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The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

The Student News Site of Palo Alto High School

The Paly Voice

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Prom recap 2005

In what has become somewhat of a Voice tradition here at Paly, I will try to recap prom as eloquently as Timon did last year as a service to those of you who opted out of attending.

Location, location, location:

San Francisco City Hall in downtown San Francisco. A picturesque location that far outdid last year’s Decathlon Club, where the mood was broken by several pregnant women leaving the Lamaze class from across the fake stream that divided the health club from the dining area. In City Hall, there was a huge marble staircase in the center of the dance hall, off of which, to the left and right, there were two dimly lit dining rooms, with large round tables and display cases sprinkled throughout. City Hall was somewhat of a high-security building, which meant that each one of the 633 students in attendance had to go through metal detectors, quite a slow and uncomfortable process for those of us tottering about in little heels. It was humorous, however, to watch everyone empty their pockets and receive pat-down searches. The spotlights that spanned the skyline at the entrance to the building almost made it worth standing in the wind for half an hour.

A Little Din-Din:

Chicken: Seared chicken breast in a gravy-like sauce with mushrooms.

Pasta: Cannelloni with Julienne carrots and the option of Mariana sauce.

Vegetables: A mixture of cooked vegetables, including squash, broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini (all of which looked defrosted) served with cooked red potatoes in olive oil with rosemary seasoning.

Salad: Caesar Salad, most likely the freshest thing on the menu, prompted a long discussion at my table about whether it is really possible to ruin salad.

Dessert: A giant fountain of chocolate fondue surrounded by platters of fruit, cake, pretzels, and marshmallows for dipping. A number of people became permanent fixtures in front of the fountain

Drinks: Small glass bottles of 7 Up, Pepsi, and Diet Pepsi, along with a liter bottle of Crystal Geyser at each table

Though the buffet dinner was a little less elegant than last year’s sit-down dinner and dessert, the food was of a far superior quality. I did hear several complaints about the chicken, but all seemed pleased with the pasta, and the veggies this year were much more satisfying than last year’s "albino green beans."

Evening attire:

Fortunately, the more elegant setting also prompted attendees to dress a little more appropriately for the occasion. The absence of flighty girls clad in mini-skirts and ridiculous platforms came as a relief.

Fashion trends:

Gone were the polka dots and Pepto-Bismol pinks of last year. Rather, girls seemed to opt either for a classic look, with full-length gowns in shades of golds, greens, peaches, and earth tones or a "girls just want to have fun" look in flowing chiffon dresses, many in bright solds, that hit right above the knee. Most also accessorized with gold or silver shoes and chandelier earrings.

For the guys, prom attire included interesting or unusual cufflinks and a vest instead of a cummerbund. There were also a number of guys who choose to replace a vest or cummerbund with a set of dapper suspenders, a fun, casual look.

Wardrobe malfunctions:

A giant gold hub-cab around the neck, dresses with strategic holes and slits in certain areas, those clad in red plaids, the classic white tux (a mistake in any year), and in the words of junior Anique Drumright, "just because it’s bright, doesn’t mean it’s good."

Evening highlights:

Evening highlights included line dancing across the stairs (in fact, all the dancing on the staircase was extremely entertaining), watching students struggle to figure out the time warp, and making routine trips to the chocolate fondue fountain.

Evening lowlights:

A definite evening lowlight was having to watch people make-out on the balcony. There were complaints about the music, including that there were too few “classic” songs (i.e. “Build Me Up Buttercup” — The Foundations, “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” — Aerosmith, etc…) and too many slow songs.

Closing statements:

Despite a rather chilly beginning, this year’s prom was a definite step up from last year’s, with a more elegant location and more appropriately formal evening setup.

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