If pressed to describe my friends and relatives I might list physical characteristics, hobbies, pets, temperaments and cookie recipes.
The exception to this is my sister-in-law -ironically the one I can claim a close friendship with… she defies any kind of real description. I know her height, hair color and preference in dogs. But her inner workings are as foreign to me now as they were when we first met in 1986.

Take the computer. In November she asked me to buy a new computer for her; a job I should have turned down immediately, but this is D. I can’t explain it further; it is what it is.
I went to the Dell outlet with her credit card information and found a really good deal on an Inspiron with a Core 2 Duo, 2G of RAM and a 500G hard drive for $350. She was on the phone with me the entire time and stressed cheap. I felt that I succeeded in my quest.

In the months that followed she purchased a new monitor, video card, speakers, mouse, keyboard… when I could have bundled everything and saved her money during the initial purchase had she but emphasized ANYthing except price.

After she told one of her other sisters what she got, the sister replied that D should have called her instead of me… she knew more about the computers and could have done a better job buying one. That hurt, but what bothered me more was how easily D threw me under the bus. She didn’t bother to explain anything to her sister, just saying that “I got whatever Pam bought for me”. Okay…

She knew that I bought a Dell in late December and assumed it was comparable to hers… but upon learning today that in fact mine has a quad processor, she wanted me to order one for her. Today. Three months after getting a new computer she wants another. Of course, she just took the new one out of the box 2 weeks ago.
I told her that most programs don’t even utilize four processors and that it won’t make a difference for some time. Doesn’t matter; she wants one as powerful as mine or better.

I’ve had the opportunity to observe this woman for 20 years but if I had 20 more she would still be an enigma. And I love her like a sister, but she’s going to have to order the next one herself.