So tonight, a group of some of my closest friends came over to celebrate our second annual Secret Santa. Since we’re all so close, we knew what each other would like or wanted, so everyone walked away with something pretty awesome. My gift was a really cool new hat along with a personalized card and a fancy Korean bookmark. Although I didn’t receive this from any of my close friends, it was still quite an awesome gift from my international student/classmate/friend, Inyoung; who I had initially invited to a party held on the day we drew the Secret Santa names.

After opening up the gifts, we gathered in the living room and started conversing with one another. I think one of the greatest things about our group is how we manage to communicate with one another. Initially we would converse as a group, but we could easily transition into one-on-one conversations (or any given number). A pair could be talking about their day, another small group about wedding details/preparations, and the rest conversing about something completely different; Yet the way we transition from group-to-group  is almost always smooth.  This may sound confusing, but I am just trying to emphasize on how incredibly well we all are at small group communication.

Anyway, we were supposed to transition into a movie night, but our conversations about Studio Ghibli (the company that created Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service… and many others) got us talking about the new PS3 game: Ni no Kuni. One of my friends, Taran, wanted to play it but he doesn’t have a PS3, so I offered him the chance to test it out by playing the demo I had downloaded earlier today. He was stoked about it and the majority of us couldn’t help but comment on the phenomenal artwork of Ghibli’s animators. We also reminisced about Level 5 game’s previous works – such as Dark Cloud on the PS2.

After the Ni no Kuni demo playing, the gears quickly shifted as they shuffled through the games I had downloaded and we were onto Marvel vs Capcom 2 battles. After showing them my might on that awesome game, we switched gears to an older Naruto fighting game that I was quite rusty at. For most of this time, it was primarily my guy friends that played, but the girls were down to play if we shifted to Street Fighter IV, so we did. Before we knew it, it was midnight and we all have plans that take place tomorrow, so we had to cut things short. With all the fun we had, however, we all decided that we need to have a Game Night. Some of my friends will bring their tvs and consoles, and we’ll just have it all out in the living room.

We’re all quite stoked about having our first game night in the future. One of my friends also suggested that I purchase Persona 4 Arena, as I was unaware that it was a fighting game. I truly and honestly feel blessed, having so many incredible people in my life. Two of my friends intend on getting married in November, and we’re all going to be a part of the wedding. The big day won’t be until sometime next November, but we’re all headed to Montana for the wedding. I’m most definitely stoked for this great opportunity and time.

Anyway, I should probably call it a night soon, as tomorrow is when my family begins to prepare for our annual New Year’s Day celebration. Goodnight to all!