Gonna party like it's yer Birthday ...

Finally 21!!!

It came and sooner than I had expected ... well none of the surprise would have been possible without that certain special someone.

Jeremy managed to cleverly surprise me once again. Last year I had no idea that the boy had spent a vast majority of his last weeks at home blitzing my friends to orchestrate an enormous birthday party. Meanwhile (I at this point was completely clueless), it seemed as though Jeremy had adopted a peculiar mannerism over the summer. He became preserved... well more so than before. For example, he would deliberately check his blitz when I was on the other side of the room. On a few occasions he would quickly close whatever message he was reading once I'd approach. This being extremely unusual because openness has always been a quality in our relationship. His abnormal behavior left me feeling suspicious ... what could he be hiding from me?!? My paranoia got the best of me and the questing morphed into "WHO could he be hiding from me"

He went as far to have one of my friends take me to Maine a day before the party to give him more time to prepare. When we returned I was happily shocked to realize that my insecurities were all unfounded.

This year he didn't go to nearly the same extreme. Hence less of the jealous. The party was still amazing. From the beginning I was convinced that he was planning the party for Monday, my actual Birthday. So Saturday Afternoon, I had lunch with my buddy Evan. Little had I known that Jeremy had asked Evan to keep me busy that afternoon. So we had arrangements for dinner that evening. The Canoe Club was our first stop. We shared a lovely bottle of red wine. After an enormous meal we headed back to SAE and as I opened the door to his room my closest friends yelled "Surprise!". Indeed I was. Another wonderful year!

and now a few pictures...

A new year

Usually a heading like this appears near January. In this case I'm am referring to my birthday. I do realize that it's been a while since my last post. Although my reasons are relatively valid (of course that's open to speculation).

Most recent events -

1) Finals
2) Interim
3) Time travel

Finals or me, as any sane student might affirm, were the typical nightmare. I have never been the strongest test taker and to have not only three but four exams in addition to a paper was not the most pleasant of experiences. It seemed as thought the study period was shorter than usual. Possibly because the entire term was. To my happy surprise, it has been one of my most academically successful terms yet! (gotta make mom and dad proud)

And the fun didn't stop after turning in my paper. Oh no ... then there was the joy of moving! Thank the sweet good Zeus that for my brutish friends. I don't know what I would have done without their help. Props to my J-man and G-star (G-star with a car).

It was wonderful to finally have a few days after the exams and chaos that is moving to unwind. It seems as though I don't do it enough because I'm too pre occupied with work. Then again, who has time? Post summer term I was in need of some serious SNOOOGOL and that was exactly what I got. The downside - two weeks away from my english muffin :-(
But before my departure, I was lucky to have caught up with the Debates. Such wonderful people. James was scouting out schools on the East coast. Seeing him at that stage in his life made me somewhat nostalgic ... I don't think I could have made a better choice. Although from time to time I wonder what my life might have been like if I had decided to attend a different university. I suppose it's only natural.

Then the trip home. Who knew that traveling could be so exhausting! Well, it's not your standard trip to NYC even California is closer... but some remote community in rural Alaska! I boarded a bus in Hanover headed for Logan at 4 AM. As chance would have it, there were no longer any seats left. So, I had to sit on the floor in the isle for 3 hours! By the time I arrived in Boston I could have sworn that my buttock had gone completely numb! Next I checked in for my 8 AM flight bound for Seattle (duration - 5 hours). Followed by a 3 hour layover... just enough time to be board but not enough time to visit the sister. The next leg was to Anchorage (another 5 hours on the plane). Only to wait in the newly re-modeled Ted Steven's International Air Port. It looks so modern .... so ... un-Alaskan! Finally the last flight - Anchorage to Dillingham (duration - 1.5 hours on the jet or 3 hours on the SABB). It was a happy return to my mother's arms.

Being home can be odd. The primary reason is that the community never seems to changes. A parallel example could be a colony isolated in some sort of bubble, sheltered from the rest of society. I may be exaggerating... Seclusion can be construed as good or bad. The positive being a consistent base to rely on. The obvious negative - there is rarely any advancement. New business quickly fizzle, new families find it difficult to assimilate into the community and quickly re-locate. Being home is almost comparable to time travel. For example, we still use a dial-up internet connection, the hot water heater is as reliable as the weather, there can be extended periods of time when the grocery store is sold out of fresh produce - because everything has to be flown in. I'd almost go as far to say that Dillingham is a borderline third-world village ... regardless it's home.




awww it's so quaint

This man is my lover

Jeremy may be sexy, but he can never compare to this man.

Damn right it's for me.

WARNING: the preceding image of a man with a raging phoner might not have been suitable for children.