So today I get a call from my mom and she tells me my little brother (hes 21 I'm 24) is in jail. I am truly bummed on this.

You see he is a heroin addict since he was like 16. He was caught stealing the tip jars from coffee beans and starbucks. Now that is a prettly lame crime to commit in the first place i know. He lives at home with my mom and grandmother and is not a great joy to live with as I understand it.

The real bummer for me right now though is knowing how hard my mom is taking this all. I can't imagine what shes going thru. I mean I am really sad for him and I wish he was comfortably at home as well. I also have the advantage of thinking this might be what is best for him at the moment. She really can't see that side of the coin. He keeps calling from jail saying hes going to kill himself if she doesn't come bail him out. Its 40,000 dollars bail so 4k to get him out and none of us have 4 grand right now. Hes in there till Thursday and then he sees a judge for burglary and conspiracy. I hope it goes well for him.

I'm worried for both my brother and my mom. It really sucks to see all this go down. I keep trying not to think of my little brother being dope sick in a cell where the guards are less than hospitable. That thought makes me really sad.

Thanks for listening,

Rumour

Today must be national suck-balls day.  My sister told me about an hour ago that my great aunt's son shot himself because my great aunt wouldn't give him her medications.  He's a drug addict and had really bad hepatitis.  She doesn't know he killed himself yet.

I'm really sorry this happened to you.  I don't really know my extended family that well, but this is your brother and I'm sure this is hitting you very hard right now.  I wish you the best and him the best to get better.

Make that international suck-balls week. My parents split up this week, turns out my Dad has been cheating for a long time. Now we can't afford to pay the bills and we might have to sell the house and live at my Nan's. My Mum isn't taking this well (and its her Birthday today) but my Dad couldn't care less.

Beacause of this we needed to change who our landline is under the name of, but what BT actually did is just change our phone number. So now the internet doesn't work and we might have to stop it completely anyway beacause we can't afford it, so I won't be very active for a while and It looks like I wont be able to play Left 4 Dead.

Also my Dad's brother has been secretly investing thousands of pounds in Shares, he lost them all this week and now he is £80,000 ($140,000) in debt.

First off, Razor says some wierd shit sometimes. Thank you for this.

Second, Rumour (or Rumor in America), sucks to hear man. I'd like to tell you that your brother will be able to help his heroin addiction in jail, but this is a rather anonymous method of communication, so I can, with less guilt attached, say the straightforward thing that we all will think. In cuffs, he will have access to heroin. He will have access to anything he needs at a high price. Your mom is going to suffer REGARDLESS. It takes a long time, a shit ton of therapy (including chemical therapy and a dedicated shrink) to get someone off of that shit. It's strong enough to turn someone into a massive addict after the first time around.

All I can say, man, is good luck. I hope your mom makes it through this. You seem to see the reality, so hopefully you can turn on the apathy button until you're alone in your room. Keep it all bottled up and objectified to help your mom through this.

Third, Terminator. Fuck, dude. That's some serious shit. Just remember, man, that once you walk away from that computer, there's more to life than the games and the communities we've built around them. Your thoughts posted here will always be in the archives, even if you have to leave for months or years. You have to jam the hard rocks in the jar before your sand and water man. The point being, your family and self first, then entertainment in games later. Don't be too sad over L4D. It will always be available. IIRC, you're at least of legal age to get a job. Have fun, man.