Sister is My New Mother Now

...Well, if Sister was an acceptable appellation for the Internet, anyway.  Otherwise, this is just me trying to shoehorn in an Arrested Development reference.  Anyway, for whatever reason, I managed to get through life without picking up some basic skills at the point when they're commonly learned.  It was university when I learned how to do my laundry (which isn't that uncommon), and three years later--my first year out of student rez--when I learned how to do my own grocery shopping.  I don't even want to tell you when I learned to tie my shoes.  Some skills I've just never picked up at all--I have no idea, for example, how to cook any meat more complicated than a hotdog; I switched to vegetarianism long before my "pay attention to people cooking" moment kicked in.

Recently, I've started using online how-to guides.  It's all the information of a book guide, but without having to use those judgmental librarians as the go-between.  I've learned how to iron things (which I actually had been taught explicitly before, but ironing appears to be a skill I need to relearn every six months or it just atrophies from lack of use).  I've learned how to tie a scarf (slipknot style.  Very simple, never would have stumbled on it in a hundred years let to my own devices).  And, just this morning, I learned how to properly scramble an egg (the step I was missing was mixing the yolks before dropping them in the skillet.  Previously, I just sort of cracked the eggs straight into it, and let the cards fall where they may).  I fried up some hashbrowns as well, and it feels nice to be eating a proper breakfast for once (not quite as nice as sleeping through breakfast, but we all carry our burdens).

Every year when when I go back to Saskatchewan for X-Mas, I tell myself I'm going to pay more attention to the daily routines of my parents.  And every year, it doesn't quite happen.  Last year, the siren call of Skyrim beckoned.  The year before that, Dragon Quest IX.  And so on and so forth until you have 2008, and my decision to regain every one of the achievements I once had in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.  This is the first X-Mas since I got really creative on Steam, so who knows what it'll be: Batman: Arkham City?  The Witcher?  STALKER? Civilization V?  I don't know, but I think we'll all be pleasantly surprised.  ....Or I suppose I could just talk to my family.  But really, what are the odds of that happening?

(Honestly, it's enough to make you think Sherry Turkle was right.  I'm so glad I downloaded her e-book.)

Later Days.