The Michael Swayne Story V: King of his Castle

The wind is blowing so hard tonight, like it wants to blow the roof off the house or something. It's causing the fire to spit and sputter. And with the temperature to continue to drop throughout the day tomorrow, I want the fire to be roaring so loud I have to drown out the noise with something. U just came in the house, and his fur is all wonky from the wind. I am glad he decided to come in instead of staying out all night. He worries me sometimes because he doesn't hang out with the others at all. He doesn't like the others, but he loves people. He's crazy like that.

Dad was here today. I don't know why, and I don't care. He made his choice. I would have said something to him, but one of the drug people saw that he was here and decided to drop by. The drug person had mechanic work that needed doing, so my brother will have some work to do soon. There may be more as well, because my brother received word of a mechanic spot opening up in Locust Grove near the feed mill I buy my dog food at. My brother knows the person hiring, so he thinks it will be a shoe-in. I hope it is.

My Uncle called here this morning. He is expecting us to pay the taxes on the house. All $1400+ of it. And we are to have the amount in one month. That's crazy! How does he expect us to do that? I would think he would just tack it onto the amount we still owe him for the house. Something sounds shady about the whole situation. We will try to earn the money, but with winter as bad as it is lately, it is difficult to save money. What with heating bills and other expenses. The water line in the garage burst the other day, so that will take some major repairing cost to fix. Oh well, it will work out.

I am at Chapter 5 in Final Fantasy XIII, and I finished the 3 A.F. level in New Bodhum in Final Fantasy XIII-2 today. I switch games at about noon or 1pm. I have spreadsheets of each game, keeping track of everything. I also have a sheet prepared for when Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII arrives. I still have only done the demo that one time. It was fun and all, but I am not concerned with getting the highest battle score possible or the fastest time. I experienced all the demo had, and the rest can wait. Yeah, it sucks that I will have to wait longer than most of you, but I can wait.

Tomorrow I am planning on staying wrapped up in a blanket in front of my television. The high temperature for the day will be right after midnight, with it dropping to -6 Fahrenheit as the day goes on. I am glad that I am not the only person here to check the stove. Mom has been on top of that to make sure I am not doing it by myself. And we wash the dishes together every night. Mom seems to be adjusting very well here. I am glad. Her return is nothing like how Dad's was. The only people to stop in so far were Dad, that drug person I mentioned earlier (but he was here for Dad), and Mom's step-brother. By this time when Dad came home, he already had every one of his drug friends here, and was already making plans with them. I am really glad that it's not that way with Mom. She keeps herself busy, finding something that needs cleaned or done. She listens to her portable radio a lot.

I think the only things I don't like about Mom being here is that she always asks us if she can do something. She asks to use the phone (which I decided to not cancel because it's needed), if she can eat something, everything. I tell her that everything here is hers now as well, but she still asks. And she is constantly telling stories of her prison life. I don't care that there was a woman there who tried to hang herself, but was caught in the middle of the air by a 400-pound woman who spends her days in the Gym. Or about all of the things you can do with ramen noodles, or how you can bake a cake in the microwave. But I listen to her stories, because prison was a big part of her life. She spent the last four years away from me, and I want to make sure she is with me from now on. I will sit and listen, because only my brother and I have earned the chance to.

I don't know where my sister is. She left on Tuesday, and apart from one message on Facebook to access her account and unblock someone, I haven't heard from her. She hasn't even called home, despite Mom telling her that she is to call every day if she won't be living here. I know that there was something on Saturday she was wanting to go to, but I don't know where or what that was. Oh well. It's not really my concern.

Well, that's all for now. I hope to see you around the forums, and until then...

Later!

Michael