I'll preface this post with my current living situation: my parents bought a very nice condo last year, and my sister (graduated from college 2 years ago, currently working 40 hours a week at a pharmaceutical company) rents it from them. Because I'm in college, my parents are letting me live there for free (since it's their place) and I simply have to share bills with my sister (gas, electricity, cable/internet). We buy groceries seperately (two milks, two mayonnaises, etc.).
On Friday I went to work at 5:30 a.m. (Dept. of Public Safety). I had a bowl of cereal and a cup of O.J. (opened a new container) before work and when I came back, I decided to have some lunch. I opened the fridge, and I noticed that my O.J. was in the front of the shelf, and my sister's was all the way in the back. I then looked at the level of juice, and there was more gone than I remember taking (I only took one cup). Then I looked in the sink, and I saw a half empty glass of O.J. from my sister who had already left for work. I emailed her about it right away, and at first she denied it, but then she said it was possible that she took my O.J. (she said she was "really tired" that morning). I said, hey, it's okay, but unless you want to start paying me for the premium O.J. that I buy (Tropicana Pure Premium - she buys Meijer brand), then you had better start paying attention.
Flash forward to today. I get home from work at about 10:30 and she's gone. I decide to go for a bike ride and then take a nap. I get on shorts, shoes, sunglasses and socks and go outside to the garage. My bike helmet is missing, and my sister's bike is too. I was very excited about going for a ride, since I just bought a new comfortable seat for my Gary Fisher bike yesterday. I go inside and her bike helmet is on the counter. I left her a voice message on her phone, and I proceeded to go into her bathroom (it's a 2-bathroom condo) and steal her hand soap and toilet paper. I was furious, but I figured that a sly, clever revenge was better than a screaming match.
I then went out for a run to vent my anger, and called my parents to vent to them. I didn't expect them to do anything, but they both told me that under no uncertain terms should I steal her toilet paper and soap. I, however, think that's a fitting, justified response to her 'crime,' and it'll definitely teach her how I feel when something of mine is missing.
I'm also thinking of drafting a 'contract' in which we will both be held financially accountable to each other if one of us takes the other's things ($3.00 for each offense, payable in cash within 24 hours of each occurrence). It seems like the only way to correct this annoying-as-hell behavior. My sister has a history of chronic awareness-deficiency (she almost left her garage door opener in her car when she traded it in to the dealer for a brand new car yesterday).
What would you all do in my situation? Is the 'contract' a good idea?
EDIT: After a cooling-off period (went out to dinner with sister) we both agreed that it's the little things that don't really matter. I was mad about the helmet and the O.J., but I now realize after it all that sure, I don't like when people steal my stuff, but it's my damn sister. She's annoying sometimes, but I am too. And I really do appreciate her company and her friendliness toward me. She doesn't take my stuff to be mean, she takes it because she doesn't think about what she's doing. And I guess I can't fault her for that.
I do apologize for sounding like a fvckhead - and I can't say it won't happen again, but I can say that I am sorry for my outburst. I have a pretty bad temper, and while I don't yell or anything, I usually keep it bottled up and let it out through writing. This time, ATOT happened to be that vent.
On Friday I went to work at 5:30 a.m. (Dept. of Public Safety). I had a bowl of cereal and a cup of O.J. (opened a new container) before work and when I came back, I decided to have some lunch. I opened the fridge, and I noticed that my O.J. was in the front of the shelf, and my sister's was all the way in the back. I then looked at the level of juice, and there was more gone than I remember taking (I only took one cup). Then I looked in the sink, and I saw a half empty glass of O.J. from my sister who had already left for work. I emailed her about it right away, and at first she denied it, but then she said it was possible that she took my O.J. (she said she was "really tired" that morning). I said, hey, it's okay, but unless you want to start paying me for the premium O.J. that I buy (Tropicana Pure Premium - she buys Meijer brand), then you had better start paying attention.
Flash forward to today. I get home from work at about 10:30 and she's gone. I decide to go for a bike ride and then take a nap. I get on shorts, shoes, sunglasses and socks and go outside to the garage. My bike helmet is missing, and my sister's bike is too. I was very excited about going for a ride, since I just bought a new comfortable seat for my Gary Fisher bike yesterday. I go inside and her bike helmet is on the counter. I left her a voice message on her phone, and I proceeded to go into her bathroom (it's a 2-bathroom condo) and steal her hand soap and toilet paper. I was furious, but I figured that a sly, clever revenge was better than a screaming match.
I then went out for a run to vent my anger, and called my parents to vent to them. I didn't expect them to do anything, but they both told me that under no uncertain terms should I steal her toilet paper and soap. I, however, think that's a fitting, justified response to her 'crime,' and it'll definitely teach her how I feel when something of mine is missing.
I'm also thinking of drafting a 'contract' in which we will both be held financially accountable to each other if one of us takes the other's things ($3.00 for each offense, payable in cash within 24 hours of each occurrence). It seems like the only way to correct this annoying-as-hell behavior. My sister has a history of chronic awareness-deficiency (she almost left her garage door opener in her car when she traded it in to the dealer for a brand new car yesterday).
What would you all do in my situation? Is the 'contract' a good idea?
EDIT: After a cooling-off period (went out to dinner with sister) we both agreed that it's the little things that don't really matter. I was mad about the helmet and the O.J., but I now realize after it all that sure, I don't like when people steal my stuff, but it's my damn sister. She's annoying sometimes, but I am too. And I really do appreciate her company and her friendliness toward me. She doesn't take my stuff to be mean, she takes it because she doesn't think about what she's doing. And I guess I can't fault her for that.
I do apologize for sounding like a fvckhead - and I can't say it won't happen again, but I can say that I am sorry for my outburst. I have a pretty bad temper, and while I don't yell or anything, I usually keep it bottled up and let it out through writing. This time, ATOT happened to be that vent.
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