Pulitzer and Hurst they think they got us, do they got us?

Last weekend the hubby and I ditched the children and went to Chicago for the weekend.  I kept calling us ballers because we lead such a jet setting life.  I don't really know what "ballers" means, but I don't care.

The idea started with my cousin Jeff who is brilliant at planning things.  Many of the cousins are big fans of the movie Newsies.  I like to think I am the biggest fan of us all.

Yes, that is Christian Bale dancing in the middle of this picture.  Yes, he is currently embarrassed of this movie.  Don't worry, when I am the host of the Tonight show he will come on, and we will discuss it, and then we will recreate this song and dance together.

What?  You have never heard of Newsies and you have never seen it?  Then how are we friends?  I am surprised you get any of my references.  I guess opposites attract and I will let this slide.

Anyway, they have created stage show based on the movie, and it is currently playing in Chicago where my cousin Jeff lives.  He had the great idea that we should all go for a visit to see it.  Brilliant.  About 17 of us decided to go visit Jeff and Jeffrey and they were the best hosts ever.

It is not that big of a deal to drive to Chicago from Ann Arbor.  It should take about 5 hours.  It is a HUGE deal for me to drive IN Chicago.  The last time I drove in Chicago I almost killed us because I had to get donuts.  It is my new policy not to drive in any city that has magnificent public transportation.  The last time we went to Chicago, we took the train.  That was moderately successful, but not at all baller.  This time the coach seats on the train were sold out and the first class on the train was the same price as flying.  Flying is much more baller, so we did that.  I was very impressed with our jet set life style until the reality of the tiny little plane got in my way.  It was still nice and quick to fly there, but the tiny little plane barely had room for the hubby to walk to his seat.  I have never been so thankful to be small.

My cousin Megan got us a great deal on hotel rooms, so that was very baller.  It kind of makes it more baller that we only stayed one night.  You have to be baller to fly somewhere, stay one night, and then fly home.  The downside to staying one night is that Jeff planned a bunch of fun things that took place before we got there.  I was a little bummed to miss them.

We had a pre-show dinner/party at Jeff and Jeffrey's.  It was perfect.  This was the real reason to go.  On my own, I would never plan to go to a stage show in another state, but throw in a ton of cousin fun and I am in every time.  It was fun to learn that many of the cousins felt the same way.  Some of the cousins are a bit younger than me, and therefore hadn't even seen the movie.  I never would have known based on their enthusiasm.  They totally had me faked out until they confessed.  After dinner, Jeff took amazing care of us.  He got all 19 of us out of the building, hailed us all cabs, threw all of us country mice into the cabs, and told the cabby where to take us.  The theater was beautiful.  The show was great.  I was worried that there would be a problem with me and the play.  I like the movie SO much, and Christian Bale is not in the stage production.  I wondered how it could ever live up to my expectations.  Luckily, they changed the plot just enough to make it like it was Newsies 2.0 and not a remake of the movie.  I needed to sing along with many of the songs, but no one minded.

Afterwards, Jeff took us to Downtown, located Downtown to do some karaoke.  Where did you go?  Downtown.  But what is the place?  Downtown.  These wonderful jokes kept me busy the whole walk there.  I was the first person brave enough to do karaoke.  It is good that I went first, because I did a terrible job, and everyone else did an awesome job.  Had I seen their awesomeness first, I wouldn't have gone at all.  The karaoke guy looked like Wolfman Jack and decided to ask me a lot about my life before I started singing.  He wondered how on earth I managed to work in an office.  he gave it a go for a short time but couldn't tolerate it.  He probably said this because I looked so rock and roll just like him.  He knew that both of us were very baller.

I told a fella at the office about my wonderful weekend, and he was shocked that a cousin weekend was considered a fun thing.  What are your thoughts?  Cousins = nonstop fun?  or Cousins=lame potluck?

Did you attend any of your high school reunions?

If you were in my graduating class at Grand Blanc High School the answer is NO!.  Almost 10 years ago, a reunion was planned.  It was expensive.  There wasn't enough interest, and it was cancelled.

A few days ago, I was innocently sitting at my desk at work, minding my own business, when one of my younger coworkers asked if I had ever been to a high school reunion.  He had just received an email about his 10 year reunion.  I was super smug.  No way did I go to a reunion.  I polled the other people that sit in our row, and most of them had not attended one.  However, one woman did go to India to attend hers and she really enjoyed it.  I didn't think about it too much more after that...until the next day.

The next day I got an invite to a Facebook group that is dedicated to planning my 20 year high school reunion.  This is a problem because there is no way I am old enough to go to a 20 year reunion of anything.  I am just barely over 20 years old myself.  Even though this is obviously a mistake, I looked into the group.  It totally sucked me in.  There were all kinds of names that I kind of recognized.  There were other names of friends I haven't talked to in a while.  They were all talking about planning the event and all the options we have.  I started thinking about how I would go and how much fun it would be...and then it hit me.  Ten years ago, I didn't even consider going to the reunion.  All of a sudden, I am totally considering it.  I am somehow a totally different person now.  I am not saying I will definitely go, but it is already a huge deal that I am considering it.  

I have done some research on reunions.  I can remember seeing at least two movies about high school reunions.

These movies seem to equate high school reunions with judging the current status of the people you went to high school with and being worried about them judging you.  So I decided to be introspective about it.  Am I worried that people will not think I am thin enough, or successful enough or pretty enough?   I don't think so.  I also don't feel like I am way more thin and successful and pretty than I was in high school and therefore I don't have to go to the reunion to show them how much better I am now.  There is the plus side of going and getting to see good friends that I haven't seen in a long time.  There is the negative side of going and making awkward small talk with people that I barely remember, but have some slight impression of the person they were 20 years ago.  Would it be better if I thought of those people as strangers, and just made new impressions of them?  What if I start talking to some stranger, then realize they are someone I thought was a total jerk in High School?  What if they are totally nice now?  Do the jerks change after high school?

My sister did go to her 10 year reunion.  She said that the best part was near the end when she finally started talking to the people she didn't already know.  I like that idea.  It would be a great opportunity to meet new people.  However, I am not as outgoing as my sister, and the meeting new people part might be difficult.

If I go, I think I might NEED to get some sort of Romy and Michelle dress.  Would that be too meta?

So, I am polling again.  Who went to their reunion?  Was it fun?  Did you enjoy it?  Did you wear a crazy dress or hair style?  Did the jerks seem less jerkish?