So I've been bottling up stuff for months now. I know I should be letting you in on some of the things that are happening in my life, but I haven't gotten around to putting them down in writing. Well let today be a turning point. I'm gonna hopefull spill it all out.

This update's topics:
-New dishwasher
-Dad's Surprise birthday party
-That girl I liked
-The insanity of the exam on Friday
-United 93
-Final Fantasy what?
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I purchased a dishwasher. It's not very big, it washes a little more than a four-place setting(four plates, four cups, four bowls/saucers, some silverware etc). However, since I hate washing dishes, and even when I do they smell like crap afterwards(I have no idea why), I'm going to leave the job up to an expert. A machine. I've finally got the right adapter and it's washing dishes right now
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On March 12th, my father turned the big 5-0. I wasn't able to attend, but my step-mom and a couple other family members held a small birthday party at home in Batavia. My dad was only mildly suspicious, and couldn't quite accept that his 50th birthday party came and went without so much as a fizzle. It was a great plan, and it did throw my Dad off the scent for the real thing- The next week we held my Dad's surprise birthday party, and I knew I was going to get my Dad good.n't going to see it coming. I had this prank planned for years, and my Dad was blind to my plans. While I made the mistake of telling one of my aunts about the plan and everyone knew about the prank(except my Dad), she in turn did assist in the prank itself. I had taken both Saturday and Sunday off and collected the necessary items and traveled to my aunt's house. You see, I was going to make my Dad a cake. Not just any cake, but a sponge cake. I'm sure you've heard of sponge cake. Supposedly softer but denser than normal cake(also known as angel-food cake) and vanilla in flavor. Well I decided to forgo that part of the recipe and instead used real sponges. They were the perfect size. They were moist. And when stacked up together, made an awesome cake-shape. From there my aunt and I frosted and decorated the "cake" using the real stuff, colored frosting and cake-writing gel. I wrote "Nifty Nifty Look Who's 50!" on the cake, and even designed and created a Bullwinkle(my dad's nickname is Moose) on it. It looked real. I looked professional. And my Dad has no idea. The following afternoon, with the cake in place, and my step-mom delivering my Dad to the location, everyone waited with baited breath. My dad stepped through the doorway and he was surprised for the party. He talked with people, and moving down the hall, slowly made his way to the cake. I encouraged him to check it out, and he was surprised to know that I had made the cake for the party. He saw the cake and was impressed. He couldn't wait to dig in, and especially liked the moose. After receiving praise from my Dad, I left him to finish talking with other family members. After that was dinner, and then the lighting of the candles. It was then I realized something; the sponge didn't leave much room for the candles to sink in, so they weren't staying up. I moved into action before my Dad could notice. Using the leftover frosting I squeezed out little balls of frosting onto the bottom ends of the candles and then stuck them on the cake. PHEW. My Dad didn't notice, and the disaster was averted. However, I also remembered at that point that my dad liked to lick the candles when they're pulled out again after extinguishing them. I acted quickly again and pulled out the candles and set them aside, where my Dad then proceeded to lick them. PHEW x 2.

Then it was time to cut the cake. The BIG moment, the moment I had been waiting for, that everyone had waited for. They passed a knife to my Dad, and just then my uncle walks in with THE REAL CAKE. OH CRAP! I distracted my Dad, insisting he cut the cake. He was confused for a second but I knew he wanted a piece of that moose on my special cake. He forgot about the incoming cake and proceeded to cut... And it didn't cut. The knife bounced back up, and the cake remained intact. My Dad attempted again the same spot, and he couldn't cut the cake! I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing, almost falling on the floor, pointing and laughing. I tell my Dad, in between laughs, "Having trouble Dad? I know you're old and feeble, but can't you cut a cake?" My Dad yelled out, "What's wrong with this cake?!" as he tried to cut again. I shouted back, "Have you ever heard of sponge cake Dad?" And he looks at the cake, and then looks at me, and says, "No..." By this time everyone in the room was laughing. It dawned on my Dad that he had been pranked, and he had been pranked good.

Now I must keep an eye out on my Dad. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and I will be ready.
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PS. Dishes are done! w00t! They smell clean, they are clean! Now for load #2
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Some of you might remember me going googly-eyes for this girl I met at school, back during the beginning of this whole journal... Well, she's been paying me a lot of attention lately, and I'm not sure how to take it. She sent me a ton of pics the other day, each one as gorgeous as ever. They were taken around campus in the spring bloom(the lilac picture is the best). I don't know what to do or say or... ? She wants to meet up sometime. *googly eyes*
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Friday's exam didn't happen. I took Thursday off-an unpaid 'green day' as they call it- to study. I didn't think I would have had enough time to sleep before the exam so I continued to study... and stayed up all night until the exam. After being awake nearly 24 hours, I drive all the way down to Buffalo State to take my exam... And my professor isn't there. I ended up going to the department office, and they call him on his home phone, and he says, "Oh I'm sorry. I thought it was next week." ARGH.
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On my way back to my car, there was a girl walking the same direction. She had lilacs hanging out of her backpack. It reminded me of the lilacs that used to grow in the backyard in Batavia. I told her as much, and she said, "You're from Batavia? My best friend is from Batavia!" We chatted a little bit and I told her she reminded me to visit home. We had to head in different directions, so we did, but it was a pleasure to meet her. After that, I decided to visit home. But not until after a long sleep.
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Saturday I visited home, talked to my Dad, and enjoyed dinner with him. I also took him to see United 93. All I can say is Go See This Movie. Why? Because it is a TRUE story about ordinary people in an extraordinary situation. These knew that death was imminent, and they knew they were headed for a target, and they knew that survival was slim, and they still fought to disrupt the terrorists to prevent them from being another flying bomb. That right there is TRUE courage. You will be moved by this movie, guaranteed, and you will come out of that theater with a different perspective. It will do you good to remember that we Americans are still at war.
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Final note, everyone has been abuzz about Final Fantasy VII lately. I started watching the Advent Children movie, and decided I was totally confused 5 minutes in. I decided to wiki some information on the series, especially Final Fantasy 7, just to get a good idea on the storyline and just what it was all about. Armed with the new information, Advent Children made much more sense. Some awesome fight scenes and good story, if somewhat awkward(then again it might have been the dub).

More updates coming soon! Enjoy!