22 (and counting)

This weekend was a whirlwind of fun. I decided on Thursday it would be an entire weekend of birthday celebration and excitement. That meant no homework/studying. (I managed to get everything done before the weekend, actually.)

Friday
I went on my first run of 2013! It felt so good to get out in the 36 degree air and just run. I only went a mile but it sure was a nice mile. Between my own sickness and Utah's terribly cold winter this run was much needed. After the run I didn't have too much time before I had to leave, though. Peter and I spent our afternoon/evening together per our new tradition of watching Community. It's easily one of the best traditions I've ever been a part of.

I didn't have time to eat much before or after my run so by the time Community was over I was quite hungry. Peter and I hit up Chick-Fil-A for dinner and then we watched the movie Hoosiers. Nothing quite beats waffle fries on a Friday night with one of your closest friends. And it's quite the experience, watching a movie with Peter, especially when it's a movie he really likes. He quotes his favorite movies like I quote The Office. (For those who don't know, that means he does it and he does it perfectly.) I haven't had a Friday night so nice since . . . I guess last Friday. But two great Fridays in a row is a big deal this semester.


Saturday
The morning/afternoon was spent lounging around in my Nike running pants. I watched some YouTube, read parts of a few books and looked up a lot of John Green quotes. Around 3 o'clock, Stacy, Becca and I went to Kohl's so I could spend a $50 gift card I have from Christmas. I ended up buying a chambray that was on sale, but that's it. Of course what I really wanted was shoes but there was nothing particularly enticing. Soon after that we hurried to the grocery store to buy things for Sunday's breakfast for dinner birthday shindig.

I quickly changed when we got back so I could meet Peter for dinner and then the basketball game. We went to Sammy's most especially because I wanted a mint Oreo pie shake and sweet potato fries. BYU played Portland which didn't make for a particularly close game because Portland is not all that good, but neither is BYU lately. It was still plenty enjoyable, though. Basketball is Peter's first, and possibly only, love so I had a great time listening to him explain certain nuances of the game. Like different zone defenses. There's something incredibly fascinating about listening to someone explain something they love and understand like the back of their hand. I've always had a general understanding of the rules of basketball but the more technical/strategic aspects of the game are often lost on me. It got to the point where Peter could say to me, "Okay, do you see the 2-3 zone?" and I could answer with a definitive yes.

After the game we played Super Mario Bros. Wii. I've always enjoyed video games even though I've never been very good at them. Peter was definitely way better than me but that's not saying much . . . To make a long story short, I have a lot more respect for Hank and Katherine Green after playing that game for an hour. There was definitely a lot of yelling going on between the two of us but even more laughing, especially after I failed to jump on the flag pole in time for two straight levels. I did, however, learn that I am a master at hitting that A button to bubble.

To get over how terrible we were at the game, I suggested we watch Arrested Development. Somehow he has never seen it before! That was quite unbelievable. My goal for the rest of the semester is to make sure he sees all of it before the new season comes out in May.


Sunday
And so I turned 22 on Sunday. Becca, Stacy and I all wore different items of Lorraine's clothing since she was gone this weekend at home w/ her family. Going to church on your birthday is pretty cool. Bronwyn and I even matched!

After church I went over to Lava Lounge, ate pizza and watched Planet Earth. Soon enough it was time to start prepping all the delicious breakfast food. We had traditional waffles w/ blue food coloring, funfetti cake waffles, chocolate cake waffles, Reese's Puffs, breakfast corn dogs, Swedish pancakes and  brownies. Friends from all 3 1/2 years of my schooling came. I love when my groups of friends collide in situations like that. Perhaps the best part of the night was my freshmen friends Alex, Warren and Westen staying around longer than anyone else. Stacy and Justin also did a shoe swap, so that was pretty great.

Oh, and once everyone was gone Becca, Stacy and I put up Becca's tent in the living room and watched a couple episodes of Arrested Development. You know, because we're all mature and stuff.

My only regret from Saturday, and from during my party on Sunday, is not taking any pictures. I originally had this grand scheme of documenting everything from my birthday weekend. That went downhill quickly. Even without the pictures, it still might have been my best collegiate birthday to date. You can't exactly go wrong with Community, Chick-Fil-A, basketball, Wii, Arrested Development, breakfast food, tents and plenty of attractive friends.

A weekend to change it all

Everything about this past weekend was exactly how I once imagined the whole semester would be. It was a perfect 2 1/2 days of relaxation and productivity. If that weekend is any indication of how the rest of the semester will go, I'm in for a real treat.

Friday started off at the gorgeous winter temperature of 42 degrees. I was stoked to finally go running that afternoon once my class ended at 3. But alas, it snowed instead. It was coming down pretty hard and my pants and shoes got nearly soaked just walking home. I put off my run till this week which was a bit of a shame at the time but the rest of the afternoon was still plenty lovely. Peter and I made plans earlier in the week to watch Community together since I'm the one that got him into the show back in December. I have late class Thursday nights so we figured watching it the next afternoon would be perfect. It's only a half hour long but we ended up sitting on his couch talking for another 2 1/2 hours after the show was over. It's now our Friday thing to watch Community together. (Is it just me or is it really nice to have "a thing" you share with someone else? It's one of my favorite concepts, sharing a TV show with someone else.)

Once I left his house there was a slightly frantic rush to get people together to go to the gymnastics meet. I loved going to the meets when I wrote for the Universe last January-April and I hadn't been to any this season. It ended up being Becca, Stacy, Lorraine, Steve, Ben, Trent and myself. It was kind of strange to be considered the expert on the sport among my group of friends that night. The meet was as fun as ever, though. I did find it weird to be sitting up in the stands instead of down on the floor.

Saturday was spent doing laundry and studying. I got a lot done, so that was great. I also watched the new episode of The Office. The best part of Saturday was my pseudo-date. My friend Austin, who I've known since my freshman year, and I have been trying to set up a time to hang out and get Chick-Fil-A for a long while now. We ended up getting our beloved chicken dinner and then went to the BYU/San Francisco basketball game. The Cougars ended up losing pretty big but it was still great to spend time with Austin. I call it a pseudo-date since neither of us really thought about whether it was a date before we went. We went back to my apartment after the game and my roommates were like, "What did you guys do on your date?" and we both looked at each other for a second and asked, "Wait, was this a date?" We decided it was since it was planned, paired off and though technically not paid for by either of us two out of the three isn't bad.

Austin ended up sticking around a while and the apartment turned into an exciting place. Besides my roommates, Badger was there and eventually Trent, Ryan, Nathan and Erica showed up as well. Our apartment is hardly ever that filled, especially on weekends. We get visitors fairly often but they usually don't all stick around. It's always interesting to let different groups of friends interact and Austin fit in perfectly with the Lava Lounge boys.

Sunday was just as great as the other days. Church was awesome and once again I was quite productive in grading papers and doing my own work. Becca and I explored cooking tilapia in this random garlic and herb marinade we found in the refrigerator. Along with that we had a spinach salad with some kind of cheese dressing and we added some grated Parmesan cheese for good measure. It turned out delicious, much to Becca's surprise. The rest of the night was incredibly relaxing and the perfect way to prepare for a tough week of school.

This next weekend should also be fantastic since my birthday is in SIX DAYS. I'll be 22 on the 17th. The plan right now is to enjoy the three day weekend camping in Moab so basically I'll be spending my birthday in a tent. The next weekend I'll probably have a birthday party to spend some time with all my lovely Provo friends. It's going to be a breakfast for dinner birthday, meaning cake waffles, Reese's Puffs, breakfast corn dogs and basically any other delicious birthday treat you could think of. Yes, I love breakfast foods that much.