Holidaze

Currently I am sitting on my sister's couch in St. Petersburg, Florida. My parents and I drove down here with Nathan Miller to move him in with my sister and Mike. 'Twas a long trip, but I'm happy to be here.

Leading up to this moment, as the boys install the washer and dryer and Domini and Mom wander about the house, much has and hasn't happened. Leaving MCAD was a bittersweet event. My parents drove up and then we went to Little Ts with the whole gang: Charlotte, Ethan, and Peter; Sara and Marissa; Sara with Erik, Alyssa, and Michelle; and Carl. After being filled to overflowing and some awkwardness in the table distances, we headed back to my place to finishing rearranging and packing up. Sara and I switched rooms to make room for Audrey, and I got a new desk and chair. I said a very short and unsatisfying goodbye to Marissa and we headed out.

Home was a little less exciting than I was...expecting. All my friends were still in school for the first week and then family festivities took over for the remaining days before Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I was thankful to be home, but I guess I just wanted a little more hangout time with the pals. We DID have one evening of fun, eating at our fave, Red Robin, and then exchanging Secret Santa gifts. I miss my friends so much. It seems like we all have less and less to talk about as the years go on. I don't know. It's a weird transitioning period.

For Christmas I got lots of goodies:

• A set of 8 wooden salad bowls, 1 big wooden bowl, and a set of wooden cooking utensils.
• Raving Rabids Wii game.
• A device to hook my guitar up to the computer for recording.
• A delicious hardcover, color-illustrated edition of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
• Legit headphones.
• Flip videocamera.
• WALL-E pillow.
• A mirror/frame my sister made with a little inside joke on it.
• Paper Cement.
• World War Z audiobook.
• 30 GB iPod
• Oh and the Wii....

Reflecting on that -- I had a damn good Christmas! Granted the iPod, videocamera, and Wii were all used. But hey, I'm not complaining about that!

So now we're in Florida with lots to do. My sister lives about three houses down from the water's edge and the sunshine is mighty. After we got in last night, we opened presents and then had a jam session. It was great! My dad got a hold of the bass and -- let's just say I never knew he was THAT GOOD! Wicked awesome. Phenomenal. Farout! He was all of the above. I think I gained a new appreciation for the man, and maybe, just maybe, that's where I got all my musical talent. Did you know he played baritone back in the day too? Yeah, I'm my father's daughter.

Pictures to come,
Sarah