Well Christmas and birthday are over and both were underwhelming. I got a sore throat Christmas Eve, which turned into a full-blown cold by Christmas night. I felt miserable on my birthday and H had to be reminded that it WAS my birthday and that's as birthday as it got as I spent the rest of the day on the couch. I'm taking today off as well because I still don't feel up to par. H is of course not going in again today. He tells me they are doing inventory today and tomorrow so they aren't required to go in, but he's DEFINITELY going in to get his check. Right. He even texted his daughter last week that he was picking his paycheck up LAST Tuesday and that he'd get her the tuition after that. Then texts her on Christmas day saying that the checks were late (of course!) and that he's getting it THIS Tuesday instead and that's when she'll get her Christmas present. Once again, failing to get her anything ON Christmas but whenever he feels like it. If I were her, I wouldn't hold my breath. H didn't even come to bed until almost 4AM after telling me at 9PM when I went to bed that he'd be in soon as he was pretty tired, which is code for "I'll be in much later." He managed to finish an entire bottle of wine and who knows what else. He tells me that when he goes in to pick up his check that he's going to talk to his boss and figure something out. He has told me now (forget about the being a cook idea and the working selling pot at the pot store idea) that he's thinking that he'll just volunteer to be laid off until the busy season starts since his boss had sort of tossed that idea around and then he'll just collect unemployment while waiting to hear about this other job. Oh that's a FINE idea! Unemployment will give you maybe $300/week which will put you much further in debt. Oh but he can also go work with this guy who offered him a sort of job over a year ago working in his metal shop. I had to talk him out of that last year before he got his current job because this guy is on an island which requires a ferry ride with his car which will cost him about $80/week and he would probably get minimum wage, if that. He hasn't even talked to the guy in over a year but assumes this is a viable option. He even told me the other night that he was such a loser. I didn't deny it! Guarantee you when he does get up,which probably won't be until noon, he'll go "oh you didn't go to work today?" I'll go "Nah, why would I want to work? You've taken over a week off without pay so I thought I'd do the same." Because for some reason it totally shocks him when I don't go into work once every 3 months but it's perfectly acceptable for him not to go in for weeks.