"I Like My Raspberries Hairy"

Bye-bye brian's shoes. 1/1/2013

First post of 2013! Okay, I know my last post technically says "1/1/13" but I typed that up and submitted (or so I thought) on the 31st. No hard feelings though. Anyway....a new year! New goals, aspirations, resolutions, and the like. Even though its just like any other day, there's something about 1/1 that screams "new" at you.  It's kind of like a reset button, and lets you let go of the unfinished business of the past year….which could or could not be a good thing. Regardless, I'm looking forward to a great year! I know I've been neglecting this blog a bit since I've gone off to college, but I'll try my best to keep it going this year :) Also, I've decided to do the 365 project so unless I want to post 60 pictures in one go, I should probably update about once a week haha.

Kicked off the new year with some friends at Nolan's. After watching the countdown (with Psy!) we ventured upstairs where we made steaming cups of tea and played real-life mario party. AKA we stuck a water ballon on the kitchen faucet and took turns running around and turning on the water. Whoever the ballon explodes on gets eliminated and the next round begins. It sounds stupid but was actually really amusing in a stressful kind of way. I was pretty relieved when I finally got out on the 7th round lol. Then around 3 am we bundled up and headed out to the driveway where we symbolically lit Brian's old shitty sneakers on fire with olive oil and watched them get reduced to ashes. It was freezing outside but the fire was warm, although we had to stay clear of the black chemical-infused smoke that the shoes were giving off haha. Thomas kept joking that one of us was going to become a pyromaniac - "first come shoes, then buildings!" but he was the one who kept throwing little sticks and leaves in the fire with a little smile on his face…hmm….Once the shoes had given all they had left, we ventured inside and played mario party and brawl until  7. My eyes were on fire so I decided to get some sleep, but they were so goddamn loud that around 8:30 all the people who were trying to sleep just gave up and we decided to grab some breakfast at the Diner. The phrase "sleep terrorism" was coined, which couldn't be any more appropriate. Literally when Thomas had run out of things to say around 8, he picked up a random bag of pretzel chips and started to (loudly) read off the nutrition facts. Did you know that each chip has 10 calories? I wasn't aware until this year, but I'm so glad to finally know. I feel so informed. When I finally got home at 10, I crashed until 4:30 in the afternoon. For the rest of the day I finished sorting my high school papers and packed them away in a big box. Along the way I unearthed piles of old artwork which was a huge blast from the past. My drawings from ten years ago are faaar from pretty, trust me, but I got a kick out of shuffling through them. Which reminds me, I definitely plan on drawing more this year! My sketchbook barely has anything from 2012, how sad.

Chocolate cake, 7 Wonders, and Argo at Gabe's! 1/2/2013

Against my better judgement, had a steaming bowl of instant ramen for my first meal of Wednesday. For dinner I cooked some pork stir-fry with red peppers, onions, and this weird chinese vegetable that looks like a closed fist. No idea what it's called in english, but if you ever come across one, buy it, cook it, and enjoy it. I also made some daikon (chinese white radish) which I had a lot of fun slicing into perfect circles. Can't really explain it, but it was hilarious. Maybe I was just sleep deprived? Anyway…after dinner Nolan picked us up and we arrived at Gabriel's house for boardgames, chocolate cake, cranberry/seltzer beverages (thank you soda stream), and Argo ("Argo fuck yourself" solid quote from the movie). The film was pretty cool; it was about the Iranian hostage crisis, but at the same time I kind of wish we had watched Cloud Atlas. Regardless, I plan on watching it sometime soon - the trailer looked pretty kickass.

Spicy salmon yumyum 1/3/2013

Slept like a rock for thirteen and a half hours and woke up (to my horror) at 2:30. Played with Kaykay for a few hours, ran on the treadmill, and hurriedly took a shower before picking up some friends and heading to Nagoya for a sushi dinner.  What a terrible eating establishment….lol I kid, but it could've been better if they had hired me back over the summer, just saying. I did enjoy my spicy salmon with avocado though, as well as the gyoza. After a quick journey to Starbucks and some chitchat, the band congregated at dan's for some intense Taboo and CHOCOLATE.  Brian and I pulled a narrow victory over Daniel and "Big Tom". Also I think I began an affair with Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark….shhh don't tell Ferrero Rocher…   

Let the Carbohydrates Challenge begin! 1/4/2013

Today I woke up somewhat earlier so I could compete as a challenger in….the bread-bowl-with-a-side-of-bread challenge. The seven of us drove over to Panera and all ordered broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl with a side of bread. Nolan thought it was a brilliant idea to also order a sandwich, aka two more pieces of bread. Anyway, the point was just to finish all the carbs, so we were all winners, with Nolan securing the lead, followed closely by Nicole and Brian. I boarded the struggle bus and rode it slowly across the finish line, dead-last, but still a winner. It was pretty silly, but then again, so are most of the things we do. Tonight after dinner we headed over to Red Mang's where I constructed that masterpiece you see below.  I didn't think perfection was achievable, but I guess I was wrong. Ohoho. Afterwards we went to Nolan's and played some cards and video games, both of which got a little out of hand. My friends are pretty uh, interesting people, and I'm really going to miss having them around, although I certainly won't miss sleep terrorism. I don't know why I'm getting all emotional for; maybe it's because Thomas is leaving tomorrow, and I actually probably won't see him again for half a year. How strange. Anyway, time to sleep - big day tomorrow!

Ooof. The textures! The color scheme! The flavors! It's perfect.