The Joy of Family
05.13.05 (12:37 pm) [edit]
Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements. ~ Elizabeth 2
How annoying. Court TV has now started charging for their online trial service. I tried to get connected this morning, but nothing happened. I kept entering information and voila! nothing. I hadn't planned to sign up until sometime next week because right now they're doing a trial that I have absolutely no interest in. Then I find out that the trial I was interested in, which usually starts at about the time I get off work, is starting at noon today. Damn. This is some indication of exactly how tedious my life is. I've been having to make it through the day with nothing to distract me. I've been busying myelf with checking out what extensions are available for Firefox. Woo! Big fun!
The contract on the land fell through again. I warned Hubby that it seemed likely to me. But then I'm the eternal pessimist. He thinks they have another interested buyer waiting around until May 31 when the contract with the current real estate agent expires. Once again, just let me know when the money's in the bank. Until then I'm not getting my hopes up. We've been through 2 contracts in the past year, so having one actually come to fruition, with money changing hands, is highly unlikely. Sigh.
Meanwhile, his crazy brother keeps calling up with insane ideas about marketing the land. When I say crazy, I'm not just drifting into hyperbole. He's definitely bipolar and his ex-wife said when they were in counselling together, the psychiatrist (or whatever) diagnosed him with borderline personality disorder. Uh oh. The more I thought about it, the more I recognized the tell-tale signs. BPD is a diagnosis you want to avoid at all costs. It's very difficult to find a therapist who'll take on a client with BPD because one of the hallmarks of the disorder is the unwillingness to change.
His brother was once married to a woman who became a physician, then divorced the guy. Everyone was kind of bitter about it, but I can't judge her...I'm surprised she hung in there as long as she did. He alienated his two adult children and has made absolutely no effort to reconnect with them. He pities himself on all counts.
When Brother got divorced, his wife paid monthly spousal support with the proviso that he had to be in school attempting to find a way to support himself. At the time of their divorce, he already hadn't worked for a good decade. He and his mom moved to the town where the school is and he actually attended classes for about 5 months. I was impressed he made it that long.
Originally, Brother just assumed he'd be welcome to come and live with us. Wrong assumption. Hubby didn't want him here, so me putting my foot down was actually a relief for him, I think. I offered to find a place here for mom to live and some financial support, but her insistence that Brother come, too, eliminated that possibility. I refuse to support any more people, especially a grown man who, if given the chance, would still have his fat butt parked on my sofa to this day. Not only no, but hell no.
I wish I'd thought of talking about this guy before because he's just a riot. I don't even know where to begin. I'll just continue the current story. Brother lied to ex about being in school, but she found out and cut the monetary umbilical cord. At that point, he just lived off of his mom's social security checks (she lived with him, of course).
He thought he'd come up with a plan when he re-connected with a woman he'd known in high school (he's in his late fifties). She's a nurse. Isn't that hilarious? Anyway, they talked on the phone for a couple of months, then she came down from Connecticut (someplace on the east coast, anyway) for a weekend. They were going to get married. The next thing I know, they've been shopping over the weekend and burned through some significant amounts of cash. I remember that he bought one of those hospital beds that you can get in all sorts of positions, a new sofa, a new (large) television. There may have been a few more items, but that's all I can think of at the moment.
The shit hit the fan when her family found out about the purchases. The engagement was cancelled and he was supposed to return all of the merchandise. He wanted me to pay for it. Here again, is that hilarious or what? He kept telling hubby that their mom would be humiliated if all of these trucks started arriving and carting out all of the stuff they'd just delivered. Not my responsibility, asshole. When that relationship fell through, Brother started trolling for some Russian emigree who was looking to get married to an American. I think he picked Russian because those women are accustomed to working outside the home. I guarantee that he has absolutely no intention of ever working--wouldn't want to break with tradition, I guess. Nothing ever came of that.
Their mom died a couple of years ago and Brother moved into a garage which was on the property that a former neighbor lived on. He seemed to be fine with it. He managed to alienate that woman and once again called us up, wanting us to come get him. No. Then an old friend of his from when he lived in a very ritzy suburb many years ago offered to rescue him. He ended up living there for about three months when they decided they couldn't deal with him being on their sofa for the next decade or so.
He ended up moving into a shelter where he's been ever since. Sometimes I feel badly about that, but then I get with reality again. Well, there's much more to this story (of course), but I have an appointment. No time for Bushism or website of the day. Oops.
How annoying. Court TV has now started charging for their online trial service. I tried to get connected this morning, but nothing happened. I kept entering information and voila! nothing. I hadn't planned to sign up until sometime next week because right now they're doing a trial that I have absolutely no interest in. Then I find out that the trial I was interested in, which usually starts at about the time I get off work, is starting at noon today. Damn. This is some indication of exactly how tedious my life is. I've been having to make it through the day with nothing to distract me. I've been busying myelf with checking out what extensions are available for Firefox. Woo! Big fun!
The contract on the land fell through again. I warned Hubby that it seemed likely to me. But then I'm the eternal pessimist. He thinks they have another interested buyer waiting around until May 31 when the contract with the current real estate agent expires. Once again, just let me know when the money's in the bank. Until then I'm not getting my hopes up. We've been through 2 contracts in the past year, so having one actually come to fruition, with money changing hands, is highly unlikely. Sigh.
Meanwhile, his crazy brother keeps calling up with insane ideas about marketing the land. When I say crazy, I'm not just drifting into hyperbole. He's definitely bipolar and his ex-wife said when they were in counselling together, the psychiatrist (or whatever) diagnosed him with borderline personality disorder. Uh oh. The more I thought about it, the more I recognized the tell-tale signs. BPD is a diagnosis you want to avoid at all costs. It's very difficult to find a therapist who'll take on a client with BPD because one of the hallmarks of the disorder is the unwillingness to change.
His brother was once married to a woman who became a physician, then divorced the guy. Everyone was kind of bitter about it, but I can't judge her...I'm surprised she hung in there as long as she did. He alienated his two adult children and has made absolutely no effort to reconnect with them. He pities himself on all counts.
When Brother got divorced, his wife paid monthly spousal support with the proviso that he had to be in school attempting to find a way to support himself. At the time of their divorce, he already hadn't worked for a good decade. He and his mom moved to the town where the school is and he actually attended classes for about 5 months. I was impressed he made it that long.
Originally, Brother just assumed he'd be welcome to come and live with us. Wrong assumption. Hubby didn't want him here, so me putting my foot down was actually a relief for him, I think. I offered to find a place here for mom to live and some financial support, but her insistence that Brother come, too, eliminated that possibility. I refuse to support any more people, especially a grown man who, if given the chance, would still have his fat butt parked on my sofa to this day. Not only no, but hell no.
I wish I'd thought of talking about this guy before because he's just a riot. I don't even know where to begin. I'll just continue the current story. Brother lied to ex about being in school, but she found out and cut the monetary umbilical cord. At that point, he just lived off of his mom's social security checks (she lived with him, of course).
He thought he'd come up with a plan when he re-connected with a woman he'd known in high school (he's in his late fifties). She's a nurse. Isn't that hilarious? Anyway, they talked on the phone for a couple of months, then she came down from Connecticut (someplace on the east coast, anyway) for a weekend. They were going to get married. The next thing I know, they've been shopping over the weekend and burned through some significant amounts of cash. I remember that he bought one of those hospital beds that you can get in all sorts of positions, a new sofa, a new (large) television. There may have been a few more items, but that's all I can think of at the moment.
The shit hit the fan when her family found out about the purchases. The engagement was cancelled and he was supposed to return all of the merchandise. He wanted me to pay for it. Here again, is that hilarious or what? He kept telling hubby that their mom would be humiliated if all of these trucks started arriving and carting out all of the stuff they'd just delivered. Not my responsibility, asshole. When that relationship fell through, Brother started trolling for some Russian emigree who was looking to get married to an American. I think he picked Russian because those women are accustomed to working outside the home. I guarantee that he has absolutely no intention of ever working--wouldn't want to break with tradition, I guess. Nothing ever came of that.
Their mom died a couple of years ago and Brother moved into a garage which was on the property that a former neighbor lived on. He seemed to be fine with it. He managed to alienate that woman and once again called us up, wanting us to come get him. No. Then an old friend of his from when he lived in a very ritzy suburb many years ago offered to rescue him. He ended up living there for about three months when they decided they couldn't deal with him being on their sofa for the next decade or so.
He ended up moving into a shelter where he's been ever since. Sometimes I feel badly about that, but then I get with reality again. Well, there's much more to this story (of course), but I have an appointment. No time for Bushism or website of the day. Oops.
