Hopefully it is the first quarter, and not the last.  Only three more days of being 25 and into 26. Over the hump. The 25th year was not a particularly good one for me.  It had some momemts, like getting a new job that I like and going to Italy, but I think I was depressed for most of it.  My old job really crushed me emotionally and school was just a struggle.  The last few months, things started to look up and then my mom became sick and has been getting worse.  She really depressed, hasn’t worked in months, and is staying with a friend who has her own issues which is not helping either of them.  I’m going down there today to figure out what we are going to do.  I also have two job interviews while I’m down there: UM’s CARD program as an educational consultant and the MDC ACCESS Program as an advisor.  The UM is full time and the MDC is part time.  I also applied to the doctoral program at FIU, so we’ll see how that goes.  If I do get accepted in the program for the Spring Semester, my plan was to maybe take the MDC job, so I can take as much classes possible at school and apply for a public school job in the fall.   If I get the UM job, I’ll have to school part time, but I’ll have a full time job with the benefits.  Problem with the UM job is that it doesn’t pay much, but the benefits are good if you plan to go to UM for a Masters.  So there are pros and cons to both.  Of course I have to get offered either of the jobs first.  Oprah said that 26 was a “wow” year for her, and I hope for me as well.  I do feel a little bit more motivated about school, be dedicated, and be done.  I also need to work, but the time will pass and the time will come.