If ya wanna be my lover

Alright, so I'm taking you back 10+ years. Over half my life ago. Wow, when I put it that way, it's weird. Time has gone by so fast. Ok, enough of nostalgia--I don't have time for that right now. I'm already procrastinating on reading 3 books and writing 2 papers to post here, so let's make it quick.

The inspiration of this post comes from last night's late-night bus ride. Everyone was drunk after attending a concert in the British countryside. Therefore, they assumed it would be appropriate to karaoke every known cliqued song from the 90s to the 10-plus professors present on our bus. I don't think they appreciated it. I was having a ball though.

Sitting next to one of my best friends, she suddenly starts busting out The Spice Girls' "If Ya Wanna Be My Lover." Almost instantaneously, I was rocketed back to a vision of the 2nd grade me running around my backyard with a make-shift microphone of aluminum foil over a Styrofoam ball singing to my "boyfriend" (ahem, a tree) about how our relationship was going to last. Those oh, so wise words of Ginger, Scary, Sporty, Baby, and Posh (that's right, I remember their names at the drop of a hat) were magical and completely dead-on. As a girl who was experienced in the ways of the world (or so I thought), I couldn't have put it better myself.

Mom comes out and announces it's time to go. It's a Friday. And that can only mean one thing: ROLLER RINK TIME. I get on the latest fashion: jean overalls with a neon flowered shirt, pink plastic hair barrettes, and toe socks. I. Look. Hott. Make sure I've got my roller blades and we're off. I can barely contain my excitement as the mere 5 minutes it takes to drive there seems to be an hour.

Oh how I remember the sheer joy of flying around the roller rink listening to The Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, N'sync, and Chumbawamba (don't tell me you don't remember them). The limbo always came too soon. After failing to go under the stick and falling flat on my butt a few times, there were only a few more songs until "Late Night Skate" began and we had to leave. As I walked out, I admired the older kids waiting in line. Man, those 6th and 7th graders were so cool! They were so old and mature and, wow, their moms let them dye their hair different colors and get piercings. Don't even get me started on the belly shirts of the 90s--my mom would NEVER let me wear those cool outfits! Not that I would dream of asking. But I always admired from afar. It was always still light outside when we left, but I felt like I had partied until the next morning. I was a rock star.

"Mom mom mom mom mom mom mom can we pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease go to McDonalds? Every one's gonna go there after! You can get a Diet Coke. And I want a toy."