Reunion Oblivion

In the context of college life, "oblivion" often connotes intoxication, mischief, and mayhem--in short, fun. However, my entry into the 'reunion experience' conformed to the more conventional definition of the word. Per Webster's:

Oblivion: 1. the fact or condition of forgetting or having forgotten; especially : the condition of being oblivious 2. the condition or state of being forgotten or unknown.

Just to set the scene, it was about 57 degrees Fahrenheit and pouring down rain. It was raining so hard that driving there, I could barely see and the windshield of my car kept fogging up. Upon arrival, I learned that the 'luncheon' would take place in the field house (lunch in a gym, just what I always dreamed of!), about a fifteen minute (read: cold, rainy, miserable) walk from the main campus. Also, it had been constructed as a test of one's ability to plan ahead (I flunked). Unless you had ordered your solitary sandwich about a month in advance, you couldn't get anything to eat for any amount of money. Access to the line was strictly policed.

Did I mention that at first I barely recognized anyone, and that no one recognized me? As I--freezing, wet, hungry, and very cranky--looked on, my classmates huddled around two rickety tables (for warmth, no doubt). I thought to myself "This is horrible. What am I doing here? At least as a student I was warm and got to eat lunch."