Winter Break

There are several beautiful things about winter break:

1. Christmas.
2. Family time.
3. Netflix marathons.
4. Tackling that pile of bestseller books.
5. Running into old high school pals, while sneaking around to avoid other folk.
6. Ventures to favorite hometown guilt-food establishments.
-Goode Company BBQ, Bellaire Broiler Burger...mouth watering
7. Refamiliarization with old languages, like CSS & HTML.
8. Being a geek at 2 AM and updating your blog layout! EEK EEK EEK!
9. Sherry's pumpkin muffins. Nuff said.
10. Time to work on the thesis....oh wait. Job search? Meh.
11. Making lists.

Really I am just deliriously thrilled to have updated the blog. It needed a bit of a facelift. I was losing enthusiasm blogging. WHICH IS NO GOOD, FRIENDS! End of the year calls for lists of "the best" and "the favorites." These last few weeks of December, of 2013, are about reflection and Christmas music, rumination and cocoa. Really, I couldn't NOT publish a collection of my favorite photos from the year. And I missed talking typing to myself. Thus, I'm back, it's back.

Being sentimental and nostalgic and all, I'm going to serve as my own "Ghost of Christmas' past"/blogging past:

Inception:

So what's the significance of this? Senior year, this summer, this approaching fall-- it will all be about transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Change. Hence, this blog's purpose will to kind of just document change and pen down adventures so they will always be remembered.

Written Wednesday, July 14, 2010, boy oh boy! Originally, I think the blog was called Haaspice and I tried to explain it by hospice's archaic definition: a lodging for travelers, esp. one run by a religious order. The blog would be a virtual lodging for my own thoughts and ideas and musings....clearly the explanation and conversation never went well.

Edit: I quoted this like two posts ago. Oops.

Revival:

Those closest to me know that I have never been fully satisfied with the name of this blog. When I originally started in July, I thought that "haaspice" sounded so edgy...so hipster..or what have you. I quickly grew tired of explaining the meaning to EVERYONE. "Oh you know...like a hospice when you travel abroad (similar to hostel)...this blog is a place for me to live and allow my feelings and thoughts to foster...blah blah blah" so after months and months of brainstorming, it dawned on me today. HAASTON. but why?

1. victoriahaas.blogspot.com is taken. so is victoriahaas.com and haas.com and vhaas.com
2. if you couldn't guess by point one, i really wanted to use my last name. name recognition is key
3. i come from houston...hence the "ton" AND i live in austin..."haaston"
4. aren't i clever?

Basically this new name captures who i am, where i am from, where i am now, and the content will track where i travel

I am indeed clever. On April 24th, 2011, I changed my blog's namesake from Haaspice to Haaston. This transition led to the following banner....

Today:

New blog layout. New ideas to be implemented. Maybe a whole new direction! New banner. Ooh la! Almost a new year too! New new new newness newwww.