I have not felt too great since about December 22, which is when my cousin was in town to visit. We are polar opposites and don't get along well at all. She's also a big pain to have around in the kitchen while I'm trying to bake--she's a hindrance, not a help, and refuses to go away. I had my sugar cookies wrecked because of her so-called help. (She's almost 14 for reference, I'm 22). I had to take a lot of time off for myself during the ten days she was in town--I spent about five hours at the mall, drove the long way home from everywhere, and even made a long-term event out of going to the grocery store just to stay away.
Even after she left there were problems. There were two big family fights (I wasn't directly involved in either), which were loud and obnoxious. I almost left the house and threatened to move to a distant apartment where nobody would find me. The only thing I had to look forward to was school starting again. I would have spent time with my friends but most of them went out of town and the ones who were left were always working.
Now school has started and I haven't recovered from the stress. I find my energy levels to be very low due to lack of rest over the holiday break and am having trouble concentrating as a result. I've attended my classes and done most of my assignments well (I'm in the midst of doing one now that wasn't explained well but I still have some time to finish it) but I feel awful, almost sick, and am wondering how I can recover.
What I really need is a vacation but with two teaching practicums and a few other courses I can't just take off right now. (I also live in PA so the weather isn't too good for travel at the moment). Spring break doesn't come until March and I'm worried that if I can't break out of this fog I'll do poorly in my classes (I like all but one of them, the reason I don't like the one is because the instructor is lazy--she shows up late every day and never remembers to explain assignments or pass out the syllabus, which is now two weeks overdue).
I even found out I'm getting a nice tax rebate but it wasn't enough to brighten my day.
What I want is...
1. A fix to these stress issues. The only convenient thing I can think of is working out but I need something I can do every day for a while (my fellow weight lifters can concur that lifting shouldn't happen seven days per week). Ideally I get my swagger back by the end of the week and return to the confident, un-stressed, eager-to-work individual I was before Christmas.
2. A way to avoid Christmas altogether next year. I've had lousy Christmases since second grade and this overall season was downright awful. The best part of it, to be honest, was getting a Lacoste polo for $20 off at Macy's the day after Thanksgiving. I want to find a way to avoid my family altogether around Christmas--I get sick of the bickering, the arguments about food (I hate mealtimes), the annoying people who show up to wreck my baking, etc. (I'd spend it with a friend but I'm sure I'd see the same things in their families--I want a family-free Christmas without greatly upsetting everyone in my family--perhaps I rent a room at the local Holiday Inn for a few nights?)
25 Jan 2009, 11:02 pm
