Days 5 & 6
Sep. 12th, 2010 05:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
outsdrDay 5
Sunday was primarily taken up with backing up the contents of my father's computer. I made use of the computer components that I had sent to my mother over the years, that had been returned to my father. The old computer was going to be used to drive a vinyl-cutting plotter my father wanted me to set up as well. Soon after moving his old computer, the monitor died. So, as it turned out, replacing his old computer was not a bad idea after all.
My brother had an old monitor I could use, and I soon had the old computer back up and running. However, it's Windows installation was so old and corrupt that it wouldn't communicate with the plotter. I decided to restore the operating system, but the restoration partition on the hard drive was also corrupt (How I hate those restoration partitions!)
My cellphone stopped working Sunday; after lengthy times on the phone with Verizon suport (using my father's phone) it was determined that my cell phone had gotten "stuck" on a cell tower in West Virginia, and there was nothing they could do except submit a trouble ticket.
Day 6
Monday, I planned on spending the morning just for me. I had made plans to visit some old friends from high school for lunch; I made a quick trip to the library to download some software for dad's new computer that would have taken me days over dial up, and finally logged in to Yahoo to check in with Andy. Even though I had been calling him nightly, he was still glad to hear from me. We chatted for awhile, I downloaded software, and cleared out some of my email as well. My cellphone began working again as well, which was nice.
Lunch was great; in was lovely to catch up with my two friends. I gave them copies of my mother's first book. All too quickly our time together came to an end, however.
I stopped by to see my sister at her law office, since I wasn't sure if I would get a chance to see her before leaving in the morning. We chatted about small things. She and I have never had a close connection, unfortunately.
Back home again, I spent the afternoon getting the plotter running. I ended up hooking my mother's ancient laptop to it, since my father's old computer was being a butt. The laptop was a trooper, however, and did everything I asked of it.
Towards evening, my brother called and invited me down to his house for dinner. Since Janet is known for her lack of cooking skills, they ordered pizza. As I was preparing to go down, I asked my father if he was coming along, and he said no.
"Why not?" I asked. "Because I wasn't invited," he said.
Family. Sheesh.
Dinner was fun, and I got to play with my nephews. Kyle, the youngest, has a distinctive set of Spock eyebrows. I'm not a Trekkie, however, so I affectionately call him my little Dr. Who monster.
I asked if Dad was supposed to come too. "No," my brother said, "He wasn't invited."
My brother had been stung by a be that day, right above his right eye. Both Janet and I agreed that he looked like Sloth from The Goonies.
Once again, the evening ended too soon. My brother gave me a large folder full of newsclippings about me that my mother and grandmother had collected over the years. I made my goodbyes and headed back to my father's house. At my father's house, I began to pack away the things of my mother's that I had wanted to keep. There wasn't much; just a few things of hers to remind me of her, as well as other items of mine that I wanted boxed up. How do you pick an object to represent a living person? My brother had warned me that I should move my things to safe keeping before "the deadbeat from Terra Alta" took them. He was referring to Donna. While I don't think much of Donna, I never considered her a thief. As I taped up my box of things, I hoped that I was not wrong.
I was troubled, however, by the small comments and allusions both my siblings had made to me, as well as my father, that hinted at a level of dysfunction developing in the family. At dinner, in fact, after a comment made by my brother about "the old man," I pointedly said that I was glad I lived 2,000 miles away because "you all bicker too much." While I had played it off in a laughing fashion at the time, I was concerned regardless. My mother had truly been the heart of the family, and with her no longer around, who would tie us all together?
I showered, did my laundry, and somehow managed to pack everything back into my over-stuffed carry-on bag before turning in for the night.
Sunday was primarily taken up with backing up the contents of my father's computer. I made use of the computer components that I had sent to my mother over the years, that had been returned to my father. The old computer was going to be used to drive a vinyl-cutting plotter my father wanted me to set up as well. Soon after moving his old computer, the monitor died. So, as it turned out, replacing his old computer was not a bad idea after all.
My brother had an old monitor I could use, and I soon had the old computer back up and running. However, it's Windows installation was so old and corrupt that it wouldn't communicate with the plotter. I decided to restore the operating system, but the restoration partition on the hard drive was also corrupt (How I hate those restoration partitions!)
My cellphone stopped working Sunday; after lengthy times on the phone with Verizon suport (using my father's phone) it was determined that my cell phone had gotten "stuck" on a cell tower in West Virginia, and there was nothing they could do except submit a trouble ticket.
Day 6
Monday, I planned on spending the morning just for me. I had made plans to visit some old friends from high school for lunch; I made a quick trip to the library to download some software for dad's new computer that would have taken me days over dial up, and finally logged in to Yahoo to check in with Andy. Even though I had been calling him nightly, he was still glad to hear from me. We chatted for awhile, I downloaded software, and cleared out some of my email as well. My cellphone began working again as well, which was nice.
Lunch was great; in was lovely to catch up with my two friends. I gave them copies of my mother's first book. All too quickly our time together came to an end, however.
I stopped by to see my sister at her law office, since I wasn't sure if I would get a chance to see her before leaving in the morning. We chatted about small things. She and I have never had a close connection, unfortunately.
Back home again, I spent the afternoon getting the plotter running. I ended up hooking my mother's ancient laptop to it, since my father's old computer was being a butt. The laptop was a trooper, however, and did everything I asked of it.
Towards evening, my brother called and invited me down to his house for dinner. Since Janet is known for her lack of cooking skills, they ordered pizza. As I was preparing to go down, I asked my father if he was coming along, and he said no.
"Why not?" I asked. "Because I wasn't invited," he said.
Family. Sheesh.
Dinner was fun, and I got to play with my nephews. Kyle, the youngest, has a distinctive set of Spock eyebrows. I'm not a Trekkie, however, so I affectionately call him my little Dr. Who monster.
I asked if Dad was supposed to come too. "No," my brother said, "He wasn't invited."
My brother had been stung by a be that day, right above his right eye. Both Janet and I agreed that he looked like Sloth from The Goonies.
Once again, the evening ended too soon. My brother gave me a large folder full of newsclippings about me that my mother and grandmother had collected over the years. I made my goodbyes and headed back to my father's house. At my father's house, I began to pack away the things of my mother's that I had wanted to keep. There wasn't much; just a few things of hers to remind me of her, as well as other items of mine that I wanted boxed up. How do you pick an object to represent a living person? My brother had warned me that I should move my things to safe keeping before "the deadbeat from Terra Alta" took them. He was referring to Donna. While I don't think much of Donna, I never considered her a thief. As I taped up my box of things, I hoped that I was not wrong.
I was troubled, however, by the small comments and allusions both my siblings had made to me, as well as my father, that hinted at a level of dysfunction developing in the family. At dinner, in fact, after a comment made by my brother about "the old man," I pointedly said that I was glad I lived 2,000 miles away because "you all bicker too much." While I had played it off in a laughing fashion at the time, I was concerned regardless. My mother had truly been the heart of the family, and with her no longer around, who would tie us all together?
I showered, did my laundry, and somehow managed to pack everything back into my over-stuffed carry-on bag before turning in for the night.
