2002

first palindromic year since 1991! last palindromic year til 2112! enjoy it while it lasts, everbuddy.

i *hate* it when i don't update in several days, because i end up with a long list of stuff i want to say, and forget most of it by the time i get to diaryland. feh.

yesterday, karl and i went to the mummers parade, a philadelphia new year's day tradition, with his brother, sister-in-law, and parents. i've lived here for years and yesterday was the first time i went. it was fabulous, if cold. we saw the string bands, about six out of the thirty or so total. it was wicked cold outside, so we could only manage to stay there for about an hour or two. then, with numb toes, we had to make for a pub. the parade was *great*! so cool! so many grown philadelphians, wearing silly costumes and dancing in the streets. really impressive.

so. karl's parents. they're nice people, both high school teachers in sheffield, england. richard and jean. i spent basically the whole weekend, and monday and tuesday with them all. it was a bit trying. apparently on a couple of occasions i showed some less-than-model personality traits. we all went to new york on sunday to see a show (got to the front of the half-price, same-day-tickets line in times square only to find that there weren't tickets left to anything we actually wanted to see). in the subway at one point, i was barging on ahead without taking much notice of the gaggle of people walking more slowly behind me. they, and karl, were carefully reading all the signs while i was just heading off down the platform, leaving karl to call after me, while at the same time trying to keep his family headed in the right direction. this, and the instance to follow, are both examples of a particular personality characteristic that i have recognized in myself before, and am not happy about: know-it-all-ness. there's a bit of headstrong in there as well, and some impatience.

the other incident happened on new year's day. new year's eve, i told karl (and everyone else) that i intended to go to the mummers parade, which we all thought started at 10am. turns out, it does start at 10am, but the bit that i wanted to see, the string bands, didn't start til 2:45. so karl was more amenable. anyway, we woke up sometime after noon. we had showered and were eating cereal when i noticed that it was 2:11. since we were 40 mins outside the city, i wanted to get going to the parade. karl agreed and asked if anyone else wanted to come. his parents said yes, and asked when we were leaving and karl said 'few minutes.' everyone started gathering things, and karl and i brushed teeth. but then they were all sitting in the living room, reading and relaxing. *not* getting ready to go. karl's brother and his wife had also decided to go, but no one was making a deliberate effort. except that karl and i had put on coats and shoes. we were standing in the kitchen with his parents, who were talking about the film in the camera or something, and i noticed that it was now 2:41. so i said (intending it to be joking, but it didn't come out that way) "okay everyone, let's *go*! it starts in 4 minutes!" now, the 4 minute remark was definitely meant to be a joke: *obviously* we weren't going to get there in time for the start. but i did want them to make some kind of move towards the door. we finally got out of there at about 3. 45 mins after karl and i said we were leaving 'soon.' i was frustrated.

karl brought that remark up in the car. said his parents didn't seem to like it. i said i had meant it to be a joke, and that i knew it didn't come out that way, and that i was also frustrated. they *knew* we wanted to leave, but were dawdling *so much*. and in my experience with them over the previous couple of days, this was a pattern. no one got out of the house quickly, ever. karl was right, though, when he said that in the future, i should tell *him* my frustrated, will-your-family-PLEASE-hurry-up thoughts, and *he* can deal with them. it was a strong remark to be made to my boyfriend's parents, who i've just met. bleh. happy new year!