freedom is so sweet.

the weather's been humbug, but i couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my weekend after finals: in my pajamas, sipping tea, and watching movies all day. i could hardly believe i had a weekend to do absolutely nothing. it was quite amazing and dangerously almost forgotten. yesterday, i had to keep reminding myself at work that i didn't have a class to attend that night and every time i remembered, i felt so giddy. not only did i not have class, but i didn't have to study, read, do homework, or anything else boring related. i thought to myself, "tina, you can actually go home, have a beer, and watch a movie if you want to". i've never been happier - believe me when i say it was the longest semester of my life. i feel like a heavy boulder has been lifted. all that waits now are my grades, which i've been checking for every other hour since friday. i pray that it was another straight A semester, but i won't jinx it. there's only 1 more class i'm waiting on my grade for - let's hope he doesn't screw it up....

with all of this new free time, it made me realize how much i missed it. the feeling makes me smile. then today i thought about how proud i actually am of myself. i thought about the direction this world is turning and how i want to be at the forefront of such a change. i refuse to be left behind. i want to be that person at the end of it all, who says, "see? i did it. so can you." i know i have so much more to go and i'd be lying if i said i didn't feel defeated at times, but my faith and perseverance guide me. let's just hope i'm able to follow for 5 more years.

with school ending, there's only a brief moment when you get to catch your breath before the chaos of the holidays start to set in. it's hard to believe Christmas is only 4 days away. i swear i can still see it from Thanksgiving, waving, and saying, "hey there Christmas, see you later", only to wake up and realize Christmas is here. no matter the hustle and bustle, i still look forward to it every year. i can't wait to be surrounded by the ones i love and spending quality time together. i am all about quality time lately.

this weather isn't making it easy. i think this may have been worse than el nino. i've never seen anything like this in cali, not as far as i can remember anyway. it's supposed to go away just in time for christmas, which i hope is very much the case. holiday traffic sucks enough as it is -throw a storm in there? forget about it.

here's a pretty cool bonus shot of the mountains from my office window last Thursday:

if i'm not on here before Christmas, i hope you all enjoy a beautiful one, filled with everything that is dearest to your heart and soul. you deserve it.

xoxo