I'll start with the "and more" part. This past week has been very relaxing for the most part. I was wrong about the sinus infection...which makes me very happy. The cold is inches away from being completely gone. That basically means that my nose runs a little bit and I cough here and there. I can live with that for now.

The pain of this week was mainly my mother. She took me and my father shopping on Monday. That was a bad idea. I was still struggling with the cold, and my dad is not a shopper. The mall was packed. I was exhausted. I'm broke, and I feel guilty allowing my parents to buy me things when they're broke too. All of these combined for a horrible experience. My mom decided she wanted to try on clothes. Normally I would be shopping and at least looking too, but I had absolutely no energy or desire. I ended up walking around the mall for a while and eventually practically falling asleep on a bench. I was so thankful to get home that night.

The next came the arguments about the potential job I could be getting at the University. My mother is saying that I shouldn't take the job. Her argument is money. She doesn't think that I'll make enough money working full time on a salaried position to survive. She apparently thinks I'm better off right now in which I already know I can't survive on less than $7 an hour working 20 hours a week at one job and $5.75 an hour working 10 hours a week on my other job. I scrape buy and have to borrow money every month it seems.

We've been arguing about this for a few days now. She doesn't seem to realize that no matter how the math gets done, even 20K a year will be a major improvement over the almost $6,500 a year I make right now. I honestly can't see where she's coming from. In my mind her argument is pure idiocy. This job is the best opportunity I could ask for. It'll pay well, it'll give me the experience I need to move towards my career goals, it's doing what I enjoy doing right now, and it's practically dangling right in front of my face. Quite honestly, there is no reason for me to not take it. My mom is driving me nuts.

On a happy note, I've started reading for fun again. I've been trying to read David and Leigh Eddings' Polgara the Sorceress for months now. I already read the Belgariad and the Mallorean series. So this is just a follow up. But still...I loved that world and the characters. So this book really makes me happy. Another happy note is that I go back up to school on Sunday. I think two weeks is too much time home for me. Next year I'll try for less time at home.

My New Years Resolutions are pretty simple. My first is that I want to end next year better than I did this year. By that, I mean I want to be happier, healthier, and have a little extra money to live off of. My second resolution is to work on my confidence level. It's definitely not all that high. I may do a lot for the trans community and the GLB community, but I don't think all that highly of myself. I need to really work on that. Lastly, I want to get myself more physically active. I spent most of this past year on my butt. I need to get out more and get more excersize. No more lazy bum for this girl.

That's about it though. Happy New Year everyone. I'll write again in the new year.

Love,

Jess