Now that Doug's home, I can finally get out of the house occasionally - as was the case yesterday. We went to get lunch and see the Two Towers, which was pretty cool. There were a few really nice moments in there - the exchanges between Gimli and Legolas and the exchange between Gollum and Sam over stew, for example.

It's fun to watch the actors become more comfortable in their roles. Legolas and Gimli especially. And Gollum was actually an interesting character! Not "Best Actor" material, but compelling to watch.

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Yesterday I went up to my mom's room to ask about potential christmas presents for people. I would have stayed and kept her company, but... she just started talking too much. She keeps saying things I don't agree with, and saying them in such a way as if she expects me to agree with her. When she's not doing that, she's just talking about people's hair. Rather than argue, I just left and went back to the basement.

I guess it's good that she finally has some opinions. We're just in such different worlds I wonder how we could ever bridge the gap at this point. That makes me sad.

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I talked to my cousin online last night. His parents keep putting him in the middle too, only they're arguing over where he should spend the night (they're divorced.) The only vestige of semi-healthy family life left is really my Aunt Barb's family.

I guess Aunt Rose's family counts too, but she's this crazy natural-family-planning activist who has 5 kids and is only 32. And she named her son after the Pope.

Sigh.

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As you might have guessed, there's really not that much of note going on. I'm just trying to survive.

I actually talk to my dad a fair bit at night - even though he's insane, I can talk to him more naturally than my mom, because everything I talk to my mom about becomes some end-of-the-world moral issue.

I wonder if I'll come home for Christmas next year. I guess I probably will...but it's getting close to the point where people better start fucking BEHAVING LIKE ADULTS or I will be glad to stay in Pittsburgh or in Rhode Island with Hunthunt's family.

Time will tell. For now, it's time to find more cartoons on TV. Only two more days till I'm 22 - not that it matters anything in the scope of things.

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