Moving On

I did it. This morning I logged onto the John Edwards website and signed up as a supporter. I did not contribute any money or anything.. but I might. There are rumors about him forming an alliance with Dean... I think that's great. I'm glad things are getting a little exciting in this race and I can tune in again. It's also good to have a new underdog to support. (heh)

Looking Back

O.K. So apparently I signed up with Classmates.com in 2001 while living in El Paso. It was probably during one of my bored spells at work in between being sent to the U.S./Mexico border for a crime story and covering Mrs. So and So's prize-winning rose garden. I don't remember signing up, and I haven't visited the site since, but every time someone from one of my three schools signs up, good old Classmates.com e-mails me to let me know. Thank God, right? I have Hotmail filtering the classmates e-mails right to junk mail. But today it occurred to me that I should just unsubscribe from the thing. I am always interested in reducing spam, especially when it's actually self-inflicted spam.

So, I opened the message telling me about the 7 new contacts from Northwestern University and scrolled to the bottom where I clicked on the unsubscribe link. But, the tricky masterminds of Classmates.com don't let you unsubscribe without your password. I, of course, do not know my password since I don't even remember signing up... so I had to request it. Then I got it and had to use it. Who has signed up in my 30-person high school class -- I wondered.

Now some backstory: I went to a private high school. My boyfriend during senior year went to a public high school. We had a terrible breakup and by most accounts a terrible relationship, although there were some high points. I have not spoken to him since we broke up... or really close thereafter. His family moved away. I have no idea where he is. Every couple of years, I will do a random internet search for his name (too common) and I did look for him on Friendster (no luck), but I haven't made great efforts to find him. I think I wrote him one letter during my freshman year of college. I gave him an update on the life and times of Jodi and then wrote something like, "If you don't write back, I will never bother you again." Or at least that's what I think I wrote. In any case, I never heard back.

So today, on my high school's alumni list from my year I saw his name. This is funny because he didn't go to my school and could only have been looking for me when he signed up like he did go to my school. It's also funny because he's been listed there for who knows how long and I could have found him at any time. Of course, he was probably lured there by the same banner ad or massive boredom that drew me into the classmates evil empire and he didn't leave any information in his profile and maybe he never checked back in, just like me. I could try to e-mail him through the e-mail address he has on file, but it would cost $35 to get the gold membership. And, while I am curious about what happened to him and who he has become... I don't think I'm $35 curious... and I guess that alone says a lot.