It gets better, I swear!
2005-09-15...4:26 p.m.

First of all, I suppose it MIGHT be that time of the month when men are most obviously stupid. And I get a LITTLE emotional. Okay? I admit it.

Does anyone remember when I said that I didn't want to be responsible for Dad's car, not even in the slightest, anymore? Well, I told him, and I told Corey, but apparently neither one of them remembered. I reminded them a month ago, and they were BOTH in complete shock. Morons.

So, Corey said, "Gee, I guess I'd better get onto getting alternate transportation to work, then." One of his buddies from work supposedly had a car for sale for $350 - not the greatest vehicle, but it would run back and forth to work. Which is all he needed. At least its windows roll down.

Of course, he waited until two days before the registration on Dad's car expired to tell said buddy that he was interested. You know, three days after it was no longer available, due to the stupidity of two OTHER men.

(See? It's not a matter of PMS perception - they really are NOT that bright!)

So Corey says to me, "We need to get the Firebird registered." And we all know what WE means. Because he "tried" to handle it himself yesterday, but, bygolly, he didn't have the CHECKBOOK, so "he" had to do it "later" because he didn't "think" that they would take the debit card.

On the very LAST day possible, i.e., the expiration date of the registration, "we" went online and, miracle of miracles, paid for the registration for another bloody goddamn year. Another fucking year of insuring DAD'S CRAP, because he's too fucking childish to take care of his responsibilities, and another year of changing HIS fucking oil because Corey wouldn't get off his dillydallying ASS and get HIS shit taken care of.

*MASSIVE GROANING SIGH*

Okay, as promised, this entry is not ALL bad stuff. Here's the happy stuff:

We had parent/teacher conferences today. Alex's went fine, although his teacher is a little concerned about his sometimes-lacking span of attention. We were sooooooooooooooooooo surprised. Ha. But really, he's doing well, except we need to teach him to say "restroom" instead of "potty," because when the kids in his class hear "potty," they go:

"Tee hee hee, potty! Tee hee hee!"

and Alex gets self-conscious and defensive. But he's doing well otherwise, and he's not behind at all.

Mercedes is doing absolutely fantastic. She's getting along well with her classmates, she's showing some confidence in herself as regards reading out loud, even going so far as volunteering to read MORE out loud when the teacher calls for volunteers. The only concern her teacher has is that she likes to chat with her favorite classmate at inappropriate times.

Can I just say this? Her buddy's name?

Chevelle.

I think they're going to start a dealership. Or a parking lot. When they're in high school, they're going to date guys named Royce and Bentley and their guy friend nicknamed Beamer. They'd better watch out for Portia, though - I hear she's a gold-digging slut.

ANYWAYS...

So Mercedes has fantastic grades again - only one B, and that's in Math (again), and the rest are As.

Then her teacher made me cry. (Hey, I SAID I was a little emotional!)

She's recommended Mercedes for the Challenge program. I CRIED, not only because I was bursting with pride, but I was taken straight back to when I tested for the program. I missed it by one percent. Challenge is a program for gifted students. My daughter's teacher thinks she's gifted, and it's not the first teacher I've heard it from.

Corey and I sat her down and discussed it with her, telling her that we were so proud that she'd even been SELECTED for the test, and that she should be, too. We also told her that it was up to her - the work would be more interesting, but also more difficult. She's decided to take the test. I really, really hope she makes it. It will be so good for her in so many ways. First of all, she'll have more work to hold her attention. Second, she'll have a head start on junior high and high school. Not to mention how it will improve college applications. Prestigious colleges LIKE gifted students, don't they?

Oh, and Survivor starts tonight. Woohoo!

the last trail...the next path