28 November 2005
back from california!
the days seem to be gone where i would write not 1, nay, but 2 or 3 entries. the days seem to be gone where i can focus on writing about me.
back in seattle, and, believe it or not, *snow* is expected. (wtf? snow?)
thanksgiving was busy, good, sometimes exhausting. the outcome: i feel like i've discovered that people speaking to someone who isn't fluent in a language take one of several approaches: 1) the speaking loudly and repeating oneself approach (embodied by my grandfather-in-law), as if volume would really help me understand; 2) the speaking as if i was fluent approach (embodied by my mother-in-law), to which i usually just have to nod and smile and respond to in english; 3) the "i know you don't understand all i'm saying but i know you totally get what i'm saying approach" (embodied by my grandmother-in-law); and 4) the "ok we'll speak english approach" (embodied by my brother-in-law). linguistically, it was an overload, but it was nice seeing my husband's family.
we also had an earthquake last night, a 2.4 on the richter, small, but the epicenter right in the same town as my husband's family. right in the middle of desperate housewives, which i never watch (last night was my first time), the house shook (one sharp jolt) and there was a loud cracking noise (like a whip). a bit frightening, actually. the last time i was in a quake that i could feel was in 1995, my freshman year in college. i was sitting in the computer lab emailing, when i saw the people sitting next to me dive under the table. i thought my chair was just acting funny, but no -- that was an earthquake, too. yes, i forget that we are on a fault here, as well. time to freshen up that earthquake surply kit....
the hard part of the weekend, for me, was seeing how hard it is for my husband's mother to not have us or her other son at home, or in the same area. she cried an awful lot, and it is hard for me to see someone so sad. that said, i also think it will be vital for her to learn to live her life as someone independent from her grown children (who are taking care of themselves very well). on my good days, i want to be a comfort and make her feel better; on my bad days, i get angry, frustrated at the fact that i am being made to feel guilty.
we had a nice visit, though, and picked out beautiful lamps for the mantel from a store in berkeley (suejohnsonlamps.com, too lazy to link). one of them is a gift from my dad for the holidays; one is from my grandparents-in-law for the new year. we're really excited. the high school reunion was bizarre and very california (oh my god i LOVE seattle!), but i did just fine and talked to lots of people that, quite frankly, i had never met before and quite frankly, that i'll never meet again!
other than that, the divorce of my parents looms this wednesday, and i find that discombobulating and a bit nerve-wrecking, even though it has been over 2 years since they split up. i'm still their daughter, though. all very strange.
ok, enough said. so many words, and now time to make dinner. later gaters!
dandlioneyes at 7:23 pm