January 4, 1993

How cataclysmic -- or catastrophic, perhaps (HEY, IT'S A PABLA DE VOCABULARIO EN ESPANOL) -- Shit -- For some damn reason, I thought that I had left this at school, and I could not write in it -- BUT the truth is that it was in my bookbag all along at home -- DAMMIT -- Well, I suppose I should stop wasting time & recap the last 2 weeks -- FRIDAY DEC 18 -- I was getting really really sick of Anne¹ and so I decided "to hell with going to the damn library" so I stayed home.

Well, I'll tell U² the outcome of it all later -- JMC 7:49

Okay so I ride the bus instead & talk 2 Stacie who was so thoughtful as 2 give me a x-mas card -- So later Anne calls me up & sez "John, where are U" and I say "Home" and she sez "U were supposed 2 go to the library" & I say "I know" and she sez "Why aren't U here" -- And I say, "Becuz I don't want to" -- And she's like "Well, okay, bye" -- Anyways, a couple hours later, Jessie³ calls me up and sez "John, I have just six words for you: I hope U fall into a chasm" and then she hangs up -- But I'm thinking -- hey, that's seven words so I call her back up and say "Jessie, that's seven words" and she sez "Oh well, I'm not very good at counting" -- Apparently, she must have told Anne after that becuz not too long after, she sez "John (this is on the phone -- Anne), I've been thinkin about it, and, it's over. Bye" -- AND I'M ECSTATIC cuz she's finally outta my life -- THANK GOD! I don't like this pen -- it's too fine for me -- I mean how it writes -- as opposed to 2 thick. Anyways, getting back 2 the past few weeks -- I called up Steve (who Winter is now laughing at becuz she's looking at the photos of the play⁴) and I sed what happened and he was posing questions or things that I could tell Jessie like "I have six words for you: Greasy pizza boxes make good pets" or other shit like that -- SATURDAY DEC 19 I went downtown to Chicago & witnessed one of the best films I've ever seen (Incidentally, Winter sez that downtown is beautiful) -- I went 2 the Fine Arts Theatre 2 see "FLIRTING", and if U know the movie, U probably will know why I liked it⁵ -- but it wasn't just becuz it was interracial -- It downplayed that -- Anyways, it was really good -- And Thandie Newton is hot. She plays the Ugandan girl at the rural Australia high-school where the story takes place -- I'll talk more later.
JMC 11:55 am

1 Anne Bazi1e, my very first girlfriend, who I dated for about six weeks from Nov.-Dec. 1992. She was a sophomore. We met in A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which I played Demetrius and she played a fairy.

2 A note about the usage of "U" and "2" in this entry and others from this period: It was less about shorthand (as it's used now with AIM and text-messaging) and more about appearing "cool" and down with black culture (viz. dozens of Prince songs, Hammer's "2 Legit 2 Quit," etc.), which I admired to the point of only being attracted to African American girls. (Anne was mixed: half Haitian, half Belgian.) This entry, however, is nowhere near as bad as one from March 30, 1991:

Don't U be payin' no attention to that damn thing over this page -- Man, homies -- that be 5 years ago. Easter's tomorrow! Easter Vacation! Man, that be dope, boyyy! - Hey, chill - this be the style of talk people use along with baggy mustard-yellow pants with black polka-dots and overalls with one strap down -- (That not be talk, that be dress) Man, there be a big scandal at HHH (I'm in 7th grade -- These girls -- M@ria Akl, Natalie Br00ks, & T@ra Frump -- everybody be sayin' they cheatin' an' all -- & I know they did, but they jus' be denyin' it They also got the lowest grades on the math test too -- Hmmm -- I'm like really into music & music charts -- It's pretty chillin' -- So - the Top 5 Songs This Week -- ? 1 - Coming Out of the Dark - Gloria Estefan (the worst #1 since Madonna's Justify My Love - Jan 5 & 12) 2 - One More Try - Timmy T 3 - This House - Tracie Spencer (she's only 13!) 4. Hold You Tight - Tara Kemp (awesome song! Or Should I say DOPE!) 5 - Londonbeat's I've Been Thinking About You -- One of my favorite TV shows is Fresh Prince of Bel Air -- It's pretty chillin' (& they actually use those words!) In schools, I got this mutha fuckin' teacher -- Mrs. Greever -- The teacher from Hell -- She constantly yells at us & makes us do damn worksheets and shit, I could go on but I don't gots enough room -- Oh yeah, I'z got another honey -- LISA GROVER -- She's the only girl I haven't told anyone about cuz most people know her brother, MARVIN, She's black, but so gorgeous!⁶ I jus' got a couple new tapes, well actually, one -- C&C MUSIC FACTORY, they're pretty dope -- for my B-Day - Yup Yup - 12 years old, God! Well, Homies, gotta go! Stay cool (who am I saying this to -- me 20 years from now?) CHILL! Peace (The Persian Gulf War is Over, Don'tchu Know?)

3 Jessie, was dating my best friend Steve, and as such, the four of us often hung out together. (The two of them were also in the play: she was a fairy, and he was one of the mechanics.)

4 Like many entries from this period, I wrote this entry during homeroom.

5 Not only was I was obsessed with African American culture, I was interested in interracial relationships, specifically those between black women and white men, which were (are) nowhere near as prevalent as vice versa. Several months earlier, I'd read with interest Studs Terkel's Race, which contained an interview with one such couple.

6 The "but" in this sentence grates every single time I read it. Ugh. Incidentally, I'm guessing "another honey" just means a girl I found attractive, because to the best of my recollection, I never even spoke to Lisa ever.