2006 was filled with so much heartache, anger, aggravation, misery… I’m so glad it’s all coming to an end tomorrow night.

Items of note in 2006:
Winter 2006
- Uh oh – I learned a valuable lesson regarding the family DVD player.

- Cooking up a bad day – A step-by-step recipe for a bad day.

– I will remember you, Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by, Weep not for the memories. – I mourn the death of my iPod Mini.

- Saint Patrick’s Day – 06 – I learn what St. Patrick’s Day is like in South Boston.

Spring 2006
- Photog – I, unsuccessfully, take a stab at photojournalism.

Summer 2006
- Baby Oven – I discuss being pregnant.

- The anniversary of my birth… at least I got one – I discuss my miscarriage.

- It was like pulling teeth – I had my wisdom teeth removed.

- Nothing of substance to read here – I met Real World’s Svetlana, among other things.

Fall 2006
- They’re starting early nowadays – I am disgusted by a girl begging for money.

- Angela shops for a Halloween costume! – I survive (barely) a pre-Halloween trip to iParty.

- A very un-magical return – I returned from a week of Disney World fun to find my house had been broken into and my car stolen.

*sigh* Bring on 2007… it has to be better than this!

Oh my heavens! I have been so caught up in the post-vacation drama that I forgot to talk about my trip! Here’s my photos! Most of them suck, but I made a folder of my favorites, for your viewing pleasure, of course!

Some trip items of note:
1. While at Animal Kingdom, we bumped into Neil Patrick Harris. Yep, Doogie Howser himself. Kristina and I were so star-struck (“How I Met Your Mother” is our favorite show), we didn’t get a picture. *sigh*

2. We got tickets to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom. In addition to the shorter lines and late park closing, the folks at Disney made it “snow” on Main Street. It certainly didn’t taste like snow (they used soap, I think), but it sure as hell looked real. It was freaky.

3. The weather was PERFECT! It was sunny and in the 70s all week.

4. On Friday, I decided to go to Epcot alone while my family went to MGM Studios. Sure, I felt a little silly going on rides alone but it was, by far, the best day I had. You can stop when you want, go on what rides you want, take a cigarette break when you want. I had lunch in the American Pavilion and went on a shopping spree.

5. I have no problem with only smoking in the Designated Smoking Areas that Disney World has set up… it’s just very frustrating when these areas are so difficult to find! Animal Kingdom had the most hidden smoking spots. For example, one took my dad and I 30 minutes to find! Even some of the employees didn’t know where they were!

6. The food was good. Disney’s meal plan is DEFINITELY worth the money. It paid for itself in one meal.

7. Epcot’s “Soarin’” is one of the coolest rides I have ever been on. You ride a simulation hang glider over California. The coolest feature of the ride is the smells pumped in to coincide with the action on screen. When you fly over an orange grove, you smell oranges; the forest smells like pine… it was awesome!

8. And speaking of “Soarin’,” we scammed our way in, avoiding a 75 minute wait. My aunt had four Fast Passes (the wonderful little ticket that let’s you come back to a ride later on with a much shorter wait), but there were nine of us. She came up with some story about my dad losing the tickets and the girl actually let us through!

9. On Splash Mountain, Kristina and I convinced Rob that the first mini-trick drop was the big one. Having never been on the ride before, Rob braced himself for the 5-story drop. Surprise! It was so fucking funny.

10. I didn’t miss Boston at all. I missed my boyfriend, but that’s it.

Coming home sucked, and it wasn’t made any easier by the nightmare we came home to. She is still denying any involvement despite our neighbors identifying her. We asked her to come over and allow our neighbors to see if she really was who they saw. She has yet to show up. If I was being “unjustly” accused, I’d race right over to prove my innocence, but I guess she isn’t very innocent.

Merry Christmas! To get everyone up-to-date on the nightmare before Christmas, our neighbors witnessed the girl and friends coming into and out of the house for four days. They thought it was unusual but because she was here sometimes before our vacation (she’s my father’s girlfriend’s daughter), they assumed she had permission to be here. In an interesting twist, and further proving she took my car, my car’s broken headlight was “miraculously” fixed when I took my car out last night. Maybe it was a Christmas miracle, or maybe the headlight fairy came to fix it… but mostly, I think it was Jillian, so the police wouldn’t pull her over when she took my car on criminal exploits (drug runs and such).

My boyfriend’s anger calmed and he spent last night here with me. I’m very happy he calmed down, although, I completely understand why he was upset. In hindsight, I wish he had stayed here for the week and none of this would have happened.

To inventory the things that were stolen, our DVD player and surround sound system, a couple ashtrays, 200 miles worth of gas in my car, and, probably worst of all, my sense of privacy. I feel very violated. Fortunately, our neighbors are willing to tell the police everything they witnessed. They’re saddened that they didn’t follow their instincts and call the police. My dad assured them it’s not their fault Jillian is a junkie. *sigh*

I’ll post Disney photos later on. I was just looking over all of them to take my mind off the other stuff. I took over 300 photos, some better than others, but I’ll post ‘em all!

We’re home, but not without a ridiculous amount of drama and aggravation. After a nice flight (Thanks, jetBlue!), we landed in Boston and got home around 11 p.m. to find someone broke into our house and stole our DVD player. Unusually, the culprit didn’t steal our TV, any of our Patriots stuff, or my mp3 player. Even more unusual, the culprit drank much of the Coke that was in the fridge and put dishes in the dishwasher.

We know exactly who did this and we also know she has a severe drug problem. Of course, she vehemently denied the allegations this morning, but I’m no fool. In addition to the missing items, someone also drove my car around, added more than 200 miles and drained my gas tank. Like I explained to her, a random person would not drive around a car and return it. I could blame myself for leaving my keys on the coffee table, but when you lock up your house, you do not expect someone to break in, know which car is yours in the parking lot and drive it around for a week.

Worst of all, my boyfriend is not talking to me because he was accused of breaking in. I knew he didn’t do it, why would he, but in haste, my family pointed the finger. He has had ample opportunities to steal our stuff and hasn’t.

We filed a police report, although the responding officer said there isn’t much we can do. It’s too difficult to prove and, naturally, they can’t make an arrest on our allegations alone. We listed the girl as a suspect and the officer also included the car theft and return in his report in case of the slight chance she committed a crime while driving my car. He assured me he hadn’t received any information on a black honda in his packets, so I think that will be alright.

Every ounce of relaxation I gained while on vacation was washed away in ten minutes. My boyfriend is insulted and won’t answer his phone. I can’t blame him. Merry fucking Christmas, Angela. I knew coming home was going to suck, I just didn’t realize it would suck this much.

My dad insisted we get internet access in our room because he couldn’t wait to find out who made the Pro Bowl. Congratulations, Richard Seymour, the only Patriot to make the roster. I think Ty Warren earned at least a reserve position, but whatever.

Disney World is FUCKING awesome. Yes, I said “fucking.” I love this place. You folks can have your Jamaica, your Cancun, your where ever, just give me Disney.

We spent yesterday in the Magic Kingdom and today was all about Animal Kingdom. Tomorrow, we plan to go to my personal favorite, Epcot. Kristina got us tickets for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Friday night. Bill O’Reilly would love this place… there is CERTAINLY no war on Christmas here.

This is SO much better than work.