May 03, 2003 - 5:09 p.m.

Is It Really Worth It?

I got a surprising email on Thursday. It claims that I won a seven day cruise for two on an internet sweepstakes. I was initially very skeptical. I get telemarketers calling all the time to tell me I have won a Chevy Tahoe or a year's subscription to Fisherman's Weekly, but in actuality, one has to buy a time-hare in Iowa or enough Wheetabix to feed a nursing home for a year to claim said prizes. The sweepstakes is run by a website I have visited in the past, though I don't specifically recall having registered for a sweepstakes. I may well have done it on a whim and promptly forgotten all about it since the last thing I won was an elephant shaped wicker planter at a church bingo game when I was about nine. That's how not lucky I am. (Speaking of lucky, my big brother is in Vegas this weekend - maybe he'll win a ton of money and take me on another European trip!) Anyway, the email told me to call or email with my mailing address so they can mail me a packet with the information on how to redeem my free cruise. I am trying not to get my hopes up in case it's a hoax, but how cool would it be if it's for real? Sam has already looked up itineraries that fall during my vacation in July... One is an Alaska cruise... I bet Alaska is gorgeous in July! :) I called the people and left a voice mail with my address yesterday. I am going to call again on Monday and see if I can talk to a person and find out what the catch is. I'll keep everyone posted!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled entry! My travels to Chattanooga yesterday were kind of interesting. On my first flight, which was delayed about an hour, my seat was missing half of the seat belt! I had the part you put in the buckle but no buckle and not even a strap on the left side. I dug around in the space between the seats and still couldn't find it. The flight attendant couldn't either! Finally she had to find an extra seat belt section, pull up my seat cushion, and install the spare seat belt. How weird is that? Did someone take half a seat belt as a souvenir or something? Bizarre. On my second flight, I was seated right next to the galley area where the carts of drinks and such are stored. As we took off, on of the doors to a cart came flying open and two trays of cans of soda slid out and crashed to the floor, narrowly missing the knees of a man behind me. Yikes! Neither episode was particularly serious, but neither was exactly reassuring either.

It's been good to hang out with my parents a bit. I realized as I was flying in that I hadn't been to Chattanooga in more than a year and a half. I've seen my parents a couple times since then, but in other places. After they picked me up at the airport we went out to lunch and just talked and talked. It was nice to be able to chat about unimportant things without thinking about phone bills or having to type emails and such. It is really a shame that we live so far apart, because, unlike some of my friends, I would be overjoyed to be able to see my parents on a weekly basis. We get along really well. Then we hung out at home and I got to meet the new dog, Feather. She is just awesome! She's cute in a slightly scruffy way, super friendly without being jumpy and obnoxious, and very fun to play with. I've been here about 27 hours and I thin we've already played about 18 games of fetch and had 8-10 tug of war matches. :) I think I may try to smuggle her home in my carryon.

Last night my Mom and I went to dinner with Bafley and her Mom and little Jamie, who is not quite two. We had a great time telling stories, most of which involved the ridiculous things Baf and I did back in high school together, laughing at Jamie (who is a total flirt), and gawking at the get-ups that apparently pass for prom dresses this year (there was a prom being held in the hotel where we had dinner). One particularly hideous frock was concocted of some vivid lime green fabric and plenty of sequins and was about 3 sizes too small for the rather large girl who was wearing it. Ick. It almost made me lose my appetite!

Today was the alumae picnic at our high school. The school has changed a lot! it encompassed grades 7-12 when we went there, but since then they have added 6th grade and a whole new middle school building to accomodate more students. It was a nice school to begin with, aesthetically speaking, but now it is practically posh! Many of the hallways have rich wood wainscotting, it is tastefully painted, and there are lovely patios with benches and tables and chairs scattered here and there. No wonder it costs as much as a decent college in annual tuition to go there! It is an excellent school, and the public schools around here are mostly terrible, but I wonder if it's really worth a small fortune. And why is the money being spent on fancy paneling and pretty artwork rather than on scholarships (for girls like I was who couldn't afford the outrageous tuition)and better teacher salaries? Maybe the look of the school is meant to impress alums so they will give even more money to the school, but it has the opposite effect on me, I must say. Why should I give to them? The school looks as though it's rolling in endowment dollars!

Anyway, we had lunch and made small talk with the 8 or 10 other girls from our class and their husbands. There were 5 babies in attendance and one on the way. Apparently it's baby season for women my age, not that I am taking that to heart at all. Working with kids 50 hours a week has slowed my biological clock way down! As suspected, a couple of people who wouldn't give up the time of day when we were in school acted thrilled to see us. None of the people I had hoped to see were there today, except Baf of course, but more people are supposed to be attending the class party tonight. We'll see what is in store there. It cost us $40 each and there will be a cash bar, so it will be interesting to see what exactly all that money is going toward!

I should probably go get changed for the party since I have to leave in about 45 minutes, though!

�

flutter back - fly ahead