We spent New Year's bowling, as it was both the cheapest and closest thing to do. Actually, it was pretty fun, got some booze and since it was lottery bowling, we made some of it back. Then we ended up at Jeremy and Nikki's latest place and ended up breaking their PlayStation, but that's another story... which I will just summarize with "NEVER take apart a PlayStation 2. Ever, ever, EVER." We did some shopping and hung out with Scott and the newly-returned Demma on Friday night, which was fun. Other than that, we didn't do too much, because....

My cough is acting up even worse. Instead of it being a nights-only thing, I�m now waking up with a cough, or ending up with one fairly soon after I wake up. Ugh. I ran out of meds around the time we went to his place (great timing), and ended up popping some of his mom's Actifed. The good news is that this seems to be the ONLY thing that will stop the cough once it's started. The bad news, which you've probably already guessed, is that it does it by putting me to sleep within a half an hour, for a few hours at least, and then I�m incredibly woozy, out of it, and staggering for hours after that. And according to Dave, I still coughed in my sleep. Figures. My sleeping schedule has been completely thrown off, to the point where I am now nocturnal. Up and wide awake till at least 4 a.m., sleeping all day. I am currently writing this at midnight. I am going to be so screwed this week going back to work. Even more annoying, it turns out that I will be completely unable to make any appointment to see my doctor in the next two months. Wah.

In other news, ended up meeting Dave�s nephew and his mother this weekend, both were nice. Dave was obviously being bothered that I wasn�t exactly being Ms. Social Meet The Family Girl when they arrived, but I was having yet another coughing fit and was in a surly mood ("Do I take the Actifed and sleep all goddamn day again for the fifth day in a row, or do I hack and cough so much there�s no way we can go out to a movie because I will annoy the shit out of the audience?") and felt like avoiding. Plus I always feel funny meeting anyone�s relatives regardless of who they are and the situation. I tend to be very quiet and attempt to pass myself off as normal. Hah. Though I eventually made a few comments later, so I guess I did okay. I seem to have managed to pass the three-year-old test- he was giving me chips and asking me what various things were, and seemed bummed when I left the place. It is one weird idea for an only child to think that she�ll end up with a nephew- there�s something I never expected. Though I always feel weird around small children, usually because I don�t really understand what the heck they�re talking about and I feel all insecure about it. "Smile and nod" has hit-and-miss results. Hell, this time I thought he said "photon gun" (hey, Star Trek was on) and he was saying "remote control." Don�t ask me how I managed to do that. I don't know how mothers manage to translate.

In an interesting development, not only does his brother that just moved in have a computer, said brother is also buying his dad a computer (should be coming in this week). Either way, it�s looking like Dave would have more in the lines of web access. Which means he may very well wander over to 3WA at some point, since from what I�ve said he thinks the chat whores are cool. I asked what would happen when threewayaction.com popped up in those folks�s computers, and he said that his brother would think it was porn and be disappointed (big surprise) and his dad would be amused. I wouldn�t tell him what name I�m under there, since hell, he might as well get a surprise and it�ll take him three seconds to figure out who I am when he reads the first Jennifer post anyway. For those wondering, I have no idea what name he might use over there, as he said he�s thinking of not going by his usual any more. I�m wondering when I�ll end up surprised and figure out that he posted there one day.

Of course that means that er, he�s gonna find this. Uh, hi honey!

I have been a bad, bad girl. I have been lying to everyone about my home e-mail situation, claiming that mine hasn't been working off and on. Truth be told, the only non-working thing about my e-mail is that I can't check it from webmail while away, which drives me nuts. No joke, it takes at least an hour and a half to check my e-mail from home at the end of the day. It is soooo slow wading through Eudora and dealing with the sheer numbers (I really need to wean myself off discussion mailing lists- at least some of them) and the crashes that I just plain don't want to take the time and effort any more to deal with the problem on a daily basis. So I don't read it for a week at a time. This is starting to become a problem.

I really need to get a new computer. Both of mine are nearing their last legs. While Dave was here, he bought me some RAM for my computer to try to speed it up, but that didn't really work. We also tried researching computer prices vs. fixing up one of my current ones, and I might as well go new, it'd cost the same thing. Ugh. Between that and my dead scanner and needing to replace that, and I should probably cave in and get a DVD player this year... financially, ugh.

Which leads me to this year's big New Year's resolutions:

1. Stop spending so damn much money. Stop buying myself fun shit all the time and going out to eat every single night with Dave when we�re together. Most expenses I probably can�t help too much, but I could work on those.

2. Make a budget and stick to it as best I can.

3. Write down everything I buy in the Palm.

4. Stop handing out money to all and sundry- Dave is one thing, but handing out cash to all unemployed friends is getting rough.

I need to spend the year saving up for a buttload of new machinery, and it'll probably take a year to afford it all too. Not to mention stuff like moving expenses (wah) and wedding money (argh, I wanna elope) should probably be saved up for as well. I doubt I'll stick to it all that long, though. I HATE delayed gratification and don't usually bother, and I love shopping. It makes me happy and saving doesn�t, and I�m not feeling all that desirous of buying a lot of replacement equipment in a year. It makes me very unhappy to be a good girl and save my money.

Here�s how my spending has gone so far- I think I�ll keep track of this in the journal to remind myself of things:

Jan. 1- Blew lots of money last night at New Year�s, but that was �last year� and doesn�t count, hah. Only money spent was giving Jeremy $2 for (literally) milk money, already blowing #4. Sadly, could not pull the "I don�t have any money" lie because Dave already told him we won $9 at bowling and he knew I had it on me. Otherwise, since we got home at 5 a.m. and slept all day, nothing else spent.

Jan. 2- Went shopping today and I was a VERY GOOD GIRL. I ONLY bought myself the very necessities that I needed- gloves, medication, string, needles, and craft wire.

Here�s what I wanted to buy: (a) an abalone necklace, (b) a fur headband, (c) a ton of pretty glass beads so I could make myself a necklace. Plus later that night I started craving (d) Pepsi, of which there was none in the house, and (e) ice cream. Oh yeah, and Dave wanted to get some (f) Starbucks hot chocolate while waiting for our ride home, but I didn�t do that either.

Spent $25 on necessities today, saved myself $37 in unbought items. Felt deeply bothered and frustrated because I was in a bead store (while Dave was getting a haircut) and could not buy anything pretty, plus I wanted to buy some other extra beads too. Did not let myself buy anything, especially food because it was only a stupid craving and it would go away, and I shouldn�t buy food just because there�s nothing to eat in the house, especially when I am not particularly starving and already ate dinner. Gave Dave and myself repeated lectures on how spending on anything is Bad Bad Bad. Felt rotten about it, felt like I�d had no fun shopping because I could not get anything I really wanted. Whine whine, I was a big annoying baby and driving Dave nuts. He wanted to go out and buy me the damn food already, but then I meanly whined that he should save his money for stuff like the bus, since who knows when the hell he�ll get another paycheck.

Jan. 3- First big fall off the wagon, already, big surprise. Went shopping again so I could use my Borders gift certificate and take back defective Buffy DVD�s, and on the way over there we popped into a computer game store. Dave found and immediately fell in love with Civilization II, the upgraded, 3-games-in-one version, which even I had to admit was cool. And it was $10- "I normally wouldn�t ask, but it�s so cheap," that kind of thing. Adding to the fun, I found a copy of Myst, which I played years ago and loved but was baffled by, for $5. (I really wanted the entire trilogy box that�s out, but since my computer can�t handle Myst 3 I didn�t get that.) I debated and whined and felt guilty and kept saying "But I shouldn�t be getting anything fun! Ever!" Eventually we ended up flipping a coin. It came up heads (buy) for them both. So it�s the damn coin�s fault, not mine! Spent $16 on all of that. However, did get out of buying food, as S&D took us out for dinner. Money not spent today on food: around $20.

Another problem is most likely arising, though: went through Demma's new bridal porn mags and found that I really wanted to get the two she had to save them for future events. This may be a problem for me to restrain myself from getting these later/ASAP the way I want to.

Jan. 4-5- Did not buy anything. On the 4th, we went to Wal-Mart while Dave�s dad checked out printers, but I did not look at anything seriously. Both days we debated going to see Catch Me If You Can, which I want to see and Dave is eh about, but eventually figured that if we weren�t both rabid to see it we might as well save the money and I�ll go see it with my parents or something. Money not spent on the movies: probably around $20.

And now it�s 1:15 a.m., I took an Actifed at 11:45 and it seems to be kicking in, my head is swimming- so ends this entry. Though ironically, my head may be swimming, but I am still not sleepy in the slightest. Ugh!

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