For those of you who may have been concerned, I am alive and well and keeping busy during this winter break.

Since last I posted, much fun was had in Deerfield. We had a couple nights of bars downtown (one tame, the other...not). A few more movies were seen (The Savages with Laura, National Treasure: Book of Secrets with Zoe, and Sweeney Todd with Zoe, Amanda, and Nikki) and many more people visited (a day with Eric, nonsense with Molly, dinner with Laura, lunch with Pat, and other fine times).

The only downside? I didn't get to do everything I wanted. I had planned to spend an afternoon at the Art Institute (it's practically like seeing old friends), and I missed out on getting together with Caitlin, Whitney, and Carly Schoenstadt. Overall more positives than not, so I guess it all works out.

On Monday, when I flew home, I got to meet up with my brother, his wife, and the baby for breakfast and a Target run so I could give them their Christmas gifts. Then I went to the airport, where I anticipated a 90+ minute delay. Thankfully, the plan took off a mere 30 minutes after it was scheduled and they made up a little time in the air and by the time I got my bags and my sister arrived to pick me up, I wasn't too far off my estimated time of arrival (as I had cushioned the numbers a bit).

We went directly to my parents' house for our big family Christmas (Eve) dinner (which consisted of the 10 permanent Florida residents, plus my cousin Stephanie and sister Fayanne and her husband Brad). It was really nice, because I was able to see all the members of my immediate family that day, except for my nephew Michael, who I'll be seeing this Saturday at Disney.

Christmas morning was nice. I ate breakfast with Emily and Tom at their house, then went to the parents' to open some Christmas presents with the family there. Later on, most of us went to my aunt Bonnie's house for a smaller Christmas-day dinner. It was decent, and quick (thank god).

The past couple days, I've been hanging out a lot with Fayanne and whoever else happens to be around. We've had some awesome games of Scene It, Buzzword, Such & Such, Disney Pictionary, and the most recent addition Last Word. Chris and Zoe also got Mario Party for their DS's, so we've been playing that frequently, too.

It's been a good time. Tomorrow, we'll probably be doing some shopping and I foresee more game-playing. Saturday is Disney to meet up with Michael and his dad, then a mini-baby shower for Fayanne. Sunday, I'll be heading to New York (where I'll be for a week, until the day before classes start). Where does the time go?

[I apologize for the random, and often incorrect, use of commas throughout this post. I usually over-comma-ify everything, so this time I just sort of left most of them out. I hope it's at least coherent.]

( I don't know what to write here... )

So Dane Cook was fun. We splurged and got the $75 tickets, then had several $10 cocktails. I also had to float Colleen a loan for a $35 souvenir hat and $10 for dinner after. So lots of money spent...but at least I'll be getting about $125 of that back.

After Dane, the parking lot was...a parking lot. Traffic wasn't moving at all. So we decided to walk over to Clubhouse...which is only about 10 blocks away. But we ended up making a wrong turn and going about 8 blocks out of our way before turning around and finally finding our destination.

While at Clubhouse, we got chatted up by a guy...probably about 36 and an architect. It was all bullshit, but mostly intellectual bullshit ranging from art and architecture to sexual orientation to Jesus (he's a nice Jewish boy who's good with his hands). It was the more engaging conversation I've had with anyone in months. Refreshing, I would say.

But we didn't home until late. I was in bed at 2am. And had to wake up at 8:30am...so that I could get ready for class, go to Starbucks and study for Chemistry during my morning Anthropology class.


Sadly, I think that all the heavy drinking, late nights, and lack of sleep have made me sick. Or at least put me on the edge of getting sick. I got a hot Caramel Apple Cider from Starbucks this morning instead of iced coffee because I thought it would help my scratchy throat. It didn't really. I was coughing all morning. So on the way home from class, I stopped at Walgreens for orange juice, shave gel and envelopes (the last two clearly have nothing to do with me being sick).

My plan is to drink the entire 64 oz. carton today (about 1000% of my daily vitamin C) and for lunch I had chicken noodle soup. Now, I'm laying in bed, watching some TV ("Bones," "House," "Desperate Housewives," "Brothers & Sisters," "Pushing Daisies," "Project Runway," "CSI," and "Grey's Anatomy").

Oy.

So yesterday I was supposed to have a Chemistry exam. All 400+ of us students went to class, had our Scantrons out and were waiting patiently for the tests to be distributed. And then they were...except that over 100 of us didn't receive an exam.

So my professor postponed the test until Thursday's class, which sucks because I wanted to get it over with already. (This is an important fact, keep it in mind.)


Last night, a bunch of us (two roommates and four neighbors) went to Ale House for dinner and beer...which was really good. Then we chilled for a while at home, played some flip cup and the girls got ready to go out (it takes me about 10 minutes to "get ready" so we were really just waiting on the glamourous ones). Afterward, we went to Devaney's...which was less fun. It was still pretty good, but I regretted all the drinking when I woke up this morning. But I'm feeling better now.

And tonight, against my better judgement, Colleen and I are going to see Dane Cook downtown. It's against my better judgement because tickets (with taxes and parking and everything included) are going to be about $65. Not quite pocket change. Also, if you'll recall from earlier...I have a Chemistry test tomorrow that I really need to study more for.

However, Colleen is REALLY looking forward to it. She's a huge Dane fan and said she literally called every person in her cell phone and no one want to go with her, and I can't let her down by bailing out now.

Plus, I do love stand-up...like...a lot. And Dane Cook is quite funny, though I've only seen one of his DVDs. So money aside, poor judgement aside, Chemistry test aside...I'm going to see Dane tonight.


As a final note, I wasn't planning on returning to Spring Hill until next week for Thanksgiving, but it looks like I'll be heading out there this weekend because my sister Emily just acquired a puppy. I say "acquired" because it was found in the parking lot of her work, and she took it home. So I think I'll be going out there and playing with the puppy (and presumably help take care of him while they are at work).

Isn't he adorable? (And cell phones take some pretty amazing pictures)

My weekend was quite excellent.

Food and Wine Festival on Saturday was full of wonderful wines, beers, mixed drinks, and other forms of alcohol. (Oh, and there was food too. Kielbasa!)

After, we post-gamed around the hotel and spent several hours getting progressively drunker and wandering places we shouldn't have (such as dark, scary areas beyond the paths). Of course, we documented the entire journey through digital pictures.

Sunday was spent recovering...sort of. After a hot game of mini-golf (at the Fantasia Gardens Fairways course) and lunch at the off-property Olive Garden...a nap was necessary to fully recover before the Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

The Halloween Party was sweet. A ton of candy was acquired, the parade was excellent (as predicted), and the fireworks exceeded expectations. The entire Magic Kingdom was decorated for fall and Halloween, so it was very festive, and there wasn't anything scary, which was perfect.

This morning, we did a little shopping at Downtown Disney and got lunch before I had to leave to get to class. What a buzz kill, let me tell you. But everyone else left too, so I didn't actually miss anything. Class was boring and all day today I've been rebelling against work. All I really have to do is write a one-page response for my film class, and I can easily do that between classes tomorrow...so if I don't get it done tonight, it's not a huge deal. I may be going out soon with Colleen and a couple of people from next door for Anthony's 21st birthday. Fun times.


Alright...I'm going to try to get a smidgen of work done before we leave.

First off, the staff at the Enzian is starting to recognize me. It's not necessarily a bad thing, the three people who mentioned it are nice people. However, it makes me embarrassed that I'm always there alone. Like..."oh, that girl is back. Alone, again."

In their defense, I've been there 6 times in 9 days. It's nice to have a pleasant rapport with people I see somewhat frequently. I just hate always being there on my own.

(The Enzian is an independent, nonprofit, café movie theater that shows foreign, independent and documentary films. It's set up with tables and a waitstaff, they serve food and drinks...the french dip is ridiculously good. It's awesome, I love it...but I'm always sitting at a table for two...all by myself.)


Second, Nathan Fillion was on "Ellen" today and he was so fabulous and charming and told an amazing story about how he acquired a cat and I adore him. SO glad he's joined the cast of "Desperate Housewives" and when I get a free 24 hours of my life, I need to watch "Firefly."


Third, I still enjoy "Kid Nation," as a partially guilty pleasure. It's just so good.

----

This afternoon, my roommate Jane and I worked out (I know, right?) at the fitness room in the office. Basically, I walked on a treadmill for an hour. It was kind boring, but did feel good.

And tonight, Anna and I are probably seeing a movie. I'm a little nervous that she'll want to see something that a) is crappy or b) I've already seen...but I'm sure I'll agree with anything she wants.

EDIT: The movie fell through, and instead, I was dragged off to a bar. It was pretty crappy (very crowded, smelly, with a wet floor). And I wasn't drinking because I didn't have the cash, so I couldn't enjoy that part of it, and I never loosened up enough to dance. Overall, I really shouldn't have gone, but I felt bad making Anna go alone. It could have been worse, though, and once we got outside, things looked up. Except the guys she was meeting were kinda total jerks. Every once in a while they would say something that made me cringe and want to get the hell away from them before they got themselves into a fight. Eh, what's done is done.

----

Finally, I just got off the phone after a 1 hour and 20 minute conversation with Candace, which was fabulous. I'm pretty sure that's about 7000 times longer than any other phone call I've had with Candace, so it was nice that it flowed so well.

AND! I now have a general plan to visit her in NYC over winter break!!! I'm SO SUPER excited! The Met! The MoMA! Broadway! And a free place to stay. I am SO there.

Two nights in a row...who is this chick?


Tonight, I went out with not only the roommates, but a ton of extra people as well. I only remember about half of their names, but we ended up at a bar that didn't have a line outside (unlike The Library), and danced and drank for a couple hours. Things got a little rocky at the end...as they do when girls are involved (*rolls eyes*), but overall, it was good.


So I don't know who I am, or what I've done to Gail, but I'm sure she'll be back in her "social pariah" form soon enough.


Until then, goodnight. Because I'm TIRED.