october 9, 2000. Today is Thanksgiving Monday. If I'm thankful of anything especially, it's that this damn week is over. Holy cow, what a tornado. I didn't have anything really important due, but homework still seemed to conspire against both my free time and my peace of mind. The Boy worked crazy long days to boot, logging 43 hours by Wednesday alone. And with the looming spectre of my parents' Thanksgiving arrival, the time I didn't spend in worry about school I spent worrying about cleaning the house. By Wednesday afternoon class, I was moaning about my situation to Petra: "I have two things to go home to: 6 chapters of homework and a toilet that needs to be cleaned. I don't feel like moving." Oh, if that were only where my problems ended. Let's just say that when the brand new casserole dish exploded, horribly scarring our linoleum (there goes the security deposit), tension actually decreased. And now we shall draw a curtain over the rest. Because my parents - oh, my parents. They were three things this weekend: wonderful, angry and bored. The wonderful parts usually coincided with meals - our energy picked up, our conversation began to sparkle and the contentment levels approached normal. But most of the time they were bored & angry. Let me say this: the Gorey-esque 18th century graveyard was the biggest hit. In lieu of having fun, I went to bed as early as possible and tried not to pick fights with the Boy. (That's the only clear benefit from the whole damn purgatorial experience: my relief was so great this morning and our connection so blessedly unstressful as to start healing a whole bunch of wounds inflicted to our relationship in the last year. I'm feeling very hopeful tonight, which is a wonderful thing.) I regret missing the entry on Thursday: a series of good things happened that I want to hold on to. The morning was weird. I went to bed late, giving up on housework and homework in the same frustrated moment. This made rising from bed a greater difficulty than usual, and I didn't make it to the shower until 8 (my class starts at 8:30, btw). I found a seat with a gaggle of familiar faces and discovered a giddy group energy that left me giggling uneasily. Let's just say that after a recitation of an elaborate breakfast, I threatened to stick my pen in the speaker's eye and he thought it was just as funny as I did. I may not be happy here on average, but I'm beginning to concede that the trick is possible. After class I wandered into town for a sandwich (eating out is a treat, yum!) and a haircut. Well. Forty minutes and eleven dollars (!!) later, I walked out with bangs, which at least saves me from shaving my head for a while. I rambled about Main Street until it was time for my interview with the Department, then sauntered up the hill to see if I was to receive more good news. I did. Hoo boy. The Department has decided to create a brand new research assistant position. I am to be the first girl entrusted with this position. I am pleased. It looks great on my resume and should be a bit more challenging than the kind of work I've done lately. Plus, it takes care of quite a bit of worry about household budget. (OSAP turned me down the same day, so it's just about time to work for my education). I have lots of things to be thankful for, but this year I'm especially grateful for the late string of goodness. My spirits need the lift, that's for sure.