Winter Break Escapades

Overall I had a relaxing and enjoyable winter break. After a tiring first semester, these two weeks off were well accepted by my mind and body. Yes, there were still rather stressful events during this break, but I don't really want to go into that. I'll just outline the good which there was very much of.

First off I spent a lot of time with my friend Hannah. We had movie nights, played some music for our band, and generally just had some fun. These such things went on throughout the break and helped me keep in touch with people other than just my family. However, I do like my family a lot, so I can't really say that I truly needed this link with my friends.

I did, indeed, spend a lot of time with my family. The break started out, in fact, with a Winter Cleaning Fest enacted by my mother. The rooms of both my brother and me were very messy and were in dire need of a cleanly scouring. My mom wanted to get an early jump on this event. We organized everything in both rooms and rearranged the furniture to make a more balanced feng shui. Although I didn't want to do it at the time, this cleaning has made it easier for me to function and I can get a better night of sleep in the newly organized environment.

Our next big family event was our annual Christmas Eve party at out house. This, too, required a lot of cleaning on the part of the entire family. I decided to just dig in and finish my duties as quickly as possible. It wouldn't help to complain at a time like this. Once the cleaning was done we began cooking for the night's meal. Later, my family from my father's side came over for the party. We did some talking while the meal finished cooking. When the meal was ready we all sat down and dove into the feast. All of the food was delicious, but I most enjoyed the Italian Beef sandwiches. They were so incredibly delicious that my mouth is watering just talking about them now. We then opened presents. Overall, this party went very well.

Immediately after the party, my mom and I went to church for the Christmas Eve service. This was a very joyful event filled with the singing of many familiar Christmas carols.

After the service we went back home and watched the classic movie White Christmas. I love this movie, but I was completely exhausted from the days events. I fell asleep very soon after the movie started.

The next morning was, of course, CHRISTMAS! It was a very good Christmas for me. Mostly, I received the gift of music. My iPod, one of my most prized possessions, was tragically broken about two months ago. For Christmas I received a new 32 GB iPod Touch. This was a very exciting gift for me seeing as my last iPod was only 8 GB and I had to constantly rearrange my music due to the limited space. I no longer have to worry about these space issues, which is a great relief. I also received a new case for my saxophone (which is incredibly nice and I am in love with) and a new saxophone mouthpiece. This is a metal mouthpiece and a very nice one at that. I have been wanting one for a very long time, and I am very happy to have finally received one. It's very different from any other mouthpiece I have ever played on, and I love it dearly.

The next few days were very LAZY. I began staying up later and sleeping until about noon unlike the beginning of break where I had trouble sleeping past 8. I enjoyed myself and played many video games. This was the first time in quite a while that I had done so. Also during these days I visited with some of my friends who graduated last year. It was good to see these people who are some of my favorite people ever.

On the 28th my family went to Chicago. My family lives up there, and we usually hold a New Year's Eve Party there. This year was no different. For the two full days before the party we lazed it up and played, of course, video games. Also, I was reunited with one of my favorite activities: Table Tennis. We also went bowling which was quite enjoyable. The party was as fun as usual. We played soooooo much Catch Phrase. Seriously, soooo much. I love it, though. I pretty much dominate because of my knowledge of random things in most areas. Also, I can read people well, so it makes it easier for me to guess what they're trying to describe. When the countdown came, we all counted down along with the television. At the stroke of midnight we all launched off confetti and some of us ran through the streets of the subdivision banging pots and pans. This, as well, is a family tradition.

Again, this break was very enjoyable aside from some stresses that I went through. It was nice to just relax and do whatever. I hope this brief taste of a break doesn't affect me in a negative way making me lazier than I normally am. I think having a quick break from all of my duties should do quite the opposite, but you never really know.