| The Chronicles | There Is An Arizona | ||||||
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 Aww...she's sleeping. After a month or so hiatus, the update's finally here. Normal Weekend As I said last time, the following weekend was pretty normal. It was actually more subdued than most. We didn't really play any Mafia and we had a smaller crowd. I think most of the time was spent playing Scattergories. I like to think that I'm good at the game, but I'm really not. I mean, I wasn't in last. I was actually in second to last. =P Anyway, it was a good break week for the movement. In entertainment, I watched "Bedknobs & Broomsticks" and a few episodes of "Felicity" with the girls. Chattanooga Weekend The following weekend, I headed north. I stopped in Atlanta to grab dinner with DavidW. We ate at the usual Chinese restaurant and caught up. I ended up deciding it was easier to just stay at his place for the night. And, I spent some time over at the GA Tech arcade. They've got a great value on their DDR machine. The next day, I continued up to Chattanooga for my sister's surprise birthday party. She had found out about it though. Ray and I tried to convince her that we weren't coming to try and put some surprise back in, but my parents kind of ruined that too. Before the party I finally watched "My Cousin Vinny". Pretty funny flick. Don't know why it took me so long to get around to seeing it. There are a lot of movies on my "To See" list though. For example..."The Hurricane", "Goodfellas", "The Godfather" trilogy, the "Rambo" and "Rocky" movies, and my knowledge of horror and thriller movies is severely lacking. Anyway, back to the story. The party started somewhat slowly. My sister was really worried that it was going to flop. I tried to calm her down by reassuring her that people have a tendency to trickle in. After having people over for weeks at "7:30" (8:30 in party time), I know this well. Eventually, it picked up and I think there might've actually been more people than were at my 16th. My mom threw the same party for Sarah's 16th that she'd thrown for mine and Ray's. Later into the party, Jeremy and Glenn dropped by. It was nice catching up with those guys, particularly since Jeremy seems to be an avid reader. We also found out Glenn was running for SGA President at UTC. Now that I think about it, I wonder how that all turned out...I ought to give him a call or e-mail. Oh, other really funny fact that we found out about Glenn...he's dating the aunt of Jimmy (one of our classmates in highschool) who Jimmy took to prom. She's in her 30's I think. Glenn had kept it secret for a while. I wonder what Jimmy thinks of it, or if he even knows. Not much else of import really happened that I can recall. I headed back home on Sunday and got to see my dad briefly. Pre-Spring Break The last week of school before spring break was fairly intense - several foreign language compositions and some quizzes and tests. Ever have one of those tests where you're really happy about how you did right afterwards and then later you find out that you didn't do very well? My Linear Signals and Spanish tests came out that way. I refuse to ever feel good about a test again. The paper in Great Books came out quite well though. My teacher called it "impressively written and perceptive." Considering reports are some of my least favorite assignments, I have a tendency to do fairly well with them, and especially noting that I often write them right before class without any revision. The week was hectic enough where I didn't really have time to clean my apartment and had to quickly throw stuff in my suitcase before I left on Friday afternoon. Somehow, I managed to find time to dye my hair blue (old pic) on that Wednesday though. I mean, hey, it's a spring break tradition. I'd considered doing it after spring break, but Sandy really wanted to see it. I think it came out quite well. It's starting to fade at this point, but not as quickly as the last time I did it. The guy said he'd even touch it up for free...so I may go back in sometime this week. I'm amazed at how much I'm writing about before I even went to Arizona. Spring Break: Destination Sedona (her take) Okay, so it's not quite "tonight", but I do have a quick break between my classes, so I thought I'd continue. The plane ride to Phoenix was fine. I was a little upset having to check my carry-on at the gate now. See, ever since 9/11, they've instituted this really crappy rule about "1+" carry-on items. Basically, a small suitcase and a purse/laptop/etc. Personally, I think a backpack is a substitute for a purse or laptop. The lady didn't agree though and told me there wasn't space since it was a full flight. When I got on the plane, I noticed that there was plenty of overhead space and that my backpack fit underneath the seat in front of me without much trouble. I guess it wasn't too much of a hassle, but I hate waiting at baggage claim with that feeling of desperation when your bag takes a while to appear. Sandy's mom was surprised by my blue hair and didn't recognize me at first. She didn't seem as shocked as Sandy was thinking/hoping she'd be though. After picking up some dinner, she took me home and I waited a little while for Sands to get back from a party. Not much happened that night because it was pretty late and we had to get up somewhat early to leave for Sedona. I got a lot of sleep each night I was there (10 hours or so), but I was still tired during the mornings. Dunno why. Anyway, Sandy, her dad, and I headed out early that afternoon. We couldn't check in until late, so we drove around a bit so I could see the sights. It's really fantastically beautiful there. Sedona is this nice little town in the middle of these big, steep red rock mountains.  I don't normally take many pictures of scenery, but it seemed a shame not to take a few (more pictures forthcoming once I use the rest of the roll). The condo we stayed in was pretty neat. Reminded me of the place I stayed in Costa Rica a few years ago. Two floors and quite spacious (high ceilings and things of that nature). How many places do you know with three tv's with full cable, two microwaves, and a plethora of other kitchen appliances? So, yeah...it was nice. I actually first explored it during a water gun fight the first day. Then later that night, we rented some movies and ended up watching "Death To Smoochy". I think Sandy and Vince (her brother) liked it, and I still think it's pretty funny. The last segment seems a little out of place though. The next day, we went hiking at a park...Cathedral Rock or something like that. Basically, the place where the picture above was taken. And, actually, here's another picture of the two of us there:  Later that day, we went to see "Chicago". It was a pretty movie and sometimes humorous, but I just couldn't connect with the characters. They were all arrogant jerks who came out on the top in the end. The only pitiable character was pathetic and weak. Then, we followed that up with dinner and "About A Boy" (which was excellent). We also played several games throughout the week...mostly Risk (I actually held Asia and won) and Scotland Yard (I still can't win as Mr. X). Over the next few days, we mostly just hung out, played games, watched tv (I actually got her to watch "South Park" a few times), and watched movies. "One Hour Photo" was creepy and anti-climactic. "Three To Tango" with Matthew Perry was funny, but a bit contrived. And, Sandy seemed to like "What About Bob?". Oh, I also finally tried yogurt. I'd thought it was gross for years, but finally was hungry enough. It's quite good...particularly strawberry. Actually bought some myself when I went to the grocery store the other day. Oh, and hot tubs are nice. (I'm being more suggestive than I should be.) One of the days while we were there, we drove up to Flagstaff. We went bowling and gambling at an Indian resort (only have to be 18), and we briefly stopped off at a snow-covered ski resort. I wanted to ski, but it was kind of expensive. Here's a picture:  The last day that we were in Sedona, Sandy and I went hiking up a mountain. We got about half-way up the steep 5-mile trek before we decided to head back down. We were hungry and it was starting to get dark. I snapped a few photos which I'll get up eventually. It was a relaxing vacation week to the point where I forgot about most everything else. On our way back to Phoenix, we stopped at the Indian resort again. I started out with twenty dollars and managed to leave with fifty after a couple of hours at electronic roullette. When we got back to Phoenix, the house seemed slightly cramped compared to condo. We managed to squeeze a few more movies and meals in before I left. We saw "Old School" with Sandy's friend Jeanette. It had some really funny moments, but it was mostly forgettable. And, our last romance/cuddle film was "In Love & War" which I bought her on DVD. The war-time setting was better than most romances, but I really disliked the ending. It's based on Ernest Hemingway's life though, so what can you do? We'd fought a little while I was there, but it was really nice being back with her after three months apart. I was sadder than usual to leave. It was strange, particularly considering that I was supposed to go back within a month and a half. Maybe it was foreshadowing. | |||||||
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