Currently listening to: "So Help Me God" by DC Talk

As if on cue, I came down with something the moment we stepped in that oversized rental car. I've been sick the past few days, which doesn't really surprise me. I have a strange immunity to all forms of illness. The downside is that my immunity goes on holiday whenever I do. It is this rare protection that has given me good attendance records, but the occasional bedridden Christmas. The holidays began two nights before Christmas. We were packed and ready to ship out when our rental car arrived. Though we had asked for a full-sized, the only available vehicle on the lot was a dark-blue Yukon. It was gargantuan, to say the least, as one driving down the highway would have a sense of being in a low flying 747. The upside was the ample supply of leg-room. We left Gallatin around six that night and made our way to Cookeville. After grabbing a bite to eat, we got back on the road and made it to Knoxville that night. My roommates had donated their beds to the cause, letting us all have a comfy place to stay. I, of course, had my bed. Ashley was quick to take Jesse's, and my mom took Jason's. My dad, after seeing Zach's, took the living room couch. It was that night that I definitely felt sick. Jesse had turned the heat down before he left to cut the bill down. It wasn't too cold when we arrived, but I still had to figure out how to get the heat going. That night, around 2 AM, I realized that the heat was still pouring into the room. I shuffled around with the controls for a while, until I finally heard the heat cut off. I slunk back into bed. I woke up several times during the night, not prompted by anything in particular, but I still had trouble getting to sleep.

I laid in the car most of Christmas eve. We had a long drive in front of us, which I spent not what I would call sleeping, but in an ill stupor. I just kind of laid there, not really doing anything. Barely conscious, but not getting the relaxing effects of sleep. We arrived at my Aunt and Uncle's sometime in the afternoon. Not having a laptop to keep me occupied, I read through my Aunt's copy of the new Harry Potter book. I finished it today. Can't say I was surprised at the ending. Not because it was expected, but because Zach is a murderer of plots and ruiner of endings. I have been paying him back with merciless video game defeats.

Christmas was fun. If not for the great company, if not for the gifts, then for witnessing the incredible lack of tact my young cousin has in expressing dissatisfaction with a gift. After opening up his new Transformer, he examined the "collect them all" advertisement on the back. Pointing to bright yellow one, he informs us "this is the one I really wanted."

A highly unexpected gift was Photoshop CS. I had done my best to drop hints to my parents they should not buy it, mainly because I could get it for hundreds less with my student discount. Seems I was off guard, however, when my mom asked me to fax a copy of my ID to her for "insurance reasons." I also obtained a set of CDs, a myriad of gift cards, and clothes.

I'd love to tell you guys more, but to be honest, I'm just gonna go collapse on the bed for now. Merry Christmas.