Haven't seen her for a while...

The unforgiving hand of the past delivers a silly photo of this blogger (ten years ago!) goofing around at Coventry Elementary playground in Cleveland. I do have lots of memories of the day on which this photo was taken, including my own highly positive impressions of this all wood-and-rubber playground. There was, and I think still is, a race car, an amazing dragon with rubber tongue, and huge pirate ship on which to monkey around! Fabulous!

But, come on, the real treasure here is obviously that outfit. How late-90s granola-alternative are those threads? I was 21 and about to finish college. I wore that pale blue wool thrift store sweater all the fucking time, when I wasn't wearing an identical green one nabbed at a different thrift store. And those pants? I'm really not even sure what to say about them, except that I nearly died of happiness when I tried them on at the Salvation Army and they actually fit me. That great plaid, those tremendous colors, the optimal post-Grunge flare at the ankle. Perfection. And remember when those Doc Marten t-bar Mary Janes were the absolute thing to have? They spoke at once of the wearer's subcultural affiliation and good aesthetics (or so we all thought). As I remember it, Beth Wolak (née Meeker) had a sweet navy blue pair back then, and I chose the darling maroon ones you see above.

And, finally: the long, if ratty, hair, parted down the middle. I've resisted, my whole life, the pressure to have any hairstyle other than the lazy, lanky one you see above (but even longer and a little less ratty). Notable exceptions include the time I cut my hair like a boy's and dyed it platinum blonde, and my two years of Bettie Page bangs. Like I said, notable.

The graininess of the picture cracks me up. It's partly the fault of the recent scanning process, but it also has to do with the reality that regular people did not have digital cameras ten years ago. I'm certain this picture was taken with some piece-of-crap plastic thing from a drugstore.

Another thing regular people didn't have ten years ago? Blogs on which to post hilarious and charming old photos.