NOTE: American Ballet Academy (ABA) is a made up company that comes from
the movie Center Stage.
December 18th:
IT'S ALL OVER!!! I just finished my last final, Sociology. I think I did well. I got an A on the midterm, so if I get an A on the final, I'll have an A for the semester. But, I'm not going to worry about school anymore! I'm now officially on vacation! Claudia and Kristy are already done with school. Claudia finished last week and returned to Stoneybrook on Sunday, and Kristy's last final was yesterday. MaryAnne still has one more final tomorrow, and she'll be leaving Pembrooke on Saturday morning. It's about a three hour drive from there to Stoneybrook. Dawn is coming to Stoneybrook this year too. Now that she goes to college in LA, she sees her Dad, Carol and her siblings a lot, so she spends the holidays with her Mom. Dawn's flight isn't coming in until the 22nd (I think she wants to avoid the cold weather as long as possible). I'm not really all too sure about Mallory and Jessi. I heard that Jessi's back at SHS, so I guess she's probably done with classes, but I'm not sure when Mal's coming back from Riverbend. I'm so excited about seeing everyone again! AHH! I still have a little shopping left to do before I leave on Saturday. I try to buy most of my presents here in NY, because I can get original things here that you can't find in Stoneybrook. For example, I went to this little boutique in the Village, and bought an awesome top for Claud. It's blue, and it's made of light material. It has beads all over the bottom, and the sleeves are bell shaped. It's sort of hippy-ish. The only problem is that these boutiques cost a fortune. Creativity has it's price, I guess. Ok! Got lots to do! Better go now!
December 20th:
Well, here I am with Sam on the train to Stoneybrook. It's really nice to get to come with him- a lot of our friends have to say goodbye to their partners over break- but not us. This holiday has been really special for us. We've been going out for two years, and it seems like we just keep getting closer. Like, the other day after we went skating and got hot chocolate, we went back to Sam's dorm and just snuggled. No pressure to have sex, we just relaxed. I know that it won't be quite so peaceful when we get back to Stoneybrook, what with Sam's huge family and all, but hopefully he can come over to my house for a little R&R. I talked to Mom just before I left, and tonight she has plans to light a fire, make popcorn and watch movies. That sounds so nice right now. The best part is that unlike HS, I have no absolutely no homework to worry about. Actually, I don't really have any worries right now. Oops- the train is going to be stopping soon. I better put my notebook away. Kristy is picking us up in the Brewer's van when we get off, and she hates to wait. Later!
December 23rd:
BSC REUNION!!! Oh, I had such a great time! I just got back from Claud's now, it's around midnight. All of the BSC members were there- Kristy, Claudia, MaryAnne, Dawn, Mallory, Jessi and me. It was like old times, back in eighth grade before Mallory and Dawn left. We ate, we hugged, we cried, and we exchanged gifts (Claudia loved the top, btw). I was surprised to find that even though my friends had all changed, underneath, we are all still the same people. Kristy is a lot less abrasive than she used to be. She still is very take charge, but she's toned it down. She's decided to major in Elementary Education, and I think she's learning that teachers need to be very caring and gentle people. MaryAnne is still sweet and sensitive, but she's come out of her shell a lot. I think that being on her own at college has let her become more independent and has allowed her to find out who she really is, for herself. Claudia's even more wild than she was when she left. She has THREE piercings in each ear now- two on the bottom, and one on the top of her ear. Her hair is cut short, spiked and dyed purple. It looks- interesting. She also has her tongue pierced. I can't even begin to imagine what the Kishis said when they saw her. But she is still the nicest, funniest friend I have. For Christmas she gave me a purse that she crocheted herself, and a matching hat. They are just gorgeous, and it means even more to have something that Claud made. Dawn is the one who shocked us all tonight. On the outside, she still looks the same. But she made an announcement that no one was expecting- she's a lesbian. Now, I have no problems with gays and lesbians, in fact I'm very FOR gay and lesbian rights. But I think it's just the shock that I never knew. I mean, Dawn and I were pretty close before she left. But I don't think she really even knew herself until this year. In any event, we are all here to support her. Mallory is much more grown up looking- she's 16 now, and the braces are gone, she has contacts and her hair isn't so curly- it has more gentle waves. She's much more outgoing and relaxed, and Riverbend seems to have given her tons of confidence. Good for her. I also found out the full story on Jessi. Apparently, Jessi got injured while dancing at an ABA performance. Her knee was screwed up so badly, that they told her she would probably never dance professionally, and they didn't see a point of keeping her in the school. So Jessi's returned to SHS. She seems a little down, but she is taking classes with Mme. Noelle, and has found a new passion- jazz and modern dance (not so hard on the knees). Well, I've written a ton, and I'm really tired, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight.
December 24th (Christmas Eve):
Actually, since it's 2:15 am, it's Christmas Day. Merry Christmas! I spent the afternoon and evening at the Brewer/Thomas house, and it was a MADHOUSE! In addition to all the Brewers and Thomases, I was there, and Charlie Thomas brought his fiancée, Kathy. She seems nice, she's tall, thin and has short brown hair. They work together at Edgewater Insurance, in Stamford. This was one of the first times she has meet all of the Brewer/Thomases, and frankly I felt a little bad for her. Even though I'm totally familiar with the whole family, I sometimes feel a little weird too. I also feel torn- I want to spend time with Sam, because he's my boyfriend, but I also want to spend time with Kristy, since she's my friend. It's hard trying to split my time evenly between them. We had a huge dinner prepared by Watson- turkey, mashed potates with gravy, cranberry sauce, salad, rolls- all the food you could want. After dinner, Watson lit a fire, and we all sat around and chatted. The only thing that's hard is that Kristy's mom and family are pretty religious. They're Catholic, and they believe in saying the prayers, lighting the advent wreath, and at midnight, they placed the Baby Jesus in the manager. They had to wait until that was done, and then everyone could open their gifts. I'm not religious (as I've mentioned), and I'm not even sure I believe in Jesus, which makes it hard. I know I'm a hypocrite then, for celebrating Christmas, but my family has always celebrated the secular part, and I figure why stop now? It's tradition. Anyway, Sam got me a beautiful bracelet for Christmas, and his parents gave me a matching hat, glove and scarf set. It was very nice to feel included in the gifts (Kristy had given me her gifts at the BSC party). I have to say though, the Brewer/Thomas kids are kind of spoiled. Emily (who's 7) and Andrew (who's 9) were tearing into plies of presents, and tossing aside the things they didn't like. Karen used to be a little more like that, but now that she's 12, she's a little more polite. I could tell this was a hard Christmas for Mrs. Brewer and Kristy especially, because it's their first since Nannie died. They weren't crying or anything, but there was a certain sadness in the expressions. Well, I had better get some sleep. It's almost 3 am and Mom wants me to wake up at 8 tomorrow for breakfast!
December 26th:
The Holidays are over. Mom and I had a nice quiet breakfast at home- she made eggs, bacon, muffins and bagels (all things I could eat), and then after that we opened our gifts. I got Mom a sweater, a matching jewelry and earrings set (handmade by Claud), and a gift certficate to her favorite office supply store (for her boutique). Mom got me a few pairs of pants- two jeans and a pair of cords), as well as some smaller things. We rested and then in the afternoon, we went over to the Kishi's for dinner. That was really nice. Mrs. Kishi made a chicken, and some rice pilaf. I was really surprised to see how much Janine has changed. This is her Senior year of college (she's at Harvard), and seems so much, well, more normal! For instance, she was wearing black flares, a white silk shirt over a black cami, and her hair was cut short, but not in her usual pageboy style. This was more of a loose bob. When I got there, I expected her to greet me with a formal "Hello" or "Good Day", but instead she smiled warmly and said "Hey Stacey". Interesting. Well, now that Christmas is done, I have to start making plans for New Years Eve!
December 30th:
Well, I think that (hopefully) my New Year's Eve plans are solidified. Originally Sam and I were going to go the city, and stand in Times Square and watch the ball drop. That's always fun, and I haven't done that since I was in high school. But then Kristy had another idea. She suggested that we all get together (all of the BSC members, I mean) and have a sleepover just like we used to. Even though it's childish, the idea seemed fun. Just relaxing, eating and chatting, nothing to worry about it. So I agreed. So did everyone else. So, tomorrow evening around 6 we're all meeting at Dawn and MaryAnne's house for a sleepover. I felt bad leaving Sam without any plans, but it's okay, because he said that him and Charlie were probably going to just chill at their house, since Kathy is going to be with her family. Dawn and Mary Anne are providing most of the food, but I'm still going to bring a fresh fruit salad, since I probably can't eat a lot of the other crap their going to serve. It's weird, but I'm so excited about this now! It will be just like old times.
December 31st:
12:00 midnight- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
December 18th:
IT'S ALL OVER!!! I just finished my last final, Sociology. I think I did well. I got an A on the midterm, so if I get an A on the final, I'll have an A for the semester. But, I'm not going to worry about school anymore! I'm now officially on vacation! Claudia and Kristy are already done with school. Claudia finished last week and returned to Stoneybrook on Sunday, and Kristy's last final was yesterday. MaryAnne still has one more final tomorrow, and she'll be leaving Pembrooke on Saturday morning. It's about a three hour drive from there to Stoneybrook. Dawn is coming to Stoneybrook this year too. Now that she goes to college in LA, she sees her Dad, Carol and her siblings a lot, so she spends the holidays with her Mom. Dawn's flight isn't coming in until the 22nd (I think she wants to avoid the cold weather as long as possible). I'm not really all too sure about Mallory and Jessi. I heard that Jessi's back at SHS, so I guess she's probably done with classes, but I'm not sure when Mal's coming back from Riverbend. I'm so excited about seeing everyone again! AHH! I still have a little shopping left to do before I leave on Saturday. I try to buy most of my presents here in NY, because I can get original things here that you can't find in Stoneybrook. For example, I went to this little boutique in the Village, and bought an awesome top for Claud. It's blue, and it's made of light material. It has beads all over the bottom, and the sleeves are bell shaped. It's sort of hippy-ish. The only problem is that these boutiques cost a fortune. Creativity has it's price, I guess. Ok! Got lots to do! Better go now!
December 20th:
Well, here I am with Sam on the train to Stoneybrook. It's really nice to get to come with him- a lot of our friends have to say goodbye to their partners over break- but not us. This holiday has been really special for us. We've been going out for two years, and it seems like we just keep getting closer. Like, the other day after we went skating and got hot chocolate, we went back to Sam's dorm and just snuggled. No pressure to have sex, we just relaxed. I know that it won't be quite so peaceful when we get back to Stoneybrook, what with Sam's huge family and all, but hopefully he can come over to my house for a little R&R. I talked to Mom just before I left, and tonight she has plans to light a fire, make popcorn and watch movies. That sounds so nice right now. The best part is that unlike HS, I have no absolutely no homework to worry about. Actually, I don't really have any worries right now. Oops- the train is going to be stopping soon. I better put my notebook away. Kristy is picking us up in the Brewer's van when we get off, and she hates to wait. Later!
December 23rd:
BSC REUNION!!! Oh, I had such a great time! I just got back from Claud's now, it's around midnight. All of the BSC members were there- Kristy, Claudia, MaryAnne, Dawn, Mallory, Jessi and me. It was like old times, back in eighth grade before Mallory and Dawn left. We ate, we hugged, we cried, and we exchanged gifts (Claudia loved the top, btw). I was surprised to find that even though my friends had all changed, underneath, we are all still the same people. Kristy is a lot less abrasive than she used to be. She still is very take charge, but she's toned it down. She's decided to major in Elementary Education, and I think she's learning that teachers need to be very caring and gentle people. MaryAnne is still sweet and sensitive, but she's come out of her shell a lot. I think that being on her own at college has let her become more independent and has allowed her to find out who she really is, for herself. Claudia's even more wild than she was when she left. She has THREE piercings in each ear now- two on the bottom, and one on the top of her ear. Her hair is cut short, spiked and dyed purple. It looks- interesting. She also has her tongue pierced. I can't even begin to imagine what the Kishis said when they saw her. But she is still the nicest, funniest friend I have. For Christmas she gave me a purse that she crocheted herself, and a matching hat. They are just gorgeous, and it means even more to have something that Claud made. Dawn is the one who shocked us all tonight. On the outside, she still looks the same. But she made an announcement that no one was expecting- she's a lesbian. Now, I have no problems with gays and lesbians, in fact I'm very FOR gay and lesbian rights. But I think it's just the shock that I never knew. I mean, Dawn and I were pretty close before she left. But I don't think she really even knew herself until this year. In any event, we are all here to support her. Mallory is much more grown up looking- she's 16 now, and the braces are gone, she has contacts and her hair isn't so curly- it has more gentle waves. She's much more outgoing and relaxed, and Riverbend seems to have given her tons of confidence. Good for her. I also found out the full story on Jessi. Apparently, Jessi got injured while dancing at an ABA performance. Her knee was screwed up so badly, that they told her she would probably never dance professionally, and they didn't see a point of keeping her in the school. So Jessi's returned to SHS. She seems a little down, but she is taking classes with Mme. Noelle, and has found a new passion- jazz and modern dance (not so hard on the knees). Well, I've written a ton, and I'm really tired, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight.
December 24th (Christmas Eve):
Actually, since it's 2:15 am, it's Christmas Day. Merry Christmas! I spent the afternoon and evening at the Brewer/Thomas house, and it was a MADHOUSE! In addition to all the Brewers and Thomases, I was there, and Charlie Thomas brought his fiancée, Kathy. She seems nice, she's tall, thin and has short brown hair. They work together at Edgewater Insurance, in Stamford. This was one of the first times she has meet all of the Brewer/Thomases, and frankly I felt a little bad for her. Even though I'm totally familiar with the whole family, I sometimes feel a little weird too. I also feel torn- I want to spend time with Sam, because he's my boyfriend, but I also want to spend time with Kristy, since she's my friend. It's hard trying to split my time evenly between them. We had a huge dinner prepared by Watson- turkey, mashed potates with gravy, cranberry sauce, salad, rolls- all the food you could want. After dinner, Watson lit a fire, and we all sat around and chatted. The only thing that's hard is that Kristy's mom and family are pretty religious. They're Catholic, and they believe in saying the prayers, lighting the advent wreath, and at midnight, they placed the Baby Jesus in the manager. They had to wait until that was done, and then everyone could open their gifts. I'm not religious (as I've mentioned), and I'm not even sure I believe in Jesus, which makes it hard. I know I'm a hypocrite then, for celebrating Christmas, but my family has always celebrated the secular part, and I figure why stop now? It's tradition. Anyway, Sam got me a beautiful bracelet for Christmas, and his parents gave me a matching hat, glove and scarf set. It was very nice to feel included in the gifts (Kristy had given me her gifts at the BSC party). I have to say though, the Brewer/Thomas kids are kind of spoiled. Emily (who's 7) and Andrew (who's 9) were tearing into plies of presents, and tossing aside the things they didn't like. Karen used to be a little more like that, but now that she's 12, she's a little more polite. I could tell this was a hard Christmas for Mrs. Brewer and Kristy especially, because it's their first since Nannie died. They weren't crying or anything, but there was a certain sadness in the expressions. Well, I had better get some sleep. It's almost 3 am and Mom wants me to wake up at 8 tomorrow for breakfast!
December 26th:
The Holidays are over. Mom and I had a nice quiet breakfast at home- she made eggs, bacon, muffins and bagels (all things I could eat), and then after that we opened our gifts. I got Mom a sweater, a matching jewelry and earrings set (handmade by Claud), and a gift certficate to her favorite office supply store (for her boutique). Mom got me a few pairs of pants- two jeans and a pair of cords), as well as some smaller things. We rested and then in the afternoon, we went over to the Kishi's for dinner. That was really nice. Mrs. Kishi made a chicken, and some rice pilaf. I was really surprised to see how much Janine has changed. This is her Senior year of college (she's at Harvard), and seems so much, well, more normal! For instance, she was wearing black flares, a white silk shirt over a black cami, and her hair was cut short, but not in her usual pageboy style. This was more of a loose bob. When I got there, I expected her to greet me with a formal "Hello" or "Good Day", but instead she smiled warmly and said "Hey Stacey". Interesting. Well, now that Christmas is done, I have to start making plans for New Years Eve!
December 30th:
Well, I think that (hopefully) my New Year's Eve plans are solidified. Originally Sam and I were going to go the city, and stand in Times Square and watch the ball drop. That's always fun, and I haven't done that since I was in high school. But then Kristy had another idea. She suggested that we all get together (all of the BSC members, I mean) and have a sleepover just like we used to. Even though it's childish, the idea seemed fun. Just relaxing, eating and chatting, nothing to worry about it. So I agreed. So did everyone else. So, tomorrow evening around 6 we're all meeting at Dawn and MaryAnne's house for a sleepover. I felt bad leaving Sam without any plans, but it's okay, because he said that him and Charlie were probably going to just chill at their house, since Kathy is going to be with her family. Dawn and Mary Anne are providing most of the food, but I'm still going to bring a fresh fruit salad, since I probably can't eat a lot of the other crap their going to serve. It's weird, but I'm so excited about this now! It will be just like old times.
December 31st:
12:00 midnight- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!