I hate not having my laptop back yet. Grr.
Anyway, sickness has passed. Think it was the stomach bug my stepmother got, and just my luck, it seized hold a few days before New Year's. Like Hell that was stopping me from going to the Gypsy Revel at Great Wolf Lodge, because I WANT TO SEE MY FRIENDS DAMN IT.
Potter and Shelby ended up leaving me there to 'go to a club', which apparently means go hang out with Dan talking about rp til seven in the morning, so it's probably just as well. I shouldn't have been going with them in either case, in my state.
Instead, ended up talking with a very nice old veteran about religion, gypsies, war, politics, travel, and science fiction. Apparently the Northern Lights make
noise. I did not know this. He was very good company, anyway, right up until he departed for bed.
I was then promptly rescued from solitude by a very friendly teenage girl and her little sisters, who proceeded to help me oggle the boys dancing so hard it's amazing they didn't burst into flames.
This little encounter also helped me realize something about myself I had never put much thought into. In the instances where I am given knowledge beyond that of a normal participant, some behind-the-scenes peek or knowing the process of whatever it is we are doing, my immediate instinct is to pretend that I know nothing. Or at least as little as those around me do. I will act surprised if you give me a gift I knew was coming. I will scream at a monster I knew was hiding just around the corner. I want to get caught up in the moment with everyone else, and if I act as if I know what's coming, it's not nearly as fun. It's better catching everyone else's excitement and going along for the ride like an oblivious dork. A shill, if you will. A plant. A willing pawn in the game. So long as it means fun, I'm absolutely compliant.
I say this because when she turned to me and started discussing the boys with me, I pretended I didn't know any of them. I was one of the patrons that night, I addressed no one as if I knew them (with the exception of Tibor, who is also half Punjab Indian and who squealed over my sari like a little girl), and I tried my damndest to ignore Will. Who with his potent glances my direction WAS NOT HELPING IN THE LEAST.
The girl noticed him constantly looking in my direction and giggled that maybe he liked me. I flushed and blustered, and that was all the excuse she needed to spend the rest of the night attempting to hook me up with my boyfriend. They even went so far as to ask him to dance with me. By midnight, she went away to bed, pleased as punch with herself that she'd hooked me up with this random hot guy, and you know, I really didn't have the heart to tell her the truth. Let her imagine she did her good deed for the day. There was no harm in it, was there?
We ended up at Teadosa's house. I use the term 'house' loosely, because this place is as close to a mansion as I've ever been in. Three floors and a basement. Third floor had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a reading nook on the stair landing, a living room, and a kitchen. Two chimneys downstairs, a study, a sunroom...it just went on and on. It was incredible. And not only was it huge, the parents are artists, so it was very eclectic in its decoration, which only made me love it more. I want that house when I get the money for one, damn it.
One of the gypsy boys, Sasha (Bruno, for those who read through the Bordello of Blood ordeal) proposed to his girlfriend that night, which was the most adorable thing I've ever seen him do. It's the only time I've ever seen him stumble over words. Priceless.
The parents made pancakes and muffins, and we were content to socialize until 3 in the morning, at which point I was already feeling worn out from my illness and ready to curl up and sleep.
Which would have been easier if I hadn't been woken up an hour later by a flying gypsy boy landing in my bed. No, it wasn't Will. He was already curled up next to me, asleep as well. Tibor, Cody (Toddy the Maniac, again, from Bordello) and Pov the drummer boy were all cavorting around, apparently on a mission to find a missing phone, and eager to play still at this ungodly hour. It's a sign of how tired I was that I grumpily threw three gypsy boys out of my bed, though it was likely a mercy to them, as Will would have done worse had they stayed.
So that was my New Year's. I snuck in a kiss at midnight while no one was looking, and felt well enough to enjoy myself, but as you can tell from my previous entry, it only lasted til I got home the next day. But really, all things considered, it's been one of the best New Year's I've ever had. So I can't really complain.