This is a really long post.

So.

Thanksgiving break:


Tuesday.
We, as in Pat, Jenny, Lauren, and I, left MCAD in le early evening, car stuffed to the brim. We sped down to Des Moines where we found a beloved Quick Trip and Sonic and quenched our thirsts with some delicious Cherry Limeades. Then we hit the road again and arrived in at my home around 1 in the morning.

Pat eclaims, "There are ninjas in your yard!"

"No, that's just Frances," I reply.

Frances, Erin, and Hanna were all jumping around in my driveway, waiting for me to get out so they could tackle me. I opened the door and before I could feel the cold air, such familiar warm hugs surrounded my wholly. I was home. It never felt so good to be home before.

I went in and I sat with my mommy on the couch in my redecorated room (aka it's now an extra living room). We watched some of The Office with le girls and then she headed off to bed. We headed out to get some long-awaited 99 cent ice cream cones from McDonald's, but it was an ultimate fail. We went to the one on highway 40 and they were closed, and then we went to the one on Woods Chapel and their machine was broken, and the one on 7 isn't even an option 'cause it's so awful, so we just went home empty-bellied. (But tradition is everything, right Erin?)

So we came home and Frances and Hans crashed, so Erin and I watched The Strangers and about peed our pants. It was so nice, being so close with my friends after being so far away. They were all asleep at one point and I just sat there smiling. I missed them almost too much.


Wednesday.
We had gone to sleep around 4, and woke up at 8 to another greeting of friends. Janessa and Cinna-Rah brought us breakfast! Panera bagels and chocolate milk. Myyy favorite. We all just sat around and caught up and laughed and did all the things one should do after a long period of distance. They headed out to class around 9:30 and the other girls (besides Erin) left too. At that point we showered and headed out to make the day our own.



We got Scream from McDonald's and it was a fine reunion; a chocolate and vanilla tower of perfection was the only way to celebrate the day. We downed it and headed to Target to paruse with empty pockets.



I found some sweet sunglasses that only belong to the hat I got from the Tricerapops household, and the longer I've gone without them, the needier I've become.



After Tarshzay, we drove to the Reynold's divine home and I said hello to all. I adore that family. It's the first time I've ever had that kind of feeling in a friend's home. In any other case it would be awkward if the friend left the room, but I can just hang out, doing whatever I want in any room of the house and it's pretty chill. I love that. P.S. I can't wait for some more badminton.

Later in the evening I went to pickup Mike Brown from le airport with Nathan. Those two boys -- what gems! Such lovely company they are. When we returned home the girls were all there waiting for me again, and we had a large gathering. It was really relaxing, even though there were so many people and the house was restless. Familiarity is a blessing.


Thursday.
Thanksgiving! I took a shower and helped my hectic mother in le kitchen. She consistently gets hyperactive and freaks out before wads of people come to our house for any sort of event. Now that I'm growing up, it's getting funnier rather than frustrating. Time is a funny thing.

In the process of preparations I decided I'd make a Thanksgiving Stop Motion this year. Thus, I started taking pictures of the festivities. I was surprised when everyone agreed I should take pictures during the prayer...that was awkward for ME probably moreso than for them. But. The meal was as delicious as ever. The stuffing was particularly amazing this year. And the green bean casserole?! To die for! I've never liked it before! Puh!



After le meal, the boys went on their way to Ohio and Brian and Renea went home. As is tradition, my parent fell asleep on the couches, but I was restless. Thus, I headed to the Reynolds' and just hung out with le fam. Erin ended up coming home with me and eventually Cristina, Hanna, and Josh came over. We tried to watch Casino Royale but I failed miserably about 5 minutes in and fell asleep. That task is to be continued....


Friday.
Everyone woke up and went home. I took a shower and got dressed and then my parents, Tootsie, and I went on our annual Christmas-Tree-Cutting-Down journey. The first place was lame so we went to our usual spot in Lee's Summit. The growth was really down this year, and we found out that the Spruces may be extinct in Missouri in the next year or few to come. Sad. But! We found a lovely Fraser Fur that smelled the essence of Christmas and had soft needles. (That's sort of a funny oxymoron!...soft needles...)



Then we took it home and plopped in on the back deck because it was time for --

Heritage Day!
Frances cooked up this idea that a bunch of us would dress up like our heritages and we'd do a potluck of our heritages' foods. Thus, I dressed up like a viking/northerner, as I am Norwegian, and I brought lefsa. Frances is Italian and made this delicious chicken and pasta. Erin is Cajun so she brought the tastiest beans and rice I have ever had. Taylor is Peruvian and brought Peruvian stuffing and flan. And then Jill is Filipino and brought fried rice and a sticky, sweet rice dessert. It was the oddest food combination, but tasted so good! I was stuuuuuuffed!



Afterwards Erin and I went back to her place and we hung out for a while. Then I went home and decorated le Christmas with my mommy. It was so homey and cozy. I loved it so much. But! It was time to dine with the 'o6ers. I met up with Katelyn, Laura, Lauren, Jayme, and Jessamine at Dos Amigos and we delighted in their tasty Mexican dishes. It was as if no time had passed and we were joking and laughing in the same way we did 4 years ago. We decided we'd be friends for a very long time because college obviously didn't stop us from keeping in touch, and we all left very happily.



At that point Jessamine and I had nothing to do, so we decided to go see a movie while she was waiting to pick up Janessa. Unfortunately there was nothing we really wanted to see, or everything that we might have potentially wanted to see we didn't know of, or it wasn't at the time we wanted to see it. THUS! We went next door to Barnes and Noble where we sat on the floor in a corner by the check out desk (because there were no chairs left in the store!) and read facts-you-don't-need-to-know books. It was so hilarious and interesting all at the same time! For example I learned that putting your hands on your hips while you talk is very rude in Indonesia. Who knew?!



Saturday.
Last day in town. :(
I woke up and did...something. I can't hardly remember Saturday.
All I remember is going to the Reynolds' around 4 to say goodbye and whatnot. We got Scream one last time and then Jenny called, telling me she was at my house and I hadn't even packed! I quickly hugged Erin and Callie, rushed home in the terrible weather, got my things in like two minutes, kissed my parents, and was on the road. I felt bad for leaving so abruptly, but the weather was bad and we wanted to get through it safely. It was so much easier leaving this time. The quick goodbye was almost better than a slow, painful one. I guess it was because we all knew I'd be home again in two weeks time, and that we knew we were safe. We didn't let distance cut us apart at all, and if anything, it made the togetherness sweeter.

I adore my family and friends. They all equally mean so much to me. I never feel like I tell them enough, but I think they know I care, and that's important to me too. I guess with the whole not-having-close-relatives thing puts friendship at a higher level of necessity in my life. I need that sense of belonging, as we all do, and I find that through very close and personal friendships. I try to be as personable with the people I meet as I can. There's good in everyone, why not tap into that? [That's what she said.]



So yeah. I got home around 1. MCAD is a strange place, but I finally called it home. I called it home on accident, actually, and when it came out of my mouth it felt like word-vomit, but then I realized it was okay. It's okay to call MCAD my home. This is my place. This is where I belong now.

Hohum.


Sunday.
I woke up and hung out with the usual gang. Ashley Pair was in town, opening the new American Apparel store in the Mall of America. She called me up and said to come visit her at her hotel, so Charlotte, Peter, Karen and I worked our way there. We took a bus to the light rail, where we rode that to the entirely opposite end of the tracks and got off at the MOA. Everything just closed, so we walked around in the eeirie maze of corporate kiosks while Ashley closed the store. We saw the new Nickelodeon land and I drooled over all the Spongebob. I love love LOVE Spongebob. :)



Soon after that Ashley called the Trolley and we all rode it over to her hotel. We got nachos and chilled, enjoying the anti-MCADness of it all. We debated whether or not to spend the night, but decided waking up at 7 to come to school would be a total bitch. Thus, we decided to go home. Multiple problems arrived following this essentially good idea....

First, the Trolley that brought us to the hotel was no longer running at 12:30 in the morning, so we had to walk over snow banks and fields of concrete parking lots to get to the light rail. We rode that back, listening to all its futuristic sounds on the way, and got off at the other end.



This is where the second problem comes into play; it was then about 1:30 a.m., and the buses were no longer running (or at least they would only come once an hour). We were standing in the fuhREEZING cold bust stop area and the heat lamp goes out. Lucky us, eh? We called Tim to see if he could give us any bus schedule tips, but he's not always so trustworthy when it comes to figuring something out....

Thus problem number three: We ended up having to call P-Safety to ask for a bus schedule, of which they told us we basically failed and needed to plan better, so we asked for a ride. Sure, they gave us a ride, but not without being total dicks about it. It wouldn't have bothered me so much if I hadn't been treated like such an ignorant kid. Had we been "grown adults", they wouldn't have said half the things they said to us. No, P-Safety, we AREN'T from this city, so give us a break if we're trying to get home and don't realize the buses don't run so late. Goodness. What a beef!

Overall it was a fun adventure, and I was so thankful my pals weren't totally pissed at me for somewhat getting them into that. Sleep!


Monday.
Boy was it great to be back in 2D. I love that class! However, I was hella tired from the night before. Go figure! That class has been super chill lately, as far as work goes. Afterwards Peter and I grabbed some grub from Nora's and then parted our ways. I can't really remember what I did the rest of the afternoon. So then I went to Writing class where we had a really great conversation about how the comparison between the internet and television, and how this isn't just a fad. Very good class.

Then Tim and I bought our Drawing supplies and went to work on the project we missed out on from class the previous week. It was a more enjoyable piece for me, but not my favorite. Then I came home and crashed.


Tuesday.
Unfortunately my phone was on the fritz and I slept through Art History. It wasn't totally a bad thing, I hate that class anyhow, so I showered and got to work on my sketchbook that was due in 3 hours. Portfolios were due too, but I had no idea what I needed, so I just stuffed everything into my folder and went to class.

I went in a little early, and sat down just to get in the mode for the dreaded class. Jackie came in the room and spotted me with a death glare. She came over and said, "Sarah, you really missed a lot last week--" I interrupted her. "Don't worry, Tim and I worked on it last night." She looks at me a bit puzzled, "Oh well...okay!" Yeah. Just leave me alone Jackie. I think people take for granted how together I really am. I know me and my sister can be a bit "flighty", but we always know where our shit needs to be.

So later in the class she tells me that she really liked how mine was developing and whatnot. It felt really good to be on top of things and to have her off my back. I think I've been really good at disappointing her this semester. What can I say. I hate that class. (Still, I know, I know, it's no excuse for laziness.)

Later that night I went to Ethan's with Peter and Charlotte. It was good to have the 4 of us together again, as Ethan had just gotten in not too long beforehand. I was pooped, though; Tuesdays always take everything I have and kills it. So I went to sleep after a strong fight to get my phone to work. Eventually a green line flashed across the screen and it shut off completely, not letting me turn it on anymore. That was my alarm, so I didn't have a very peaceful sleep, as I had to use my "internal clock" to wake up. Mleh.


Wednesday/Today.
2D in the morning. I got to class on time, thankfully. I didn't do much but was distressed from a recent sickness I had required plus the phone catastrophe. After class I headed to the T-Mobile store and Rainbow with Charlotte and Julia. T-Mobile is sending me a new phone in the mail, but I won't get it until Wednesday, which is totally inconvenient, but I'm glad I went there today rather than later. We came home and Charlotte and I had lunch together. It was probably the first REAL meal I had since I got back to MCAD because I had no groceries after break. I had been living off the cookies, puppy chow, and pretzels my mom sent with me. Delicious, but not nutritious.

Then I napped on Charlotte's couch, went to writing class, and that just about brings us up to now. I think I may be eating some biscuits and gravy over with Marissa, Jamie, and Katelyn. Or I might go hang out at Ethan's. Or I might do some homework.

Only time will tell!
Thanks for reading this whole thing, even though I know most of you probably didn't,
Sarah