2003-11-27
I am thankful that I finally got to get online
My Thanksgiving was great, for the first year in as far as I can remember. The worst thing was when my uncle invited his girlfriend without asking or telling anyone. He told my grandfather at the last minute, who phoned us to give us the good news. And by good news, I mean we were all stressed out and angry. Our house isn't exactly huge, and we already have 6 people living here, plus the three guests that we invited, and now Maria, my uncle's girlfriend. It wouldn't be such a problem if my parents were okay with unmarried couples sleeping together, but they're definitely not, and they insist that female guests get beds, and males can have couches. So they all rolled in Tuesday night. Maria had my brothers' room to herself, while Uncle Johnny slept on the long couch, Chandler slept on the short couch, and Cam slept on the living room floor. And of course my sister got kicked out of her room so my grandparents could stay there, and she slept in my parents' room, on the couch. My uncle is as obnoxious as possible (naturally) and he and his girlfriend woke me up earrrrrly Wednesday morning talking right in front of my door. !! What kind of idiot does that? Hello, I live here, you do not. Whisper! Doesn't seem that much to ask, actually.
I had already made plans to hang out with Nichol Tuesday night, so I slid out of the un-fun visiting and cooking. Yesss! I was so proud. I didn't do it intentionally, as I thought everyone would get in later, but I got out of all the dirty work (besides cleaning, of course). It was so nice. Nichol and I watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 and played video games. So much fun to be able to hang out with another female friend. I'm a big fan.
At any rate, thanks to my darling uncle and his girlfriend not knowing how to use their inside-when-people-are-asleep voices, I got up pretty early Wednesday morning. The night before, James surprised me by telling me to call him in the morning and he would take me to my favorite restaurant for lunch (Carlisle's on Main, duh, since they're only open for lunch). I informed Mom of said plans, and she told me that that would be when they'd have the big Thanksgiving meal. I wasn't here to help with all the cooking, so Mom enlisted the help of the kids and Dad and was done much sooner. She suggested James come over and have Thanksgiving with us (a day early), which kind of surprised me, but in a pleasant way. So he came over, which was a lot of fun. He was good for moral support, too.
With James there I was viewed more as an adult, instead of an older teen whose life is open to prying. Adults are always huge fans of demanding to know if I'm going to school, why I'm taking a break, if I'm working since I'm not going to school, and why the hell not, etc, etc, etc. And if they already know of James's kidney disease, there seems to be a large trend of older adults telling me it would be wiser not to marry a sick man. I want to scream that it's not open for their discussion, but I try to watch my mouth, at least when I'm around my grandfather. I was brushing my teeth Tuesday evening after I got in, and my grandmother was in there, just hanging out as she is prone to do. And of course she wanted to visit. She's hard of hearing, so she talks really loudly, and you have to yell in her ear for her to hear you. The bathroom door was open, and people were trying to sleep in the living room, so I was trying to keep the talking to a minimum, as not to wake people. She asked how I was good, how James was good, and immediately started spouting off how I shouldn't marry James because he has a disease. I was so angry I wanted to scream that if that was the case, perhaps Grandaddy should have divorced her, because not only does she have all these ailments and diseases, but is also sick in the head (she's getting senile, really, and it's not pretty). But because of my respect for my grandfather (who was in the next room w/the door open and whom I like quite a lot), I didn't. I just gave her the ugliest glare I could muster, shook my head violently, and went to my room, played 'Blood on the Ground', and cleaned my room. That really really upsets me when people start that shit, but then, you already know that. However, no one else said anything to me the duration of their stay, for which they should be thankful. I was a timebomb just waiting to go off. I hate the hecticness of holidays, for starters. My house is already a source of stress, anyway. Multiply that by about 5 thousand, and you've got yourself a Duncan holiday. Oh, what fun. I will credit my grandfather for never once saying anything against me wanting to marry James. So there. He rocks. I love my grandfather. Back to the matter at hand, Thanksgiving dinners.
We had an excellent meal (Dad even marinated the Turkey nicely). Mom made this awesome spicy pumpkin soup that absolutely rocked my socks right off, as well as this fab pastry with brie. I'm such a huge fan. James seemed to enjoy himself, too, and got more helpings than anyone else, which quite pleased me. Since I didn't do any of the cooking, James and I got stuck with doing the dishes. By which I mean that I was told to do them, and I suggested James come and keep me company, and he took over and hand-washed most of the dishes. I was stunned. I have such a great boyfriend!
James and I hung out after doing the dishes, and he took me driving. No comment. As soon as I walked through the front door yesterday evening, I ate a small piece of pie, and hit the sheets. James called at some point last night, and once he realized I was sleeping, told me to call him this morning. After all the relatives left this morning (to go to another Thanksgiving dinner, no less), I called and he said his parents had invited me for Thanksgiving at their house. I was shocked. His parents claim to like me, but I didn't think they liked me that much. I've never even sat down and had a meal with his parents before. His dad and I have eaten together before, but not James and I and his parents all together. I was super nervous, as I've never been to a boyfriend's house for Thanksgiving, but it all went really well. It was really nice, and the food was really good. I was so surprised that everything went so smoothly. His mom even hugged me after I thanked her for the meal (her greenbean casserole is sooooooo gooood). I thought I was going to die of a heart attack when that happened, because his mom hugs nobody, so it was quite the honor. I'm still in awe of that one. James and I spent the rest of the day playing Halo (he walks in circles around me, teasing me, and I still can't kill him!!) and going driving. I have decided I hate driving. Turning in one fluid motion is not one of my more prominent talents.
This evening I have diligently been working on getting new weapons and outfits on Soul Caliber II. It was one of the games Nichol and I played the other night, and on her game her sister has unlocked all these really cool things which were fun to play with. It inspired me. My god, all this time off has turned me into such a boy! Only not really. But it has been a lot of fun.
I am sorry this entry is so disjointed. I am stressed and in the process of quitting smoking at James's suggestion/request. It is not the easiest thing to do during the holiday season, trust me. And I told Mom I would go day-after shopping with her tomorrow. . . I am almost 100% positive I will regret this, yet it needs to be done. She refuses to buy things for me without me being there to approve of them, so it's a necessity. There are these super sexy black boots I found in the paper that Parisians is selling that I absolutely must have. They will go with jeans (new ones, that is), dress pants, and last but certainly not least, skirts. Hot hot hot. Plus I REALLY need new clothing, and that's the perfect time to shop for that, because it's so cheap!! But god, am I going to hate myself in the process. I detest shopping. Few things that are not health related are less desirable to me. I really really hate it. And I especially hate it with my mom. Good lord. But I'm braving it and doing it anyway. Perhaps I'll just take a bunch of nighttime sinus on the way home from Dothan, and therefore will just crash as soon as I get home. Hmmm, now there's an idea.
But for the good news: Taco's dad may let us live at their house (the one with the dreamy couches) rent-free while he is in Florida. If he decides to sell the house instead, James and I found a great apartment in Dothan that has a remote-controlled fireplace!! I think it's remote-controlled, anyway. It's electrical, at any rate. So I'm a big fan. I'm so so so excited about moving out. And I have kept the peace with my dad so that when I bring up the subject, he will not feel that I am moving out to spite him. Because at this point, really, I'm not. It's past time for me to be out on my own, and I would love to live with James, so I am very happy. Also, my cousin (whom I'm really close to) Suzie called me yesterday to chat. We didn't talk long, but I'm glad she still calls me when she has male problems she doesn't know how to solve. That girl is full of drama, but the way she handles it is hilarious. I love her. Unfortunately I will not be seeing her for Christmas, as I refuse to go to Mobile since Desiree is coming after Christmas and staying with me. I absolutely refuse. Mom informed me that the family may be going to Mobile for Christmas (and probably till New Year's, if not after), but I stand my ground. I can have Christmas by myself, if it comes to it. Which I hope does not happen, as I would be crushed, and that would really suck, but if need be, I can do it. I'm strong. Plus I'm sure seeing Desiree would more than make up for that. Annnnnd I have to meet James's best friend, Toeknee when he comes down then, so I absolutely cawnt leave. For those not in the know, I quoted Eloise. If you don't know who I'm talking about, you lose at life, period.
Hmmmmm. On to playing more Soul Caliber II, then going to bed and/or reading The Big Bang.
I love my boyfriend. Thanksgiving was awesome because of him. He single-handedly made me feel 10000% better about them. We'll be doing this again, for this I am sure.
aigre-douce at 11:30 p.m.