hello.

homecoming today. something to do with a dance (tomorrow night), an american football game (tonight) and maybe graduates coming back, hence the name.

also something to do with school spirit (ha!) and a parade at the end of the day which takes 10 minutes off every lesson. very nice. uh, the parade consists of floats, balloons and cheerleaders that really do jump around, but to my annoyance they're nowhere near as good as the ones on Bring It On.

the main thing about today seemed to the the "mums". (and while we're on the subject, i just want to say hi to karen's mum. hey!) these aren't mothers, because as you should be well aware by now, americans use the term "mom".

anyway, mums are like corsages except they aren't flowers, cos flowers aren't normally 12 inches in diameter. (i'm serious) i believe the convention goes thus: so you're going to homecoming. you and your date order these mum's, his and hers. (they also cost a lot of money) both types vary in size. the older you are (as in class), the bigger they get. so seniors have massive gold ones, juniors smaller silver ones, sophomores and freshmen even smaller, read and black (school colour) ones.

they are big, flouncy things, like those ribbon "flowers" you get on presents. in the center, sometimes you get a plaque with your name on it, or a little stuffed animal. then, especially with girls' mums, they've got ribbons hanging off them. imagine a girl with one pinned on her chest, the ribbons reach the floor and they have to be careful to not trip on them. boys generally have smaller mums attached to garters that they wear on their arms (which is a bit shite, cos the purist in me believes that garters should only be worn on legs. regardless of sex.)

most importantly, among the ribbons there can be "cow bells" (says my new physics buddy, but his date won't let him hang it on her's, apparently) and whistles and if you play american football, you can have little helmets. therefore these mums make a shitload of noise, jingling everywhere. and they wear these to a dance?

you and your date's names are on it, so in twenty years time, you know who to look for on friendsunited.com.

to conclude: mums are all about social status. but why want social status when you are the epitome of cool? i already have the ultimate accessory, but here's how to get your very own cheap version: print this out and stick it on a cigarette packet. maybe as a cheap decoy for theives.

i was in maths when suddenly i got Good Goodnight in my head. might as well. i always have difficulty keeping my eyes open for that lesson. i didn't have the heart of wake the boy who sits infront of me up the other day, so he jolted awake mid-test and failed. sorry.

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th since 5th october 2001