(no subject)
I'll give this thing a try since Rafiq asked me to, otherwise I'd probably resist doing so. I'm not quite sure why he wanted me to do it, but right now resisting things he asks of me is pretty much impossible.
I'm not going to delve too deeply into occurrences of late, at least not for now. I might not do it at all, but at the moment I really don't feel up to throwing my feelings up for everyone to see. Maybe writing it out will help, I don't know. If I do, I may or may not allow others to see it. I'll decide if and when it happens.
Most people who are going to read this know the important things about me, but since others might end up reading it, I'll do a quick synopsis. Read it or not, whatever. It doesn't really matter in the end.
While the trials and tribulations of my early life pale in comparison to things since I joined the Denny clan/tribe/network, I had my share of ups and downs. I guess it was mostly downs, but who am I to judge? I'm too close to the situation.
I grew up with my parents and an older brother. I should say, one parent for most of the time since my folks split when I was 7. My father moved out and ended up somewhere back east. I occasionally heard from him, at least at first, but even that meager communication stopped when I was 13. I honestly don't blame him for that since everytime he called, my mother spent the entire time he was on the phone bitching him out for one thing or another. She never let my brother or me talk to him. An occasional birthday card slipped through without her notice, at least at first, so I know he at least did that. She'd always intercept them when she could, however. I heard a lot of trash talk about him, especially after we found out that he'd gotten remarried. My mother ranted for months about that, all the while insisting that she didn't give a damn what he did and that he was dead to her.
When I was 15, my mother finally remarried some white guy named Tad, which sounds like some kind of stupid preppy name. I didn't get along with him from the first time I met him. He was someone my mother worked with, or for, or something. I never paid attention. By that time I realized I was just some extraneous bit of chaff that my mother put up with having around until I was old enough to move out. By that time, my brother had already moved out, which had made my life a lot easier.
The appearance of Tad, however, was a definite glitch in the system. While my mother paid little attention to me and let me do whatever I felt like doing, Tad was a strict disciplinarian. That's right, he was the manager where my mother worked, I remember now. He proved to be a control freak, and hated it when things didn't go his way. I was just in the way, and he decided that if I wasn't going to fit into his own personal equation that he'd at least make sure that I didn't mess up his figures. While he never did anything along the lines of corporal punishment, probably because I was a teenager, he loved to downgrade me and yell at me for the slightest offense. Had I been Mikel, I would have gone out of my way to piss Tad off, but I'm not, so I did what I could to stay out of trouble. It's not like I was much of a troublemaker anyway, so it came more or less naturally to just go with the flow. I didn't have that much time left there anyway, so it was just easier to do what I could to get along.
After I graduated from high school, I just had the summer to deal with them before going to college. I'd gotten a very good scholarship for my intended major, which was graphic design, and I was taking advantage of it, especially since it paid dorm fees too. It was one hell of a break for me, and I've only seen my mother and stepfather a handful of times or so since then. I certainly never missed either one of them.
It was during my time in college that I met Amber. While I'd gone out my share of times in high school, I'd never really found anyone I wanted to get serious with. However, as soon as I met Amber, I knew that she was someone I seriously wanted to pursue. I was lucky enough to get her to agree to go out with me, and well, the rest is history. I had more than my share of tense moments with her family, but that's just the way they are. Mikel enjoyed tormenting me and acting intimidating, and Isaac, believe it or not, was even worse at times. He just never did anything beyond a few looks in front of anyone. Alyce was always easy to get along with, and Charlie and I hit it off quickly since we're both artists, just of different mediums.
I suppose I should at least make a mention of my brother outside of the fact that he was there. His name is Jerod and he's four years older than I am. I must have been some kind of interference in his life, and he showed it from the beginning. He didn't like me, and he was always quick to show it. He set me up for more than one fall, and I always did my best to avoid him. He was a bully all around, and not just to me, but I was his favorite target. I got more than my share of bruises from him, and even a broken bone or two, although more often than not it wasn't direct from him but from some sort of thing he set up. He was creative, I'll give him that. The three black widows in my shoe was a classic. Luckily, they're not as poisonous as people give them credit for since my mother couldn't be bothered with the doctor. I was nice and sick for a few days after, however, and my foot was rather painful for awhile.
I haven't seen Jerod in years, and I can't say as I'm sorry about that. I think I last saw him when I was dating Amber, who's had very little contact with my family. She's never met him, and she's seen my mother on two or three occasions. My mother saw each of the boys when they were babies, and that was about it. She doesn't have much interest otherwise. I hear Tad's had a couple of heart attacks, probably because of the control freak thing. He stressed out way too much. He was still alive last I heard, though.
So that's my really exciting past. My family now is far more pleasing, obviously, and while we've had some hard times, I'm pretty lucky. I also have a great job, and a comfortable life, so I can't complain about things in general. It's certainly never dull being related to the Denny family.
I'm not going to delve too deeply into occurrences of late, at least not for now. I might not do it at all, but at the moment I really don't feel up to throwing my feelings up for everyone to see. Maybe writing it out will help, I don't know. If I do, I may or may not allow others to see it. I'll decide if and when it happens.
Most people who are going to read this know the important things about me, but since others might end up reading it, I'll do a quick synopsis. Read it or not, whatever. It doesn't really matter in the end.
While the trials and tribulations of my early life pale in comparison to things since I joined the Denny clan/tribe/network, I had my share of ups and downs. I guess it was mostly downs, but who am I to judge? I'm too close to the situation.
I grew up with my parents and an older brother. I should say, one parent for most of the time since my folks split when I was 7. My father moved out and ended up somewhere back east. I occasionally heard from him, at least at first, but even that meager communication stopped when I was 13. I honestly don't blame him for that since everytime he called, my mother spent the entire time he was on the phone bitching him out for one thing or another. She never let my brother or me talk to him. An occasional birthday card slipped through without her notice, at least at first, so I know he at least did that. She'd always intercept them when she could, however. I heard a lot of trash talk about him, especially after we found out that he'd gotten remarried. My mother ranted for months about that, all the while insisting that she didn't give a damn what he did and that he was dead to her.
When I was 15, my mother finally remarried some white guy named Tad, which sounds like some kind of stupid preppy name. I didn't get along with him from the first time I met him. He was someone my mother worked with, or for, or something. I never paid attention. By that time I realized I was just some extraneous bit of chaff that my mother put up with having around until I was old enough to move out. By that time, my brother had already moved out, which had made my life a lot easier.
The appearance of Tad, however, was a definite glitch in the system. While my mother paid little attention to me and let me do whatever I felt like doing, Tad was a strict disciplinarian. That's right, he was the manager where my mother worked, I remember now. He proved to be a control freak, and hated it when things didn't go his way. I was just in the way, and he decided that if I wasn't going to fit into his own personal equation that he'd at least make sure that I didn't mess up his figures. While he never did anything along the lines of corporal punishment, probably because I was a teenager, he loved to downgrade me and yell at me for the slightest offense. Had I been Mikel, I would have gone out of my way to piss Tad off, but I'm not, so I did what I could to stay out of trouble. It's not like I was much of a troublemaker anyway, so it came more or less naturally to just go with the flow. I didn't have that much time left there anyway, so it was just easier to do what I could to get along.
After I graduated from high school, I just had the summer to deal with them before going to college. I'd gotten a very good scholarship for my intended major, which was graphic design, and I was taking advantage of it, especially since it paid dorm fees too. It was one hell of a break for me, and I've only seen my mother and stepfather a handful of times or so since then. I certainly never missed either one of them.
It was during my time in college that I met Amber. While I'd gone out my share of times in high school, I'd never really found anyone I wanted to get serious with. However, as soon as I met Amber, I knew that she was someone I seriously wanted to pursue. I was lucky enough to get her to agree to go out with me, and well, the rest is history. I had more than my share of tense moments with her family, but that's just the way they are. Mikel enjoyed tormenting me and acting intimidating, and Isaac, believe it or not, was even worse at times. He just never did anything beyond a few looks in front of anyone. Alyce was always easy to get along with, and Charlie and I hit it off quickly since we're both artists, just of different mediums.
I suppose I should at least make a mention of my brother outside of the fact that he was there. His name is Jerod and he's four years older than I am. I must have been some kind of interference in his life, and he showed it from the beginning. He didn't like me, and he was always quick to show it. He set me up for more than one fall, and I always did my best to avoid him. He was a bully all around, and not just to me, but I was his favorite target. I got more than my share of bruises from him, and even a broken bone or two, although more often than not it wasn't direct from him but from some sort of thing he set up. He was creative, I'll give him that. The three black widows in my shoe was a classic. Luckily, they're not as poisonous as people give them credit for since my mother couldn't be bothered with the doctor. I was nice and sick for a few days after, however, and my foot was rather painful for awhile.
I haven't seen Jerod in years, and I can't say as I'm sorry about that. I think I last saw him when I was dating Amber, who's had very little contact with my family. She's never met him, and she's seen my mother on two or three occasions. My mother saw each of the boys when they were babies, and that was about it. She doesn't have much interest otherwise. I hear Tad's had a couple of heart attacks, probably because of the control freak thing. He stressed out way too much. He was still alive last I heard, though.
So that's my really exciting past. My family now is far more pleasing, obviously, and while we've had some hard times, I'm pretty lucky. I also have a great job, and a comfortable life, so I can't complain about things in general. It's certainly never dull being related to the Denny family.