Days 20-23: Short and Sweet

My winter holiday has started, and I'm planning on taking a little break from blogging.  However, I had a goal of posting one picture for evey day this year, so I will continue to post pics as time permits.

Day 20:

I took my sister's advice and came home for strawberry cheesecake.  It was dericious!  I also played a lot of cards with my step-mom and grandparents.  Grandma schooled pretty much every game except one.  The last game, was a landslide victory at rummy.  I swear she gets two jokers every hand.

Day 21:

This year, I actually took the time to make my presents aesthetically pleasing.  They're still missing bows, but I know my dad always has a stash.  I also cleaned my room and did some other random chores on this day.



Day 22:

Sarah took me out to a Blues game completely at random.  We lost, but I really enjoy watching all the action!  Hot dogs (NOM NOM NOM), beer, hockey....what's not to like?  Sarah was a lot of fun to hang out with.  I can't think of a better person for my roommate to date.

Day 23:

We hosted game night on Tuesday night.  Jason needed to get an oil change for his holiday travel, so I ended up doing a lot of the cooking.  The picture above features one of the dishes that I made.  I was worried that my kitchen incompetence would be at work here, but everyone seemed to really enjoy the food.  We followed up with the Family Guy Star Wars movies and a game of Acquire.  Acquire is Monopoly-esque, and I found it to be pretty fun.  I took a very close second place at the end of the game.

General update:

My dating situation continues to improve.  Jenny and I have been talking every night, and the more we do, the more I like her.  We re-scheduled her visit to St. Louis, and I may even visit her in Springfield if we're lucky.  It depends on whether I can secure some sleeping arrangements.  I also really want to see Zack and Sam while I'm there.  I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.  :)

Triumphant return!

The past couple of months have been some of the best in recent memory. It wasn't long ago that I attended the Gogol Bordello concert, and now I have two more fun things under my belt: vacation and Asher's send-off.

Seattle was an amazing city, and I enjoyed every minute that I was there. My friend Kelly hosted me for 8 of my 10 days in the northwest, for which I am extremely thankful. We did a lot of the standard Goat House partying, but we also did a lot of sight seeing. Here is a laundry list of things that I experienced:

•  Seattle Space Needle
• Science Fiction Hall of Fame Museum
• Seattle Central Library
• Museum of Glass
• Pike Place Market (and brewery)
• Mario Warp Pipe Park

I also spent a couple of days in Portland hanging with my friend Lauren. We did the Thanksgiving thing and hit up Vodoo Doughnut and a gigantic Chinese garden. It was a little more low-key during that period.

This past weekend was my friend Asher's pre-deployment party (see pic above).  We got a bunch of the local friends to head over to the Jive and Wail for a night of debauchery and entertainment.  The pianists took requests, and they ended up playing "Proud to be an American" with Asher blushing on stage.  We then retired to my place for a little Beatles Rock Band and some drinks.  It was truly a night to remember (or not depending).

I must admit, I'm more than a little sad to see him go.  Very few people have touched my life to the degree that he has, and I could not have asked for a better friend.  I can only hope that our paths will cross again soon.

Cheers.

Wish You Were Here Contest

On my old blog, I held the "Wish You Were Here Contest".  The co-winners hailed from DC and Seattle, so I have been on a mission to visit both cities.  Here is my proof of visiting DC:

I will be fulfilling my promise to visit Seattle somewhere between November 20th and 29th.  It's already in the works.

In addition to my west coast trip, there are a number of things that I am looking forward to right now.  In the immediate future, I have tickets to a Gogol Bordello concert.  I'll get to hang out with a couple of good friends during my stay, which is honestly more appealing that actually hearing the band.  I miss having my college friends in proximity, but I'm glad that we've managed to stay in touch for the most part.