The Eldest Son's Curse

Me and mum were in the living room, when my younger brother sauntered in casually, and with a grin in his face, proclaimed:

"The computer is spoilt! It's stopped working!"

Then he wrily smiled and strode off into his room, as if nothing had happened. This is how he always reacts whenever something goes wrong. And don't get me started on how the computer always seems to blow only when he's the last person using it.

Since we were young, I've noticed that both of us, separated by a mere three-year age difference, were raised very differently. As the elder brother, I was supposed to embody all examplary traits, supposedly for my brother to emulate. I was forced to mature very early during the start of my adolescent years, for reasons only my parents know -- I was exposed to the harsh reality of the world ie. that things don't always go the way you want, or for that matter, neither does it always go the "correct" way.

From then on, whatever fairy tales I knew, I knew were merely fairy tales.

And I became humble. I learnt to speak up and be heard; and to listen and consider. I learnt to be sensitive, sensible, rational and reasonable. In short, I became an adult. (Nevertheless, as a Gemini, I managed to keep my childish joy and curiosity until today. And I'm thankful for this fact.)

Which is not a bad thing, really. However, I'm just unhappy with the fact that I seem to be the only one receiving this treatment.

My brother, on the other hand, gets to keep his childish innocence until a much later age. And for reasons only my parents know, they pamper him a lot and give him special treatment. Perhaps it's because he's younger. But being three years younger can't possibly make him a baby all his life!

That's how he can now rebel and talk back without feeling any guilt. He can go out with friends without informing anyone of us. He still retains his pompousness, that reeking self-confidence that everything he says is right; and what's worse, my parents do nothing to teach him otherwise. And if I ever sense that my parents have given up trying to teach him "the ways of the world", I probably might just be right!

And now, the computer switches on no longer.

As far as anyone's concerned, he's washed his hands off this. It's now up to me or mum to solve this issue. As long as the comp is down, he'll conveniently find some other hobby; and as soon as the comp is fixed and running, he'll hog it again without missing a beat. Okay, let's not get emotions into this, I guess. Let's find a solution instead, I tell myself.

My initial tests show that the monitor and keyboard are still working fine. And the burnt smell coming from the power source compartment makes me suspect that the power supply is a goner. The last time this happened, we paid quite a lot to have the power supply replaced. Dad will be mad.

Oh well, guess there's no other choice but to replace the power supply again. In the meantime, I guess I'll have to form a Guest account in my laptop in case any of my parents need to use it...