Merry Christmas

Ah, what an enjoyable Christmas Eve [yeah yeah, I'm posting this on Christmas Day - edit, now Boxing Day].

So anyway, we LANned for a few days at Justin's place starting on the 22nd around 1ish. At around nine Justin and I got picked up by Sarah's mom [with Sarah obviously] and dropped off at Earls by Dalhousie Station where Justin, Megan, Vanessa's friend Val, and I got to join in on Sarah and Vanessa's Wing Night Wednesday. From there we jogged through the cold to the C-Train [Justin and I didn't bring jackets because we're smart... although we did save on the coat check lol] and headed to Cowboys. The last time I was there only half of it was open and it was during the day on a Club Crawl, this time however was much nicer, also because it was more like a club than a bar the previous time. I had been craving to go to a club for awhile. On the train we met up with Steph, Shannon, and Danielle. Anyway, upon arrival we ran into a similar collection of people from high school once again that we ran into at Schanks although with others like Michelle, Danielle, Delaine, and Heather C [who's back from California!]. So we danced the night away and then we, minus Sarah, Vanessa, and Val, headed to Justin's for Won Ton's and Pizza. lol Steph ended up passing out on the couch and the rest headed home and my brother Ian got a taxi ride from a party he was at to Justin's.

I think the 23rd was pretty much just playing video games at Justin's and eating chicken wings at my house with Justin and Kevin F [no longer Jesus because he cut his hair!].

I woke up on Christmas Eve at two in the afternoon and headed to Chinook Mall with Justin to meet Steph. We dropped by the food court and then helped Steph out with some last minute shopping. I picked up some chocolate for Vanessa's family at the same time.

I was invited to spend Christmas Eve at Vanessa's place, seeing as my family doesn't really have any Christmas spirit [anymore...], which was quite enjoyable. At first I thought it would be kind of odd spending time with someone else's family for a holiday event [kind of like the invitations I got for Thanksgiving weekend, but this time I've known the person longer than a few weeks] but I immediately felt comfortable seeing as it wasn't like it was the first time meeting Vanessa's family. Even so with Vanessa's other relatives it was easy to feel comfortable... especially because I could finally witness some of the quirks of the McConnell family that I've heard all about. Oh, and not to mention Vanessa's niece, Sydney, is the cutest most entertaining toddler around. :D

It was quite interesting to see all the traditions that the McConnell's had [the kitchenware], hear all the stories, and just experience the way the whole family celebrated Christmas Eve. I must say I don't think I've ever spent any time with my family where everyone feels so harmoniously together - ironicly though that that was the first time in about a decade that they have been all together. Vanessa had always told me that there's always some ruckus that occurs when their whole family gets together but it seemed at most oblivious to me. My family seems to be the total opposite. Vanessa's home is nicely decorated and everyone is so social. My house is the same dark, messy home it is every other day of the year and everyone is in their own seperate places doing whatever they're doing like every other day. Shrug, I don't know why, it's not like we don't like each other. Perhaps it's just the way we were brought up. It's not like that's a terrible thing, I mean, I'm sure other people would wish they could get there time away from their family, but sometimes those social gatherings are nice. Then again, a social gathering all depends on how sociable the people are.. :P

Anyway, the food was delicious, a definite change from the cafeteria food and fast food that I had been having, the family was so nice, and the evening was quite enjoyable. I must say that that was probably my most enjoyable Christmas Eve... also probably because I don't think I've ever celebrated a Christmas Eve [or a Christmas for that matter in the last ten years - minus going to our Aunt's place for dinner each year]. A big thanks to Vanessa and the rest of her family for making Christmas Eve a merry one.

Seeing as both my computers were left at Justin's place [and we all know I can't live without my MSN] I called him up. Turns out he was with Terence, John [dai lo], Mike, Sandra, and Alex [back from Kingston!] so I met them all at Justin's place. We all did a lot of reminiscing/bitching about our post-secondary educations and on high school, watched an episode of Band of Brothers, and ate food. It was awesome to hang out with "all the Asians" again.

Christmas day I slept in to about four in the evening [:P] and my family and I [minus my mom who is in Toronto] headed to my dad's sister's place for our annual Christmas dinner. Our cousin's Natalie and Craig never cease to faulter in the amount of energy they have. By around ten-ish I was already crashed on the couch.

Well, that's all I can think of for now. I started typing this up almost two days ago and that's what I could come up with. I'm going to sleep, so perhaps I'll think of something else and write up on that tomorrow.

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. :)