bah humbug

I do not like, and have never liked, Thanksgiving. Even as a child I felt weirdly imposed upon by the holiday, and usually sat in my grandparents' guest room (we were with my grandparents on holidays) reading or watching TV until the last possible moment, aka, when it was time to eat. I'm not sure what it is that bothers me. It feels like a weird time shell game. Like, here's a day off but, just as you imagine a day off, it's yanked away and replaced with some other obligation. The obligation to sit around and eat. I also have, and have always had, a bizarre aversion to the concept of everyone everywhere eating at the same time and eating the same things. In school I was always suffering some kind of strange existential nausea at the sight of cafeteria lunching. Plus, unlike, well, most people, I'm not into the cuisine de Thanksgiving. I don't eat Turkey (I am of the ever-logical school of smoking vegetarians). And while stuffing and potatoes and pie certainly do create a lovely carbohydrate-induced stupor, it's one I can live without (although a small amount of sweet potatoes with marshmellows is kind of good). Every year I vow to eschew the holiday, to stay home with something I want to eat and some movies and enjoy my day off. Every year this plan is thrwarted and I end up going to one of my nice friends' houses and sitting around and eating (and being occasionally further tormented by football games). I suppose this year will be no different and, really, this is such an ungrateful ridiculous thing to complain about I can't believe I'm even saying it.
Don't I have better things to complain about?
Why yes, yes I do.
Last week I had one of those bizarre bureacratic nightmare experiences that makes you feel as though you've fallen into a corporate Alice in Wonderland hole and you will never escape; you will be on hold with corporate American forever pressing #1 and listening to canned music and repeating your woes to the next available operator. Fortunately, as First National Bank of Santa Fe was a major player in my particular dilemma, I actually got to speak to live people, live people who know me and who quickly helped me. Bank local! Anyway, problems averted (at least for the time being) but it kind of wiped me out.
Last night, the guy I've been dating was robbed (his house) and I showed up to be supportive "girlfriend" type, which somehow turned into me drinking half a bottle of wine, becoming drunk and pretty much passing out. It's unclear to me today how or why I thought drinking was an effective way to show support.
Saturday night I swung by The Feral Gallery opening, checked out Van Arno's work, wished I could afford it (actually it's very affordable) and hung out there for a while. It was fun; a nice art/party and a good break from the current Santa Fe scene. Last week's kblu party also was fun; the new El Paseo space is very nice, and they had a big turnout.
Typically, in SF, the night before Thanksgiving is a big night in town. The Paramount used to have big shows on that night. I wonder what will be up this year? I should say, no matter if I do end up spending Thanksgiving carboloading, it's nice to have a day off, and I suppose I have much to be thankful for, although it's hard to keep that in mind when the phone is ringing off the hook with angry people and the special issues are piling up (one gift guide down; one to go).
And so ends my Monday moaning. I'll try to blog again when I have something nice to say!