One understands, the other doesn't
I've never gotten on with one of my sisters. She's a couple of years younger than me, but treats me (as somone earlier in the QOTW put it) in a very maternal way - very condescending towards me, snapping at me, I can never do anything right when she's about. This increased when I dropped out of university and enrolled for a one day a week engineering course at my local college while working part time at a local printing company and living at home. As she has now gone on to University she feels she has even more right to be high and mighty to the little dropout and on her return home has been even more unpleasant towards me. Exactly what use her degree in photography is going to be, I'm not sure.... but her course is nowhere near as hard as she makes out (I have more teaching time in one day than she does in a week!).

My other sister, who is 5 years younger than me is someone I get along with extremly well, more-so since I came home and my other sister went away. I've taught her to drive, helped her with some more advanced computer tricks that make life easier for her as she can sort out a lot of simple common problems herself, and in return she's helped me by giving me lots of hugs and sorting out my money.

It's this last part that really marks the difference between the two, as the older one will take anything she thinks she can get and is entitled to, but ask her to lend you £10 to go in to town and go tot he cash machine it's "No, I'm a student and haven't got any", whereas the younger is always willing to help - particularly as she always knows she'll have an equivelent amount back in her hand at within six hours, and probably something to say thankyou like a bar of chocolate.

The differences in attitudes became very apparant this christmas. Everything I've been told is second hand as I wasn't around at all (for reasons explained n a second), but told to me through my grandmother.

My partner is Swedish, and I decided to spend this christmas with her. Flights at this time of year are bloody expensive, and they're not exactly cheap at the best of times - I think I probably spend around £3000 a year on flights to and from Sweden. Working only four days a week most weeks in a low paid job, this amounts to around 35% of my income. My family all help out with this - my birthday present this year was a set of flights - but it's still a significant amount of my income that goes in to EasyJet's pockets. Because of this, plus my phone bills, rent, travel costs and all those other little things, I have very, very little disposable income to spend out on christmas presents. All my family understand this and accept that I can't spend a lot on presents. Except the older of my sisters.

Apparantly my presents wern't good enough (Leatherman, neckalce (M&S, not cheap crap!) and box of chcolates), so she stood up in front of the family and denounced me as a stupid, lazy leacher who'd still be living with my parents in my 30's. And then got the shock of her life the younger of the two very carefully and slowly explained my financial situation, backed up by my parents in the tone of voice we normally reserve for the terminally stupid, or foreginers, and that she should eitehr sit down and shut up or consider leaving the house for a while.

My nan related all this to me when she picked me up from the airport yesterday. Never have I felt so proud of my little sister for standing up for me while I wasn't there, nor have I ever felt more like disowning my older-younger sister. And right now, I think I could do that with the blessings of my family. Something to ponder on....


Apologies for the severely dry, stale length. I return you now to your scheduled QOTW answers.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Fri 2 Jan 2009, 15:45, 6 replies)

gold!
What was her response? Also, why don't you go confront her? I'm a big fan of confrontation...
(zero.coke, Fri 2 Jan 2009, 16:19, closed)

Yeah film it,
then sell it, then you'll have another bit of income,
perfect plan
everyone wins,
except her..
dam, well the nice people do
(Bludfoot rushing out since, Fri 2 Jan 2009, 21:35, closed)

Thats a very ungrateful sister.
I didn't get anything from my younger brother this christmas after spending around £80 on him, his girlfriend and their daughter. I am also a poor student. I wont bother next year, I suggest you dont bother wasting money on your sister next christmas also.
(laurasuper, Sun 4 Jan 2009, 2:15, closed)

Ahh, but i can't do that
I'm just too much of a nice person. I'll still get her something, and spend far too much time worrying about it.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Sun 4 Jan 2009, 19:59, closed)

aww
Your sister should appreciate you more. tell her I said so :)
(laurasuper, Mon 5 Jan 2009, 1:18, closed)

Get
one of those "mystery dip" things- the Bag O'Crap style things where people empty the rubbish off their shelves for a fiver. Then bundle it all together and give it to them.

It did my xmas-on-a-budget! (apols to little bro who may be reading this)
( uberdeity Wondered why Owen Lars knew of the term "hell" on, Mon 5 Jan 2009, 17:04, closed)