Here's the deal for this week.

Today: It's all been getting scrambled around. This partly due to a game of telephone tag this morning with my dad. Originally, his schedule had him passing through Lincoln midday tomorrow, which would have been a perfect time for me to meet him for lunch. Then, his schedule got pushed up, so tonight was the only time he would be able to be in Lincoln. After much finagling about whether we could squeeze it in without conflicting with my work schedule this evening, we ultimately concluded that again, it probably wasn't going to work. Maybe next time.

This had the effect of bouncing me back and forth between psychologically preparing myself to spend this afternoon adventuring on my own (and meeting with him tomorrow), then the thought of spending the afternoon waiting here by the phone so he could call me when he got close into town (to be followed by a hurried meetup before I rush to work), then back to the final realization that it ain't happening at all, so I may as well just go adventure for a while. But by then, my spirit was ready to say, "to hell with it all," and I ended up taking a nap instead. I contemplated going to the theatre (Burton's Chocolate Factory at the cheap one, or the Yanthor-recommended Good Night and Good Luck at the overpriced one), but found myself insufficiently motivated. So I slept. Now I wake, to contemplate my destiny apparently.

Tomorrow, the rest of the week: Maybe it's premature to declare anything, but early signs suggest that this Thursday might end up being the Stupidest Thanksgiving Ever. I keep hoping that maybe if I ignore it hard enough, it will just go away, but I don't think that's going to work too well.

I made the conscious decision not to take time off to go home this month, assuming that I could spend a peaceful, low-key day here, maybe cook up a nice stew or something, hang out, and watch the birds fly by. Or whatever. I also agreed to work a 4-hour midday shift at 1.5 times normal pay; easy money, nothing to conflict with.

I figured that Yanthor and Anya would probably either be heading out to visit with one of their sets of parents, or they would be here, and I could share a meal with them.

What I didn't figure on was their parents coming here. *sigh*

Murphy's law strikes. I don't hate their parents. They've always seemed like pretty nice people on previous visits. It's just that being around them is always... so damn awkward. It's definitely the hardest part about having housemates. And the thought of spending the Thanksgiving afternoon in that company finds me... wanting to run somewhere far, far away.

So now I've been debating with myself, way too far in advance of the actual event, whether to just dive in and tough it out, hide in my room as much as possible watching DVDs and playing video games, or just spend the entire time away from the house. Right now, I'm thinking the last option sounds best. Maybe I'll cook up a nice pot of chili in advance on Wednesday, take it downtown on Thursday, and declare an impromptu Food Not Bombs in the middle of the Centennial Mall fountain plaza.

I dunno. It's time for me to get going. Ok, so technically I don't really have to leave for over another hour, but having squandered most of this beautiful blue sky day already, I'd like to catch a little bit of daylight before darkness engulfs the land.

And then I'll also do some grocery shopping before work. My body wants nice, fresh, vibrant ingredients. Yes.

Something vaguely resembling a plan is hatched. You must always have a plan. Always.