I usually have a pretty awful time whenever I go see family in NYC. But three weeks ago, I have to admit that things went better than expected.
Alan
I first went to my father Alan’s house for his birthday. He wanted cheesecake as a gift, so I got him three Junior’s cheesecakes. He and I talked for quite a while about absolutely nothing, proof that all that shitty small talk at my jobs has some use. Alan is in the same physical condition he was the last time I saw him, but at least everything is finally getting paid for by Medicare. And the people around him seem to really give a fuck about him. And that's good enough for me.
Ana
I drove to pick up my sister Ana from the Flatbush train station, as she had just gotten out of work. Hey ,let me write that again… as she had just gotten out of work. Work. That’s right, Ana has a job. Not a temp job, but an actual permanent 9-5 job. She’s now an accountant making $50,000 a year, more than I make at BOTH jobs. This is the first non-temp employment she's had in well over a decade. I was very pleased to hear that she finally has a real job but, in classic Ana fashion, she had a problem with making good stable money. She said that she doesn’t really like working there, but knows she needs it if she wants to move out of my mom’s apartment. When she started talking about doing work with her goddamned music label and whatever, I ended the conversation quickly. I didn't want things to take that detour of talking about realistic goals to fantasy as it always does. She finally has a permanent job, so maybe this is the beginning of an independent and responsible Ana. It's really is up to her to make things work out now.
We had dinner with Alan and his church friends, and then we went to see Anita.
Anita
After Alan’s place, I took Ana back home and hung out with my mom Anita for a while. Right now, Anita is building yet another property in Nigeria which she hopes to complete before the end of the year. In fact, she's there now. She's having problems finding reliable people to manage her current properties there, feeling that her family members are scamming her. So Anita can’t trust her family members not to rob her. Alan, who once had 3 separate six-figure bank accounts, is now relying on the kindness of strangers after dealing with family in Nigeria (I’m assuming this, as he’s never revealed how he went broke). Seems like I had the right idea in never wanting to meet my extended family in Nigeria, eh? You know, I don't get it. Corruption happens in every country, but why do Nigerians do it to the point that the country and their families can't move forward?? It’s like people care only about how to get rich instead of how to build wealth. Ah, whatever.
Anita talked about how she’d like to move to Smalltown when she retires at the end of the year. I let her know that I’ll be finished with my Master’s degree at the end of next year and will most likely move to Florida (Lie For Success). I knew that would make her change her mind about living in Smalltown and I was right. So now she has an idea of living in Nigeria, and then visiting her kids from time to time. Aaah, LFS never fails. See? Much better idea!
Brooklyn Mike
I hung out with Brooklyn Mike the very next day, and we went to my favorite OMG Korean restaurant in Queens. Afterwards we bought a stroller for Monet’s (Mike’s sister) baby. Few things feel better than walking into a Babies R Us and shopping for someone else’s baby. It also felt good to buy something for Monet that her baby’s father couldn’t. Hehehe... I love being the bigger man. Anyway, Brooklyn Mike just got a new job as an IT something or other, making $21 an hour. I was happy for him, but it did make me a little bitter. His aunt got him that job and it makes more money than both of my jobs combined! Ah well, at least he can finally be on his own.
All in all, this was a good trip. Finding out that Ana finally has a permanent job was the highlight. If she can keep it and not do anything stupid, she can pay off her debts and get her own apartment, allowing Anita to renovate the family apartment and rent it out for big money. With Brooklyn Mike getting his new apartment soon, it looks like success is round the corner for everyone. Hmm. Let’s see how long that lasts…
P.S.: My brother Alex didn’t make the trip. He told my dad it had something to do with his a new job or something, but I wasn’t buying that. I won't lie. When the guy who talks about getting the family back together is a no-show for the family get-together he'd been planning to attend since November, it kinda makes me not take him seriously.
Alan
I first went to my father Alan’s house for his birthday. He wanted cheesecake as a gift, so I got him three Junior’s cheesecakes. He and I talked for quite a while about absolutely nothing, proof that all that shitty small talk at my jobs has some use. Alan is in the same physical condition he was the last time I saw him, but at least everything is finally getting paid for by Medicare. And the people around him seem to really give a fuck about him. And that's good enough for me.
Ana
I drove to pick up my sister Ana from the Flatbush train station, as she had just gotten out of work. Hey ,let me write that again… as she had just gotten out of work. Work. That’s right, Ana has a job. Not a temp job, but an actual permanent 9-5 job. She’s now an accountant making $50,000 a year, more than I make at BOTH jobs. This is the first non-temp employment she's had in well over a decade. I was very pleased to hear that she finally has a real job but, in classic Ana fashion, she had a problem with making good stable money. She said that she doesn’t really like working there, but knows she needs it if she wants to move out of my mom’s apartment. When she started talking about doing work with her goddamned music label and whatever, I ended the conversation quickly. I didn't want things to take that detour of talking about realistic goals to fantasy as it always does. She finally has a permanent job, so maybe this is the beginning of an independent and responsible Ana. It's really is up to her to make things work out now.
We had dinner with Alan and his church friends, and then we went to see Anita.
Anita
After Alan’s place, I took Ana back home and hung out with my mom Anita for a while. Right now, Anita is building yet another property in Nigeria which she hopes to complete before the end of the year. In fact, she's there now. She's having problems finding reliable people to manage her current properties there, feeling that her family members are scamming her. So Anita can’t trust her family members not to rob her. Alan, who once had 3 separate six-figure bank accounts, is now relying on the kindness of strangers after dealing with family in Nigeria (I’m assuming this, as he’s never revealed how he went broke). Seems like I had the right idea in never wanting to meet my extended family in Nigeria, eh? You know, I don't get it. Corruption happens in every country, but why do Nigerians do it to the point that the country and their families can't move forward?? It’s like people care only about how to get rich instead of how to build wealth. Ah, whatever.
Anita talked about how she’d like to move to Smalltown when she retires at the end of the year. I let her know that I’ll be finished with my Master’s degree at the end of next year and will most likely move to Florida (Lie For Success). I knew that would make her change her mind about living in Smalltown and I was right. So now she has an idea of living in Nigeria, and then visiting her kids from time to time. Aaah, LFS never fails. See? Much better idea!
Brooklyn Mike
I hung out with Brooklyn Mike the very next day, and we went to my favorite OMG Korean restaurant in Queens. Afterwards we bought a stroller for Monet’s (Mike’s sister) baby. Few things feel better than walking into a Babies R Us and shopping for someone else’s baby. It also felt good to buy something for Monet that her baby’s father couldn’t. Hehehe... I love being the bigger man. Anyway, Brooklyn Mike just got a new job as an IT something or other, making $21 an hour. I was happy for him, but it did make me a little bitter. His aunt got him that job and it makes more money than both of my jobs combined! Ah well, at least he can finally be on his own.
All in all, this was a good trip. Finding out that Ana finally has a permanent job was the highlight. If she can keep it and not do anything stupid, she can pay off her debts and get her own apartment, allowing Anita to renovate the family apartment and rent it out for big money. With Brooklyn Mike getting his new apartment soon, it looks like success is round the corner for everyone. Hmm. Let’s see how long that lasts…
P.S.: My brother Alex didn’t make the trip. He told my dad it had something to do with his a new job or something, but I wasn’t buying that. I won't lie. When the guy who talks about getting the family back together is a no-show for the family get-together he'd been planning to attend since November, it kinda makes me not take him seriously.
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