got a question for ya, nothing vulgar this time, i promise

::sigh::

Young Me: Yay! We have breasts and straight hair!
Me: We do.
Young Me: But we're still geeks, right?
Me: We are.
Young Me: Damn. At least we dress better. But what's up with the boots?
Me: You'll grow to have a healthy obsession with shoes.
Young Me: Freak.
Me: You have no subletly.
Young Me: Huh? At least give me some advice.
Me: Here, memorize The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce.
Young Me: You don't like Bon Jovi anymore, do you?
Me: Fuck off.

and i would do it.

EW. Still...

I think that happened to me ~12, more or less. Was it puberty that sucked the marrow from my life? /misquote Dunno.

Paisley sounds exotic from yonder side of the Atlantic...as does marriage, frankly

This really deserves a place on the posts that make you laugh out loud thread. Paisley is, well, shit. And not in the slightest bit exotic.
http://freespace.virgin.net/andy.preece/cycling/cycleroutes/paisley.jpg

I don't think 12 year old me would be that surprised that her 30 year old counterpart was married. I think 16-26 year old me would have been more surprised. I still retained some of my youthful optimism at the age of 12 and was a bit young to realise I wasn't going to be the kind of girl that guys would fall in love with.

23yearoldme: JUST...DON'T.

Me at 12:  Oh no, I don't look different.
Me at 23:  Nope, sweetie. Sorry, you still look like me.
Me at 12:  I'm still a Duran fan?
Me at 23:  Yes! But the good part about this is that you actually get to go see them live!
Me at 12:  Coolness!
Me at 23:  Definitely. Six times, in fact. And you get to meet Nick and Simon, too.
Me at 12:  Wow. Ok, now what's the catch?
Me at 23:  Um, no catch at all, truthfully. But you do have to know something very important.
Me at 12:  Uh-oh. What's that?
Me at 23:  Um, sweetie, when you get to be my age, Dad will die.
Me at 12:  *crying* WHY? WHY?????
Me at 23:  Well, remember how he had cancer once before?
Me at 12:  *nods, wipes tears away with sleeve*
Me at 23:  He'll get it again, but this time it won't go away and you'll have three years to say goodbye before it's time.
Me at 12:  *sniffling* B-b-b-but how can you handle it so well?
Me at 23:  Honey, when you get to be my age, you become stronger than you thought you could be. But then again....
Me at 12:  What? What's up now?
Me at 23:  Then again, you don't become as strong as you'd like to be.
Me at 12:  Why? What happens?
Me at 23:  You get your heart broken.
Me at 12:  Huh?
Me at 23:  Trust me on this one, dear. And it becomes harder to deal with than Daddy's passing on or the fact that you have to be Mom's caretaker.
Me at 12:  Oh man, that must really suck then, this whole "heartbreak" thing. I feel lonely now.
Me at 23:  Yeah, I can understand. But you won't be as lonely as you think, because you'll actually have quality friends.
Me at 12:  So I can handle stuff better then.
Me at 23:  Definitely! And you live in a better neighborhood locally, too, and have a college degree, and all this cool technology you can't even begin to understand now, and you've got a driver's license and a vehicle and you might even get surgery by the end of the year that will allow you to go without glasses!
Me at 12:  Yeah, that all sounds cool, but... Daddy dying and the heartbreak and all. How can you live through all that?
Me at 23:  Just barely, dear. But you really have no choice but to be strong and to live through it all.
Me at 12:  Yeah. I can see that. But... can you give me any advice on how to make my life cool?
Me at 23:  Sure. Don't pay attention to the people who make fun of you. Put yourself out there more. Take your education seriously no matter what. Don't think being a "nerd" is uncool. Don't give up on the tennis. Sing more. Read more. The very first time you try killing yourself, get help. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Make Mom be careful about driving when you get to be 14. Make Dad go to the doctor more. Play more often with dogs. Try out a video game, because now is the only time you can start. Try out more music. Write more. Be more of a risk-taker.
Me at 12:  And... ?
Me at 23:  I think that's it. The rest you'll have to figure out on your own. Oh yeah, and be more forceful than you are now. That can be the last bit of advice.
Me at 12:  Oh, ok. Thanks. You really think this will help?
Me at 23:  More than you know. Trust me.

Much love

Oll

She'd be happy that I moved back to England, though. Though she'd probably be disappointed that I wasn't a fabulous popstar/successful artist/respected novelist, I'd tell her what things to stick with and what things to avoid so that she could be one.

i'd just hug him a while.

Hello. Does this go on for long?

No, you actually start college next year. Trinity and all.

That'll be nice.

Yeah, sort of. You know how you don't have to try real hard at this stuff? That'll change.

I'm certain I'll do okay.

Yeah, you are, aren't you? Come here so I can look at you.

What are you looking for?

Certainty. I'm running low these days.

What? How? It's not difficult to be certain, you see the right thing and you do it. It's central to what we are!

Not so much these days.

What do you have if you're not certain?

Something else, something better.

What?

... I don't know, I can't really explain.

You can't explain because it doesn't exist! You're making it up to pretend that it's good because it's all that you've got!

No!

..Maybe.

Anything else?

Dad gets sick in four years time. He gets better and then after another five years he doesn't.

So I should be nice to him for that time?

No, you'll be giving him a lot of grief, the usual teenage stuff. You have plenty of time to make things right before the end.

So why are you telling me this, then?

You pissed me off.