Ring around the story, a pocket full of worry, kisses, kisses, we all rebound. Well, as life would have it, it did turn out to be a good weekend. I escaped my Hellish week in Tempe Friday afternoon and to do what "typical girls" do; go shopping. I had an exchange to make at the mall from when I went with Jackie and since Helen wasn't answering her phone, I figured she was most likely at work. So I went to the mall, did my exchange, and sure enough, found Helen at work at the pet store. As it turned out, she was having quite the week as well. So I dilly-dallied around the mall for a few hours before she got off. Bought a pair of jeans and a cheap tank and went on a psychological teeter-totter of depression and confidence. Finally at 7:30, feet hurting and no more stores to browse through, Helen got off work and grabbed a bite at the food quart. Near us was a group of kids (well, we considered them kids, I'm sure they all thought much higher of themselves). We were appauled by not only their attire (some assortments mocking older teen fashion and a little too suggestive for a thirteen-year-old), but also by their topics of conversation; sexy, balls, and one of the girls was carrying a Victoria's Secret bag. I had to wonder, why are girls so eager to become women, while older women strive to be younger? How did females turn upside down in their aging? Anyway, we went over to Saguaro for homecoming; the even I wasn't looking forward to but ended up enjoying. Strange mix of alumni, but all people I was happy to see. Amy hardly said two words to me and didn't even say goodbye when she left. I can't say I was too surprised or even disappointed; Amy's just that kind of friend. She comes back into your life when she needs you and doesn't have trouble replacing you. On the other hand, I don't have trouble moving on from people like that, don't really mind their return and don't care if they leave. I've got more intimate friendships to worry about. Of course, there's always the select "friends" that you really hope not to see again. One such person was not there last night, but I was very surprised by a person who was; Josh, Alex's roommate from last year. I asked him what the hell he was doing there, and he said he had come with Kristen C. Josh is apparantly making friends with all of our old ones, Alex told me, and he wasn't happy about it. On the upside, it was nice to see all those friendly faces again, even faces I didn't expect to see: Justin, Alex, Scott, Erin, Jessica C., Jeff, Karlyn, Clayton, and Ben. It was also a bit strange walking into the new temporary band room. So weird, to have things changed so much... Saturday was an especially long day. Kristofer and I got up about 5:45 (that sounds earlier than quarter to six) and were once again at Saguaro by 6:30. The drumline had a competition, PAS, and since Kristofer agreed to go to a play with me that night, I agreed to go with him to see the drumline perform. He is, after all, their instructor and he wrote the drum break (which I had only seen once the night before). The drumline had a good performance. Kris thinks they could have done a lot better, but performers and new directors are always so critical. I thought they did great and so did Mr. M. No scores yet though, so no proof. After that, we headed back to Tempe where we were meeting my family for the football game for Family Weekend here at ASU. Tim and Jackie got us box seats at the stadium, which was amazing and the only way I think I'll ever enjoy a live football game. Mike and Kroy came too and we all enjoyed an awesome view and free food. The game itself was lousy; Oregan State kicked our butts, it was so pathetic. But we enjoyed ourselves none the less. Following the game, everyone followed me to my room to check out the digs. I forget how small this place is until there's suddenly a crowd of people here. Dad did some fixing up for me and we all said our goodbyes and made our departures, except for Kris and I; we enjoyed a few hours of the late afternoon together, trying and failing miserably to take a nap. However, it was a very nice evening. At 7:00, we met Aaron at the Lyceum theatre to see "The Lost Ones". Interesting show, I'll spare the details. It was good seeing Aaron again--we always talk about how we need to get together and always seem to fail to make arrangements. He's so busy, I'm so busy, how do two busy people ever fall in love? I guess it can be done though because Kristofer and I are still going along strong. Kris and I were supposed to meet Helen after the show, but she got called to babysit that night so we had to wait. Well, we did well enough until around ten when Kris passed out and I knew that was the end of it; he had reached the end of the fuse and the Bear had turned in for the winter. So I called Helen, Another night. Next morning Kris got up early for a church thing. I hadn't slept well because he took up most of the bed and I was coughing through most of the night, so when he got up, I rolled over. Finally at 10:00 I got up. I took my time and by 12:30, was waiting patiently for my family to arrive so we could go to my induction ceremony into the honor societies Phi Eta Sigma and Alpha Lamda Delta. Mom, dad, Jackie, Grandma and I listened to the president make her speech and learned about the societies and finally all the new members had their names called and the ceremony was over. And of course there were pictures, but I can't complain because I told mom we need to take more pictures. We've been lazy and missing out. What else do you do after an event but eat? Off to a restaurant where Kris met us and we had an early dinner. It was very enjoyable and a nice way to slowly end the weekend. Kris and I went back to my room and spent some time together before he had to go home to do homework. The weekend with him has been wonderful. I believe is a large part of the reason why I'm so much more content with my self tonight than I was on Friday afternoon. There are some occassions when we're together when I just know that things are at their best; we're in sync. I love those days. Carrie