Ack, Poor Blog's Been Neglected...

Okay so since finals ended I've been a bit iffy on daily updating. Alas I've been just sort of easing back into life at home, not having to do much of anything in the lull between school and work. Going to try to catch up this weekend, both with this and unpacking/organizing/cleaning. Half my boxes are still in the car, even.

I never did really talk about the "year in review" so to speak when it came to life at UCSB. I guess I should start with the last night I was there, because it was basically one of the most fun nights of the entire year. Many of the irritating or annoying people had gone home already, and only about half the hall was left, with basically everyone having completed all their finals. One more wild night lay ahead. I'm not going to go into exact details here, but needless to say our R/A wasn't too concerned about disciplining anyone on their last night in the dorms, and basically let the fun roll on, even joining in at times. All sorts of crazy things took place, and I'm glad to say I spent the large portion of the night with some of the best friends I made here this year.

It's funny, some of the people I ran into during the night were surprised to see me, as if they didn't think I ever actually have any fun. Kinda sad when you think about it. People don't seem to understand that just because I'm not the one tippin back a beer or tappin the keg, doesn't mean I'm utterly incapable of enjoying myself around people who do. I've grown to be more open minded over the last few years, mainly due to the fact that I haven't had much of a choice, living in the situation that I have been. As long as I know the people I'm with have brains in their heads, and can make the right decisions about how much is too much, its just more live entertainment for me.

The one major highlight of the night was when a bunch of us were randomly in the hallway at one point, and all of a sudden someone who was a few apples short of a bushel announced that everyone must immediately come together and join hands in a circle. Given everyone's mental state it was unknown what made it such a good idea, but within seconds we were all standing in a circle, with our arms crossed, our left hand holding the right hand of the person to our right, and our right hand holding the left hand of the person to our left. Confusing? Well, it was pretty hard for some of them to figure out, too. Anyway, it was then decided everyone should take turns saying something, with the something being anything. This led to quite random exclamations, questions, statements about life, and general comments about how fun a year it had been.

Now comes the best part. A CSO (Community Service Officer) who happens to be making his rounds of the building at just that time comes out of the stairway during our little circle. He stares, and we all think "oh shit who's he going to bust" as eyes dart around at the various bottles, pipes, and other paraphenalia either lying on the ground or sticking out of people's pockets. He looks at us, we look at him, he walks over, and joins the circle. That's right, reaches out his hands and fills in a gap between myself and my friend next to me. Most hilarious thing I'd ever seen. Maybe you had to be there. But anyway, he spent the next several minutes with us just sort of having a big life powwow, and then shared his thoughts on how he wished his hall was this "tight" when he was in the dorms. Then off he went, much to the chagrin of his newest and greatest fans. Eventually the circle collapsed, as some people finally went to sleep, others went to barf, and still others just sort of lay down in the middle of the hallway and started snoring. On came the role of making sure everyone was okay, the whole big brother factor that consists of walking people down the stairs so they don't eat it, smiling and nodding when they're speaking total gibberish, and eventually passing out myself in the very wee hours of the morning. Actually I take it back, I stayed up to watch the first half of the USA vs Poland World Cup game, and that didn't even start til 4:30am. Needless to say I would have gladly slept all day Friday, except for the fact I had to check out the next morning which involved debunking my bed, packing everything up that I hadn't already, and going through the lengthy process of carting my whole life down to the car.

So, great fun was had by all, and it left me with many more fond memories of the year behind me. I don't see any need to name names, those people who affected me personally and helped me grow as a person know who they are. Looking back, I think I opened up to different kinds of people and personalities more this year than any other. It's hard though, coming back to a living situation where everyone still thinks you're the same way you were in high school, closed off to many things, stubborn in many opinions. Some people just don't seem to think its possible for someone to change over time. Go figure.

To all those who helped me smile this year, thanks. Hope you all have great summers, feel free to come back and visit anytime next year. :)