1966
First day of school! For once I felt alone. The girls ignored me.
We went to Sears to have our pictures taken for the country club. I bought a vinyl tote bag for $9.90 (about 80 cents) and then went to El Dragon de Oro and got a dish for Mom for $21.25 (about $1.75). It’s beautiful- I hope she likes it.
Mr. D talked to me about something I’ve been doing wrong - like being interested, perceptive, and polite.
At 4 I went to school and had a short lesson and then went to see the club. It’s very nice - has a pool, tennis courts, baseball games, etc. Lovely. I have to get a short white skirt for tennis - I’m going to learn , I guess. I might buy a racquet, too, but I really don’t want to. Of course, if I have to, I have to.
Then - back to school. I listened to part of the Mexican Constitution, and took a spelling test. I got 11 wrong the first time and 2 the second. Tomorrow I take the Constitution again, and penmanship.
P.S. Happy Independence Day!
Comment 2023
This was the first year of a locally-sponsored “exchange” program that was the brain child of Mr. D, a Spanish teacher at my high school. Sr. Cervantes, who ran two private schools for girls, was a friend of his. One school, the one at his house, was for middle-class girls and met during the day. The other, for working class girls, was in the evening in a building downtown. That’s the one I ended up going to, because during the day Mr. D was showing me the sights. He and his wife wanted to join a club so they could play tennis; I think I eventually talked them out of including me, but I still went with them to the club a few times a week and used the pool.
I was left on my own quite a bit, hanging out with schoolmates or the other young people at the apartment where I stayed. I think Mr. D’s criticism had to do with the times when I would be at the Cervantes house for a meal, or waiting to go somewhere. My Spanish was ok but I couldn’t keep up with most conversations, and would end up just sitting there, looking at magazines. Even in the best of situations, I am not outgoing in groups of strangers. So yeah, I didn’t act interested, or perceptive, and probably came off as rude.
And I still have the dish.
1976
After at least a year of Bicentennial madness, it’s finally here. The last week there has been a gradual swelling of pride, imperceptible at first, but now openly expressed. It has been an inspirational event. Hope. It’s everywhere tonight. The country seems reborn. Ought to do it more often.
Comment 2023
It feels like hyperbole now, but coming after assassinations, Vietnam, and Watergate, the Bicentennial felt pretty good, if only for a moment.
1977
Very busy week. R and C came had a real good time, then I finished my papers… At last, then mom came. Life seems to be slowing down, at last. A bit. Tomorrow it starts again I'll take chemistry 103 for six weeks. Horrors. The schedule is incredible all morning 8 to 1:45, five days a week. BLEAH it is so very hot!!
1987
So this is what a sabbatical is like. So far it’s been full of ups and downs. Ups: not having to dress for the office, not having to schedule grocery shopping around my work. Downs: specifically, the BIG DOWN, not getting as much done as I’d hoped, is my main source of stress. I am chagrined that I didn’t plan better, financially. The big drop in income could have been softened if we hadn’t decided to “eat, drink and be merry” our way to an uncomfortably large VISA bill. Could I have planned more of my work ahead? Maybe, maybe not. I was very busy last semester, and June was taken up with all the loose ends. Too many things to do, not enough time. How long do I work, anyway, sitting on the floor making faces at Kiddo 2? Or making a She-Ra shield for Kiddo 1? HA!
We never get as much as we want done during down times....and as for 1976, I had a boss who went to berkeley in the 60's, he said it was utter chaos, but the professors were nonplussed — they said it wasn't nearly as chaotic as the 30's.
I guess democracy is normally a crazier endeavor than the sedate 80's and 90's that I grew up in.