I'm starting this at 3:45am...let's just see when I get done.

That first bit should tell you that I'm on a vacation sleeping schedule. I've barely seen the sun lately, but at least I'm getting plenty of sleep. So hmm...where did I leave off? A little over two weeks ago it appears. Well, get ready for an extended recounting of my time...

"She's got a body as sweet as a Mountain Dew"
A few days after arriving home for the break and visiting with various people, I headed down to Atlanta with my brother and sister. My dad had just moved into his new house. It's a nice place in Alpharetta and much better suited for occupation than the ritzy townhouse in Buckhead. As the place was pretty bare, we went grocery shopping...first time we've gone as a family in years and years. As I was pondering over purchasing a new type of alcohol to try, my dad reminded me that you can't buy alcohol in Georgia on a Sunday...which now that I care to drink strikes me as somewhat strange. I'm still in the testing phase with alcohol. I haven't found a drink that I'd prefer over Mountain Dew. I've tried quite a few different beers, but nothing really strikes my fancy. Hard lemonades and some malt beverages are pretty good though. I still don't think I'll ever be getting drunk, and I doubt I'll ever be discussing drinking at this much length again in the future.

Gifts...not quite the reason for the season
After shopping for food, my dad bought each of us a Christmas present (we're in the habit of getting fewer but larger gifts in recent years). My sister got a generic portable DVD player, my brother got an HP laptop (which I'm typing on right now), and I got a Sony MiniDV Camcorder. I've wanted a video camera for quite some time now, and I'm really looking forward to making some films. In fact, I've used it quite a bit already. I've tested the stop-motion animation feature, recorded a short skit, and several adventures to Wal-Mart. I'll likely post some of the better stuff when I can get back to Auburn and transfer it over to my computer.

Later that evening, my dad's girlfriend Debbie came over, and we spent a while playing video games. In fact, we convinced my dad to play Mario Party and Mario Kart with us. He wasn't particularly good, but I give him credit for trying something new. The next night, we drove to a drive-thru light thing. A technical term for it escapes me. Anyway, it was pretty decent. Not the best I've seen, but not the worst either. However, I'm still attempting to figure out how the "Wizard of Oz" is particularly Christmas-y. On a side note, a search for the classic film on IMDB.com gives a surprising number of versions.

My siblings and I returned to Chattanooga the next afternoon. The guys came over and hung out for a while upon our arrival. After their departure around midnight, Ray, Sarah, and I headed to Wal-Mart for Christmas shopping. Per usual, we bought a lot of DVDs for everyone, and as I mentioned before, took some decent footage that I've shown to a lot of people.

The most expected present for Christmas was a 27" Sanyo TV that my mom got for Ray and I (8 player Mario Kart, baby!). The most pleasantly unexpected was a rather large stuffed animal in the likeness of Nemo (complete with lucky fin). The strangest was a pair of tightly compressed boxers that become normal when submerged in water. They're very portable, but the fact that you'd have to wet them and then dry them seems to defeat the point to a certain extent.

More of the Same
After more at-home laziness, we hopped back in the car, bound for West Point/Lanett/our cousins'. While there, we played 7 player Mario Kart (have you noticed that we're obsessed with the game?) with the cousins and G and filmed more random activities (including the second sojourn to Wal-Mart). I feel as though I'm using a lot of parentheses in this entry, but eh...what can ya do when the fancy strikes ya? Unfortunately, upon our return to Chattanooga, we accidentally left our copy of Mario Kart at our cousins' (gasp!).

Lots more hanging out with friends at home followed. In fact, though I've made lots of trips over the break, I've moved very little from our mountaintop retreat when I've been home. We spent most of our time watching movies (which I'll get to later), the Family Guy, and football (Auburn won its bowl game...yay).

Counting Down
New Year's Eve was very impromptu. In past years, we've made some sort of plan, but this year, a couple of days before, people asked, "Are you having people up?" I replied, "Sure, why not?" As I recall, we had a good crowd: my mom, Jonathan, Sarah, Ray, Justin, Evan, David W and Anna Maria, David A and Becca, Jordan and Linsey, Jeremy, Patrick, Sam, and Seth. Zac also showed up for a bit. Glenn had hung out a few days before, but wasn't able to make it due to illness. I may be completely mixing things up at the moment...there have been so many nights that we've hung out that I've likely lost track. In the absence of Mario Kart, we dug out old-school Dr. Mario for NES. Linsey was the most promising challenger, but she was no match more my l33t vidjo game skillz...where the hell did that come from? Anyway, suffice to say, a good time was had by all.

On the Road Again
On the morning of the 2nd, I headed to Auburn to make a bank deposit to avoid getting overdrawn when an auto-bill kicks in. It also gave me a chance to pick up Mario Kart and drop off the TV and some clothes. Upon arriving, I went over to Kevin and D's to visit with them and Scotty. They also got a new kitten that was really friendly and cute. Unfortunately, they found out that they have to get rid of it. I wish I could take it, but my rental company threatens eviction if they discover a pet.

I planned to sleep a bit that night, but ended up talking with a lot of people. I finally called Jialin and talked to her for a few minutes. She didn't sound as I expected, but I likely didn't sound as she expected either. She noted that I talk quite slowly. hehe. I guess I'm rarely in a particular rush to verbalize anything. After showering, I again hit the road for Atlanta to meet my brother and Justin. Ever have had little sleep and have to drive? I wasn't to the point of hallucinating, but I did do the close-eyes and nod for a split second. Then, I'd suddenly jerk awake and be freaked the hell out.

Luckily I was able to sleep during the next leg of the journey since my brother drove. Guess where we went next...no, guess...seriously...c'mon...I'm losing patience. Fine, fine, I'll tell you. Oh, you're going to guess now? Good. No...no...getting closer...that's right...Greenville, SC. "Why?" you ask. Well, we went to visit a couple of girls that Ray met many years ago at a camp-like thing. I signed up because "hey...road trip."

Not As Green As You'd Think
The three of us met Jenn and Amy and went to Steak N' Shake. On a side note, their Frisco melt is pretty good. The girls (Jenn in particular) opened up quite quickly and recounted some interesting and amusing stories. After eating, we headed downtown, parked, and met another girl, Bethany. I must say...the area is quite nice. It's probably the closest I've seen to large small Southern town. There are wide arcades to stroll along and the buildings are just the right size (2-4 stories in long rows on either side of the street). We browsed for a bit before heading to the TCBY where Amy and Jenn work. While there, a whipped cream fight broke out. Justin and I decided that the sidelines were probably safest. I felt kind of bad for the people that would have to clean it up.

From downtown onward, I noticed that the trip was shaping up to be a Ray flirt-fest. Basically, the three girls decided that they wanted to compete over Ray. However, Bethany left soon after TCBY. The tickle-fights and other flirting still resulted in Justin and I feeling a bit awkward though. Later, we headed to a mini-golf/arcade/go-kart center and played some Pump It Up. I'm really not quite sure why my protege/colleague Dustin prefers it to DDR, but it's still fun. After some go-karting in which I got gypped out of a lead (I slowed to avoid ramming a dad and his son), we decided to head to dinner.

At this point, it seemed as though Jenn had conceded victory to Amy and was about to ride with Justin and me. However, I offhandedly mentioned that she had 'impossibly skinny legs'. Apparently, she's a bit self-conscious about them, and feigned being insulted. I insisted that it was really more of a compliment akin to 'nice pants'. The thing that didn't add up in my mind...if you're self-conscious about your legs being skinny, wouldn't it be better to wear baggier jeans? When we went to dinner at Chili's, I noted publicly that I felt like I was watching an episode of Dismissed. The comment didn't go over quite as badly as it could've though I think Ray might've been somewhat embarrassed. After dragging us along for a flirt-fest, I didn't quite mind at that point. One more food recommendation...Boneless Shanghai Wings.

We dropped back by TCBY at some point so that Jenn could show off Ray to a girl there. Justin noted that he doesn't understand why girls have to do that - why they like to brag about some guy and throw him in the faces of other girls. I don't quite understand myself, but I guess some guys do the same thing with trophy wives. I don't recall it ever being so malicious though. After that, we headed back to the hotel room and watched "The Ring". At some point, the girls left, but I fell asleep quite quickly and didn't awaken until breakfast.

After scarfing an overly buttery blueberry bagel, I headed to church with the other four. It was a Presbyterian church, but the songs were really more Baptist...which suited me just fine. I don't recall if I've mentioned before that denominationally, I'm somewhere between Presbyterian and Baptist. I attended Presbyterian churches while growing up, but I've got some reservations about Calvinism and find myself attending Baptist churches most of the time when I'm in Auburn.

Jenn and Amy decided that the pencil sketch machine looked fun. =)

We said some very long goodbyes...Ray and Amy had gotten somewhat attached, but Ray kept swearing to us that he didn't want a relationship...which is why I begrudged him a bit for what I saw as leading her on. They're both really nice girls and fun to hang out with. I think I just resent him sometimes for his relationship difficulties...which usually take the form of girls wanting him. Several people insist that they'd prefer a guy like me, but I really appreciated Jenn's comment online when we got back home. She said that if she were fives inches shorter and three years older, she'd be interested in dating a guy like me. I'm not particularly sure what height has to do with it, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I guess I don't get compliments like that very often.

Jenn wanted me to add this disclaimer: They really aren't like that...and I publicly apologize for any misconceptions I gave...which were a lot.

Media Watch
Since we've been back in Chattanooga, we've kept to the hanging out and sleeping through the day regimen. This evening, I hung out with Evan and Becca, Alex and Rachel, Crystal, and Andrew (one of Evan and Alex's roommates). We ended up watching the premiere of this season's Real World. I've mentioned it before, but watching reality tv (particularly dating shows) has a habit of pissing me off...I cringe at the fact that the shallowness exhibited is real. And yet, I still want to be on the Real World for some reason. We followed that up with a few episodes of Family Guy that I hadn't seen. I really hope that the rumor is true about Cartoon Network reviving the show. I wish they'd do the same with Futurama, but it doesn't seem to quite have as universal of an appeal. That transitions nicely into movies...

I finally saw "Pirates of the Caribbean". Everyone was right...Depp's great and the film is quite good - a swashbuckling good time...particularly since it gives you an excuse to say 'swashbuckling'. I also rented and subjected everyone to the dark "Donnie Darko". Most of us agreed that it's a good film, but we wouldn't necessarily watch it a lot. What convinced me to watch it was my discovery that it dealt somewhat with time travel; I'm a sucker for time travel. That's why I really like the "Back To The Future" trilogy and why I'm looking forward to the Ashton Kutcher movie "The Butterfly Effect". The final been-meaning-to-watch movie that I saw recently was "Doc Hollywood". Reminiscent of "My Cousin Vinny" and the Family Guy episode "To Live and Die in Dixie" for the sheer fact that it's a fish-out-of-water story that takes place in the south, Michael J Fox does a decent job at comedy. I feel I should mention that I've never disliked a Fox movie. I usually get lambasted for supporting movies like "The Frighteners".

In net news, I've begun reading and posting on the D-X forums in the absence of much activity on the PMB. I feel somewhat guilty that it's led to a leap in traffic here while I haven't written an entry in a while. It did lead to the change to cornflower blue and the addition of the 'about me' page though. It also led to my discovery of one of the most disturbing journal entries that I've ever read. Seriously...if you can wade through a few of this lady's other entries...well, you'll be disturbed.

Closing Remarks
Finally, have I mentioned lately how good of a friend Marit is?

Man...s'gonna be hell tallying these names for the cast page. Want to know the time? 5:45am. I still haven't added links, headings, pictures, or a comment box, but I'll update the time as I do. It should show the effort I put into this...well, when I get around to putting effort into it. =)

6:30am: finished links and headings

6:35am: added comment box and pictures (throughout the day)