I went to Vegas and I got was…a stomach flu. :( But I am back!

So things that went down:

  • sat through a 12+ hour car ride to Vegas – we got caught in a heavy rainstrom on the 58 where the heavy winds tore open a trailer leaving debris all over the road and closing down the ONLY freeway for 4 hours
  • ate a monstrous buffet at mgm
  • but kept my sister\’s friend\’s quote in mind girls don\’t eat buffets
  • saw Steve Wyrick perform magic at Aladdin – he sort of made fun of a guy that didn\’t drink and a woman volunteer who couldn\’t speak English – I winced through both acts
  • walked through almost every hotel on the Strip – it really seems like I have been to Vegas many times (in reality, only 4) because I feel like I have seen everything
  • What is Christmas? Why do we celebrate it when its roots are Christian? At heart, it\’s a way of spreading joy to the world. But the major question is why do we need a holiday for this very purpose?

    And to send text msgs to all cellphones. To spit ims to people you rarely talk to (but you\’re on good terms with). A short msg of xmas joy. These are quick exchanges of greetings, but no more than that.

    Yesterday I toyed with the idea of amending my \”burned bridges\”. A way to spread \”Christmas\” spirit. Easy enough to plan, right? But as I thought about it, as I thought of actually doing it…I don\’t know if it\’s quite a gift. To rescind words that I always hold to be true. Or perhaps to offer an apology is the best gift that anybody can receive.

    Still watching too many dvds. :) Have been seeing a lot of people that I haven\’t seen for months and years. Today I saw someone I will see too often in Pittsburgh. *cough*

    People often say they\’re very busy when they\’re at home. Especially during the holidays or winter break.

    Normally if you asked me, I would respond that I am bored to tears. That I would wake up every day wondering what I would do with all this free time on my hands. All this time without any schoolwork or time-pressure projects.

    But this year. It\’s all different. I have in my posession both season 1 and season 2 of 24. Plus special features. That\’s 13 dvds. And approximately 49 hours of mindless tv. The other day I dreamt that I was a CTU agent. And I bought myself an early Christmas present. The entire trilogy of LOTR. Special extended edition. That\’s why I haven\’t gotten around to sending my cards. No xmas shopping. No phone calls. No visits. No e-mails. And less blogging. Because of my lovely black box called the dvd player.

    Hopefully I shall see you soon. That is, if the TV has grinded me into a useless pile of mush.

    In other news, I got my first really well-deserved A. I haven\’t ever gotten an A in Berkeley that I didn\’t really work that hard for. And now finally at CMU, I am rewarded. But remember, grades don\’t really count in the end, right?

    DONE. I am done. With my first semester of the masters program. One year ago, I wouldn\’t think I would be here. I wouldn\’t have thought that I would have made friends with the people I have.

    But in sum, this semester I:

  • went to more bars than I can count on my two hands
  • but I never took a sip
  • am still a non-drinker
  • yet I have dealed with too many whyaren\’tyoudrinking questions
  • went to more parties than I ever did in undergrad
  • used Verizon for the first time and never worried about my minutes
  • because EVERYONE uses it and there\’s unlimited mobile to mobile
  • took the bus every day, something I had sworn against doing in Berkeley…
  • went to free food events every week, developed a nose for free food, and shamelessness when walking into anything even though I know I don\’t belong
  • developed some anti-undergrad feeling
  • AM one of the youngest in my program!
  • became good friends with one CHRIS and dropped the other one
  • I still know too many Chrises
  • lost my id once
  • experienced my first snowfall
  • saw Jimmy Eat World for the second time!
  • and Taking Back Sunday!
  • all while I had a 100 degree fever!
  • got a locker which I just used to stash all my food supplies
  • ate too much pizza – free, of course
  • experienced a chocolate fountain
  • talked too much, gossiped too much, smiled too much, laughed too much
  • learned how to pack my first snowball
  • attended a Kerry rally and actually voted for the first time in a presidential election
  • flew to San Diego for Thanksgiving
  • started to dislike flying
  • had 10+ hour meetings for group homeworks
  • started to use the word awesome
  • maxed out my AIM buddy list every week
  • become very pro-Apple
  • lived in a world where (almost) everyone had a Mac and learned to look down on PC users
  • got along with people 4 years older than me!
  • Stat final: done.
    Preparation for job meeting: done.
    Design project and process book: done.
    Extra credit assignment: done.
    Methods final: TOMORROW.

    and then…
    clean house (or room)
    go xmas shopping (for myself)
    send xmas cards
    redesign blog layout
    create and deploy portfolio

    and now…
    shower
    sleep

    There are very few moments in my life when I am truly stressed. Stressed to the point when I might cry. Crumbling into a ball. When I do stress, I start seeing the world so narrowly. I ignore everyone and become almost self-centered. I \”shut\” everything down except for the things I am most worried about and pour my energy into them.

    When studying tests, I always have notes with me. Whether or not I will actually absorb anything from them, I will look at them during any free time I have. On the bus, while walking (did this in Berkeley while it was raining), while talking to someone (I have excellent multitasking abilities)…

    Today was one of those days where my greatest wish was just to have more time.

    But I always find time to blog. Also, I just paid 10k for my next semester\’s tuition out of my own shrinking checking account. Ouch.

    Muse is so good.

    Today, I feel like I am yet another step closer to buying an ipod. I now have over 3 gigs of music (equivalent to 7 days and 19 hours on my powerbook. although now that i think about it, i only like less than 1/8 of my music) But this also means, I must buy the ipod integration stereo system for my car. Correction. I\’ll buy one when I have a car.