well, what you should do is take up jogging. Get up everyday before work and go jogging for about 30 minutes to an hour. If you haven't worked out for a while, you could just sort of ease into it with walking.
After your workout, take a shower before you go to work. You will be so happy because all you have to do is get out of the shower and do some kind of hair gel thing. Also, the exercise will put you in a good mood after a while.
Try some retail therapy. buy some really cool running shoes and some salon shampoo that smells really good (you can justify the expense because you won't have to use so much when you wash your hair).
In 2 years, you will be in super shape and you will have your hair back.

(this is how I coped with my disastrous uneven hairdo. Some of my suggestions may not appeal to you though. early morning workouts aren't for everyone!!)
You should probably go get some huge fun, dangly earrings that everyone can see with your short hair. Maybe go get someone to do your make-up. You don't have to buy EVERYTHING they put on your face.
And if you really don't like the color, you could look into getting someone at a salon do it for you. Just don't get roped in or it will become another monthly bill

Once you start, you can't ever stop. But if you're dyeing it yourself, I would NOT put anything else on it. You can do real damage and then you'll be completely bald. This happened to my cousin. She fried her hair with so many chemicals. The combination of whatever she used had the effect of Nair. And then she just had to walk around bald for a while.