What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[REPO Man]

Another movie night attempt failed. Daisy apparently told Paulina that she's going out of town.

[REPO Man]

Talked to Robyn about having a movie night this Friday but apparently Betty's taking her kids out of town damn near every weekend and any attempt to do a movie night is a lost cause. And it's even more of a lost cause since apparently Paulina and Rosalina are both not exactly on the best of terms. Apparently it's so bad that I'm going to have to rethink how I'm doing Christmas presents this year, since the two won't be able to share any of the books and movies I'm getting them. I'm currently thinking about giving Rosalina the horror movies I got to be shared by her and her siblings and doing the same with giving the coming of age movies to Paulina. Meanwhile I have a very slim chance of being able to get Zelda's presents to her, so long as Mario and Luigi still have an opportunity to see her.

But apparently thanks to the kids having phones they probably won't even consider using any of my gifts to them. Apparently if it can't be read or watched on a phone they might not even care.

Talk about an emotional sledgehammer to the jaw.

It seems like each tradition I value and every attempt to foster familial togetherness keeps getting failing no matter how hard I try.

So the chances to spend time with my family that were supposed to make me not being in NYC more tolerable keep slipping away. At least in NYC I could host a movie night with my friends and not have so many obstacles in the way. And perhaps I'd be able to have a fabulous Christmas get-together with my proverbial tribe with Yankee swaps, great food and Christmas music out the wazoo.

And do NOT! CRAP! ON! MY! DREAM! My soul just took a Louisville slugger to the crotch and I need this.

[Flake]

At least in NYC I could host a movie night with my friends and not have so many obstacles in the way.

Dude, we've already established that if you did somehow make it to NYC, you'd certainly end up living in a park. It is very hard to host movie night in a park.

[Limewater]

I'd be able to have a fabulous Christmas get-together with my proverbial tribe with Yankee swaps, great food and Christmas music out the wazoo.

Is "Yankee Swap" really a common term in North Carolina? I would have really expected you to call it "Dirty Santa."

Or are you using that term because you would hypothetically play it in New York, where you might be more likely to use that term?

I really can't keep all of your pseudonymous family straight. If you are wanting to spend time with your nieces and nephews, you might have better success if you give up on having everybody get together at your place and instead visit them in smaller groups. If they're in biking distance, I'm sure their parents wouldn't be too upset if you offered them occasional free babysitting.

[REPO Man]

The nieces are 11-13 and don't need babysitters. The twins (Mario and Luigi) are currently living with their paternal grandparents (their paternal grandfather is my dad's cousin, FYI), which iirc is also where their dad's also living. Betty (my brother's first wife) and her kids (Peach, Daisy and three-year-old Link) live in Frisco, which is about 1 1/2 hour bike ride away. My eldest niece Paulina is staying with her

And as the idea of a Yankee swap, that's just one term I've heard. I've also heard the term "white elephant" being used.

But I think we're glossing over the major points:

• Movie night's pretty much impossible due to many of Veronica's kids being in foster care. Again, my brother dated her before Betty, they had Paulina and then when they broke up she had Rosalina with the first guy she dated after my brother, Mario and Luigi with my dad's cousin's son and Zelda with her current boyfriend.
• Paulina and Rosalina are apparently at odds with one another, so giving them gifts they'll have to share with each other (like the first two Hack/Slash omnibuses, e.g.) is a no go. Now I'll have to split the shared gifts between the two of them.
• Zelda might not even get her presents and if she does she might not even really remember who I am.
• Physical presents are apparently less meaningful than gift cards the kids can spend on the things they like to do on their phones.
• Traditions keep dying left and right and the folks letting it happen don't even care and/or are powerless to stop it from happening.
• Quality time with my family was the one shiny point of light in the darkness that is me putting NYC on the backburner.

Meanwhile, my brother's still "out of town" until after Thanksgiving, which my mom, uncle and myself will be spending at a restaurant. Since my mom's gotta work she won't be able to fix Thanksgiving dinner, which I do not know how to do myself. Plus I have to work that day as well.

[Golgo 14]

[marurun]

The kid brought home a 4+ day cold. Humdinger of a semi truck to the sinuses. Started feeling it Friday night and I'm only now truly starting to shake it off today. Took a day off from work yesterday to try to start getting better and was too tired to even play TotK. All I did was watch Castlevania and fold laundry. I'm constantly amazed just how much laundry 2 adults and 1 child generate. I suspect other parents know what I'm talking about.

[Ziggy]

I feel ya. About the sick part, not the laundry part. A lot of people I know are sick right now. I'm currently sick with a respiratory thing. And apparently I had the flu last month and didn't even know it.

[REPO Man]

The kid brought home a 4+ day cold. Humdinger of a semi truck to the sinuses. Started feeling it Friday night and I'm only now truly starting to shake it off today. Took a day off from work yesterday to try to start getting better and was too tired to even play TotK. All I did was watch Castlevania and fold laundry. I'm constantly amazed just how much laundry 2 adults and 1 child generate. I suspect other parents know what I'm talking about.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you and yours feel better

[SamuraiMegas]

Complained directly to my company CEO and ended up having a nice dinner with her and the rest of my team to go over our issues. Glad I didn't get fired it was a bit a of a gamble worked out well.

Also Repo I'm glad you're finally coming to terms with the things we've been telling you for years, maybe you can use this free time and money to fuel some real change in your life. Like going to NYC.