a very merry thanksgiving! it has been relatively calm here at my aunt and uncle's place--good food, plenty of it. actually we went to my aunt's brother's house in Oostburg...what a name for a town! Oostburg. ha! well, Rebecca's been okay. Yesterday she threw a mirror at my head! That was kind of nifty, especially when it pegged me just below the eye. I was, surprisingly, I'm sure, incredibly displeased and therefore refused to speak to her for a while. It worked like a charm...she was a sweetheart for the rest of the evening and she even apologized! She's never done that before. At any rate, today she was a little jealous that I was playing with her other cousin Samantha, because she thought I wasn't paying attention to her. So that got a little rough. But all in all (minus the flying mirrors) she's been alright.

I've been thinking a lot about Jerry (because I miss him!) but also about relationships, and I think I need some help. I think I've forgotten how to be a girlfriend, there's been too many years between him and Dave and I can't remember.... I mean...I need to relax. And I need to find a sense of security. Of course, it's bound to be awkward in a five-days old relationship. We need to get to know each other a little better too. Project! Ha! A project. Neat-o. When I talked to my parents, they were very negative about Jerry's nose ring. But I talked to my mom the next day and she apologized and made me feel very good! I love my mom. She's a cool cat. Also, on the ironic side of things...anyone from high school remember how my crushes always seemed to have names starting with "J?" (Jon R, that one Jesse kid from US History, Jaime, etc etc)--well, here life goes and throws me a curve! This time it works out. :) What does that tell you? I dunno--we'll see.

Still having Bill troubles, but I emailed Sean, my private teacher at home, and asked him if I could call and get some advice. So that's this weekend. This entire situation is making me feel very helpless. What am I going to do if we can't resolve our issues? I'm working very hard this year, and I can actually see improvement for once in my playing, but I feel like all of this is dragging me down and it's going to hurt me in the professional long run. I just don't know what to do right now. When I emailed him and asked if we could discuss in person some of this stuff, he emailed back with "what's to discuss?" and then a long tirade on what exactly I should do next, etc. So in my reply I told him that I still think we should meet...which means I need to have my shit together before then. I can't wait to talk to Sean! He'll be a tremendous help. I wish he were my professor...he's hip (even down to wearing socks with sandals), he actually keeps up with the professional and teaching worlds and introduces new techniques to his kids, he's not old and stubborn, he's enthusiastic, his jokes aren't dumb, he buys you beer. All positives, in my book. :) Well, everyone cross your fingers for me!

Back to the world of cousin...hurray, Barbies!