Stress, Death, and Some Happy Times

“Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person.” ~Dr. David M. Burns
 
So I haven’t updated since before Thanksgiving and a lot has happened. The Monday before Thanksgiving was spent working on our campaigns book. We met at the library at 7:00 that night and began the beginning of an all-nighter. Oh, the joys of all-nighters, I will be happy when they are a thing of the past. I worked with the group at the library till 9 that night and headed to work. I worked on the project for three hours. Then at midnight I headed to work in the office where there isn’t a computer, so I couldn’t help with the project. Instead, Manny and I played Scattergories. It was great fun and he won.
 
When I got off of work at 3 in the morning I headed back up to the library to help the group tie up loose ends. We finally called it a night at 5:30 that morning. While walking home, I contemplated just getting in the car and driving to my folk’s place and crashing once I got home, but I thought it might be safer to sleep a little and then drive the three hours. I could have made the trip, I was awake enough, but it was nice to crash out in my bed.
 
I woke up and drove to my parent’s house. As I pulled into the driveway, my father saw me and stopped mowing the lawn. He headed for the house instead of towards me, which seemed odd. I didn’t think much of it until he came out front with my mom while I was getting out of my car. I could see that their faces were tired and puffy looking. Then my mother informed me that there was bad news to be had, the dog had to be put to sleep that morning. Sherlock had had a heart attack that morning. They took him to the vet and the vet said that he would have lived for another two weeks, but eventually he would have died a painful death because he had acute leukemia. So my parents decided to put him to sleep so he wouldn’t be in any pain. I think they made the right decision, but I’m really sad that my baby isn’t around anymore.
 
That night was hard. We all took it pretty hard, including Darry who wasn’t a huge fan of Sherlock. Now, I don’t have anyone to feed my leftovers to and my father doesn’t have his little buddy to harass and talk to. I miss his soft ears and the way that he would let me play with them, or how he could sit next to me for hours as I petted his neck. Needless to say, there’s a bit of our family missing. I still think about it and cry, but it is getting easier.
 
Thanksgiving was nice and we had a good time. Dulce’s mother and brother had Thanksgiving at our house because her father was traveling for work. We all had a good time and the food was phenomenal.
 
I came back up to Uni the Friday evening after Thanksgiving. I relaxed that night and Manny went out with his buddies. He went to Thanksgiving dinner at the house of his old roommate. The kid’s parents invited him there last year and this year, so I think he enjoyed it.
 
Saturday night, Manny and I made plans to hang out. We were going to cook dinner together and just hang out. He was supposed to come over around 6:45, but he was late. He called me at 7:00 telling me that he wouldn’t be there for a little while and if I wanted to start cooking dinner, it would be fine. So I started dinner and I finished cooking dinner before he arrived. I was starting to get really frustrated, but around 7:30, he showed up and I could tell that he was really flustered and bothered that he was late, so I didn’t bring it up. I asked him what he was up to, and he informed me that him and Vinnie had gone clothes shopping at JC Penny’s. I thought it was cute because I don’t ever imagine these guys clothes shopping. We ate dinner, watched a movie, and then the usual making out. It was nice and we had a good time.
 
Last week was crazy with school and the projects that are constantly going on. We got back our plans book with was a total of 80+ pages. We earned an A/A-. I am really proud of this because we busted our asses on this project. So the only thing left is the print ads, television ads and radio ads. Then we write the script and the power point for the presentation and pitch our ideas to the client. So it should be over by next Wednesday. I will be so happy for this project to be over.
 
Friday of last week, I had a small gathering at my flat. I made chicken enchiladas, green beans, cornbread muffins, a sheet cake, and sugar cookies to decorate. We had dinner, decorated the Christmas tree, and the sugar cookies. Manny wanted to help me make the chicken enchiladas, but he was late and I had them in the oven by the time he arrived.
 
So many people came and it was great fun. Bern and his girlfriend, Harvey and his beau, Pate, Calley, Gina, Vinnie, Manny, Tricia, Terena, Niki, Kengo and myself. A fun time was had by all and everyone liked the enchiladas. Gina was the last person to leave and I didn’t think she was ever going to leave. Gina , Manny and I were sitting in the living room and I kept yawning because I was exhausted. Manny told me that I looked tired because my eyes were puffy. Gina about jumped down his throat. She said that he should never tell a girl that her eyes look puffy, it’s like telling a girl that she is fat. I told him that I understood what he was saying and that I wasn’t offended, so he needn’t worry. However, Gina was still going on about it. She was driving me nuts. I love Gina to death, but as of late she is started to grate on my nerves. I’m probably just stressed out and tired, but sometimes I don’t want to be around her for various reasons.
 
She’s a teacher and when we get together, it seems that all she talks about is work and the kids she works with. I know that it is her job and she likes it most of the time, but I don’t want to talk about random kids that I don’t know or ever plan on knowing. That might sound really rude, but I don’t really know these kids, why are they of interest to me? I guess what I’m saying is that Gina only talks about work anymore and I know that is her life, but I’m not interested in the fact that Little Tony puked today in school or that little Suzy got into a fight with Jane. I think I am understanding why people grow apart. I’m not saying that Gina and I are growing apart, but some differences are starting to be more apparent. I need some time apart, however Gina isn’t the type of person that I can say, “Hey, we’ve been hanging out too much. I need a break.” I can do that with Harvey and he can say that to me and we understand and aren’t offended, however, it isn’t the same with Gina. Oh well, it will pass.
 
Manny stayed after everyone left and we hung out for a little while. Okay, actually he stayed and we made out a lot on the living room floor under the lights of the Christmas tree. It was quite romantic and I really enjoyed it.
 
Saturday was a lot of fun. My parents came up to visit. They took Darry, Dulce and myself all out to breakfast and we had a great time planning our next trip to Mexico. Then we went to the parade on the Avenue. It was fun to see all the people in the parade and make fun of people. My aunt was in the parade and she didn’t know we were there, but when she saw us you could tell that she was surprised.
 
Then I judged at a debate tournament at the local high school. I judged two debates. It was interesting to see high school students. These were all freshmen and I have forgotten how little freshmen are. It is just incredible to me to think that I was that age about 9 years ago. So bizarre.
 
Once I got home from that I called Manny and we decided to watch the basketball game together and order take-out curry. We had a good time and half way through the second half of the game, the fire alarm in the building went off. So we decided to head up to the television room under the office, however someone was already there watching something else. So we headed over to Vinnie’s. Vinnie’s place is always open and Manny is there so often that he just walks in and no one is bothered. So we went there and chilled out on the couch to watch the game. Vinnie was home, so he came out into the living room to watch the rest of the game with us. It was fun and I had a really good time.
 
Then we headed back over to my place. We started to watch The Outsiders, however towards the end, we ended up making out on the living room floor, again under the lights of the Christmas tree. I really enjoyed that evening and I was disappointed to see it end. I drove Manny home because it was terribly cold outside.
 
Anyways, I need to hit the hay. I’ll read journals later, I’m just so swamped this week and next. I promise I’ll catch up soon.