judecorp | Cheer up, Sleepy Jean!

I am so tired. It's the weather. Well, the weather and the fact that I haven't been going to sleep very early, I suppose. But it's the grey, dreary, cold weather that makes even daylight seem dark that completely does me in. Somehow, though, I've managed (so far) to stave off the winter blahs. I know that /this/ December is SO RELAXED and SO GOOD compared to last December.

Last December, my father had a heart attack. This event followed the following 2001 events: my apartment catching on fire, being evacuated due to a neighbor having bomb-making materials, having to move, the breakup of my 6 year relationship, the death of my father-in-law, the terrorist attack occuring in the middle of my "relaxing" trip to New York City, my winding up in the hospital, and my grandfather becoming ill. By December, I was entirely fried, and then on the 17th, my father had his heart attack - the day before his 54th birthday. He then had a triple bypass. 2001 sux0red.

Everything seems so calm and commonplace these days, and perhaps I'm also tired due to not needing to be perpetually on edge. It's lovely. My job is stable, and only 40 hours a week. No more school full time, internship part time, assistantship part time, volunteering part time - just a job. I usually get almost 8 hours of sleep. I eat regularly. I have medical insurance. I have spending money. I can holiday shop without frantically worrying if I can pay. This is an incredible holiday season for me.

Yes, I got a little wonky about how Christmas seemed to sneak up on me (I think because Thanksgiving was so late), but I'm not having mini-conniptions every day. Phew. But the cards are done, gifts have been ordered for the immediate family members, and I'm going shopping tonight with J.Le for gifts for assorted people here in town and my

kieron. Yay.

Also interesting in retrospect, right after my dad's heart attack is when Jennifer really stepped up to bat for me and helped me out in ways I can never repay. She let me call her in the middle of the night. She let me call her in the middle of the day at work. I was crazy and frantic and stressed and frustrated and confused and she was always there for me. Late one night on the phone, oh right around this time, she said, "If I were in the position to do so, and you would let me, I would fight for you."

A year ago. Wow. That deserves the fuck-word. A /fucking/ year ago.

In other news of randomness, Coworker

vorpalbla beamed Bedazzled onto my Palm. Oh glorious slacky slack slack! (But I can't con him into wearing one of my dresses to the Lutheran Social Services holiday party!)

In still other news of randomness, tomorrow evening, Jen and I will go from her work party to my work party. I've never accompanied an SO to a work party of theirs. I've never brought an SO to a work party of mine. /Interesting./

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

you own a dress?

I have quite a few, actually. I keep scaling down, though ~ more and more go to the VOA. But yes. I have three lovely crushed velvet dresses that I actually like, and I like my goofy green leiderhosen-ish dress, too. The others... eh. Depends if I'm a girl that day or not.

You just like putting your boobs in my journal.

You just like putting your boobs in my journal.

I like it too.

"Get those boobs under control!" (cracks whip)

No, I won't be wearing a dress to the party; nevertheless, it'll be something different to seeing you in one. I must admit to being curious about your girl, and Shannon's guy since I haven't met him either.

Any idea if Vicki is married or with someone, has family, etc.?

I'm curious to meet Shannon's SO also. Shannon has a personal life? Outside of the shelter? CrAzInEsS!

Here's a secret - I won't be wearing a dress either. What are you, nuts? I have to make a first impression on Jennifer's work people, and I sure don't want to make them in a dress. (Dresses make me feel awkward and uncomfortable.)

Vicki is single. No family. And is coming to the party alone. :)

My thoughts exactly, about Shannon. She is such a hard worker.
A secret, since I'm 99.9% sure she doesn't read LJ: sometimes I feel guilty about being an equal-status coworker with Shannon. Let alone about her probably not getting paid that much more than we get. If I had been at FM when the previous CM manager announced she was leaving, I would have tried to persuade Shannon to apply for the position.

If I had been at FM when the previous CM manager announced she was leaving, I would have tried to persuade Shannon to apply for the position.

Everyone /did/ try to persuade her to apply. She would have been given the position in a heartbeat. Karl even tried to bribe her with his staying if she would do it. She was (as you would expect) very humble about the whole thing, announcing her flattery but that she had no intention of taking the position. I believe she felt that she would lose some of her flexibility, and the time she gets to spend with her daughter.

But I'm right with you on the compensation/status thing. I very seriously want to be Shannon when I grow up. <3

Good goddess. And I dared to think my latter quarter of 2001 was bad. Mine only consisted of (1) September: terrorist attack, but I was in California at the time; (2) October: coming out to parents after nine years in the closet; (3) November: broken heart due to absolute evilness of two-and-a-half-year long-distance best-friend/beloved while also skipping Thanksgiving family gathering due to persistence of coming-out complications; and (4) December: falling down on asphalt, getting permanent scars and horrible infection provoking a doctor's office visit, and then subsequently getting a horrible horrible horrible cold in December while still very much dealing with broken heart issues and also skipping Christmas family gathering and writing angry emails to my father who was refusing to give me any Christmas presents though I was exchanging them by mail with the other family members.

Wow, sounds like 2001 was totally craptastic on your end, too! Last year, my Coworker Velma told me that when 2002 comes, we were going to forget and erase that 2001 ever happened. I think I was pretty successful. Usually I don't even think about it, and when I do, it's more in the capacity of "Wow, that really sucked," rather than giving me fits and nightmares.

It seems like a whole lifetime ago. You can tack losing a best friend (because I wasn't in love with him) and re-coming out to my parents (tried when I was 19ish, started dating A, married A., broke up with A., had to do it again at 27) to the end of 2001, but that seems like small potatoes because it was after Dad's heart attack when it seemed like things would be returning to some semblance of normalcy.

I think 2001 should just be eradicated. Ugh. Worst. Year. Ever.

Sounds like your 2k2 was way worse than my 2k1, as bad as it's been (I think you weren't around yet when my dad had his stroke). But I'm taking the same attitude once 2k3 starts.

ps I'll be over within the half-hour.

ps I'll be over within the half-hour.

SWEET!

And yeah, 2003 will be better. These things just miraculously happen when the year changes.

Yeah, 2002 has been not only much better than 2001 but also an improvement upon the previous years for me. Parents are now much better behaved than before I came out to them, and the unreciprocated long-distance beloved who was 34 years older than me and full of the stubbornness of the aged has been replaced with an equally long-distance but this time reciprocated beloved who is 5 years younger than me and quite cooperative in all things so far. I did manage to fall down on asphalt all over again, but no debilitating diseases so far, and no terrorist attacks so far.

Now I feel all disturbed that 2002 is about to end.

Now I feel all disturbed that 2002 is about to end.

Eeek - I hadn't thought of that!

But 2003 will be BETTER STILL!

I can help you with that!

Yay!

2001 kinda sucked for me (got laid off from my job... the terrorist attacks 1.5 weeks before our wedding). But I DID get married in 2001 so I guess it can't be all that bad. Your 2001 sucked more though.

I got married in 1999. I guess that year sucked, too. ;)

(Yes, I'm kidding. Mostly. My wedding was a horrible, horrible weekend.)

Cheer up, Sleepy Jean!

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dresses, boobs etc.

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Ugh. 2001.

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Re: Ugh. 2001.

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