aaannndddd i'm back!
Currently, I'm working on about three hours of sleep (the oh so lovely consequence of tasty beverages + bedtime at 3:30 + waking up for some godforsaken reason at 6:30), and am feeling rather giddy and awake. Granted, this feeling could pass at any time, so let's take advantage, shall we?
Where have I been for the past month, you might be wondering? Mostly in Claremont, with some adventures in Northern California and Moorpark thrown in. A short list of my activities:
•Went up north the day after my birthday. Drove up with Tara, spent many good hours in the car, listening to our varied collection of tapes and generally being the silly people we are. She actually took me to the oh-so-lovely train station in Fremont (which sadly, was not the sketchiest train station I had the luck to visit up north- more on that later), where I hopped on the Capitol Corridor, and hopped off in Davis and literally into the waiting arms of Paige and Patty. Who, I might add, also met me with chocolate, cheese and crackers. Do my friends know me, or what?
• The rest of my time in Davis was spent with old roommates and friends, and many silly adventures were undertaken. My favorite memory, however, was of introducing Speed Scrabble to my friends and of all the subsequent silliness which followed.
• As vacations go, this one was too short, and before I knew it, I was back on my way down south, and back to Claremont. Spent a few days there, worked a bit, read and slept a lot.
• The holidays were spent at my parent’s house in the ever-exciting Moorpark. Christmas was a family affair complete with yummy food, presents, menorah lighting (it was also the first night of Chanukah, for my gentile friends), movie watching, and of course my father beating down the inflatable Santa that he bought this year. No, that’s not a typo; we really have one, and he really did. I have pictures and everything. If you’re ever wondering why I’m so strange and act so oddly, look at my parents! Its not my fault, its my genes!
• Once again, I returned to Claremont, where I thought I would be for the rest of break. But, as it turned out, I found myself, a few days later heading back up north yet again. A very last minute trip was put together for New Years in Tahoe, with Paige, Patty, Andy, Tara, and some of Paige’s business school friends. I have to say, this was one of the best New Year’s that I’ve celebrated, and even better for all the haphazard planning which went into it.
It turned out that Tracey, Kat, and Susan (Davis friends and sister) were driving up north, so once again I hopped in a car for a quality drive up the I-5 and a drop off at yet another lovely train station. Except this train station was literally in the ghetto (Hayward) and was more of a bench next to some train tracks than a station. But I made it onto the Capitol Corridor, and once again alighted in Davis.
This time, a very inebriated Joe and company picked me up, and once again hugs were involved. Had some lovely dim-sum and lots of laughter before I headed over to Paige’s and the next morning departure for Tahoe. After some setbacks (friends who oversleep/don’t pick up their phones) we were on our way to the cabin in the snow. The drive was harrowing, but Paige got us there in one piece, where we proceeded to hang out, nap (okay, so I read as everyone else napped), and get ready for the night to come. Oh, oh! And we played in the snow, because it started an hour after we got there! Tara and I wandered about outside for a while, and had some good times with snow angels and beautiful scenery. After an unorganized game of Scattergories (all I will say is that Jesus can be a role model no matter what letter you’re technically on) and an even worse game of Balderdash (four people, two of which have never played + missing pieces and directions = quite possibly the worst game ever played) we were ready to start ringing in the new year.
And ring in we did. Speaking of ringing, Tara and I also happened to call a goodly number of people, so if you were one of them, sorry. I think my favorite part of the night, however, was after midnight, Tara, Sam and I took a walk outside, and it was quite possibly one of the most beautiful nights I can remember. I wish I was able to capture in on camera, because the sky and scenery was out of the world. The rest of the night was spent on the sofa bed from hell, or as we aptly named it, the “death taco of sleep” because that was what is felt like; a taco that wanted to kill you with its uncomfortableness. The next day was spent sledding and playing in the snow, and then heading back to Davis, where I hung out with some other Davis friends and basically chilled. All in all, it was a wonderful New Year’s, and I’m so glad that circumstances worked out which allowed me to travel up north again, and see some good friends.
Okay, so remember how I said, er typed, that I could get tired at any minute. Well that time is now. So I promise to continue with my adventures… just not right now, as right now I want to curl up in my warm bed- the only place where its warm at all in my house- and try to make up some of the sleep that I’ve lost.
