I've had it. I'm just sick and tired of living in this house.

For those who are unaware, I am living in my father's house, with him and my younger brother. I've been here since 1999, when I moved back from Boston. A severe lack of money is what brought me back here, and is the only thing still keeping me here.

Over the last few years, as my father's health problems have waxed and waned, he has become more and more of an "old man," so to speak. He's crotchety, and snide, and dismissive. And he's apparently decided that since my brother and I still live in the house, that we are to be treated like teenagers (ok, technically Ben is still 19, but my point stands). What particularly galls me is the fact that I am repeatedly told to take care of chores involving only their stuff, and that I get shit for refusing to do some of it. For instance, for some reason I'm expected to run their laundry (I keep mine separate, except for towels), and help them sort it and put it away. Excuse me? I have my own stuff to take care of, and sorting laundry isn't exactly a task so strenuous it would break my father.

Then there are the little things, that would take about 2 seconds to do right, but never seem to happen. Again, this is mostly my father. It's incredibly frustrating to walk into the kitchen after he's gone to work to discover 2 plates with bits of food on them, and a half full cup of soda or juice, sitting on the kitchen table, a not yet empty jar of pickles on the counter, when it should be back in the fridge, and a little row of empty cans of soup or chef boyardee in front of the sink. Why is it so hard to turn around put dishes in the sink? Or put something away? Or, and this is the one that mystifies me, rinse out an empty can so that the leftover bits won't mold in the heat?

I'm already going to have a fairly heavy load this coming semester, with about 27 hours a week in classrooms alone, plus who knows how much homework, and whatever I manage to get stuck with as a TA. I'm figuring I'm looking at around 45 or so hours a week in total. But, as I said, I can't take this anymore. Once I've figured out an established schedule, and have a good idea of my commitments time-wise...I'm getting a second job. Blockbuster, or something like it, where I can work extremely part-time, with as flexible a schedule as possible. Who knows, if I have to, I might even bite the bullet and go back to Toys R Hell for the holidays, just for the extra cash. I know overnight pays extremely well....