whoa. what a trip. i don't think i've ever done so much in a week in my life. it was super concentrated fun. eating, dr. mario, movies, boarding, shopping, eating, sleeping, dancing, bonfire, cranium, mafia...my goodness. it was so much more than just those things, tho'. la...sd..irvine...i'll say it again. my. goodness. fun fun fun!!! i love my friends. i really think that i have the greatest friends in the world...we're so far apart, but when we get together, it's like no time has passed. so thank you thank you lynn and hong and james and victor for spending practically every minute of our visit with us and housing us and for driving us all over southern california and jon and george, too, for playing host to us in sd. you guys are the best ever for showing us such an amazing time. just think...only 3 more months and we'll be in miami. =)

so eric and i arrive at lax super early for our flight, get our bags checked in without a hassle, board our flight on time and even arrive at dtw early. atypical for northwest. of course, the idiots at the airport failed to notice that our plane had arrived, so we wasted a good 15 minutes on the plane waiting for them to connect the walkway to the plance so we can de-board(?). did i mention that it's 10:50pm on new years eve? (enter frustration.) we can make it to my house, i tell myself as we book to baggage claim...you will not miss watching the ball drop with your family because you have never missed the ball drop with your family in your entire life. i figure, we actually got to detroit on time, no doubt will i make it home on time. baggage claim to it's sweet time and by 11:18, we're running out of the airport with our snowboards in hand. (enter anxiety)42 minutes to get home, i think...i'm barely gonna make it. at 11:43 we're at southfield freeway and 8 mile, at least 20 minutes from my house. (enter disappointment) my brother calls me 5 minutes before midnight like i asked (so i could pseudo drop the ball with the family) and we count down and midnight hits. *happy new year!* i'm in a car less than a mile away from my house. i must say i was pretty close to devastated. i mean, i ran into my house without unloading the car so i could make the tail end of the new year excitement, but it wasn't the same. at least i got to see my cousins before they bounced off to other new year parties. i missed a tradition and i don't think i want to do that again. makes me realize how attached i am to my family....further reinforcing that this is where i'm supposed to be.

anyway...i've spent new years day sick. it was building up all last week and finally just blew up this morning. it's the kind of sick that makes you miserable because you can't breathe or swallow or talk or move your head. yechh. i have to go to work like this tomorrow. the only good part is that there's only 3 more days left at ppg (aka pppoopy--like kimmie says). then i have a week to do...nothing!!! hahahahaha...can't wait. i think i can try out my new snowboarding skills on our snow-covered landfills...