Love In The Asylum

Thank you to everyone here (and on Facebook) who wished my a happy birthday! And I definetely had one.

Work was loads of fun today - we got to play around in the computer system, setting up email and learning how to use Credit Browser, and stuff, and then in the afternoon we worked on how to do retention calls - basically how to talk a customer out of cancelling the service. I learned a ton, and the roleplaying practice was not as hard as I expected. I'm almost looking forward to getting out on the floor. All that's left is tomorrow's final, and then we start talking calls in transition pod. Also, after we came back from lunch, everyone sang happy birthday, which was equal parts nice and embarrassing.

Dinner with family was fun and delicious (especially the roast potatoes and the cake!), and I got more presents - a necklace, cell phone charm and money from my grandparents, and a brass box, Chinese luck charm, jeans and money from my aunt. We have to exchange the jeans, though, since they don't fit, which is actually kind of awesome, since it means I might be able to fit into the next size down. Yay! It was a nice evening, and now I still get to look forward to seeing my mom this weekend.

As a birthday present to myself, I went on the Barnes and Noble website and bought the following:

• Shout Out Loud vol 5 - oh woe, this is the last in the series! But at least it hopefully end in some sort of resolution in the gay hockey players/gay yaoi voice actors romance department.
• Formerly Known As The Justice League/I Can't Believe It's Not The Justice League! - the two trade paperbacks of the Superbuddies comics from DC, featurely awesome, inexplicably canon crack and extra helpings of totally gay Booster/Ted antics.
• Torchwood: Almost Perfect - Ianto suddenly turns into a girl. 'nough said, yes?

So, most of my memories of Christmas as a small child are rather vague and blurry, which is probably a good thing; if I had a set idea in my head now of what a family Christmas is /supposed/ to be, I'd probably be pretty thoroughly miserable every year - not that our Christmases aren't good, but with my cousins moving in and out, my parents splitting up, etc etc, we've had to juggle around and reform and reinvent a lot of Christmas traditions, with the end result of every year being a lot different. This year, of course, was no exception.

I spent all day yesterday in the kitchen or very close to it. Of all the new things we've had to think up to do with my parents divorced, Dim Sum Day on Christmas Eve is certainly one of my favorites. Chinese food! All day long! Even though none of us are Chinese, even a little bit! And then we end with tamales. Cause that makes sense. Although not this year, because my grandma's been having some kind of health problem that makes it hard for her to stand, so she decided not to make them. *sad* But she said my dad and I (with her guidance, of course) can do them next year. But really there was all kinds of wonderful food, including shrimp toast, sweet chili squid, spring rolls, this spicy beef dish, and these really interesting chicken and lemongrass dumplings. Mmmm. And then I went to my mom's and we played board games and I helped her baste a quilt. Fun! Also I got to see the completed top for my (graduation) quilt that she's giving me soon. Soooooooo preeeeeetty...

Today was presents, of course! Got up painfully early (okay, like 8, but still) and opened presents with my dad, grandparents, and aunt. My grandma really loved the digital picture frame dad and I gave her, especially once we explained that he can scan her old, actual physical pictures and put them on there - they're going to sell the house as soon as my dad gets a place, and they just won't have room for all her pictures. So yeah, that was cool. After presents we had tamales (leftover frozen from last Christmas, but still homemade). I love my grandma's tamales. Guatemalan style are so many times better than Mexican...

This afternoon I went back to my mom's so she could do Christmas dinner for us, and my grandpa, and my Aunt Joan and her boyfriend. Which was just generally lovely and fun - my aunt is deranged. And awesome. And she tells the most disgusting stories. I love her. Her boyfriend can be kind of a dick, but he was sober for once, and on good behavior, so he was fun. And of course my grandpa is awesome. He made a pie XD. And we had cornish game hens and cornbread dressing and rosemary bread and mushroom and onion rice and I need to stop describing food. But there's been a lot of good food the last few days. Also I love my momma. Really really really. 

So yeah, Christmas was very, very good.  And I am happy. I also have presents. 


So, I hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas/Hanukah/Kwanzaa/Yule/Newtonmas/anything else they might celebrate!