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Back to My Childhood ‘Hood III

At the end of my business trip to Mexico about a month ago, after I’d ventured back to my old neighborhood  ( Back to My Childhood ‘Hood & Back to My Childhood ‘Hood II ) , I’d decided that the next time I was in California , I would seek out my first elementary school as well as one of my first teachers.

And so, another quick story in pictures. =)

On a bright, blue, sunny day on July 7, I found my way back to Northridge, CA where I’d attended Castlebay Lane Elementary School over 15 years ago when I first began living in the States.

The school logo. I don’t remember it at all! =)

This sign almost made me walk away disappointed that I would not get to see my old campus…

But on the other side of the campus, I found this sign and an open gate. =)

Some of the buildings where I attended classes. I have no recollection of which ones I might’ve actually sat in… but I do recall that my classes were in these “portable” classrooms rather than in the main building.

Tables where I must’ve eaten my lunches. Mmm… do you remember tater tots ? Of course you do. “Tater tots (a.k.a. ‘tots’) are featured prominently in the Idaho-set 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite .” =)

Everybody seems to have bathroom stories. I still remember one time when I mistakenly entered through the wrong door. I remember being confused because everything was a different color when it hit me that I’d screwed up. =)

Agh. I can’t remember what this game was called! Or whether I even played… haha =)

But I’m sure we all remember ” four square “? What fun we had with a few lines drawn on the ground and a ball! =)

Or how about handball and ” butts up ” (haha, Wikipedia is amazing!)? =)

And of course, there was always the friendly game of kickball  during recess. My most memorable kickball experience… was getting stung by a bee when I was “at bat” because I thought that the buzzing I heard by my ear was just a fly and tried to shoo it away by pressing my head to my shoulder… ouch.

Finally, I don’t remember these last two structures at all… But they looked pretty new so it’s highly possible that these were installed long after I’d left. Craziness. =)

Apparently, my elementary school isn’t open for summer sessions so I found a nearly abandoned campus and was unsuccessful in tracking down my first grade teacher. Alas, when the school reopens in the fall, I will call and see if the office can help me find her then.

But yeah, wandering about the campus brought back a surge of childhood memories… which have made me think a bit on the topic of the passage of time.

And I suppose that this concludes my nostalgic visits since I pretty much stayed in the same place after moving from Northridge.

“Click” – Skipping through Life

Not too long ago, I briefly mentioned watching Click and my reactions to it as it pertained to fear .

In recent conversations, I think I’ve identified a disturbing trend in the progression of my life.

Simply put, I think I live, or try to live, beyond my years.

What do I mean by this?

Well, I posted on the topic not once , but twice … and the point being that there is a disconnect between my actual years and my perceived (both by others and myself) years. One could say that I seem to be “skipping” through various phases of my life.

It probably started long ago, when I wandered the halls of Castlebay Elementary School as a first grader.

In those early years, because I was living with just my brother and mom… by default, I became the “man of the house.”

I suppose it taught me responsibility at a very early age.

But I wonder if perhaps, it was too much too soon.

I sometimes say that I grew up too quickly and that my childhood faded quite early as a result of my having been the “man of the house.”

Fast-forwarding to today, after having lived at my real age for four years in college, I seem to have tried to bypass my twenties as a result of my chosen line of work.

I truly enjoy my job, mind you, but I still think that the acting older than I really am is getting to my head. And yet, as I’m constantly interacting with those who are much older than me (last week, during a dinner attended by myself, two of my bosses, two lawyers and two directors of the Company, a question that came up was “I’m turning 40 next week… I was just wondering if the rest of you (excluding me) went through mid-life crises?”) , I feel that I need to try to be “older” as to have some kind of credibility in a world where experience means so much.

Back to the point, then. What do I do to keep from “click”ing my way through life?

I think I’d like to enjoy my twenties and what remains of “youth.” I’ll probably be thirty before I know it and then I’ll wish that I could be twenty again! =)

So what do people do when they’re in their twenties? =) I guess that’s changed over the decades, because generations ago, people were married and had children by the time they hit their twenties!

Anyway, I’m back in the DR for the week… and sadly, I left my book on the airplane when I got off. =( Since I’m avoiding television in the evenings, I guess I’ll have plenty of time this week to develop some of the deeper thoughts that have been brewing in the back of my head. =)

And lastly, in other news, I finally had a tiny taste of australus (I didn’t have my camera but you can see a picture of the “roo skewers” here ) this past weekend…  I’d like to go back to that random Australian restaurant sometime to get the full steak though. =)