It was emotionally a tough week. Another week of midterms completed. I won't lie in saying I'm frustrated over grades, Stats, and certain things that I won't get into here on this website because I may regret certain comments I make, but I hope I did ok on the stats midterm and econ midterm. Let's just say I was supposed to meet up with someone to study with but I had to leave my apartment because the conditions weren't great to study in. And nobody ever relayed the message to me that my study buddy came to my apartment to look for me. Berkeley has horrible cell phone service (basically, anybody inside a building of any kind can't be reached in that city). It's not easy living with loud tvs and neighbors who won't shut the hell up, but I guess it could be worse.

The only thing that got me through the week was knowing there was the Thanksgiving dinner on Friday and Abby's birthday party on Saturday. That was literally my sole purpose of the week, to get through it so I could enjoy those things. Thanksgiving dinner was good in my opinion. Ben thought someone's soup was a little "salty", which didn't make the chef all that pleased. I stayed away from a certain batch of turkey, but I had plenty of cranberry sauce. Overall, it was a good experience.

Abby had her first ever birthday celebration today. It was really fun, and Garson and Shirley fed me well. It was nice to hang out with people and it made me forget all my problems, even if just for a few hours. There's something about being around children that does that to you. You see the joy that Abby brings to her parents and to all the people in that room, and it makes you smile, no matter how bad of a time you're having in life, and that's awesome. Here are some pictures I took from Abby's birthday:


Here's the birthday girl. She looks deep in thought. Or maybe she's just trying to think of a way to escape.


Here's Pat and Peony. There is a big gap between them because they are having a neighborly feud, like Homer and Ned Flanders.


Here's her first birthday cake. Alex gave me the giant piece with the blue frosting. I'm not sure who ate the Big Bird candle.


Here are the proud parents. I think it was a smart move to have Garson cut the cake instead of letting Abby do it.

Just three days of school then Thanksgiving weekend. Then go into hermit mode and prepare for finals. I can't wait until I can have some pumpkin pie, a keg of eggnog, and a little more cranberry sauce. I've also got 10 sweet potatoes on my dining room table right now. Thanksgiving weekend is going to be fun.