1984: Sophomore

1984: Sophmore

Ooo, boy -- check out my spiked hair. I forgot how popular that hairstyle was back then. And notice that the photo is tinted lighter -- I forgot it was Photo Day (again) and for some stubborn reason I REALLY wanted my photo in the yearbook that year. Don't know why. So I talked my mom into taking me to an independent photographer to get one done. Kind of embarrassing now that I think of it, but oh well. What could you do? You can't see it because of the close crop, but I had a Gumby pin on my Polo shirt. (Not Izod -- I vehemently opposed the alligator-labeled shirts back then for some reason.) The shirt was bought at Muse's -- the only place in my mind at the time where you should buy Polo shirts. It was the shiz-nit back in the day, believe it. And Polo cologne? You couldn't go anywhere without that crazy scent in your nostrils. Very much an 80's thing. For the record, I didn't wear it. Never was a cologne guy.

I'm going through my yearbook and checking out all the photos, reading up on all the signatures and I'm thinking about how much fun my sophomore year was. But for some reason I can't really pinpoint why. I mean, there's the usual: I had a great time hanging out with a fun core group of friends, I was involved with various groups and activities, and I was listening to a broader range of music. But I can't think of any major events that changed my life forever.

I do remember how surprised I was by the number of times my face appeared in the 1984 yearbook when I first opened it up at the Yearbook Signing Party later that year. My buddy Loren was beaming. I think he was more excited for me than I was. Here:


Someone on the yearbook committee thought it would be funny to poke fun at me. And that scribbled-in quote up there by me says it all. Check it -- Polo shirt (it's a different one from my school pic).


For Homecoming Week, our school had this thing where each class would make their own float and then present them all during the Pep Rally at the end of the week. What you see here is the sophomore float-making party of that year, which ended up being just another excuse for a party. During the week, no less. Look at me -- I'm directing already at such a young age. Actually, we're posing here -- that's Loren with oddly-held paintbrush. He and I were inseparable that year. Can we talk about the fashion here? OP: Ocean Pacific shirts. 'Nuff said.


Here's another shot of the sophomore float making party. I was going out with that chick on the left -- very risqué of me to pose like that. Definitely last minute. Don't you just love how short I was compared to her? Tessa was her name. Funny story: it was after school one day and she and I were hanging out in the hallways with a couple of our friends. One of the football coaches asked if we could clear the hall. As we were walking away, he pulled me to the side and said, "Hey, are you going out with that girl?" "Yes." "Really? A guy like you? With her? Wow. Okay." I was too naive to figure out exactly what he was getting at there. Too young and stupid, I guess.

Back to the picture, I love how the yearbook staff missed the hand to the crotch shot over there to the right.


I somehow made another appearance in the Homecoming section, this time during the dance itself. Sporting a skinny cloth tie -- remember those? Sadly, my date, Erin, was cropped from the original shot. She's on my left. That's Mike on the left there -- he and I go way back to grade school. Mike's date doesn't look all that excited.

Typical quotes from classmates who signed my yearbook:

"Hey! I'm really glad I met you this year and got to know you better! You are really sweet!" (girl)

"You're one wild n' crazy guy. It's been great getting to know you through soccer and school. And where did you learn to draw. Now that's where you've got some real talent." (guy)

"I really enjoyed being w/ you even if it was only for a short time. And I'm so sorry it was such a bad break-up." (Tessa)

In the back of my 1984 Yearbook:

In The News:
Jesse Jackson
Space Shuttle
AT&T
Reaganomics
AIDS
Korean Flight 007
Grenada
Sally Ride into space
GA 49th in SAT

Musical Notes:
Michael Jackson
Boy George
The Police
U2
Billy Joel
Prince
Duran Duran
Lionel Richie
Loverboy
David Bowie
Irene Cara
Men at Work
Adam Ant
MTV

My sophomore year might've been my salad year, but my junior year was a doozy. Stay tuned.