December:

Friday:

The holiday season is officially here! NYC is completely decked out for Christmas and Hanukkah. Next week, all of us...Mona, Greta, Wyser, Kristy, Ran, Shane, and I plan to go ice skating at the Rockefellar Center and watch the huge tree be lit. Between studying for finals, I've squashed in some holiday shopping. I've already sent Grandma's gift since it'll be easier to travel without it. We all made a pact not to open our gifts until Christmas Eve at least. Speaking of which, my family and I are definitely spending the holidays with Grandma Baker in Iowa. It'll be fun; I haven't been over there in a while. Dawn and I and our folks already have the tickets ready, the e-tickets nowadays. What we're going to do is meet at the Des Moines airport at a snack bar once our flights land. Dawn and I will just head straight to the airports; we won't even be stopping in the old town. I'd be catching my flight from Kennedy Airport while Dawn would be catching a plane from Tucson. My folks are flying in from Stoneybrook, of course. Grandma will be then coming to pick us up late that afternoon. I can't wait!

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Sunday night:

Spent all day shopping. Have just two more gifts to go. I've mailed out most of the ones to my friends. I still have to get my dad and stepmom's gifts, then I'm done. This week, I'm going to study like mad.

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Thursday:

I am soo glad I got that paper done early! So many of my classmates are rushing to get theirs in now. Spent a couple of nights in the twenty-four hour room, which is a room in the library that is actually open 24/7. It's now busy with students studying like crazy for finals. Another week and a half is the finals, then it's the holiday break! My friends and I are defininately planning to go down to the Rockefellar Center this Saturday after Mona and I are done with work. I've already told my boss that I'm taking a two-week vacation and she okayed it. So I have a complete break until January 5. Been cold here all week, but not cold enough to snow. New York City is very iffy with snow during the holidays; sometimes we get it; sometimes we don't. Claud ee'd yesterday and said they were predicting snow nest week out there in Minnesota and possibly Iowa. She, Kristy, Stacey, Mallory, and Jessi are spending the holidays in the old town. Abby and Anna are spending Hanukkah/Christmas with their grandparents in Long Island while Mona and her mom are headed to her grandma's house in Hartford, Connecticut and will be spending the holidays there. Greta's headed to her mom's house while Wyser is spending the holidays at her sister's house along with her family.

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Saturday night:

Spent a swell afternoon at the Rockefeller Center and got back just a few moments ago. All of us watched the tree being lit and the menorah being put up. What a beautiful sight it was! Also spent the afternoon ice-skating. Kristy and Shane especially had a blast racing on the ice. Those two are a riot and make me laugh! Mona and I are slower skaters. I've actually gotten proficient at it; back in eighth grade I wasn't so swell on skates and fell down quite a bit. My butt used to wind up sore. Nowadays, it's not the case, which is a relief. We had cocoa, tea...the winter stuff works. It was cold, windy and cloudy. Still no snow, though. Oh, well. If we do get snow, maybe I could take a walk through Central Park before I head to Iowa. Two years ago, we got a couple of inches of snow for the holidays and that's what my friends and I did. Once we spent our afternoon on the ice and saw the tree being lit at dusk, we went to eat at the Breakbar Cafe. We talked about our holiday plans for several hours. It's about twelve-thirty, which is technically Sunday. Later on, I'm going to spend most of the day studying for exams. We have our last classes of the semester this week, then it's exam time. Oh, it'll be neat not to have to worry about homework at all for almost a month! Back in high school, we didn't get homework over the holidays, but it was just two weeks and we'd still have to think about upcoming tests and long-term assignments due in mid-January. We don't go back until January 19. Yeee-haaa! I am looking forward to sleeping in on non-working days. Even a lot of my working days, I don't have to go in until around one or so and the bookstore is right on campus, so it's a short walk from home.

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Wednesday:

Been studying. Sunday, I did manage to get a lot of studying in, but also I took a break and along with my housemates decked out the house for the holidays. Even though we won't be home for the holidays here, it's still a neat idea. Mona came up with the idea that we have a get-together the night before we leave. Good idea. She and I leave the same day. Kristy, Ran, and Shane are also coming too. Got an ee from Claud saying that Minnesota did get their snow after all; they got about five inches of it. Don't know if Iowa's gotten any yet, but I'd be willing to wager that they will have snow by the time we get there; they get more snow that we on the east coast do. I'm about to go to sleep soon, so I'll talk later.

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Later Wednesday night:

My throat's a bit sore; I just got up to get some cough drops. I hope I'm not getting a cold. My nose feels kind of tender and my throat feels like I swallowed ashes.

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Saturday:

Spent the afternoon working and just got home. It's drizzling a little. Still no snow, though. And I do officially have a cold, but fortunately, it seems to be a mild one so far. Exams start Monday and will end on Wednesday. I leave for Grandma's on Saturday. Excuse me, I just had to get up and blow my nose. I hope I don't get snot on you; sorry if I do. I guess I should be glad I don't have to flu; it's the flu season and quite a few people at school are down with the flu. I just hope I can shake this cold before Saturday. I better head to bed early, so this cold doesn't get worse or spread to my housemates.

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Wednesday afternoon:

FINISHED!!! Done with exams!!! Wowww! Mona's done too and she got home at the same time I did and we've been whooping it up in the kitchen. I'm also done with the holiday shopping and have everything mailed. I just mailed the last gift this afternoon and boy, the post office was a ZOO, which isn't surprising, being the holidays. Greta and Wyser'll be home in a little while and we'll probably head out to eat with Kristy, Ran, and Shane. Ran is headed to Minnesota to see her mom while Shane is headed to Massachussetts.

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Friday night:

All of us...Greta, Wyser, Mona, Kristy, Shane, Ran, and I went out to eat Wednesday night kind of to celebrate the start of the holidays. We stayed out as late as shit and just ate, drank, and felt fat and drunk. Well, actually, Shane, Kristy, Mona, and Wyser got a little drunk, since after dinner, they had a huge wine. I would have had some, but I was still battling this cold and I didn't want to make it worse with alcohol. I am feeling better today, my nose isn't running so much anymore and my throat's healed. I still cough some and have a slight ringing in my left ear, but I think the worst is over, which is fortunate because I'll be on a plane for several hours tomorrow. My flight leaves at twelve-thirty, but I plan to get there at ten. I just ee'd my friends to wish them a happy holiday in case it's busy at Grandma's over the holiday break. Stacey and Kristy are heading back to the old town on the 21. Claudia's flying in on the 22nd. Ran and I are taking the train, then a bus over to Kennedy, then we'll part and catch our flights there, since Ran's flight is leaving at one for Minneapolis, where her mom's picking her up. She says her grandmother and aunt will be there too.
Tonight, all seven of us...my NYC bunch, I think of them, had our get-together and exchanged our gifts. Had a fire in the fireplace, had cocoa and cookies and holiday music and all. It was a nice affair. Still no snow, but it's wintry enough outside to feel like Christmas/Hanukkah. I'm getting sleepy and I have a flight to catch tomorrow, so talk soon!

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Saturday:

Am on the plane now on the way to Grandma's. All of us wished each other a happy holiday, then Ran and I left. The airport was PACKED. All the seats on this plane are full and we're all close together. We got there a little before ten and went through security and all. I just have a big overnight bag, so I really didn't check in any luggage. Ran's staying with her mom until January 7, so she had a suitcase with her and checked that in. Once my flight was called, we hugged goodbye and I boarded. So here I am. It's about a three-hour flight. Food's been edible. Not great, but edible. A chicken slab and some peas, then a snack of jello. Cold's almost over, but I feel a bit run-down. I think it was exams that helped it along. Right now, I'm trying not to yawn. I still have a mild infection in my left ear, but I'm just grinning a bearing it. I'm happy the holidays are here. Called Grandma before leaving to let her know when to expect me. She has the menorah up; tonight's the third night of Hanukkah and once we all arrive, we'll head back to her house for a Hanukkah dinner. It's shaping up to be nice. Hey, we're going to land in about a half hour, so I'm putting you away for now, Journal and it may be busy, so don't be surprised if it's a few days before I write in here.