Wednesday, September 29, 2004
September 29, 2004
4:25 p.m.
A list of my favorite foods, in no particular order…
Pizza
Prime Rib
Cabernet Sauvignon
Rib eye
Fried Chicken
Broasted Chicken
Roasted Chicken
Soufflé
Crème Brule
Home made Chocolate Pudding (not that box junk)
Boo-Berry
Rice Krispies
Corn Flakes
Frosted Flakes
Coca-Cola
Starbucks Latte
Starbucks Caramel Frappucino
English Muffins toasted (almost burnt)
Merlot (Lava Cap ’99, ’00, ’01)
Pizza
Stromboli
Meatballs
Spaghetti
Cinnabun (from the mall)
Pretzels
Sweet Cream Ice Cream from Cold Stone Creamery
Sausage Pizza with extra Cheese
Cheese in general
String Cheese
Movie Theater Popcorn
Baby Back Ribs
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Cream cheese Pie (from Marie Callendars)
Well, that is all I can think of right now.
Take Care…
4:25 p.m.
A list of my favorite foods, in no particular order…
Pizza
Prime Rib
Cabernet Sauvignon
Rib eye
Fried Chicken
Broasted Chicken
Roasted Chicken
Soufflé
Crème Brule
Home made Chocolate Pudding (not that box junk)
Boo-Berry
Rice Krispies
Corn Flakes
Frosted Flakes
Coca-Cola
Starbucks Latte
Starbucks Caramel Frappucino
English Muffins toasted (almost burnt)
Merlot (Lava Cap ’99, ’00, ’01)
Pizza
Stromboli
Meatballs
Spaghetti
Cinnabun (from the mall)
Pretzels
Sweet Cream Ice Cream from Cold Stone Creamery
Sausage Pizza with extra Cheese
Cheese in general
String Cheese
Movie Theater Popcorn
Baby Back Ribs
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Cream cheese Pie (from Marie Callendars)
Well, that is all I can think of right now.
Take Care…
September 29, 2004
4:25 p.m.
A list of my favorite foods, in no particular order…
Pizza
Prime Rib
Cabernet Sauvignon
Rib eye
Fried Chicken
Broasted Chicken
Roasted Chicken
Soufflé
Crème Brule
Home made Chocolate Pudding (not that box junk)
Boo-Berry
Rice Krispies
Corn Flakes
Frosted Flakes
Coca-Cola
Starbucks Latte
Starbucks Caramel Frappucino
English Muffins toasted (almost burnt)
Merlot (Lava Cap ’99, ’00, ’01)
Pizza
Stromboli
Meatballs
Spaghetti
Cinnabun (from the mall)
Pretzels
Sweet Cream Ice Cream from Cold Stone Creamery
Sausage Pizza with extra Cheese
Cheese in general
String Cheese
Movie Theater Popcorn
Baby Back Ribs
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Cream cheese Pie (from Marie Callendars)
Well, that is all I can think of right now.
Take Care…
4:25 p.m.
A list of my favorite foods, in no particular order…
Pizza
Prime Rib
Cabernet Sauvignon
Rib eye
Fried Chicken
Broasted Chicken
Roasted Chicken
Soufflé
Crème Brule
Home made Chocolate Pudding (not that box junk)
Boo-Berry
Rice Krispies
Corn Flakes
Frosted Flakes
Coca-Cola
Starbucks Latte
Starbucks Caramel Frappucino
English Muffins toasted (almost burnt)
Merlot (Lava Cap ’99, ’00, ’01)
Pizza
Stromboli
Meatballs
Spaghetti
Cinnabun (from the mall)
Pretzels
Sweet Cream Ice Cream from Cold Stone Creamery
Sausage Pizza with extra Cheese
Cheese in general
String Cheese
Movie Theater Popcorn
Baby Back Ribs
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon Cream cheese Pie (from Marie Callendars)
Well, that is all I can think of right now.
Take Care…
Thursday, September 16, 2004
September 16, 2004
9:15 a.m.
The good news is that not only is my sister being spared by Hurricane Ivan, but things here at home in terms of Cornel have settled down. The majority of the issue with Cornel has been two dominating issues. First, the fact that he was raised in a manner expecting others to wait on him. The second, and I think the crux of the issue in terms of his current living arrangement is he is simply homesick.
I want to spend a minute or two and address issue two today, having previously addressed issue one in prior entries.
When Cornel indicated a desire to move to Tennessee with us, it was done so on the basis that he quite frankly couldn’t stand the depressing nature of his current living arrangements, mainly his parents house. Geta’s mother has been battling depression for the better part of 3 years now, and is determined not to get better, but rather wilt away until she dies. Harsh words perhaps, but truthful. I’ll give you an example. Last Christmas she made it perfectly clear that she did not want a Christmas tree in the house, as she did not have the strength to decorate it. Instead however, and in an act of pure heroism, she managed to single-handedly retrieve the fake tree from storage, set it up, and decorate it. Contradiction you say, well, let me tell you how it was decorated. She had taken ALL of her prescription bottles, that she had been saving, tied a string around the neck of each bottle, and proceeded to decorate the tree. This is the same tree that she did not want set up for the enjoyment of the family and kids.
In addition to that sadistic act, she keeps ALL the windows closed and covered so that what little light might be able to sneak into the house is all but filtered out by the window coverings. To say the house is a dark depressing place would not only be a fact, but an understatement.
And Cornel has some depression issues that he will have to deal with because of the environment he was raised. When we said we were moving, he asked to move with us. He was supposed to resume his schooling here, as he wants to be a fireman, and has completed the first of a two year course at which point he could go to the Fire Academy and earn his certifications.
When Cornel arrived here, his older sister Doina and her husband Ben pressured Cornel into taking a job working electrical at the company that Ben was working at. Cornel went from being a part-time worker full-time student to a full-time worker plus overtime with no social life, as he had to work from 6:30 a.m. until 4 or 5 each afternoon plus Saturdays. He never got a chance to get out and do the things he should be doing at his age because he was so tired from working so much.
So Geta and I have strongly encouraged him to give up the job, and resume school.
And amazingly, he is coming around and listening.
And the home sickness he feels will start to diminish because instead of working 50-60 hours a week, he will now work 20 hours a week while going to school and completing the program he started to become a fireman.
And he will meet people, and be able to do things like he was used to while in California. And he will be able to make Tennessee his home, not just a place he is living.
And to say I am proud of him would be an understatement. I felt so bad for him working so hard at the electrical job for so little knowing that there is so much more for him out there in this world.
Homesickness is normal, but there are ways to mitigate its effects. Working 50-60 a week is not one of those ways. Cornel went and got a job at a local restaurant that we like, and he starts a week from Monday. He is not sure if he will work both jobs until the spring semester of school starts, but whatever he decides, I know he is on a better track than what he has been doing in terms of being a success.
Take care.
9:15 a.m.
The good news is that not only is my sister being spared by Hurricane Ivan, but things here at home in terms of Cornel have settled down. The majority of the issue with Cornel has been two dominating issues. First, the fact that he was raised in a manner expecting others to wait on him. The second, and I think the crux of the issue in terms of his current living arrangement is he is simply homesick.
I want to spend a minute or two and address issue two today, having previously addressed issue one in prior entries.
When Cornel indicated a desire to move to Tennessee with us, it was done so on the basis that he quite frankly couldn’t stand the depressing nature of his current living arrangements, mainly his parents house. Geta’s mother has been battling depression for the better part of 3 years now, and is determined not to get better, but rather wilt away until she dies. Harsh words perhaps, but truthful. I’ll give you an example. Last Christmas she made it perfectly clear that she did not want a Christmas tree in the house, as she did not have the strength to decorate it. Instead however, and in an act of pure heroism, she managed to single-handedly retrieve the fake tree from storage, set it up, and decorate it. Contradiction you say, well, let me tell you how it was decorated. She had taken ALL of her prescription bottles, that she had been saving, tied a string around the neck of each bottle, and proceeded to decorate the tree. This is the same tree that she did not want set up for the enjoyment of the family and kids.
In addition to that sadistic act, she keeps ALL the windows closed and covered so that what little light might be able to sneak into the house is all but filtered out by the window coverings. To say the house is a dark depressing place would not only be a fact, but an understatement.
And Cornel has some depression issues that he will have to deal with because of the environment he was raised. When we said we were moving, he asked to move with us. He was supposed to resume his schooling here, as he wants to be a fireman, and has completed the first of a two year course at which point he could go to the Fire Academy and earn his certifications.
When Cornel arrived here, his older sister Doina and her husband Ben pressured Cornel into taking a job working electrical at the company that Ben was working at. Cornel went from being a part-time worker full-time student to a full-time worker plus overtime with no social life, as he had to work from 6:30 a.m. until 4 or 5 each afternoon plus Saturdays. He never got a chance to get out and do the things he should be doing at his age because he was so tired from working so much.
So Geta and I have strongly encouraged him to give up the job, and resume school.
And amazingly, he is coming around and listening.
And the home sickness he feels will start to diminish because instead of working 50-60 hours a week, he will now work 20 hours a week while going to school and completing the program he started to become a fireman.
And he will meet people, and be able to do things like he was used to while in California. And he will be able to make Tennessee his home, not just a place he is living.
And to say I am proud of him would be an understatement. I felt so bad for him working so hard at the electrical job for so little knowing that there is so much more for him out there in this world.
Homesickness is normal, but there are ways to mitigate its effects. Working 50-60 a week is not one of those ways. Cornel went and got a job at a local restaurant that we like, and he starts a week from Monday. He is not sure if he will work both jobs until the spring semester of school starts, but whatever he decides, I know he is on a better track than what he has been doing in terms of being a success.
Take care.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
September 7, 2004
5:59 a.m.
Here I sit, less than 24 hours away from turning 30, reflecting on the events of not only my lifetime, but more importantly the past 4 days, and I realize that for all their faults, my parents did a good job teaching responsibility and accountability. Geta’s family has been in town, her brother Danny and his wife flew here Thursday, and stayed with us until they left yesterday morning, and her sister Connie and her husband and three kids flew in Friday and will be here until tomorrow morning. They are staying with Geta’s other sister Lydia at her home.
I don’t quite know what the precursor to this weekends events was, but what I do know is that Geta’s 19 year old brother Cornel who currently resides in our home is moving out. Early speculation had him renting his own apartment, however the consensus seems to suggest that he will be moving home to California to reside once again with his parents. I will try to recreate the chain of events leading up to him coming to this decision. I will warn you that I may come across as the bad guy in the situation; I am OK with that, because deep down inside I feel as though I am doing the right thing.
On Friday night the entire clan gathered at Geta’s sisters house Lydia, which is about 40 miles from our home. Since we are the ones who don’t live in the boonies, it is our responsibility to drive there, because they ain’t driving our way. In a way, that is good, because with 14 kids on hand, a lot of destruction could come of a family gathering, and since none of the parents really discipline their children, the destruction comes on fast and hard. During this shindig my brother-in-law Jeff starts egging Cornel on that he shouldn’t have to do anything around the house because he pays rent. I told him that that would be fine, but failure to comply with the rules of the house would result in eviction.
Well, Cornel being Cornel, I think took what Jeff had to say to heart, and decided that he was done doing his “chores.” Side note here, for those who didn’t know, when Cornel moved here, he was given a list of things he had to accomplish, they are brutal and unfair, but here they are. His room was to be kept clean, his bathroom was to be kept clean, no food or drink upstairs and last but not least completion of his chore list. Now, initially the chore list consisted of Geta or I asking him to do something, typically emptying the dishwasher, or vacuuming the house. Problem is, most of the time we were simply ignored, and about a month and a half ago, after telling him that I wanted the house to be vacuumed for several days, I told him that if he couldn’t act responsibly, an actual chore list would have to be created for him to help him attend to his chores. He challenged the situation, and told me to go ahead and create a list, and hence a list was created.
Again, you will see how brutal and unfair I was being, the list consisted of sweeping the laundry room 3 times a week, vacuuming the entire house twice a week, putting his dishes from dinner in the dishwasher and sweeping the kitchen and foyer once a week. The list was broken down so that is could be accomplished a little bit each day with as little as 15-minutes expended to complete said chores.
Cornel thought he was being so smart by refusing to do the chores, so a discussion developed whereby he stated that he felt he shouldn’t have to do anything around the house. Furthermore, his sister Connie was encouraging him in this train of thought using the argument that he never has had any rules, and that is was not fair to him now as an “adult” (I use the term “adult” loosely because he acts like a child) to have to do things that he never had to do before. I told Connie that she was being ignorant, and that for Cornel to mature into an adult would mean he would have to demonstrate responsibility in doing the things assigned to him. We got through the conflict of several weeks ago with a half-hearted, half-assed effort by Cornel to do his chores. It lasted all of about a week.
Fast forward a couple of days, and let me share with you Cornel’s second issue with living with us. Aside from having to do things around the house, Cornel is pissed off because I gave him a garage door opener, and told him that I wanted him coming in and out through the garage. The very same garage that Geta and I use exclusively to come in and out of. The reasoning behind this request was very simple, #1. He works construction, and comes home dirty everyday. He would come in the front door, go through the house to the garage, where he would take off his shoes. All the dirt that he was taking the shoes off for, would be in the path he took through the house. Why track the dirt through the house, when he can use the garage where he is taking his shoes off anyways. #2. The hardwood floor in the entry way is becoming scratched and chipped. This is mainly due to the fact that dirty shoes are being tracked across it day in and day out. Since we don’t use the front door, the majority of the damage is directly related to Cornel. The last reason for our request is this, #3. The front door has expanded in the opening making opening and closing difficult. On several occasions, the front door has actually been left open because there was not enough momentum on the door to have it breach the frame and close correctly. Again, because of the expansion, the deadbolt is difficult to lock, and I have stated that I want it locked.
Well, Cornel has been having a difficult time honoring such a simple request like use the garage to come in and come out. He has even tried to fight with me on it. He is so stubborn that he would rather walk through the house with his dirty shoes to the garage where he takes them off, than to simply walk in through the garage keeping the dirt outside of the house.
And to listen to the stories he tells his family, I AM THE BAD GUY FOR MAKING SUCH SIMPLE REQUESTS.
Fast forward to Sunday night. We took Danny and Michelle to downtown Nashville to see the sights and sounds. When we got home, our garage door was wide open, and the house was left unlocked. Geta called Cornel, and asked him to come home, because this was not the fourth time the house has been left unlocked when he was the last person to leave.
Again, I am the bad guy for wanting my house locked up when nobody is home, and I am being unreasonable to think that Cornel is mature enough to lock the house when he goes out.
Cornel got home, and immediately started in with his arrogant attitude. After he demonstrated a severe level of immaturity I told him that he would have an 8 p.m. curfew for the next week, and that if the chore list he had to complete was not completed as per the list, the restriction would continue until such time that he could comply with the rules of the house.
This of course brought on even more attitude and comments out of him, to which he told us he was moving out. I told him that was fine, but while he was still here, he would have to complete his chores. He told me good luck trying to get him to do them, to which I told him that if he wasn’t going to follow the rules, I would be dropping him from the car insurance, and as such before he drove the car again he would have to get his own insurance. In a fit of anger, he threw the car keys down the flight of stairs, and secluded himself in his room.
Since Geta’s brother Danny was witness to the entire proceedings, he went with us to try to talk to Cornel, however Cornel does what every good Romanian does, clam up and refuses discuss the issues. Nothing came from this attempt other than the promise of him moving out.
We went to bed after 11, and the phone rang a few minutes after the lights had been turned off. It was Geta’s sister Connie calling to tell us that we were being unreasonable to expect Cornel to do chores since he never had any rules or responsibility when he lived home. I stated that that was not my fault, rather a failure on the part of his parents, and that while he resided in my home, he would not only comply with my rules, he would show respect to me given the fact that this is my home, not his, and that since he basically contributed nothing to the household, he was in essence “our child.” As such, if he failed to follow the few simple rules we had established, he would have to move out.
Connie went on to say that we were being unreasonable to expect the house to be locked when he left it to go out. Let me repeat that, Geta and I were being unreasonable to expect that house should be locked when he went out leaving nobody else at home.
It is funny how this entire matter actually goes full circle, if you look at the entire family, Geta’s oldest sister Dana (Donna) is married to a man whom together have borrowed in excess of $70,000 dollars from other family during the years they have been together. They are lousy money managers. Geta’s next oldest sister and her husband are probably the best with money, however their 5 children know no discipline and are quite honestly monsters. Next up is Danny, who at the age of 30 is still living at home with his wife and daughter. While he was here in Tennessee, he had the opportunity to look at, but also purchase a home so that he could move out of his parent’s house. He never will move out unless he is thrown out because he is scared, and even then he will move back to an apartment rather than buy a house for fear of the unknown. Geta’s sister Doina and her husband Ben declared bankruptcy and walked away from their house in Las Vegas rather than either ask for help, or simply sell it because they got pissed off at the bank and the interest rate they were paying. Understand, this is the same interest rate that they agreed to when they signed the papers to buy the house. And this is a house in Las Vegas, which is probably the hottest real estate market in the country. Connie married a man who inherited a whole bunch of money, so her success is directly linked to her husband. Geta married me, and of all the kids is the only one who has held any sort of professional job. She is the only one of the kids to complete college also. Next up is Cornel, and you can read about him above, and finally is Jessica, who is slowly turning into Cornel in terms of attitude. She is only 12, and quite frankly will not surprise me at all if she becomes a drug addict, or alcoholic teenager, or worst yet pregnant at a young age, because she doesn’t have any rules at home, and it is only a matter of time before she starts to run wild and do as she pleases. The sad thing with her, is that because her mom is so consumed with her own drug addiction, the attention Jessica so clearly craves will come from alternate sources, most likely a slightly older boy at school. And that will spell nothing but trouble.
What can I say that hasn’t already been said except Thank-you to both of my parents for instilling in me the responsibility and accountability that I have. I think I am a better person for the skills I was given as a child.
5:59 a.m.
Here I sit, less than 24 hours away from turning 30, reflecting on the events of not only my lifetime, but more importantly the past 4 days, and I realize that for all their faults, my parents did a good job teaching responsibility and accountability. Geta’s family has been in town, her brother Danny and his wife flew here Thursday, and stayed with us until they left yesterday morning, and her sister Connie and her husband and three kids flew in Friday and will be here until tomorrow morning. They are staying with Geta’s other sister Lydia at her home.
I don’t quite know what the precursor to this weekends events was, but what I do know is that Geta’s 19 year old brother Cornel who currently resides in our home is moving out. Early speculation had him renting his own apartment, however the consensus seems to suggest that he will be moving home to California to reside once again with his parents. I will try to recreate the chain of events leading up to him coming to this decision. I will warn you that I may come across as the bad guy in the situation; I am OK with that, because deep down inside I feel as though I am doing the right thing.
On Friday night the entire clan gathered at Geta’s sisters house Lydia, which is about 40 miles from our home. Since we are the ones who don’t live in the boonies, it is our responsibility to drive there, because they ain’t driving our way. In a way, that is good, because with 14 kids on hand, a lot of destruction could come of a family gathering, and since none of the parents really discipline their children, the destruction comes on fast and hard. During this shindig my brother-in-law Jeff starts egging Cornel on that he shouldn’t have to do anything around the house because he pays rent. I told him that that would be fine, but failure to comply with the rules of the house would result in eviction.
Well, Cornel being Cornel, I think took what Jeff had to say to heart, and decided that he was done doing his “chores.” Side note here, for those who didn’t know, when Cornel moved here, he was given a list of things he had to accomplish, they are brutal and unfair, but here they are. His room was to be kept clean, his bathroom was to be kept clean, no food or drink upstairs and last but not least completion of his chore list. Now, initially the chore list consisted of Geta or I asking him to do something, typically emptying the dishwasher, or vacuuming the house. Problem is, most of the time we were simply ignored, and about a month and a half ago, after telling him that I wanted the house to be vacuumed for several days, I told him that if he couldn’t act responsibly, an actual chore list would have to be created for him to help him attend to his chores. He challenged the situation, and told me to go ahead and create a list, and hence a list was created.
Again, you will see how brutal and unfair I was being, the list consisted of sweeping the laundry room 3 times a week, vacuuming the entire house twice a week, putting his dishes from dinner in the dishwasher and sweeping the kitchen and foyer once a week. The list was broken down so that is could be accomplished a little bit each day with as little as 15-minutes expended to complete said chores.
Cornel thought he was being so smart by refusing to do the chores, so a discussion developed whereby he stated that he felt he shouldn’t have to do anything around the house. Furthermore, his sister Connie was encouraging him in this train of thought using the argument that he never has had any rules, and that is was not fair to him now as an “adult” (I use the term “adult” loosely because he acts like a child) to have to do things that he never had to do before. I told Connie that she was being ignorant, and that for Cornel to mature into an adult would mean he would have to demonstrate responsibility in doing the things assigned to him. We got through the conflict of several weeks ago with a half-hearted, half-assed effort by Cornel to do his chores. It lasted all of about a week.
Fast forward a couple of days, and let me share with you Cornel’s second issue with living with us. Aside from having to do things around the house, Cornel is pissed off because I gave him a garage door opener, and told him that I wanted him coming in and out through the garage. The very same garage that Geta and I use exclusively to come in and out of. The reasoning behind this request was very simple, #1. He works construction, and comes home dirty everyday. He would come in the front door, go through the house to the garage, where he would take off his shoes. All the dirt that he was taking the shoes off for, would be in the path he took through the house. Why track the dirt through the house, when he can use the garage where he is taking his shoes off anyways. #2. The hardwood floor in the entry way is becoming scratched and chipped. This is mainly due to the fact that dirty shoes are being tracked across it day in and day out. Since we don’t use the front door, the majority of the damage is directly related to Cornel. The last reason for our request is this, #3. The front door has expanded in the opening making opening and closing difficult. On several occasions, the front door has actually been left open because there was not enough momentum on the door to have it breach the frame and close correctly. Again, because of the expansion, the deadbolt is difficult to lock, and I have stated that I want it locked.
Well, Cornel has been having a difficult time honoring such a simple request like use the garage to come in and come out. He has even tried to fight with me on it. He is so stubborn that he would rather walk through the house with his dirty shoes to the garage where he takes them off, than to simply walk in through the garage keeping the dirt outside of the house.
And to listen to the stories he tells his family, I AM THE BAD GUY FOR MAKING SUCH SIMPLE REQUESTS.
Fast forward to Sunday night. We took Danny and Michelle to downtown Nashville to see the sights and sounds. When we got home, our garage door was wide open, and the house was left unlocked. Geta called Cornel, and asked him to come home, because this was not the fourth time the house has been left unlocked when he was the last person to leave.
Again, I am the bad guy for wanting my house locked up when nobody is home, and I am being unreasonable to think that Cornel is mature enough to lock the house when he goes out.
Cornel got home, and immediately started in with his arrogant attitude. After he demonstrated a severe level of immaturity I told him that he would have an 8 p.m. curfew for the next week, and that if the chore list he had to complete was not completed as per the list, the restriction would continue until such time that he could comply with the rules of the house.
This of course brought on even more attitude and comments out of him, to which he told us he was moving out. I told him that was fine, but while he was still here, he would have to complete his chores. He told me good luck trying to get him to do them, to which I told him that if he wasn’t going to follow the rules, I would be dropping him from the car insurance, and as such before he drove the car again he would have to get his own insurance. In a fit of anger, he threw the car keys down the flight of stairs, and secluded himself in his room.
Since Geta’s brother Danny was witness to the entire proceedings, he went with us to try to talk to Cornel, however Cornel does what every good Romanian does, clam up and refuses discuss the issues. Nothing came from this attempt other than the promise of him moving out.
We went to bed after 11, and the phone rang a few minutes after the lights had been turned off. It was Geta’s sister Connie calling to tell us that we were being unreasonable to expect Cornel to do chores since he never had any rules or responsibility when he lived home. I stated that that was not my fault, rather a failure on the part of his parents, and that while he resided in my home, he would not only comply with my rules, he would show respect to me given the fact that this is my home, not his, and that since he basically contributed nothing to the household, he was in essence “our child.” As such, if he failed to follow the few simple rules we had established, he would have to move out.
Connie went on to say that we were being unreasonable to expect the house to be locked when he left it to go out. Let me repeat that, Geta and I were being unreasonable to expect that house should be locked when he went out leaving nobody else at home.
It is funny how this entire matter actually goes full circle, if you look at the entire family, Geta’s oldest sister Dana (Donna) is married to a man whom together have borrowed in excess of $70,000 dollars from other family during the years they have been together. They are lousy money managers. Geta’s next oldest sister and her husband are probably the best with money, however their 5 children know no discipline and are quite honestly monsters. Next up is Danny, who at the age of 30 is still living at home with his wife and daughter. While he was here in Tennessee, he had the opportunity to look at, but also purchase a home so that he could move out of his parent’s house. He never will move out unless he is thrown out because he is scared, and even then he will move back to an apartment rather than buy a house for fear of the unknown. Geta’s sister Doina and her husband Ben declared bankruptcy and walked away from their house in Las Vegas rather than either ask for help, or simply sell it because they got pissed off at the bank and the interest rate they were paying. Understand, this is the same interest rate that they agreed to when they signed the papers to buy the house. And this is a house in Las Vegas, which is probably the hottest real estate market in the country. Connie married a man who inherited a whole bunch of money, so her success is directly linked to her husband. Geta married me, and of all the kids is the only one who has held any sort of professional job. She is the only one of the kids to complete college also. Next up is Cornel, and you can read about him above, and finally is Jessica, who is slowly turning into Cornel in terms of attitude. She is only 12, and quite frankly will not surprise me at all if she becomes a drug addict, or alcoholic teenager, or worst yet pregnant at a young age, because she doesn’t have any rules at home, and it is only a matter of time before she starts to run wild and do as she pleases. The sad thing with her, is that because her mom is so consumed with her own drug addiction, the attention Jessica so clearly craves will come from alternate sources, most likely a slightly older boy at school. And that will spell nothing but trouble.
What can I say that hasn’t already been said except Thank-you to both of my parents for instilling in me the responsibility and accountability that I have. I think I am a better person for the skills I was given as a child.
