lately, but man does it take longer to lose weight than it did before. My vision is going - I squint so much these days people just assume I am asleep most of the time. Things ache a little now - mostly my back. My son, who is now six, still considers himself light as a feather. However, yesterday as his arms were outstretched in "pick-me-up mode", I strongly considered giving him $5 to pick himself up. My blood pressure is up which my doctor found surprising for someone of my age. I told him come live in my house with 4 kids, 2 of which are teens. He shut his mouth and gave me a prescription.

Now, I meant all of this in jest. It's not really expected that anyone divulge such information in a friendly 20 year reunion blog. But other than what we have "done" in 20 years, I thought someone could at least comment on what has "happened" to us - or some of us. We're getting older, kids, and that is as much a part of our last 20 years as anything else.

So, if your ass is now stationed three inches lower or it takes you a little longer to spring out of bed - we're all in the same boat. And if you are taught, in shape, and feel like you did 20 years ago . . . . . . . . . . . I hate you. :)

Anthony "I'm too sexy for my walker" Butler

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Charles Burke - 20 years

As Doug already mentioned, we both joined the Army Reserve and went to basic training together. I stayed in for 9 years. Military Highlights: On a trip to Korea I was lucky enough to get on a tour of the Joint Security Area in the DMZ where negotiations are still held. We even got to take a few steps into North Korea because the meeting room we went into was split down the middle by the border. Part of the time, I was in the National Guard and was activated during the Rodney King officer sentencing in anticipation of further riots but nothing happened that year. The activation lasted just long enough to wreak havoc on my college semester but the instructors eventually allowed me to make up the work.

College took longer than planned for various reasons but I had an internship in my major so I felt I was at least making progress. I met my wife, Lori, in AA (urr…the Accounting Association) at CSUN. We both graduated with degrees in accounting and worked for public firms for several years. I worked with Ruth Hwang at one of the firms. I left accounting to switch into technology consulting towards the peak of the dot com boom. Later one of the consulting clients I worked for hired me and I still work there today. I manage the network and SAP Basis at a footwear and apparel company. I completed my MBA a few years ago and have been at my existing job for 8 years now. Lori and I have been married eleven years and have a 2 year old son named Bradley. We waited a long time to have a child because we were focused on our careers and wanted to travel. Traveling is one of our favorite hobbies. We went to places like Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. I have also traveled to some interesting places for work including China and the Netherlands.

We lived in Encino and Tarzana for many years but moved out to Camarillo a few years ago for the mild weather and to get away from the traffic and congestion.

Monday, August 6, 2007

Need help covering reunion costs?

Jim McCue, are you trying to tell me that taking care of your family, work and sloshball come before mailing in your reunion registration?! You'll have to get your priorities straight some day!

A reminder to all... If you need help covering the cost of the reunion, please email and let me know! We did our best to keep the ticket price down, but L.A. is an expensive place. We have classmates who have offered to sponsor fellow classmates. And other classmates who have offered up frequent flyer miles, so please contact us if we can help. And keep those replies rolling in!

Sunday, August 5, 2007

Jim McCue - 20 Years Later

First off, it’s nice that things got organized enough that we are having our 20-year reunion after 20 years. Always found it amusing that we waited 12 years to pull together the 10-year reunion.
Anyway, the 20 years that have passed have been full of partying, studying, working, parenting, and facing challenges. To start, I left the Valley and ventured all the way to Malibu to spend four years of school at the beach. I earned my degree in Telecommunications (Broadcasting) with the thought that I would move quickly on to a job in television. As it turns out, getting work in television took more than just sending out resume tapes to small markets all over the country. After calling all parts of the country in search of just an opening, the only opportunity was a weekend sports job in Bakersfield – and my resume tape was just one of more than 100 applicants…for a job in BAKERSFIELD!

Jim and Zach at Sea World (July 2007)

In need of cash to support my desire to continue my college consumption habits, I turned to sportswriting and banking. I covered prep sports for the Orange County Register and then the Contra Costa Times for a number of years and moved around the Bay Area while I was with the Times. I also had the opportunity to cover a handful of A’s and Giants games as well as a couple of Niners practices during the summers. Everything that has been said about Barry Bonds (re: attitude toward the media and general mood) is all true. He is perhaps the biggest a—hole I have ever met.

One of the reasons for moving North was my wife, Tricia. We met through Brian Altman as she and Brian both worked for Intel in Folsom. She later took a job with Intel in Santa Clara and we moved to various locations before finally moving in together in Fremont a year before we got married. Tired of working late nights (sports shifts usually go from 3-11 PM) and getting paid very little, I found/created a new position of media relations director for the California League of Professional Baseball in 1995. It allowed me the opportunity to work semi-regular hours, watch lots of baseball, and to travel to exotic locations like Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore, Visalia, and Stockton. I did get to travel to Durham, NC as part of the California League contingent at the annual California-Carolina League All-Star Game.

Jim and Nathan at Mission Beach, San Diego (July 2007)

Eventually, Tricia and I decided that we were ready to become homeowners, so we looked outside of the Bay Area (we wanted something more than an 800 square foot shack which was all we could afford in the Bay Area). Tricia took a job back in Folsom, I returned to sportswriting with the Auburn Journal, and we moved into our first home in Folsom in 1998.

Madison at SD Zoo (July 2007)

I again tired of the hours and crap pay of sportswriting and began what has been an 8-year stint in marketing in the environmental consulting industry. I currently work for a firm called EDAW, which is headquartered in San Francisco and has more than 30 international offices.

On the family front, we had out first child, Madison, in 2001 and she will start first grade in a week. She is a constant blur of energy and tries to entertain anyone and everyone that comes across her path. After much work, we had our second child in 2005. Nathan is now 2 ½ and has been our greatest blessing and challenge. After about 2 months, we thought that he was not hitting his milestones, so we started to look into what might be wrong. Long story short – Nathan has severe neurological issues due to the fact that his brain did not properly develop prior to birth. He has global developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and a seizure disorder, to name just a few of his challenges. He is a small boy for his age, but he is essentially a 2-year-old with the physical and mental aptitude of a 3-6 month old. It has been a very trying challenge, but also a truly strengthening experience for our entire family (if you are interested in any further information about our family and Nathan’s issues, in particular, feel free to visit our blog at http://mccue-folsom.blogspot.com/).

Eventually and somewhat miraculously, we had our third and final child, Zachary, in August 2006. Our greatest fear was that Nathan’s condition may have been genetic (even though all tests said otherwise), so we were both thrilled and scared throughout the entire pregnancy. Today, he is a thriving, energetic baby boy that we can hardly keep up with.

Jim and Tricia at Disneyland (December 2005)

We still enjoy getting out to travel and have made several trips to Southern California for the kids to enjoy Disneyland and San Diego and we occasionally make it to Indiana to visit Tricia’s family.

These days, I find myself working and trying to keep up with the kids. I do enjoy beer league softball once a week (Altman has been a teammate for the last 8 years or so) and an occasional round of golf, but family and work consume most of my time. I am planning to attend the reunion (I will get the registration stuff done as soon as I have a minute, Lisa Macias) and look forward to seeing the people and campus since I have not been back to Chaminade for at least 16-18 years.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Hi everybody...from Margaret Bacon Smith

It has been so fun reading about all of you, everyone has been doing such great and interesting things....i want more people to write in. I know for a fact that a lot of my friends from highschool are reading the blog...hopefully they will write in too. Yea, you heard me. If you don't "blog", I will "blog" for you and make stuff up. 20 years...ok here it goes. But first...listen to Lisa Macias and send your invite in...I want to see you all there...it's going to be so fun. Don't blow it off. We went to school with a great group. At least won't it be fun to see everyone you had a crush on in high school? Or those you thought were jerks and see how they turned out? Ok, I just had a flashback trying to get everyone to come to a pep rally or bake sale, so I will stop now.

Upon graduation, I went to UCLA and majored in Political Science. I loved UCLA. My senior year I lived in Spain with Undine (Mulokas) Petrulis, Paige (Herron) Sefton, and Katie (Miller) Lewis. We all went to different colleges but had a great semester in Europe. I knew I wanted to be in entertainment and got an internship at a talent agency and worked my way up to agent. I was an agent representing actors in film and TV for 10 years. It's an intense job with a lot of crazy people and I knew I didn't want to do it forever. After 10 years, I switched to repping a smaller number of actors as a manager and have had my own company for almost 4 years.

In 1998, I met my husband Rob Smith and we were married in 2000. Rob is in the entertainment business and produces reality televsion shows. In October 2003 we had our son Ben, followed 19 mos later by Hanah Bea and a short 16 mos later by Annabel Jane. Yes, I have three kids under 3 1/2. Good times. We live in Cheviot Hills (the site of the original Chaminade campus fyi). It's just south of Westwood in West LA. Last summer my husband, 2 1/2 year old and 1 year old moved into my parents house in Northridge while we remodeled our house and gave birth to the third. If any of you came to a party at my house in highschool, that's where we lived . It was actually an awesome experience. For those of you who remember my parents, I am proud and grateful to say that my dad turned 93 this past May and is doing awesome. He got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in April and went to his 70th college reunion at Notre Dame in June. When we were graduating in '87 he was going back for his 50th. My mom is great too...busy with her 8 grandkids. My brother Jim '84 is married and has four boys and my brother Tom '86 is married to "gasp" Jill Tregillis '87. I know...but I have gotten over it now...it doesn't even bug me anymore when she gets drunk at Christmas and starts going on and on about what a bitch i was in high school and that The Cure is the greatest band that ever lived. All kidding aside...she is just the best sister in law and they have an adorable three year old Kathryn Margaret Bacon aka Kate.

I still keep in touch with most of my friends from Chaminade and would love to see some of my long lost friends as well. How's everyone from the drama department doing? I loved being in the plays. A definite highlight. Well, I look forward to seeing you all at the reunion. And thanks to Lisa, Carol, Amy and everyone else for organizing. They are doing a great job.