If your not interested in my problems, please stay away from this thread! :)

[jaycee]

Originally Posted by holidayroad

Silly question probably, but, is your half brother your stepmom's son or a child of your father's from an altogether different marriage? I mean, I know that raising an autistic child (or any child with health issues) is anything but easy, but if this is her son, she is just as responsible for the care of him as your dad is, especially if she is going to remain in the household (which is a very odd arrangement to agree to.)
As for the girl you like, Tessa, it probably is likely that she really doesn't feel she has time for a relationship or isn't ready to be in one. She may be struggling to keep up with her classwork, just like you are.
I hope things get better for you soon. You shouldn't hesitate to tell people at The Ledge what's on your mind. It helps to get other perspectives on a situation.

Jake is my dad and stepmum's son, and thus my half-brother. Caitlin is also their child and my half-sister. In any case, my stepmum Jo looks after him, but in a bare-essentials kind of way. I can't say I've ever really seen her play with him, and she rarely takes him out alone (although she's always too happy to take out Caitlin alone).
Damn straight it's an odd arrangement! Like I said, she knows dad's useful for money, and she knows she won't be able to get a reasonable amount of money out of any work she might try to find - she has no qualifications to speak of. She also claims to be depressed, but I think dad's rather harsh but nonetheless accurate comment is more relevant to her - "maniac depressant". She's just not a reasonable person... anyway, I'll leave it there.
Well, it's certainly fair enough for her to feel that way - I do myself! I mean, I'm not the sort of bloke who goes searching for women. The only reason I chased after Tessa (so to speak) is that... well, two reasons really - I felt a bit of an overwhelming attraction to her (), and (if this makes any sense to anyone) I thought that having a girlfriend may make me feel a bit happier with the world, and maybe somehow (not sure how) help me to feel more confident and enthusiastic with my studies.
For the sake of including a silly inductive inference, I've fallen in love (my language) with one girl a year at uni (I'm in my third year), and will probably continue to do so in that fashion. The first girl, Emma, I was good friends with in our German class (I gave up German for philosophy now), but I never made a move on her, as I was suspicious that she was dating another classmate, Jeremy, who I quite liked. Basically, it was a "Stay away from that one, Jordan!" kind of mindset I had with Emma and Jeremy. Anyway, I called her once on the phone while I was on holiday relaxing in the forested town of Halls Gap, in the Grampians, two years ago, and we had a rather nice chat. After that, we never spoke again... I still regret that we never became firm friends, and I don't want the same thing to happen with Tessa and I. The thought of not seeing Tessa again after this semester is... depressing, to say the least. As for the second girl from last year... well, I never even learned her name! Basically, I was enjoying being a lonely bachelor too much! I can't say I have regrets about her in particular, seeing as I never knew her.
Thanks very much holidayroad! Well, I might from time to time, but some people (quite understandably) don't like to hear others whinging about their lives, because they could just as easily burden everyone else with their own set of affairs. Like you say though, getting a range of opinions is always useful.
Btw, I think tonight I realised the main reason for my rather unhappy state lately - I don't want to live at home with mum (or dad) anymore. I'm too much of an individual, and I neither care to hear my mum or dad complain about each of their lots, let alone mum's continual interest in the happenings of my life (dad respects me enough to let me talk about my affairs only if I want to). Of course, moving out would have some interesting ramifications - mostly financial - but it would be doable, despite not having finished my degree. I'm considering going to Halls Gap for about a month on my own in the June/July holidays, and afterwards deciding whether I think I could endure independence or living with parents better. The results should be interesting...