First Nibble

So as luck would have it, tomorrow I have my first job interview since leaving academia. I'm excited, and I feel really relieved that things are finally starting to get set in motion. Although I've only actually been looking for a job for about a week, so I guess most people would thing things are moving rather quickly, but I've always been a really impatient person. 

Anyway it's for a paraeducator job at a special needs school (I guess I didn't get ridiculously far from the academic world...lol). I volunteered there a few times when I was much younger, so hopefully that gives me a little more edge. We'll see what happens I guess. 

Other than that, the only thing that's been going on recently is a whole lot of attempted cleaning to get myself a room that I can sleep in, and my mom sister, my friend, and my sister's friend drove over to another high school last night for a marching band competition. Definitely a good time.

Job Hunting

Well I've been back in my hometown for about five days now. Job hunting, of course, has so far been one of my main priorities. Well, that and attempting to clean the basement so I can sleep in a bed again instead of sleeping on a couch.

The job market is looking a little better than when I first graduated last year. By better I mean that there are actually job postings I've found that say undergraduate degree in mathematics. I was convinced that they didn't exist last year. No real bites yet on the job line, but it's only been a few days. Fingers crossed that something shows up soon. I've got a wedding to save for.

Besides that, I got to hang out with my best friend yesterday. She didn't get into medical school this year and doesn't really want to get a job, so she worries me. She's babysitting 4 days a week now and calling it full-time, while supposedly applying to masters programs to supposedly help her get into med school later. I'm skeptic, but whatever.

Back at my Parent's House

Well I'm finally out of that god awful state where my graduate university was located. My dad got there at 6am on Friday morning, and we left that afternoon. We drove for half the night, but it was nice just to be far away from there.

Weird thing that happened though: some chick called, texted, and emailed me repeatedly. I only answered the call because I recognized the area code as where my fiance's stationed and maybe had a mini panic attack that something might be wrong and he was calling me from someone else's phone. But it wasn't, it was her. I guess her husband's stationed at the same naval base and she was all "Let's be friends! I know how hard it is being a graduate student and a military spouse! I understand your situation better than anybody!"...well...while the friend support thing would've been nice I suppose, but she seems to clearly be missing the boat (no pun intended...) that the whole debacle with the university had absolutely nothing to do with my fiance being stationed elsewhere. Do I miss him? Of course. Did I drop out of graduate school because he was in a different state? No. He just spent three years overseas, the next year at the most wasn't ideal or fun being apart, but we would've made it work.

Anyway moving on from crazy broads...

Done. Completely Done.

I can finally take a deep breath and relax.  Why you may ask?

Well, the university posted my bill (well...how much I owe. The bill will be posted tomorrow and there I'll get the address to send a check) and they have the correct amount of money due. Only the refunded money that I was given to live on.

Thank goodness.

I was really worried about that. I was supposed to be given email confirmation about both of the petitions I filed and I haven't heard about either one. But clearly since the amount is right, at least one of them was approved. I just wish I knew which one. Mostly because I'd like to know what/if I have a transcript at the university now (one of the petitions was to wipe it clean so I wouldn't have W's and therefore wouldn't need to send it out if I ever decided to do this goofy thing again), but I'm sure not going to order a transcript to find out. Cheapest transcript is an etranscript and it's $10, plus a $3 notary fee.

Why are transcripts a rip off everywhere except the undergraduate institution I graduated from? They were completely free there, whether is was an etranscript or a hard copy...

Small World...

It is indeed a small, small world. You make one post on facebook and find out the most interesting things.

Namely, one of my really good friends from my undergraduate institution only made it a week at my graduate institution back when she was a freshman in college. For similar reasons.

Go figure.

Signed Over

Well, the nightmare's almost over. The new tenant of my apartment came and signed a new lease today. My dad rented the Uhaul trailer and will be here on Friday morning. This whole graduate school thing is almost a distant memory.

Let's just home nothing goes funky when they finally charge me for my refund from my scholarship. I know exactly how much it should be for, and if it's more than that, this could get ugly again.

Going Back to Chicago!!!

So this morning I finally got the text I've been waiting for! The person who toured my apartment on Friday want to take it and is coming tomorrow evening to sign the paperwork.

My father will be coming on down here on Thursday with a uhaul trailer, we'll pack it on Friday, and Saturday morning I'll be out of this horrid state.

Well, as long as everything goes according to plan. But I'm hopeful!

Also, Saturday is the fiance's birthday. Super super sad I can't actually be with him, but I'm gonna get cupcakes and a candle, and we'll do a birthday party via Skype on Saturday night :D

More Waiting

So the person who was coming to view the apartment yesterday did end up coming. It was a very stressful experience for me, especially because she came super super late. She was supposed to come sometime in the afternoon but ended up coming around 8pm. I kept freaking out big time that she would just not show up, but she did. She said she really liked the place and was super friendly, and said she'd get back to me soon. Obviously I had been hoping (probably naively) that she would come earlier, love it, and sign a new lease right then and there...but since she came so late that wasn't an option even if she had wanted to do it.

Sooo...now I'm back to waiting. I've still got my fingers crossed she takes it (I mean...she doesn't have to pay ANYTHING to move in...and living here is a pretty awesome deal), but I'm still looking around.

Also...random side note: if anybody out there loves Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series, Subterranean Press is having a sale on ebooks for the month, including three of hers (Angelic, Counterfeit Magic, and Hidden).  Each is $2.99, which is a steal (I know, I bought a hardcopy of Counterfeit Magic for the fiance for Christmas two years ago for like $25, and you can't get a used copy of Angelic anywhere for under $190...). Link to the ebooks! Anyway, there's links to all three books there, and you can get them in either Kindle, Nook, or Kobo (never heard of that one) books. I'm of course partial to the Nook books (seeing as I have a Nook Simple Touch...) but hey. It works. If you don't have an ereader, Amazon has free apps for computers, tablets (yay iPad lol), and smartphones, so you could always go that route.

Hopeful

So it's been a crazy day around here. The internet still been kinda spotty (especially in the mornings and during the day), but it's been alright. I got free breakfast today...but it definitely wasn't good. The complex was making free hot breakfast for residents today, but they didn't have half the things that they had promised to be serving. I was very sad. But they did have good biscuits. Find the silver lining somewhere.

Besides that, I found out my sister dropped her biology class and lab, as well as switched her major at her undergraduate university. Which my mom isn't too happy about. She told my sister it was fine, but yelled at me for about an hour yesterday, implying that it was my fault that she dropped the classes and switched majors. Like, my withdrawal from the university told my sister it was okay to do these things. Sigh.

Anyway, besides that, my sister also found out today her student loans were never dispersed. She asked if I understood what the hold on her account said, and I told her it sounded like she never signed her master promissory note. She of course didn't know what I was talking about because she let our father take care of all of her financial aid things. Big mistake. She definitely needs to be able to get into her student loan account and she has no idea what her pin could be.

Edit: Dad thankfully knew her pin.

And moving on to my other sister...

Coping With Academic Guilt

I know I only spent three weeks immersed in the world of a graduate student. However, in those short three weeks, I know I was slowly being indoctrinated into the graduate-student-life cult.  I was working those ridiculous, unhealthy hours, and feeling terrible if I did anything for myself. I even felt guilty one day that I took twenty minutes off to bake a loaf of banana bread.

I'm still dueling with that guilt even now that I've left the university. I've been managing battling it fairly well by crocheting, knitting, talking to my fiance, and packing up my apartment. Crocheting and packing keep me moving and busy, while leaving me something tangible for my efforts.  And talking to my fiance is always the best part of my day, no matter what. He's the love of my life, and I have no idea what I'd do without him.

There are some occasions that have arisen recently that have derailed my coping mechanisms greatly though...

Updates on Post-Academic Life

First and foremost, I must say thank god for T-mobile's 4g network. My internet at the apartment complex has  been on and off during the day for the past week, and the staff says it's because they're "updating" it to be faster. Well clearly that updating is working wonders because today the wireless is non-existent. Today they claim equipment broke, and internet access won't be up for at least 24 hours. Awesome.

In other news, my father drafted a 30-days notice to send to the apartment complex (didn't think I needed one, but I guess it can't hurt). Going to send it on Monday. Sod it's looking llike unless I f÷ind a subleaser earlier, I will be moving out of this horrible place the weekend of October 13th. I am more than happy to have a set date, but I hope to find someone before then. 'Cause if I don't, I have to keep paying the rent until a subleaser is found, even if I don't live here. Leases definitely suck.

Random Thoughts

So...I thought I moved to a standard, midwestern state (I like to think I know what meets the criteria to call something midwestern since I'm from Chicago and all), but I think I was deeply confused.

Where I am living now can only be described as hell.  And no, I'm not just talking about how badly the university here has treated me.  Or how the things I prefer to buy brand-wise are ridiculously expensive here as opposed to Chicago (where every freaking thing is ridiculously expensive).  I mean it's hot enough here to literally be hell.  

The past four days, the temperature here has been no less than 105 degrees. It is literally killing me.  Even the air conditioning (which I've given up and started running, even though I can't afford it) doesn't do much. I've never ever missed freezing my ass off while walking to school in Chicago more than I do right now. 

Besides that, the sublease hunt continues...

Bored Out of My Mind

I've done just about everything I can possibly do now (besides putting an ad in the local paper...for some insane reason they want $104 to run an ad about an apartment...insane) to start finding someone to sublease my apartment. Craigslist. Facebook. Other random sublease/university websites. The apartment complex management. 

So...now I'm stuck with, once again, sit back and wait. It's killing me.

So I've mostly spent my time reading, working on the blanket I'm making for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, trying to figure out how to knit in the round on double pointed needles. You know, fun stuff. Oh yeah, and managed to add a widget to the side of the blog that's a countdown to my wedding. Although you could probably read that...

Yep. Very productive.

Impatient

I know I shouldn't be so frustrated with trying to find someone to take my apartment off my hands, but I am. 

I'm being completely unreasonable. I only just started looking two days ago. It's a holiday weekend. I need to stop complaining.  The mangers of the apartment complex thing it should be relatively easy to find someone.

I blame the girl who went through all the leasing paperwork with me in June. She said she's known people to find a subleaser overnight on craigslist. Now I have ridiculous expectations.

I'm Not Alone, It's Good To Know

I've spent a lot of time thinking these past few days, and I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around how the people I attended school with for the past weeks can think the abuse from the University is acceptable.

For instance, having done gotten an BS in mathematics from my undergraduate institution and having a little bit of an obsession with numbers, I calculated the hours I spent on campus working, doing homework, etc, and how much I would have made hourly. On average, in order to do all the lab work, sieving, homework, and the paper that was required of me, I was working on something about 50 hours per week (often longer because I have no background in the subject and had to work twice as hard to catch up). I was originally given just over $5,000 to survive off of for the semester before I started raising a ruckus. So, basically, I was making just about $7 an hour. Which is lowering than federal minimum wage.  Unbelievable.