So, This Is Christmas:

And What Have You Done?

Another Year Over

And A New One's Just Begun

It admittedly isn't "beginning to look a lot" like anything here in Venice (except maybe the holiday vacation the McCallister's took to Florida in Home Alone 2). There's some snow topping the mountains just outside of LA, but the rest of the Southland is currently mired in cold, rainy, almost "Midwestern" weather (if it was March).

Yet, despite the rain, this semester (and first year) at USC went out with a blast. The screening on Sunday was one hell of a drunken, rollicking party with tons of laughs, cheers, and shout-outs that made your average brew-and-view look like a church basement.

Apparently the crowd isn't usually as rowdy as my class was last Sunday. Some friends who were a semester or two ahead of us told us that we have a bit more alcohol-fueled fun than classes previous.

Speaking of laughs, I'm proud to say that more than a few of the laughs in Norris were provided by the film of yours truly. "Sunshine on Sale" screened right in the heart of the order and I couldn't be happier with the response. It got laughs, a few cheers, and plenty of compliments afterward. I was especially happy it played well because my two actors-Javier and Todd-came for the screening and got to see their awesome performances play out in front of a crowd and I made sure to give them their due diligence during the little post-film speech we get to give.

The whole thing was a ton of fun and will remain a pretty unforgettable experience for the countless little things that went on between friends (and enemies) that night.

I have to say, since I haven't really talked about them in the ole' blog, but the biggest reason I feel like I have survived (if not thrived) out here for roughly the past 12 months has been because of the friends I've made at USC. Some of you have already gotten to meet a few of them, and more of you will get to meet more of them over the Christmas break, but the whole class, and especially the dozen or so people I hang out and drink and smoke with on daily basis, have been the greatest and best surprise that I've had since hitting the road of uncertainty last January. We've spent a year in the metaphorical trenches of filmmaking, and I suspect that a couple of these characters will be around for a long time.

But, of course, there's a reason I have been literally counting the days 'til my return to Chicago and it's because of my awesome family and the incredible friends, from Montclair Ave to St. Pet's, from Benet to Loyola, from Second City and beyond.

I am so damn sick of not being in Chicago and not hanging out with y'all that I've been doing my best to stay pretty busy the last few days: preparing for next semester, doing things I've procrastinated since August, and spending some time with the few people who are still around town.

I've got one more little stop this weekend before arriving at O'Hare airport, hopefully ((KNOCK ON WOOD)) in time to see the second half of the MNF game between the Bears and Packers in, I think, the GE, but maybe downtown. Anyway, sorry as it is, the Monsters of the Midway seem to still have a shot to get to and be defeated in the first round of the playoffs.

Oh, and so I PRRAAAAYYYY that my SA's will be able to get me a DV tape copy of my film tomorrow. Apparently there's a huge logjam made worse by the moving into the new building (more 'bout that down the road) and some tapes won't get printed in time for Xmas.

So, if I don't come home with a copy of "Sunshine" please don't hate me, because I'll already be hating myself. Besides, we can always watch "Chhhhk Chhk BOOM and A Happy New Year" again, right?

By the way, the worst written, but best delivered, line ever has to be Juan Picante saying:

"I think it's going to be......a BLAST"

....and may all your Christmases be white