Hello again and Happy New Year! I should've updated sometime during December, but I was very busy- and when I wasn't busy, I usually felt like doing something besides spending a lengthy period of time online. But anyway, it was a very eventful month and here's what happened during it.

SCHOOL ENDED.
At last! Hooray! It finally ended! And I don't plan to go back anytime soon. I got a D and an F in two of my classes- in other words, I didn't pass them. I passed my other two, though. Then, the day after school ended was...

MY BIRTHDAY!
My 24th birthday turned out to be one of my best. Mom and dad got me a 36 key Hohner melodica just like I wanted. It's beautiful, and I will be putting it to lots of use- you can be sure of that. Jordan got me the audiobook version of the latest Lemony Snicket book (read by Tim Curry) which I really appreciated, even though I already knew she'd gotten it for me- she knew I knew. The relatives all got me money. I wanted to go somewhere other than the Olive Garden or another Italian place this year, so I suggested Hacienda Jalapenos, which I had heard was wonderful (it got a very favorable review in the Sun Times). So we all went there the night of my birthday with Aunt Carole, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Allison... and we found out the review was right! Everyone raved and raved about the food. It was a cool experience altogether too. They make your guacamole at your table, so you can have it however you want, and it was delicious (it got my dad liking guacamole again). Also, we happened to be the only customers in the restaurant... not just when we arrived, but all throughout our meal. That was kind of nice. It was freezing cold in the place, but we were seated in front of the fireplace, which made the cold not a problem. All in all, a great night. Only downside was, the restaurant didn't have any fruit empanadas, but we picked up a cherry pie from Baker's Square on the way home, which tasted wonderful, so it made no difference.
Then that Sunday, I celebrated my birthday with my friends. Rachel, Gloria, Amanda, Caitlin, Krysta, and Devon (who I hadn't seen in ages) went to the Olive Garden with me for dinner (yeah, I wound up going to the O.G. again- I couldn't think of anyplace else). Actually, first we all watched Fay's 12 Days of Christmas at my house while we waited for Krysta to show up- that was a good time- and I gave everyone the Christmas mix cd's I made for them. Dinner was grand, and I actually wound up getting some presents- including a homemade pillowcase with my name misspelled on it in big fabric letters from Amanda. Then afterwards, Devon and Krysta came over and watched the unrated version of The 40 Year Old Virgin with me (they liked it a lot), and Devon wound up spending the night here on our futon because she was out too late for her parents' liking or something like that. Devon and I hung out the next day, saw The Family Stone, and we hung out a lot more during the next few days after that. I took her out for her birthday to Hamada- this Japanese hibachi Benihana kind of place. That was definitely a good time.

That's enough for now. I'll write more tomorrow.