Catching Up

Okay, I’m not going to waste my time saying ‘I should have blogged forever ago, sorry, blah blah blah’, cause you all know I’m thinking it and it’s a waste of time. So, I'll just jump on into the catching up, deal?
I finished my last exam in about twenty minutes, give or take, and I have my fingers crossed that that’s a good thing. Yes, there is a possibility that if I went and looked online right now I might find out for sure, but frankly, my bravery meter is pretty low at the moment. I’m sure the number won’t change if I leave it unrevealed for a little while longer.
In any case, the first semester is done, tg, and I can get on with my life, or whatever. I keep telling myself I’m ready to leap head first into the next semester, but I’m not really sure whether I’m feeling it.
After that last exam, a whole lot of work, some frenzied gift shopping and some wonderful heaven-sent SNOW, I made it home. Home sweet home.
As Mom put it, “I pity all those people out there who don’t know how to do Christmas properly.” For the record, ‘properly’ is a whole lot more food than six people need (and there was only three of us), more movies than you can count (literally- I tried), and lots of laying about.
Mom was hilarious. We’d barely walked through the door when she started ‘casually’ mentioning presents. The brother and I smiled and said, “Mom, if you want a present, just say so.” Over and over she responded “No, whenever you want to exchange them is fine- I’m in no rush.” She said this about eight times in a twelve hour period, so finally we (the kids) laughed and indulged her. We opened gifts after breakfast, and then- you guessed it- watched another movie. Or rather, the first one of that day.
I think she was pleased with her gifts. I hope she was.
I, on the other (and more selfish) hand, got a great haul. From the FABULOUS art book the brother got me (Andy Goldsworthy- he’s my fave), to the perfect perfect snowflake necklace Mom found at the One-of-a-Kind Show, to the print supplies I have yet to make use of, I loved it all. I had also asked for a set of drawers that I saw at Ikea that would be great to keep my beads in. Unfortunately, I’d not only forgotten that I’d asked for it, but I also failed to realize that, coming from Ikea, they wouldn’t come preassembled. Result? I tore the wrap off a very heavy box to reveal little wooden pieces. They were the ends of the drawers, but they looked like--
Me: “You got me building blocks!” (Slightly confused excitement).
Mom: smiles, proud of herself, oblivious to my…obliviousness.
Me: “No, really, what the hell is this?”
I then tore the rest of the wrap away, saw the instructions, and the light of revelation finally came on.
“Oh yeah! Thanks!”
I should mention here, that my brief but baffled belief that my mother had bought her twenty-almost-four year old a set of building blocks my not have been so wildly inconceivable. Just a couple of years ago, on the same holiday, my mother smugly handed me an oddly shaped package that turned out to be, well, a fish. A stuffed animal trout, actually. Odd, but very beloved, I have named it ‘Gefilte’.
In any case, my holiday may have been short, but it was sweet. I had to work on the 27th.
The rest of that week was normal, and very restful, and I was pretty happy with it. I built and then started to paint my new bead drawers, I sketched out designs for prints, I thought a lot about cleaning my room, and I might agree with myself to do that sometime soon. I read a lot, though not what I wanted- Lauren has my fifth Harry Potter and she’s holding it hostage and it’s starting to drive me insane.
On the upside of that subject, the sixth book has been announced for release on July 16th, 2005. I AM SO EXCITED!!!