Home at last, Yay!  It was a lovely break but I’m so glad to be restarting my real life.  I guess the more used to being busy the weirder it becomes to relax and have so few obligations.  I will miss the almost entire days mom and I spent watching Veronica Mars and CSI but I am excited to start classes again.  I’ve got two tomorrow, an analytical essay writing class and Emotion, Culture and Rhetoric, which has the best reading list I ever seen since the short story class where we did not have to buy books at all…aaah the olden days.  I have 17 textbooks this term but managed to save probably about $50 by buying them through Amazon, assuming they all arrive and in good shape.

So, Break.  So much happened I don’t know where to start.  On our much delayed way home we got to stop and see Dorothy, Timmy and Clarence which was awesome, it’s been too long.  Then we got stranded on the wrong side of the Blue Mountains and had to stay over in a white-out (practically) in La Grande with a million truck drivers and a hotel full of angry greyhound bus passengers.  It was kind of scary because there were not enough rooms and we hadn’t put down money on our reservation.  But, we got a room were safe and sound and made it very slowly home the next day.

I spent bunches of time with Mom, not enough with Dad, we got to go to the Christmas Party which was very much fun.  I met Vern, my mom’s new boss, whose conversational style resembles a hurricane on repeat.  We recorded tapes on Fox News and the Military channel for him all break…. I never thought I’d intentionally put any TV on those channels but I survived admirably.  I even watched two – count them – 2 football games with Vern and his wife, Laura, because she’s into that.  It was boring, but the conversation outside of the game was interesting and now I can say I’ve seen a play-off football game.  So, go me.

After Matt left I went to visit Amy, Robin, Nanook and Nola in their new house in Veneta.  I’m so jealous – homeownership.  How crazy grown-up my friends are.  I stopped by the Book Bin on the way to and from and bought a ridiculous amount of books in preparation for my eventual nightmarish comp exams.  Mom and I went to Ikea, always sooo much more fun than it really should be.

Matt picked me up in Denver on the 14th and we picked up our new TV on the way home.  It is a Vizio 32 inch and it is so bright and clear and loud and pretty, but huge, it’s still hard to adjust.  There is no buzzing, however, and that is beautiful.  We are watching obsessive amounts of Lost trying to catch up for the new season to start.

Friday I painted another wall in the bedroom of our apartment with Karyn and am totally in love with it.  Who knew one wall could make so much difference in a room?

Today Matt and I drove to Colorado Springs with the dogs to meet my favorite Niki who was visiting a friend there.  We had lunch at a brewery (much to Matt’s delight), took the dogs on walks around the Garden of the Gods, and climbed some giant rocks with great difficulty.  It was the perfect end to the vacation, especially because it was warm and sunny… in January.  I love Colorado weather sometimes.

Now, more Lost.

Tomorrow, classes, buy a notebook, and fill out more job applications.

yours,

alaina