I had a very jam-packed weekend for this Thanksgiving:

Thursday (Thanksgiving Day): The original plan was for my mom and I to cook our own small Thanksgiving dinner at home, then meet up with the rest of my family at my Uncle Me�o's house. I especially wanted to be with my mom's side of the family because it was our first year without my grandfather.

Well, things didn't turn out that way. After we came back from church we tried to warm up the oven and, lo and behold, our oven was BROKEN and we didn't find out it was broken until right before we put the turkey in the oven!!! We called the gas company cos we could smell gas, the lady said our safety gauge was broken. Boo!!! My mom has an antique stove circa 1950s so we have to go to a special guy to fix it and, of course, he wasn't in town that weekend.

We called my uncle and asked if we could come earlier and he said we were more than welcome to. We made it down there in good time despite the traffic, I napped cos I was tired like usual cos of the virus that was wearing me down. I greeted all my family, I especially made sure my grandma was okay. My Auntie Ana came down again from San Fransisco for this occasion, I really enjoy her when she comes to visit! She gave me a pack of chocolate cigarrettes form a sweets shop in San Fransisco and a really pretty faux stone necklace she and her wife got from a yard sale with me in mind. I also got a shirt that said, "Inside of me there's a thin woman waiting to get out-I can usually shut the bitch up with some chocolate!"

Before we ate, we all gathered around the table and held hands for the blessing. We looked to Uncle Me�o to say the blessing in my grandfather's absence, then turned it over to me to say the closing blessing. I didn't know what to say really but no matter what I'd said it didn't matter cos I was on the verge of tears. Anyhow, we had a good meal and a great time talking with everyone! We usually put on a movie for the kids after the dinner, this year it was the family classic, The Dark Knight! hehe, I like that movie and it sounded amazing in my uncle's surround sound! We left around the same time as my grandmother and we all made plans to see the headstone that was recently installed on my grandfather's grave. It was very important we all be there and I didn't want to miss it for anything.

Friday: The day after, while everyone was camping out at parking lots and beating people up for electronics, I slept! I went to my psychiatric 2nd opinion. This was the doctor my mom has been going to for maybe 10 years now so I trust him. He talked to me for a good hour and asked me many questions, about my past, about the presant, my currant stressors and whatnot. He told me he agreed with the bipolar II diagnosis but he explained exactly why in length and told me I have a lot of options from this point on. I wasn't happy with what he concluded but he did make me see the big picture behind what he said and that made all the difference in the world. He didn't just say, "You're bipolar. Goodbye" like the other doctor did, he let me ask questions and wanted my input. From now on I'm going to be seeing him for my psychiatric needs.

My dad and I made our way to my grandma's cos she graciously let us use her oven to cook our things before they spoiled. Grandma thought we were just going to cook dinner then leave, I told her we were going to have a Thanksgiving Part 2 at her house! My Auntie Ana was there and we talked and had fun. She told me, "Dance like Shakira!" and I did for fun...and she gave me $55!!! I was like, "What? Haha" and she told me to keep it even after I put it back in her hand. She has this way of looking at you like she'll hit you if you don't listen to her. (And yeah, she WILL hit you!) We had a really nice conversation outside while we waited for the neighborhood bunny to come to the yard.

I saw this in my grandmother's bathroom, LOLcats en Espa�ol! Ah, this is where I get it from!

My mom took it upon herself to pack EVERYTHING in our kitchen that we'd need for the dinner from every recipe we were going to cook, I kid you not, we brought all the ingredients in separate containers, even our own PLATES! We didn't want to make a mess of my grandmother's things. In the end, my mother met us after work and we (my parents, my aunt and grandmother) had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner Part 2! Everything came out wonderfully and I was very happy to do all of this for my family. <3

After I came back home, I went out again to meet up with my friends Tako, Keil, Cyrene and Cyrene's cosplay twinsie Tony who was visiting from Seattle. We hung out at Beer Station for a bit, then we went to Cue to take some pictures that came out so funny! After that we hung around Life Plaza. I got a call from a friend and I don't quite know what happened after that but I freaked out badly, had a really bad panic attack and left hysterical, I felt so awful for reacting that way in front of my friends but they were supportive, which I'm glad! While I was in my car crying from Life Plaza to my house, I realized, yeah, there is something wrong with me to freak out like that for nothing, really, and maybe there is something to this bipolar II diagnosis. (Bipolar II, in a nutshell, is being happy but depressed at the same time, hypomanic mood swings)

After a long while of trying to calm down, I did go to sleep and prepared for the next day.

Part 2 coming up...