Sandy's Diary - 1959

I was in an antique store today and came across a '5 Year Diary' from The Standard Diary Company, a division of Wilson Jones, New York City.  Price: $3.50.  It is white with faded gold lettering and a lock.  There is no key, but the lock opens.  Each page has the day on top and there are 4 lines per day for each of the five years.  At first look, it appeared to be blank.  I can picture someone thumbing through the book and thinking it was unused.  Had they noticed the writing, I don't think they'd have sent it off to be sold.

The writing begins on September 30, 1959.  (That was a Wednesday.)  The owner of the diary did not write  for long; just Sept. 30 to Dec 2, and she skipped many days.  Based on the entries, I can piece together that her name or nickname is Sandy, she seems to be in high school and she was probably in central Wisconsin.

Her entries show that teenage angst hasn't changed much in 53 years.  On the slim chance that you know the author of this diary, send me a message.  I'd love to give it back to her, or to a relative.  I figure Sandy would be about 68-70 years old today.

I've transcribed it with spelling, punctuation and notations as written.  Some letters/words were unclear.  Little notations are in parenthesis approximate to where they were scribbled.

September 30

Today is my birthday, and I recieved this diary, a dog from my honey, pen, lamp, 2 purfume, bracelet from a surprise party the girls gave me.  He didn't come over tonight & I miss him.  No letter from Ole today.

October 1

Had band tonight & then went with Dave.  He's so good to me and he loves me too.

October 2
Got a letter from Ole.  He loves me too.  Am I in a mess.  Got A+ in my Eng. test.  Nita's mad as she gave me the test questions.  Dave came over to Akeys.  We are trying (+.b.q.) As it means to much to Mother.  We won our game 13-6

October 3

Babysat at Micheals, was a pig pen.  Dave came over.  He would make an excellent husband.

October 4
Mother and Dianne went to City Point.  Dave & I stayed home.  Spent all weekend writing a shitty sonnet.

October 5

Skipped school is morning.  Wrote a letter to Ole. - Dave was late picking me up for band.  I slept over at Muschis.

October 6

Gosh, I am falling in love with Dave.  It bothered me because I didn't think he was caming overtonight.

October 7

Was nominated to be a candidate for homecoming queen.  Hope I get it.  Judy Mier doesn't want me to get it though.

October 8

Didn't get the nomination but it was close.  Went up to Paul's place.

October 9

Got my period.  Went to Point with Dave & Diane.  Am I in agony.

October 10

Went to Madison with Hauke.  Saw the cutest boy.  O - la -la.  - Hauke is crazy  Babysat at Akeys.  Had a bal in the house.

October 11

Ate dinner & supper at Judy & Al's. - Went to the show with Maria Lanza in .  Louise asked me to live with her when I go to college.

October 12

Band tonight.  Ugh.  Juanita is quitting cheer leading. - ?  First snow fall. - Very pretty.

October 13

Nita didn't quit, was because of the cheating going around about her.  Dull day.

October 14
Am pretty ritzy had my hair done at the beauty shop.  Dave said, "Sandy, I want to marry you, etc. Don't ever leave me. - also.  I am confused.  Oh boy am I.

October 15

 Had picture taken today.  Hope they turn out

October 16
Went to the game with Geno & Butch Snay.  What a riot. - We won.  Dave went out and got drunk.

(5.00)
October 17
Nothing new. - Dave, Marge and I rode around.  He stayed all night (ou16) drinking with Lucille Bridle and Dorothy Gilbert. - I am furious.

October 18

Studied this afternoon.  Dave worked.

October 19

Band, studies for chem-isty at Judy's.  Opa Shir. said Henery Kmjs. better watch out as my boyfriend is bigger than him.  ha

October 20
Got only 1 wrong in chemistry am dumbfounded.  So is everyone.  The little grade school kids have been falling all over me.  Must be sick.

October 21

Skipped instructions as I am in Homecoming skit

October 22
Worked on the float & pep skit.

October 23

Karbauski is queen.  Ugh. - Went to the dance with Dave - nice; met 3 cute guys all in one night.  2 from Nekoosa but go to La Crosse State & 1 from Hungary.  Rained cats & dogs for our game talked all thorough & am soaked.  Won 6-0

October 24 (3.50 1.00)
Babysat at Akeys. Dave came over and he gave me a ride home - -

(1.00)
October 25
Studies for chemistry all afternoon with Judy.  Talked to Marge on phone for an hour & she thinks I am lucky to have Dave. So do I.  Babysat at Akeys.

November 10

Haven't wrote for a long time. - Is too boring in this town.  Hate (don't like) Nancy Weaver.  She can flunk test & still get As.  What a badcuse.

November 13
I think today was the day.

December 1

We are fudding with N. Mauer yet.  I gahce care if y she goes & jumps in a lake.

December 2
Xmas is growing near & I am saving money like mad.  See Dave & love one him yet.

Woot shirts!

Woot recently had their bargain mystery shirt sale again, both for adults and kids.  As always, order 3 for the best price and outcome.  Adult shirts first, kids second...

I LOVE THIS ONE!  It is called Poison.  If you don't get the reference then I'm afraid being friends with you would be inconceivable.  I'd flip you off, but having six fingers makes it difficult to figure out which finger is in the middle.

This next shirt is nice too.  It is called Minor Modifications.  Poor Pluto.  :-(

I wasn't sure what the third shirt was all about.  Now that I know, I"m still pretty Meh about it.  It just doesn't apply to me.  It is called King Of The Grill.  I'm willing to part with this one, if anyone wants it.  It is a ladies XL; you can see the measurements by clicking here.

On to the kids shirts!  This batch produced three that my sons will actually be able to wear in public.

The first is called Cupcakeosaurus.

The second is Fractal Tree.

Third is Orbital Model Of The Carbon Atom.

Pencil Hoarding

I'm in the middle of a household purge and rearrangement.  I came across a small box labeled 'desk' in my husband's writing.

As I started to sort through the mess inside, I found a couple dozen unused pencils that I've been dragging around since high school.  Mostly fancy round pencils; the kind that were sold individually back then.  Holographic, rainbow, marbled pastel, etc.  There were even a couple brightly colored neon pencils with my old Credit Union logo.  I got those when I opened my first checking account at 16.

I remember why I never used them. I couldn't bear to actually sharpen the pencils because they were too pretty.  I wanted them to stay nice and new.  I was also the kid that, given some stickers, would not stick them on anything.  I'd continue to use tiny old crayon stubs rather than 'ruin' a new box of crayons.

I clearly had issues.

I see that same 'saving' trait in my older son.  He will unwrap a gift, but not open the box, because he likes the thing to stay new.  He usually gets around to playing with the toy, but sometimes I will find a small gift - like a matchbox car - still unopened months later.   He is the same way about his favorite candy.  Only recently did he finally eat the last bag of Skittles from the pile that he bought at summer camp in 2010.

My younger will use the heck out of something but will not easily give up the destroyed leavings.  Broken pencils, a random leg from an action figure, a toy car with no wheels, etc.  He is the rare person that actually will find a new purpose for the object.

As an adult, I've made an effort to be more of a Use It or Lose It person.  There is really no point in holding onto things that should be useful but are just collecting dust.  Not even "in case I need it later".  99 times out of 100, you won't.  That other time, you'll swear and gnash your teeth about it.  "If only I hadn't thrown that out two years ago!"   Heh.

I didn't toss the pencils, btw.  I'm going to use them.  For real this time.

Jackpot!

Every so often, Woot has a Random Shirt sale where you can get tees at an extra cheap price.  The catch is, you get to pick the quantity (1-2-3) and the size, but you don't have any say over the design, hence the 'random'.  Sometimes you get one you love, sometimes get one you'd never wear in public, and sometimes you don't care either way.  IMO, it's the best lottery ever.  To get the best deal and the best chance of getting a great design, always buy 3 shirts

If you search my blog you'll see how much I love Shirt.Woot.  I've bought tees for everyone in the family.  I've slacked off on posting earlier summer purchases, so I'll start with those.

Individual purchases, in order: For my husband's birthday, I got "Humanity Gets Voted Off".  For the 11 year old, "Stink Less!"   For the 9 year old, "Cheddar Power".  For me, "Dr. Adorable Love Potion" and "Morning Power Up".

There was also a Kids Shirt Random in July.  This batch was in the 'Meh' category.  "Fresh Crab" is a Woot in-joke, so the kids were perplexed.  "Natural Instinct" is so cute, but a little babyish for their ages. "Two Queens" is a great design...for girls.

And finally this brings us to today's delivery of random shirts for me.  They are all winners, IMO.

First up is "Galactic Gumtastic"  the best part is that there are nine planets.  Pluto may be called a dwarf, but he still belongs.

Second, "If I Only Had a Brain" shows the Wizard of Oz Scarecrow breaking in with a mob of Zombies.  Self-explanatory.  I might just wear this one to Meet The Teacher night tomorrow.

 

The last shirt is for fans of Futurama and retro sci-fi.  "Forbidden Future" shows Bender carrying Leela, ala "Forbidden Planet" 1956 movie poster style.  Both the cartoon and movie are on Netflix, btw.

Great School Supply Tip

If your kid needs solid color folders and you have access to ShopKo*, look for a brand called Better Office Products - Subject By Color.  They make a poly (plastic) folder that will hold up all school year, and often for a second year.

On sale they are $0.99, regular price is $1.79.  They cost more than the cheapie paper folders but you really do get what you pay for in this case.

If you can't find this brand, look for another heavy-duty type.  Wal-Mart sells poly folders, but they are flimsy and prone to tearing.  It should feel sturdy and stand up straight when you hold it by the bottom corner.  If it bends on it's own, don't buy it.

BOP also makes pencil cases that are perfect for holding a 24 pack of colored pencils.  The narrow paper Crayola box gets torn up pretty quickly and the kids don't like to take the time to put the pencils back.  The slide-out drawer makes cleanup fast & easy.

*Walgreens also carries this brand, but selection is limited and they may not have the folders.  I'm sure other stores have them, but I don't know which ones.