Work was actually, for the most part, enjoyable. It was simple enough, though taxing. But the people were friendly and it seemed like I did a good job, at least.

And really, everything went great for the first four hours. We unloaded a truck and stacked the pallets- it was awesome. And I was even told that I was really good at pallet stacking, which was great to hear. It took some time for me to learn how to move the pallet jacks, but I got the hang of that too.

At eight o'clock, I took my lunch break. Had myself a nice sub from the Subway in the store, and then roamed about. When we got back, we had to take the pallets out to the sales floor. For the most part, this was easy too. But after a while, it really starts to affect you. Around eleven, my feet were hurting horribly. I know it slowed me down, but there wasn't much I could do about it. And no one ever called me on it, so I'll assume that it wasn't that big of a problem.

Since they're remodeling the store, getting things to their proper places was hard. Especially when they waxed an entire area in front of electronics- I had to take the long way to get to most of the places I had to go.

It was around 12:30 when we finished with that. And this was when my feet started hurting me so badly, I nearly started whimpering right then and there. Because everything was slowing down, I was standing more than moving and that point, and that seemed to make it worse. We cleaned up the back and then we clocked out. I nearly limped to the front of the store where grandma had come to pick me up.

This has doen well to inform me that I need to learn how to drive fast. I don't care how close I am to work- I can't walk that far home if my feet are like this. Working more will make it easier with time, I know, but still. It just won't work.

I mean, I had a hard time just keeping upright in the shower for thirty minutes. Seriously, it just won't work.

After said shower, I had some ramen noodles. They made me feel a little better. And now it's laptop time- my feet are off the ground and at this point, I don't want them touching it until three in the afternoon tomorrow. Thank God I have the day off.

I'll likely spend it sleeping, resting, and then going to get some new shoes. Good ones, with gel inserts and all the fixings for one's feet. I have short achilles tendons and plantar fascitis in both feet, so I definitely need to dish out some cash and provide extra loving to them. You know- so they won't conspire to murder me.

(moans) So tired. I goes to bed soon.

Oh! And thank everyone for helping my dragon grow! Handsome, isn't he?

Looks as if I'll be spending the whole week up here this time. I thought I was going home for my day off to kinda pack up some things, but it seems like that's only going to happen if my stepdad can come up, and he's not sure if he can at the moment.

So for the mean time, I have a good majority of the essentials here at grandma's. That basically includes my laptop, the net, and work clothes. XD

Oh. And M&M's. 'Cause like, they're the awesome. :D

After the assembly today I hitched a ride back here with my grandma. Before that though, we went out to eat at this buffet with my great-aunt and uncle and my dad and the kids. My aunt had pictures of my cousin's new baby- so cute. I probably won't see him though for a while, unless they come down for a visit. My other cousin is due soon as well, so I hope to see pictures of her baby too.

It was decent enough at dinner. My siblings are so freaking funny. XD They had some chicken they weren't too happy with, because the sauce made it slimy. They tried to wipe it down but to no avail. At one point my sister complained about this.

Brother: Just do what I do and try and eat it without touching it.

He proceeded to demonstrate this by putting his face into the plate and chewing on the chicken. XD

It was nice seeing them again. ^_^ They're such sweet kids.

And now for the dragon! Heh- it's got its wings! Another male. (headdesk) I need another girl- my Skywing refuses to breed.

For some reason, I was totally exhausted today. Even though I went to bed just after midnight, I kept falling asleep throughout the afternoon. As soon as we got home from the assembly, I went to my room to sleep. I woke up about an hour ago. XD

So yes, I missed out on somethings. I'm trying to download the first episode of the new TMNT season right now but it's not going fast enough. I think I'll just watch it on Youtube.

Here's my dragon again. Poor thing. I've been on so infrequently as of late, I fear it will die. ;_;

Today was long and tiring, but I won't complain. For the most part, it really was easy. Seven hours of computer based learning (CBL), pertaining to various topics which I can only help I'll remember.

I find some perverse joy in my conversations with my grandmother now. She keeps bringing up everything that can go wrong and saying how it would be much easier if I just lived with her and her rules, and how if something happens I'll have to take care of it all on my own. I have no doubt that things will go wrong from time to time and I'll be rushing around trying to solve them. But thus far, it's all good. And it is vastly entertaining watching all of her issues get show down.

Let's review! Bold is my grandmother.

It'll take so long to get home from work in the dark.
My apartment, should I get it, is only a mile away.

You can't walk in the Winter!
I have my permit now, and I'll learn how to drive.

What will you drive then? Cars aren't free.
My parents bought me one, actually.

I bet that apartment isn't furnished.
That's okay- my stepdad just got me almost everything I need.

You know you'll have to rent. What if you can't afford it?
My family is going to give me some money to start off, and I can save the pay I get for future months.

A lot of those apartments have leases and if you can't afford it, they can take you to court. And I'm not going to co-sign.
That's all right- my stepdad just got the lease for me, actually. And he'll be co-signing.

The list goes on an on, but you get the point. She keeps trying to ruin it for me, and everytime we throw a wet blanket over her. And everyone else who brings up the same lack of faith in me. It's great. XD

Anyways, to bed I go! Gotta get up for our two-day religious assembly, tomorrow. I was going to tape the premeire for Back to the Sewers, but then I found out I need to have digital television to even see it! >.< Gah! It's insane!

So I guess I'll just watch it online when I get home. Hopefully.

Here's my dragon!

My poor little dragon- I forgot it again!

Clickies?

As I said last night, all the junk that doesn't go in my closet goes under the bed. I just discovered the bed is twice as bed as the closet- I just finally finished collecting the garbage down there and placing it in a bag (it's full). I'm taking a break now before I find spots for the things I want to keep.

There weren't as many fun things down there. There was my parents' wedding album, which I already knew was lurking, as well as my CD's. Oh! And I found that other orthodic! :D

I should be getting to bed soon, but my room's such a mess I think I'll still be up for an hour. That and I need to make sure my clothes are dry when I wake up.

I have to get up really early. I finally heard from Wal*Mart! I have orientation tomorrow from eight to five!

Hmm... I wonder if they'll start me right away. I kinda hope they dont- there's this religious event on the weekend I'm supposed to go to. I may be able to go to a different circuit's assembly, but that's only a maybe. Hmm...

But yeah! I'm looking forward to that tomorrow! I'm staying with grandma yet again, though I'm supposed to go back Friday. That may change if I have to work on the weekend. I dunno.

If I could drive, it wouldn't be so bad. I could just leave the assembly a little early and make it to work on time. But I can't, and I don't think anyone else could take me.

I'm so nervous! Gah- gotta finish cleaning. I don't want to be exhausted tomorrow. My stepdad and I are also going to go take a look at that apartment! :)

Thanks for helping my egg hatch!

Today I cleaned out my closet. I mean... literally. I cleaned out my closet. XD

I am not a very tidy person. I think if I had my own place, it would look neater because I actually don't have too many things. In this tiny room though, they all get cramped.

I'm horrible with clothes. I don't like dressers, so usually I keep them on the floor. The dirty ones go in the hamper, of course. 'Cept socks. I don't like to lose them and it happens that way.

Things I don't have places for either end up under the bed or in my closet. If you're wondering why I don't keep my clothes in their, it is a simple matter that there are already clothes in there (not mine) and thus no room for them.

Anyways- back to cleaning. I found a lot of things in there today. Some trashworthy, and some things I hadn't seen for awhile.

There was an art set I got when I was younger. And I found a shoe that had one of my orthodics in it (can't find the other). There were some books, and some graded tests from when I was home schooling. I found two notebooks I used to write fic in when I was in school- for Pulse and Cork. I found some pictures I took with that old camera when I was eleven, and a few from a much better camera at fourteen.

It's neat to see these things again. But there was one thing I didn't even know was back there. It was at the corner, in a box that's been sitting there since we moved here. Has a whole bunch of random documents and cards and all sorts of things.

There were also pictures there. And one was a small little wallet that I'd only seen once. I used to have had the same picture. I carried it around everywhere with me like a token or something. I have an exceptional memory, but I'm afraid it doesn't go that far back, so to me it was kinda like proof. But when day when I was walking home from school it fell out of my pocket and I didn't know it until I got home.

My parents separated before I was about a year and a half, and were officially divorced when I was three. This picture is a family portrait of us before that happened. According to the handwriting on the back, I was fifteen months at the time, so it wasn't too long.

It's the only picture I've seen with all three of us together. There are home movies somewhere, but since my dad was always filming, I never really saw both of my parents with me in one place before. Before the divorce, I mean. So it's as strange as it is comforting to see it, even though I've looked at it before.

And I don't entirely know what to do with it right now, either. I'll find a place for it though.

I'm still waiting for that call from Wal*Mart. I keep the phone nearby at all times! And I'm really hoping for that apartment- my stepdad talked to the man selling it today. There is another person interested, but apparently he doesn't have references. ...Whereas my stepdad did a hardwood floor for this guy's father. :D No guarantee, but I'm trying to stay optimistic.

And now for my dragon! Ooh... I see a hole! Clickies, please?

You know what the smart thing to do after going to the doctor is? Listen. I have clearly forgotten this for the little bag he gave me to see if it helps my problem has remained untouched since I plopped it on the floor Thursday afternoon. Gotta remember to try the darn stuff tomorrow.

Something I realized today that will keep that piece of glass that is my misfortunes shoved up my foot is location. The family that is good for me (on most levels) and the ones I wouldn't mind staying somewhat close to are going to be moving to another state. Whilst the ones who cause my stress levels to esculate dangerously quick will be all the more closer if this thing works out.

Even having my own place won't help completely. My grandma is just about the nosiest person I know, so there's not much escaping her. At the very least, I'll see her at the Kingdom Hall. And it's not like I can ignore her there like I would with some random person in my current congregation. We're related, and if I were to childishly do something like that, everyone would notice. This congregation is so much more close knit- I remember how things were when my dad got disfellowhipped. It hurt everyone- and he hadn't even been attending there for several years!

I grew up with most of the people there. There some of the few I have no qualms with. I wouldn't want to do that to them, and I'm certainly not interested in them trying to find out what's wrong.

This is a troublesome matter that I'll have to fix. :/

More importantly though, I'm just hoping everything else works out to my advantage first. I'm still waiting for a call from Wal*Mart. Everyone tells me that if they drug tested me, I'm hired. I'm trying not to get my hopes up- just being excited as I am is already proving to be a bother as I'm worrying for the results. I just wish I had an answer.

If that works out, next will be the apartment. My stepdad has to talk with his client soon and the matter will come up, I know. That's also quite important, though the two go hand in hand.

I just want to know soon.

It's so strange. These past few days, I've been feeling really good about myself. Happy, and content, and with a good outlook for the future. I haven't felt like this since I was much younger. It's been years. And for the first time, I feel on the brink of actually breaking away from everything that's hurt me from that same time. Like the piece of glass that's finally coming free of the skin, it's finally starting to seem less painful.

I know I'm not entirely free from it yet. In fact, I'll probably still walk around with it in my foot for years to come. But you know... it's like it's finally starting to come loose. And that's awesome.

But knowing it's still there is keeping me from fully celebrating. I mean, it could get jammed back in there, for all I know.

At least for now, though, I'm happy. I went to the meeting today and for once seemed like I got something out of it. I went the whole day without blowing up at anyone. It's great.

I better enjoy it while it lasts though. If I get this job, the next few days will be really stressful, I'm sure. ^_^

Anyways, here's a meme I first saw done by ivy_chan. I didn't do it at first because I didn't think I had that many stories.

Well lo and behold, I looked today and saw that I do, in fact. I think I forgot to count the one-shots. Heheh. Anyways, enjoy! I decided to exclude poems, by the way. Just seemed easier. 

Post the first lines from your last 25 stories. Do you see any patterns?"

( OMFG- I sucked three years ago ;_; )

Now for the things I noticed. (takes deep breath)

-Oh dear God, I sucked ass at writing when I was younger! ;_; (runs around in circles) I'm sorry! Forgive meeeee! I was fourteen- I didn't know how to properly start a sentence, much less write an actual story and make it good! (continues blubbering)
- ...For being a Leo fan, a disturbing number of my stories mention Raphael in the first sentence. O.o
- In my first year of writing, my sentences tended to start off as statements or nods to location.
- In my second year, I did a lot with sensory input.
- In my third year, I went from writing short and to-the-point sentences to long and action-wordy ones.

See anything else I missed? Point it out! Oh- and clicky on the dragon, please. :3