Vacation or Reunion: You Make The Call

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

The weekend after next (starting Friday, 7/22) I'm offered with two different options on what to do, and I can only choose one: 1) Go up to Lake Tahoe and stay in a phat condo with my family, or 2) Go to my 10-year high school reunion on Saturday the 23rd. As I'd be travelling on Friday with my stepdad up to the condo and coming back with him on Sunday evening, I can obviously only do one or the other

Both have upsides and downsides. In Tahoe's favor, I haven't been on an honest vacation in a while, and it's been so hectic at work that I could really use a weekend to decompress. However, I have been known to have...bumpy times with my family on vacations. My mom can go very psycho when she's out of the house, and my girlfriend can't go. But still, it should be a pretty chill weekend and I can watch movies, hike around, hang with my brother, maybe go down to the lake too.

As for the reunion: I'm still a little iffy. I was originally just not going to go for monetary reasons, but one of the reunion coordinators (an old friend of mine, actually) said that they want to comp me a ticket to entice me to go. There are a couple of people I would like to see, but by and large I'm just not very interested in most of my old classmates. Didn't care much about them then, still don't now. None of my high school friends I keep in touch with (including my GF) want to go, so there's not much guarantee I'll have some compatriot to hang with if it's dull. But I keep hearing how it's a very special occasion, and there won't be another one for 10 years, blah blah blah. But on the upside, even if it sucks, I'll still be able to get good blog fodder out of it. As a writer I feel this need to cover it.

Knowing the very little that you all know of me , what should I do? Better yet, if you were given the above options, what would you do?

 

[IronWolf]

I'd go the Lake Tahoe route. I missed my 10 year reunion and have no regrets. Blog material or not, I think time on a real holiday would be well worth it. Just steer clear of volatile family members if necessary.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Go to Tahoe man. High School Reunions aren't all they're cut up to be.

 

[Knightfall]

Go to Tahoe man. High School Reunions aren't all they're cut up to be.

I agree with this. Real Life ^TM High School reunions aren't worth the time. (Not unless you like taking a surreal look at the past.) After all, we're not talking Grosse Point Blank. Right?

 

[Turanil]

I'd go the Lake Tahoe route.

Ditto

 

[der_kluge]

I went to my 10 year and enjoyed it a lot. But it was no weekend in Tahoe. A lot of times they (the person organizing a reunion) will put together a scrapbook of the event. Just ask for a copy of it.

 

[reveal]

Tahoe. Family is more important than a 10 year reunion.

Plus they'll be other reunions in the coming years.

 

[Rel]

I'll dissent and say go to the reunion. Our 15 year was last fall and I had a fun time at it. For the record, I was far from being very popular in High School.

I was surprised at how many people I saw, who I did not count among my friends, who I had lots of fun talking to. People really mature a lot in the 10 years after High School and I genuinely had a good time catching up with them.

The family vacation thing is likely to happen again within the next 10 years (and you've already cited that family vacations can be stressful at times). And if you go to the reunion and have a miserable time you'll not only get to write about it but can skip all subsequent reunions without batting an eyelash.

 

[Treebore]

Family and Tahoe versus a bunch of people I never really cared about? Not a question for me.

 

[Hijinks]

I went to the one high school in the USA that apparently doesn't offer reunions (Chantilly High School in Chantilly, Virginia). They've had my contact info since 1994 (I graduated in 92) and I've never heard anything about a reunion; my 10 year came and went without a word from them. I check their website regularly but don't see anything posted.

I didn't have a really good high school experience so I'd go on the family vacation in a heartbeat. When your parents are gone you'll regret not having spent as much time as possible with them (not to sound morbid but, there ya go).