Fight Night

I've been living with my parents in Suburban Hell for the past few weeks while I'm between leases at my place in Athens and my new home in Chi-town. I'm going stir crazy. I burned almost every bridge with every friend I had in high school. My hometown offers little in the way of the fun. My days have consisted of the following:
1. Wake up and eat cereal
2. Make breakfeast for my Alzheimers stricken grandmother whose been living with us lately. Make sure she takes her pill.
3. Read the New York Times. It's amazing we get the paper, being that my parents are both dirty Republicans.
4. Pack. There isn't much in the world worse than moving.
5. Go for a run. This usually occurs between 4 and 6 in the afternoon. The hottest time of the day in Georgia. There's something great about punishing yourself by running in oppressing heat.
6. Shower and watch Around the Horn, PTI and Sportcenter. The greatest two hours of my day.
7. Eat dinner with my parents and grandmother. If the TV isn't on, the whole meal, depending on the mood both my mom and dad are in, can be one long long awkward silence.
8. Drink a couple Rolling Rocks and fall asleep reading or watching some sporting event on television.
To get back to the awkward dinners. Lately my father has been in a horrible and hostile mood which has made dinners quite fun. Defusing this potential explosive situation has proven difficult, especially when a good friend was in town for one last dinner before he left for medical school and I for law school. Well, tonight things exploded and I can't get out of this godforsaken town fast enough. My father, in typical mellow dramatic fashion, told my mother he hadn't loved her in years and never would love her again. My mother responded in calling him a vile person (correct), pathetic (also correct) and bitter (correct). I love my father, don't get me wrong, but he is one of the most flawed men I've ever met. He's not an alcoholic, he doesn't abuse his family and he doesn't have any real problems. This makes him perhaps my biggest fear. A man with everything who acts and feels like he has nothing. I've always thought my biggest fear is failure. Perhaps my biggest fear is succeeding and still not finding happiness. Chicago, I can't wait to see you.