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Recent Moments
My sister gave me shocking news when we met up 😱
More of my son’s impulsive behaviour 🤔
New laptop 👨🏻💻
Writing 📝
1. My sister gave me shocking news when we met up 😱
Once a month, I meet up with the younger of my two sisters. This week, she had news for me: our eldest sister is visiting the UK next month.
It might sound harsh, but I don’t want to see her.
(I wrote about her last year on Medium: It Is Hard for Me to Say This, but I Do Not Like My Eldest Sister.)
The short version is that we don’t get along, and I’ve not seen her since our mum’s funeral in 2008. I tried to talk to her that day, but she snubbed me and my wife. An hour later, she suddenly behaved like everything was fine!
My sons have never seen her, and she’s ignored all their birthdays.
Every. Single. One.
When her daughter was growing up, I never forgot any special occasions.
You might say she has an excuse because she lives abroad now. But she always remembered my other sister’s daughter, who is not much older than my sons.
When my wife was ill, my sister never sent a single message despite knowing about the situation. Then, after my wife died, she sent a candle with my wife’s name and words along the lines of, “Remembering you with love.”
It was too little, too late.
And I can’t help but wonder if she’d heard about the life insurance because she’s usually short of money.
A few years later, we got in touch online, and it seemed we’d made some progress. But she soon showed her old self.
Other family members have opinions about my sister, too. She’s been known to send begging letters to elderly relatives — one of whom she plans on visiting next month. (They don’t yet know.)
2. More of my son’s impulsive behaviour 🤔
My youngest son bought a second phone because the battery in his old iPhone needs replacing. If he had waited a few days, his brother’s discount card would have saved him 20%.
He also bought a cheap Windows laptop to replace the MacBook Pro he returned. He could not get a cash refund from the second-hand shop, so I bought the voucher from him.
My son got his bumper resprayed professionally after attempting to paint it using aerosols. Today, I’ve been helping him fit it, and there was one problem after another.
He needed to remove the wheels for better access, which led to him purchasing a new jack. Then rivets had to be drilled out, and I had to drive him across town for new fixings as his car was in pieces.
It’s been a long and distracting day, with my son’s car jobs extending into the late evening as I try to finish this story whilst stopping frequently to give advice.
3. New laptop 👨🏻💻
Usually, I’d be typing this on my 2013 MacBook Pro 15”. However, I spent the voucher I bought from my son to help pay for a used 2021 MacBook Pro 14”.
(I also traded in the Samsung phone I bought used in 2022.)
Buying the laptop involved a trip to the town where I went to college 40 years ago. It’s certainly changed, and I felt somewhat lost because the shop wasn't in a familiar area.
(Maybe I’ll return later this year and retrace my old college journey from the railway station to see how it has changed.)
I have 14 days during which I can return the laptop. The trouble is I’m undecided.
I like the machine, and it has allowed me to start writing SwiftUI code again. But I miss the larger screen of my old 15” model.
Perhaps I should have scraped together the extra money and got the 16” model. Then again, I like the lighter weight, and it’s easier to store away.
Every morning, I change my mind about keeping it vs. switching to the bigger one!
4. Writing 📝
Making decisions is hard. Should I continue these weekly posts or abandon them to focus on ‘proper stories’ and app development instead?
Perhaps the answer is to compromise. If I keep these pieces reasonably short, there will be more time for other things.
Today has been more distracting than usual with my son working on his car. With it being Good Friday, he’s been home all day rather than in college. It’s after 9 pm now, and I’m running out of time. There is so much more I wanted to tell you, but I’m hitting the ‘Publish’ button.
Thank you for reading 💛
Alan
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Medium Stories
My Future Wife Had No Money in the Bank When I First Met Her
It’s probably not what you’re thinking, and we soon moved in together!
My family tried to slow me down and worried I might be making a mistake.
The Time When I Wanted My Young Son To Go First
A scary moment during a fun day out
With the slide looking more like a sheer drop with every step, I imagined falling forward on the way down and ending up headfirst.