a) claire, n3o and wingnut are all super cute. The only rave photos I've ever had taken of me are either so early on that I look more like some crazy militant than a raver or when I was at my fattest. Seeing other people's old rave photos does bring back the memories though.
Like my 2nd party. I was just getting into the very large pants thing, but I had no idea how to buy or make them yet. So I bought a pair of 4XL 'army surplus' black cargo pants, hemmed them and wore a really tight belt under a very baggy t-shirt. To top off the odd look, I saw someone with those large plastic keychains, but I thought they looked lame. So I went to the hardware store, bought about a meter of the largest chain they had and attached that to my wallet. As it turned out, the chain was strong enough to tow full-sized trucks, and was actually a bit of a hazard. I would spin a bit while dancing, and it would pinwheel out. Had I hit someone with it, I probably would have broken their pelvis, or at least sent them crumpling to the ground.
But I kept the chain, because I thought that it looked great, and it became iconic for my first year of raving. I was known as 'that guy with the chain'.
Anyway, rambling aside... aside,
b) that's an awesome mug claire. Your grandma should be commended for her fine taste.