[332/365] this day will come

Facebook tells you what you've said on the same date in previous years, and lately I've learned that in at least one of the last two years, I've really lamented the lack of a long weekend around now.

I hate everything about Thanksgiving, which is rightly a day of mourning for indigenous people in what is now the U.S., and also a day of mourning on the scale of my family because it's when my brother died (my parents are only able to tolerate the traditional Thanksgiving of going to my aunt and uncle's every other year or so, and frankly I'm amazed they can do it that often).

But. Some part of me still expects a long weekend at this point in my school years. And a fancy meal is never a bad thing either.

Strangely enough, this year I've actually basically gotten my wish, because of the UCU strikes. And my week's even had a similar shape: I was doing things Monday (lots of the housework that I've been neglecting), Tuesday (work and then going with Andrew to a hospital appointment for an MRI, which he hated) and Wednesday (when I actually went to the one seminar I still have, partly because this class is confusing enough even when I'm turning up, and partly because students who get Disabled Students Allowance like me can have all our support taken away if we don't turn up (if you think that sounds awesome, look at all the international students and staff who can't strike because they'd be in danger of losing their visas)).

But today...I don't really have any plans.

It has not been good or relaxing, though. I slept horribly, was awake from about 3am and dozed off again about 8. So I slept in and was groggy and miserable when I woke up. I spent almost an hour in bed trying to convince myself to get up but nothing seemed appealing, not even breakfast and usually my rumbly stomach will get me out of bed if nothing else does. Eventually I remembered I still had laundry in the washing machine that I'd forgotten to hang up before I went to bed, and that got me up. The whole day has been about that inspiring: I'm still in my pajamas, and I feel as grey and dark and inhospitable as the weather outside.

However, I read an email from a friend that could not have been more well-timed or better tailored to cheer me up when I so badly needed it. Here's some of it:

I didn't know until tonight that Lin-Manuel Miranda participates in a weekly hip-hop freestyle improv troupe that asks people in the audience about their day and then produces a mini-Hamilton about their day on the spot and performs it
back to them. I don't know what birthday you will have to get to before it becomes necessary that you and I each fly to New York to hear him rap about how buses should stop for white cane users [this is my Twitter bio since it's all I seem to use Twitter for any more] and about how any given student's classmate might be married with two boyfriends, but I have no doubt that THIS DAY WILL COME. My God, what a good idea this is.

It sounds good to me too.

So here's the day I'd tell Lin-Manuel Miranda about. It hasn't been without its good things.

1. I did make myself some nice food, because I wanted some. I also had no spoons, which seemed like a good time to roast things because it's very easy but makes them taste very good. I got some broccoli yesterday so I could get around to trying this and it is very easy to make and very good even if like me you thought you had some dried fruit but it turns out you don't. I look forward to making it with that next time.
2. I found something that made me think diffrentcolours would like that and got it for him, which isn't a thing that happens to me very often so I was excited about it.
3. Speaking of presents, Andrew ordered me a Stitch (as in Lilo &) onesie for my birthday and/or Christmas and I know those things are still almost a month away but if it turns up today I am putting it on today because it's very that kind of day.
4. Tomorrow I will hopefully get to see both boyfriends and Saturday I'm going to help Team Brighouse move, diffrentcolours is renting a Transit van for the day and driving us over which means he'll probably have excuse to tell the story about me being mistaken for a dog because it happened the last time he rented a Transit van and we like that story.
5. I got something nice in the post! ceb made fancy notebooks and I asked for the green one. It has a swirly pattern on the front and even on the edges of all the pages!
6. I finished knitting a whole sleeve of my trans-flag hoodie! Only the whole rest of the hoodie to go now.

Of course the thing I'm most grateful for today is that I don't have to go to my aunt and uncle's for it. This is the aunt that is still sending me Thanksgiving cards! I truly thought maybe she'd finally given up this year but Andrew said no, he'd just collected the post the day it arrived, and put it straight into the recycling. He's well-trained now. How fucking sad that he should have to be.