i knooooooooow we culcha can maaaaaaake it

this is my new year's eve... an edited email to the kelvster

so what if its a week late... pfft
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saturday i was supposed to go to the east by jan's family party. i didn't feel like travelling and then it started to rain and i heard there was an accident on the way so i didn't bother with anything. i apparently missed out on some good fun. which i expected. eh well.
i did work from 9pm to 4am though because ikenna (my brother here) was supposed to stay at my house after a fete (party) in the west end. he was going to stay over because my father wanted us to all go to church on sunday morning as a family. hehheh. i called ikenna at 4 and he said he was just going to go home because he hadn't heard from dad (pablo...father). ok so i go to sleep at like 445. i'm strange i know. 7am i get a call from ikenna.
dad had dropped off the car and keys for him and would like us to be at mass. he and ikenna had discussed which church and they had sort of picked an early time because ikenna had plans after lunch and so did i. we dragged ourselves out of bed for a 930 mass near me, didn't see Dad anywhere in the church and were quite confused.
we passed by the family house and had lunch with his sisters. on the way, ikenna checked his voicemail. at 1105 there was a message saying "go to 1100 mass [in town]". we were pissed. it was like the airport all over again. we could have SLEPT. our aunts found that hilarious. and typical =

i was supposed to go by my godmother's mom's house for their family lunch. i didnt want to go in my church shoes and i was crusty due to el period and just general anti-socialness and the fact that i'd have to travel there. jan had left a message inviting herself and her friends (Caroline and Julie) to my house. so i waffled back and forth with that before deciding to have them come over. i figured that way i'd be forced to do something with htem for new years.

after they eat (and i didn't), we head to the far east- getting harassed by every man we passed in the bus terminus. the maxi driver was a funny little old man so that was cool. we went to jan's aunt Anissia in La Horqueta. Auntie Nissy has 4 children living home with her. Sasha who's Tarik's age (22), Shayan who's Jans age (21), Kwesi, whose my age (actually 25), and Nigel who must be pushing 40. He was married before for 13 years then got divorced or something and i guessed moved back home.

they live in a house that has too much furniture and a wicked veranda.

i was HUNGRY by the time we got there and there wasn't anything i could really eat, so we took a trip to the neighborhood bodega. i was desperate for pre-booze food that would be heavier than crackers...so i bought mac and cheese. and making that was QUITE an event.they had just moved into the house and Kwesi had no idea where things were in the kitchen. half a pot of miscellaneous mac and cheese and i was good to go!

then we got ready then caught a maxi (Kwesi, Shayan, Jan,Caro, Julie and me) to go to Kwesi's friends place. that was where i was when i called you. pure young people rolling in. it was shaping up to be a nice house party. new favourite mixed drink: scotch + pear drax. yum!

jan REEEEEEEEEEALLY wanted to do the countdown with sasha so at 1130, we started walking back out to the main road to cram into an old car and get a lift down the road to sasha's friend crystal's house. this meant me and shayan in the passenger seat (thinnest people in the front!) and jan caro julie and kwesi in the back. shayan and kwesi are both 6 feet and change. luckily they're not as solid as tarik or somebody would have had to walk.

crystal's house was a family affair so it was not as lively as the house we were at before. after eating, the boys soon got on their phones to their girlfriends. BUT that meant malaika got a second full plate of food in a 40 minute span. (plate number 3 of the evening). and sasha and her fam used to live next door to them for years so crystal and her husband (crystal is like 22 and they have a 2 year old baby), had stockpiled a load of fireworks because they know shayan and kwesi like to set them off.

after that, by 1am we were all yawning. 3 plates of food and some booze and you know i'd be ready to sleep anywhere. crystals brother drives a maxi and was still working (thank goodness), so the 6 of us piled in to get home. i knocked out for the whole ride.

other hijinx and hilarity ensued throughout the day because its a house full of boys. apparently, during the holidays, the mornings always start with sasha and shayan blaring VH1 or MTV, aunty nissy playing gospel real loud, and shayan singing badly over all of that to whatever is on the tv. i thought jan and her friends were kidding when they told me. but they weren't. and i felt like crap cus i was sickish and the fan was blowing on us all night plus i had to sleep defensively due to jan. lol

p.p.s. nigel renames everyone and my new name is tulsie. i have no idea why. and neither does he.