I'm glad things went well w/Christmas. I'm also glad you are still in the game. I understood where FG was coming from and you may want to look back at his post and take him up on his offer to "debate" as it may be very beneficial for you.
It is cool you are heading on the trip and I really hope things will turn at least a bit for you. It would be nice for you to see some progress, regardless of how small, so you can be bouyed enough to keep marching forward.