Apparently my father liked my suggestion about printing up his schedule and showing it off because he asked us to come over today (well Thursday which is still sort of today) and get the ink cartridge out of the printer so he could take it to some store and know what kind of new one to get. Sure no problem. And I would just like to say that "cartridge" is a pain in the ass word to figure out to spell.

Anyways Dec21 and I go out this morning about 8am to return a movie and to get breakfast at McDonald's. Now personally, I HATE McDonald's breakfast items. I worked at a McDonald's when I was younger and I worked a morning shift one time and the smell of that breakfast food made me sick to my stomach. I digress though. Well Dec21 got a breakfast meal and a couple extra small breakfast sandwiches. Well the meal came with a big hash brown that neither of us really wanted and I figured my father would want it. I called him before we left and he said he would want it. So we drive over to my parents' house..he's still in bed..doesn't even get out of bed..which is fine with me..that's his choice. He says he doesn't want it now but to put it in the refrigerator for him which we do.

Before we leave Dec21 decides to take the ink cartridge out of the printer and put it on the table in the kitchen. We tell him it's out and his breakfast is in the refrigerator. He asks what he needs to do in order to get the ink cartridge. I give him detailed instructions several times. I told him we would be over later in the evening to put it in for him. No problem right?? WRONG!!

We come home, neither one of us slept at all last night and we go to bed. Several hours later I wake up to hear a car horn being blasted every other minute and of course I'm wondering what the hell is going on. I find out my father is out there and he is pissed off. It was only 3:30 so I was wondering what his problem was. Dec21 tells me my father wants to talk to me NOW and for us to go over there NOW!! Umm okay.

I didn't want to go over there right then. I was going on like 4 and a half hours sleep and I was thinking of doing something tonight. I call his cellphone and before I can get 2 words in my father says "GET OUT HERE NOW!!" I tried to say I would talk to him in a little while and he said "NO NOW!!! Then he hung up on me!! I was like "What the fuck??!?!!" So I call him back, worrying now something might be wrong and he said "NO NOTHING IS WRONG..GET OUT HERE..I AM MAD!!!!!" Umm okay..I was SO tempted not to go out there. He kept honking the horn and giving the neighbors a lovely headache I'm sure.

Well, I know that tone with my father. I grew up with him turning into the incredible hulk at least once a month. It's quite scary sometimes..I swear his eyes even change color when he's mad. I go out there carrying my camera bag and I just HAPPEN to carry my minature tape recorder with me in my camera bag all the time and I just HAPPEN to turn it ON and have it in a side pocket in the camera bag. I wanted to record this as evidence in case he decided to completely act like a psycho.

I go up and I say "Okay what did I supposedly do now??" He goes on and on saying he's been waiting for about an hour and a half for us to come over. Okay news to me. He said he talked to Dec21..(news to me but Dec21 dozed off) and he said that Dec21 told him we'd be over later. However..later didn't come with a time frame but my father took it to mean "yes sir..whatever you say sir..we'll be right over there to do whatever you want!!"

My father keeps yelling..giving the neighborhood a nice little show. He insists on doing this right in our driveway where anyone even half ass paying attention could hear.

He goes on and on saying how mad he is...how horrible I basically am..how we NEVER help him (yeah right..we do 99% of the things he asks with rarely a thank you or a hint of gratitude) and he's sick of this. Sick of what dear father?? Sick of everyone being your slaves and doing just about everything you don't ask but DEMAND, letting you treat them any old way, getting moral support when you're down and being your cheering section thru this whole refereeing thing and never ONCE asking for anything in return?? Is that what your sick of?? Or maybe it's that we fix your computer every other day and tell you how to do everything on it 20,000 times and write all of your damn e-mails for you all the time?? Perhaps it's the offering to go out and get you something to eat or cook you something or asking you to play cards with us or croquet so you will feel included?? Who knows maybe it's that when you're out God knows where we play your damn secretary and take all your calls for you, writing down messages and giving them to you the second you walk in the door. Oh I know what it could be. Maybe it's that I'm not interested in half the things you are but I pretend to be just so you will spend a little bit of time with me talking to me and actually wanting me near you. Maybe you're sick of the fact that I keep trying to be treated like your daughter and ask for half the attention you give to all your idiot friends. Tell me dear father..what is it?? I would really like to know just what it is you're sick of...because quite frankly it looks like you've got it pretty damn well.

During this rant he tells me we are not allowed to touch the computer at all until he either fixes it himself or he just gives up and decides to take the whole thing apart. Yeah that's real mature. That because we didn't come over we stopped him from doing what he really wanted to do but wouldn't say what. Yeah I'm sure just a few minutes stopped him completely. He also said not to bother coming over until it's fixed. So let me get this straight if I may..unless we are over there everytime he wants us to and that we serve his purpose of fixing the damn computer over and over again..he doesn't want us in his house?? Have I got that right?? I just have 3 words to say to that: WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!!

I did get in a couple good comments that he was insane and he had lost his mind when he was ranting like he had just come out of a mental institution. Well in the middle of all this he started the car and left. After he left I took the tape recorder over to Dec21 and played it for him. Loud and clear. I thought for sure my mother would want to hear it...more on that in a few. We soon found out that my father also left 2 messages on our voice mail wondering where we were and why we weren't there.

We go over there of course and Dec21 goes over to the computer to try to get what my father wants done on it and by the way my father didn't even stop him from doing. Of course not..free slave labor. Anyways..Dec21 comes over and sits down next to me. My father then points out that he managed to get the damn thing in the printer all by himself. Well well well..and to think he could have done that without having a big old fit.

After awhile my father half assed apologies and follows us out when we were getting in the car to get something to eat, saying "we all right?? we all right??" He sounded like he was desperate to keep my mother from finding out.

An hour later my mother did come home and we had came back over and I wasn't in the best of moods from earlier and she asked what was wrong. Actually she asked what was wrong when I mumbled that my father was at the rec center and would hopefully stay until midnight. Well..I told her. Whose side was she on?? Like it really needs to be asked. Yep..my father. I got the old "he does SO much for you and he doesn't ask hardly anything of you..you don't do much for him at all." EXCUSE ME?!?!?!? WHAT PLANET HAS SHE BEEN ON??!?!

We do SO much for my father. We do just about anything he asks and he rarely says thank you. He has to be reminded or TOLD to say thank you by my mother...and usually he tries to get out of saying thank you by INSISTING he already said thank you. Yeah whatever.

My mother said "Well you know he loses his head sometimes." She refused to listen to the tape recording which I SO much wanted her to listen to. When she said she didn't want to listen to it I made up a bullshit excuse that I was kidding about taping it.

I hate when she defends him. She's not even there during the times he's most demanding. He sometimes comes over at the crack of dawn or calls after she goes to bed to make sure we'll be over there to fix his computer or write a few e-mails for him..or he'll wait until we get over there and my mother hasn't come home yet. I wish she could see all we do for him. Although if she did she'd probably just use the same speech I've heard so often it's actually depressing to hear again..not to mention it gets me pissed off.

But anyways..here I am..almost 4am..still upset that my father decided to treat me like I'm just here on this earth to serve him and that Dec21 is my handy sidekick that's here to do the same..Dec21 is anxious to get on the computer..not much is on tv, I've been chewing on this same bit of gum for about 2 hours and I've got a stiff neck from writing this entry. Something tells me I better send this entry before I get disconnected or the browser decides to throw an error message at me and close then I'll be even more pissed off.