Thinking (yes, I do that)

Waking up at 5 AM sucks. It really does. I absolutely hate dragging my ass out of bed while it's still dark outside to wander through the freezing house. And meanwhile, the rest of my family is nestled in their nice warm beds. Hell, waking up at 7 AM was sleeping in compared to my work schedule now.

I suppose with training to stay full time at the bookstore comes some sacrifices - sacrifices which I constantly question as I stand in front of the mirror each morning looking deathly pale and bearing an impressive resemblance to a zombie from Resident Evil (a good movie, by the way). Also keep in mind that I really don't get any benefits; oh yeah, don't forget that mind-blowing wage of $6.75 per hour (note the sarcasm).

Then again, money is money. Even though I have decided not to go to Brazil (I won't be able to get my new passport and visa in time for March), I'm still saving the majority of each paycheck for yet another escapade to Europe in the summer. My sister wants me to go to Spain with her to visit a friend, and I want to invade *cough* grace Italy with one of my friends. Ah, the trouble I could get myself into. *Insert evil smirk and devil horns here.*

The only thing I am worried about (I am the eternal worrier) is whether or not we would have enough to money to survive in bella Italia. It's unbelievably expensive with rooms at even the cheapest hotels being around 100 Euros a night. Jesus, I thought about $5,000 would do for a minimum of a two week vacay, but I guess not. We would have to be sleeping underneath bridges, in tents, or with a family I would beg to take us in. I guess one of my New Years resolution should be to find a rich guy! (No, I'm not that shallow... but a little $$$ would be nice!)

Another option I've thought about is staying outside the major cities. I am very sure that it would be at least a few Euros (if that) cheaper, plus we would be seeing more than just the extremely touristy areas. The only problem would be transportation in getting to and from where we want to go, blah, blah, etc. etc. Somebody help... please?

With that tiny plea, I leave you a few final thoughts before I bury myself underneath my bed covers:

Why did my brother leave a crushed Pepsi can on the bathroom counter? Americans do not dress as well as Europeans. Are Crest white strips really safe? They make my teeth so sensitive to the point where it feels like I have no enamel and cavities are having a field day. My homemade coffee tastes better than Starbucks (you know it's good).