Its back to the future Monday MKF

[friskylez]

I thought this would make an interesting daily thread..My 30 yr high school class reunion was this weekend..Unfortunately i couldnt attend, but i was able to get in touch with an old friend from HS and we decided she would call me from at least one of of the events and pass the phone around so i could talk to people i havent seen in 30 yrs..

Well my phone rang yesterday and i talked to my best friend from HS whom i havent seen or talked to since we graduated..Its was like nothing had changed, she sounded exactly the same and had the same wonderful laugh...

I chatted with her and others for a little while about our lives and whether we were doing what we thought we would be doing 30yrs ago..The plans we made, the different paths our lives took..I can assure you my life is nothing like i had imagined it would be in 1972..

I was going to be a world famous investigative journalist, perhaps winning a Pulitzer along the way..I thought id find the love of my life and we would still be together...I never imagined a disease called aids, nor did i imagine that i would have a multitude of gay friends die from it..

So with that in mind perhaps the older kittens could muse about whether their
lives turned out "as planned" and for the younger ones what do you hope to be doing in the future and what changes do you think you might see in the world..

As for the girls, what do you think W/T might be doing 30 yrs from now and what do you think they might be up to...I have a feeling W/T would still be a couple and grow old very gracefully..

[mollyig]

Glad to know I'm not the only one being all reflective, and nostalgic.

Firstly, its my last year in my twenties, hitting the big 30 next January. And secondly, today marks my sixth year in my current job, so naturally I've been thinking about my childhood dreams. Never thought I'd end up where I am now! I was going to ramble around the world writing poetry. Instead I stayed put here in Ireland. But I am, for the most part, happy in my work at least, not like in the job I had before this. So that's something.

No doubt about it, Willow and Tara would still be together, in a house with a big garden that Tara tends to when she's not teaching (for some reason I see her as a teacher). Willow'd be into computers, which by that time will probably be watch sized!

[skittles]

I went to my HS reunion last fall. I didn't like it. I didn't want to be there, but one of my best friends from HS (& after) wanted me there. The things we do for our friends.

Yes, my life is very different from what I was certain it would be when I was younger, although at that time I did want to be a teacher. I thought that I would be teaching special education in elementary schools. Now, I prefer high school & lessons that result in real life outcomes, as opposed to academic dreams. Both have their place, but I would rather see people with skills that allow them to get the most out of their lives. Job skills & knowledge that allows them free choice, not imposed limits. [Enough with the lecture.]

Yes, my life is different, but I'm glad that I've been able to move with the changes & adapt. I do hope that I will be given the opportunity to travel & visit the many people & places that I've wanted to see.

[Rosenberg]

Well friskylez, it looks like were pretty much from the same generation. 30 years ago, I was attending high school and not really thinking too much about the future. I had some goofy notions of being a clinical psychologist, an anthropologist or a librarian, and then I decided it might be cool to be a forester. Needless to say, none of those came to pass, although I did get a degree in library science. I never pictured myself as an accountant, nor did I see myself joining the Navy, but I guess the best-laid plans of mice, men and high school students oft go astray. I never did visualize myself as being married though, so I must have had a clue even back then.
        I havent attended any of my high school reunions, and I dont intend to attend my 30th either when the time comes. I never cared for most of the people in high school and I have no great desire to associate with them now. I still have my best friend from back then, and we just got together this past weekend, so thats about as much of high school as I care to reminisce about. No, things didnt turn out as planned, but life is what happens while youre busy making plans.       
        As far as Willow and Tara are concerned, they would still definitely be together and very much in love, as long as they stay away from second story windows. I can see Willow being on the cutting edge of whatever the latest technology might be 30 years from now. Tara is a little more difficult for me to figure. I wouldnt be surprised to see her as a teacher or maybe doing some type of artistic, creative work.

[KJchicago]

Frisky - Hey, that's a cool story!

Rosenberg - I want to just call you "legs" now since seeing you in the skirt

I went to my ten year, but I skipped my 20 year which was last year (yes class of '81). I am not good about keeping in touch with people from my past.

Hope kittens are all well today. Back at work blah Monday for me (I had Friday off so makes coming back even worse than usual).

So, hey kittens do I look like I am 39? - shameless plug for my Toronto pics. Amber totally ROCKS!
kj_chicago.tripod.com/T-t..._pics.html

[Chino6069]

EUGH ! High School. I hated it then and there is no way I would go back.

Luck for us in the UK we don't really go in for the HS Reunion malarky. I never really kept in touch with anyone from there either. Oh sure I've looked at Friends Reunited and I can still see that I have nothing in common with them now, just as it was all those years ago.

I'm not living near my family in the US like I thought I would be,tho' I do visit them as often as I can and we keep in touch a lot now since they joined the computer age - at last.

I am happily living with my gf in our lovely apartment and at the ripe old age of 42 I am now taking the steps to a career in work that I really enjoy. I'm not as healthy as I would like to be, I've been kinda sick these last five years but I'm healthier than some so I can't complain much there.

I am, in the most part - happy with my lot, tho I wouldn't say no to a big Lotto win this week

Back then I thought I knew the answers to everything, today I don't even know the questions! As for the W/T question - I forget that too (they say the memory is the first thing to go!) I'll let someone else answer it. I just hope that they would still be together in 30 years time and be as happy, if not more so that they were in their school days.

Peace and Love to All.

[ninjitsugrrl]

KJchicago - Your Toronto pics are awesome! So many gorgeous shots of Amber, you are one lucky gal to have met her!
Well, I don't know about reunions, etc. I'm just 20 so I haven't had any type of high school reunion yet but, when I do, I doubt I'll go. I rather hated high school and was quite glad to get out. The few people I liked, I still keep in touch with anyway.
Anyway, I hope everyone is having a decent Monday!

[KJchicago]

ninjitsugrrl - thanks; I am very lucky. I checked out your home page. How can Amber be 4th on your list??? She's #1 on mine. Except don't tell my partner because I am happily married for over six years

[Rosenberg]

Rosenberg - I want to just call you "legs" now since seeing you in the skirt

GeezI dont think Im ever going to live that down!

Very nice Amber pics by the way and no, you dont look a day over 29.

[Dave V]

Hey, KJchicago. I graduated in '81 as well. In high school I wanted to become a physician, like my parents before me. That never happened. I am happy working in IT, and am married to a wonderful woman who tolerates my eccentricities. I still see those few from high school that I liked - we were all geeks and nerds back then, way not the "in" crowd. I grew up, learned how to fight, and how not to care about others' opinions.

I see Willow working in AI, making non-treacherous (no HAL 9000's, please) versions of thinking machines. Tara I see as an artist, painting big, bold canvasses that cover yards and yards of wall space. Their 2 kids (both strong young women) are on the front lines helping the then-current Slayer kick demon ass, and sometimes going back to their two moms for sage advice.

[Tiggrscorpio]

My 20th reunion is next year. I haven't really decided if I'll go or not. We had a 5 year reunion, which was kind of silly because most people were still in the area and no one had really changed much. Only memorable part for me was almost getting arrested for DUI on the way home, but that's another story.

I still see my best friend, from school, from time to time. My brother graduated with me (not twins, he's 14 months older and stayed back a year) so I think he and his wife will go.

My high school yearbook says I planned on being an Accountant. I'm not. My first job after graduating college was in a hotel and I've been doing that for 15 years. Can't really see myself doing much else. Thought I'd be settled down by now, but haven't met the right woman, yet.

W/T would definitely still be together, living in an old house that they fixed up together. They would have two little girls and Miss Kitty IV.

[drlloyd11]

Hated high school and everyone associated with it, so no chance for me.. But the idea of Willw attending her 20 year with a gorgeous Tara on her arm does lend it self to "living well is the best revenge".

"Cordy? Half demon, sexless relations with an ex of Buffy that killed Ms Calender"
""Harnony, dead, and for a while in a relationship with one of Buffy's exes"
"Snider... dead"
Thats a satifying reunion..

[AlexisMQ]

Hmmmmm.... what an interesting topic. My ten year reunion is in a month and I am not going to it. I made a choice.... go home for my nephew's first birthday in June or go to my reunion with a bunch of people who I really don't care that much about anyway. Hard choice huh? Like I would miss Connor (yes, my nephew is named Connor... LOL) smashing the cake around. That little boy is the apple of his aunt's eye. Plus, I graduated with over 300+ people and last count, 18 were reserved to go. *laugh*

As for Willow and Tara, they will still be together. I can see Willow running a very successful tech company with Tara as the artistic director of a local theatre company.

Well, back to the craziness that is my life. Tech is on vacation and other one is off today so I am here by myself on the busiest day of the week.. *grin* I hate Mondays.

Have a good day kitties!

[Thanatopsis]

I don't really have fond memories of high school, so I'm definitely not going to any reunions. Besides, I graduated with about 600 other people. I probably really knew about 10 to 15 and now, talk to maybe 2 or 3. And to be honest, I don't need to know how they're doing or need them to know how I'm doing.

In high school I was going to be an actuary. Weird, I know. Not that many people aspire to that job. But then I almost failed Calc my senior year and that's the last math class I ever took.

[ZipityDoDa]

Well......*cough* I haven't graduated high school yet, but I can still answer!

I plan on doing something in art. For the longest time, I can't even remember how far back, but I've wanted to work for Disney as an animator. HA! I'm not too sure I want to work for Disney anymore, my animation teacher used to work for them and from what I've heard it's not what it's cut out to be. So, with that in mind I keep plan B. Plan B is doing something in graphic design. I've been taking graphics classes for...This will be my 5th year now, and I really enjoy it. So yea, I just want to do something where I can use my talents and not end up sitting in a small cubicle filing papers all day. *sigh* But not everything works out the way they are planned.
Now, how do I see the world in the future? I don't think it's going to get any better than what it is now, it will probably get worse. I hope and pray that it doesn't, but you never know.

I see Willow and Tara living happily together, maybe a kid or two, and of course kittens running rampantly around their house. Um, as far as their occupations, I think Willow would be into something to do with computers and Tara would be..I'm not sure, but I see her as the "helper" type, so maybe she would be doing something with kids. Maybe teach art classes?

Happy Monday everyone!

[WebWarlock]

High School was ok, but there is a reason why I left it. I grew up.

I guess my class is having some sort of reunion this weekend. Hell I don't drive there to see my parents that much (and I LIKE my parents) why would I do it to see a bunch of people that happened to be born the same year I was?

Now I have been to my college reunion, once. It was fun, but also kinda pointless. I married my best friend from college and still talk to my best friend from high school.

About the girls.
Oh yeah Willow would so be showing off Tara. "Oh, you are loosing all your hair? I am sorry. Hey did I mention I am successful, saved the world a few times and I get to fuck that blonde over there?"

I am guess that Tara would care less about whether she went to hers or not. After all, everyone she loves and considers family is with her.

Warlock

[Zahir al Daoud]

Gods I graduated in 1978, aboard an aircraft carrier! And you'd have to pay me to go back and see all those creeps again. HS was for me the worst four years of my life. Its a wonder I emerged from them sane (and frankly, I'm not sure I did sometimes).

I'm not where I planned. At all. Lets not go there.

As for Willow and Tara, of course they're still together. Willow would go to her reunion, basking in her own maturity and seeing how much better off her life turned out than the vacuous Cordettes. Rah for her. She and Xander will regale Tara with stories from the days of yore, telling her all about Principal Snyder and the Swim Team and who could forget that graduation and so on. A few guys will have wised up and ask Willow for a dance--but all of hers are taken already.

[alyamber4ever]

Hmmm.......in 30 years, what will Willow and Tara be doing? Well, I think they will be happily married with 2 children. 2 girls. They will still be friends with Buffy and the rest of the gang. Things will probably be alot like they are now.....they'll just be older.

[Kalita]

My 10 year HS reunion is still 3 years away... but I am looking forward to it. I made a lot of good friends that I really have missed in the years since. It should be a good time.

As for W/T, they will still be happy together in 30 years, I'm sure. Their kids would be grown up and moved on, they may be living somewhere else... but they're happy and together, and that's the important thing.

Have a good week, everyone!

[TwiLightJoy]

Oh daily thread ... how I love your off topic discussiveness. I just needed a place to tell a really stupid story.

So this morning, er, okay, first thing this afternoon when I woke up ... I went to read the paper. My girlfriend's grandmother starts telling me about how she just bought a new toilet for the back bathroom, and if I would help her unload it from the car it would be a good thing. So I'm all, in my jammies, mussed up hair, with my glasses on, barefoot, and I'm like okay, that should be easy. In fact, I'll do it right now before it gets too hot out.

So me and grandma go out to the car, the toilet is in a box in the back seat with nice little handles on the sides to carry it. Any normal human being would, of course, lift the box by the handles, right? So, being the (mostly) normal chick I am, that is what I decided would be the best course of action. Grandma was going to take the handle on the other side, so I was sliding the box across the back seat. Grandma grabbed the opposite handle, and that is where it all went terribly wrong.

No sooner than the box was out of the car, the bottom gave out. Think of when you drop a glass and it breaks. Now imagine it let's say, twice as loud. Now imagine it costing 100 dollars. Now imagine it happening less than an inch from your own bare feet. Why did I even get out of bed? It could be worse - it could have, in addition to wasting 100 bucks, broken my metatarsals. But then if it had ... I could have had everyone at SD Con sign my cast, which could be cool. Maybe I'll get a fake cast. Everyone would all be like "Aww what happened! Wow ... you're lucky to be alive after that bizarre toilet-related injury! Let me sign your cast and give you extra hugs!"

Okay I am gonna go now .. lol.

~Joy

[pikachu1060]

Well, i've just turned 22 and it's been 4 years now that i graduated from high school. Here in Belgium, we don't make a big deal about high school, and there are no HS reunion each year. Some people of my HS class organised a BBQ though at the beginning of the summer, and as i was so curious to see how everyone was doing, i went there with my best friend. He's the only one from HS i stayed in touch with and i must say that he's the only one i really liked back in HS. Anyway, that was so funny. But nothing extraordinary.

As for what i wanna do in the future, it's the big question. I'm gonna graduate in september, and what i'd love to do is to be a French teacher in the US, but that just seems impossible (getting the green card and finding a job). So i don't know. I could try to find a job as a teacher in Europe (like in the UK or in Ireland), but it's not really the same as doing it in the US. Otherwise, i may simply stay here in Belgium (though that's my worst nightmare) and do whatever job i find.

In 30 years from now, i can see willow and tara raising their children, in a beautiful house in the countryside outside of sunnydale. They're both very happy and still so much in love.

[VampNo12]

Ugh high-school reunions, I think I will avoid at any cost. My 10 year reunion was 2 years ago, and although tempted I decided to stay away. I mean basically I hung out with a group, and the rest of the people I couldn't stand, so I doubt I care about them now (except for seeing this one stuck-up cheerleader who used to make hell for some of my friends, and now I heard she works at the local supermarket, so it would be nice to see her "highness" not so "high" anymore)! And overall my friends in high-school I still see/or at least talk to on the phone, so there is no reason to go.

As for my future back then I wanted to be a child psychologist, and although, I took a lot of psychology courses in college, now I am a law student (as well as interning at a prosecutors office).

For W&T of course they are blissfully happy, with Willow make tons of money writing computer programs, and Tara would probably be in a field involving children (ie teacher or a child psychologist). Tara would have no interest in going to her high-school reunion, but I think Willow would love to go back to hers (with Tara on her arm) to show everyone how well she is doing (professionally and personally).

[momentum]

I'm going to be a junior in high school in a few weeks (where did the summer go?) so I can't really talk about reunions just yet.

I have no idea what I want to do in my life, which kind of scares me because a lot of my friends have things all planned out. Ideally I'd like to write and direct movies... But my parents think that idea is absurd and completely unrealistic. I gave them a big W with my fingers. W for whatever. Ha. I want to go to NYU, and a lot of people tell me I can do it, so we'll see in a few years I guess.

As for Willow and Tara, they will grow old together in a nice little house with a picket fence, a kid and a cat. Willow will go to her high school reunion with the rest of the Scoobies and regale Tara will tales of her geek infested roots at Sunnydale High and neener at everyone who was mean to her.

[Guess]

Well, I'm still in HS, something like 10th grade in US (I live in Brazil). So I'm actually living the nightmare of highschool. I hate it, and even if I had reunions to go in the future, I seriously doubt I'd go to any of them.
As for my plans for the future, so far i've wanted to be more than 10 different things...a scientist when i was a kid, then a doctor, then i wanted to work on tv, then a singer,then a lawyer, then an English teacher, then a journalist, a writer, and now I'm back to scientist (Chemistry...chemist, is it?). I seem to want to be a different thing every week...so i guess I'll just stop with the plans and go with the flow. But whatever I choose to do, i'm sure I'll go to college in US.
As for willow and tara, I'm pretty sure they would still be in love...and isnt it weird that lots of people see Tara as an artist or working with children? I guess i can see her teaching a bunch of children...very happy children...

[Epicurus]

Why can Highschool be so horrible for some and so great for others?
I only got out of HS like um 4 years ago but Iwouldn't go to a reunion even if I was paid to attend
I didn't have a bad HS experience exactly but most my class were a bunch of redneck assholes.
I think Willow would avoid any and all reunions for HS. I'm sure Willow and Tara would organize their own reunion party (with just scoobies) instead of subjecting themselves to seeing their classmates.

On a weird note...
I saw a car accident happen the other day. Quite an experience to watch something like that happen only 5 five away for you. I found out later a work that the driver was drunk.. 8 o'clock in the morning!
Truely, people are unbelievable.

[friskylez]

Wow i thought id get home from work and no one would have responded to my HS and back to the future question..Its cool to find out what some of the kittens aspired to be and where they are now..

I was kind of an individualist in HS, didnt go to the dances, hell after graduation i just went home, but i did make 3 or 4 good friends...Even though we didnt stay in touch, i always wondered about them and what they were up to..I asked my friend from HS if she remembered me as having a little bit of a dont mess with me attitude in HS...

She laughed and said "yes, thats why we ended up friends (she names all my buds ) "we were all shy and you were someone we knew no one would mess with, even if you were tiny" ..I chuckled and said, well multiply that attitude then by 30 and thats me now

It was kind of fun reminising with her and the others..I dont have fond memories of HS except for my friends and my Sophomore/Junior year english teacher..She was a truly special lady and probably the first woman i ever had a crush on...

[Jennifer]

Hey KJ chicago, thanks for letting us see those pics. Oh my god Amber looks amazing! Where'd you get your "Tara Lives" shirt? Did you have it special made, or is there a place where I can order one?

[areslei]

Will and Tara will be just as happy as ever...together forever. Nice house, family, circle of scoobie friends....and they'll still be able to kick demon ass.

Only 20, so haven't had the pleasure of attending any reunions yet...though I do plan to visit my high school pals and some of my teachers whilst I visit Albuquerque....two more days, yay! That's the only reunion I need, though I did enjoy my senior year of high school very much.

30 years from now I'll finally have my damn degrees, money, and a house with Michele. It was actually supposed to happen already (cus i'm so damn impatient), but I guess having all that at 20 isn't as tangible in real life, eh? I'm not where I thought I would be, but I have a job, my friends, and my parents are finally admitting that they're proud of me. That's where I still want to be 30 years from now. Life. Love. Happiness.

[Annecy]

I skipped both the 5th and 10th HS reunions... I did go to the 10th reunion of the class before mine (went as my best friend's date -- more fun than my own reunion would have been, since all my friends were either in his class, or the one below mine.) Didn't feel like I missed anything.

I agree that Willow would be in computers 30 years from now. Tara I see as a counselor or psychologist; look how good she was with Buffy -- and she'd have such empathy with the mentally ill after her Glory experience. I also see Tara moonlighting in an occult store much like the Magic Box, helping the blessed wannabes find their way. Willow, of course, would keep an eye on the newbie witches and make sure that they steered away from anything they couldn't handle (because in my W/T world, Willow learned her lessons in ways that did not involve nerds, guns, or death in any way, shape or form.)

I'm divided on whether or not they'd have kids of their own -- I kind of see them as the doting aunties/godmothers to Xander and Anya's kids (heaven knows Anya's kids will need surrogate moms). I guess it's up to them... actually, they can have as many family constellations as the Pens authors can write future fics, huh? Fanfic is a beautiful thing.