When did I become a conflict negotiator?

[apocalypsos]

I just spent the last half hour having a nice long talk with my brother and then my mother.

My brother works maybe twenty-five hours a week at a grocery store and comes home to play Worlds of Warcraft. That's really all he does. He stays in his room all the time and never goes out. My parents are sick of this and thanks to the fact that my brother and mom both like to yell and curse, everybody in that house is fighting.

I told Bryan to knock off the cursing, get a full-time job, do what he has to to get a life (even if it means doing stuff by himself or trying new things), and plan what he has to if he wants to move out. (I also told him that in ten years, he's going to look back on what he's saying now and be like, "Damn, I was a dumb kid, wasn't I?")

I told my mother to stop antagonizing him before somebody does something they regret, try encouraging him for once, knock off jumping down his throat about getting a full-time job, and help him to move out (not monetarily, but by giving him the information and encouragement he needs to do it.)

It would be really nice if we didn't get a repeat of my parents pissing off their kid to the point where the kid just snaps and moves out with two weeks of planning. They've only got the two kids, after all, so making the driving-a-kid-out-of-their-home-by-arguing-until-they-crack thing a regular occurrance would be pretty scary.

*sighs*

*has headache*

Comments

[theliel.livejournal.com]

they call it warcrack for a reason...that aside...he needs a woman. I've found the call of bootie to be a powerful motivator.

failing that, with more phat cash he can make sure his rig is toop of the line and ready to pwnz newbs

[fortuna-juvat.livejournal.com]

You'd think that. I had a relationship go South rather quickly because booty was not enough of a motivator.

I hate that game.

unable to handle thier geek

[theliel.livejournal.com]

It's true, some people just can't hold thier geek.
*shurg*
And I forgot he was a youngn', i 'member doing plenty of stupid shit when I was that age (relationship ending shit).

ahh well. A woman got me out of mom's house, i'm sure something equally positive will get him out of his.

sorry you had a bad experince with a gamer though. to parody a popular saying: don't hate the game baby, hate the playah.

errr..

[theliel.livejournal.com]

amend that: OCD MMO gamer. Sometimes I forget that Gaming has more than three subcultures now...*whistfull sigh*

[pie-is-good.livejournal.com]

Just out of curiousity, how old is your brother?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

He's twenty. I said something about taking him out to a bar next year to which he replied that Mom would have a fit if he came home drunk, and I said, "Oh, no, your new plan is that you will absolutely have moved out by the time you turned twenty-one." Which led to a whole discussion of getting an apartment not being as hard as it feels it will be and having been in his position before. He seriously needs to move out for everybody's sanity.

[polydad.livejournal.com]

Done lots of that myself, I thank you on behalf of the rest of the universe for trying to make it a better place. And pass the ibuprofen.

best,

Joel

[nuptse.livejournal.com]

Well, strangely enough, I'm in the same situation with my mother down to the getting a job and being stuck to The Game 22 out of 24. I have the feeling it needs a 12 step program or something.

[strix-an-stones.livejournal.com]

Maybe they figured it worked well enough with the first kid, why not with the second? Some people look to the end results and not the mess in the middle.

[mercymydarling.livejournal.com]

Gah. That's how I moved out every time I have moved out, and it's no fun, though I totally can pack everything I own in under one day in two big ass rubbermaid containers and a few clack trash bags. *g*

Your brother is a geek like moi. Tell him to hop his ass on some IRC channels, or even join LJ and search by location if he wants to find some people his age to hang out with. Also, WoW makes my face explode, and I'm done rambling now. :-)

[yueni]

I think moving out the first time is kind of a scary thing for the first-timer. I know it was when I did it. Of course, I did it in 4 hours flat in a fit of rage, which kind of helped that along. But I think maybe having somebody walk through the move-out process with him and just supporting him along the way will help.