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.