Random Musings
Just a few things that've been on my mind...
Well, thankfully I found gainful (if part-time employment) just as my temporary substitute-teaching job ended. Sadly, one of the days is Saturday (ugh!) from 9:30am to 2:30pm. The job has been going well so far. It's only one week into the semester of teaching at a cram school, so I hope I haven't jinxed myself with that.
I've been feeling a bit frustrated with my mom. Besides perennial mother-daughter communication issues -- which I've given way on; my friend complimented me on my maturity since there's no point in fighting with her since the problems are fundamental to her personality and I have no hope of ever changing her -- I feel like she's getting crazier as she gets older. From observation (and friends' complaints about their parents/grandparents) this is a normal trend. At a recent joint birthday celebration for my nephew and me, she took the opportunity to try to convert my cousin and her boyfriend to Christianity. It was like watching a trainwreck happen before my eyes. I was a bit too shocked and horrified to stop her. Thankfully, when she tried to rope my brother into her conversion attempt, he tactfully changed the subject. Thank god! The irony of that reaction does not escape me.
Also, she's a total pack-rat of disturbing proportions. She buys loads of gifts for her grandkids, but then HOARDS them in the garage and spare rooms to be doled out slowly. Now, I don't have a problem with gift-buying in bulk. I have a problem when she CONTINUES TO KEEP BUYING when there are still unopened gifts sitting around the house in piles! Her shopping in no way contributes to building an earthquake-emergency survival kit. Ugh.
Plus, there are quality-of-life issues that she just refuses to address, but she will spend thousands of dollars on a cruise around Europe. She's had an abscessed tooth problem (at least, that's what I think it is) for over a year. She kept putting off going to the dentist to fix the problem. Initially, she had some mad plan of waiting for the summer (even though the problem cropped up at the end of 2007) to go to Taiwan to fix it. Why??? Then, when my uncle informed her that the costs of getting the work done in Taiwan would be more than in the U.S., she wanted to go to CHINA to fix it! Who goes from a first-world, industrialized country where she has health/dental insurance through her employers to CHINA to fix a medical/dental problem??? This tooth issue has been so painful for her that she gets migraines, can't eat hard foods, can't eat too cold/hot foods, etc. It's a quality of life issue, and she just refuses to address it. Instead, she's already booked and paid for a trip to Europe in November. *shakes head*
On top of her refusal to treat her dental/health problems, there are housing issues that she also refuses to address. The brand-new dishwasher that she bought when she remodeled the kitchen about five years ago is broken. I'm not sure if it ever actually worked, since she treats the damn thing like an oversized dishrack even when she has dinner parties of up to thirty people. The convection oven also has never worked. The plumbing in her bathroom is wonky, which means she washes her lingerie, brushes her teeth, and washes her face in my bathroom. And the roof leaks over the laundry room when it rains. I actually saw major water damage down the walls the other day. She won't pay to fix any of this. It's MADDENING.
Other than these things, which I cannot change, I am also somewhat sad at the complete lack of response to my feeble attempt at entrepreneurship. I really hoped that my feather hair clip would be received positively. I thought it came out well. I guess there's just to demand for it. Alas.
Thus ends my random musings.
Well, thankfully I found gainful (if part-time employment) just as my temporary substitute-teaching job ended. Sadly, one of the days is Saturday (ugh!) from 9:30am to 2:30pm. The job has been going well so far. It's only one week into the semester of teaching at a cram school, so I hope I haven't jinxed myself with that.
I've been feeling a bit frustrated with my mom. Besides perennial mother-daughter communication issues -- which I've given way on; my friend complimented me on my maturity since there's no point in fighting with her since the problems are fundamental to her personality and I have no hope of ever changing her -- I feel like she's getting crazier as she gets older. From observation (and friends' complaints about their parents/grandparents) this is a normal trend. At a recent joint birthday celebration for my nephew and me, she took the opportunity to try to convert my cousin and her boyfriend to Christianity. It was like watching a trainwreck happen before my eyes. I was a bit too shocked and horrified to stop her. Thankfully, when she tried to rope my brother into her conversion attempt, he tactfully changed the subject. Thank god! The irony of that reaction does not escape me.
Also, she's a total pack-rat of disturbing proportions. She buys loads of gifts for her grandkids, but then HOARDS them in the garage and spare rooms to be doled out slowly. Now, I don't have a problem with gift-buying in bulk. I have a problem when she CONTINUES TO KEEP BUYING when there are still unopened gifts sitting around the house in piles! Her shopping in no way contributes to building an earthquake-emergency survival kit. Ugh.
Plus, there are quality-of-life issues that she just refuses to address, but she will spend thousands of dollars on a cruise around Europe. She's had an abscessed tooth problem (at least, that's what I think it is) for over a year. She kept putting off going to the dentist to fix the problem. Initially, she had some mad plan of waiting for the summer (even though the problem cropped up at the end of 2007) to go to Taiwan to fix it. Why??? Then, when my uncle informed her that the costs of getting the work done in Taiwan would be more than in the U.S., she wanted to go to CHINA to fix it! Who goes from a first-world, industrialized country where she has health/dental insurance through her employers to CHINA to fix a medical/dental problem??? This tooth issue has been so painful for her that she gets migraines, can't eat hard foods, can't eat too cold/hot foods, etc. It's a quality of life issue, and she just refuses to address it. Instead, she's already booked and paid for a trip to Europe in November. *shakes head*
On top of her refusal to treat her dental/health problems, there are housing issues that she also refuses to address. The brand-new dishwasher that she bought when she remodeled the kitchen about five years ago is broken. I'm not sure if it ever actually worked, since she treats the damn thing like an oversized dishrack even when she has dinner parties of up to thirty people. The convection oven also has never worked. The plumbing in her bathroom is wonky, which means she washes her lingerie, brushes her teeth, and washes her face in my bathroom. And the roof leaks over the laundry room when it rains. I actually saw major water damage down the walls the other day. She won't pay to fix any of this. It's MADDENING.
Other than these things, which I cannot change, I am also somewhat sad at the complete lack of response to my feeble attempt at entrepreneurship. I really hoped that my feather hair clip would be received positively. I thought it came out well. I guess there's just to demand for it. Alas.
Thus ends my random musings.