The Peanuts Time of Year

I absolutely love the holidays.  Seriously, my first job was in a year round Christmas store.  I'm full on obsessed; trees, lights, presents - you name it.  With the exception of chocolate advent calenders, which I usually end up eating over the course of two days instead of 25 and always make me sick.  I love the Peanuts specials, the Charlie brown feel.... i watched a marathon last night and my neighbors flicked on their Christmas lights and all felt right with the world.
Unfortunately, all is not right with the world.  The world is stressful and depressing and time moves way too fast.  I spent Thanksgiving day with LJ, getting drunk, eating baked brie and crying.  As sad as it sounds, it felt kind of good.  It was nice to sit there, with LJ and her mother and grandmother, her brothers ashes, and reminisce.  All of her brother's friends stopped by as I was leaving.  It was sad, but cleansing.  One good cry and I should be stable for a few weeks.
But then I think about B.  B. is my sister's best friend.  B died in a car accident on Christmas four years ago.  My sister doesn't cope well.  In general she's moody and spends way too much time trying to escape her demons through drugs or alcohol, but this time of year she's more than unpleasant, she becomes unbearable.  it definitely puts a damper on the spirit.
School is killing me.  I've got what, two weeks left?  I've got a ten page research paper, and I'm so far behind on my scripts that i don't even want to think about it.  two weeks.  that's it.
It's enough to make me not register for classes in the spring, but I'm afraid if I don't take at least one, I'll never go back.  So online art history, here I come!
As far as the craft goes, I'm making my way through a pile of books.  I should have some review-type posting up on Wednesday.  I'm still trying to save for the future, and the credit card offers I'm getting seem mighty tempting.  How much debt is too much debt?  I mean really.  When I say I'm about 1400 in debt, is that a lot?  Or a little?  I mean, the lawyer BF is in about 100,000.  I have like less than two percent of his debt.
I mean, thinking about it, another grand towards classes and headshots seems like debt well spent.  But the fact that I can't pay for it out of pocket makes me wonder how successfully I'll be able to pay it down.
Anyway, back to the grind.

Books

I've been drowning in school related work. Between homework and applications, registration and research, I'm surprised I haven't cracked.
I've gotten on top of most of it.  I'm still roughly 20 pages behind on my script, but I'm hoping to be caught up by the end of the week.  I've also got to start on my massive research paper that's worth thirty percent of my English grade.  It doesn't help that I hate my teacher.  This is an online class, so it definitely takes work to hate someone based on simple text. 
Three weeks.  then I'm done.  I've got a pretty busy weekend and next week coming up, so it's time to get ahead of things.
Friday is harry potter, for which I am a nerd of geeklyness proportions.  Also, the boyfriend is getting his results on the bar exam, so a celebration is expected.  Then the next Monday through Wednesday i'm spending in Vegas (Comped room!  Thanks Harrahs!), then thanksgiving and a weekend sure to be hell at work.

I've made a list of books I plan to read by Christmas.  All in the arena of acting.  a lot of them I've already got, and some I plan to borrow from various friends.  I absolutely love amazon for used books.

Self Management for Actors-Bonnie Gillespie
An Agent Tells All-Tony Martinez
One Less Bitter Actor: The Actor's Survival Guide-Markus Flanagan
Book the Job-Doug Warhit
Intent to Live-Larry Moss
Respect for Acting-Uta Hagen
Art of Acting-Stella Adler
Sanford Meisner on Acting-Sanford Meisner
A Dream of Passion-Lee Strasberg
-The Power of the Actor-Ivanna Chubbuck
How To Book Acting Jobs in TV and Film-Cathy Reinking
How to Be a Working Actor-Mari Lyn Henry and Lynne Rogers
So You Want to Be in Showbusiness?- Steve R. Stevens
Challenge to the Actor-Uta Hagen
Acting is Everything -Judy Kerr
No Acting Please-Eric Morris
Acting for the Camera-Tony Barr

The goal is to read three a week, at least and report back. 

Hello November!

I love November.  I love December.  I really really love the holiday season.
This year I'm trying not to go too overboard with my spending on gifts and stuff.  I've implemented a thirty buck max on gifts with friends and figure forty a pop for each parent.  The lawyer-boyfriend will get a little more towards his because, after all, he did get me the ipod touch for my birthday. 
Work's been a little insane.  They're beginning to enforce a four day maximum so we don't run out of hours.  I don't usually work more than four or five a week anyway, but it means getting shifts covered is going to be a lot more tricky than it used to be.
Met for drinks last night with LJ.  LJ has been my best friend since the third grade.  It was emotional.  You see, LJ lost her brother about a month back (he was only 26) due to some strange random heart failure.  The inconclusive results on his autopsy are party to blame for my  blogging absence.  It's been an emotional roller coaster for me, and especially for her, but things are finally getting back to normal.
School takes the fall for the rest of it.  I've finished my thesis paper, but now have a research paper worth a third of my grade.  And it has to be ten pages long.
That coupled with my advanced screenwriting class (I'm about thirty pages behind on my script) means I'm putting a lot of time in leaving very little for anything acting-related.
I'm deciding between headshot photographers.  I'm hoping to get some done in January.  I'm leaning towards Raquel Krelle but it's months away so I don't really have to worry.
I got a small raise at work, equalling out to about a hundred extra bucks a month, it's not a lot, but it's something and it's all going towards classes in the new year.