So, I've had my head pretty much buried in Star Wars books for the past 3 days. Apparently when I wasn't looking, Del Ray published a trilogy taking place after the Yuuzhan Vong invasion (I actually got up to check on the spelling of that just now). I personally have no respect for any prequel novels after how shitty the movies turned out (I don't even feel an obligation to own Episode III, and if you know me and Star Wars, that's sort of a big deal), and if there were no more books after the Vong, then that's where I'd end it. Unless Timothy Zahn wrote any more of the novels, in which case I'd buy them, regardlesss of when they took place. But anyway, there's another trilogy (AND another Zahn book!), and I got the first one for Christmas, the second one on the way home from the New Year's party yesterday, and the third one today. Today I finished the second one and I'm more than halfway through the third. I read fast, especially when I'm in my dorkitude prime. If you're still reading at this point, i'm surprised. Here's my big gripe with the series: enough peril! There's always a new race trying to overthrow the galaxy, new warships, new characters, and tons of new injuries and impossible, fatal-for-anyone-else circumstances to throw the old characters in. What I need is less peril and more character development. I read them for the bits of the character development, and not for the adventure. I'm not sure how many I have, maybe thirty-ish, but the character development in all of them could probably fill fifteen pages. I want people to sit down and have conversations about nothing! Gossip! Kill some time! Sleep! Go to the bathroom once in awhile! And how about some love scenes? The internet is full of Star Wars fan fiction, and there's a reason for that - the fans want the characters, not the peril. The Empire and the Dark Side were evil enough for me, thanks. Each novel's villain represents a new depth of evil, something to make your blood run cold, pits in stomachs, shivers up the spine, got it. I get it! NOW TELL ME WHO JAINA ENDS UP WITH! AND GIVE ME DETAILS!

That's why I read romance novels. Anyway, here's the obligatory New Year's story. I was supposed to go Newport, RI with some friends, get drunk in a trendy club, stay overnight at some hotel with a mixed group of equally drunk friends, and that would be that. Ryan is unfortunately stuck at school for the week, because of the whole apartment CA thing. Plus he doesn't have a car, so he was pretty much stranded. I felt pretty weird about that, going off somewhere to spend a significant holiday with friends while my significant other sat by himself playing video games. But that was how it was gonna be, and I think we both had kinda accepted it.

New Year's Eve brought a snowstorm, and driving to Southington to pick up a friend was perilous. Not quite as much peril as a Star Wars novel, but compared to MY life, it was definitely one of the more perilous things that I've ever been involved in. We made it up to Manchester to meet the rest of our friends, which consisted of Ashton and Julie. Everyone else had (wisely) backed out because of the weather, with the exception of the two who had gone early and were already at the hotel. The four of us decided that the normally two-hour drive to Rhode Island was way more peril than we were willing to be involved in, especially given the late hour and fact that we wouldn't make it to any kind of party until almost midnight, and decided to make the half-hour drive to school instead. I was secretly happy because now Ryan and I would be together for New Year's. Surprise! I showed up first at his apartment with cheap champagne, with the other three only a couple minutes behind. From Ryan's we went to the Plan B party, which was given by one of Julie's high school friends and her roommates, most of whom were wearing pajamas. It was also practically across the quad from Ryan's, which meant no one had to drive anymore that night. Yay! We all crashed at Ryan's that night, or rather early that morning (close to 5 for me anyway), with Ashton literally crashing into the floor. The next morning, or rather afternoon, we scraped ourselves up and went to Friendly's. I made it back home yesterday around 7pm. I may actually put up some pictures that Kristina took, but I may not because those are the same pictures that have convinced me that I need to 1) get a new haircut and 2) hit the gym again. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bag of truffles and a Star Wars book to get back to.