Sunday of my Life

I swear, I live with a three-year-old. A 6-foot-tall, 100+kg three-year-old. My father, who’s idea of conflict resolution is “I’m not talking to you! Neener neener neener!”

And you know, that used to be the way of things, a while back. He and I would have a fight, spend a while not talking to one another, then pretend nothing happened. Not healthy, as I finally came to see (after having the concept beaten into my head a number of times). I thought, now, years on, that we’d moved past that. I’ve changed over those years. I’ve gained maturity (at least, I hope I have). I like to think that the very least I can do, if a conflict situation comes up, is let it slide. And that I don’t do the least I can do. That I see it’s resolved in a half-way healthy manner.

That’s why all of this came out of left-field. A few nights ago, he springs into the room, saying,

“How many eggs do you want for dinner?”

“Oh, I don’t know. What else are we having?”

“How many do you want?”

“I won’t know until I know what else we’re having with it. If we’re having a lot of something else with it, then one. If we’re having a small amount of something with it, then two. If all we’re having is eggs, then three.”

And, quite suddenly, I was recieving one of his inspiring lectures on my attitude, and how I “always go out of [my] way to cause fights.” His words, not mine. I will freely admit that, back in my immature past, I did do that, or something like it anyway. Arguments made me think, and made me feel alive. But I don’t do that anymore. I’ve been making a concious effort to get along with him, or at the very least not let his shit get to me.

But this, though, is simply childish. “I’m not talking to you until you apologise for what you did!” Yeah, that solves a lot of problems. It’s a sad thought, to be honest; to think that I’ve moved on and grown up in the space of three short years, and he… hasn’t. He’s still stuck back in whatever space he’s been in for a long time. It’s saddening to think that he actually likes it there, that it’s so comfortable for him, that he’ll never want to try another way of living.

Ack! It’s official! I’ve been tagged! So, then, here’s Five Things You Didn’t Know About Me.

1. I elected never to take mathematics classes beyond year 10. Despite the fact that it severely damaged my immediate University prospects, this was the course of prudence for me. Better to not take a class at all than to fail it, and better to fill its space with classes I can pass.
2. Okay, this one some people probably know, and some don’t: In year 7, my first year of highschool, I played the Tinman in the school’s production of the Wizard of Oz. And nearly choked doing one of the dances when my costume caught on itself, and the collar jammed up hard against my throat.
3. I once spent an afternoon with one of my oldest, dearest friends at the local swimming pool, convincing a group of people I came from some tiny and unimaginably distant freign country. I spouted absolute gibberish, and my friend pretended to translate for me.
4. Another of my friends, and she knows who she is, formed the basis for one of my roleplaying characters. Some aspects of her appearance carried over into this character, and some of her manner. I hope she’s happy with what I’ve done with her.
5. Finally, I’ve always harboured a dream of being a stage actor, professionally. It’s not something I think I could ever achieve, but it’s a nice dream to hold close, every once in a while.

There… I may or may not tag people via IM or email.

Okay, after my esteemed host did one, I couldn’t resist.