25 August 2007

A Padded Cell Is Nice and Quiet At Least

Things That Have Sent Scully To The Brink of Insanity This Week.

  • My own personal Dwight disliking a little colleague criticism (not from me, but from someone in his department) so much that he stormed out at 9am Tuesday morning and never came back. Until our boss coaxed him back Wednesday. Apparently he does this on a semi-yearly basis and always gets rewarded for it. If he were two, instead of just acting like it, he wouldn't have gotten rewarded, he would have been spanked and sent to time out. Also, if he was so stressed, take a stupid vacation like everyone else. UGH!
  • A great-aunt (my mother's father's sister), who shall be called Bizmo, as that is what my mother and her sister called her because they have two crazy aunts with the same name and there had to be some sort of differentiation, sent a whole packet of legal crap in an effort to court familial sympathy. Back story: my mother and her five siblings were raised on a family farm. Their father had originally tried to get off that farm and was fairly successful working in construction until his father, mother, and siblings were faced with bankruptcy or foreclosure or something. My grandfather returned to save his family, was deeded the farm, got it up and running again, and generously called it the ______ Brother's Farm because his brothers were pretty backward and most, if not all, had mental handicaps. Also, he had three sons and they would inherit, also being the ______ Brother's. When my grandfather died in 1978 his brothers sued my grandmother for the farm and basically evicted her and her 5 children remaining at home. A reason they gave for the eviction was that my mother's health issues (dialysis and kidney transplant) had nearly bankrupted the farm and taken a huge toll on the family finances. Which was patently UNTRUE. Back to today. Aunt Bizmo thinks that she should have the farm. Which basically doesn't exist anymore because the brother that was given the farm in the suit sold it piecemeal and also let it go to pot. Figuratively AND literally. So now Aunt Bizmo is trying to have this brother declared unfit to make the latest deal selling the last of the farm. And she thinks the rest of us care. When I read the packet she had sent, I was so mad I mentally composed a scathing letter to her. Because not two years ago she sat in our living room and told my mother straight up that she (Aunt Bizmo) deserved the farm because my mom, specifically, and her family, generally, had gotten so much out of it already. Then she had the audacity to go to pieces over my mother's casket. Look, now I'm all in a rage again.
  • The fact that my beloved city of London seems to be turning into hooliganville. Maybe I have a false image of the city, maybe the news is just focusing on the shocking, but it seems that it has become so much more violent than it used to be. It makes me sad.
  • The recurring nightmares that A) my mother is alive but still sick and wasting away and there is yet again nothing I can do for her or B) that my father's life is somehow endangered. When I wake up after nightmare A I spend the morning doing guilt about not doing enough for my mother during her final days. When I wake up after nightmare B I spend the day restraining the obsessive need to call my dad and check up on him. It makes me long for the days of vampire dreams.
  • The suspiscious brown puddles my dad noticed in the garage and which I now notice after I drive away from whereever I have parked. I cannot afford this. At. All.
Things That Kept Scully From Going Over The Brink
  • The Garden State soundtrack. I know it is 3 years old or something, but it is seriously good music. I love all the songs, but the ones I love the best are New Slang by The Shins and Let Go by Frou Frou. Check it out and thank me later.
  • Buying cute heels. Money CAN buy happiness. Or at least a temporary stay against the growing rage and insanity.
  • My summer TV addictions. Now this is somewhat of a confession because I know some regular readers, at the very least Miss Parker is going to raise an eyebrow at this list. But here they are in all their glory: Eureka and Doctor Who on the SciFi channel and Monk and Psych on USA. These shows make me laugh, have adorable characters, and just generally let me escape for an hour.
  • Dr. Pepper and Coke with lime. Although I have to buy lime juice and add it to the Coke, because I can only ever find Diet Coke with Lime and I can't drink diet sodas because they give me migraines. And I'm seriously going to give up the caffienated beverages cold turkey when life settles down. I promise.
  • The idea that in 12 short months I could be living here and going to school here. Have I mentioned I'm planning on going back for a master's degree in secondary education? Well I am and this place has a good program. You are all invited to come visit.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Although Big and I did not have the misfortune of receiving the infamous legal packet, we have been discussing the insanity of said Auntie Bizmo. When I reiterated the magnitude of her craziness, Big responded with, "Yeah, I know. I've seen what she can do with a veggie plate." Hee.
Call me - we have much to discuss . . . .

Anonymous said...

I hope you get to go back to school!! That would be awesome! And since you've been watching MOnk and Psyche, have you checked out Burn Notice? Wow. It's great. It's a funny spy show and it's got some eye candy, namely Jeffrey Donovan (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0232998/) who was also in an episode of Monk and played Kyle on the Pretender. The exgirlfriend character on the show is a little bony but she's an ex IRA member and it makes for a little comedy with her being all gun happy. Also stars Bruce Campbell who was in an episode of XFiles, Terms of Endearment. Anyway, check it out!if not for anything else but Jeffrey Donovan, who has nice teeth, and whom I nominate for the Fantasy Boyfriend League.

Panini said...

GREAT IDEA!!! That will be fabulous!! I'm so glad you're planning on it!! And Bellingham is gorgeous.
Sorry about Dwight and the Family Farm. That's ridiculous. Both of them -but mostly your aunt. Cannot believe those people. seriously. Why don't you write her the letter?

ZB said...

That was some Aunt saga! Down with Aunt Bizmo? How dare she?...I'm sorry about those crazy dreams. I'd ask if you were prego (cus that's when i got all my crazy dreams), but I'm not going to go there...or perhaps I just did. I too think it's a great idea to go back to school, and you are the perfect person to do it! One more...Up with caffinated drinks. HY put me over the edge the other day...A Dr. Pepper made it all better (at least for a hour or two).

Missy said...

I'm sensing something...ah can't quite make it out...YES! it is Friday and it is something hilarious!!!

Bellingham is breathtaking. Gives me a slight pang for the days of living in Washington. I have even been dabbling with the idea of coming back when Mr. is done with his BA.

Unknown said...

So does this mean you can stay an extra day this weekend? Since Dwight the HUGE BABY is apparently still going to be there to do his job. I think yes. And what a tool.

Unknown said...

Oh, and PS...I know Monk and Doctor Who, but no idea what the others even are. But I can still raise an eyebrow to that. If you want. Hee.

Scully said...

CherBear, Burn Notice comes on too late. I caught a re-run of one of the eps and liked it, but I'm in bed by 9:30-10 these days and can't stay awake for it.

Aquamarine, I'm so happy to find a fellow Psych fan! I love that show! We'll have to have a private chat about it, as I don't want to bore the rest of the class.

Parker, Eureka is about a cop from LA who becomes the sheriff for this small secret town where a bunch of geniuses live and work for a corporation with crazy projects/government contracts. And Psych is on Fridays after Monk and is about a fake psychic detective and his friend who works with him solving crimes. Also, it is full of hilarious pop-cult references. And I figured you would only really raise an eyebrow about Doctor Who.

Scully said...

Oh, and Parker, too late to swing the extra day. The logistics would be overwhelming this late in the game. But is Sunday afternoon/evening still on?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, me too. We DVR it and watch later. Loff it!

Unknown said...

Yes, shopping can buy happiness! I hope the recurring dreams stop, that is the scariest part, and yes, London is a target for trouble lately, but when I was there last summer it was suprisingly cleaner, and less bum-ridden then usual! :)