The Next Day

It's just a tough thing to handle.

This weekend had its ups and downs. The days that were planned out and supposed to be full of fun turned out to be rather boring. The days that had no plans became the most fun.

My sister came in on Wednesday afternoon. I went with her to help find the hotel she was staying at. The managers mentioned that they would have free chicken in a few minutes, so we stuck around for that. Turned out to be Chick-fil-a. Real good stuff. My parents came in later that night.

My sister took me to Target on Thursday to help me find some stuff. One of the things she told me about was Tylenol's new sleep aid. My graduation ceremony on Saturday was at 8AM, and I usually don't fall asleep until 4AM. If I don't get enough sleep, my stomach feels like it's on fire for the day. Pat was at the apartment when we got back, and we tried to figure out what to eat. I already forgot what it was. Might have been Sonic.

I hung out with my sister again on Friday. We had plenty of catching up to do, and it had been 5 years since I last saw her. Erik came by and delivered some unfortunate news. That's not really material for here though. Well, we tried to figure out the best way to prepare for Saturday morning, and we decided that I should get my graduation clothes together and I should sleep over at Erik's since he lives 2 miles away from the Frank Erwin center. Might be less than 2 miles. I tried out the sleeping aid pills, and they somewhat worked. I felt tired, and I slept well. Woke up at 6AM without a problem.

The ceremony was alright. I knew 3 other people there, and we were all worried about having to go to the bathroom during a speech. We spent 50 minutes standing around before lining up and getting out there. Someone came by our section and asked, "Who wants to be first?" I quickly raised my hand, and I was the first to represent the CS grads. I was hoping that right after saying my name, I could just keep walking out of the building. Nope. Doors were locked.

There was one nice thing about sitting in the second row and walking early. I got to see every chic with a nice view. They were covered in gown, but there was enough leg to determine whether or not they had a nice body. That passed about 25 minutes. The speakers really sucked, so that was the highlight.

After all the names and what-not, we walked out. Met up with the family and quickly hurried back to the apartment. I really didn't want to linger around outside.

We all went back to the media room at my apartment. Projector, tables, nice chairs, and a small kitchen. After eating and watching a movie, my aunts and cousins left to walk around downtown. My sister and bro-in-law went also. That left my parents, my bro, sis-in-law, Pat, and Erik. We played some Guitar Hero, and then some Texas Hold 'Em. (I won, of course.) Time came to clean up, and we took care of everything to leave.

Went to Japon with my sis, bro-in-law, and Erik. It's a nice sushi place. Had some talks about recent events in the family. Just some casual conversation.

Most everyone left on Sunday. The only ones that stayed were Pat and my sister. We still had plenty of fun, and I got to try out a new recipe. Sunday night was quiet, but still kind of fun.

Pat left Monday afternoon. I went shopping with my sister after he left. She really wanted to get my some curtains because my window sucks. It's always 10 degrees warmer in my room. Always. We came back and ordered some food. Then we all sat down to watch the season finale of Heroes. After that, my sister had to go back to the hotel to get sleep. Her flight was early in the morning, and she was going to go straight from the hotel. We said our byes, and all that was left was my bro and the kids. (My sis-in-law had to work that night.)

When the kids went to bed, and my bro called it a night, it really hit me. I had been surrounded by people all weekend long, and had spent plenty of time with my sister. But I was now alone in my room and everything was quiet. It was the first time in a really long time that I felt alone. It was midnight, and nothing was happening. Everyone was gone. (But I really missed my sister. We are too much alike. We see the same things, and we thinks nearly the same. It was nice to have someone to talk to like that again.)

Still, I know my parents will be moving here soon. My dad starts working here at the end of the month, and all that's left is to get rid of stuff at my old house. Everything might be finished by the end of June. After that, I think I'm going to take that vacation.