Assignment Tuesday

So, you know how I mentioned about Miranda July's "Assignments" yesterday? And how I might try some? Since I shamlessly suffer from "overshare", I thought I'd post my efforts here. You might see one of these every Tuesday. (I like setting up new rituals).

This is my first one.

List five important things in your 1984. These are things that had a major impact on you during the year 1984. They can be personal, political, cultural, animal or whatever. Each important event should be summarized in one sentence.

1. My oldest sister moved out of the house.
2. I became a TEENager.
3. I had my first real romantic kiss.
4. Stevie Berg died unexpectedly of a brain tumor.
5. I saw Purple Rain.


What can I say, I was 12 turning 13 that year. Major important stuff for me was, umm, a little trifling. I'm not sure I could even write more than a sentence for each of these, but since we're already here, I'll explain a little more.

1). My sister moving. This would be Kate/Kathy. She moved in with her now husband. When she left, we went from all 3 girls sharing a room, to just me and Robyn sharing a room... a lateral move, really. Robyn and I fought like rabid cats, mostly over the phone, who was messy (me) and who was a clean freak (HER...she STILL squeegees her shower so you don't leave soap residue, y'all, I'm not kidding). I wouldn't get my own room for another little while.

2)TEENager. Oh don't even pretend you didn't count down the days til you were no longer a KID.

3). oh yes, the kiss. Ha! I would say who it was but in this age of Google, I'd be afraid he'd find himself written about here and think I'm still obsessing over it.

4) Stevie was the biggest guy in our 7th grade class. Sort of the bullying type, the one that made you think that, even though you were starting to have crushes on some of them, boys were still gross. Though when I think about him now, I realize that he was just an awkward kid who didn't communicate well. If he had lived, we probably would have been friends later on. But as it was, he was a jerk and I didn't like him. He went home one Friday with a bad headache. He died that Monday from complications from a brain tumor. It scared the living shit out of me. That someone our age could die like that without any warning. It was my first brush with mortality.. and with major guilt at not having been nicer to him. It made me grow up a little, much more than just turning 13.

5). Back in my time, you didn't know about s-e-x at that age unless you had Cable TV (which we didn't). Purple Rain was the first rated R movie I ever saw. I was totally scandalized and still totally think Prince rocks to this day.

okay, now you.