I've got a lot to cover...

First,

The IM I got last night. I'm not really up for going into all of the history behind the situation but suffice to say; it's really screwed up. I think I'll refer to the individual that IMed me as "Leach". Why? Because he sucks the fucking life out of everyone he comes in contact with and just when you think you're rid of him, he pops back up (wait a minute, maybe that's tapeworms). Needless to say, he is a complete and total nut job; very unstable. Long story short, before I really got to know how incredibly nuts Leach is I was his friend. The following are red flags that I should have caught on to but didn't- after reading them you'll probably say to yourself "Wow Aza, you must be a total retard". My response? Yeah, I think to some degree I am.

Red Flag #1 Has never been in a stable relationship and has very few friends.

Red Flag #2 Completely hated my husband (who btw, is nearly impossible to hate).

Red Flag #3 Extremely jealous of anything, everyone and everything.

Red Flag #4 Regularly acted out by way of psychotic episodes.

Red Flag #5 Major alcoholic/drug addict.

Red Flag #6 Acted out sexually in completely inappropriate ways toward damn near everyone he came into contact with.

Anyway, you get the point- the list goes on and on and on.

Moving forward with the story. I broke contact with him almost 2 years ago. Last night I was in a hurry to get some stuff done online and forgot to turn off my MSN messenger. Along comes Leach looking for another meal. He lambasted me about where I'd been for the last 2 years and why my day to day life had not included him (I was thinking to myself "Uh, maybe because you're a crazy little nut bag!!!!!!"). I think I came off in the conversation as polite but distant. Pissing off someone who is psychotic and has made repeated threats in the past isn't a very good idea. After I got offline I relayed the conversation in depth and detail to my dad (he knows the whole story behind Leach), then called my husband who was able to offer some moral support and then called Kira (Her blog is linked in my "Blogs I Dig" sidebar under the name "Dancing In The Moonlight". Drop in on her blog; she's a groovy chick that really has her shit together). She was kind enough to talk me down from the brink of a panic attack.

That's all I have to say about Leach for now.


Second,

To finish up my post from last night we'll move on to my car. After class yesterday I went to the dealership for and oil change and to have a screw pulled out of one of the front tires as well as a rotate and balance. My service guy is a great person. He won't try to sell you services you don't absolutely need. That being said I was 900 miles away from needing the 60 thousand mile treatment done to my car and all of the above things I had done were part of the treatment anyway. So, for around $120 dollars more I went ahead and had the treatment done a little early. I decided to put new rotors on also. Basically I walked away spending $537 dollars and had all of the shit done that a car needs done when it hits the 60 thousand mile mark. My service guy was kind enough to give me a few financial breaks here and there which explains why the bill was under $600. $537 dollars was a somewhat unexpected chunk but A/ It could have been worse, B/ Cars that are properly cared for last longer C/ It was almost due anyway and D/ The car runs like a dream now. In conclusion, a large amount of money will turn out to be a small price to pay in the long run.

Finally,

Today was my first day at a new job. Why a 'new' job? Because my old job was PRN (aka "as needed") which isn't conducive to paying the bills when two people are trying to pay for college. "D" (my husband) makes good money but things are becoming tight since he decided to go back to school this year. It's time for me to step up and help bring home the bacon (which seems like such a stupid phrase coming from a vegetarian). I decided to get a job as a pharmacy technician. Hence, my new job. I intend to take this summer off from college so I can take PTC prep classes (provided by my company). By the end of summer I'll have taken my PTC exam, become certified (instant pay raise!) and will enroll back into college for fall term. So there in a nutshell are my summer plans.

Now for a few of the larger concerns playing on my mind about it. First off, D and I now work for the same company (he's in a much higher position than I am; he's been there for 5 years now). I feel almost backed in a corner here. With most jobs if you decide you hate it within the first month you explain that it's just not the right position for you and you walk away. Since D works for the company and everyone in the district knows him (and knows that I'm his wife) I can't say "fuck this" and walk away if I hate it or suck at it. Don't get me wrong, I considered this before even applying but honestly....D was a damn good reference (it wouldn't shock me if I got hired on name recognition alone) and with my qualifications, which consist of a really weak work history (mainly in the veterinary field) and "housewife", it's hard to get a decent paying job that's not veterinary related (which is what I was looking for). Back to the point: If I fuck up it will reflect poorly on him. So that is my first concern.

My second concern is time. D and I both go to school, he works full time and I have a ton on my own plate. Our schedules very rarely meet up as it is now. I'm worried that an additional 30 some odd more hours taken up in my week will mean 30 some odd less hours for D and I to make time to spend together. I can see where a couple trying to work, go to school, take care of an elderly parent etc. etc. etc. would have a very difficult time trying to schedule each other into their lives. Case in point; today is St. Valentine's Day and also my first day at work. D had today off (first holiday he's had off in a few years) so he was still sleeping when I left. He got up and (Bless his heart) brought candy and a card up to me. I got off at 4:15, came home and decided to blog for a bit, grab a snack and just relax. While I'm messing with the computer D is doing homework and getting ready to go to class. He's in school from 7 to 8:40pm Tuesday and Thursday nights this term. So when I get off the computer I've got to get some housework done and do my homework while he's gone. When he gets home we're going to have about an hour and a half to watch The Shield (awesome show), eat and finish up whatever needs to be done around here. Then we have to crash only to do it all again tomorrow. D was sweet enough to rent a couple of movies while I was working but with the way the evening is going to go we won't be able to watch them until later in the week. Tomorrow I have class early in the morning then straight to work after school. It all boils down to this; is a pattern getting ready to emerge and if so, how can I keep it from hurting my relationship with him. Let's just hope for now that absence really does make the heart grow fonder.

My third concern is how this will cut into my schooling. After that fucking 74 I now see that I'm going to have to invest more time and energy into this math class. I don't want my grades to suffer (even more) because of a busy work schedule but at the same time I don't want work to suffer (see concern #1).

So there it all is. Blech!

Now, I'm off to tackle homework, housework and return a few calls.