Whoa, a bit of a hiatus

Sorry I haven't updated in so long! It's been a crazy month.

First off, some great news: I got straight A's winter quarter!! I am SOOOOOOOO flipping excited, I cannot even fully comprehend the joy and relief. This quarter was *really* intense, it was a big push at the end, but I actually managed to make my end-of-quarter relatively not stressful, all things considered: I was working out regularly (had to, the stress and bad weather were too depressing), staying on top of my work, and even making time for friends.

I actually turned in two of my papers and my thesis draft before I even left Chicago, thank goodness. Since I've been back then, I had to finish one paper and then I've been searching for jobs - in between cramming friends and family and Garfield into every possible pocket I can stay awake for.

My last Sunday in Chicago, I hosted a pancake brunch at my place. I made a crap ton of Great Grandma's Buttermilk pancakes, friends brought bacon and fruit and juice and hash browns and coffee, and we had a super joyous feast and we all felt so much happier about life in the midst of what proved to be a winter quarter just as dreary and intense and exhausting as everyone promised us it would be.

But pancakes were joyous, my straight A's are joyous, and graduation will be *extremely* appreciated and joyous come June 11th. This has been a wonderful experience, but I am definitely feeling ready to be a California resident again and get back into the swing of my California life, rather than just rushing through it so I can go ditch everyone for Chicago and crazy grad school.

In other good news: Juliano is still the cutest little dog EVAR!! Anyway, I'm trying to relish my last days of California - at least it looks like the weather is more relishable finally. [Addendum: nevermind, the weather is still crap and is going to be the rest of my break - only to get sunny as soon as I leave! I'm very angry with my home state right now for failing me when I needed a *real* spring break. This has not helped prepare me to return to freezing Chicago!!]

Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

Garfield's friend, Jermaine, gave me a stuffed Garfield so that I could never be without him. But Juliano thinks he's his buddy, so when he gets really excited, he steals him off the chair and "plays" with him. It's cute :)

This is apparently Juliano's new favorite spot: he rests his head on my pillow and everything. If he wasn't so freakin' cute, I might be annoyed. But he is, so I'm not.

Finally, pictures of my apartment too! I put the dining table in my living room, added the two leaves, and it made for a big happy table of grad students desperate for a break and some fun social time. I played flamenco music courtesy of Pandora through my TV and it was pleasant.

Happy eating! L-R: Bonnie, Diego, Christian, and Tiago. I have friends, so fun! :)

L-R: Bonnie, Diego, Christian, Tiago, Sarah, Eric, and Kathleen.

Andrew was bomb and helped me cook everything. We were rockin' the kitchen for a long time, getting all the pancakes and delicious bacon and everything prepared. He's the guy that has his fancy Paris chef certification.

Me in my kitchen, cooking away!

More kitchen and Sandy, cooking pancakes.

L-R: Zohar and Andrew. Zohar was my first MAPH friend, so she's special.

Happy times!