Sunday, January 29, 2012

Lauren’s Journal Keep Out 96-97 (1990’s)

Sometimes I blame winter (no sun by the time I get home = no natural light = no good photos) for my lack of attention to Salt and Roast, but I think the real struggle comes from the fear that in fifteen years, I will look back on it the way I do the following collection of writing:

Journal cover

(Obviously the intended subtext is: if you are reading this in 2697 or 5496, this priceless document is from the 1990’s. (Editor’s note: That’s A.D.!))

Inside the front cover, I glued a 1991 penny. Next to it, I wrote “1991 penny (big deal!)” Next to the penny I included the words “cursive” (written in cursive), “parallelogram,” and “quadrilatearl” (almost!).  The pasted relics of 1996--including wool at various stages of cleanliness--are mysterious entries in the journal, whereas the prose is transparent and ripe for analysis a decade (and a half) later.

Regarding my Himalayan cat: Whenever I get him new water, he bites my ankles when I come down the stairs! He pretends to be a tiger and pounces at your feet whenever he gets the chance! One time he barfed up a hairball.

Bipolar reflections on schoolwork: I don’t like homework. It’s boring. It’s no fun. Some people like homework. Sometimes homework is fun. I hate homework! (Sometimes.)

Reaction to a mime: Today we saw a mime today.

I can’t agree more: I hate having a binder because my “not hole” papers get smushed!

Amidst the comic gold is a self-awareness that makes me want to write back to Fourth Grade Lauren (perhaps directly in the notebook, as I did as a fifth and seventh grader) and say: “I wish you would have written everything you held back!”

Do you want to know something weird? When you are in 2nd grade or first grade, you think up things that at the time are cool, but when you are in 3rd gr. you think they are dumb.  I bet when I am in 5th grade I will think what I’m writing now is dumb.

Marginalia: Hi! This is me as a 5th grader and I was kind of right and wrong about this.

Well, as long as it’s both, I’ll have a recipe soon!