December 1st

It snowed in Seattle today. I don't exactly know how to react to this. I love snow, when it is snowing, and when I can look at it through a window. Snowflakes are beautiful and amazing by themselves, and when they cling together to blanket the world in snow. However, I hate snow after it has fallen, and I have to go out into it and walk around in it. In fact, one of my most hated sounds on this planet is the sound of snow crunching, it does the same thing to me that fingernails on a chalkboard do to many people. Whitney was telling me today that she will only be wearing skirts from here on out, because of the wet pant leg you get when you walk in the snow. I think she is really on to something here, it is kind of like the summer of skirts but in the cold.
Even though the snow is cold, and can be a very nasty nasty thing, I do think it was the perfect way to welcome December. The snow fall, combined with Christmas music, and a warm drive in my car, helped me to feel the magic of the season that is upon us.

In other news, today was World AIDS Day. I went to a 4 hour class/training on HIV and AIDS. It was amazing. I don't know if I have ever really put an effort into understanding the virus or the way it effects peoples lives. The last 2 hours of the class were presented by a man who has lived with HIV/AIDS for about 25 years. It was really life changing to have the opportunity to listen to his story. He related an experience about a 16 year old girl who had said that she was not worried about contracting HIV. If she did contract it, there are pills that would be available and it would be NBD. He then reached into his bag and pulled out over 20 bottles of pills that he has to take on a daily basis (the pills cost him $6,000 a month). It is incredible to think of the constant battle he faces just to make it through one more day. This season on Project Runway one of the contestants, Jack, contracted HIV 17 years ago. He is amazing, he has an incredible body and seems to have a great amount of energy, plus his designs are pretty great. I gained a whole new respect for him today, and have decided he will be my season favorite.

Also, today was my roommate Heather's wedding. I didn't get to go to the ceremony, but made it to the reception. It turned out really nice. It was held in this really nice restaurant on the water. The back of the restaurant was mostly windows, and it was gorgeous to see the snowflakes falling on the water. We had a bridal shower for Heather on Thursday night, it was themed Naughty or Nice. I ended up running the show and had a bunch of fun. We played the poetry game- but we put a twist on it, we had everyone theme their poems around love and the honeymoon night. We aimed to write poems that Heather could read to Justin on their honeymoon. It was brilliant! The poems turned out so well. The night was filled with lots of laughter and had a good mix of both naughty and nice moments. My favorite moment of the night however, was after Heather had received an array of inappropriate gifts (edible underwear, boobie tassels, loads of lingerie and more) she opened her last gift and pulled out a large beautiful painting of the Savior (given by her Mom and Aunt). I can't speak for all of my roommates, but I will say I felt a bit awkward.