brainwashed

How many people can honestly say they say "document" instead of "Word document", "spreadsheet" instead of "Excel spreadsheet", "slideshow" instead of "Powerpoint" or "mp3 player" instead of "iPod" in everyday conversation?

If you can't, you've been brainwashed by Microsoft and Apple, my friends.

magic

when you keep talking even after you've run out of things to talk about? magic.

disappearing stuff

So much of me and my family's stuff is going missing these days. First it was my sandals. Then my Taylor Swift CD. Then my Dad's 3G mobile wireless card. And now one of his map books. Where is all our stuff going? The only thing I can think of is that Mum's hiding it all, or she's just moved it and conveniently forgotten ever doing it. There's simply no other explanation for where it's all gone. It's not like she hasn't done it in the past.

Tuesdays

I've found that I've come to hate Tuesday nights. No one is ever on to talk. Apart from NCIS, they're just plain boring. Can't I just have a fast-forward button?

A slow day's travel

9:57pm 06/10/2008

I got through my Physics homework in less then an hour, which surprised me a lot considering I had 2 chapters worth of questions to answer. I went to bed shortly after, knowing that we were leaving the next day.

This morning was crap. I had to endure more yelling as we packed. To put it simply, Mum and Dad are getting more and more serious with their threats of chucking me out of the house. I really just want to know where I've gone wrong, and what I did to deserve this. All I've ever done is be myself and tried to have my own ways and my own opinions, and I'm being downtrodden and shunned because I'm not the "normal" my parents want me to be :(.

About 45 minutes after we headed off from Tuncurry, we hit some very heavy traffic that slowed us to a crawl. This happened 3 times before we got to Sydney, and it turns out it was caused by an overload of holiday traffic coming home after the Labor Day long weekend here in NSW. NSW drivers have no idea how to merge from 2 lanes into 1.

Once we got past Sydney (which happened about 4 hours late at about 5pm I think), we didn't have a problem with traffic. We made it to Gundagai just before 9pm and checked into the same hotel that we stayed in on the way up. This means we'll probably be home by about 3pm tomorrow. God I can't wait to get home. Right now I just need to talk to someone other then family to help keep me sane.

One more thing: I think I found a way of measuring my happiness while on holiday - look at the amount of photos I take in a time period. Wanna know why? I didn't take a single photo today. And when I got cut off from the person I was talking to on Saturday by my brother (he pulled out the mobile phone wireless card before I could say goodbye), I didn't take many photos for the rest of that day either.

Visiting Godfrey

7:06 pm 05/10/2008

I wrote that timestamp 48 minutes ago before I was subsequently engaged in arguments and yelling matches for the next 45 minutes or so. But I'll get to that bit later.

I've been having to guard the book that I'm writing in like a Nazi these past few days. Like I wrote this morning, my parents are getting suspicious of the fact that I'm suddenly writing so much. Shortly before we left, my Dad got me to take out the rubbish, and emphasised the fact that I'd need to put down everything I was holding (which included my book) so I could hold the rubbish. I shoved it into my pockets instead. I obviously can't be sure, but I'm betting Dad just wanted to get his hands on the book.

I also had another fight with Mum about what clothes I was going to wear. I was dressed and ready to go, and she wanted me to wear something different, and of course I refused. It was kinda funny, as she was saying that, Pork and Beans by Weezer was playing, so I re-wound it to the line in the chorus “I ain't gonna wear the clothes that you like”. She just stomped out of the room after that.

We finally left at about 10:30 am after the massively long delay (we planned to leave at 9:45 am). After another delay at the supermarket, we finally got to Godfrey's house at about 11:30. After he showed us around his house and we fed his horses, we hopped in the 4 wheel drives and headed up the mountain. Dad and Mum drove in our car, and me and Andrew rode with Godfrey and his dog Mins (short for Mini).

When we got to the top of the mountain (Mount Krambach), we had the most amazing view of the entire valley. It's easily one of the best bits of scenery I've ever seen, something that no photo will ever truly capture.

We had lunch there on a picnic table, and then talked and admired the view for a couple of hours. When we'd had enough, we drove back down the mountain, and then stayed to look at some photos on Godfrey's computer of all these different kite-flying events (Godfrey is an avid kite-flyer).

Unfortunately, as it got time to go, we got onto the topic of Poppa's gravestone (in case you don't remember, my grandfather Poppa died about 6 weeks ago). Mum started to get into a flutter because she was afraid that, like on the obituary, her name would be placed under daughters-in-law, along with Dad's and Godfrey's ex-wives (and even more the issue, after their names instead of before). This has been my 2nd issue with Mum concerning the after-effects of Poppa's death.

When the will was found, my Dad discovered that, based on their age, each grandchild would receive a different inheritance, with Godfrey's children and Dad's children from his first marriage receiving more then me and Andrew. So what does Mum do? She starts complaining about how we should get more. For me, I'm just grateful for any inheritance and all, and I would never even entertain the thought of asking for more, or complaining about it. For me, that's greed, and I am not a greedy person. I never knew, but obviously Mum is.

Anyways, it just struck me today how sad and petty it was that Mum was competing for space on a dead man's gravestone. So I spoke up about it, unluckily for me in front of Godfrey. I just made the point that Mum didn't have to prove herself to anyone, and that we all knew that, and that that was all that mattered, rendering the discussion pointless.

In the car on the way back the yelling started again. First it was how Godfrey probably thinks I'm a miscreant and I shouldn't speak up like that and that I'm the child and I have far too much to say (a direct hypocrisy on her hate for Dad's similar view about how children don't need to be told everything, and that they are to be heard and not seen).

Then it turned to me myself again, about how I'm a disappointment and I look disgusting and all that crap. And then it turned to acceptance of other people's ways and cultures. Samie got dragged into it again; Mum denied ever calling her a chimp, and she wanted to know what was wrong with Australian girls and why I would want to travel and find a “yellow-skinned” girl to marry.

It continued when I got home as well. I'd just sat down to write all this, but didn't get past the timestamp before I was forced into more arguments, pretty much all centred around the same things. There was one other thing though: Mum said earlier this week to Andrew in another argument that she hates two-faced people. She then says tonight that even if I disagree slightly with something my parents were saying to someone, I should be loyal and stick by them, and then raise it with them later. How about no? Maybe if you'd been better parents, then sure. But not after random whacks in the head and being throttled and hit with a guitar and being downtrodden. No way. If I disagree with something, I'm gonna say something, no matter what. I am not a sheep, I do not roll over for anyone, and I am certainly not loyal to people who show me no respect.

I also got the now usual repartee about how I need to stop listening to “that American stuff”, and how it's instilling radical ideas in my head and causing me to be rebellious. Oh yeah, Mum's furious at Andrew for getting me Bullet in a Bible for my birthday.

It's now 2 hours since I wrote the timestamp. I've had interruptions from arguments and dinner, and I've now got no Physics homework done, which is a big problem. I'd better make a start, I'll see ya'll soon.

Habits and Addiction

8:12am 05/10/2008

We had to put our clocks forward an hour last night for the commencement of daylight savings. Sure, its all well and good that we get more daylight, but now I have no idea what time it is in other countries around the world.

It seems I can't do anything more then a couple of times without my family getting uptight about it. Last year for example, I really got back into the Artemis Fowl series. Suddenly they're full of “why are you doing this?”, “what started this?”. Typical Mum to always need a reason for everything. Anyway, now that I've started writing a lot while we've been away, they've suddenly got their backs up about that too. I can't seem to like anything at all without claims of addiction.

Mum even wonders why I still like and read Harry Potter, because she has this warped idea in her head that it's a kiddies book, and that I'm too old for them now. She's never even read anything from the series. There she goes with the assumptions again. And that reminds me, I never got to talk about Mum's damn mood swings. I'll have to do that tomorrow when we're on the road again. Oh, one more thing: single-ply toilet paper should be illegal.