Dynamite's Diary - 26th December 2021

Nothing much really happens on Boxing Day - it is after the big day after all - so I thought I might as well get on with writing about what happened over this Christmas in general.

So Christmas Eve was a mad rush in the morning - I had to get some last minute shopping done since I'd COMPLETELY forgotten to do it earlier. Let me tell you, it was NOT a fun experience. There were screaming kids just running around and knocking stuff off the shelves, people taking too long looking at the stuff and not moving out of the way to let others get by, and at one point I was held up by some bitchy woman in a fur coat (do they really still sell those things?!) who was taking too long at the till moaning about being "overcharged" for a pack of stockings.

But I managed to get it all done in the end, and so I was able to have lunch at Mom's place. She just served up tacos as usual - it's the only thing she really knows how to cook. And even if she did try to make them more "Christmassy" by adding sage and onion to them, they just ended up tasting weird. On the bright side, she did like the gift I gave her, which consisted of ten food vouchers for the nearby taco diner.

Anyway, I ended up heading over to Dad's place for the evening, though he was just heading out with Jack Spaniels when I got there. He told me that he was going to meet up with Grandma and go for a walk with her. Possibly see the Christmas lights in the city.

Interesting choice, I thought as he left. I thought for sure he'd have tried to take her to the nearby shooting range instead. But to each their own I guess.

Since I'd already seen the Christmas lights earlier on this month, I didn't think I was really missing out on anything. That said, it wasn't that eventful at the shack, given that the only other occupant was Dad's pet snapping turtle Snappy, and the biggest event involving him was me trying to feed him without getting my fingers bitten clean off in the process.

So most of the time, I was just texting my mates and finding out if their Christmas Eve was more interesting than mine, as well as making some milkshakes and drinking them up. Not that it was too bad - I had quite a bit of fun choosing the variety of flavors for the drinks (strawberry, chocolate, banana, you name it) as well as blending them all together, but you can only make so many before you start to run off of milk and ice cream.

At one point, things were so low-key I just randomly decided to clean up a pile of scrap metal that had been sitting in the corner of the shack for YEARS. Why Dad hasn't bothered to do it himself, I had no idea.

Most of it was just garbage that couldn't be used for anything. There was however a pretty cool robot I found that resembled one of those Transformer toys. Sure, the paint was peeling off and it looked crudely made, but I thought I might as well get it out and place it on the side table. It would spruce the place up a bit more, right? And so, finally getting that out the way, I simply got back to lounging on my bed and checking my phone.

I got quite the jump scare when the door suddenly flung open, with Dad stepping in soon afterwards. But the real shocker was that he'd taken GRANDMA home with him.

I pretty much dropped my phone because I was so stunned, and then struggled to make words and pick it up at the same time. All I could get out was "Oh, hey, uh-" like a true mess.

Dad had to be an outright troll on the whole situation. He was all smug with his arms crossed and saying "Dynah, you're binge-drinkin' the milkshakes again".

I was about to argue that no, I wasn't binge-drinking them, I just had some of them to give myself more energy. But then he took one look at the robot next to me and just freaked out. Now it was HIS turn to start spluttering - "Y-you found it! But where did you-".

Well I told him where it was alright. And then he grabbed it and kissed it before showing it off to Grandma like an excited kid.

"You remember this, don't you Mama? The Lazer Robot you made for me when I was ten?"

And Grandma chuckled and said "I sure do son".

Can I just say that thing shot out lazers from its eyes like some sort of demon when Dad shook it about? It actually looked really cool, and I seriously wish that I'd had more toys like that when I was younger. Even if Jack got spooked out by it and smashed one of the windows in the process.

Dad clearly thought it was cool too, because he was all like "And the eye lazers still work! Oh this is awesome! So glad that the family's all here!"

I almost said, "Well, nearly all of them". But then I decided not to. After all, the IMPORTANT family members were here. Not the ones who didn't deserve to celebrate Christmas with us. So I simply said "Yeah, it sure is".

We had that squirrel pie that Dad had stored, and I got to hear a very interesting story from him about how he'd really wanted this Lazer Robot that they had in the shops when he was ten, but him and Grandma couldn't afford it so Grandma made him his own version for Christmas instead. Honestly, I feel like you already get a better deal from a homemade gift if it comes with real lazers that you can shoot stuff with, rather than something that looks like lazers, as was apparently the case with the one they were unable to get. He'd lost it in that pile some time ago, but now that he'd found it again, he couldn't wait to play with it some more.

So that was Christmas Eve. As for Christmas Day, we got to exchanges our prezzies with each other. I had to make a SUPER last minute gift for Grandma before they were handed out, given that I hadn't expected her to show up. Ultimately, I just decided to use some of the scrap metal to make a gun shaped door plate that she could possibly use. I think she liked it.

Dad's mates turned up at one point to give him a joint present, which turned out to be a giant teddy bear with an eyepatch. Dad got super emotional and weepy about it and was kissing that too.

"Well, it was Marshall's idea," Wiz said, kinda flustered. "I told him it wasn't cheap, but he insisted that if we both paid for it, it would be fine."

Marshall looked so pleased with himself about that. And then they proceeded to wish Dad a merry Christmas before heading off again. Apparently they'd already spent a lot of time together yesterday so there wasn't really much to catch up on, though they all planned to go to the same New Year's party together.

Christmas lunch consisted of Grandma's take on Christmas turkey...which consisted of it smothered in chilli sauce and squirrel paste. Kinda tasted delicious AND disgusting at the same time. Hey, at least the chocolate pudding that came afterward was straight-up nice.

Then for the rest of Christmas Day, I got to hang out with my pals and just catch up with what they were doing. None of the shops and cafes were open, so I made sure to bring the spare milkshakes from yesterday over so they could enjoy them. X3

On a slight bummer note, Steve had to spend time with his family for Christmas, but he said he liked my gift that I posted to him. After all, even if he already has plenty of basketballs, it doesn't hurt to get him a red and black one with flame decals on it, right?

Now it's Boxing Day, and Grandma's gone back to her place again. I have to say that, questionable cooking choices aside, I did like her, even if I felt super awkward about getting to know a relative who I'd been told was dead for years until suddenly finding out that she was alive. Maybe she can give me some martial arts pointers as well? Dad says she's really good with those.

All that's left to do now is just wait until the New Year. Hopefully I get to stay up and watch the fireworks this time round, rather than spend the time stuck in Mom's faulty bathroom like last year - it's a long story, believe me. And given the craziness that happened earlier this month (another long story, as explained in my previous diary entry), it should also give me time to unwind and forget my worries like Christmas Day did.