The break was good though as I got to see family, some of which I hadn't seen in 4yrs. I really enjoyed seeing my two brothers again and hanging out with them. On Black Friday my youngest brother, his fiancé and I all went to Best Buy for a harddrive I wanted. I tried online earlier but their site was having trouble accepting my gift cards, so we had to do it the old fashioned way. The 3 of us bundled up in a large blanket, amidst the large line that wrapped around the building. We looked similar to the Pokemon Dugtrio.
Around 9pm I had the good sense to call the company and find out that they could order it for me over the phone and implement my gift cards there. So we left all the other poor, cold people behind and went home to enjoy nice warm drinks and decent sleep. Though, I do still love a good Black Friday. My favorite one was one of my first, when my whole family would make a quest of it. At that time I was in charge of the Best Buy deals, my mom and first youngest brother was WalMart, and my dad was Target. The youngest brother was too young so he stayed with the grandparents. Back then it wasn't so crazy so you could show up around 3-4am and get a decent spot in line. They also opened at 6am rather than 12am, like now.
I can remember standing in line with all the other cold people, when my dad suddenly showed up with warm cocoa and a donut, stating that his line wasn't that bad and he opted to go get us all breakfast at the 24hr gas station before getting back in line. It was the best Black Friday ever.
It was all worth it in the end though. I finished the semester with a B+ in Neuropsychology and an A- in Advanced Psychological Statistics. Once again I outdid myself in my awesomeness.
And thus Christmas time began!!
If there's on time of the year I love most it's winter. The snow, the good food, Christmas music, decorations... I love it all! Christmas is that one time of year that even the ugly parts of town look pretty. The oldies radio station also switches over and plays non-stop Christmas tunes for a whole month. I was thrilled about that, this year, because this time I could play them in my car for however much I wanted and didn't have anyone to bitch at me for doing so. I could listen to them while I worked, exercised, and more. But, of course, I could not get away with listening to them non-stop around Husky. His hometown always overdid Christmas and I guess it took the fun out of it for him. :( Hopefully he'll get some of that joy back while being with me.
And then it finally snowed. I was visiting Husky at the time and could have probably burst into a billion little snowflakes of happiness myself.
Like all holidays, Christmas came and went. I received many awesome gifts, although I'm still working on mine to others since finals kept me from finishing most all of them. My favorite gifts are probably the heart monitor my brother so thoughtfully got me to help in my running and the handmade earrings and necklace Husky made for me, out of rock climbing equipment. They are so incredibly cool and really impressive. I've never had a boyfriend make me something, especially jewelry. Guess that's a nice thing about dating an engineer. Usually I was always the one making my gifts since I held the sculpture degree. Speaking of which, he totally loves the bacon scarf I made for him. :)
I even got new cleaning materials earlier in the month, which was exciting as well.
And now we're on the cusp of 2013. The "end of the world" as predicted by people reading the Mayan calendar did not, in fact, happen...though that didn't stop us from having an awesome time drinking at bars to the end of it all.
Currently, I'm finishing up my Christmas gifts, as well as other things on my "to do list" that have been piling up over the semester. I've been of course spending more time with Husky, which has been really nice. Next weekend we're going skiing, which I doubt either one of us can wait for. In a few days I'll begin studying for the GRE, as I'd like to take it before the next semester gets too crazy.
To be honest, it feels weird. I sometimes find myself looking back to last year, and remembering where I was and then realizing just how far I've already come. Last year I spend Christmas completely alone, with my 2 cats and a rotisserie chicken. It wasn't the most enjoyable of times for me, in fact it was definitely one of the worst. And yet here I am just one year later and I honestly almost can't believe how far out of that hole I brought myself. There were times I didn't even think I could. I'm really proud of myself and of course I also have to thank all my friends and family for supporting me through it all. Thanks, everyone. Whether you're reading this or not, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I couldn't be more thrilled to finally be able to say I'm person that I want to be and that I always should have been.
And now I'm looking forward to 2013. I know that regardless of what challenges come my way I can overcome all of them with my head held high. I've already taken on some of the hardest so I know I can do it. I can't stop and I won't. I plan on running into the new year at full speed, and hopefully I won't need to stop long for any challenges cause I'll just plow right through them. :)
So with that, Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2013 treats you well and you have much merriment in the next year. Whether you're alone with pets and comfort food, or spending your holidays with friends and/or family, know that bad times seldom last and if you just poke at them enough with a super sharp stick they'll eventually get tired of you and go away.
Keep being awesome everyone.
....awesome like my Sonic costume idea for the next anime convention I go to...
