"chicago?" "no, uh, sheboygan. we had a couplea hits up there"

*classic John Candy moment-Home Alone 1.

well today is it...i'm heading out for the holidays. all that's left to do now is go home and finish the rest of my packing and pick up some yuengling, quality western PA beer, for the fam.

i've said goodbye to margy who is in sunny cali right now. i've said goodbye to janice who will be heading back to the grove in a few short days. i've said goodbye to greg who i hope will find a great deal of happiness in this holiday. i'm still saying goodbye to maria but will think of her on my drive as i listen to Dane Cook-Retaliation. i've said goodbye to my roommate through emails and hope to see her for a few before i head out tomorrow morning. i've said goodbye to matt who will be spending the holiday in Kentucky (?) and a celebratory New Years in Chicago. i look back on the time i've spent out here, especially these past 6 months, and find it amazing that i now have so many people who i will miss for the two weeks i will be gone, how so many positive people have come into my life just when i was beginning to think that new friendships were not possible.

so back to wisconsin i go. a different person than i was a year and a half ago when i left for the first time, a different person than i was a year ago, a different person than i was 6 months ago. but i look forward to the change of scenery, the change of atmosphere, the change of people. i look forward to spending thursday night with my long lost girls, to spending friday night making sheboygan as crazy of a place as we possibly can. i look forward to being with the only people i can ever imagine spending christmas with, my family. but mostly, i look forward to knowing that two weeks from now i will look forward to coming home...to pittsburgh.

perhaps i will blog about the craziness that undoubtably always is sheboygan and my family while i'm there, but if i don't make it to the internet on my parents 56k connection, see you in 2006 blogspot!

cheers, and thanks for reading this year blog friends.