Jonathan and I drove up to Willis to watch the UT National Championship game with Alan and Alex! The traffic to get there from UH was pretty crappy but it was a fun night :) I was really hoping that we would make a comeback during the last half but it wasn’t meant to be. It was still one hell of a game, especially with a freshman quarterback! Jordan Shipley was really impressive!

Jonathan, Sarah and I finally got to watch Daybreakers! Daybreakers wasn’t as good as I hoped it would be. It’s an alright vampire movie but there were too many comic moments in it (i.e. the main character’s name was Edward - LOL). I’m pretty sure this movie wasn’t supposed to be a comedy…but it kinda turned out to be one. But if you’re not a hardcore vampire fan, I think you might like it. It was an interesting take on vampire lore, at the very least.

Though classes started on January 5, this whole week still felt like it was break time b/c none of the subjects we went over in class were too difficult and b/c Jonathan was here :)

Since I haven’t been doing much work this week, I have a crapload of notes to catchup on and I need to start the optics homework set that’s due this Friday!

Saw this on Srimoyee’s and Kayla’s blog and thought it would be fun to do! :)

What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?
These are the 3 that jump out at me:
-Worked in the service industry! For some reason, I REALLY wanted to do this and am so glad that I had the opportunity to work @ P. Terry’s. I met a bunch of cool people and got to eat the delicious burgers multiple times a week, haha.
-Traveled to Europe! Went on a 2 week trip to Europe w/Jonathan :) We got to see a lot but it really was a small sampler of everything that continent has to offer. The group we went with were pretty friendly and interesting. Our tour guide was crappy and creepy though…next time, I’m definitely going to go sans tour group!
-Drove to Austin and back to Houston by myself! Took me this long to do it, but I’ve done it multiple times now and am pretty much an expert at it :p I’m still scared of hitting a deer though! :/

Did you keep your new years’ resolutions?
I don’t really make new years resolutions. I guess I’m constantly trying to be a better person/friend/sister/daughter/etc. though I don’t think I succeed all the time. I need to learn to be more patient and understanding!

Reflecting On…
New Years: Was in Johnson City, TN w/Jonathan, his family, and Sarah! We went skiing on New Year’s Eve and it was really fun but on the drive back to Jonathan’s house I got extremely nauseous. I felt like crap all night and couldn’t eat the delicious dip! D: But on actual New Years Day 2009, I felt good again.
Valentine’s Day: Jonathan, what did we do? Haha…my memory is horrible! Did we decide not to do anything on Valentine’s Day proper b/c it would be waaaaay too crowded and too late to make reservations? Ah! I don’t remember!
Spring Break: Did stuff in Houston…Went to Sarah’s Rodeo Art thing at the Rodeo. Huzzah Sarah!
Memorial Day Weekend: Don’t remember >.<
Fourth of July: My family came up to Austin! We, including Jonathan :p , went to Barton Springs, Toy Joy, Ruby’s BBQ, lazed around, and watched the fireworks at Town Lake :)
Summer: For most of the summer, I chilled and lazed around with Jonathan in Austin! Wooooooooo! Other than that, I worked at P. Terry’s which was surprisingly fun. Becky visited at the beginning of summer and I got to hang out with Steph, Kayla, Srimoyee, Naeem, P. Terry’s ppl, and some other friends too :) At the end of summer, I moved back to Houston :( . Right afterwards I jetted off with Jonathan to Europe for two weeks :D
Thanksgiving: Had a Pre-Thanksgiving potluck w/optometry ppl and was pleasantly surprised to find that so many of my classmates were good cooks! Had Thanksgiving dinner with my family @ Richard’s family’s house. And then for the rest of the break, I drove up to Austin to hang out with Jonathan <3
Christmas: Felt kinda off this year b/c of the floor construction at my house that lasted basically this whole winter break. Also, my family usually goes to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve and we didn’t go this year so that felt weird too. Other than that, I got to spend time with my cousins on Christmas day so that was really fun! Christine showed us how to play a Monopoly card game and we got addicted O_O
Your Birthday: Was the same day as the first day of optometry school!!! Spent the night with my family with a homemade dinner and a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake!
Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope
Did anyone close to you die? Nope, thank goodness!
What countries did you visit? Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Switzerland, England
What was your biggest purchase of the year? Not counting tuition, optometry school equipment. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on equipment alone this first semester >.<
What do you wish you’d done more of? Appreciating the little things in life…as well as the big things.
What do you wish you’d done less of? Being negative and forgetting that I’ve been incredibly lucky in my life so far.

Favorites of the Year…
Movie: Up
Book: Let The Right One In
TV program: Freaks and Geeks <3 <3 <3
Musical Artist: Spoon
Restaurant: P. Terry’s - I swear, they put crack in their food or something. You’d think I’d be sick of their food by now!
Celebrity/Public Figure: I don’t think I had one…I was obsessed with James McAvoy in 2008, though!

Where did most of your money go?: Probably eating out and optometry school

What song will always remind you of 2009?: Pokerface by Lady GaGa; Livin’ On A Prayer by Bon Jovi

Compared to last year
happier or sadder? About the same, I think
thinner or fatter? Fatter? I gained weight this winter break but I stayed about the same weight as last year for most of the year…does that count??
richer or poorer? Definitely poorer. I have loans to account for now :(

Which political issue stirred you most? Healthcare reform
Who did you miss? Jonathan! I miss you every day that I’m not with you :(
Who was the best new person you met? I dunno, I’ve met quite a lot of really awesome ppl this year! But if I HAD to choose: Jacky from UHCO and Perry from P. Terry’s. They’re both so weird and funny!
Tell me a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: Since you don’t know what the future holds, enjoy the time you have with the people around you in the place you’re at. Does that make sense?

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Though I have bouts of jealousy every now and then, I don’t think I hate anyone.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If UHCO and my family were in Austin instead of Houston, haha
What kept you going? Support from my family, friends, and Jonathan(especially)! <3 :)

Cover of Shakira’s She Wolf. In my opinion, it’s better than the original. But then again I listened to this before listening to the original…biased preference?! I think this will be a really fun song to karaoke :p

A sad but wonderful song by Danielle Ate The Sandwich. Before Sarah started listening to her original songs, I only listened to her covers! Shame orbed!

I was just thinking: I sincerely hope I retain as much knowledge as possible from opt school learnings!!!

There’s just so many things to know and such limited brain space (though Dr. Chino might beg to differ). I don’t know if any opt school ppl read this so I’m guessing that I’m the only person laughing at the last part of that sentence, haha.

Hm, I’m already kinda getting new semester jitters O.O
Hopefully, I didn’t burn myself out during the first semester!

Though I never placed much importance on this “holiday,” have a great new year’s, everyone! :)