2008: The year of awesome.

2008, since the beginning of my existance, has promised to be an awesome year. It was always assumed that I would graduate in 2008. This year promises to be nothing short of amazing. Let me tell you why (Mrs. Lovett, tell you why).

Education
I'm a huge nerd. I love being in school, especially once I graduated from high school. I enjoy writing papers, generally speaking. I enjoy learning. This year I will, God willing, begin graduate school somewhere. I will also have the best undergrad semester ever. I have the following classes (thank you American Studies major).
- Bob Dylan and the 60s (aka AMST 400...a required class,,,with Dr. Smith)
- Disney and the American Dream (aka Independent Study with Musser)
- The Gilded Age (just because I can...with Dr. Moreau)
- Modern Art...because I love art history
- Harry Potter and Philosophy.

suck on that.

Politics
I recently received (and subsequently devoured) the first 2 seasons of The West Wing. As a consequence, I want politics and to be part of political life...and 2008 is a Presidential election year. I have not decided who will get my primary vote...I just know that it will not be one H. Clinton. How fun will this be?! Ok...perhaps just for me.

Life in general
I will get to move into my own place. I have fantastic friends and strong friendships. I have a wonderful boyfriend. I might get a dog. What an awesome year this could turn out to be!

In other news, I had a fantastic New Year's weekend. Jason survived his first Brewer family function, which can be quite overwhelming for someone with a small family. We got back to Mechanicsburg just to get back in the car and drive to Philadelphia, which allowed us to get to sleep at around 1am...to wake up at 7:30 in order to catch a 9:23 train to New York City. We took a little nap on the way up, although once I get through the Newark station, I want to see the skyline pop up over the horizon and see the city. After leaving Penn Station into the bitter cold, we made a beeline for TKTS, since Sara had given us a gift certificate that she could not use. We had been standing in line for no less than 15 minutes when I see a very familiar face...my Aunt Rosemary, who was followed by my cousin and her best friend. What a happy coincidence! She asked us if we would stand in line for her and if one of us would get her tickets. We said "of course", because we were already in line and what would it hurt? Apparently nothing because we got fantastic seats to see Curtains and they got good seats for Avenue Q. To thank us, she paid the balance of our tickets and took us to lunch at the Atrium in the Marquis Marriott, where The Drowsy Chaperone plays. There Jason and I split a quesadilla and I had a Shirley Temple. Mmmm. We parted ways, as their show began at 2 and ours at 3. We went to the Toys R Us to kill time and returned to the theatre with a few minutes to sit. It had started raining a little and it was good to be in the heat again.

Curtains was phenomenal! See it. After the show, I took Jason to the stage door to get autographs. We waited in the rain for forty-five minutes, but it was worth it because we met...David Hyde Pierce (star of Wet Hot American Summer and Fraiser). He was very nice. He signed both our programs and we took a couple of pictures with him (which will be up as soon as Jason finds the cable for his camera.) Jason also joked about telling Pierce how good we thought he was in Wet Hot...and when we got up to him, Jason stated to David Hyde Pierce that "We feel your finest work was in Wet Hot American Summer". David Hyde Pierce laughed and said "Funny movie". So, either he appreciates the compliment or thinks we are huge douchebags. The man had just won a Tony for Curtains....which I complimented him on. After we left the glow of our celebrity encounter, we did what any two adults would do...we squealed and called my parents.

Since we hadn't spent a dime that day (except for Jason's orange juice and breakfast sandwich), we decided to "splurge" on dinner and go to TGI Fridays. I got a soup and salad that, while delicious, still cost me $20. It was good to get out of the rain and watch the street below and we had a nice time. For the rest of the evening, we strolled about going to stores, like the music store who's name I always forget but manage to find whenever I'm in New York. We went to see the tree and Rockefeller Center (Jason says the skating rink looks bigger on TV). At this point, we were soaked and still had about 2 and half hours until our train home. However, we decided to start the long, wet walk back to 33rd and 7th. We got there and got a puzzle book and passed the next few hours doing logic puzzles and sleeping. I slept the whole way back to Philly, which is odd because I'm not the narcaleptic. It was a good day all around.

New Years Eve was spent mainly watching Lost (for me), West Wing (for jason), and The Office (because why not). Since the last 2 days had been so packed full of stuff, we wanted nothing more than to sleep the day away. We started off for Manny Browns about quarter to nine and had a great night there with people that I do not see enough of. I had a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (perfect way to ring in 2008) and 3 dirty girl scout shots. we were still tired, so we left and were home by about 1 am. I had a train at 1:45 the next day to go home and celebrate with my family. I miss Jason, but I'll see him in exactly a week from today, so it feels easier.

Home has been...home. A little boring, a little stressful (grad school....), and a little fun. My sister leaves for school on Sunday, so hopefully I can go with the family to drive her to Virginia and visit some family friends who I haven't seen in a while. I have only eight hours of work next week, so that gives me ample time to work on applications and read.

Long post...oops.

I'm peachy.