Oh, Thanksgiving.
The day when those who've been avoiding their family all year are forced to confront them. And then, you have to walk on eggshells, avoiding deep convo and acting like everything's all good. For those, it's a day of much alcohol.
It's all a day of straight-up gluttony. Seeing as it's the one day I get off, I completely advocate stuffing yourself until you fall asleep from the tryptophan.
For us cynics out there, T-day's also a day of irony. Celebrating a relationship between the pilgrims and Indians, with the Indians teaching the colonizers how to survive, that was clearly betrayed with a bunch of bogus treaties. Honestly, as a child, this is the max of our Native American education - making hand print turkeys and discussing Squanto and the friendly Indians.
This Thanksgiving has taken on a new meaning for me. Yesterday was a fucking draining day. I was so irritated and exhausted at work. Honestly, I guess (and hope for the future) that the day before Thanksgiving is the worst possible day to work at a bank. There was just a constant line and as usual, customers always pick me to be an asshole too. How can I project bitch more so I can look less inviting at my window. I specifically picked the least-trafficked window and yet, my stupid regulars - a Muslim guy who trusts me because I'm Indian and even treats me like an unpaid accountant and a confederate-flag man Don Johnson - wait for me to be free so they can waste all my time. Let's just say that by the time I left, I needed some drinks.
But as soon as I got into the car after work, my father informed me of the attacks in Bombay and the crazy hostage situation. The thing that bothers me more than usual is that this hostage/bombing attack appears to symbolically targeted at the West. While it seems clear that a militant Pakistani group was behind everything - and we all know that India and Pakistan are never going to be all good - foreigner/tourists were specially sought out. Yes, some train stations were attacked, where masses of people were sure to be collected - probably hundreds and thousands, if I know Bombay. But the fanciest hotels, those patronized by the elite, the upper class Indians, Westerners who want safe food, tourists, etc., were bombed. And then the Americans and Brits there were held hostage. All this the day before Thanksgiving, when Americans are certain to have their guard down as they launch into holiday mode.
This of course puts my crap day in perspective. As terrible as I felt it was, it was not that bad of a day.
As of now, it appears that most of the hostages have been evacuated/saved. I would think that this situation won't be completely resolved for a while. But I'm glad that things are dying down. And that my family - most of my relatives in India live in Bombay - is safe. I'm thankful for a lot of things right now, most of all that my rents chose to move to here so we're safe and sound and can watch this from a distance.
The day when those who've been avoiding their family all year are forced to confront them. And then, you have to walk on eggshells, avoiding deep convo and acting like everything's all good. For those, it's a day of much alcohol.
It's all a day of straight-up gluttony. Seeing as it's the one day I get off, I completely advocate stuffing yourself until you fall asleep from the tryptophan.
For us cynics out there, T-day's also a day of irony. Celebrating a relationship between the pilgrims and Indians, with the Indians teaching the colonizers how to survive, that was clearly betrayed with a bunch of bogus treaties. Honestly, as a child, this is the max of our Native American education - making hand print turkeys and discussing Squanto and the friendly Indians.
This Thanksgiving has taken on a new meaning for me. Yesterday was a fucking draining day. I was so irritated and exhausted at work. Honestly, I guess (and hope for the future) that the day before Thanksgiving is the worst possible day to work at a bank. There was just a constant line and as usual, customers always pick me to be an asshole too. How can I project bitch more so I can look less inviting at my window. I specifically picked the least-trafficked window and yet, my stupid regulars - a Muslim guy who trusts me because I'm Indian and even treats me like an unpaid accountant and a confederate-flag man Don Johnson - wait for me to be free so they can waste all my time. Let's just say that by the time I left, I needed some drinks.
But as soon as I got into the car after work, my father informed me of the attacks in Bombay and the crazy hostage situation. The thing that bothers me more than usual is that this hostage/bombing attack appears to symbolically targeted at the West. While it seems clear that a militant Pakistani group was behind everything - and we all know that India and Pakistan are never going to be all good - foreigner/tourists were specially sought out. Yes, some train stations were attacked, where masses of people were sure to be collected - probably hundreds and thousands, if I know Bombay. But the fanciest hotels, those patronized by the elite, the upper class Indians, Westerners who want safe food, tourists, etc., were bombed. And then the Americans and Brits there were held hostage. All this the day before Thanksgiving, when Americans are certain to have their guard down as they launch into holiday mode.
This of course puts my crap day in perspective. As terrible as I felt it was, it was not that bad of a day.
As of now, it appears that most of the hostages have been evacuated/saved. I would think that this situation won't be completely resolved for a while. But I'm glad that things are dying down. And that my family - most of my relatives in India live in Bombay - is safe. I'm thankful for a lot of things right now, most of all that my rents chose to move to here so we're safe and sound and can watch this from a distance.
