July 16-17, 2009

Thursday

Today was the day Kasey and I headed home. I had an extra hour before Barnes & Noble stitching group so we stopped at Grandma's to spend some time with her. I cleaned off her storm door window while I was there. She had put some gel letters on it so the birds wouldn't fly into it and the sun melted them over the past several months. Talk about goo! UGH!

We made it back to Annap-olis just before 1pm and went straight to B & N to stitch. Several of us stayed late so I had three hours of stitching time. I was working on the borders of Ocean Star because I didn't feel like doing all the small areas inside the diamonds and squares yet. I'll get back to them, I promise!

When we finally arrived home I went straight to bed. I was completely exhausted and wound up sleeping until 7:30pm. Man, did I need that rest!

Friday

Another early day for me! I had to go to the college to meet with an academic advisor before the lobby filled up. Lucky for us, no one was waiting so Lisa ushered Kasey and I to her office. We talked about my goal for school, majoring in English. Because AACC doesn't have an English course of study, my major is Transfer Studies with a concentration in English. I have to take an additional twelve credits in English to meet the concentration requirements.

My first semester is going to be the two classes determined by the placement tests I took on Monday, Math 012-Intermediate Algebra, and English 121-Composition & Literature. The math class is four credits, but they don't count towards my degree.

I went to the Records & Registration desk next so that I could register for my classes. Unfortunately, the MWF math class I wanted was already full, all of them were. So then I asked about internet classes. The girl behind the counter shook her head "no." I got stuck with a four-day-a-week class that meets from noon to 12:50pm. M/Tu/Th/F. I thought to myself, "If that's all they have, what can I do?" I can't take any science or labs until I am elegible for the college math.

Next, we were sent to the Cashier which was just the next bank of windows in the Student Services Building lobby. The cashier, Jackie, was very nice. When I told her I was working with DoRS, she put a one-week hold on my classes to give DoRS time to send my paperwork over.

I headed back to Annapolis after getting the bill for my two classes. Any guess as to how much tuition and fees were? Try $692 for seven credits! I called my DoRS counselor from the truck to let her know what I was told. I didn't want to show up at my appointment on Thursday and say, "Oh! By the way, AACC needs my paperwork tomorrow!" That would go over like a lead balloon! I told Sue that I would drop off the bill because I was only about five minutes away.

When I arrived, she asked me if I filled out the form for a tuition waiver since I'm on SSDI. I just looked at her blankly. I'd forgotten all about that! She called Jackie at the Cashier office and Jackie extended the hold on my classes by another week, giving DoRS enough time to get my paperwork sent over. She also asked about the tuition waiver form. Jackie informed her it was on the school's website, so Sue printed it and gave it to me.

The waiver had to be signed and stamped by the Social Security Administration, so that is where our travels next took us. My ticket said that I had approximately 63 minutes to wait. Thank goodness I took my stitching bag! Kasey spread herself out on the nice slate-tiled floor and prompt-ly went to sleep. She's had a rough few days, remember? I pulled Ocean Star out and went to work to pass the time. This is my progress from today.

Warning: Rant Ahead

An hour and a half later (the wait is not what I'm ranting about) I handed the lady at the window my Medicare card, my driver's license, and the form. The Medicare ID number is my Social Security Number. Guess what she asks me for? So I tell her my SSN. Then she wants to know what I need. It's on the form. I tell her I need a signature stating that I get SSDI because of my own work record, which I do. She asks me if they need to know how much I get. There are four lines on the form to be filled out: Name, Title, Signature, Date. Does she bother even perusing the form? Hell no!

So I tell her, no, it's for college; they don't need to know how much my monthly benefit is. She fills in the four lines of the form and starts handing it back to me. I tell her they require a stamp with the office's address. She does that. Finally, I'm out of that place and back on the road to return to the college to give them the tuition waiver.

WHY can't people read things?! Anything, it seems! And if they do read it, they don't think about the meaning. I see this all the time: someone is going on vacation and they send an email to their Yahoo group saying they're going "no mail." That means they won't receive any group messages until they return and change their email settings. Do you know how many "have a great time!" "we'll miss you!" and other messages get sent to the group?! The person who went no mail can't see them, so why weren't they sent to their direct email address?! I get sooo frustrated with things like that, as they just add to the inundation of messages I receive each day.

So, please, Mr Joe Public, read and comprehend signs, correspondence, and any forms before you!

End of rant. Thank you for staying with me if you've made it this far.

I turned in the tuition waiver and Jackie was surprised to see me back so soon. She told me that she spoke with Sue at DoRS and my classes are now on a two-week hold. At least that's all settled!

Then I stopped by the Financial Aid counter which is also in the lobby. The lady there was very nice and explained that AACC determines all financial need for grants and institutional scholarships through the FASFA (Federal financial aid form). I already knew it was online so I told her I'd get it submitted tonight. She let me know, too, that it takes one to five weeks to fully process the form once it is submitted, but I would receive notice of any financial aid for which I qualify.

By that time Kasey and I were both wiped out and just wanted to get home and rest. I still had to go to dialysis, so my period of rest wasn't as long as hers. I spent my time in my recliner perusing the class schedule and started thinking about having to drive all the way to the college four days a week.

The more I contemplated the matter, the more I worried. That's sixteen trips back and forth to Arnold that I don't already make each month. Several things bothered me about it. First, gas money. I don't have enough to cover that. Second, that's almost every day. That's going to tire me out even worse than I already am and what if I'm sick for a few days? Third, the Fall Schedule indicates there are several one-day-a-week classes and some 13-week classes that meet fewer days at the campus. I knew I'd probably get more accomplished in person, so I'll be getting up early tomorrow to go back to AACC to see if I can get into a different section of the math class. Wish me luck!

Dialysis went off without a hitch and I returned home to chat with Debi online and look through the college's website. It's insulting, the number of typos, grammatical errors, and misused words I found in the study tips section! I will be notifying someone at the college!

I'm talking about things like "take a bread between study sessions." Quotes left "hanging. Outline topics marked A, B, D. Is C on vacation? Using "of" instead of "for." "There" instead of "their." OMG, I almost went through the roof when I saw that one! These are all things that should have been noticed; I saw them my first time reading it! I hope an English professor isn't the one who created the documents! If so, I'm either going to be a royal pain in the ass or the star student. I certainly hope it's the latter.

Yes, I know! Further proof of my compulsion for perfect grammar and spelling in everything I read! Why, oh why won't everyone cooperate?!

And yes, I did fill out my FASFA online. It is all submitted and being sent to the school. I laughed when I saw the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). ZERO! Unlike when Social Services determines your need for help, the FASFA does not include untaxed SSDI benefits. Therefore, my income was zero. I'll hear whether or not I receive any financial aid to use towards books and other necessities hopefully in the next couple weeks.

Books! I don't have to tell you parents of college-age students, but for everyone else: books are expensive! I have a math book and an online kit and four books and an e-book for English. Guess how much? $407.30 new and $258.30 used! I found four of my books on Amazon, new. I won't buy used books online because I can't see the markings, if any. The used books in the bookstore are markings-free.

I will be asking Sue at DoRS exactly how to go about getting my books and other needed supplies (graphing calculator, notebooks, pens, etc) before school starts. Unfortunately, neither of my professors lists any supplies. I have no idea about how they want notebooks organized, or if they don't care. I know some professors are huge fans of notebook tests/quizzes. I just like having everything ready and not waiting until the last minute. But the syllabuses (not misspelled-I checked!) aren't given to students until a week before classes start. That is aggravating!