"Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence"

Merry Christmas...

from my family to yours. Enjoy the holidays.

"There are no strangers on Christmas Eve"

Another early day today. I had to get up and get the laundry together. We had a lot of laundry so the bags were heavy. I put them in the back of the car for my mom. She hadn't been feeling well and was still sore from shoveling during the weekend. While she went out and did some errands I moved some boxes for my dad and helped him clean up his desk. I did a little bit more cleaning around the house. Jon was coming and I didn't want the house to be a total mess, haha. I brought my new computer downstairs to play with while I was waiting for him.

He came around 4ish and hung out at my house. I gave him a piece of banana bread, which was the reason he came haha. Banana bread and banana nut bread are his favorites. He showed me some cool features on Windows 7 and we messed around on the computer some more until my mom called. She needed to get in the drive way so Jon drove around the block so she could get in before pulling back in our drive way. I helped her carry in the groceries and then Jon helped me put them away. We sat and talked for awhile trying to figure out a good place for dessert. We were going to go to Eddie's Sweet Shop, butit was closing at 6 and it was after 5 already and dinner wasn't ready. We set the table and sat down for dinner.

We decided to get milkshakes. I made sure to give Jon some banana bread to take home for him and his parents. We went over to Johnny Rockets at Atlas Park for milkshakes. We both ended up getting fries too, haha. I got a side of ranch to go with my fries before I had a milkshake. I was so full afterwards. He headed back home to start packing. Lucky guy is going on a cruise with his family for like a week or so. I hung out downstairs on my new computer for a bit. My mom needed some help with the laptop so I showed her some more stuff.

I finally got to Skype with my friend Sean! At first Skype was being retarded and my microphone wouldn't work. I had to uninstall it and then re-download and install it again. The audio cut out sometimes but it was still nice talking to him. He's in Japan! I'm so jealous. I've always wanted to go. It was around 10pm, but it was only noon (Christmas day!) in Japan. I got to meet his two cats, who are both very pretty.

Afterwards I got a call from Cory. He was very wasted at a diner and kept asking why I didn't ask him to hang out, but I asked Jon. It was a pretty funny conversation. He was with Bennett too, so I got to talk to him for a bit too. Cory got a new phone and it was kind of hard to hear the conversation. Another good day. I'm kind of excited for Christmas.

On a side note -- I miss my friends at school.

A day with the family.

More doctor appointments today. I ran the battery on my mp3 player down waiting in the waiting room. My mom and dad had a back to back appointment with their cardiologist. I had to wait for them for over an hour. At least I had music to keep me company.

After the appointment we drove over to Bayside to the PC Richards on Northern Blvd. It wasn't too far from the cardiologist. It was another cold day. We had my dad all bundled up. The parking lot at PC Richards is such a tiny mixed up pain in the ass. Once we got my dad out of the car and into the wheel chair we rolled on into the store. It was really packed. I wasn't expecting it, but I should have since it's so close to Christmas. We finally found the computer that had been advertised and was still on sale. After 10 minutes of looking for someone a worker finally came over. I got really disappointed at first because he said he didn't know if they still had the computer in stock, but he went to go check. That upset my parents. My dad was complaining about them still advertising (it was in today's paper too) and it not being in stock. Finally the guy came back with the computer in the box. He kept trying to sell us other things. First it was a computer case, which I already have. Then it was an anti-virus software, which I can download. Next was Windows Office, which I still have the discs from my old one. It came out to about $700 with tax, which isn't too bad for an HP computer. And $375 of it was paid with my money. My dad put it all on his PC Richard credit card. All the Christmas money I received ($375) from family I had already given to him for the computer.

It's funny because Brenda got a Compaq computer from the guy that always buys her stuff for Christmas. Apparently she was complaining about it not having Windows 7 or something the other day and my dad turned around and said that the new one I was getting came with Windows 7. My mom said Brenda had such a shocked look on her face and then complained to my mom (when my dad wasn't around) about him buying me a new computer when he wouldn't buy her one. My mom turned around and told her that I paid for half of it and would pay for the rest of it once I had a job, unlike her who didn't pay for her computer. Later on after dinner my parents and I were talking about what Brenda said. My dad sometimes says stuff about Brenda's complaining and my mom tells him to tell her to her face instead of making my mom say it. He told her that he shouldn't have to because Brenda was her daughter. He said my daughter is right here and pointed to me. It made me a little happy to hear that he cares about me.

We got Wendys on the way home from PC Richards. I love Wendys, it's my favorite fast food place, haha. I ordered their chili, which is sooo good. I hadn't had it in a very long time so I forgot how spicy it was. After lunch I decided I was going to bake some banana bread. While I was waiting for it to bake I decided to set up the new laptop. I'm totally in love with Windows 7. It is so awesome and I absolutely love this new computer. I took the bread out of the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes. As is was cooling I went upstairs to remove the user account on my old laptop. I brought it downstairs and started to set it up for my mom. Once the bread was cool enough I cut a slice for me and my parents. It was really good! I had never baked bread before so I was a little worried about how it would turn out, but I did ok. The parents like it, haha.

I spent the rest of the day transferring everything to my computer and explaining things to my mom about the old one.

On a side note -- I love waking up to a cat on my head, haha.

Last Minute Shopping and Tea Parties

One thing I really hate is waiting for the cable guy. My parents had doctors appointments today so I got stuck waiting for the cable guy. He was supposed to be there between 12 and 4. I had to get up around 11 to help lock up the house and gates after my parents left. I kind of dozed on and off downstairs and listened to music while waiting. He didn't come until 330ish. By that time my parents had come back. I had to take a shower and start getting ready to meet Kriztille.

After dinner I headed out to Forest Hills to meet up with Kriztille. It was so cold out. I really hate winter. It's honestly my least favorite season. The train ride wasn't too bad. I headed over to Barnes and Noble to meet her. It was so awesome seeing her! It had been quite awhile since I had seen her last. Of course Barnes and Noble had to change their stuff around upstairs. I was looking for a Balance Ball for my mom for Christmas and the last time I had seen them there were upstairs. So we walked around the store for a bit before Kriz was able to find one. It came with two DVDs that show exercises to use with it, a stretching strap, the ball, and an inflater. It wasn't too expensive either, it was about 20 plus tax.

Next we headed to Bath and Body Works. I had to get another gift. I was a little annoyed by it honestly. It's for this girl Evelyn, she's my friend Kaitlyn's best friend and I know for a fact that she doesn't even consider me a friend. She hasn't talked to me in a long time and deleted me from Facebook way back before Thanksgiving break. I really can't stand her attitude and personality truthfully because she's such a fake person. She texted me the other day asking when can we exchange gifts. I had no idea that she was buying me a gift and I don't get why since she doesn't consider me a friend. I really hate getting a gift from someone and not having one for them. I always feel bad. So I had to get her a little something.

Of course we couldn't hang out in Forest Hills without getting tea. So we headed to Crepe and Tearia, where we go all the time. I had some really yummy Mixed Flowers tea. We hung out there for a really long time before going to Duane Reade. I needed to buy wrapping paper. I got a big roll that had fat Santas on it. It was pretty cute.

I had a great time. I wish I could see Kriztille more often, especially when I'm away at school. I spent the rest of the night wrapping presents. I'm so bad at it, haha.

On a side note -- being an insomniac at home sucks. At school it's fine cause I can hang out with people, but at home I'm stuck awake by myself with no one to keep me company except my cats and they can't talk.

Sleepovers are the best!

So last night (Sunday December 13) I slept over at Cory and Kyle's room in Fort Awesome. I had the best time ever! It was definitely one of the best sleep overs I'd ever had. Cory's friend/Lauren's boyfriend Matt slept over too. Lauren hung out for a really long time and we managed to get Sean to hang out until 5ish. I tried convincing him to sleep over too, but he lives a floor below them, haha.

I brought my laptop and my external hard drive over. I took a lot of music from Cory and Sean and some awesome anime and tv shows. We took turns creating our characters in Guitar Hero 5. Mine looks awesome, haha. We played for a bit. I started off doing really terrible on easy mode, but the last time I played for the night I got like 85, which is a big improvement for me.

We played Scategories for a long while. Sean and I competed in Peggle, while Cory played UFC. We watched a movie called East Side Story about a gay guy in Hollywood. Haha it was so great. We ordered Campus Wings, which I'll never do again. My stomach hurt so much after only two wings. We watched like 10 minutes of a beaver documentary. Cory went through his Netflix on his Xbox and ignore the suggestions that Kyle and I gave him.

Sean left around 5. We all had the late night giggles. I couldn't stop laughing at one point. It was so great. After Sean left we decided to at least get settled. Matt and I slept on the floor, but instead of going to sleep we started talking again. We all told random stories. I wish I had slept over at the fort before. One of the best nights ever. I remember finally going to sleep around 7. It was around 3 I finally woke up. Matt had been up since 11. Cory and Kyle had been laying in bed. I don't know what time they actually got up. We finally decided to get some food and headed down to Starbucks for some breakfast sandwiches. Sean came along. It was a really shitty day though cause it was cold and rainy.

I didn't feel like changing clothes. I looked really funny walking down to Starbucks in my shorts and a hoody, carrying a bookbag and a pillow and blanket in my hands. We hung out there for a long while. I really didn't feel like walking back to my dorm in the rain, but eventually I did. I saw the guys like two hours later for dinner at the dining hall and then hung out at the fort again, haha. I should just live in their room for the rest of the semester.

On a side note -- I've realized that I have way more guy friends than I do girl friends, haha.

A what did what??!!

It's been a long time since I posted but today really needs a post. It's freezing up here at school. All day I've been layered up against the cold. I had a tank top, a long sleeved turtle neck, a hoodie, my jacket, hat and scarf when I went out. I had just gotten back to my room a little after 6pm. I took off my layers because it was pretty damn hot in my room. I was just lounging in my tank top and sweat pants when I got a text from my friend Cory. It said :

"Car crashed into Starbucks."

I wasn't sure if I believed him until Kyle called asking me if I knew what happened. I didn't and being curious that I am I started to rush over. I forgot my layers. I just threw on my hoodie over my tank top and my jacket. I forgot my scarf, my hat, and my camera, which I had never wished to have more than I did today. I ran over to Starbucks and could not believe it. A car was in the middle of the store. Glass was everywhere, an ambulance and EMTs and the police, and firefighters were inside.Students were crowded around outside. Because I used to work there for so long my first thought was that I hope my friends are alright. I still have friends that work there and I'm close with Oscar the cashier and the managers Sandra and Jaime. Since I didn't have my camera I tried to take a few pictures with my phone. It came out pretty shitty.

I met up with Cory and Kyle and stayed out until about 930ish trying to do some reporting for The Brick, our online newspaper, about what happened and who saw it. It was a crazy day and I was freezing. My feet were numb and still hurt. We still don't have a clear story of what exactly happened yet. The driver is missing and there are a few people in the hospital with injuries. There's already an article on newspaper website.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20091210/NEWS02/91210011/-1/newsfront/Car-crashes-into-Purchase-Starbucks--injures-3

Photos were taken by my friend Sean Tomizawa and can be found on here.

On a side note -- This has been a crazy week.