Well, I just got back from the “O Dome” – the O’Connell Sports Centre (basketball stadium) of the University of Florida. I joined 10,000 other Florida fans to scream, yell and engage in watching the Florida Gators thrash the Ohio State Buckeyes on the big screens in the National College Football Championship game (which was in Arizona). It was nuts. These are very serious fans. Even before the game (like, hours before) they were yelling and chanting, and as Florida dominated the game it just got louder and louder and more animated in the crowd. As we were leaving the stadium, people were chanting “It’s great… to be… a Florida Gator” in that syncopated cheer. Unbelievable.

I also saw a Mexican wave done intentionally in slow motion, then in mega-speed-up… very weird, but very cool.

Well, Happy New Year everyone! I spent my New Year’s Eve partying with Anastasia and her cousins at one of their “Cousins Parties” out at Anastasia’s mother’s condo. We set off a bunch of fireworks on the beach, had some drinks, played a bunch of poker with Brandon’s new poker chips set. ^^ I learned how to play Texas Hold ‘Em and some of the ins and outs of poker, which was good fun. I got a real kick out of sliding all my chips into the pot and saying “I’m all in!”… unfortunately me for me, that was one of the freak occurrences where I would have been 90-something % to win right up until the river card, when I lost it all. Ah well.

Around New Year and the subsequent days, I spent the time packing with Anastasia. On the third day of the new year, Anastasia and I moved up to Gainesville! Home of the University of Florida and their Gators. We’re gonna be sleeping on the futon until we get a bed… we’re also missing a whole bunch of actual furniture, which is good. The new place is a one bedroom apartment that’s part of a duplex, it has a living room, a kitchen… it actually has a hallway! Definitely a plus. A hall closet, too. Internal doors as well, which is kind of novel.