The forgotten child

My father didn't exactly forget my birthday. He just "didn't get around to calling me" and when he thought about it, "he thought I'd be out." What the fuck does that mean? He knows that I have a cell phone; I would have gotten the call. If I didn't he could have left a message. That's a lot nicer than calling me the next day. But seriously, who does that? I call him on his birthday. Nothing, nothing from him, nothing from my stepmother, nothing from my brother and nothing from my sister. I'd be suprised if my stepmother even knows my birthday. So my dad feels guilty; he feels guilty enough to buy me an Ibook. Which is nice, but I really just want a phone call. He can't buy me things to make up for not being there. I'm not going to say no to a new computer, but it's really not the point. His actual words when I mentioned the computer were "Well, I spend all kinds of money on Eric and Emma but none on you, so I'll buy it for you." Yeah, like I never noticed that? This is making me sound like a spoiled brat, but I'm really not talking about the money or the computer. I'm talking about my father taking a vested interest in my life.