I Like Living In An Institution
Friday, June 01, 2007
Today I played hooky from my introductory American government class (yesterday she spent one hour on half a slide's worth of notes...) in order to organize a summer schedule and to complete two or three from the myriad of tasks and errands I must address over the next few days. In an entirely unrelated digression, I re-read blog entries from June I had composed a few years ago. Below I have copied two, the first from 2004, the second from 2006.
Background: My father met Terri after I graduated high school in 2003 and had moved out of the house to live with an aunt in St. Louis. They married during spring break of 2004, and moved in together (to Terri's house), combining families which consisted of her two sons and my three younger siblings. For the summer, I had intended to stay at my best friend's house before attending college in Texas somewhere, but my father and Terri insisted I stay with them, even though they had no room, so that we could all be a "family". I wrote the following entry after I had been living with them for less than two weeks. This was also my first extensive exposure to Terri.
Upon my return from present-shopping with Lindsay I went into my bedroom [Kailey's bedroom, really- I'm just sleeping there on an air mattress for two months, but for brevity I shall reference it as "my bedroom"] for a nap around three o'clock. During my slumber The Father's Wife cleaned around the house (vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms), and by the time I woke up, she had pretty much finished. I came out and asked if she had anything she wanted me to do, but she smiled sweetly and said she did not. As a semi-apology, I told her she could have gotten me up to help her, and as she walked up the stairs, she growled something to the extent of, "That's all right, but you know, I shouldn't have to tell y'all when the bathroom needs cleaning. I've waited and waited, but no one bothered to do it..."
For one thing, it's been less than a week since the kids' bathroom was cleaned (by Terri, I'll admit). It wasn't even dirty today, except for a stray hair or two lying around the sink- literally, two or three hairs. But fine- this is her house, and she can be as anal about it as she wants; I would be, too. However, I take umbrage with her insinuation that I must not do any housework, ever. I try to do the dishes after dinner, for instance, but she won't let me. I've kept out of trying to do chores because The Father informed me they had some magical system by which each kid (including Terri's) performs certain chores each week on a cyclical basis. I've just been waiting for them to tell me what I'm supposed to be doing.
And besides, this isn't my house, so I don't know where the cleaning stuff is. That's excuse enough to avoid doing anything!
Anyhow, The Father just walked in the door as I wrote this post, so I gave him a little sob episode, telling him that they'd better make up their goddamn minds about what they want me doing, chore-wise. I also took The Mongoloid aside (he is The Mess-Leaving Culprit) and threatened a whooping-upon if I caught him leaving Doritos on the floor, washcloths in the bathroom, et cetera.
Sigh... well, Lindsay returns in about half an hour to whisk me away for fun and games celebrating the birth of Donna. The festivities will provide an escape from The Brady Bunch From Hell with which I find myself contending.
The Father getting remarried was all cute and fascinating until he made me live with them. Now I just want to retch.
Background: Last summer I set a goal to read as many books as possible between classes, since during the academic year I had had absolutely no time to read random literature. A friend from work, Jenni, had suckered me into swimming at the Rec center pool with her several times a week. I continue to swim, but now I am all by my lonesome, since no one can replace Jenni.
Yesterday I sternly forced myself to remain upstairs in the foreign language building from three until six, reading through most of the book about Greek vases (which I finished later in the evening). I had developed a headache around lunchtime and consequently found it possible to concentrate on the text only by lying on the floor, arms straight in the air, with the book hovering directly over my face. Observing this, the departmental secretary remarked, as she left, that she expected to one day find me nailed to the floor. I see no remote possibility in me ever being "nailed", in any manner, to any thing, but then, I suppose Ms. Hildebrand had an entirely different meaning in mind.
Donning my purple-and-black swimming suit on these afternoon sessions with Jenni does much to reinforce the above notion. In further reflection I over-exaggerate, though, for there do exist this summer a goodly number of less-attractive pool-frequenters. "I can always lose the weight..."
The past few Saturday evenings I have spent movie-watching with Sharada, Jennifer, and Adrian, with (thus far) either Sharada or Adrian providing foodage. For this evening Adrian promised to provide a sort of chicken "surprise", about which I expressed some apprehension. Adrian allayed my fears with the assurance this dish contains cream cheese and a possibility for pasta. We are to watch Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and perhaps one other selection.
I volunteered to cook dinner for next week's gathering, but am currently at a loss for a viable subject. I considered incorporating tuna in some manner, but later reneged, as the other three people eating probably would not appreciate it as uniquely as I do. Tuna as an option with a side dish of spinach-leaf salad is plausible.
Ich liebe den Thunfisch.
This summer Lauree needs to do many things. I need to secure a lease on a house or apartment (preferably a house) through next summer. I would like to finally finish Stephen King's Dark Tower series, but since I read the fifth book two years ago, I am compelled to start from the beginning again. I have to find out over the weekend where and when I am to take a placement test for college algebra next semester. I should study for the GRE, take it at the end of the summer, and subsequently begin applying to graduate schools.
Last summer, with swimming and rock climbing I managed to lose about ten pounds, which I regained over the past year. This summer I hope to lose fifteen. For all three languages (Greek, Latin, and German) I should continue reading and reviewing grammar.
