Christmas Eve Eve

Cuddled up in my own bed watching Modern Family after a bath in our jacuzzi tub, I don't want to be anywhere else. The drive to Virginia took way too long yesterday-10 hours-since we drove through D.C. to drop people off, but the company was excellent. Rayna, a Miss Virginia girl who goes to law school at Columbia (take that, pageant critics), offered to give me a lift home for Christmas. Naturally, I jumped on the chance to not pay for a bus or split the cost of a rental car with my brother. She, her two friends from law school, and I chatted and played road trip games the whole way down. Of course I ended up with the driving shift that took us straight through a storm, leaving me with white knuckles and a headache from trying to see the road, but we survived. Let me just say that I hate, HATE, giant 18-wheelers that spray water from their tires and trap me in the middle of their blurry orange and yellow lights while going 75mph. I swear I went five full minutes without breathing at one point.

Stephanie and me at her apartment

Despite my exhaustion from a long day of travel (how does sitting still in a car for 10 hours always make you so tired?), I immediately changed clothes upon arrival at my dad's house and rushed over to Stephanie's Christmas party. She and her roommates invited a bunch of Longwood (her college) grads who live in Virginia Beach over for some holiday fun, and fun it was. We migrated to Crocs, a local bar, where I did a lot of dancing and people watching...kind of at the same time. Being around beach people is drastically different than the social scene in New York. First off, I forgot how tan and thin every girl in Virginia Beach is. I guess when you live near the water, you have to be swimsuit ready at all times...woops. Count me out of that category. Then there are the Virginia Beach guys, all wearing some sort of surf brand shirt and rocking the same shaggy haircuts they've had since middle school. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, rather pointing out the stark difference in style from New York businessmen, young professionals, and hipsters. The crowd was really fun, as most crowds in Virginia Beach are since everyone interacts and knows at least a quarter of the people in any given bar. At the end of the night, Steph and I walked back to her apartment and chowed down on all of the leftover dip before going to bed. So much for my calorie count yesterday.

Today was not very exciting, but I liked it that way. I hung out with my mom around the house in the morning, went to Barnes & Noble to finish the third book in The Hunger Games trilogy (BEST BOOKS EVER...go read them right now), and ate chili for dinner with Jim, Lindsay, Mom, and Sherwin. No complaints. Except when crazy drivers kept ruining my life in the Barnes & Noble parking lot. The amount of times I sat with my blinker on, ready to take the space of someone leaving, only to have an obnoxious person sweep in and steal it, was infuriating. Eventually I found a spot in a little side lot, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it saved me from minor humiliation due to trying to park my dad's giant school bus of a vehicle. I decided that getting in the lines was not entirely necessary.

My pillow is becoming a little too inviting, so it's time to say au revoir to yet another Christmas Eve eve. Sending all my good wishes to the elves as they scramble to finish last minute presents!

Rayna (not the same Rayna I drove home with) and I in front of the famous Rockefeller Christmas tree. I had to take advantage of the traditional New York Christmas scene before heading to Virginia!