Day 365, December 31
New Year Eve. Same as Christmas Eve for my family. A lot of people came over and we had a feast. It was odd that the adults didn’t ask for any picture taking—just when I needed group pictures too.
And I’m done.
Day 364, December 30
Because of my dad and Matty, we watched Tron before heading out to check the Simpsons and the Mummy rides. Again, the lines were too long—both 100 minutes estimated waiting—so we didn’t even try… mainly because of Mike, who by this time wanted to go home and play COD. Kidding. Well, I think it’s partly true. It was also his birthday and my parents wanted to treat him to a Japanese restaurant—unagi is one of his favorites—but he was sulky, leading to my parents losing their temper. Then Matty suddenly exclaimed that he wanted to stay longer, Mike became even angrier, my parents snapped to impede the would-be fight, and I… well, I just wanted the tension to end. And so began the long ride home. Wonderful ending.
Although I find actual books better, the ereader my parents got me for Christmas is very convenient to have during trips. I read through most of the ride.
Day 363, December 29
Ate at a Korean restaurant in Koreatown. Really good food. We were suppose to walk/drive around more but my parents got lazy when it started pouring. So after window shopping in a mall, we just spent the rest of the day watching the Back to the Future trilogy. We really should have gone somewhere. Oh well. The movies were great anyway.
Day 362, December 28
I’ve forgotten how well my old camera works. This was taken while waiting in line for the Grinch’s Christmas Tree Lighting. Matty likes Dr. Seuss books so we were pressured to check it out. Lines in general are hecka long. We had to skip on The Mummy ride because the waiting time was almost two hours and although I heard it was good, I don’t want to wait that long.
We also went to the tour earlier on this day. The 3D King Kong thing was cool while the Jaws part was not cool. Afterward, we rode the Jurassic Park, one of the two attractions that really scared Matty due to the high drop haha the other one that terrified him was the haunted house—it was scarier and darker back then. We went to see the other attractions—he animal show, the special effects thing, Shrek 4D, other places I don’t remember right now… yeahh. It was fun except for all the shoving and pushing. One lady carrying a baby actually rammed into me just so she can get ahead of me in line… while singing sweetly to her child.
Day 361, December 27
Universal Studios. The ride there took around five hours. It should have taken six but with my dad’s driving, an hour or two is always taken off the estimated driving time haha I haven’t been to Universal Studios since I was… actually, I don’t remember. It was a long time ago is all I know but it was Matty’s first time. And he was ecstatic. He really enjoyed his time.
We went to Universal during the holidays so I expected that there were going to a lot of people but I never thought it would be that crowded. People pushing, shoving, not caring at all if they hit with their cameras/bag/churros. I’m serious about that churro part—everybody had them for some reason and although I wanted one, I was too stingy to buy overpriced churros. But it’s not the people with churros one has to be wary of. Instead, watch out for people with strollers. These people will seriously run you over with them. I can’t say how many times parents glared at me for being in their way. People are scary, man.
On a random note, I broke my camera. It slipped from my freezing hands. It didn’t even fall two feet. Now the lens won’t retract and I can’t take pictures anymore. It was a good thing my mom brought our old camera. I somehow suspect that she was taking precautions because I’m prone to breaking things.
Day 360, December 26
Had to pack since my parents suddenly had this idea to go to Universal Studios. And, yes, the gloves. Even if I’m wearing a hundred layers of clothes underneath a lot of blankets, my hands will still be freezing.
My grandma decided not to go with us so she stayed over at Kaye’s. Kaye also had to take care of my noisy, annoying, and stubborn dog, something she always does whenever I go somewhere. I’m forever grateful.
Day 359, December 25
When midnight came, the kids were excited to open the gifts. Because we are a big family, we spent a great amount of time just giving away the colorful packages to the right person. Just for fun, we got the kids to read the names and distribute them—there were some funny results (“To… Abadaba?” haha).
Although it was fun, something felt off. I can’t say for certain what it was. I’ve been noticing it for years now. Or maybe it’s just me. Hopefully it is.
Day 358, December 24
Christmas Eve. For my family, it was already Christmas. We had a feast, the area around the Christmas tree was flooded with gifts, and it was really noisy. It was fun.
This is the gingerbread house that Matty and Aaron made.
Day 357, December 23
Drove Kaye to work because her brother was at… who knows. Once again, Kaye won against me and she treated me to Tapex and senorita bread. She’s too cool. When If a get a job, I’ll treat her to anything she wants.
Day 356, December 22
I have always been interested in books targeted to children but has great depth to it, a hidden and sometimes dark part of the story that a child will ignorantly read over but it materializes under the eyes of someone with more experience. It always amazes how the words, the backbone of the story, can shift and contort, twisting to something different for each reader. Someday, I would like to write something that can do this. Anyway, I got Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
…I still haven’t read it. I went through The Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, The Magician by Michael Scott, and I’m halfway through The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Since The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes are complied of short stories, I might take a break from it and finally read about Alice.
