Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm going to start this off with this: It's my birthday!!!!! Yay for me!

I'm all settled into my apartment now... That doesn't mean I am totally unpacked but, hey, nobody is perfect.

One of my roommates picked me up from the train station on Saturday night. "Hiii!!" we both exclaimed. Shortly after Jordan and I arrived, we biked and skated to dinner with another one of our roommates, Garrison. Catching up on our respective summers, the three of us spoke over teriyaki chicken and stir fry. 

Heading home, I stopped at some of my girlfriends' place. All four of them, another girl, and I caught up for over an hour. Their summer stories were awesome to listen to, and I didn't realize how much I truly missed them. 

It turned out that one of the girls from our dorms last year was having a birthday party nearby so us girls and two of our guy-friends checked it out. The party was a typical college scene, red solo cups in every line of vision and too many plastered people. All in all, I had fun catching up with friends from our dorm last year, and didn't get very drunk at all.  

The funniest thing I had to deal with throughout the night were the comments like, "Wow Lu, you look so good! What have you been doing?" K, I get it, I was in bad shape and now I'm not but I'm still the same old girl!!

Super drunk, one of the guys we came with, Nate, told me, "Lu, seriously, you look so good. Like, you weren't fat before, but you're in such great shape now." To be honest, I was definitely enjoying a bit of the attention, but come on, don't be tossing the f-word around so casually...

At one point in the night, a girl from my hall last year approached me, "Hi! Oh my gosh, are you rushing??" 

Having been through recruitment once already (it didn't work out last year), I was hesitant to rush again this fall, but am giving it a shot. I told her that I was, and swearing me to secrecy, she informed me that a bunch of girls in her house were saying great things about me when my name came up in the list of girls signed up. Sweet! That reassured me a ton about branching out of my comfort zone.

Eventually, I was over the party and found Maya, one of the girls living at the house I was at earlier. I had left some things there, and let her know that I was walking back if she was ready to leave. "I'm actually going to stay for a little bit, but Clara walked back alone. I haven't heard back from her yet, so please let me know whether or not she is home when you get there!"

Not very intoxicated, I ventured to their house without any friends. This was the first time I walked back alone at night, and it was actually kind of scary. I could not imagine feeling safe if I were to stumble through that stretch without someone. 

I let myself into their home to find Clara munching on some peanut butter (college staple, for sure). So glad that she was safe, we texted Maya to affirm that we were both alright. Soon, Maya, Hannah, and Monica all came. Monica went to sleep, and the rest of us sautéed cabbage for a post-party midnight snack. Just because I want a drunchy, does not mean I am down to fall back out of shape... 

Getting sleepy, I skated back to my place, less than a block away. 

On Sunday, I took a much needed run, exploring some of the local trails. Then, since I only had about five Kind Bars left (I am a growing girl, I cannot live off of those things), Garrison and I shopped at Costco and Albertson's. Spending over two hundred dollars on groceries, I finally understand that living is very expensive (especially when my staples are basically only fruit and veggies). Looks like I am going to be forced to getting as much out of that ten pound bag of rice (it was about five dollars and will last me months) as possible...

That afternoon and evening were very mellow, so I ended up getting ahead on a few physics assignments (they were only math review; I'm not too geeky...).

This morning, I woke up to really bad family drama between my mom and sister. In the end, I am thankful for it, because the repercussions of their fallout address some critical issues. But, the first few hours of my birthday were totally shitty. My aunt (we are insanely close), dad, and grandparents all cheered me up while talking on the phone, and I actively decided to have a good day.

My aunt told me, "Do two things that you love today, no matter what."

There was a short recruitment meeting mid-morning, so after that I went for another five mile run to ease some of the stress and embrace a good runner's high. Coming home an hour before our short day of recruitment began this evening, I quickly took a shower and dressed. 

The few 'parties' I had tonight went pretty well! I am feeling very open minded and comfortable with the process, so hopefully everything works out.

Once those were done, I began to skate home, running into two of my best surf friends.

"Lu!!!" I heard from across the street.

"Oh my gosh, Canon! Axel!" I exclaimed.

They both wished me a happy birthday, and we caught up on our summers. After talking to them for a while, I received a call from Kevin. Excusing myself from their table, Kevin and I spoke for a few minutes as I walked towards home. Helplessly grinning at the sound of his voice, I perked up at his vibrancy. It kind of sucks to not be able to see him, but hopefully we can talk often enough to keep our relationship relevant between visits. 

Once I returned to our apartment, Jordan and I gossiped about rush for a while. She's actually trying to sleep right now, and I am keeping the lights on... Jordan would never tell me to turn off the lights, but I think she could be drowning under her comforter. Oops... lol.

I guess that's what having a roommate is for.

Since I still can... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. TURN UP. jk I'm obviously super boring.