Firsts
From Libby, Susan, Violeta and various other blogs…
1. Who was your first prom date? His name was George, and he was my friend’s boyfriend, but she didn’t want to go to what was called the Sixth Form Dance (private, anglophile school that it was) with a junior. So she went with a fellow senior, and I took George! And yes, it was every bit as awkward as it sounds.
2. Do you still talk to your first love? No; the last time we talked was when he called to say he and his wife were expecting their first child, and I told him I was getting married. I think he still lives nearby, though.
3. What was your first alcoholic drink? Probably something ghastly like rum and coke. I was in high school.
4. What was your first job? I started working as a mother’s helper for neighbors when I was twelve or so, and then in high school I worked as a cashier in a hardware store, and then several summers working in various offices of the hospital where my mom worked.
5. What was your first car? A 1990-something Nissan Sentra, bought used from Libby. It was a good little car, but it was totaled when somebody turned left into me on Fell Street here in San Francisco.
6. Who was the first person to text you today? Nobody. Tony occasionally texts me.
7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning? Eli.
8. Who was your first grade teacher? Miss Nesbit, I think? (Mom, do you remember?!) I can remember all my other elementary school teacher’s names but I am blanking on this one.
9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane? I think to the Philippines with my parents when I was a baby. The story goes that the immigration officials failed to stamp my passport on the way in, and so were disinclined to let my parents return to Japan with me. I guess they thought my parents were stealing me? Obviously it all worked out.
10. Who was your first best friend, and are you still friends with him/her? Anne, in elementary school, whose house I could get to by squeezing through the fence behind our house, sprinting down a mean old man’s driveway (because every childhood needs a mean old man in it somewhere), and crossing the street. We’ve lost touch.
11. What was your first sport played? Softball, in 5th grade. I was on a team called the Firecrackers and I played right field (read, wasn’t any good). We won one game and went out to Baskin Robbins for ice cream to celebrate.
12. Where was your first sleepover? At Anne’s house. We did a seance to try to hypnotize our friend Sarah, and I was so unsettled by the whole experience I pretended I was sleepy and curled up in the corner in my sleeping bag.
13. Who was the first person you talked to today? Eli. I said, “Good morning, sweetie!” with more enthusiasm than I felt.
14. Whose wedding were you in the first time? Libby‘s! I was in high school, working some boring summer job, when Libby flew home from LA to deal with the caterer and get a picture taken and make various other arrangements. She and my mom would go bridesmaid dress-scouting in the afternoons (I was the only one in the wedding party, so I got to wear whatever Libby and I agreed on), and they would pick me up after work and take me to various stores to try on the dresses they’d found. It remains one of the best shopping experiences of my life.
15. What was the first thing you did this morning? Cuddle up with Eli and Ben.
16. What was the first concert you ever went to? The Cure, Madison Square Garden, probably 1985. Jennifer and I took the train to the concert, and the other people — all pierced and gelled and dark eye shadowed — kind of scared us.
17. What was your first tattoo or piercing? Pierced ears, maybe 3rd grade? My godmother gave me gold studs for Christmas, and I got my ears pierced shortly after that.
18. What was the first foreign country you went to? The Philippines when I was a baby (see above), and then Russia when I was two. I moved to the United States when I was five.
19. What was your first run-in with the law? Fall 1990. I was involved in an anti-war demonstration in Union Square Park, and I stepped on to a pedestal to see better when one of New York’s finest told me to get down or he would shoot me in the knees. I understand that protesters and police are not generally on the best terms, but still, I never even spoke to the man. I got down right quick.
20. When was your first detention? I’ve never had detention.
21. What was the first state you lived in? Connecticut.
22. Who was the first person to break your heart? Oh, number 2, I guess. I’m over it.
23. Who was your first roommate? Aside from tent-mates in camp (whose names I forget), I had three, my first year in high school: Anna, Nina, and Shana. The older girls in the dorm would come to our room and sing “Three of these girls belong together, one of these girls just doesn’t belong!” Nice.
24. Where did you go on your first limo ride? I’ve never been in a limo.
I get such a kick out of these!