the world of allie

well christmas is over with. it seems like a shame that all the sales happen after christmas. it's almost like we should out smart the stores and exchange gifts after christmas, that way we can buy twice as much!

it was a nice a quiet christmas this year though. ever since we've been getting older, it's been getting quieter and quieter. i remember when i was younger, we would drive up from newburgh to saratoga to spend the weekend or close to a week at grandma's. my mom is the youngest of six kids, so you can imagine what christmas dinner was like. there would be a minimum of 5 grandkids for dinner itself, then for desert, another 6 grandkids would be added to the mix. 12 grownups and grandma. it was always crazy, but so much fun because there was always someone new to talk to or play games with. i always enjoyed it. now adays, we are so far away that it gets so dull after a while. so if anyone is about to complain about the craziness of the holidays, where there are people sleeping on the floor because you ran out of room.... remember how nice it is to have such a big family that spends the holidays together.

today i flew home...

after two hours of sleep i got woken up by my ride calling me telling me that she was outside my apartment. luckily i slept in the clothes i was going to wear and had everything packed and by the door ready to go.

i got to the airport really early (7 am for my 930 flight) so that i can just walk right in and not really wait in line. sure i was killing time for like an hour and a half to 2 hours but who wants to wait in line to check your bags when it was that cold out right next to the doors.

i passed out on the flight, loving how i can catch up on my sleep. after my lovely hour nap i land in detroit, knowing that i had an hour and a half to kill on my lay over. i walk around, look at the shops, eat a snack, and started reading my mags by the gate.

We get called in, i get squished next to the window by a guy who seriously had a curled mustache. the plane was smelling a little wierd... like the fuel. but i really just am so tired that i fell asleep again. next thing i know, they are making an announcement that they are pulling back into the gate.

first they say to sit put in your seat. then they say to wait outside the gate for a half hour. then for another hour. then, after coming back with my lunch, the flight is cancelled. it was cancelled because the crew just left... they didn't even try to fixt the plane. luckily i chatted with some of the passengers earlier so i didn't feel wierd asking them what would the options be. they tell me that there is another flight at 5 to appleton which ends up being an hour and half away from my home.

i had to bounch to 4 different gates to be able to get rebooked to this new flight... and luckily i was alert enough to read the ticket before i wandered away from the gate to realize that they accidently booked me on a flight to allentown, PA.

luckily, for some odd reason i had a feeling that i was going to be held back so i was well stocked up on things to keep busy.

after my 6 hour lay over in detroit i finally was in wisconsin.... but then after like a 2 hour dissapointing dinner at the outback and an hour and half car ride home, i was finally back with my puppy dog.

now lessons learned people...
1. get sleep before you have to fly because you are going to need the energy
2. listen to your intuition
3. don't let your parents convince you to go out to eat when you get back because it might take forever, pushing your day later and later.
4. make nice with the people on your flight because in some situations you are going to have to count on them for support (this wasn't a situation but it was something that i figured out if something worse had happened).
5. flying home for christmas is still worth it.

well i'm going to be flying home in a couple hours or so.... maybe i'll be at the airport a little bit too early but at least i won't miss my flight... unless i fall asleep at the gate..... but at least i'll be there on time and that is what matters. it's been quite a while since i've been in wisconsin but i have an accent to match. 3 weeks of being with my family... the longest i've spent with them for a year so we'll see how this goes about.

so today, i read in the newspaper that bill clinton was coming to campus for a tour and a speech. since i had class at the time i didn't really think that i would be able to. about 15 minutes before class i decided to wander up to the building where he was speaking (which was down the hall from my department) to see who was around. i find my professor who i was taking the one o'clock class with... figured if i was late with him it wouldn't matter. standing around i see my best friend becca, our friend sarah and becca's boyfriend chris right infront of me. chatting, we realized that all of these black suv's and luxury cars are pulling up. then all of a sudden i hear "he's wearing a red tie!". i stand on my tippy toes and i see him walking up to the building. i pull in a little closer to the front.. i'm about the third person back fron the yellow tape. he walks in, we all start clapping, and he's saying hello to the upper people of campus.

then he decided to go shake hands. he starts a couple people from me... moves down the line. he shakes chris', becca's, MINE, and sarah's hands!!!! I totally lost my breath, i was just smiling as big as i could and in complete awe that he was shaking my hand and that he was standing so close to me.

eventually he made it to my professor and to everyone else he can get to. people were lined up on the stair well.. on the upper levels of the attrium and all around. people of course did not have digital cameras with them so all i saw were cell phones pointing at him from above. it was a site.

This was one of the coolest days of my life. plus i think i did well on my history exam, and my office has holiday goodies so i'm on cloud nine right now :-) :-)

so i just finished my second week back at school. this upcoming week is going to get crazy because it is like a mini finals week.

here are some highlights....

11-30-05
hannah elizabeth and evan micheal were born. my brand new baby cousins in minnesota. they are cute as buttons and i can't wait to see them at christmas time.

12-3-05
the frat retreat where i got to know my grandlittles who are super cool and funny to boot. we played a word game where you makes words using the letters in the group members names. lets just say that my grand littles fit perfectly into our family line. hahahah we went out to dinner afterwards, bonded over guys and our crazy families.

12-9-05
yesterday me and my roommate threw a house party here. it was so much fun, and a good group of people showed up. music friends and drinking is always a favorite past time of mine.

homework, the gym, and catching up with friends has been occupying my time these past couple weeks.

also a cool note, i'm going to go see billy joel in concert at the end of march. i'm so super excited!!