PROM?...

Asking someone to the prom has become a big, public deal.

(Gratuitous old person voice...) Back in my day, the boy walked up to the girl and said, "Will you go to prom with me?" and the girl said, "Yes." And that was that.

I don't know when it happened, but nowadays the young folks have to ask in writing. I suppose that by putting it in writing, the requester becomes contractually obligated to follow through with the rest of the event, should the requestee accept the invitation. Having numerous witnesses certainly makes breach-of-contract easier to prove.

My front-row seat to the Prama started two years ago. By then "Will you go to the prom with me?" had shortened to "Prom w/ me?" Now it's all the way down to "Prom?" I hope it doesn't go down further --- "P?" --- that just wouldn't be right on any level.

The more public the invitation, the better. The chain link fence on the 540 walking bridge near Falls is a popular location. Styrofoam cups are the medium spelling out Prom there.

So far this year, promvites have included...

-P.R.O.M.? taped to a locker in balloons
-P.R.O.M.?--> on t-shirts with the boy standing on the other side of the -->
-P.R.O.M.? spelled out on the fence around the tennis courts
-P.R.O.M.? written vertically on a 30' banner rolled out of a third-floor window
-P.R.O.M.? written on a card, attached to a vase of flowers (that matched the boy's shirt)
-P.R.O.M.? written on a caption, taped to a picture of a Hurricanes hockey player

As much thought goes into asking someone to the prom as goes into thinking of a creative way to propose. Too much, too soon? I think so, but then again I'm old.

We had a battle around here about the promvitation. Kelsey wanted her boyfriend to ask her creatively. I explained that her boyfriend doesn't go to her school. It isn't his prom. He couldn't invite her to her prom any more than he could invite her to a nice dinner at her house. He could ask her to his prom, but he doesn't have one this year. What?

After a little thought (and verification by numerous third parties), she decided she couldn't logically expect him to ask her to her prom. So, she promvited him in her own hipster style.

Trollface Meme

Confession...

If I were ever going to work for a big corporation, I would want to work for TOMS.

Slight interruption...

This series of mildly amusing and slightly insightful observations from the Parent Zone regarding high school proms is experiencing a slight interruption. Once a certain nine year old can keep solid food down, or at least takes a nap, postings will resume.  (HOW ON EARTH CAN THIS KID NOT BE SLEEPY WHEN HE THREW UP EVERY 20-30 MINUTES FOR SEVEN HOURS LAST NIGHT?! I am WIPED OUT from having ridden shotgun on the adventure. Even the dog is zonked now.)

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of lovely prom dress contenders that didn't make it to the finals.

 For some reason, Kelsey loved the color, but didn't care much for the fabric. A bit pricey, too, at $598. (GASP!) I liked the fact that probably no one else would have the same dress, so it'd eliminate dress drama...at a price.

Very pretty, yes? I thought so. Alas, a friend has already staked claim to this dress on the school's prom dress Facebook group, created by students hoping to mitigate prom dress duplication.

Jimmy's favorite. I liked it a lot too. Kelsey said, "Aw," and moved on to the next one. So, it didn't make the cut.


So... stay tuned for the finalists. I can't say the winner because we still don't know. Apparently, prom season is a little manic throughout the land.

Prama...

Prom + Drama = Prama

Coming soon: Norma's ideas for how to make prom less stressful

I've decided to document our first prom adventure. Well, not our first prom ever. It's just our first prom from the Parent Zone. I mean, Jimmy and I each went to our proms, as well as a few assorted Pledge Formals (which I believe are illegal in the US nowadays. I'm sure they call them Spring Formals now because pledge in both noun and verb forms has been removed from the AGVL -- Approved Greek Vocabulary List.)

Yeah, so stay tuned. I'm off to have coffee with my girl's prom date's momma.

Sand...

I have no idea why it had that texture. Our best guess would be the 25 mph sustained winds and 45 mph wind gusts at CB on Monday. Pretty cool, though, huh? Except you should try walking a couple of miles on wet, weird-textured sand. Ouch!

The white streaks running perpendicular to the water are streaks of blowing sand. 

Apparently the seagulls recently had a huge party. Cracked clam shells lined the stretch between our condo and the end of the island.

Winter seems to make it easier to find lots more cool marine treasures.

I love the beach in winter. I love the beach in summer. I love the beach in spring. I love the beach in fall. I pretty much just love the beach.

What on earth?

Confession...

I figured out why people go away for vacations. It's because no matter how hard you try, you can't keep from working on something while you're home. Totally.