That's good advice from Karen, and something I've done for myself on occasion. Sometimes I've bought a few flowers, a few hand-made chocolates, or a coffee-table book on a favorite subject, it's been my way of saying that I'm worthwhile. I remember having to go back and live somewhere I really hated when I was about 20, and I knew it would depress me. I stopped by before moving in and put a potted azalea on the table with a card I'd written to myself. When I moved in, that special welcome was waiting for me and it didn't matter that I'd done it for myself.

Your manager is probably bored with her job and has become careless. It will be noticed by her manager eventually. I should think everyone on PT has been in a job where they've had to suffer from seeing someone else favored, it happens in every workplace.

Won't you be going away to college soon? I left home at 18 to go to nursing school and I couldn't wait to get away from my step-mother; those last months at home seemed to last forever. She controlled the family with hysterics and we all fell in line because it was easier than having to cope with her fits of rage. Even if you have to live at home while you are in college, you will be starting an exciting new life and it may help you distance yourself from your home life.