01/10/2007: "How I Spent My Winter Vacation"

I know it's been a while, but I hope you all had a wonderful holiday break. I got to spend a few week and a half in PA and for once it wasn't so bad. I'm not usually so excited about returning to York, PA (worry not friend and family, I love you to bits) as I'm usually stuck at home for most of the day w/o internet or a car (my parents only have a Nissan Pathfinder that my dad takes to work, my mom walks to the cake factory behind our house). BUT I actually had a good thime this go around - here are some of the highlights:

1. My parents fresh from a one-month vacation from Vietnam - I just had a lot more to talk about with them and it was really great to watch the home videos they shot with the camera I lent them and to also see some pics from my cousin's wedding.

2. Meeting Meatball, my brother's dog - the dog reminds of Santa's Little Helper from The Simpsons, it never seems to look you in the eye and it's eye colors ar out of whack. The dog does nothing except follow my brother around the house and when he's not there it follows my mom around. It's nice having a dog in the hosue since our other dog Snowflake passed away, and I'm glad that my parents have been welcoming.

3. Catching my brother's first DJ gig - Well, I think it was his first gig. Francis has been honing his DJ skills in his off time and it's actually not so bad. His set list included some reworkings of Jack Johnson, People Under the Stairs, The Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Phenomena," Fleetwood Mac, and Paul Simon's "Me and Julio" which he didn't get to play because his set got cut short. Bastards!

4. Catching Up with Friends - This meant drinking at downtown bar Cobblestones and then having pancakes at the 24 hour diner. Cobblestones is usually a hot bed for reunion-type encounters, so it was really cool to randomly run into people I've been trying to track down for years.

5. Maple Donuts - It's a local donut chain. My uncle works there, so I got my little cousin to hook me up. A fresh glazed donut is to die for.

6. MJ's New Year's Eve Pajama Party - MJ was a popular high school girl that I never really talked to, but when she heard from my brother that I was in town, she insisted I attend her party as there were other kids who wanted to see me. In all, a fabulous time with old and new friends.

7. Mom's Cooking - Suffice it to say I only ate out once while I was home and that was because I'm not going to have my mom make me pancakes at 2 in the morning when I'm plastered.

8. Hanging with the younger cousins - They're all in elementary school now and their English and humor is proficient enough that I can be thoroughly entertained. Little Bao is even on Myspace!

9. The Eagles vs. Dallas Game on Christmas Day - The Eagles Win. That's good enough for me.

10. Super Sweet Sixteen Marathon - Yeah, my brother and I are just suckers for this show. On the plane ride home I actually sat next to an Ithaca Alum who was working on a MTV Movie of the Week based on the show. I cannot wait for it.

So there you go. Unfortunately, I only took one picture while I was at home and I gave my camera to my parents for Christmas, so it may be a while before anything surfaces.