Winter break - already so great!

Let me clarify: I've actually been sick for the last few days.  Really sick.  So sick I couldn't make it to my pal's grad party at the Park Tavern in St. Louis Park.  But I'm getting better quickly (thanks to untold amounts of sherbet, Naked Juice, and naps), so as the hip say it, "issallgood."

om nom nom

But despite my sickness, this winter break (though only three days in) is shaping up to be pretty great.  My last final was on Thursday.  It was an essay final, so I spent two full hours writing four essays on the political cultures, economics, etc. of India and China.  After the final, I joined Kristen for lunch at St. Martin's Table.  I'd never eaten there before, even though it's a popular hangout for Auggies (it's basically on our campus).  I had Mexican white bean soup and Azifa.  I don't know what Azifa is, but it was good.  It tasted sort of like bubbles.

I did not take this picture.  Unknown Picture-Taker, please don't sue me.

Mitch got some great news on Thursday--he won tickets to anywhere in the country (thanks, Sun Country)!  Awesome, right?  So we're heading to New York City on New Year's Day to stay with my sister, Cherish.  We're planning our trip now.  I definitely want to go to the Met (the Metropolitan Museum of Art)--they have an exhibit called "Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor" going on right now.  Mitch wants to see Times Square and the Empire State Building (or another very tall building with an observation deck), and we both want to visit the Statue of Liberty.  Aw jeez, I'm excited!

Taken from the Met's website

Mitch and I opened one present each a couple days ago (I opened Okami--a game based on Japanese mythology), and we opened the rest today (he got me another game, Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, and a few neat stocking stuffers).  I made chili for dinner (and gingerbread cookies yesterday), so it's been a cozy, happy day.

Okami!

Kingdom Hearts ~ love

yussss om nom nom

I plan on cranking out my remaining thematic analyses in the next few days.  I'm also going to start reading for my literature review!  Research is fun.

We bought Per booties.  His feet get cold, yo!

This creepy, seductive Santa picture was in my Christmas coloring book.  I lawled a lot.

It's time for a nap now.  I haven't had one yet today, and being still a little sick, it's important that I sleep a lot.  おやすみ！

Christmas + finals + Japan

Yo.

Check out our Christmas tree!  We decorated our entire apartment a couple weeks ago, and this tree was included.  It was our first year with a tree, and when we first took it out of the box, it looked a lot like the Charlie Brown tree, but after some fluffing, it looked...less like the Charlie Brown tree.  It's still small, but it'll do for now.  :)

Sad Charlie Brown tree

Our slightly less sad (but much more festive) tree

Hey!  I got a new phone.  Well, it's not technically new (it was my step-dad's first), but it's new to me.  It's better than my old phone--now I get email alerts!  And the phone has GPS, so if I ever call 911, the dispatcher can track my location.  Nifty!  The phone itself brings me back to my high school days (when I had a bulky, but invincible Nextel phone): this one's also built for wear-and-tear, so I expect it to last longer than my last phone (which was pink and happy, but also sort of flimsy).

It's finals week, and I'm actually doing pretty well, stress-wise.  Usually, this time of year, I'm having daily panic attacks, but I've staved off all but one so far.  I owe this in part to the fact that I have only three finals, one of which doesn't really count (but don't tell the professor that), since I'm taking the class pass/fail (which means as long as I pass the class, I get credit.  It's to save my GPA).  I have a Japanese final on Wednesday (which I'm sure I'll kick major ass on), and a POL 158 final on Thursday (which I'm expecting to be difficult, but I'm still confident I'll do well).  Wish me luck!

Woman!

I'm obsessing about going back to Japan again.  I will make it before grad school (or work, whichever I decide to do)--I WILL!  I've made that promise to myself.  How I do it depends on how much money I want to/am able to fork up between now and the next school year.

I'm coming, Pokemon train!  Imma ride you again...even if you're decorated for a different Pokemon movie.

What am I going to do over winter break?  A lot of reading.  Now that I'm done with the first half of my URGO research (playing through Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess), I have to read up on archetypes (and find the books, articles, etc. I'll use in my literature review), and next semester, I'll/we'll write the big paper (Kristen will help me make it not suck) and submit it for publication.  Exciting, eh?
I also plan on playing a lot of non-Zelda video games.  I obviously love The Legend of Zelda series way more than is healthy, but I haven't been able to play a non-Zelda game since last May, so I'm greatly looking forward to popping in Shadow of the Colossus and taking Agro for a ride around...er...whatever the place is called.  I don't think it has a name.  Maybe I'll even restart the game (since it's taken me forever to actually beat...once I spoiled the ending for myself, it became hard to find motivation to finish...).

BAMF.

I have to brush Per's teeth and clip his nails now.  He has awful breath, and his nails are getting so long he's starting to gnaw them off.  Oh, Per.

Hey, did I ever tell you Kristen got me mittens?  They're GREAT!  They match my coat (they're cream, with brown designs--think Norwegian sweater designs), they're waaaay warmer than my crappy gloves, and they have grippies on the palms so I can steer my car!  Hooray!

BTWs, I love Lady Gaga.  The end.

No, I Am a Cat's Thanksgiving entry...two weeks late

For the last couple years, Mitch and I have had the chance to eat not one, but two delicious Thanksgiving dinners!  This year, we spent Thanksgiving day with Mitch's dad's family (and the evening with his mom's side).  Friday was spent with my parents.  Like all other turkey-eating U.S. Americans, I gained what felt like hundreds of pounds that weekend (and most of the poundage came from fatty, but oh-so-delicious wintery foods).

We didn't go around the table(s) listening to what everyone is thankful for, but that doesn't mean I haven't thought about it.  Here's what I'm thankful for this year:

Mitch.  He's one cool dude.

(Mitch, with his cousin Leah)

My ultra-supportive parents.  Neither of them went to college, but they're adament about making sure I get a quality education.  I know a lot of people don't have that kind of support, so I'm thankful for mine.

(From right to left: Bob, Mom, and me)

The Comm. Studies Deartment.  Mitch might call this brown-nosing, but if they hadn't taken a chance on little ol' first-year me, I wouldn't have the super-awesome-fun job(s) I have now.

(Kristen, my professor/URGO adviser/work buddy extraordinaire)

Per.  He can be a turd, but I love him anyway.

(Per, trying on Mitch's glasses)

That's all for now.  I know this isn't the longest entry I've ever written, but to be honest, I spent two full hours today studying Japanese verb conjugations, and my brain is pretty fried.

Until next time, then! 

P.S. I know this is a Thanksgiving post, and that it's about two weeks late, but better late than never, right?