Through the Past Dorkily: Couldn't Stand the Weather

Editor's note: Through the Past Dorkily is a recurring feature that looks back at the embarrassingly dorky diary I kept as a 16-year-old in 1984.

Wednesday, May 30, 1984

Song of the day: Burning Down One Side - Robert Plant

Top 5 at Five
1. Round and Round - Ratt
2. Magic - The Cars
3. My Oh My - Slade
4. Voices - Russ Ballard
5. Bringin' on the Heartbreak - Def Leppard

Well, I finally got the job! Welcome to the ranks of the employed! Yah!

I got up around 9:30; my first good night's sleep in a while. I retaped "Permanent Waves" and "Pictures at Eleven." Then at 2:15 [a buddy] came over and we went down to Market Basket. I thought there would be a long line for interviews. Ha! I was the only one there! The guy said I'd work in grocery, stacking stuff on shelves, etc. Not difficult. I'd be working 3-10 3 days a week. I start on Monday. Bad news, sort of. Mom got the day job, but her hours are 9:30 to 6 or something like that. She doesn't start for a while, but when she does, I'm gonna haveta get rides there. She can pick me up at night.

Uh oh. I'm dead. I couldn't do any kind of report for Civics and now I'll lose 20 points on my grade. Tomorrow I haveta go and beg for mercy. I need some divine intervention. Help!

- The Barbarian (joins the work force)

Thursday, May 31, 1984

BONZO BONHAM'S BIRTHDAY

Song of the day: Slow an' Easy - Whitesnake

Top 5 at Five
1. My Oh My - Slade
2. Round and Round - Ratt
3. Couldn't Stand the Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan
4. Eyes Without a Face - Billy Idol
5. Pink Cadillac - Bruce Springsteen

Well, interesting day. It rained like crazy all day. [Civics teacher] gave me 2 weeks to come up with 10 hours of public service and a 5-page report. Sure beats a zero!

I got moved again in Geometry, lectured in Bi Sci, yelled at in Algebra and yelled at again in Prep for College. Wow!

[Cute girl I like] said she'd give me a ride to work whenever we work the same days. What a babe! As it turns out, Mom has to work on Monday now, so I'll need a ride then, too. Interesting note: I don't think she's going with [dude] after all. They're never together or anything. I think I just jumped to conclusions.

As I was leaving the school, I saw [ex-gf] talking to [her ex-boyfriend before me] at one of the benches. Boy, is she messed up!

Good news: Mom said I could have the car next Wednesday! Yaah! This is great! Now what we need is some nice weather next week!

Goodbye May!

- The optimistic Barbarian

Friday, June 1, 1984

Song of the day: Stick It - Great White

Top 5 at Five 
1. My Oh My - Slade
2. Round and Round - Ratt
3. Legs - ZZ Top
4. Couldn't Stand the Weather - Stevie Ray Vaughan
5. The Reflex - Duran Duran

The weather sucked again. Tomorrow's supposed to be sunny. I hope so!

[Cute girl I like] said she'll give me a ride on Monday. I promised to give her a ride to the beach on Wednesday. Hope it's nice weather!

I did good on Algebra and French tests, alright on Bi Sci test, and I got a 0 on the Prep for College quiz.

[Civics teacher] changed her mind about the 2 weeks and said I could do an oral report on Monday. Great.

The prom pictures weren't at school. Great.

Jeremy told me on the way home that [ex gf] was back together with her ex, sort of. She's going on a date with him or something. And he's still with [his current girlfriend]! Boy, those three are all messed up! She just doesn't know what's good for her. He's just using her, like he did before. Well, that's her problem now. I don't really care anymore.

And guess what else! Jeremy invited [classmate] to the party and you know who she's bringing along? Right. [Ex gf]. In spite of that fact, I'm going to have a good time. I hope.

- The Barbarian

Saturday, June 2, 1984

Song of the day: Still Loving You - Scorpions

Whew! What a day! The weather was pathetic! It rained all day.  

The SAT wasn't that hard. I hope I did good on it! We were there till 12. I had to wait another half hour for Mom to come. After that we went shopping. I got some mirrored sunglasses, some white shirts, dress shoes and this totally loud, obnoxious and awesome Hawaiian shirt! It's great.

About 5 minutes after we got home, Jeremy called and said he'd pick me up in 30 minutes. At [his girlfriend's] house, we watched MTV for an hour. We watched the top 20 countdown. Rush's "Distant Early Warning" was number 6!! It's awesome!

[Girl who supposedly likes me] didn't show up, but around 12 people did. It started off slow, but picked up after a while. It was this guy's birthday and he and 2 other guys kept hitting on [ex gf]. And guess what? I think they're going together now! Geez! Talk about fickle! She acted like she was in love! I can't believe it!

A bunch of guys were mooning cars outside and later on I joined in. We mooned 2 cards and the third one was a cop! We took off! There was a cruiser waiting for us for a while! That was a close one!

What a blast! Everyone left around 11.

- The (Moon Patrol) Barbarian

Postscript: I had forgotten what a struggle it was without a car. Even having landed a job and having a driver's license, I still had two working parents whose jobs obviously took precedence. So I had to bum rides constantly from friends and co-workers. Still, it was a pretty exciting time, although the luster quickly wore off when I was wearing that hideous blue Market Basket smock and unloading food trucks in the summertime. 

I also had forgotten that I struggled at all in high school. Not sure if it was because I goofing off too much or what, but I don't remember all these crappy grades. 

More girlfriend drama, or at least ex-girlfriend drama. Hey, I guess teenage girls can be pretty confused about this stuff, too. Which I'm going to find out firsthand in a few years when my daughters hit that age.