Wednesday, January 31, 2007

January 30

Econ in Allen
Lunch at 12
Full day of Classes
-Went by fast
Back to Allen for dinner at 5
Ulrich opening at 7
-IPRH at Pennsylvania
-Tiny by impressive
Hw in Caitlin's Room
-Ryan asleep by 8pm
--He's sick now
Late Night
-spent all my points!

January 29

CS without V
-she's still sick
SO COLD OUT
Lunch time
Math Lecture
-earphones!!
Print paper in Lab
-out of Ink
English building by 5pm
-mailbox #278
Dinner
No hw really
Brian Ulrich Visit
-Guest in Residence
24

January 28

Sunday
-Brunch
Worked on Paper all day
-Room 326
Dinner
Edit help from Caitlin/Karen
New Week of classes

January 27

Woke up, breakfast/lunch
Pack
Drive Home
Back to Allen
Unpack a bit, then Salvation Army
Sweater
Dinner
With Ria to Jeremy's
Candy Rave

Friday, January 26, 2007

January 26

Shower
Lunch with Dad/mom
Shopping with mom
-soup
-jeans!
Home
Tv with mom
Lounge
Dinner with Gparents
-pizza at Gabatonis
Visit DANN

January 25

Classes
Home
Dinner
As Time Goes By
Early bed

January 24

SICKness consumes me.

January 23

Tuesday. DAMN.

January 22

Monday. Uh, classes?

January 21

Bears win!

January 20

Last night I had to be extra careful to set my alarm. Today I had 1pm traffic school! Omg what a waste of time. The instructor was so ridiculous. I cannot imagine being his father, I feel sorry for his kids. He knows every law by heart and its number. This guys told us that he spent 6 months researching a tow truck company for his family to put on speed dial 1 & 2. WOW.

After class I stopped by the mall to look at some clothes by didn't have any luck. When I got back to Urbana I found Virginia, Karen Loda, Caitlin and Steph waiting for me. They wanted to go to the mall! First we stopped and got some dinner at TacoBell! YUMM! I was just at the mall! OH well they wanted to see Nico at work (Ambercrombie) and I wasn't driving. The mall was super crowded and after a little shopping and visits we left.

The rest of the night was just bs and hang out time until the party at 808. I visited Ria upstairs to find Paulina and Jeremy totally OC. Good times. After a walk around Allen we made it to 808 just as the party was starting. Okay this bash was so out of control amazing. I pretty much lost control and everyone else did too. The music was meh, OK but I danced it out anyway with Caitlin and Virginia. Gina showed up later too, Oh and evan!

I could've stayed there and danced forever but the cops came! We had 2 min to get out. I wasn't really worried and neither was anyone else. We went back to Allen and then decided for some food on Green street. Qudoba was packed so Caitlin's sister gave us the 2nd floor to ourselves...and we basically threw a second dance party there. Omgggg hahaha.

Back to 808 for a little hang out and sing along then to Allen. And now it's super late and I need SLEEP. I got shit to do tomorrow.

January 19

First Friday of the semester. Tonight me and Paulina went to an apartment party with Jeremy and his friends in Champaign. It was def fun. Not much dancing, more talking and mingling. Paulina got a little OC but we contained her. Fav quote of the night: "Someone pooed on the coats guys!"

After the apartment we left early and took the bus back to Urbana to go to a different party by Allen. It was sort of dying down but we showed up and hung out for a while. Ria showed up later, however steph had left with Dave earlier so I didn't get a chance to see her. The party had sort of 'untapped potential' but no worries. Tomorrow night will be way more fun.

After the party I walked back to my room. I am about to hit the sheets. SO TIRED.

January 18

I hit the usual Tues. and Thurs. class block today. Nothing really exciting happened. My advertising teacher is starting to amaze me, A TON. But it's thursday...and you know what that means, it's Friday for me! That's right, no classes on friday. Woot.

So what'd I do, hit the bars, go to some wicked party? Noooo sat in my dorm! Oh well I needed a break and I had some math problems to get through. That will probably be the usual thursday night for me. Or else I could go home a day early, that'd be nice.

My books cost so much this year. I might return some and get a few offline to save my Dad some money. I mean, he does pay for everything.

January 17

Second day of classes. On wednesdays I have Computer Science and then math later after lunch. I walked to CS with virginia. We basically have the same schedule this year, so we're always together! CS seems like it won't be too hard at all. I looked over part of the midterm and I like knew half of the answers. Thanks myspace for your html coding!

After lunch I hit the math lecture. Okay I don't really think the dude knows what he's doing. Math could totally own my soul this semester. I completely despise math. I haven't taken it since Junior year of high school, so this could be a major disaster.

Other than math nothing really exciting happened today. After dinner I had my first CS lab. It is of course taught my someone who can't speak english clearly, but good thing I have some computer skills. I understood it all.

I have a good feeling about this semester.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

January 16


First day of classes! I tossed and turned so much last night, then kept checking the clock because I was freaking out I missed my first class. By the time it was 9, I had probably got out of bed to check the alarm clock 5 or 6 times, but it was finally time to hit the shower. I threw some clothes and arranged my schedule for the day, writing down the right buildings and rooms to attend.

Econ was first today at 10am. This econ class will be so much easier than last semesters. It is in Allen for one thing, and also I won't have that awful professor I had last semester. That old man was smart, but he just couldn't convey his knowledge to us very well. Anyway the econ class went well. We did some introduction things where you say your name and what your interests are to "break the ice" in the classroom. Fuck that! We're not in 4th grade, just teach the freakin' class.

Lunch went alright. The toasted cheese was surprisingly good, maybe they've learned something over break.

Business Calculus came next. I walked out to the quad, which btw is quite a far walk in the freezing weather. The class went okay, the TA jumped right into the first 2 sections. I sort of grasped it, but later tonight Gina helped me with the hw. XD

Rhet went alright. The professor seems a little out there but probably a good guy. We didn't have to do any work, instead we did the "break the ice" routines and stated our names and whatnot. Seems like we don't have any tests or anything like that, only some papers. Papers or tests??

Well probably the best class of the semester came next, Intro to Advertising. I met up with Samantha in the entry of Lincoln Hall and we found a seat in the massive lecture hall. That building is so old! It seriously looks like something out of old 1800's movie but only decaying and brown. Ew. Well when you get past the interior of the room, the actual class seems awesome. The professor is way cool and the way he talked up a career in Adv and telling us about the cool ad layouts we're going to have to work on, I got excited. Could be way fun!!

After advertising me and Samantha decided to make a run through the book stores and pick up any last minute books. I made it back to Allen just in time for dinner, which sucked AGAIN. Ew. Following dinner me, Steph, and Caitlin decided to make a run to champaign for a few things. We got in Steph's car at Daves and headed into town. Our little shopping spree didn't last long, and soon I was back doing math homework. I needed help from Gina and she definitely helped.

January 15


Today I slept in to about noonish. Then I talked to Ria and we hit up lunch and some yummy chicken patty sandwiches for lunch. Well, those chicken pattys are probably one of the only things I have missed. The dorm food isn't going to well so far and I am definitely missing my Mom's food at home.

For the rest of the afternoon me, Ria, and Mathew hit up some book stores and rented a movie. We came back to Allen and watched 'The Saddest Music Ever Played'. It was completely messed up but at the same time very cool. It's a recent movie, but shot in a way to look really, really old - I don't really understand why. Anyway it's some pretentious art flick and of course it received many awards. Still, it was worth seeing. Canadian film-makers could take over the world someday, watch out.

Until dinner I just chilled. Once at dinner I came to the conclusion again that I really miss home cooked food. Dinner sucked!

I hung out with Gina and we watched the 2nd part of the premiere of 24. Okay these types of shows are very dangerous, you get hooked so fast. And..well..it's already happened. 24 is awesome! After the episiodes, me and gina went to visit Evan. It was good to see him and visit the house. I hadn't seen or talked to him in a while so that was good.

Now back at Allen Im organizing some folders and notebooks, trying to get ready for tomorrow. All that's left is to check the map! 2nd semester!

Monday, January 15, 2007

January 14


Today it's back to Allen and the UofI. The break was awesome and so much fun. I am sort of sad it's over. Im probably going to seriously miss my room and my own bed. I'll get over it though.

All morning and afternoon my Mom helped me pack and get things together. I forgot how much stuff I had to bring back. I took a shower and then my grandparents came over for dinner. My Mom cooked up some big dinner, which by the way was really yummy, and my grandma made cherry pie! After desert I packed the car, gave some really long hugs and goodbyes, then jumped in the car and drove off.

The drive to Allen was horrible. It was raining heavily the entire time. People were passing me and going way fast, I couldn't deal with that. I took my time and just went the speed limit. I know, I'm a baby.

When I arrived, I took a couple trips taking bags into the room. I saw my roommate right away, he was getting some guys together to watch the 24 premiere. After I unloaded my car, I changed shoes and grabbed an umbrella then drove to the parking lot and parked the car. The walk back was fine as long as you have an umbrella. Back at Allen I started putting all the shit away, took forever. Steph came and found me, but the room was still a disaster so I told her I'd come find her in a bit. Once I was finished I ran upstairs and said hello to everyone with hugs.

The rest of the night we just chilled. Ola had a birthday party with sparkling grape juice, I mean...that stuff is so good! Then later we just hung out at Daves. I walked Gina back and we watched some Mr. Bean, then it was time for bed.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

January 13




Over night there was a massive ice storm. We woke up to everything being covered in ice. Some people didn't have power. We were lucky and did, but our yard looks like a war zone. There are tree limbs down everywhere. Last night when I was sleeping, I swear I heard the limbs crack and fall under the weight of the ice. Just glad no big limbs hit the house or my car.

After we had some breakfast and got cleaned up, we scrapped all the ice off my car and headed downtown. Our day basically consisted of the routine Lincoln sites tour. First off we parked by the clocktower, near the same place I parked with Caitlin and Karen. Our first stop was the Lincoln Presidential Museum. This was my second time through the museum and I am still impressed. It's very cool and modern for Springfield. After the many exhibits of Lincoln and the Civil War, we walked towards the old state capital and made a run through there. We didn't stay there long, not really much to do. The shops up and down 6th street kept us busy after that, especially the Prairie Archives and the Cardologist. Fun little shops.

When we got back to the car I decided to quickly show them Lincoln's tomb. We were the only people there, probably due to the nasty weather. Both Steph and Gina got to rub his nose. It's good luck! Inside it was deathly quiet and we starred at his massive stone headstone. Hey, if you do something important...you can get a big tomb too. Earlier that day I mentioned the Frank Lloyd Wright home and Stephanie was pretty interested. The home was free and the tour wasn't too long. The Dana Thomas House is very, very spacious and neatly decorated. My favorite two rooms are the office and the gallery where the 16ft. Christmas tree sits. I wouldn't mind going back at Christmas time to see house all decorated.

Next to kill some time before dinner we tried to go into the current state capital, but we were told to leave because it was closed. Instead I suggested we just go to the top of the Hilton and sit and see the city. Besides, I needed some rest time. The view wasn't as good as last time I was at the top with Karen and Caitlin due to the clouds and rain. It was still cool though.

We were meeting Kelsey at 6 for pizza dinner at Gabatonis. We were a bit early so I showed them some of the big homes near Washington Park. Back at the restaurant, Kelsey pulled in just as we did. We all split a big pizza and a pitcher of pop. Oh my god, the pizza is so amazing there. I love it. I could've eaten more probably.

Afterwards we went to bug Clayton and visit him. Steph and Gina wanted to especially see him. We chilled for a bit, then went downtown for ice cream. The rest of the night was spent riding around Springfield looking for something to do. Of course we didn't find anything, but we all had a good time.

Tomorrow it's back to Urbana and school. It was a good break and I am looking forward to school, but I didn't think I was going to miss home this much. I will definitely miss my own room and bed.

Saturday, January 13, 2007

January 12



High school visit
-late/sleep
-Mr. welch
-Lunch in room

Just little chill time before Steph and Gina visit
-tour house
-hung out 'till dinner

Dinner in chatham at Alamo
-nachos
-grandma and friends

Highschool basketball game
-cheerleaders
-close game
-won with 4 sec. left

Hung at Dans
-discovery channel HD
-Kelsey came later

Bedtime!
-cute beds made when we got home
-chilled to old movie

January 11



Haircut at 11.30

Run errands for mom
-photos at Sams

Lunch at Maries
-vista on gramps computer

Chill afternoon

Out to dinner
-Christin's bday
-Dublin pub
-ponyshoe

Hung with Kelsey
-downtown
-Inconvenient Truth
-Highschool

January 10


This morning Karen and Caitlin headed back to the suburbs. I think they had a good time hanging out and visiting Springfield. It'll be nice to see them again soon back at school.

After the hugs and goodbyes, they pulled out of the driveway and was gone. Now I really didn't know what to do. It was totally nice thought, not needing to entertain and show people around. I relaxed and just chilled for a long time until dinner.

Once dinner was done I got a hold of Kelsey and we came up with the idea to buy some chalk and write up some political messages/quotes around town. Just the other night we were brainstorming some quotes. Our favorite was:

"Those who desire to give up Freedom in order to gain Security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." -Thomas Jefferson

Pretty interesting quote, huh? Anyway we drove to Meijer and picked up some chalk and stuff. It was a really cold night and we feared rain in the morning so we decided to postpone our little political message campaign. Instead we drove home. Haha, but before we got all the way back, somehow someway, we came up with this crazy idea to try and get onto the bike trail with the car. And of course we did! Ohmygod, it was pretty ridiculous. I am astonished we didn't get caught. She drove her car all the way down to the bridge over the lake. We were going to park and go onto the railroad part, but we got freaked out and had to leave. We stormed off and made it out alive. It was a definite experience, one I don't need to try again soon.

Back at my house we watched the final Indiana Jones movie we rented, #3 'The Last Crusade'. It is my favorite and Kelsey's favorite too now. I like the fact it's more of and adventure/mystery/clue movie instead of just an adventure like the second one is. If I remember correctly the first one is more of a clue type adventure too.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

January 9



Woke up about noon today at Claytons. Took us a while to get going, but I wrestled out of bed and drove home. I told them to meet me at my house for lunch at 1, thought we could cook up some grilled cheese or something. By 1 I was dressed and they arrived. We each took our turns making lunch. It was good and I think we had a good time in the kitchen. No one got burnt...so that's a good thing.

Hopped in the car and started our full day of adventures. First on the list was to show them our high school back in Chatham. We circled it and told them some stories then we decided to drive into Springfield and take a walk in Washington park. I parked the car by the golf course and then we got out and explored. The botanical gardens were close so I suggested we take a tour through there. Eh, it kinda sucked haha. They were renovating and only had a handful of plants. It's normally pretty impressive during the summer. We explored the park and made our way to the lake where a woman and her child were feeding the geese and ducks. Hopefully some of those shots turn out.

Up the hill we found a massive playground so we messed around for a while. The swings were fun and I found this big 'fake' rock wall I conquered. This place had a bunch of little contraption I had never seen before, some worked and some sucked haha. Overall it was definitely fun, but our hands got pretty cold. Sometimes I forget it's January. COLD.

We got back to the car and then decided to get coffee or something. We made it downtown, but got distracted by the idea of going in the Capital. So we parked and entered. I think they were impressed by the rotunda and all the colors. Hell I was; haven't seen that in a long time. We left and walked around downtown like last night, but this time most of the shops were open so we shopped and explored. I wanted to show them the inside of the courthouse because I knew my Dad could've given us a tour, but he had a meeting in Peoria. By 5pm everything was closed down and we were freezing so we made it back to the car and drove back to my house for dinner. For dinner we ordered some Chinese from right up the street. 10min later we went to pick it up and said hello to Clayton's dad in the restaurant to the right of it. Small world!

Back at my house dinner was good. My Mom interrogated Caitlin and Karen about my life at college. I think she's just interested how other people tell her what goes on. And that she's just being a Mom. After dinner we didn't know what to do - but later settled on seeing a movie, 'Children of Men'. The movie was definitely intense and graphic, but I loved the interpretation of the future and the long war shots. At the climax, I don't think the director cut the film once for almost 10 min - so impressive.

We stopped for a bucket of ice cream at Meijer and then chilled at my house until sleep. We tried to play a board game, but it failed horribly. I watched a bit of Apple's unveiling of the iPhone. Oh my god...looks so slick. Later we watched a movie and then got to sleep. They said they're going to leave tomorrow at noon, so set the alarm for 11!

January 8



Today Caitlin and Karen came to visit from the suburbs up north. I was expecting them sometime in the afternoon, so by 3ish I was ready and dressed. I watched TV and chilled until I got a call about 3.30, they said they would be here at 4.30. They were on time! Right around that time I got a call from them saying they were right by the driveway. Soon I saw them pulling in and I ran out to greet them.

We all gave hugs and said hello. I showed them through my house. After the tour we drove over to meet with Clayton. I drove and they followed so we could leave their car at Clayton's tonight, since they want to spend one night with Clayton and one with me. We moved their stuff into the house then hopped in the car and headed downtown to explore and have dinner.

Downtown was pretty fun, and it seemed alive since it was rush hour. We parked by the Lincoln Museum and then walked south toward sixth street and the Old Capital. We were all laughing and smiling, taking lots of pictures. For dinner Cafe Brio seemed like a cool place, pretty modern and urban, so we went there. The food was good and I think we all liked it. After dinner we walked around a little more, then took an elevator to the top of the Hilton. We walked into the Jazz Lounge and looked out the big slanted windows and the city below. I was pretty impressed. I've never seen Springfield from above like that at night. It looked just like a thriving city.

After our adventures downtown, we made it back to my car and then drove to the west end. We explored the mall and some shops. After a while we made it back to Claytons and chilled for the rest of the night. Kelsey and Nathan visited with us. We shared stories, ate food, and attempted to watch some movie but it didn't really work.

I spent the night with them up in Clayton's room. Slumber party!

Monday, January 08, 2007

January 7


Homemade waffles this morning. The only bad thing about weekend breakfasts is the fact they're pretty early, and I usually have to be nudged out of bed. Oh well, maybe I'll get to bed at a decent hour tonight - nope! It's 2am.

After breakfast I got cleaned up and dressed, then just chilled. Kelsey called and she wanted to return some books, and I needed a book, so we hit the store. I picked up the Marie Antoinette book with one of the hundred giftcards in my wallet. I swear, I've never had so many...it's bulging. I need to get rid of some or stash them somewhere. This BN card I discovered must be 2 years old. Haha, good thing they don't loose money.

We made a short stop at Best Buy to look at Dvds and CDs. I would've picked up Snakes on a plane but it cost 25 bucks. Damn, new movies are super expensive unless you buy them the week they come out. Cheapest place to get them is normally Wal-Mart but...you know..you can't go there. IT'S BAD! I did however, pick up a 'Best of New Order' CD. New Order is my new favorite band thanks to the Antoinette movie last week.

Well we were just going to drive home, but it was drizzling out and kind of cold, so we thought it'd be cool to just rent a movie and chill. I remembered Kelsey telling me she hadn't seen all the Indiana Jones movies and I flipped. These film are necessary for a complete childhood. So we picked up 2 and 3. We watched 2 back at my house, 'Temple of Doom'. Classic adventure movie, too cool.

Dinner with grandparents and then a cake for my sister's birthday. It's actually Tuesday the 9th, but it's Sunday and we normally always have dinner with the grandparents then. Angel-food cake is pretty yummy. I gave Kelsey and Clayton a call, I thought we should all get together and do something. It ended up being just us three. We made a quick run to Starbucks, then we thought it necessary to show Clayton the motocross jumps we discovered out in the country. Haha it's so much fun. Back at his house we had some left over pizza and watched 'Rosemary's Baby'. Today's scary movies need to learn something from classic horror films. Im glad I saw it, good movie.

Tomorrow Caitlin and Karen come to visit from CHItown!

Sunday, January 07, 2007

January 6


My Mom got a little mad this morning. She banged on my door at noon because I guess I was still asleep. Oops. I grabbed some cereal about 12.15 and then watched tv and got online. 'The Parent Trap' was on, the newer one, the one with Lindsay Lohan. Is it bad if I like that movie? I mean come on, how can anyone not? It's done really well. I think it beats the older version. For sure.

Talked to Kelsey. She planned to meet at my house by 2.30. I hurried and showered and got lunch before she came. Kelsey arrived just as I was finishing a sandwich with my Mom and sister. We all chatted for a bit. We retreated to my room to fill her ipod with some of those amazingly awesome Marie Antoinette tunes I got yesterday. By 3.15ish my Mom had taken my sister out to meet my neighbor to go shopping. We grabbed our cameras and headed out. Decided to just walk down the bike path. We parked out by Woodside road. The walk felt long, but in the end it wasn't that bad. Had fun and got some good pictures. We only walked to the bridge and back, but it was worth it - went out on the railroad bridge, then walked back as the sunset.

Back at my house we hung out for a bit, then Kelsey left to have dinner. I cooked up some bagel bites with my Mom and watched TV. She had to go pickup Christin from a movie with her friends at 7.45, so I decided to go hang with Daniel since he's stuck at home...poor kid. We played games and then Becca K. came over later to watch a movie with us. Fun times.

Saturday, January 06, 2007

January 5


I got the chance to catch up on a lot of sleep this morning. All those car rides kind of tire you out. My parents left to go stack up on groceries, so I slowly got out of bed around 11. I tried to make myself some eggs, but it went horribly wrong. I think I cooked them too long - it all turned really brown and hard. EW - I had to throw them out.

The rest of the day was completely eventless and chill. I listened and downloaded a lot of music. The Marie Antoinette movie last night was so brilliant that I definitely had to download some of the soundtrack. That soundtrack made that movie. New favorite song, "Ceremony" by New Order.

I got called in from playing drums for dinner around 5. I was still in my pjs and wondering what I was going to do tonight. My mom mentioned the high school basketball game. I guess we were playing our big rival, the big private school SHG. I talked to Ryan and he was wanting to go too. So after a shower and some clothes, he picked me up. I gave Kristin a call, and she was also interested in coming and hanging out, so we picked up her too. The game was alright. Glenwood ended up winning (Yay). It feels weird to go back to highschool. All the stupid crap you used to worry about just doesn't matter anymore. Everyone seems so little. Sometimes I wish you could go back as a senior for just a week or so, and with what I know now...haha...it'd be a blast.

After the game, and after visiting with some of the old band kids for little, we went back to Ryan's house. He wanted to give Kristin her present and we checked out some movie times. We thought about seeing 'Children of Men' but the new theater raised their prices to $8 a ticket, and us Midwestern kids find that awfully expensive, so we decided on the dollar theater. 'Saw III' had a showing after 10, so we hit that. On the way there we picked up Clayton. He was ready and dressed. I guess he would've came to the game with us from the start but he wasn't ready. This was the first saw movie I have seen...and I wasn't impressed.

Ryan dropped us all off after the movie. Tomorrow might be fun - details soon!

Friday, January 05, 2007

January 4


Woke up this morning from the couch and threw some clothes on. I was not looking forward to the long drive home, nor being cooped up in that car the entire day. We had a little breakfast, some donuts, juice, and fruit, and then packed the car and said our goodbyes. It felt a little different saying goodbye to the grandparents. They're getting old and both of them have been in and out of the hospital. Makes me wonder if that was the last time I will have seen them. Mhhpz hope not. I'm not ready for those things yet.

The ride back felt long. Probably for two reasons. One, my sister was watching continuous episodes of 'The Gilmore Girls'. Teenage girls and that show is a dangerous combination. I think my sister has had to buy all the seasons on DVD. Too say the least, she's obsessed. And two, I agreed to watch 'Talladega Nights' with my sister. I saw the humor in it, but I couldn't take it. Some parts made me laugh but the overall movie just didn't do it for me.

Then I slept for the rest of the ride and listened to music. Finally I got a nudge about 5pm that we were at the exit...to say the least I was happy. Finally get to unpack, see friends, and sleep in my own bed. And well that's what I did tonight!

After I unpacked I got cleaned up and talked to Kelsey. We discovered that Marie Antoinette is finally playing at the dollar theatre, only a month before it comes to video. Both of us had been dying to see it and missed a chance to see it when it came out normally. To say the least the movie was absolutely brilliant. The colors, the shots, the costumes, the MUSIC. I loved it all. Sophia Cuppola is so amazing...god. Someday I'll meet her.

Once the movie got out we gave Daniel a quick phone call and told him we'd come and visit. He just got back from California visiting family and snowboarding. But he also did something else there...break his back! He's okay, nothing is paralyzed..but I feel so bad for him! Poor Daniel. He has to wear a big brace around his mid-section. When we got to his house we went downstairs to find him playing video games. We chatted and laughed. It was good to see him, hopefully get to see more over break...still 10 days left.

Other than that, me and Kelsey got a snack from McDonalds then hung at my house. Things are good.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

January 3


I woke up to a surprise this morning. Not that it was raining again, but that my family was seriously contemplating just leaving. They wanted to talk to me and my sister and see what we thought about packing up and driving back to grandmas today. We talked and looked at the weather, the forecast showed even more rain the next few days. So we decided..to just go home. I didn't really mind. I never had a chance to wear a bathing suit, shorts, or go in the ocean, but it was so rainy/cloudy I knew it couldn't happen. We did get one walk on the beach in yesterday, but other than that all we did is shop.

So I slowly got out of bed, thew some clothes on and then helped pack everything up. Threw all the clothes in the bag, packed up my computer and chargers. Then I helped Dad move everything into the car. By 9am we had everything packed and into the car, and we were out of there.

The drive back to Atlanta felt long. Probably because I didn't sleep for very much of it. I did watch Minority Report, one of my all time favorite films. If you haven't seen it - go now. Ultimate thriller by Spielberg with Tom Cruise. His vision of the future is so brilliant and precise. Plus it has one of the biggest buildups in a movie I've ever seen. The first time I saw it in the theatre, I got chills down my spine at that ending. Ah well though. See it for yourself.

Back at the grandparents house we all took showers then went out for pizza. My sister's 16th birthday is soon, so we were celebrating. We went to this pizza buffet place. It was good, but probably not that good for my grandparents health..haha. But everyone had fun. After pizza during the drive back, I road with my aunt and grandparents in their car. Im glad I did because we got pulled over and it was exciting. Probably not for my aunt who was driving - but she messed up, running a red light. In the end it turned out okay though, just a warning.

My parents were waiting in the driveway when we got back. They couldn't get in, we had the key, and they were probably thinking we got in an accident or stopped for something. My Mom looked relieved when we pulled up and I told her the story. For the rest of the night we just chilled and later we ate a cake my grandparents bought for Christin. After that desert everyone was stuffed and it was a long day of driving, so the adults decided it was time for bed. I watched a movie with my aunt, Collateral. After the movie it was still not very late, but I was exhausted. I said goodnight then made my bed on the couch and laid down.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

January 2



Man...guess what? It rained again today!

I slept in until 10, had a donut with the family. Then we all took a walk on the beach, a long ass walk. Maybe it just seemed long to me. It was totally cool to walk on the beach and see the ocean though. The waves have been small both days so far, or else I'd have been out bodyboarding and having some fun. After the walk we came back and got cleaned up, had some left overs for lunch from dinner last night, then did more shopping.

We drove back to the west part of Bradenton, almost to the interstate. There was this massive outlet mall we saw on the way in to the town that we decided we should head back to. It was definitely big - lots of stores. I followed my Mom and sister into most of them. I'd rather look around and see people and the clothes, if I didn't, I would sit with my Dad on a bench outside and watch people walk by. I like to see things. I got to buy some shits at Banana and I got these sweet old school boat shoes from this shoe place. They're totally stylin'. Oh, and this book store was going out of business - every hardback was $2 and paperback was $1. Sweet right?? I couldn't find anything though, everything must've been grabbed. I did however find this clean and colorful 2006 Usa map atlas thingy. I got that.

When it was time for dinner, we were still at the outlet mall. So we just grabbed something to eat in the foodcourt - definitely lots of selections. I got some yummy nachos and this Mexican place. After dinner we drove back to the condo.

Tonight watched a movie with the family then just chilled. Tomorrow no rain....PLEASE.

Monday, January 01, 2007

January 1


January 1, 2007...wow. Welcome to '07 everybody.

Today I purposely slept in until noon because my Dad said it was raining out, and what's there to do in "old Florida" when it's raining...nothing. Once my whole family finally got cleaned up sometime this afternoon I pushed them out the door to go do something. I feel bad just wasting the day, and I can't just sit in the condo and watch re-runs of the same TBS chick flicks. Those channels are dangerous for women on weekday afternoons, they play continues A+ girl movies...and they can't stop watching! That my friends is how days are wasted.

Once we all got to the car we just started driving. We ended up in Sarasota. It looked a lot more like the Florida we are used to. High rises and lots of shops. We found this mall and stopped. My sister was so glad to find some actual shops..haha. I was too, I'll admit it. We were there for a couple hours probably. I got another cool cardigan from Dillards. It's weird...everything there is on sale. And then somehow when they scan it for purchase, it's cheaper than you expect. Oh well!

After the shopping spree and a quick snack, we headed back to the condo. Everyone chilled for a while then we hopped in the van and drove to a restaurant we spotted on the drive back from Sarasota. I think it was called some with "Gator" in it. The food was definitely good. I had some type of fried grouper sandwich. It was massive! This sandwich was seriously bigger than my entire head. I could only eat half, the other half is in the fridge...maybe I'll have it tomorrow for lunch.

Tonight after dinner we just all chillaxed. I watched 'The Devil Wears Prada' with my sister. Is it bad to admit that I really liked it? Cause I did. Awesomely well done movie. Oh that reminds me, I need to check out the soundtrack to that...

December 31


Well we made it to Florida. Anna Maria Island to be correct. It's some small island off the coast, south of Tampa - just to the west of Brandenton. Anyho, we arrived about 4.30-5ish. The whole day was spent driving. We left Atlanta pretty early this morning. I awoke to my grandparents fiddling with things in the kitchen. I threw some clothes on and had a glass of orange juice and a donut with them. We said our goodbyes and told them we'd be back in a week - their house is basically a halfway point from here back to home, so it's a free hotel.

The ride seemed a little longer than the other day. I didn't get to sleep as much as the other drive, this time only sleeping until 10...not 11. Haha. Me and my sister watched movies and I checked out some of the old 50's tunes I nabbed from my grandparents CD collection. "Fabulous Fifties" has some pretty rockin' tunes guys!

So Florida. Okay, we normally stay in Destin, Fl. A very touristy area towards the north, up by Panama City. Destin is very new, with lots of high rises, shops and restaurants. We always go to Destin, so we know the city like it was our own. Well....this isn't the case for this week of vacation. I've heard this area called "old Florida". I should have been scared from the beginning when I heard this. "Old Florida" consists of no buildings higher than 4 stories, a bunch of old..erm very old homes, little to no shops, and basically 4 restaurants in the whole town. Now I'm not complaining! It's just way different from what Im used to.

Tonight after we got to the condo, a pretty nice loft condo...decorated nicely, we all got cleaned up, then took the usual drive to see what's around. I began to become more and more scared with the fact there's nothing around. We must've drove for a half hour to find a place to have dinner. We ended up a some Chinese buffet like at home. The food was good and I ate too much.

Oh...HAPPY NEW YEARS! That's right it's 2007! Crazy isn't it! Me and my sister watched the ball drop from the couch cuddled into some blankets. I knew all my friends were back at home, at a party having way more fun that me. But whatever...next year I shall do that. I hope you all have an awesome 2007 - make some good resolutions.