poor kid. And losing out on part of your paycheck is never good, but understandable. I was missing a lot of sleep the weeks around christmas so I could take care of my sick dad.
And on pink again, I had a sales assistant trying to convince me to try on pink shirts when I was shopping for interview clothes half a year back. Apparently it is the 'in' color. Frankly, I look horrible in it (not surprisingly). I'm much better off with darker tones.