I have just had a stellar Thanksgiving break. Literally, I ate turkey among the stars. Kidding. I did have a ton of fun, though.

The weekend began early because my only class on Wednesday was more of a fun hang-out sesh with the professor than a strict lecture, and the rest of my day included watching Grey’s Anatomy and doing minimal packing. My so-cal friends that I was driving home with got stuck in traffic and didn’t make it to UCLA until around 4:30. Our late start and numerous breaks for food once we got on the road (not to mention the horrendous LA traffic) meant that our arrival time in the bay area was around 12:30. My mom was already in her PJs and my dad was fast asleep (when I went in to say hello and goodnight, he said, “hi, Charles!” but in a voice that sounded kind of underwater and kind of like it had been squeakified by helium).

On Thanksgiving day (which coincidentally is the same day I arrived home), I got up at a very comfortable ten in the morning, had a delicious bowl of fruity pebbles with legit soymilk (no offense, De Neve dining hall), and made a batch of chocolate chip cookies – I had been deprived of baking. The night’s festivities were wonderful as was the green bean casserole.

But break did not stop after that meal! On Friday, I went to Downtown Ice – an ice skating rink in the middle of downtown San Jose. My friends and I played skate-tag and took pictures and laughed laughed laughed the night long. The next day, I decided to do some shopping because I figured the Black Friday crowds must have died down. My friends and I went to the mall and shopped until our arms were full of bags and our wallets were full of nothing. Afterwords, we saw The Muppets (which everyone MUST SEE; it’s fantastic).

All of these fun times kind of had me experiencing deja vu (as does writing this blog post, I’ve written a similar one – Momma’s Boy). I feel as if I have done similar things or at least have had the chance to at or around UCLA. And certainly I have!

Last Monday, I went to see Alicia Silverstone speak. She played Cher in the movie Clueless and is now a vegan activist. At the event, attendees got to feast on superb vegan Thanksgiving food that was provided by Native Foods, a restaurant in Westwood. I ate a Thanksgiving meal at home and one at school!

I mentioned that I ice-skated. Well, there is outdoor ice-skating right in Santa Monica, just a bus-ride away from UCLA. It’s just called ICE though, there isn’t a “Downtown” in front of it.

As for shopping…. Well, this goes without saying, but UCLA is located in Los Angeles. I mean, we have an Urban Outfitters just down the street.

Finally, The Muppets. Yes, it is playing in theaters around the LA area, but The Muppets was also shown for free on UCLA’s campus by the Campus Events Commission.

Basically, even though I am on break and I have access to all these great things (like a car and an oven) I am still doing things that I can do at school. And I have been doing school-stuff at home since I got to UCLA. How very fun!