July 24, 2003

Family Ramblings

Well, it is three o'clock in the morning central standard time and I can't sleep. What do I do when I can't sleep? I ramble.

I've been wandering through several different blogs simply by following links on other peoples' blogs. There is some interesting stuff out there in the world of Blogger. However, I didn't find anything I thought was interesting enough to link it. If anyone out there finds something they think is interesting, please leave a link.

I am so very ready to move back to Longview. I am so bored. Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored. My family is also really starting to aggravate me. Everything from my grandparents' spontaneous gambling trips (which might be interesting if I was 21 or older) to the constant bickering and gossipping of other family members is really starting to get on my nerves. I have discovered that my family is best experienced if you don't live in the same town as them. Less fights, more peace, less drama, more trust.

Another thing that I am just now mentioning: my parents have been in Mexico for five days now. They are coming back home on Sunday. I got my vacation earlier in the summer (Florida Keys, thanks to my cousin) so now they are getting one of their own. I would have been jealous had they gone with anyone other than who they did. I could fill you in on that, but it is just too much to try to explain.

While they have been gone I've spent a lot of time at the house by myself. I have greatly enjoyed this time. I have made obligatory visits to my grandparents and will actually be staying with my grandmother tonight. Ever since my sister's death my grandparents have become very clingy. I guess that it is perfectly understandable. However, it is still annoying.

One family member that I don't find annoying (most of the time) is my uncle. This may be because he escaped the death-clutch that East Texas apparently has on the majority of my family members. He was the dean of the English department at the University of West Florida for a few years. He is currently on a teaching hiatus, living with my grandparents, and writing a book about two "famous" authors I've never heard of: Carson McCullers and Tennessee Williams. I even helped him with some of it by transcribing a CD for him. He is one of the members of my family who can carry on an intelligent discussion without trapping himself in circular logic (My aunt once told me that people shouldn't protest a war because soldiers died to give them the freedom to do so. So people shouldn't be allowed to use rights people died to get? Riiiight.)

Another family member I enjoy speaking with is the cousin that took me to Florida with her husband and kids. She has also escaped from this horrible small town. Although, she still feels that she is trapped in Nacogdoches, also known as Nac-of-nowhere to several people. I also (usually) enjoy conversations with her mother (the aunt quoted above) despite the occasional logical fallacy.

All quirks aside, I do love my family. I just need some time away from them. Soon.

Wow. This became a family rant. Interesting...

Posted by Randy at July 24, 2003 03:30 AM