Big Decisions!

Yesterday I picked up my massage table and my books for classes next week. I'm really excited, but I'm also nervous. I always get nervous, but it's still troubling. I want to do well, make friends, and learn a lot. But I don't know how well I'll do, since I've only ever been home-trained.

I also talked to hubby yesterday about something important that I've been putting off. I put it off because there's still plenty of time, but my niece is going up for adoption in February if my sister doesn't get her act together. I can't fully imagine my sister getting her act together, but I hope she does, because otherwise my mom will be making a 'bid' for Mimi. She's not sure she'll get her though, so I also want to make a 'bid' for her. She's an older child, so if she' isn't adopted by one of us, she will likely go to an orphanage. An older child in an orphanage is not likely get adopted, or even to have much success, and we don't want to be separated from her for the next seven years.

The reason I don't think my mom will get her is this: She just adopted Chay (after years of threatening to). Next month (November) Cin's baby boy, Max, will be up for adoption if she isn't doing well enough to take him back (and I don't think she'll ever be ready). Mom is going to make a strong bid for him, because as a little six month old half white/black baby boy, he is very likely to be adopted if he goes to an orphanage and we don't want that to happen (but really, my only real reason against it (since I've never met the babe) is because I don't think my sister would ever recover from losing her SECOND little boy. She's still stuck on her first that she gave up willingly. They took him from her without any warning, before they ever left the hospital. She will never recover from losing him, especially since her tubes are tied now.). That was a long (). Sorry. So if Mom gets him, which is totally possible, she'll have adopted two of her daughters' boys within six months. And then three months later, she'll be making another bid for one of her daughters' girls? I just don't think the courts are going to keep deciding in her favor, especially with the drama about Mimi and Chay and their difficulty living together.

So last night I talked to hubby about our taking Mimi on. She'll be eleven in December, and going to a therapist really seems to have had a good effect on her (though I haven't met her in over a year). She loves singing and dancing, and there's a bus that picks up elementary students in front of the office and drops them off (I just checked a few minutes ago) so we wont have to take her to school ourselves. There's the additional money for food, and the additional person on the water bill. The occasional new clothes (Goodwill is our friend), and maybe (but I doubt it) some school supplies (we have tons). We already have an extra room, with an extra bed, and a dresser drawers. The most difficulty I see is actually physically getting her here. She's halfway across the states, but a plane ticket for her is possible. The airfare for one adult and one child from there to here at the end of Feb is about 200 dollars total, so that isn't too bad either. The problem is getting someone to escort her here. I may have to go myself to get her. I just don't know.

I need to find a lawyer to talk to about the procedures for putting in a bid, how much that may cost, if they need to do a home study of our place, and how to get all that paperwork to the court in NC where they'll be conducting this.

I also want to talk to my mom and see if she can't persuade the court to delay Mimi's adoption until the end of the school year so she won't be switching school so much (and so hubby and I will be out of school and able to be there ourselves). If they will do that, I am MUCH more confident that we'll be able to do something to get her ourselves. Hopefully hubby will start looking and applying to good locations in December or January for his own line of work, saying he'll be able to start at the end of May after he graduates. I'll be finished with massage school at the end of April, which will give us time to pick out our new location (or decide to stay here), select an apartment, and give me a little time to find a job myself in the same area. Then we will both have potentially stable jobs, in a new area, during the summer so she can adjust to a new location (and maybe make some friends, but also giving us time to get to know her and her needs/habits/requirements), we can get paperwork filled out for her to start at a new school, and we'll all get a new start as a family.

Another plus point I mentioned to hubby is, in two years we'll be looking to have our own baby. Mimi is familiar with little ones, and she likes them. She'll be very helpful to have around when hubby is panicking or working, while I'm cleaning or cooking, etc. She's half-grown! Sure she's gonna want all this technology that she's used to, but she also respects us, so if we don't give in to her demands for them (and I'm not sure she would really demand them, since she also likes books like me) and maintain our stance, we'll all be able to adjust. Hubby suggested we could get her her own little TV for Christmas or something, and I know she has her own game systems. Just because we don't want a TV doesn't mean she has to do without one. I'm not sure of the price difference, but I would rather get her a simple little computer for herself, and maybe resume our Netflix account so she'll have Hulu and Netflix for entertainment, and not tons of mind-numbing shows that she'll just leave on for hours. Because that adds up on the electricity bill, and I also don't really like that high-pitched screetch that TVs make when they're on. With a computer we can enforce a time-limit better than a TV (maybe by turning it off, or having it password protected and only us knowing the password, so when it's time to get off, she no longer has access to it).

Well, anyway, I'm getting really ahead of myself. These are just things I've considered and some things I've discussed with Hubby. He's really not keen on sharing me, but he'll have to do it sometime, and I think it'll be a little better on him to start with a kid that can at least be logical. Babies aren't logical. You can't reason with them. You can only cave into the demands and beg for clemency before you lose your mind.

I'm also considering going to the Goodwill Community Foundation near our home that helps you find jobs. Well, I'm more than considering it. I'm pretty determined to look into it and see what they can do for me. My job requirements and my experience are so varied, that it makes even looking for a job difficult. I'm also still waiting to hear back from Apple, but I think it means they've been trying other people and still think I'm possible, just not their first choice. They're probably seeing if their first choices work out, and just keeping me on the line. Which is sad, but kinda always my experience when applying to places.

I will also get in contact with my old boss MM, and see if he's willing to help me out with interview tips (since he interviews so many people) and do some mock interviews with me when he has some time. And I'll contact R and see if she'll do the same, and maybe have some advice on interview clothing, and what to wear to what type of job interview. They're both friends, so I'm very hopeful that they will be willing to help. It's just asking for assistance that I have so much trouble with. But I will try. I want to improve and make good impressions so I can get good jobs and have a good time with a company of my choice.

Oops. This got a lot longer than I meant for it to, but it's thoughts that have been in my head for the last few days. Perhaps that's why I've had so much trouble sleeping.

I haven't even told you about the poopy-incident with the toilet flooding our apartment twice when we hadn't even used the restroom! ....And you know what? I don't think I'm going to. Suffice to say, I cleaned the damned floors twice, we're considering throwing out our rugs, and the apartment still smells funny. It's good that it's cooling down here. Today's high is 84, so I've left the windows open to let some fresh air get in.

I'll stop now. Really. Just one last thing. I actually had a bit of trouble understanding the announcer guy, but I understood the people that got tricked, so it was still funny. Watch it: