Thursday, 09.08.2011 - 8:00 pm.
Saturday, it was my third day of class of the semester. I'm already so overwhelmed with all I have to do, especially because I'm taking five classes. During lunchtime that day, all of my classmates and I attended a tiny flea market to raise funds to spay and neuter stray dogs. We saw an amazing show of trained dogs and their trained owners, but the lunch wasn't ready. So we split, and Andrew, other friends and I grabbed sandwiches near campus. It was a nice moment. The end.
The next day, I attended a garage sale to raise funds -again- to spay and neuter stray dogs. This was by another association, though, and they recognized me from all the times I've helped with some of their cases. Now I'm on a list to become a member and help more actively. I enjoyed going to that garage sale: I took a bus I'd never ridden, walked around a pretty neighborhood, talked to people with the same interests as me, and bought cool stuff. New bedsheets, the book "Ask Alice", a hairpin, a scarf and three "adopt and neuter" stickers, all for $6. Pretty nice, if you ask me.
Also that day, I learned what it really is to live with a gamer. Andrew had two friends over and played their online game from about 2 pm to 10:30 pm. I went to the garage sale in the meantime. I felt alone and ignored at home, even though there were three people in this small apartment. Andrew barely talked to me, he'd use his 30 seconds between missions (each one lasts 45 minutes) mostly to talk to his friends.
I went to bed at 10 pm, tired from my trip to the garage sale (On my way back, I knew the streets but not the busses that drove by, so I walked for quite a while). I was very happy by my experience but I couldn't even tell Andrew about it, so I was also hurt. But something told me he'd feel bad for me, and even though I was half asleep when he came into the bedroom after his friends left, I knew, or rather, I supposed, he'd be surprised to find me asleep. I felt him get into bed, put his arm around me and kiss me.
The next day he asked me how I felt about it, and apologized. But by then, I had understood and I wasn't hurt anymore. Andrew used to be a gamer, he stopped, now he's back to it, mostly because he can't go to work since the student movement (which we both support) has taken over campus (except the building of my Master's classes...I'd still support it if my classes were on pause but I'd be frustrated). But the marathon he had on sunday was one of a kind, he does have a life outside the game, or else I wouldn't be satisfied with my relationship with him.
So I did tell him how I felt but also my arguments to not feel so bad. He thanked me for being so supportive and for understanding his hobby. I think he still tried to make up for the time he was but wasn't with me, because he made me breakfast and a wonderful lunch.
Now, we're preparing to travel to Uruguay!!! The airline changed the flight schedule, but it was for the best for us: they gave us a night at the hotel, so now we'll travel on sunday night to Santiago, spend the night there, and fly to Uruguay on monday morning. I am so fucking excited!!!!!!!!!
Also, I'm very stressed.
There's a lot of things to do before we leave. A friend of Andrew's will stay at our apartment to take care of our cats. We care for Marla and Nico and it's expensive to have them stay at the vet's the whole week, and also it's too stressful for them. We did it once with Marla and she didn't take it well. We were very lucky to find someone available to do us this huge favor.
But aside from the regular tensions of the trip, like packing, checking documents and flights, reading about the place, and setting up the house for your absence, I have the weight of five classes with tons of reading and group and individual work, plus my thesis as the time to collect the data approaches. Plus, my dad's 75th birthday (!!!) is coming up and my four siblings and I are planning a big celebration, although my sister is the only one in the country (Brother #1 and #2 will fly from the US to surprise him; Brother #3 is in Spain). I'm in charge of designing the invitations, I did what I could. I hope they like them.
So I don't know if I'll be able to write in here before or during my trip to Uruguay. I am incredibly overwhelmed by all the things I gotta do. But I will make it through. Still, I'm so happy.
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