Thank God for Obscurity

The best part of being born on an obscure holiday is that you get the time off, but you don't have to actually do anything. No agonizing over what gifts to buy people. No making the rounds of relatives' houses. No having to get dressed up. Just downtime, handed to you on a dish. In my case, that obscure - well, obscure may not be the right word, but not major - holiday is Chakri Day, a significant day, to be sure, but not a family holiday like Christmas or Songkran, the Thai New Year. April sixth, in Thailand, commemorates the founding of the Chakri dynasty, the current ruling dynasty of Thailand, a strong, proud line that helped keep Thailand from becoming a European colony and beyond that, I know nothing. (Yes, as you can see, I am a very proud citizen. ) An important day in national and personal history, but not important enough for me not to be able to dictate my own itinerary. On the agenda? Finish checking my friend's textbook (darn, I am one big procrastinator nowadays), watch one of the DVDs my friend lent me and finish reading Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris, also on loan from the same friend. This is bliss. This is the best present I could ever ask for. Time off, but nothing to do but what I want to.

Final thought: Obscurity is bliss.