Student SPHere 2008-09

I enjoyed my winter break. After a hectic finals week, it was nice to drive home. Even if it was in the middle of a huge snowstorm. There were at least thirteen cars stranded in ditches, having spun out on the slippery roads. There was even a huge two-cargo Fedex truck that was also stranded. I hope those people received their packages on time. Despite the snowy conditions, it cleared out halfway through Wisconsin so I was home in a reasonable amount of time.

The day after I returned, we had family friends over for hot pot. My parents met these friends in their college years and have remained close ever since. My siblings and I grew up with their children and have seen each other go through many stages of life.

I stayed at home in Illinois for two weeks. It was overall relaxing, although I ended up relaxing too much. I could have stood to do a little more socializing. It was great to see the friends that I did go to see though; some I have not seen in quite a few years. My old high school pal Shannon was also in town, but we were unable to meet up.

For Christmas, my family - minus my brother, who spent his winter holidays in Seoul, South Korea - went to Chicago's Chinatown to have a meal with my maternal grandmother, my uncle, and his family. My cousins are really cute. Even at their young age they have vastly different personalities; the eldest, Audrey is very bright and headstrong while the youngest Jaslynn tends to be more reserved.

Audrey and my sister Brenda jumping on the bed

Family portrait

For New Year's Eve, I met up with my good friend Diana. We did very Chicago-tourist things like go ice skating in Millenium Park and take photos of our reflections against the Bean. We also watched The Reader (it was ok) and eat dinner at Crust, the only certified organic restaurant in the Midwest. It's mainly pizza and sandwiches, but the beer selection is good and the prices are really reasonable. I had a veggie calzone. There was also organic vodka and related beverages, but I didn't try those. We later met up with other people to bring in the new year and celebrated in the traditional kind of way.

I left on a Sunday for Minneapolis. Halfway through, I realized that I left my apartment keys in Illinois. Fortunately, my roommate Sarah was able to hang out in the apartment to let me in. Thanks Sarah!

I spent my third week of vacation hanging out. Severin and I went to Minnehaha Falls again. It was completely frozen over and looked like some type of organic ice castle.

We also went sledding with some friends. I haven't been sledding in a long time, but escaped with only a small bruise. However, I do need to get some rain pants to wear over my jeans. My jeans got damp very quickly, but they were a small price to pay for a fun afternoon outside.

This week is about buckling down and getting ready for my last semester. In the meantime, I will leave you with this awesome animated gif I made.