I was going to ignore my high school reunion, but then a couple of friends from back in the day messaged me and said they would be in town, and I'd like to see them, plus the school has undergone a lot of remodeling and expansions. When I was there, the 2nd and 3rd floors of the part we called the west wing* were used as the convent for the nuns, and we always wondered what it was like up there. Now the nuns have moved, and the school is using part of the old convent space, and the Ursuline archives are up there, too. Basically, I want to see the Forbidden Floors of the west wing.

*The school's physical space is funky as hell. It's in an urban neighborhood, so there's not much room to expand. It started as 2 old mansions that were given to the Ursulines back in 1915, and they built the chapel to connect the 2 mansions. (The hallway outside the chapel is called -- you guessed it -- "Chapel Hall.") And so that space was the school for a long time, when class sizes were like 10 girls. As enrollment grew, some time in the 70s they built an ugly-ass expansion on the east side of the mansions, and it's jarringly weird to see it next to those 2 gorgeous old buildings.

The urban neighborhood that the school is in is not the best neighborhood, though it's been slowly gentrifying. And I always wondered what the local residents thought when we gathered on the front lawn to do weird Catholic shit like May Crowning. (Literally, one girl put a crown of flowers on the big-ass statue of Mary [mom of Jesus, just to be clear; not a random Mary], and then the rest of us laid flowers at the foot of the statue. We probably looked like a cult.)

Here's a picture of the west wing; the middle part is where the chapel was built to connect the 2 buildings: [link]

Basically, I want to see the Forbidden Floors of the west wing.

Oooh, that *is* enticing.

If there have been high school reunions since about my tenth I haven't heard about them. Shrug.

I think I've escaped the eye of my highschool alumni association. My college intelligence system, however, has kept good track of me.

This year would have been the 40th high school reunion. I should have gone to see how many of my classmates are great-grandparents. (the Appalachian foothills have a similar birthrate to Utah)

I alternate between being aghast and bewildered that I am considered middle aged and an adult, and feeling very old.

My 25th is this year. I... dunno. Most of the people I care about, I'm still in touch with.

I only spent one year at the h.S. I graduated from. I'm friends with exactly 2 people, and they were in the class behind, but we were all in drama club.

I alternate between being aghast and bewildered that I am considered middle aged and an adult, and feeling very old.

meara is me. (We're very pretty).

I skipped my 30th a few weeks ago.

I haven't been to any of my HS reunions. The first one I wasn't in a great place and then the next had everything family oriented. The next one is in 2022. I guess. i don't know maybe there isn't a activr alumni group I can find. I was in a Fb group but left and now my name is different on FB

I skipped my 30th HS reunion two years ago.

one girl put a crown of flowers on the big-ass statue of Mary

Anyone else imagining Mary with a large posterior?

What do folks use for non-electric heating pads? I've had a gel one and a clay? one but those have both reached the end of their usefulness. I was able to ease a proto-migraine last night by wrapping my head in a heating pad, but I don't think I should make a habit of doing that with one that is plugged in.