I laugh in the face of cold

I finally have a few minutes to sit down and write up a little synopsis about my 18 day adventure.

On the first of January I avoided the harsh -45F temperatures by flying to New York and spent 11 days there hanging out with my boyfriend, Nick. Some of my favorite moments in NYC included seeing the two floors of the Guggenheim that were actually open (renovations are so inconvenient), being overwhelmed by the Dick Blick store in Manhattan, and playing rock band with Nick. Although I really enjoyed the time we spent there, I really had the most fun with him in Seattle and San Francisco. Maybe the change of pace was what made it so awesome.

When we flew into Seattle we got to hang out with Rachael, Alexsis and her sister, their friend Dan and his girlfriend, Richard and HB. Alexsis, Nick and I started off the day by running to a Russian deli to buy peroshkis and then made our way back to Rachael and Alexsis' apartment. When we got there, Alexsis baked delicious peanut butter/hershey kisses cookies, which I ate the majority of. Then Alexsis, Nick and I ventured to the library Alexsis works at. It is frickin' awesome. The architecture is interesting, you get to check out and return the books by yourself, and when you get to the top floor, the view is amazing...not to mention the fact that they seem to have a most excellent selection of books.

When we finished the grand tour of Alexsis' workplace, we made our way to the Owl and Thistle, which happens to be an Irish pub (Alexsis would not have it any other way). The bench seats were very comfortable and the ambiance actually made me quite sleepy. We ordered happy hour drinks and a TON of food. The shepherd's pie is totally off the hook there. After a while HB and Richard met up with us and Nick and I went to a place called Brouwer's with them. That place has more beers on tap than I've ever seen in one place. It was amazing. After we closed that bar down, we got some McDonald's and then crashed at HBs. Four hours later we were up and on our way to the airport to catch our flight to San Francisco.

When we got to the airport they informed us that our flight was too full so our baggage could not be checked. They ended up booking us on the following flight to San Fran. When we arrived, we were greeted by Nick's mom. It was really nice to finally meet a part of his family. She had to work the next day, so Nick and I drove to Santa Cruz, enjoyed the beaches, and ate delicious pizza from a place called Pleasure Pizza. That was probably my favorite day from the entire trip, although I had a great time visiting SFMOMA and Alcatraz with Nick and his mom.

Anyway, my intention was to write a short summary of events but it seems that I'm on my way to writing a novella, so I'll end it here. I'm just extremely happy that I got to share 18 days with the person I love. I can't wait to be done with school so I can see him on a regular basis again.

Me at Otto's Shrunken Head

Nick and I at the Guggenheim

Alexsis at the Owl and Thistle

Richard and HB at Brouwer's

Nick and his mom, Roxanne, at Alcatraz

FAI->EWR->SEA->SFO->FAI

This January, I plan to embark on a journey, that of which requires my attendance on seven (that's right, seven) planes. Not all at once, mind you. That would require smoke, mirrors, and perhaps a hacksaw to be successful.

No, dear readers, my plan is to hop from plane to plane to three different cities within an 18 day period: New York, Seattle and San Francisco. Here's the itinerary:

1. I will fly to New York to hang out with my Nick from the 1st until the early morn' of the 12th. If any of my peeps (that's you!) will be in the vicinity at that time, plan for awesome hangouts with me and my boi (because you still need to meet him).

2. On the 12th, Nick and I will be flying to Seattle to hang out with all of our Seattleites for one fun-filled day. I think all of our Portland friends should come up, too...because I miss you...and stuff...so there :P

3. After our day of much needed visits, the two of us will fly into San Francisco to visit Nick's mom until the 18th. This will be the first time I meet her, so it is both exciting and frightening. I shouldn't be worried, because as far as I know, none of my boyfriend's moms have disliked me in the past. But you never know when your luck with parent's will run out.

Maybe if I cover myself with products mothers like and approve, she will find me acceptable...you know...products like Jiff Peanut Butter and Kix.

I think I'm on to something...