mom placation was ironing by which mens perrypops in a womansuit is the new child mystericating teats that can taint baconated digestive broads plastercasting gnostically from the great gospel wwjh

ooh yeah, i was just thinking this morning that i am going ot have to buy books, and how expensive they are, and how much i don't want to do it. they make you buy the books before they disburse the student loan money. someone please tell me how this makes sense?

Can you just wing it and wait until the loan money comes through?

probably not since they usually don't disburse it until early or mid october, and classes start on 8/27...

god what a shame harry potter part 200 will be pushed back -- far worse than all the writers who lost their job so you can get your jollies on cheap corprocratic entertainment

coprocratic

Sorry Remy, I'm not biting.

@(*#&% ^ FINANCIAL AID OFFICE I CUT YOU!!!!!!!

What happened?

I dread dealing with financial aid when I finally go back to school.

months ago: registered, filled out fafsa, direct loan website says "The student's prospective school will draft an aid package" (direct quote from the site)

few weeks ago: i get e-mail saying "your tuition payment is past due, therefore your classes have been dropped"

last week: call registrar, who tells me i have to get loans processed before i can register, or classes will be dropped again if i try to re-register

monday: call financial aid, they tell me they have never heard of "drafting an aid package" and that i have to download a very carefully hidden loan application and send it in. i do, and fax it. i call to make sure they received it, and they don't answer. 5 times. only a recorded message w/ no option to leave voicemail.
call again yesterday, same thing.

today: call again, finally get someone who tells me they do not have my fax and to re-fax it. i do. i call to check if they got it, a woman answers and says 'the fax isn't here' and transfers me to a number that no one answers. i call back, and ask her to please go check for me since this is v. important. grudgingly does so. then tells me she can't process it til i register. so. i register. then call back to let them know, at which point some other chick tells me i put the wrong $ amount (silly me, i used the estimated expenses for the year on THEIR site) and tells me i can't have that much (which is odd considering last year they said the loan amount was based on the estimate) and then when i'm trying to get her to explain why that is and how i should pay the rest of the $ i don't have, she blind transfers me (essentially hanging up on me) to some other dept. where bitchy lady finally tells me that i *should* be ok but it will take 6-8 weeks to process the loans, at which point i worry they're gonna drop my registration again but she assures me they won't.

we shall see.

So sorry. That is a fucking NIGHTMARE.

It will be over soon and you will be in school and get $$$.

i am not counting on that. they seriously fucked me over last year. anyway, deep breaths. and thanks ;)

I have no idea what the real story on my financial aid for this year is, either. Last year they finally got it to me the week before Thanksgiving. Am I going to know whether I have it before then? Your guess is as good as mine.

All I need for this first couple of months is a skills kit (I already have a ton of books, so yay), so at least all I have is the zillion dollars of tuition.

Also just found out insurance will not cover treatment for 4l3x's ADD if it is neurotherapy (which is what the dr. says we should do). It's considered "investigative." So either find the money or do nothing or slap him on pills. Ugh.

yeah, i finally got mine last DECEMBER. srsly. wtf is that? also, they screwed up my amounts, and spring semester, i got part of it on time (still a month after semester started) and the rest i didn't get until MAY. MAY!

aw, sorry about the add stuff :( how does the neurotherapy work? i totally understand not wanting to put him on pills - they really screwed my sister up for a while.

I think the Financial Aid people at St. K are just hopelessly stressed by the new computer system. It's not a great excuse, but at least it's understandable. (Not that it makes it okay!)

From what I've seen, the neurotherapy is like a semi-dull video game that they hook up with electrodes to your head so that when you are in a proper (focused or whatever) state, you wind up being rewarded for that - so that is reinforced. (It's hard to describe, but kind of cool to watch).

I'm pretty hesitant to use medication when its positive effects are temporary and its negative effects are unclear; neurotherapy's effects allegedly last much longer and also - obviously are not going to harm a liver or kidney.

misery, i am not trolling. i am not trying to make you 'bite'. i am, however, sensitive to your complaining about the writer's strike that basically put me out of work, broke my bank account and and forced me out of my apartment and out of los angeles -- so have a care.

aw, rems :( does it make you feel better if i say i don't give a shit about harry potter?

That makes three of us. And this guy too: http://www.fuckofffilm.com/movie-and-film-news/2008/8/14/harry-potter-is-a-four-eyed-cunt-sorry-cathy.html

I always enjoy the HP books and movies, but I would enjoy my media more if the writers never felt they had to strike (because they would always be fairly compensated in my little fantasy universe).

I'm glad you're landing on your feet, remy. Any news about the promotion?

kinda actually yeah, tza.

and maybe, sara. events pending, etc.

speaking of movies and movie related ire, have i mentioned my poison hearted hatred for the FLASH BANG GAZOOM HOT ACTION RIGHT HYAR remake of "Death Race 2000" that's coming out?

i really expected a round of applause for the news that i rode my bike finally. first time in 13-15yrs i have gotten on a bike, and plans for a test run in a quiet place didn't quite work out... we needed to go to supermarket last night and jordan was like 'let's bike' and i was too chicken about being a chicken to say 'uh no fuckin way' so i agreed.

so i just got on and... biked. and i didn't fall off or look like a spazz.

You ridered a bike? WOOOP. Have my previously posted default applause gif:

http://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/gadget-freak/1ApplauseCard.gif

RR - that is AWESOME!

Sorry, I'm kind of wallowing in my own frustration and depression about money right now. But learning to ride a bike is scary (I remember it clearly - plus I still haven't managed to teach my kids how to do it). SO SO GREAT for you! (Did you like it?)

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/15/mtv.vma.nominees.ap/t1soft.britney.mtv.ap.jpg

WAHT IS THAT THING

howdy miss misery~!

the writer's strike was a mess out here in l.a., but i don't think it gets reported on too much outside of here because the media focuses only on projects being pushed back rather than the cost of jobs. my gig didn't get affected but the writers were gone for awhile working the lines (and they totally didn't want to be b/c they were happy but understood the need to "strike for future writers" and all that). fortunately the writers wrote tons of scripts in advance so there wouldn't be a production break. anyway i think everyone i know who was involved hated to see the strike happen at all and was glad when it was over for many reasons.

anyway glad to see you back to the boards, sorry about the stuff that initiated yr sabbatical~ :-/

Am I sad that I cannot see the image that Dan posted? Based on John's rxn... I'm not sure.

My Friday nights are so painfully dull. AAAAAARGH.

i saw e2e4 live and it was awesome but rain prevented the awesome 200 guitar piece :(

I don't even know what that is!

I'm finishing up w/ workout, then I will fold laundry. Soooooo dull.

BUT next Friday the kids both are staying over night at camp, so we could go out and do something fun (assuming no one gets sick). I'd be excited about this prospect, except we're so out of the loop that we don't know what to do to go out and have fun anymore...

Financial aid is the sucky suck. I feel qualified to run the office at UMASS at this point.

My only advice is to do everything in person. I'm not sure this is possible for you Tehresa, but it sucks way less than being on hold for the rest of your conscious day.
Didja ever notice those ads for work-study students @$8.00 per hour? OMG - that's who is handling the phones, god bless'em.

They have no idea what you are talking about, they don't have access to your account, and they can't do anything to help you except put you on hold while they try to find someone who knows something.

I fucking prepare myself when I go to financial aid. I bring snacks and beverages and "War and Peace" (with People magazine ludicrously sticking out on all sides.)

I also am clueless about e2e4.

My stomach is like a volcanic island right now, and has been for days.
I have these really intense cramps. Suffice to say it sucks.

I have an MD appt. Monday. I GUESS it could be stress related. My SO, Kevin, suggested it might be a wheat allergy. It HAS been ongoing for, like, over a year.
BREAD!?!?

I'm not sure life is worth living without wheat products.
I was like "OK, so can the doctor test me for that?"
Nope. I would probably have to not eat it and see if I felt better.
I mean I kind of know about this food allergy stuff, but not as applied to my general grazing attitude to life's rich bounty.

I'm on the fence - I feel like I can live with the pain! Everything I love has wheat in it!
Well, wine and limoncello are safe foods, I guess.
I also like polenta.

Yeeps tza. Crossed fingers for the best.

My day in pictures:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3125/2766848638_4d680e8220.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/2766859456_6871e25e84.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/2766860720_305f8a090b.jpg

And continued and concluded:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3138/2766989796_65053c783a.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2767014984_f737e0fd65.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3077/2766368565_19977f56e5.jpg

aimurchie, I hope you don't have a wheat allergy! That would suck in a very serious way. Good luck with your appointment!

Ned!!!! I can't see your photos. Because of the ISP difficulty bullshit. But I hope you're having a lovely evening anyway.

I am indeed! Remind me why it is your ISP doesn't like Flickr?

My ISP has been screwed up for over 2 weeks. If they don't have this fixed soon, I really will have to switch. Inertia has stopped me thus far, but ffs, they REALLY suck.

On an entirely unrelated note, I'm pretty sure that peanut butter M&Ms are more addictive than crack.

Crack is wheat free, correct? Just wanna keep my options open...

ned, i am jealous!!!

thanks for well wishes, guys! i hope it will work out. though, if last year is any indicator, it will not. oh well, this is the last year i will ahve to deal with it.

sara i saw a blurb in a mag today about cherry m&ms. this intrigues me! you?

i am now convinced that sara is posting from a gameboy ducttaped to a pile of old cereal boxes

built by the same people as flight of the conchords camera-phone

That basically describes my laptop, actually.

tehresa - YES to the cherry M&Ms. omg I have to go to the store and look for that.

aimurchie - yes, crack is usually wheat-free, but I think the other downsides might be significant. (so stick with the peanut butter M&Ms)

btw, am I the only person on earth who loves spumoni ice cream? Sometimes I wonder.

it is pistachio, cherry, chocolate, yes? i like that stuff.

mmmmm yes. I think some people object to the pistachio maybe.

xox spumoni xox

The people on this thread obv. have good taste.

lxy, are we gonna watch olympics this week?