That's me on September 16th, 2007. I had just gotten back into the swing of classes and work and my friends and I decided to kick off a new school year like we have since we've all known each other. Celebrate Tirrel's birthday. Tirrel is the youngest of the group, but funnily enough, is the first to have a birthday amoungst us. The celebration was mild but fun. Dinner at a local thai place and cake back at Robert's house. I don't remember much else about that dinner aside from Robert trying on my glasses, me sitting on top of the AC vent, Rachel and Tirrel doing interesting things with their chopsticks, and talking on the phone to Cesar.
I remember more about the cake and the unique (and very original if you ask me) candles that we put on the cake. It was the first get together of the year and one of the saddest. Robert and Bria had just broken up and Bria was moving out. Beth had moved to Denver and gotten married. We had all just started realizing that we were all starting to go our separate ways, some of us faster than others.I've always been a bit more distance than the others, traveling to conferences, seeing family and friends, or moving someplace for the summer to work.
Cesar and I were still close at the being of the fall semester and I flew out a few times to see him and other friends in California. I was working my usual 6-7 jobs and trying to keep up with a full class schedule, as well as my friends. My car was reaching it's last leg and I felt like every weekend I was either pulling into or out of DIA's long-term parking lot. Finally the time came where I had to decide to put a lot of money into the Saturn, or just put it into a new car.I had done some research in years prior and had always kept my eyes open for makes and models that interested me, so when the time came to get a car I know exactly what I wanted. A Subaru Impreza, wagon.
After a week of dealing with dealerships, brothers and banks, I had my new baby. 5 speed manual, Urban Grey colour, 6 cd stereo w/ surround sound and upgraded bass, climate control AC, advanced dimming rear view mirror, trunk cover & mud mat, all weather mats, bumper protector, fog lights, roof racks, 68 miles to it's name. I learned how to drive stick the first week I had it. I can't even remember how many hours I spent driving around the neighborhood that first night trying to learn how to start from a dead stop or on a hill. I stalled it at a major intersection the first 3 hours I had it and had to have someone drive it out of traffic for me. It was the first thing that I've ever done on my own that scared me. It was my first major lesson in becoming myself, I like to think.Branching out into new crafts and projects seems to be a theme for this past year, and what better crafts to learn than making sweets?
Halloween was a sugar loaded time of year, Caitlin and I making a Haunted Gingerbread house, sugar cookies and a chocolate cake that would put anyone into sugar shock. Cait and I had received the gingerbread house kit as a gift from my mother and the sugar cookies had been an attempt to use up all of the candy and baking goods I had brought into Chris and Vinna's house. 
The cookies didn't do a very good job, even with the neighborhood children's help devouring them, and so the cake was made in an effort to whip out all of the leftover candy and at the same time, see how much chocolate I could get into every bite. Everyone that had a piece of cake had to have at least one large glass of milk to get it down, most people two. I titled it "Zombie's Sugar Rush" because of the holiday, and the fact it would turn anyone into a zombie after the sugar rush died down.
It was a triple layer, triple fudge cake with milk chocolate frosting and chips melted between the layers, fudge frosting coating the sides. Candy corns covered the fudge and butter cream icing was on the face of it. It was a cake to go down in history. I think now would be a good time to end this part of the story. Next post: Orlando! Job Interview! Living in the lab! Stress! Stay tuned for the next post!
Love, peace, and happy sugar rush,
Tar
