Saying "whatever" is NOT a bad habit...

I guess the family dinner went okay, but I still dislike the concept of being the target of teasing and such. Let's just say that I don't think "I AM COUGAR - HEAR ME ROAR" is the greatest idea for a shirt... and Korey HAS seen the purple "WHATEVER" shirt before; it's not MY fault he doesn't remember! Says he wants to mail something over, so I'm under no illusions here - it's probably something related to his new job. Whatever it is, I'll just hold it for him - my apartment normally doesn't serve as a mailing hold facility, but there's no choice and it's not like it's DANGEROUS or anything! Told Jon about the Dragon Ball outing, and how Eric had taken over K's MSN - I don't think it would have been good had I responded with anything other than what I did! ("I think we should break up" "how do you figure that?" "because it's an indisputable fact that everything is YOUR FAULT!")

We were idly looking at photo albums (and Jon was commenting on how bossy / feisty I can get) when dinner was ready. I decided to sit at the table by Korey while my mom and grandma sat on the other side of the table; Eric, Jon, and Steph congregated around sports on TV. Tuna noodle casserole, chicken, squash / beet soup, tortillas, salad, and broccoli were pretty good. I think Korey impressed Grandma (sort of?) by actually calling her "po-po" ... hey, she was actually SMILING for once! Someone brought up the idea of a Chinese nickname that she could call him, and CURRY was suggested. Steph thought that could get confusing as they eat curry a lot, but I'm sure Grandma can distinguish between the food and the person! Discussed my purple / pink "bling" shirt and the Mexican dragon bling necklace, and Korey said that the Mexican pop-top bracelet had been a hit at his work in Kamloops, too - hand model, ahoy! Talked about Koreans, Japanese, Spanish (I do NOT know a lot of it!), certain things about K's family life, Filipinos, Eric's birthday dinner at the Mad Greek (LIQUOR AND EXPENSE, OH MY!), food differences, etc. K called me "babe" in front of people, and they didn't seem to mind this time - I was hesitant about calling him anything at all, but did get in a "my dear." (he thinks even "LOVE" sounds old - NOW WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!)

I think Korey got along better with my mom and family this time - I bet it had something to do with the homey atmosphere. They got into certain stories like the New Years peach wine cooler story with Dave... Korey even called my mother "Mom" - maybe for lack of anything better to call her? Jon figured that I was pretty warm from the Amnesiac / Kahlua in my coffee / a sip of the Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey (burns!) / Don de Dieu (which Mom actually LIKED!) - Korey thought the same when he touched my face! Here I thought the Asian red-face gene was done working in me, haha. Reached for K's hand and held it for support as much as anything else - turns out they were talking about whether I'd have kids, marriage / weddings / grandkids, and certain childhood things. Thanks, Mom - why don't you just break out all the embarrassing stories NOW because you KNOW that I don't like people knowing those things! *sarcasm*

Steph said that she'd booked the 15th off already, but she'll have to change it since K won't be in town then. I'll just reserve it for the day of my birthday at around 7 instead, haha. (Chinese Eric called while I was out, and I told him about it when I returned the call at 11:10 - no, we can't make up the lack of Monday hangout this weekend since I'm BUSY!) Eventually, the two of us migrated to the couch area since Eric had left early after reading one of Jon's books, and I awkwardly sat on his lap for a bit. Then I went to sit by my brother, convincing Korey to come too... apparently, he could tell that I was falling asleep on his shoulder, kinda nestled in the crook of his arm. IT'S THE ALCOHOL, I TELL YOU! He wondered why WE didn't talk for hours on the phone like Jon and Harmony seemed to, but we DID have a recent conversation that lasted for almost two hours! Steph showed him pictures of Eric as a kid - he does look the same now, except with facial hair! Then Korey thought that he'd be rich if he fined me a dollar every time I said "whatever" - whether accompanied by a snort and eyeroll or not. Maybe, but I don't think that habit needs to be cured! He asked whether I'd be doing anything after dinner on my birthday - I have NO idea right now, and asked in my turn whether he'd be tired afterward. He said no. All right, I'll take your word for it!

He said that "Oompa-Loompa" would be a good nickname for me - if he hasn't forgotten, I NIXED IT A WHILE AGO! NO AFFECTION FOR YOU IF YOU CONTINUE! (half-joking) Then he got into Sir Mix-A-Lot's "I like big butts and I cannot lie" - nothing I can do about THAT, I suppose. I was GOING to touch him with my wet hands from washing the dishes, but refrained. Then he asked me in front of everyone whether I'd be okay without him for a while since he's going to Port McNeill - I briefly thought of burning him, but didn't. Let's bring on the feistiness and laying DOWN the gauntlet! We held hands on the way home, where I instantly slipped into "detached mode" (as per usual) and told Jon that I'd see him tomorrow. Returned Chinese Eric's call - thank goodness he answered his phone, even if he sounded a bit sleepy. He will definitely ask Fay if she's free on Monday next!

Then K called to ask if something was wrong / whether I was mad at him: no, it's more my mother commenting about stuff I'd rather be kept private. It's not that I'm not over what they did to me (and not my sibs), and it's not even that I'm the odd one out because of my CP and other things, but there's still this barrier. He thinks it's weird in a bad way that I show more affection to him than I do to my family, but that's how I'm wired... I don't think there's anything BAD inherent in it! Yes, I know I'm lucky since my family is there for me like if I got bankrupt - I guess I'm kinda close to them in a way, and not close in other ways. We talked about that for a bit, then he figured that he had to go to sleep soon. He gave me a number that I could call if needed (maybe every other day or something) and said he loved me. I said that back, and hung up - now for the busy weekend coming up! Yay, distractions! :D (gotta tell people about my party, haha!)


Edit: Have checked email, replied to comments, taken a shower, and have made a BP reservation for 7:15 on the 17th. 15% gratuity be darned, haha. Dan said hi, and then signed off - oh well, I'll catch him later!