Michelle Black:
CLASS OF 1988
Mariner High SchoolClass of 1988
Everett, WA
Western Washington UniversityClass of 1994
Bellingham, WA
Michelle's Story
Life
Crazy times - much has happend in *gasp* 30 freaking years! Been many places, done many things, met many people, and ended up back in Everett. Much has changed - managed to find a guy crazy enough to marry me and teach me to play ice hockey, and much has stayed the same - still the pudgy sci-fi nerd valedictorian, but I'm finally okay with that. After loosing my dad to cancer in January 2007 it finally hit home that people were much more important than things (not that I don't still like and appreciate nice things!) so I've been trying to get back in touch with all kinds of people. Basically having a great time being me, wish the best for everyone, and hope somebody actually gets around to planning a 30th reunion just cause it would be fun to reconnect.
Been playing loads of ice hockey these days, skating out with the ladies of the Everett Ravens, and playing goalie for my co-ed team in the GSHL (cause having two full sets of stinky hockey gear just isn't nearly enough to make the basement completely unihabitable - ha!)
Have had the change to travel alot including a few trips back east and over the pond to England, Scotland and Poland. Currently saving up so we can spend a ridiculous amount of time at the 2010 Olympics (so yeah, I got to go to them, but only for one weekend because I ended up going and getting all pregnant and stuff) - cause its a shame to be so close to Canada and not go watch a curling match.
I truly wish the best for any and all, it would be great to get back in touch with anybody who wants to talk about old times, new times, or just remember how goofy, immature, sometimes mean and petty, and plain old ridiculous I was back in the day, I have no delusions about being a complete dork!
So being the way I am, I didn't want to be a brand new mom at 40, so I had my daughter the day before just so I could say I was a new mom at 39. As of my latest edit to this page, she is about to start second grade!! And somehow I ended up being a cheerleader mom for a year, and now I'm her elementary schools PTA president - I guarantee *none* of you saw that coming!!
School
Looking back I know the nerd in me definately enjoyed the education part of school more than the social side, but thanks to my great group of friends (Suz, Lynn, Ang, the Jen'...Expand for more
s, Christy, Sheila) it wasn't the loner, angst filled, wastehole they always seem to portray in the movies! We had great times - I'm still loving the whole "Plaid Liquid" thing from Advanced Chem - we were our own "A" list even if we didn't even register with the rest of the school.
College
I definitely enjoyed college up at WWU more than high school - learned that I could be funny, actually converse with strangers without melting into a puddle, and be a leader instead of a follower. And well there was still the whole science nerd, majored in Physics thing going on, but sometimes you just can't escape your DNA.
Workplace
After graduating with my BS in Physics I moved on to the illustrious BS job of working at the local McDonalds on the Mukilteo Speedway while trying to figure out "what to do next". In a desperate move to stop smelling like french fries I took a civil service test just to feel like I was at least "trying" to do something and ended up testing at the top of the list to become a 911 operator and police/fire dispatcher. Not exactly a job in science, but I could wear jeans and a sweatshirt to work and not come home smelling like grease.
Turns out I was really good at bossing police and firemen around and ended up staying in the biz for almost 10 years. I ended up getting recruited by a software company to train other dispatchers how to use their product. I had a great time flying all over the country and meeting all kinds of people, but at the same time flying all over the country had its drawbacks as well - if you go from no status to Gold status on Alaska Airline in less than 7 months that means you're traveling way to much!! (And spending 3 weeks in Alaska in January didn't do much for my overall attitude either - although the police chief was very nice and took me on an 80mile snowmobile trip up the Yetna River so it wasn't all bad!)
Luckily I complained to the right friend at a party on one of the rare weekends I was home and that's how my strange and winding career path led me to being a Database Manager for a science and engineering firm that specializes in managing environmental cleanup projects. Definitely a much better fit for a Physics major than making Big Macs!
Military
God Bless them and all that they do for our country.
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Reunions
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