Brighter than Sunshine

Quick update between homework and Housewives (have I mentioned that I ♥ DVR?) Basically, this weekend was so totally great. I was really afraid it wouldn't be. I just really want to get done with finals and go home. I can NOT believe there are 2 weeks of class left. I feel like I have zero room left in my brain for new information. It's filling up with Xmas-time things instead. I'm a sinking ship, and the sooner I get this quarter over, the better. Yesterday, I went to University Village and got my hair cut....finally. I'm embarassed to tell you how long it's been. Let's just say it was in the neighborhood of graduation..

U-Village is amazing. It's got some great stores that I used to have to go to Dallas to see, and some that I never imagined existed. I've only been twice -- once when Mom and I came to look for apartments back in August, and once right after I moved here and was trying to find sheets and bedding for my air mattress. Yesterday was beautiful I just walked around for way too long. I even ran into one of my professors at Victoria's Secret........yes, he's a dude. And yes it was weird. No, I didn't buy anything after that.

After that I went to my first pre-marathon carb-a-thon. My friends Amy and Emily have been training with their friends Luke and Andrew for a marathon/half-marathon for a few months now. It's the Seattle marathon, and involves huge hills and things, and of course cold weather. Anyway, it was this morning so last night they needed to carbo-load for dinner. I didn't know this was a real thing that people actually did. But it is. So I got invited to dinner, and yes I carbo-loaded too, even though I was not actually running the marathon....I was being supportive.

Anyway we went to Andrew and Luke's house and ate 3 kinds of pasta and yummy salad. (Andrew and Luke are chemical engineering students and they live in a totally cute house in Greenlake with one other dude. They have a cat. The house is seriously so cute I swear it's like girls live there. All their dishes match, which really impressed me and Amy.) And Andrew made me and Amy try beets because we'd never had them before. He cooked them in the oven until the got soft, then mixed them with sour cream, salt, and pepper. Has anyone ever heard of this before? It was weird to me. Anyway I ate one piece, and only one. It was weird. We watched the UW vs WSU game (the Apple Cup...ha ha). And we lost, which was disappointing.

Anyway, they all got up and ran a marathon or half-marathon this morning, but I slept in til 10 am, then met Amy for coffee and did Arabic homework. We went to this amazingly cute coffeeshop and it was so Seattle-y that it really sort of tripped me out. There were people there grading papers and complaining about their students' comma over-usage (I know, right?), guys in business suits, crazy pastries, and yummy coffee. I know I've been here for what feels like forever, but honestly, I'm still not used to it. I keep realizing how much of the city I still haven't seen, and it's overwhelming. And what I have seen feels so surreal. Like, I can't really believe that this is my life. Honestly, I miss my old life, and I'm not sure when I'll get used to the idea that so much has changed so quickly. When we left the coffeeshop there were really cute dogs outside wearing sweaters. I almost cried.

Today was gorgeous. It was beautifully sunny and cold. It's actually colder when it's sunny than when it's cloudy here.

After that, Amy was nice enough to take me grocery shopping. We went to the most amazing store I've ever seen in my life -- the QFC in University Village. When Mom and I visited Seattle in August to look for apartments, we stopped at this store, and we were completely blown away. It's actually a lot like the Brookshire's on Line Ave. that I love in S'port, but, just a lot bigger, and with better seafood. And what's funny is that it has incredible food, but the generic brand they have is Kroger. So I can get Kroger food, even though there aren't any Kroger's around... :)

Needless to say, I spent too much money...but I justified it by swearing not to go shopping anymore until I get back from the holidays. Then I will need comfort food, and lots of it.

Tonight, Meghan came back in town from visiting her fam in D.C. for the holidays, so we went to happy hour in Greenlake with Amy, Luke, and Andrew to hear about the marathon. I got to try Hoegaarden on tap, which was awesome because it's one of my fave beers. When I came home I was dead-set on doing my homework, but Lindsay had just come back from her trip home this week, so I went upstairs. She told me about her recent breakup with her current bf, and she gave me cookies.

OK, so this wasn't very brief. But I am just really proud of myself for being social this weekend despite my huge homework load. In the last 4 days I managed to read all 200 pages of my book that I have to present on Tues and write a reasearch paper for sometime in the next week before finals. But honestly, seriously, I'm totally ready to come home. I have a huge wish list of things to do in S'port, most of which involve the Oyster Bar and giving people presents. And oh, yeah, doing nothing.