Disjointed rambling and catching up a bit …

This has been a crazy break from school.  Didn’t go at all how I’d hope or expected.

Started with all the Financial Aid difficulties that ended up causing me all sorts of headache and uncertainty about the Fall Quarter at school.  Long story short, I can’t take any of the classes needed for the Broadcasting degree … oh, well.  And I also won’t have access to Financial Aid or student loans this quarter. 

Then I ended up sick for nearly three weeks.  Yeah, I know.  Sick AGAIN.  Stomach thingy followed by a bad cold and bronchitis.  I think all the stress of the last few years is really starting to catch up with me.  I could probably use a nice long recuperative vacation.

The whole “being sick” episode put a huge damper on my ability to look for work.  Fortunately I was able to get a couple of interviews done prior to being stuck in bed and on the couch so there are actually some potential employers that are going to be letting me know one way or the other in the next week.  Fingers crossed!  Part-time seasonal jobs, but I really only need something to get me through until the holidays so it should be fine … just really need for it to work out!

I’m beginning to think there are Paperwork Gremlins at work in my life.  Financial Aid paperwork mess up.  Food Stamps paperwork mess up.  And now there’s a Child Support paperwork mess up.  Seriously!  I kid you not.  So, this month’s child support payment hasn’t come through and it’s evidently the result of the paperwork mess up with the Food Stamp people that trickled down into the Child Support Enforcement office.  And it might take awhile to get it all straightened out (like maybe not until next month). Crazy crazy crazy.

My head is spinning.  The last post I’d written about the financial situation included the unbelievable calm and peace I had in the midst of the insanity.  Which remained all through being sick, etc.  But the last couple of days when the newest fiascos hit, the calm and peace have been a lot harder to come by.

The other night I had a full-blown panic attack when I opened the bills for the power and the phone/internet.  And realized there weren’t two nickels to rub together much less the money to pay for those bills this month.  Even if I get one of the jobs, I actually won’t start working until the last week of September … and then the first paycheck still wouldn’t be in hand until about two weeks after that.

It feels like I’m in the midst of a perfect storm.  Blah.

Come January and the start of Winter Quarter at the University and all the new Financial Aid, etc., everything should be fine again.  Tight, as usual, but do-able.

But I keep feeling more than a little bit unnerved about the months between now and then.  And especially the next couple of weeks without child support, food help, financial aid, or a paycheck.

Crazy, huh?

I need to find my way to that peace and calm again.  It’s nice that it happened during the three weeks I was sick, however.  It kept me calm and able to rest and to heal faster, I’m sure.

While I was stuck on the couch (I literally sat in the same spot of the couch with my laptop almost non-stop for three weeks! lol) I was able to work on some online things I’d been meaning to do for awhile.

Started an online archive for Simple Times, and started a new blog for storing old postings from an online discussion board I ran about twenty years ago.  Also updated links on one of my most popular webpages.  And started a new Facebook page. So even though I didn’t get out of the house much, I still feel like I accomplished a lot.

Well, I have some errands to run since I’m still trying to get caught back up on everything that fell by the wayside while I was sick.

Prayers, happy thoughts, and crossed fingers would be greatly appreciated!