I'm back for a while

[ClingingToHope]

Trying to catch a quick nap before my latest adventure ... working the graveyard shift at UPS.

It's no windfall -- $8.50 an hour. Monday through Thursday, about 2.5 hours a night until Dec. 23.

Doing the math and it'll be maybe an extra $300. Still, I have to pay my share of D14's class trip to Europe in 2015 now and I have to save for D11, who will likely get braces next fall.

Let's see, this year I've made extra money as a book keeper, plasma donater, umpire, autobiography writer, scorekeeper, running race laborer and now package handler.

It has been a long but never boring year.

Good Thanksgiving planned. Cousin from Wisconsin is coming down with her family. The girls have always wanted to "host" a family thing. They are always "guests" even before the D.

Of course, I can't cook so we're going to a nice restaurant for a buffet, then spending some time at my house before they stay at the Radisson. I know the owner and he comped their rooms. They keep a pretty tight budget so it's a bit of a treat for them.

The professor's family is in town -- her parents and one of her two sisters. Tomorrow, I get to meet them for dinner. Thursday, the professor and her daughter might come over to the hotel to meet my cousin and let her daughter swim.

Friday, I'm going to the movies with her and her sister. Friday and Saturday one of my good friends is in town from Vegas and staying with me. He's coming out with us Saturday.

Sunday, rest, work on some grants, do some bookkeeping for my sister and work on the autobiography.

Work at the newspaper is a muddled mess. Every time I start to feel a little bit comfortable I find out I've somehow offended my boss again. It has been a hellish 14 months. I saved this lady's a** from getting fired when she was going through her divorce. Management teams changed and her star rose and mine descended in 2006. Then my D came around and I can't dedicate 60 hours to the place. As the newspaper kept cutting managers, she survived because she was the lowest paid. Finally, they'd cut so many she actually was put in charge and she's been making my life miserable ever since.

My annual review is coming up and it's pointless really. We haven't had a raise in five years. We aren't getting one this year or next and we unionized so raises will be set by a future contract.

I really don't want to go through the dog and pony show of sitting down with the current regime. So I finally asked for a transfer -- from a step above my boss. There was a chance at switching earlier this year but I worried it would cost me time with my daughters -- more weekend work -- and cut down on my side job time.

But I need a real job first and I just can't imagine making it through another year under the people I work for now. So I've put in my request and now any meetings about the future can be held with the knowledge that I'm looking to move to another department.

Things have calmed down at D11's school and there has been a very good development. She made a new "best" friend in the regular class -- not the special ed class.

With D11, it's never been about the grades, it's been about fitting in and finding friends.

D14 finished her play it was excellent. I brought the professor and her daughter. So it was kind of a coming out for us as part of the D14 official circle. We've made plans for the five of us to go to her parents' "cottage" on Lake Michigan in July. I love how the well to do talk. The "cottage" sleeps 10.

I also got a look at XW's fiance's extended family at the play. The fiance looks like the successful one in the bunch. The less said by me the better. Let's just say there's a big contrast.

Couple interesting things from D11. She mentioned her new "sister" -- supposedly there's a good chance XW's kid will be a girl. D11 said it's her "half" sister, not her "real" sister. I told her not to take out on her sister the fact that her parents -- meaning me and XW couldn't keep it together. It's not the baby's fault.

It sounds like it's starting to hit D11 that this new dynamic is going to be a lot different.

D14 is drama as usual. She's still with boyfriend No. 1. They are both painfully shy and he's really into sports and D14 is not. So they have little to talk about and D14's eye is wandering, but she doesn't know how to break things off.

This is a tough one. I told her I don't have a lot of advice for her other than she needs to realize no matter how she is about it it will still hurt.

So that's my update. Now for a 90-minute nap.