Well, those of you who were asking for updates on how things go with my nephew will be happy to know that you are about to get your wish. :-)
Michael moved in right on time, and yes, he did bring a few clothes in addition to all the electronics. He also brought his own chair (which squeaks), a large-screen TV, a mini refrigerator, and enough cords, adapters and wires to cover Manhattan!
Well, his very first weekend with us was at the end of August, when I made another trip up to Clearlake to visit my mom. I got about ten minutes from home when my "check engine" light came on, and the engine heat gauge was all the way at maximum! Needless to say, I got off the freeway and drove carefully home through the city streets. Michael was kind enough to drive his own car over to the shop so that I'd have a way home if they needed to keep my van.
Turns out that the coolant leak I've had for months was from a crack in the radiator, and even though we'd been keeping the coolant filled, it was causing air bubbles to go through the engine, so hot spots happened. I ended up buying a new radiator ($400).
However, they wouldn't have the work finished until the end of Saturday, and I had no way to get up to my mom's. So Michael offered to drive me up and bring me home the next day. What a sweetie! He was even talking about finding a motel room for himself, but my mom has a perfectly good rental house, so he stayed there with me. Fortunately, he was able to get WiFi service up there, so he was even got his homework done. :-)
I really enjoyed the weekend, and we got to know each other a bit better. Michael just turned 18 in July, but he seems very mature for his age. Of course, he was raised mostly by his grandmother and uncle, who are about 86 and 60 this year, so that probably accounts for some of it. He has a very upbeat and friendly disposition, although I think from what he's said that he is rather shy socially, which I certainly can relate to! And his best friend is a girl, which tells me he looks at more than just the outside of a person, and doesn't have a lot of macho ideas.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this, and to say that I have to laugh when I think about the two of us going to the store together. We must make a very interesting pair, the older goth and the young hipster geek! ;-)
