Category: Grade Nine

bookmark_bordersome of us may have loved Van Halen more

Posted on by Christine Elias

I am from Scarborough. To be very specific, I moved there as a teenager but no matter, I lived there when Big Hair Metal ruled.

I am a wee bit younger than Mike Meyers but we are from the same neck of the woods. Wayne’s World may have taken place Aurora, Illinois but we all know that Mr. Meyers grew up in Scarborough. And he did not spend his spare time at Stan Makita’s.

And we all loved KISS. Well, some of us may have loved Van Halen more but everyone on my block was a member of the KISS Army nonetheless.

In retrospect — after listening to a few KISS tunes while drafting this — I think my love for the music has not endured as much as my love for big sexy boots.

bookmark_borderMy brief flirtation with the popular crowd

Posted on by Christine Elias

Grade 9 was the start of my flirtation with the popular crowd.

Somehow, I managed to wrangle my way into this clique of popular girls. Thinking back, they may have been the B-list — and not the girls from the grade nine stratosphere of cool — but they were very popular nonetheless and I was one of them. We smoked cigarettes and wore Jordache jeans — we were it.

Funny thing is, I ran into one of the girls (women!) last month on the way to work. She recognized me … I must admit I did not recognize her at first. (Christine Elias? Is that you?)

Too bad it was so early in the morning. I am not a morning person and I fear I was not very friendly. If it were not 8 am — we could have had a nice chat. I am hoping we see each other again so I can be warmer. Turns out she works in business … she was dressed for an office. I was dressed for work too but I did not look like I was heading for an office. It was casual Friday and I can take that literally.

All we managed to say is where we worked. I think she was a bit surprised I had a job job given my attire that day. She perked up a bit when I threw her my title. She looked quite grown up in a very smart suit. I wonder if she still runs with those girls. I wonder if they all work in offices, too.

I wonder what became of them. I don’t stay up at night and wonder or anything … not to worry. I am not one of those who peaked in high school and don’t spend time dwelling on the best years of my life — they weren’t. I enjoyed my high school years, but university was a lot more fun. And grown up life is even more fun given disposable income and the abundance of shoe stores in my neighbourhood. (More on this later. I also ran into someone a few years ago who did peak in high school. And that was an experience I will share in an upcoming missive.)

Anyway, I ran with that cool crowd until grade 11 or so. I am not sure if I was booted out in some “Mean Girls” brouhaha or if I just switched groups. I guess I would remember if it were traumatic … so I don’t think it was.