We Lived

Well I lived through yet another weekend with my family, and I must say that nothing excruciatingly bad happened.

Other than the fact that I lived through a weekend with my family, of course.

Having prepared for the absolute worse possible outcome, I was pleasantly surprised when a few things turned out ok. It was generally torturous, but I've developed a few coping strategies that worked for me this time.

First of all, I had something completely unrelated to look forward to. My mother and I went to a completely awesome contra dance. I am a little jaded about the contra dance group here. It's a little too hetero and the people aren't really as accepting as I might like. I mean they're nice, it's just I'm not terribly connected to them. In any case the contra dance we went to was particularly nice because it gave us an excuse to get away from the stresses of a visit.

The second thing to do is to find a way to occupy yourself independently of what's going around you. Read a book, read several books even. In one weekend, I finished the book that I started before I left (Melissa Scott's Roads of Heaven), the latest Star Wars New Jedi Order (my literary vice), and the second Armistead Maupin Tales of the City book. In addition I got an outline of a play mostly written.

Now I get to pack for another trip. I'm going to visit some collages, and to spend a week with my grandmother, which promises to be much more enjoyable. So I get another week of being in contact before I'm spirited away for two weeks of various non-wired activities.

Thanks to Chris for taking over while I was gone, and for doing the same in the future, there's more on the way. Cheers folks