What's upsetting you today?

[HungLikeJesus]

Originally Posted by Brianna

I don't know. I haven't seen/heard from him. I am feeling worried like everyone.

But what does the Ouija say?

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by Brianna

How 'bout, "Kids, no Santa appears in the curriculum. Now, we'd better get going unless you want Chinese overlords!"

Ah-ah-ahh-ah, ah-ah-ahh-ah
We come from the land of the Rice and snow
from the Rising sun where the sweat shops sew

How crisp your bills, so green
could not elect Al Gore,
and now we'll calm
the tides of war
We are your overlords!

[Trilby]

*swoon!*

[Pico and ME]

[Sundae]

I slept through an early morning call today, but Mum didn't. Well, she goes to bed earlier than me, doesn't wear earplugs and has the phone by the side of her bed!

The husband of one of her oldest friends died just after 06.00 this morning. He'd been in hospital for two months and they'd only just managed to diagnose him - complications in the brain following years of immuno-suppressant drugs to manage his rheumatoid arthiritis. The slow diagnosis isn't because they're slack (he was at the country's leading brain injury/ disease hospital in Oxford, luckily only 20 miles away) but because there was so much to rule out. In the end his heart just gave out.

Mum was over at Maureen's comforting her today, so even if we'd had no human feeling it would have affected Dad & me. Truth is I didn't care much for them (just in a child looking at her parents' friends kinda way I mean) but I've been hearing about the whole situation since I arrived. They've driven her to hospital a number of times (she hates dual carriageways and driving in the dark) and Mum also went with her on the bus and again when her son drove them - he doesn't live in the area so couldn't go every day.

She was Mum's first friend when Mum moved from London to Aylesbury. Maureen had done the same thing (there was an active campaign to fill up the towns in those days). Colin was a year older than my Dad, Craig - the son - a year younger than me, but married and with children.

Well, that's Christmas screwed for the next few years, at least for M & C.
And Colin had only just retired as well.

I am so lucky in comparison, I gave my Dad a kiss on the cheek when I got up and heard the news. He didn't ask why. I assume he knew.

[elSicomoro]

April and I have officially decided to move in with her mom at the end of January. We were originally gonna do it in November, but her mom offered to pay 2 extra months of rent due to lack of space at her place at the time, and the hope that one of us would find a real job.

Nothing will prevent this move now...not even if both of us got jobs tomorrow. We're almost out of savings, so the primary goal is to replenish that and then some. I'm not keen on living with my mother-in-law, but she's cool...and it'll have to do for now.

[Yznhymr]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

I slept through an early morning call today, but Mum didn't. Well, she goes to bed earlier than me, doesn't wear earplugs and has the phone by the side of her bed!

The husband of one of her oldest friends died just after 06.00 this morning. He'd been in hospital for two months and they'd only just managed to diagnose him - complications in the brain following years of immuno-suppressant drugs to manage his rheumatoid arthiritis. The slow diagnosis isn't because they're slack (he was at the country's leading brain injury/ disease hospital in Oxford, luckily only 20 miles away) but because there was so much to rule out. In the end his heart just gave out.

Mum was over at Maureen's comforting her today, so even if we'd had no human feeling it would have affected Dad & me. Truth is I didn't care much for them (just in a child looking at her parents' friends kinda way I mean) but I've been hearing about the whole situation since I arrived. They've driven her to hospital a number of times (she hates dual carriageways and driving in the dark) and Mum also went with her on the bus and again when her son drove them - he doesn't live in the area so couldn't go every day.

She was Mum's first friend when Mum moved from London to Aylesbury. Maureen had done the same thing (there was an active campaign to fill up the towns in those days). Colin was a year older than my Dad, Craig - the son - a year younger than me, but married and with children.

Well, that's Christmas screwed for the next few years, at least for M & C.
And Colin had only just retired as well.

I am so lucky in comparison, I gave my Dad a kiss on the cheek when I got up and heard the news. He didn't ask why. I assume he knew.

Sundae Girl - My heart is out to you.

[Griff]

Originally Posted by sycamore

April and I have officially decided to move in with her mom at the end of January. We were originally gonna do it in November, but her mom offered to pay 2 extra months of rent due to lack of space at her place at the time, and the hope that one of us would find a real job.

Nothing will prevent this move now...not even if both of us got jobs tomorrow. We're almost out of savings, so the primary goal is to replenish that and then some. I'm not keen on living with my mother-in-law, but she's cool...and it'll have to do for now.

It could be tough. Maybe you can work out some ground rules early so you don't go through the room-mate training period. You can handle it bro.

[elSicomoro]

We've pretty much already laid down the ground rules. My mother-in-law is pretty decent...she just has some neuroses like the rest of us. My only real concern is just keeping Mrs. Syc's spirits up. She keeps trying to put the blame for this situation on herself, even though we both decided it was a good idea for her to leave her last job...plus we knew it could come to this.

On the upside, it'll be much easier to record music for the band, since my mother-in-law has a Mac with Garageband.

[Sundae]

Mum.
Specifically Mum with Dad.
She told me tonight that if she had the money she would leave him tomorrow.

I'm sure this is not really the case, but I hate this nasty and spiteful side of her. This was all about Dad forgetting to pick up her de-caffeinated Diet Cokes to take to my sister's house. She made nasty comments all evening and even now when we're back she is still more or less ignoring him. I tried to calm her down and she snapped at me for trying to take his side and said, "If you don't like it that's tough shit."

I've come straight upstairs because I can't take her sniping - the things she says to him are far more disrespectful than him remembering to pick something up. If it was that goddamned important why didn't she handle it herself? She already says Dad has Alzheimers, is useless, only thinks of himself and never does anything right. Him forgetting has been taken as a personal insult, but she has hands of her own to pick the cokes up. And we stood waiting for the taxi for five minutes, if she's so organised how come she didn't check that the ONE bag my Dad was carrying, that obviously only held two selection packs, was somehow hiding a six pack of coke.

And don't think she suffered all noight - oh no. My BIL went to the local shop and bought replacement cans within 30 mins of us getting there. She had one and then went onto water, bitching about my Dad being pissed the rest of the night, when in fact it was about him not being able to hear the conversation. Did I mention he is supposed to wear a hearing aid and she's acted like this is a deliberate slight to her? She's having trouble behaving like a bitch about this since I've moved in because I have a slight hearing deficiancy too, and if my Mum started trying to put me down about it I'd fight back. I bite my tongue on a lot of things, but I won't be sneered at for something I genuinely cannot help. And neither should Dad.

She went into a spite-fest on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In the first it was because Dad picked up a towel she's dropped on the floor and started drying up with it. It was dirty, Dad didn't notice. Well, silly old fool of course. But if Dad had just dropped a towel and Mum had picked it up, he'd have been in the wrong. Anyway, she went back to when Dad was 20 for that insult. Apparently it was the sort of dirty thing the Robinsons did in the house he grew up in. No wonder he and his brother (now dead) got TB.

On Christmas Day, Dad knocked the salt cellar out of the cupboard. An accident, could have happened to anyone. Oh no, it was all to do with Dad's clumsiness and how he didn't care about living in a dirty house. Odd, because when Mum smashed her own wine glass full of wine the other year it was our fault for crowding her in the kitchen, despite the fact we were performing our well-choreographed dance as kitchen helpers and were nowhere near the wine glass at the time. It was just another accident.

I hate it.
And when she's like this I hate her.
And this will be damned hard to get out of my head.
I'm not playing the lottery again while I live under their roof.

Sorry, I'm so angry right now.
I'm sure you can tell.
But I will swallow it and go downstairs and walk on eggshells because that's the only thing that will make my Dad's life easier.

If it wasn't for the fact she keeps the place both spotless and organised I'd wish her dead tomorrow.
Don't really mean it. Just fed up. And shocked she could say something that nasty about Dad.

[Sundae]

I'm less angry this morning.
Sad and disappointed, but at least I had the sense to back off and bring all my fury here.

Thanks.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by sycamore

April and I have officially decided to move in with her mom at the end of January. We were originally gonna do it in November, but her mom offered to pay 2 extra months of rent due to lack of space at her place at the time, and the hope that one of us would find a real job.

Nothing will prevent this move now...not even if both of us got jobs tomorrow. We're almost out of savings, so the primary goal is to replenish that and then some. I'm not keen on living with my mother-in-law, but she's cool...and it'll have to do for now.

Sorry to hear that. I wouldn't wish moving in with a mother in law on anyone.

[Shawnee123]

Funeral home tonight. My friend, who I told you about, passed away the morning of the 26th.

Never was there a kinder man: a good father, a smiley guy, a funny guy, a talented guy.

I was thinking about him as I drove to my parents on Sunday, and the song Tusk (Fleetwood Mac) came on. Something about that song, the drums perhaps, reminded me of the old days and he and my ex in the band and the fun (I've known his wife since we were kids, and her mom was even my supervisor one summer at my strawberry-picking job) times, watching their girls grow up, and I was so very sad.

So sad, this world sometimes.

[DanaC]

*Frowns and hugs Shawnee* The world is sad sometimes. My condolences, Shawnee; it's hard to lose a friend.

[Shawnee123]

Thanks Dana. Wife and daughters were in good spirits, considering. I think visitations are hard on the family, and it was 4 hours long. When I left about 7 there was still a really long line.

I told Wife, as we hugged and cried (just not using names here) that she has always been a strong woman, and she replied that I wouldn't want to see her when she's home. Still, I am amazed at human resiliency.

Daughters are beautiful and sweet young ladies...hard to believe the youngest used to follow me wherever I went (I played games with her, danced with her...great kid.)


I saw a few people from the day and that was nice too. They had a video of pics of him and his family, and there was one pic of the old band...my ex goofing at the camera, everyone laughing. In that pic was another band member who passed a couple years ago; his death was sudden.

But the world is missing a very good man.