Tonight we (Kate, Ken K, and I) wandered around downtown PA before settling down at The Rose & Crown for some drinks. Free champagne at midnight, and the drunk guys attempting to shoot the streamers from party-poppers onto the statue of a woman's chest were amusing. It was great to catch up with Ken K and Kate, and the bar was a good atmosphere for ringing in the new year with old friends.

2005: A Recap

The Good:

• School
  
• The Bloodshaw crew
  
• Moving in with Mo
  
• Moving off campus
  
• SpaceX
  
• California summer
  
• Not looking the same at 23 as you did at 15
  
• "Uno tinto, por favor"

The Bad:

• Deaths
  
• Cross-country drive
  
• LA rent rates
  
• Lack of drunk-lock on my cell

The Ugly:

• Alcohol-induced hookups
  
• Hangovers at work

I think I came out ahead this year.

Back in CA. The semester ended alright- grades not quite what I had hoped, but stayed on the list so it's all good.

Last night was surreal. I went out drinking in downtown PA with Rod, Matt S, Max R, Ryan J, and KEN KRIEGER. We were out for Matt's birthday, and on the drive over we decided it'd be a good idea to call Ken even though we hadn't seen or talked to him in over 2 or 3 years. We're lucky he still has the same cell phone number.

We spent all night drinking and recounting old GRT stories and talking about what everyone is up to now. We started at Nola, where there were wayyy too many Gunn kids I haven't seen since graduation or earlier. After that, we headed over to the Irish Pub behind Pizza My Heart. All in all the night was very enjoyable.

Twenty-one. The older I get, the younger I realize I am. I thought I was so grown up at 15 and 16, and now I realize how much farther there is to go.

Friday was dinner at Rock Bottom, and then my little ponies (gin and pink lemonade) and a movie at Bloodshaw. Saturday was a holiday party followed by a hot date with 4 guys while wandering from bar to bar in South Side. The midget bar was noisy, smokey, and served weak drinks = Thumbs Down. The martini bar made a delicious cosmo, as should be expected for $9 a drink = Thumbs Up (since I wasn't paying :P). All in all, a good way to celebrate my birthday.

Finals week is halfway over. California in less than a week. I've been overly setimental and introspective these past couple of weeks. Maybe I'll elaborate later.

Quite possibly the cutest picture ever.

Tomorrow I have a problem set due and an ASME event, Thursday I have two tests, Friday I have a semester-long group project due and a problem set due, and next Tuesday I have an exam which will make or break my grade. Obviously, this is the appropriate time to make a new blogger layout and browse facebook and party photos for hours on end.

This past weekend was uneventful, but stellar. I ran into Abbie (and the rest of CMU) at PHI on Friday, which was a pleasant surprise. Saturday started at Bloodshaw for cocktails, proceeded to Club Wilkins for sangria, then to South Side for peach hookah at Hkan, and ended at Tom's Diner at 2AM for greasy food along with all the drunks from the local bars.

California in two weeks. Where'd the semester go? It's scary how fast time is passing.

Sushi Boat!

This weekend was fun but unproductive and not very healthy. Friday was dinner at Chaya on Murray, where Matt, Alberto and I took on the culinary challenge pictured above. Afterward, we saw Shopgirl at Southside works. I enjoyed the movie; it was one of those films that didn't have a particularly strong plot, but was saved by the individual performances.

Saturday was Matt's birthday, so we embarked on a bar crawl in Shadyside. Unfortunately, he wasn't officially 21 until midnight so that gave us only 2 hours to celebrate. In the end, we hit 4 of the 15 bars on my carefully compiled map- Doc's, PDC, Mardi Gras, and Cappies. Surprisingly, we were only carded at 2 of the 4 bars. Thank god Shadyside is within stumbling distance of amberson, because I was relatively incoherent by the time last call rolled around.

Today was spent recovering from last night and doing all the work I put off all weekend. This week is looking typical; more stressful than I would like, but not as bad as some previous weeks. Highlights to look forward to include the dynamics exam, heat transfer lab, and a numerical methods quiz. Friday is the Mech E/Chem E keg race, which is definitely something to look forward to. Team Rigid Sliding Joint is going to make it a night to remember!

Our heat transfer exam concluded at 4:30PM today. By 5:30PM, we were mixing margaritas and mojitos, despite the fact that I had yet to start a problem set due tomorrow.

Best. Idea. Ever.

Now I'm sitting here, and the buzz is luckily wearing off because it's *really* hard to get anything productive done when you're not totally sober.