stress vs. good things

1. A few years ago I started to notice that stress has a real effect on me, physically. Working for an unhinged boss and living with recently-broken-up-with Nick under the same roof, I developed ulcers and barely slept. When my schoolwork piled up one winter semester, my neck knotted up so badly that it hurt to walk up stairs. Since Michelle and Scott left yesterday, and I've been trying to get my schooling in order again, my neck has been in knots and my head splitting as though running a pretty interesting fever, so while I think there's an outside chance it's a flu caught from Sean's parents, it's probably the schoolwork that is in fact keeping me from getting any work done.
The cure, of course, is to get the work done anyway, so today I'm trying to keep it together enough to plow through a couple of things that have been glaring at me from my to-do list for too long. Nothing like a clean conscience for a better quality of life.
And, of course, after blatantly and gleefully ignoring points over Easter and this weekend, it's really high time to get back on the responsible eating thing again.

2. Good things: it's supposed to go up to 10 at some point this week, making my life just that much happier - soon, soon the ice will be gone from my sidewalks, and I can actually look forward to walking around outside in the sun. Or even in the rain, as long as it isn't freezing rain, and assuming I have my umbrella back from Anne (another to do item!).
Another good thing: Sean and I have taken to being very cautious about assuming good things will rain down in the work area of life, because honestly we've both had too many bad jobs to take that sort of thing as a given. So on Friday, we were still listing off caveats, like "maybe the job offer is just for April" or "I hope it's at least at the work study pay of $9/hour". Well, he had a meeting this morning and not only is the job definitely for the whole summer but it's also for substantially better pay than the work study rate. And they're already talking about hiring him again in the fall for ten hours per week. He's now officially making more than our whole household made last summer.
Now all I have to do is get to a place where I can just be happy about things. I'm stressing about school and getting a job, but also (relatively) unimportant things like what to do with my hair. Should I follow my heart and get streaks of blue and purple and green? Should I look more professional and brown? It's eating me up. What should I put on the walls of the bedroom? Should I attempt tandoori chicken for supper tonight? Should I paint my toes the new dark blue-purple I have or something else? STRESS.

3. Oh, and more good things for my extended urban family. Matt has been officially accepted to UNB into the arts program, thence to take his prerequisites to upgrade (in his view) to the computer science program, and he's getting a tuition and living expenses subsidy to help him along, which is too good for words. I really hope that he will find his niche, finally.
Daniel, my Latin and bus-riding comrade for a few years now, has been accepted into the medieval studies grad program at the University of Toronto. The congratulations and well-wishing associated with getting accepted to a big school are very similar to getting engaged for normal, non-scholar people - lots of big grins and high fives.
Megan was in a riot in Montreal and subsequently wrote it up in the student paper. I cut it out and put it on our fridge.
Angus' parents have been posted to Winterpeg, and so he's rather suddenly in the position of having to find somewhere to live and a job to allow him to pay for it, and had a sort of annoying summer lined up anyway, needing to fit in a course somewhere in order to keep up with his program at school. So Sean and I offered (more accurately, campaigned) for him to come up here for the summer while he sorts things out, as (with any luck) I won't be around Fredericton much and the apartment will be pretty empty. After considering the options, he's almost sold on coming to Fredericton on a permanent basis and transferring to UNB for a better computer science program than what he's taking right now. He's applying to school today, in fact. I should get a commission on transfer students.

So many good things. Now I just need to get this stupid work out of the way.