December 31, 1998: New Years Eve

At work, Joe mentioned something about getting together for New Years Eve and going to Baja Beach Club.   My roommate, Dawn, from college was coming to visit me for the New Years, so I asked her if she would like to go.    I was glad when she said she would go.    Dawn and I went for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and then headed up to Vernon Hills to get Joe.    We visited with him for about an hour and then all of us went to the Baja Beach Club.   Joe and I did the grind dance to 'Touch It' and Will Smiths, 'Welcome to Miami'.    We counted down to 1999 and then all kinds of confetti and beer was thrown on us.    Then, we sang the Prince song, "1999".    We went back to his parents house and played cards.   When Dawn and I drove back to my apartment, she remarked at how flirtatious Joe was.      Little did I know that Dawn and Joe would fall in love and get married in 2001.     The friendship between Dawn and I was pretty much ruined after this.     They ended up getting divorced in 2006.

December 23-26, 1998: Home for Christmas

On Dec. 23rd, I took the Amtrak home for the Christmas holiday.     Joe carried my luggage to the train station which was nice.    

On December 24th,  we had the Thomas family Christmas party at Tony's Restaurant. The dinners there were expensive.  We all exchanged small gifts which was nice.    Then, Charlene, Steve, Matt, Kelsey, Devon, and Emma came to our house to exchange gifts.    Devon really liked my mom's Rock N Roll Santa.  We were all dancing around the living room with Santa.    Mom and I went with my grandparents to St. Francis for midnight mass.  

On December 25th, we had our usual dinner at our house and invited my Grandpa and Grandma Thomas over.    Then, we went for a drive around the area to see the light displays.   Grandpa had me do the driving this time, which was nice for him.    

Finally, on December 26, I got to go test drive the Ford Escort ZX2 that I was thinking about buying.  Sue and I test drove the car, but I thought the back seat was way too small.   I inquired about my 1997 Ford Escort, which they still had on the lot. I had turned it in as a lease car about a week ago.    So, I decided to buy my Escort back.   The car payment was going to be $263.49 a month.  

December 20, 1998: Christmas Party in Ann Arbor

This weekend, I went to the Christmas party with the Gonyos, Klees, and Lawvers.   The party this year was at Harold and Cheryl's house.    Kim was pregnant and just starting to show.  Her baby was due in June.   Adam's 16th birthday was on Dec. 19th, so she bought him a bunch of car related gifts.   Jase and Chad didn't come as they both had to work.   Adam told us about their hunting experience where Jase and him went out in the woods without a compass and got lost.  They were so scared.   I always have fun with the three families.

December 5, 1998: Real Christmas Tree

Katy and I drove up to the suburbs to get a real Christmas tree.  My parents never got a real tree, so this was quite a nice experience for me.     It seemed like a lot of work picking it out, putting it on top of the car, and dragging it into our apartment.     I have to say, though, the tree smelled so good.    Then, I helped Katy decorate the tree.