family

on most days, i have something pretty lighthearted and what i consider funny and interesting to say. actually, most of the time, i struggle about what is the most timely witty comment to share. i'm just that good.

i also wonder pretty frequently about how much of my personal life i should share. i read a variety of blogs along the personal life spectrum, from sex lives in the midwest to strictly recipes in new york. in my personal life, i have a tendency to talk a lot (big surprise, huh?). but on this site, i thought that i should keep info about my life to a minimum because a) it is print and repeatable b) i'm not entirely sure who is reading this, now and in the future c) i mean, i know i'm funny but not everything about my life is necessarily entertaining and d) i'm not the only person in my life and what i write here could affect them (believe you me, THAT'S a realization).

all of this it to say that today, i'm not feeling particularity witty, due in large part because of stuff that i usually don't talk about here.

when i decided to go for my master's in dc, i thought i was going to continue on the whole living on my own/roommates gig i had going. the people i knew in dc prior to moving here were either living with significant others or moving away from the city. so, then i began looking into random apartments. the thought of doing random roommates again was utterly unappealing, coupled with the fact that i couldn't afford anything within an hour from my school. so, since i was going to be far away in any case, i decided to save money and live at home in suburban maryland. with no direct access to either baltimore or dc. oh, and did i mention that i don't drive? yeah, so there's that.

at this point, living at home has been different than i thought. the last time i lived at home was several years ago (summer after sophomore year of college) and my parents and i did not always get along (another big shocker, no?). i was afraid of butting heads with my mom about curfews again, but it turns out that when you are a full time grad student, you tend to sleep a lot more and ask your mom to drive you to the library more than anything else. not to say that everything is perfect with the parents, but we certainly get along much better than i thought we ever would. and this makes me very happy.

on the other hand, i have two younger brothers that live at home with my full time, in addition to a younger sister away at college who is home for the holidays (hi, cecilia! i know you'll read this!). again, the last time i lived at home, we weren't always on the best terms, but several years ago, i was also still physically larger than them and could sit on them if need be. i'm now the shortest person in my family but still with the most senior sibling status. very odd, very odd indeed.

but it isn't even that me and my siblings are fighting too much. my parents might disagree, but we certainly butt heads less than i thought we would, mainly because i don't see them as much as i thought i would. but what has become a problem is the fights that erupt (and i do mean erupt) between my brothers and my parents. they are 14 and 17, terribly fun ages, if i remember correctly.

so, if anyone has any coping mechanisms for dealing with your brother punching a hole in the wall and slamming doors, i would love to hear them. you can skip escaping to your room, listening to daft punk, and blogging. oh and making a countdown advent like calendar to mid may when i move out for the summer. i'm already all over that.



the only fists i can deal with right now.