...

My mom received a court summons this morning. Not in regards to the legal action my dad was threatening if my mom doesn't give him £60,000 (or 10% of the value of the homes she's owned), but instead for supposed unpaid council tax bills which my dad was supposed to have mailed to her while he was in the apartment, but never bothered to do despite my mom chasing him up pretty much every day (and when she drove down to collect them in person, he'd managed to lose half of them x.x).

You know, right now things are just... X.x

We've got a huge situation with my dad, too. My mom swore she'd never have him living under the same roof again, and part of the reason we moved out here, 150+ miles away, was to distance ourselves from him. But he's old now. And by old, I mean almost 80. He's also getting increasingly frail and lately he's been having fits of confusion, leading to the concern that he might be starting to go a little senile. He's also, of course, pretty much destitute. He has no money, and even if we paid for him to fly back to Colombia, there's nowhere for him to go there, either. His family from his first marriage are druggies and drunkards and I think they've pretty much disowned him. He was living in his son's (my half-brother's) garage last time, but the place was damp and cold and he can't live there anymore in his condition. He has dual nationality in the UK now, so the council have agreed to 'house' him... but their idea of 'house' is a grotty Bed and Breakfast in a REALLY poor part of London where homeless bums get housed. And they'll only pay him about £19 per MONTH, because, of course, he hasn't been paying taxes in the UK. Naturally, despite the fact that his situation is ENTIRELY of his own making, neither my mom or I want to see an 80-year-old man living in those conditions. And he's my father. I can't change that. I may not like him, but of course I care about him even if I don't think he deserves it. So, it looks like he might be coming to live with us until we can work something else out. The thought of living with him again fills me with a sick dread, and it's two-fold because it's not just the fact that he and I never get on, but also the fact that I care about him. And he's getting old and frail and basically... he's fading. I don't want to watch my stubborn health-fanatic arrogant father slowly wither away in front of me. I don't want to face the fact that I'll still be in my 20s when he dies. I don't want to have to look after him as he slowly fades into nothing. I'm sure this must sound like the epitome of selfishness, but I feel like it's unfair of him to put that burden on me when he's done NOTHING to deserve a place in my life. It's all been one huge empty promise, and in the end, he's given nothing to this family except for endless heartache.

I'm supposed to be in work right now. I called my boss and tried to explain the situation to her about the court summons and how difficult it is to get into work right now because my mom can't drive me and I've already missed the lift from my colleagues. I asked if I could have today off and make up for it next week, but she said no, because I'm working 40 hours next week anyway to help set up the new store (even though I'm contracted to 24 hours per week) x.x So I'll have to get a taxi in which will cost me about £30. Argh. Fuck fuck fuck.

This weekend is the Bank Holiday Sale. I'm working today, Saturday and Sunday, and I'm told it'll be insane. Wonderful. And to top it all off? Jei is going to Elmira with her family to visit her grandparents from today (Friday) 'til Sunday, the exact same days of the work-from-hell.

So yeah. That just about sums everything up right now. I'm in one of those moods where I feel like I'll flip into a rage if someone even LOOKS at me funny. So if I'm short-tempered right now, I'm really sorry in advance, and please don't take it personally x.x