Cousin, Homework, Rib

This month has proven to be just as hectic and bizarre as last month.  There has been a great deal of stress for myself, my hannah, and several others of my little social circle.  My cousin who is currently in Greeley, Colorado has recently had a very tough time of it.  In fact, a near fatal time of it.  I won't go into too many details but I will say that a crisis center was involved.  Now, for a long while, said Cousin has been very unhappy and dealing with not just one, but two very emotionally abusive individuals.  He doesn't really see it that way, but I've had too many calls from my Cousin with him sobbing on the other end for me to view the situation as anything but ultra destructive.   Needless to say, this last event was the straw that broke the camels back and my friends in Moscow have purchased him an airline ticket and come this Wednesday he will be moving back up here to be among people who love him.  He's coming home and I'm very glad for this.  He visited this past Christmas and having him here was like seeing a whole different person than the one we hear on the phone and see on Facebook.  He was so alive and so energetic and so happy and I just want that for him again.  Sadly he is having to leave his rats behind in Colorado.  He is leaving them with someone who will take care of them, but it's still a sad loss for him.  They were his babies.  Still, I think it's better for him to get away as quickly and as safely as possible, than to risk his life and sanity for his little ones.  They'll be alright and now he will too.

As far as homework has gone... I am thinking of asking my mentor for a week extension on the deadline.  Next month Hannah will be in Wichita, Kansas with her parents for an extended visit.  During that time I'm going  to bury myself in the books and glue myself to the computer for marathon nights of novel and short story composition.  So I know I can get lots done quickly in May, but this month has escaped and all I've managed to do is start reading a few novels and force out a few sentences toward short stories.  I am inspired at the moment by Enchanted Night by Steve Millhauser.  I really love the structure (structure seems to be my thing lately) and I want to try writing The Tribe of Null in a similar way.  Or at least start working on it in this way.  I need to get back into Death Man and really hash it out and I also need to begin plans to rework my vampire story too.  And dammit I just need to write, write, write!  It truly is a labor of love and I find myself constantly worrying over every little work and really, once I sit and start going at it, I have no trouble putting words where they need to go and making things sound the way I want them to.  It's just sitting down and doing it that is hard.

Lastly, yesterday and today I've had an unexplained and rather excruciating pain in my lower left rib area.  My dad thinks it sounds like I might have cracked it from the way that I've described the pain, but I am of the opinion that it is just a strained muscle or something of the like.  Either way it's sort of limited my activities today which sucks because today was my day off.  I'll be back to work tomorrow and then next two days after that.  I realize that the rest of the world works a good old fashioned 9-5, Monday through Friday, but I'm a fragile little wimp and I liked my two-three day a week schedule and will look forward to getting that back once the store manager returns from her Georgia romp.  She went down there for two weeks to help manage a Hanes superstore and we are all really excited for her but we miss her too and some of us (me) won't be working as many hours once she gets back.  Again, I'm not really complaining because the money will be nice, and I like the gals I work with and I like the job just fine, but I really do need some time to work on homework and to de-stress from all the worrying and waiting to figure out when and how we were getting my Cousin back up here.  Things are gradually beginning to get figured out.  My computer and I are doing much better - still a damn touchy mouse pad and keyboard but we're surviving and I am enjoying the benefits of having such a teeny little thing when dragging it around with me here and there.  It'll be nice in Boston this June and that's the main reason I got it so it ought to serve it's purpose well.