Ah, enlightenment!...and lost collection

Yesterday I got the book I ordered weeks ago. "Dao De Jing, the new, highly readable translation of the life-changing ancient scripture formerly known as the Tao Te Ching". I intend to read it in 2 months when I leave for Canada. I have a feeling that if I start reading today, I may want to leave earlier than planned.

Now I said goodbye to my hard/soft cover books. Nina will be selling my entire collection to raise her ebay feedback. Since I won't be able to take them with me, I've reluctantly agreed for her to practically give them away...at 1 cent each. I used to read books, but to do that, peace and quiet is required (at least for me)...impossible in this house.

Now it's not a handful of books, but a decent collections, that can easily fill a couple of shelves.

Here is the list, so you can get an idea of what I like/liked to read:

- Hard Cover Books

Star Wars

Specter of the Past
The New Rebellion
The Crystal Star
Vision of the Future
Children of the Jedi
The Corellian Trilogy
The Jedi Academy Trilogy
Heir to the Empire (vol 1 of a 3 book cycle)
Dark Force Rising (vol 2 of a 3 book cycle)
The Last Command (vol 3 of a 3 book cycle)

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order

Agents of Chaos
Balance Point
Vector Prime

Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights

Under Black Sun

Forgotten Realms

Daughter of the Drow
Siege of Darkness
The Dark Elf Triogy (Collector's Edition)

Star Trek

STNG - Triangle: Imzadi II
STNG - The Continuum
STDS - Warped
Federation

Fantasy

Chicks in Chainmail
Support your local Wizard
A Sorcered and a Gentleman
Fortress in the Eye of Time
Maureen Birnbaum, Barbarian Swordsperson
The Dragon Circle : The Dragon Waking
Wizard's First Rule
The Last Dragonlord
The Hidden City
Michael Moorcock's Elric: Tales of the White Wolf
Green Rider
Lords and Ladies
The White Gryphon
One Quest. Hold the Dragons (Book 2 of Cups and Sorcery)
The Dragon Reborn (Book 3 of The Wheel of Time)
The Shadow Rising (Book 4 of The Wheel of Time)

Sci-Fi

Children of Dune
Moonseed
Starship Troopers

Misc

The Nitpicker's Guide for Next Generation Trekkers Vol 2
The History of Vampires
An Incomplete Education

- Soft Covers Books

Forgotten Realms

Realms of Magic
Spellfire
Realms of Infamy
Shadows of Doom (The Shadow of the Avatar - Book 1)
Cloak of Shadows (The Shadow of the Avatar - Book 2)
Shadowdale (The Avatar Trilogy - Book 1)
Tantras (The Avatar Trilogy - Book 2)
Waterdeep (The Avatar Trilogy - Book 3)
Darkwalker of Moonshae (The Moonshae Trilogy - Book 1)
Darkwell (The Moonshae Trilogy - Book 2)
Black Wizards (The Moonshae Trilogy - Book 3)

Ravenloff

Vampire of the Mists

Isaac Asimov

I, Robot
Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth

Sci-Fi

The Star Dancers
Timescape

Oh well, list is made, I intend to replace them (and probably read/re-read them) in the future. Another part of me that I need to revive, the book reader.

A raid is about to start in lotro, so I better get on it before they start without me.

Insanity again..

I'm doing laundry and washing dishes when all of a sudden, Nins starts screaming from the bedroom. Mind you right now my little nephew is home. The woman is cursing to high heavens, about the cat throwing up on a plastic bag on her side of the bedroom and how her leg touched it.

Having a cat is great (if you are lucky of course, you get one that is very affectionate and will meow on command), but one of the minor inconveniences is that a cat can throw up food if she eats too fast, and also throws up hair balls even with the best food in the market. She knows this and it's not the first time the cat has thrown up..

Nina goes on and on, screaming how..get this, "everyone is out to get me!"...and that the cat, did it on purpose on her side of the bedroom!

Legally she owns the cat, she brought the cat home, and I fell in love with the little furball and have been taking care of her ever since. Rosie is very attached to me, and I'm quite fond of her. It won't be the same without her. The kids and the cat will be what I will miss the most, besides a roof over my head. The rest of the family I don't think would care one way or the other if I was dead or alive in my opinion.

The dragon has gone to sleep, let's hope she takes a long nap and the house is peaceful at least until tonight when we eat dinner.

I wish I could help...

I found out tonight that a friend of mine from a former guild in lotro now has stomach cancer. That hit me a bit hard, she has been ill a while but man...my eyes were tearing.

She is a great person, has kids and even tho we haven't talked lately since I joined my current guild (which is group of great gamers btw) I didn't expect such news.

I wish I could do something to help her, but obviously I got my own problems right now and I'm unable to help anyone. The one guy who could help her, won't and that sort pisses me off. She has to take care of her children when she is sick, god damn I don't like violence but if things were different, I would very likely be at someone's door telling him to step the fuck up and help her....or just help her myself.

Another friend which lives in Singapore in a few months is moving to the UK to study (university), she even invited me to visit and show me around London. I think in the future I will take her up on her offer, always wanted to see Big Ben and see real castles. The english do have a good sense of humor, Benny Hill anyone?

I only have $80 to my name right now, I need a lot more if I'm to do anything. Time to sell crap on ebay.

Ninja Warrior!

There are a few shows which are entertaining, but some, are so good to watch that you're practically cheering for someone and jump up!

Ninja Warrior is one of those shows. As a gamer one of my favorite channels is G4, and they were wise enough to have this japanese show. I love japanese culture (Anime/Manga anyone?) but this show demostrates how crazy and silly the japanese can be.

It's fun to watch someone plunge down into a dirty pool of water, get hit by a giant hammer, slip on some rolling wood and go up in the air like a cartoon character...top notch entertainment.

Not sure if they broadcast it in canada, hopefully they do.

Ninja Warrior: http://www.g4tv.com/ninjawarrior/index.html

Damn a storm is moving in, time for the net to go on and off, I guess I will play lotro later today then.

Another day...

Yesterday afternoon, I made myself 4 boiled hot dogs as lunch. Four. Nina tells me I'm eating too much. This comes from a woman who is about 450 pounds, who has a brother and sister who are also very overweight.

Mind you I've tried in my life not to judge people by their looks, otherwise I wouldn't had fallen in love with her. My previous relationships (10+ years ago) were with normal sized women, pettite even.

But back to the issue. She begins ranting about the four hot dogs and god she is going and going and going like the Energizer bunny. I thought the best way for me to settle it iwas to give her half, but then I figured my little nephew hadn't eaten yet so I offered half to him and he accepted.

Problem solved.

Right before I got married about 12 years ago, my weight was 175-180 pounds, I'm 5'10". Currently my weight is 217, I've lost about 10 pounds in the past few months because I cut my food intake by about 60%. Why so much? well the family is used to eating as if the food is going to run out somehow. Ever seen those movies were a grandma gives kids a mountain of food on a plate saying "you need to put some meat on those bones"? well this family never stopped eating that way it seems.

Sadly my wife has a breathing machine to be able to sleep at night, also has Diabetes, coughs a lot at night (probably due to the many years of smoking, which she refuses to give up) and on top of that a low blood platelettes count. I'm fairly certain it's due to being overweight, but I can't know for sure because I'm not allowed to go to the doctor with her. I've asked many times out of concern, she always takes her brother or sister, never me. I stopped asking after a while of course, why bother if I know the answer is no anyways.

Would you leave your wife if you knew she was sick even if she practically made your life miserable? for some guys the answer is easy: leave, get the fuck out. For me, not so easy. I've been a part of her family for over 10 years, they are my family right now, all I got. Walking away won't be easy, it will be heart breaking for sure.

However...

I must be a psychic...because I had a premonition. I heard someone singing "Ooooh Canada!"...

Family Torture

Yesterday we went to the All-you-can-eat Chinese Buffet. Last time we were there Joyce and Lisa had been with us.

Overall we had a good time, and Jonathan made us laugh. Jason has pointed out that 2 men, apparently father and son (he must have been around my age) were loading plates and going to their table quite frequently. So what did my nephew do? he pointed at their table and said "is that the guy you're talking about daddy?"...man did Jason grabbed his finger quick...and we all were laughing. I told him it wasn't polite to point at strangers.

At the end of the meal Nina of course had to stir some trouble. She wanted ice cream and told my nephew to get it, he refused. Then she got all pissed and said she would make his father go to Carvel when we got home to buy her ice cream. The going back and forth ended when Jason served her the ice cream she wanted.

Now comes the family torture. I fill myself, and had to go..you know..."GO", but of course we're driving home at this time. Nina and Sindy knew it...and what do these women do? they take the wrong turns on purpose! and also take the long way home on a street with speed bumps! we're almost home and then they tell me Jason has the key to the house and we got to wait for him!...did I mention, he had gone to stop by his job to check things out.

I went to the back of the house, hoping that maybe a door or window was lose for me to get in, and what do I see? they're inside the house!

Let me tell you they had a great time at my expense, plenty of laughter; but thinking about it, it was funny.

Sometimes there are good times, and that helps.

And then, she left

Last night Joyce took most of her belongings and left the house. I had to keep he kids in my room occupied watching High School Musical 2 so they wouldn't hear the conversation between Nina and Joyce.

Apparently Nina threatened Joyce's daughter Lisa during the conversation, mentioning her NY connections...as I blogged before.

Joyce is an alcoholic, she has missed therapist appointments lately and now she is moving in with a couple who drink wine on a regular basis. I don't see a good outcome on her side.

A few years ago when things were really bad for her in New York, Nina convinced her to come down to Florida to get clean, and she did. However over time things got tense between her and the rest of the family. Sometimes it would be over the money she contributed in the house, sometimes about the snacks she would buy and keep in her room.

It's come down to this, her leaving into an enviroment where it will be much harder to stay sober. To leave her best friend of 30 years...it must be really hard. She never lived with Nina before she came down, they were always good friends since they were teenagers. When you live with someone, you get to know a lot more about them, and unfortunately Joyce got to know Nina as well as I have.

The drama is not over, Nina is planning on calling the Condo management where Joyce's friends live to report her and get them all in trouble. This is typical of her, revenge and bad intentions no matter who gets hurt.

The kids will be told not to call Joyce aunt anymore, they will ask questions...and I have no idea what they're going to be told. They are the real victims of this whole thing. They were used to living with "auntie" Joyce.

Now I'm here, the outsider; waiting for my time to be the target, sooner or later I will be, I know it. I did take advantage of the situation a bit; by cleaning up and throwing away things I had been attached to for too long. The garbage bin is full and I doubt they will notice the extra bags with my old stuff in them.

One thing for sure, I'm not going back to NY.

Insanity

Things had calmed down with Nina going out to color her hair, taking her sister and my niece along. My brother in law took my nephew so the boy gets a haircut.

It's after 10PM, me and my nephew were waiting at home for (Jason was sleeping on the sofa) waiting on the women to come in with chinese take out food.

My nephew gets a bit riled up, he's hungry and we've been waiting a while. What does my wife say? "calm down or you're not eating tonight!"....what the fuck! you NEVER tell that to a child! ever!

Now she is saying that she could call her ny connections and have Lisa shot and killed when she goes back home, my god...it's sick and frightening.

God help me.

The unexpected

Joyce, my wife's best friend just suggested to me in private...to leave the house. I never thought she would say that to me, considering she tried very hard to keep us together for years.

It was unexpected, yet...she is right, I need to get out of here even if it means being homeless. I've been planning for such a possibility for a while, but now I can see how things can turn out. Nina could at anytime ask me to leave like she did with Joyce, her best friend of 30 years and I would be caught unprepared.

I did promise Nina if I would ever leave I would tell her before I did, and I will, the day before I leave, she will know. Now my main worry is that she may not allow me to keep in touch with the kids. I think she would let me, but...then she may not out of spite.

A friend told me it was better to stay for the sake of the kids, but another has been supportive of me leaving. I've been unsure for months, but now I think I know what I need to do.

War has broken out, again

Nina's father passed away 3 years ago today. The wrong day to set her off, and Joyce and Lisa made plans to go out on the wrong day. Right now, there is a shouting match between Nina, Sindy, Joyce and Lisa...and it's been going on for a while now. I've been told to butt out and I have.

It just wrecks my nerves with all the screaming...and I mean loud screams from all these four women, and the kids are in the house!

Nina has just told Lisa to get the fuck out of the house and go back to new york...so things in the family today are pretty bad, worse than usual.

Joyce is saying she is leaving the house because she can't deal with Nina anymore and rather leave than permanently damage their friendship. This will certainly make things more difficult for me.

Now more than ever I want to be elsewhere, anywhere than here.

Love sucks

There are times when I feel down, and nothing can bring me up, this is one of those times. I'm almost 40. I wasted my 20'..I should've listened to grandma and marry for convenience to become legal, get divorced and then find love...but even tho my moral standards weren't too high then...I was a hopeless romantic. I thought that you had to love someone to marry...I didn't want to become my father I guess. I think I'm still a hopeless romantic...behind all the emotional walls I've put up over the years.

I've spent my 30's in a marriage that has changed me, and I've become someone I despise...the only thing I like about myself, is that I'm an uncle. Had I not promised to a good friend of mine, I would be contemplating suicide again today.

My damn video card is dying on me and the only thing that keeps my mind occupied is my computer.

Dammit I can't find a job online, and I need money. Time to start looking for stuff to sell again, I do have old computer parts, may as well sell them anyways.

Love makes you blind, sometimes that is good, sometimes it leads to bad judgement. I'm trapped, and I created this cell and placed the warden myself...now I must live with it. Love sucks.

Hectic week

With little Lisa (well not so little since she is 20yrs old now) coming to Florida to visit her mother (Joyce, Nina's best friend who lives with the rest of us), things have been a bit hectic.

More drama...of course, add another female into the mix, and you have a pretty good chance that voices will be raised, and it won't be male voices, heh.

The good thing is that for the first time in my life I went to Cici's for dinner and it was a fun time to spend with the kids. I was actually offered the choice of going or staying home as always. Well, since I don't see the outside world much I said yes, of course.

Yesterday was a tough day to handle, it was the anniversaty of the day her father was taken to the hospital where he later on passed away. I tried to show some affection, I'm not heartless...but was told to stay away and I did.

Tomorrow there are plans to go out to a Buffet which the family goes to once a month, and when my wife is in a good mood, actually asks me if I want to go. My nephew loves the place, and I enjoy my time there with the kids a lot...and they got sushi, closest thing to ceviche =D

Nina's plan was to drop the invite to Joyce at the last possible minute, she is holding grudges left and right on her...from not doing a load of towels, to not cooking, and drinking with friends (she is an alcoholic and is not supposed to drink).

Sometimes I find it amusing, the whole figthing among themselves over such minor things which can easily be worked out. I'm well trained, once the explosions go off...I run for cover, right into the bedroom, my castle, where my puter and my cat keep me company.

I guess I haven't talked much about Rosie. My baby, my little furry daughter. I had a cat years ago in my early 20's, was a white and orange cat which...to say the least, I did not treat properly.

Never in a thousand years I would have imagined I would have another cat, or that I would be to emotionally attached to her.

So I present: Rosie!



That's all for today.

And here comes the sun

Yesterday would've been another crappy day. Nina screaming at the kids, complaining about her best friend changing, complaining about her brother or her sister (or both); the usual day living with her. However I finally got in touch with my friend and found out that we're still in good terms, which made my day.

Today I logged in Anarchy Online, which has now become my #2 favorite MMO. I played AO since 2001 in its original beta stage and public release, also been in every beta of every single expansion since then. I have tried SWG (Star Wars Galaxies) and EVE in the past 2 years for a short time, but then didn't like how Sony had nerfed their game and pretty much removed the fun aspects of it and with EVE not being able to interact with avatars and being in a ship all the time alone was boring.

This year I took a chance and bought a lifetime account for Lord of the Rings Online. Let me say, it was a wise investment, no monthly payments ever and I'm enjoying the game a great deal. It's now my favorite MMO.

I played AO a little yesterday night, since they released new high level content. I didn't get to see it all, I will log in more often the next few weeks to check out the new areas and phatz.

I guess I didn't mention I'm a long time gamer. When I came to the states, well...Nintendo was out, and the 8 bit goodness hooked me, and in turn made me a gamer for life. I don't remember a time when I was not playing some video game during any given week, of course these days I stick to PC games and leave the console gaming to my nephew and niece (and their father who is also into video games). I guess I was trying to re-capture my childhood at the beggining, but these days it's not rare for adults to play video games, hell now it's a career.

Well, I better get off before Nina wakes up and demands me to make her coffee, heh..

Bomb went offf, again

Yesterday Nina (my wife) was talking to her brother on the phone and she exploded. Apparently she thought he said "fuck you bitch" to her; I know him long enough to know he wouldn't say that, knowing how she would react. How did she respond?

She exploded, screaming at the top of her lungs, in front of the kids and god...saying awful things which neither my nephew or niece should've heard. That was one of the worst fights in the family I've seen...and that wasn't all. She then picks a fight with her sister (she was home) and starts screaming at her.

I go and try to calm her down...and I get screamed at! (not as bad as Jason got screamed at)

Sindy (my sister-in-law) took the kids to their bedrooms, but considering that they could still easily hear Nina's screams...

It's stuff like this that I'm sick and tired of, people have to walk on eggshells with her because anything sets her off, big time.

This fight lasted hours, then the silent treatment was given to Sindy and Jason got it in person when he got home, poor guy.

Yesterday I thought..if she screams at me like she did with Jason...I would pack my stuff and leave that day...

I'm trying to change, get fit, lose weight, find some spiritual meaning in my life, so that I can do what I need to do in the future.

If there is one thing that I did not grow up with, was screaming people in my family. Sure there were arguements, but screams were very rare. I've had to get used to this enviroment...but I keep asking myself how long until I can't take it anymore.

Between the arguments and screams that are almost a daily routine...the insults I get...her threats...It really makes me feel that I don't belong here, even thought I love the kids dearly, and my cat Rosie...I'm hoping today is a better day.

Light of my life

My niece and nephew are the light of my life. I think it's time to show them off a bit.

Here they are with their acting teacher from this summer and pictures from their play.


Erika singing (red shirt).




Jonathan performing (orange shirt).


Kids with their acting teacher.


Eeka and Jon (their nicknames) with Phoenix, Barry's grandson who is their "cousin".


Eeka looking cute in her new Nerds sleepwear, boy did she get all worked up when I called her a nerd, heh.

I've been trying to get in touch with a good friend of mine, and haven't been too successul and I'm worried I may have lost touch with my friend.

On a more upbeat note, I've ordered a book to help me change my life, and to aid me in the changes that I will need to adapt in my life. What book?

"Daodejing: The New, Highly Readable Translation of the Life-Changing Ancient Scripture Formerly Known as the Tao Te Ching". A friend of mine who was a firm believer of the Dao/Tao was confident and successful and did help me during the time we were friends (we're not talking because my wife told me I couldn't communicate with him because he divorced her best friend).

I need to change, I need to get ready, I need to adapt. Of course I also need money, and I'm working on that.

How did I miss this?

It's 5AM in the morning and I woke up with a thought. I do have experienced on a field that does make decent money. I know how to build computers, Sure a lot of people know that, but I think most use their skill to build their own for themselves of their friends/family. Why not try and offer a service for a flat fee...like $50 to build ANY computer as long as parts are provided?

I dunno, it could work. I got to think this through a bit.

Silence is not always golden

The kids have gone to Orlando for 3 days with my sister-in-law and Barry's family for some fun. I miss them already; sure they are noisy but then what kids aren't?

I hope they have a great time and don't think of my wife crying this morning when they left.

Erika (or Eeka, the nickname I gave her) promised to make up for the days she is not here to hug me, heh...I look forward to the ninja hugging.

Wife is fighting with her best friend, nothing new. I told her today about my job hunting, since she probably would find out eventually. If I get a job, I will add a bike to my list. Always good for exercise, yup.

Virtual Jobs

Well, I started job hunting online. Fast thing to learn...avoid the "get paid to take surveys" scheme, fell for 1, now my maibox has 3 times the amount of junk mail. The legitimate ones are free, the scam sites ask you to pay a membership to take surveys which you then "get paid for".

I'm doing research on virtual jobs. Like customer service/care representative online and such. Since I didn't finish high school, it's going to be tough to find a company willing to hire me. But then...if a restaurant hires wetbacks like me to wash their dishes...why not answer the phone or emails?

I think investing on a laptop may come in handy, it would break whatever I have saved but if it helps me keep an online job, it would probably pay for itself within a month or so.

I need to get my ass back on track, for too long I've stood on the corner watching my life go by...

The good news these days is that I'm sticking to my diet, lost 6 pounds and I intend to lose 20 more. I want to fit back in my 34 pants, heh.

Funny thing, that before I got married I ate normal portions of food. I was used to grandma's cooking. She didn't like microwaves even before she got her bypass and the doctors prohibited one in the house.

Man, she would cook a good amount of food, for 2-3 days, but god...good home cooking! hell she even would go upstairs to our neighbors and hand them a plate of food!

They loved her.

Of course back then I would get on my bike every couple of days, to visit my friend Ian. I think that is what kept me in decent shape and not overweight.

Hmm, 7am. Better stop before she wakes up.

Bday, a not so special day

A tradition has been broken, and it pretty much ruined my bday. Every year, for the past 5-6 years on my bday my wife would buy me ceviche. Ceviche is a peruvian dish, which my grandmother would make for me since I was a kid. it's an unusual dish to say the least. Chunks of fish cooked in lemon juice, usually served with rice, corn and onions. A serving of it is not expensive, about $10.

Early in the morning, I was told by her she wasn't going to buy it, because I didn't deserve it. I hid my dissapointed well and said I wasn't expecting it...but it hit me like a truck inside.

The whole day I thought maybe she said it to throw me off and surprise me...nope, I was wrong. Of course.

However it seems the rest of the family disagreed with her, and I guess that gave her some guilt. So guess what replaced the ceviche...she bakes me a cake instead of buying one. I appreciated the gesture, smiled when they sang happy bday last night and enjoyed a few pieces of cake.

Still it hurt my feelings deeply that she wouldn't get me the one thing I look forward to the whole year.

Could I go out and buy it? Sure, if I had a car and if I still had my driver's license. It's a very long walk to the place that sells it, and asking to get driven there would start a slew of problems with her I think.

Well, at least the kids cheered me up a bit. I got my bday hugs early in the morning, that did make me very happy.

I got to find some job to work from home, I need to make money for a lawyer.

Happy B-day to me

I was born August 2nd, 1969. The year we landed on the moon. My grandma always said that I had been born in a good year. I miss her.

Florida has been home for 7 years now, decent weather (except during hurricane season), different from the New York I had grown to love.

Yeah, I miss NY, specially Brooklyn and Manahattan. I knew my way around there; buses, subway and I had a racing bike that got me around Brooklyn in between, even rode into Manhattan a few times. I lived there for 13 years; sometimes I wonder what would've happened had I stayed there.

I miss the statue of liberty, the empire state building, the 4th of july parade, new years, christmas...man, those were fun years.

Florida may have better overall weather, but I was happier in NY. I was single.

Cake Mystery, or Misery...

Today I was accused of eating cake which was out-of-bounds. Confused? Most people would be. There are a few rules in the house, which are specific for me.

Here they are:

Cakes, they are for my wife, her brother and sister. Not for me.
Soda, same rule.
Snacks, same.
Fruits, same.
Cereal, I can only eat what is specifically designated for me, usually Rice Crispies generic brand, which is fine by me.

If I'm hungry, I must eat leftovers (that is ok, wasting food is not something I like to see) or eat from a supply of Cup-o-Noodles which is mostly purchased for me. I used to eat these things when I was single and on a budget so I'm used to it.

It's not as bad as it sounds, there are things I'm allowed to have.

Milk, cause dry cereal is not very enjoyable.
Bread, and the belogna which every store has on sale for 99 cents a pack, heh. I eat like a single man half of the day.

Home cooking is great, unless everyone only knows 3 or 4 ways to cook chicken, and you have chicken every day for the past...5 years. When I used to cook (before my wife "fired" me as a cook) I would experiment with different condiments to spice things up a bit. Most was a hit in the house, they loved the new flavors, sometimes I would hit a wall and think "ooook, not going to do that again". Trial and error, combined with recipes I would get from the web.

During one of my experiments...well, the chicked looked burned, but it really wasn't. I had used a bit too much of a sauce and it burned at the bottom of the glass pan given the look of being burned. That along with a little smoke from the oven got my wife screaming to high heaven and "fired" me. I haven't cooked since, and that was about a year ago.

Well, back to the cake.

I do occasionally cheat a little bit, on very small portions so it's not noticed. However today I didn't touch the banana cake that she accused me of eating. She is the queen of scream, hell I told her she would do well in horror movies the other day, she thought I was kidding and laughed.

Usually a disagreement of this nature in a normal family would be done in a few minutes. Not here. This was dragged through from early morning into the night. I got so sick of it I went to sleep in the afternoon. It's how I've been handling bad situations because to put it in simple terms, no matter what I say, I will be wrong.

I don't sleep at night anyways, I'm my brother-in-law's designated alarm clock, since his (which is so loud sometimes my wife wakes up screaming to shut it off disregarding the fact the kids are sleeping) doesn't do the job.

Usually I wake up him between 3:30-5:00AM, depending on his schedule. I'm hoping now that I don't have to hear anymore screams about a banana cake tomorrow morning.