Rant Thread II

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by Pineapple_Juice

I think it's funny that both times my step-mother has gotten my father to kick me out have been in June, conveniently within a week of my birthday. I am sure she plans it that way.

PJ, after years of people observing dysfunctional families I can tell you this is very likely no coincidence. She starts thinking about having to get you a present or celebrate your birthday in some way (it might even be triggered by someone else mentioning that the date is approaching) and her resentment builds until she decides (consciously or subconsciously; same difference, really) to do something about it. So then she manufactures something to accuse you of and you're off on a roller-coaster ride you had no idea was coming.

I'm sorry you have to put up with this, but you likely can't win in a battle for your dad's heart against your step-mother at this point, and it's unwise to try to make him choose. So you'll be well served to get your own place and never allow yourself to get in the position where she can wield such power over you again. Keep your distance, remain aloof. As long as you're not confronting your step-mother in any way, your father will likely make overtures to repair the relationship with you in time. From a stable base under your own control, you can enjoy that and leave your step-mother with less power to affect you in the future.

I always find it abhorrent that people marry into existing families and then resent the children that are there from previous spouses ... as if those children are a challenge to their relationship. The only thing worse to me (and a lost cause, I'm afraid) is the pre-existing parent that doesn't catch on that the new step-parent resents the children and doesn't put an end to that jealousy immediately ... even if it means the end of the relationship. Put the welfare of your children ahead of your own romantic interests, please.

Plus, if your new partner is flawed in this way, I guarantee you this isn't the only area where this kind of jealousy-driven behavior manifests.

[JCC]

I wonder what it is that makes such a large proportion of step-parents unfathomably evil. Obviously it can't be universally applied but step-parents are almost becoming a clichéd symbol of enduring malice. If I was going to make a horror film about a man who murders young girls and eats their eyes, I would make the murderer a step-father, just because like 75% of the audience with step-parents would be like "That is exactly the kind of shit he would do." Maybe it's some kind of pre-emptive attack because they're worried about living up to old expectations. Or maybe divorcees are forever cursed by Satan to attract the psychotic.

[Ben Lahnger]

It's not a new phenomenon. Wicked Step-mothers are the stuff of fairy tales.

Originally Posted by JCC

Or maybe divorcees are forever cursed by Satan to attract the psychotic.

Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

[Delkaetre]

My step-dad's lovely, actually.

Nice chap, and at times I've gotten along better with him than with my actual mother. I don't know many at all who've had trouble with step-parents, not with fully fledged step-parents instead of "parent's paramour of the week, due to be gone again in a month or two!

Biological parents seem to cause a hell of a lot more problems.

Maybe it's just a really unfortunate cultural meme that gets unfairly reinforced when bad things happen?

[Underwater Ophelia]

Originally Posted by JCC

I wonder what it is that makes such a large proportion of step-parents unfathomably evil. Obviously it can't be universally applied but step-parents are almost becoming a clichéd symbol of enduring malice. If I was going to make a horror film about a man who murders young girls and eats their eyes, I would make the murderer a step-father, just because like 75% of the audience with step-parents would be like "That is exactly the kind of shit he would do." Maybe it's some kind of pre-emptive attack because they're worried about living up to old expectations. Or maybe divorcees are forever cursed by Satan to attract the psychotic.

I think it's partly the pre-emptive attack, but more about hating the connection to the old lover. Well, resenting, rather.

[Ben Lahnger]

I've been shopping for plane tickets for a few weeks ... I'm planning on attending our family's bi-annual reunion on the beach at the end of July. I can't afford to buy the tickets until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Last week I found some agreeable tickets for $327. One week later the cheapest tickets are $50 dollars more. I'm wondering if I'll be able to afford the tickets when I thought I was going to be able to afford them.

*sigh*

[Still Jack]

Originally Posted by JCC

I guess his girlfriend is used to being the centre of attention or something.

Pretty much that. She has the audacity to think I'm meant to be hanging out with her, while I'm actually trying to revise for exams...

[Solumina]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

I've been shopping for plane tickets for a few weeks ... I'm planning on attending our family's bi-annual reunion on the beach at the end of July. I can't afford to buy the tickets until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Last week I found some agreeable tickets for $327. One week later the cheapest tickets are $50 dollars more. I'm wondering if I'll be able to afford the tickets when I thought I was going to be able to afford them.

*sigh*

Damn dude those are steep, I'm assuming those are round trip but still that is pretty pricy. Out of curiosity what beach does your family go to?

[Ben Lahnger]

We fly into the airport at Wilmington, NC and hang out on a beach on the southern end of the North Carolina coastline.

[Solumina]

Oh okay so near-ish Bald Head Island? I haven't been down that far in ages but I do seem to recall really enjoying it, things are a bit more laid back than in most of the more northern OBX.

[triggerhappi26]

Originally Posted by Ben Lahnger

I've been shopping for plane tickets for a few weeks ... I'm planning on attending our family's bi-annual reunion on the beach at the end of July. I can't afford to buy the tickets until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Last week I found some agreeable tickets for $327. One week later the cheapest tickets are $50 dollars more. I'm wondering if I'll be able to afford the tickets when I thought I was going to be able to afford them.

*sigh*

Hey, I used to spend days looking at tickets from Canada to the UK and normally those run for over 1000 dollars.

My best advice is cheapoair when I went there it only cost 652 dollars instead of any four digit price tag.

here's the link:

Click Here

[Ben Lahnger]

Yes Solumina, that is the charm ... while it is still a bit touristy, it ends up being a very relaxing week. My Dad and his brothers and sisters each rent a beach house. So my Dad hosts me, my brother, my sister and our extended families in the house he rents. His brothers and sisters do likewise for their families. We end up with around 90 people showing up. And when you're hanging out with 90 of your relatives, you definitely want it to be in a relaxing environment.

So during the daytime we largely go our individual ways after a lazy morning, except for a few optional planned outings like a deep sea dive, a fishing expedition or a round of golf. And there's the traditional sand sculpture competition where each of the 9 families has a 2 hour window of time to turn a measured square plot of land into a work of art matching the current contest theme. Four years ago when the theme was Disney, we made Pete's Dragon, and it turned out excellent! And everybody wins, so one evening later in the week the judge will hand out custom prizes to everyone fitting a joke about each family's entry.

Then there's one day were we all get together for a family photo on the beach ... 90 odd people all wearing the same shirt and posing in front of the ocean ... you have to take that picture from a few steps back.

About 5:00pm or so we all show up at someone's house for dinner (it rotates around to different houses through the week.) We host on Tuesday, and my Dad always hires this local guy to come out and cook a pig roast. The guy pulls in with his trailer and he cooks the pig plus all the sides on the grills and steam trays he's got on that rig. Other nights families make things like tacos or spaghetti ... and one night we get a fish dinner courtesy of the people who went on the fishing expedition.

After dinner the host family for the evening breaks out some form of entertainment; one night it's bingo, another night it's poker or euchre, another it's 6 dice greed. On our family's night I run a game-show-like trivia contest where I split the seated crowd down the middle to declare two teams. Then for about an hour they take turns answering questions with the occasional toss-up question or audio quiz. I make sure every member of the winning side gets a little prize.

Then we all go back to our rented "homes" and sit in the rocking chairs on the decks, looking out at the waves, drinking a beer and usually reading a good novel with a book light till it's time to go to bed.

I wouldn't have a family reunion any other way! ;-)

[Ben Lahnger]

And that story really doesn't belong in WHINING, because when I'm there, I definitely have nothing to whine about.

As my Dad puts it, if you're lucky enough to be at the beach, you're lucky enough.

But I am still darned concerned about airfare prices. I'm looking into how well my old Sentra would handle a 2400 mile trip as a backup plan.

[triggerhappi26]

Hey Ben!!!

Check the price of the ticket at the link >.<

[Ben Lahnger]

Originally Posted by triggerhappi26

My best advice is cheapoair when I went there it only cost 652 dollars instead of any four digit price tag.

here's the link:

Click Here

Thanks, that may prove helpful. I'll let you know.

[triggerhappi26]

Well Ben I really hope you get there, it sounds like fun.

[Solumina]

Sounds like my family vacations, only we generally top out at about 40 people. It would be a long car ride but road trips can be fun (or hell depending on who you're with). You could also look at train tickets, though last time I checked they were almost as pricy as flying.


Danm trigger, I just looked at that link and their prices are really low

[Saya]

Holy shit, less than 500 dollars from St.John's to Victoria!

Gooood to know ^_^

[triggerhappi26]

See discount tickets!!

p.s. if you're headed to Victoria Saya I'll take you in til you get a place

[Saya]

Haha, well stick around, I might need to call in that favour in a year XD

If student loans continues to play games with me and I can't go back to school full time, I'm just going to pack up and go to Victoria next year when my roommate moves away (she's in nursing so god knows where she'll be sent to when she graduates, probably around the bay). I thought I was all square with them, but I got a letter yesterday saying that they were still missing my copy of a paycheck from last AUGUST. I sent all my paystubs in, but there was none for the beginning of August because I didn't start my current job til mid August, so the only paystub for the whole month was at the end of the month. So they didn't bother to ask me about it until last month, and I explained this to them, and they said I had to write it down on a piece of paper with all my info, just a note saying just that I didn't start til mid August, and I did and I sent it in on like the 17th of May? 19th at the latest. So I got a letter yesterday dated the 27th (but I know it didn't come in in til yesterday, I've been checking my mail everyday) saying they still never got it and I have 15 days from the letter date to send it in -_-* I have no minutes on my phone so when my roommate wakes up I'll have to ask her for it and call and make sure that maybe my letter was just delayed and they got it since, I can't send it in again and have it there by yesterday.

I'm gonna cry if they say its too late and I owe them for the entire period between August and now, it crushes me to think that my whole future rests on the whims of people who need to see something on a piece of paper before they believe me.

[triggerhappi26]

Awww Saya I know they can be tough about loans, but if you pack up and move to Victoria I here UVIC is an amazing school PLUS they have bunnies and deer who run around on campus can anyone else ADORABLE?

[carakitty]

Midnight Path has been my fragrance of choice for a few weeks now and one of my 'friends' told me I smelled like an old lady!

[Saya]

Originally Posted by triggerhappi26

Awww Saya I know they can be tough about loans, but if you pack up and move to Victoria I here UVIC is an amazing school PLUS they have bunnies and deer who run around on campus can anyone else ADORABLE?

I'm thinking about transferring after the school year too, so its a definite possibility if I do get my loans. But I should do another year here at least, interest on student loans is higher if you move out of newfoundland to do a program that you could do here, so half here and half there wouldn't be terrible.

[HumanePain]

Damn headache...this is gonna be a looooong day.

[KissMeDeadly]

Good: I flirted for half an hour with a pretty good looking girl

Bad: I accidentally told her friend that she looks kind of like ET (Her friend looks like ET, I mean, not her.)