Further Tales of Financial Aid

I found out today that, due to a mix-up on my part, I only received a little under $3000 in student loans for this, hopefully my final semester. So after my classes are paid for, I have $900 to pay for books, graduation fee, and miscellaneous expenses. I have the practicum and the final research class this semester, and had hoped to go to very-part (or even no-) time at my job until graduation. Apparently that will not be the case. On the one hand, I'm happy to not have that much more debt to contend with upon graduation; on the other, I really wanted to concentrate on school, and the amount I will be refunded won't be enough to pay off my car insurance for the remainder of the year, much less pay for my cell phone, credit card, medication (since I don't have health insurance), and other expenses. At least I've paid my car off. I should just be happy that housing isn't an issue, and my job pays for my gas. It would be nice to have a little money for after graduation, too, but I earn so little from my job, and tuition is so expensive, that I should get another $3000 refund from the IRS next year. My dad says that I should realize that the refund is due to Emperor W, to which I counter, Yeah, at least when Clinton was in office I could find a job with health insurance that paid double what I'm making now. But that's another story.

I just want to graduate. I go in to talk to the woman in charge of my practicum assignment Thursday, so as to arrange a schedule before classes start. I'm still a bit nervous, not least of all because I slacked off so bad during summer semester. Part of this was because the teacher was a complete space cadet, but I also really lost any drive to excel. In the research class, you have to design and present a research assignment for the rest of the class to critique, a prospect that makes me nauseous just to think of it. I just remember when I had to present my final paper as an undergraduate, on the Arturian Legend in the works of Jean Cocteau; I was sweating so bad (it was a hot May) that it was dripping on my paper as I was reading it. The professor loved it, though, and suggested it might be work as the beginning of a thesis. Library science presentations have been less stressful, if only because I don't care as much.

I ended up getting an A- in my Science & Technology Reference class.

On a completely unrelated note, I watched the season premier of "Scrubs" with my mom tonight. I also watched that "Father of the Pride" show, which I am sure will fail. Except for the setting, it's honestly a fairly standard sitcom format. The inclusion of computer-generated Siegfried & Roy gives it a bit ghoulish. And even in the commercials, NBC seemed to be complaining about how expensive and time-consuming the show is.

Song: "Seventeen" by Ladytron.