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tattoobelly holds forth 2001-04-27 Yeah, so Elisabeth is gone from Survivor. Who didn't see that one coming? I did, but I still held out some hope that good would triumph over slightly less good and someone else would be voted out. That's the trouble; none of the remaining people is truly bad, so it's hard to dislike them. I've kind of gotten over my Colby phobia at this point, and I am pretty sure he will win, unless he doesn't get immunity next time. I think Keith and Colby will vote Tina out next time, because they wouldn't want to be in the final two with her. She is better liked, overall, than they are and I think the jury would vote for her. If it comes down to Keith and Colby though, Colby will win. That is my official prediction. Keith has annoyed too many people along the way. Plus, Colby has those whiter than white teeth, and you know that counts for something on television. I'm excited for the final Survivor next week. That should be really really good, no matter who wins. Other than that, I don't have much in the way of an update. I made breakfast for my office this morning; chocolate chip scones and smoothies and iced coffee. The scones went over well, and the smoothies pretty well, but I guess iced coffee is not the end all, be all beverage to everyone else that it is to me. You live, you learn, you pass it on. Tonight Francisco is having his class over--he teaches Greek to graduate students. He is making a whole Greek spread (it is kind of the theme, I guess), and he isn't sure how many people will attend, but it could be as many as 25. 25! We have precisely 11 chairs, counting his office chair and the outside chairs. That number does not include the sofa and futon, which would provide comfortable seating for 6, or uncomfortable seating for 8. We also have 2 big pillows I made for floor sitting. That brings us up to comfortable seating for 19. The others will just need to stand, I guess. I am co-hosting, but I do not feel primarily responsible for the comfort of the guests, as I did not invite them. BTW, I have recently heard good things about sour apple martinis but I don't know exactly what they contain. If anyone who reads this has a recipe, please email it to me, because I think I would like to try it tonight. Over and over again. I just have decided to tell you the basic line of work I am in, so that I can talk about how hard my job is. I work in the realm of college financial aid. Right now we are heinously busy with people appealing for more aid, and this is a very stressful thing for me, as well as for the applicants (more for them, probably). It is stressful for me primarily because there are strict guidelines about what we can and cannot consider, circumstantially, and a lot of times people will have difficult circumstances but there is no way I can give them more aid. They cry on the phone and I hang up and cry because, as much as I hate to let it all get to me, it is extremely unpleasant to crush people's dreams of attending this particular college. Most times the students are getting full scholarships elsewhere, so they Will attend college, but just not this one. And some people Really want to attend this one. Here is some very good advice for those of you who will send children to college someday (skip over this if you do not intend to have children or if you just don't care right now). 1) Try very very hard to not allow your lifestyle to exceed your means, and if At All Possible, tailor your lifestyle so that you have money leftover to save each month. This is very important. So many times people will have huge credit card balances that make it hard for them to pay for college. If you don't owe credit card companies, you have a huge leg up. 2)Save what you can for college, and put the money in the parents' name. 3) If your child is very bright, assume that he or she will be admitted to the colleges to which they apply, but do not assume that they will receive full scholarships. Oftentimes parents do not save money for their child's education because they assume the child will receive full scholarships everywhere they apply. Said parents are then outraged when this does not come to pass. For example, where I work, just about every kid admitted had a 4.0 average, and a good many were valedictorians of their high schools. Not many are getting full scholarships. What number was I on? Oh yes, 4) Do not shy away from borrowing for college. It is not the worst thing that can happen, and if you do not have the money up front to pay your parent contribution, then borrow it or whatever portion of it you are short. This will be tough if you have bad credit, so avoid that if you can. Maybe that all sounds simplistic, and I know that it is very stressful when you're the parent dealing with it firsthand, but if you do at least Some planning in advance, it will make things a lot better. For real. I hate this job, I really do. Moving on, I don't have much planned for my weekend--how about you? Francisco and I are probably going to my friend, Kim's, tomorrow night for a housewarming party, but that is it, planwise. I'm glad because I don't want many commitments, I just want to relax. Otherwise this weekend, I decided earlier today that this is it; this is the weekend I teach The Boy how to do laundry. It will be very exciting I am sure. Wow, I have bored you enough for one day. I swear I'll be in a better mood next week. Bear with me--the time of much sorrow is drawing to an end. And by that I mean that May 1 is the deadline to make college decisions; after that there will not be as much heart-breaking to be done, and I will hence be in a happier frame of mind. Godspeed, little doodles, Love,
come over some time & see me - 2011-02-25 |
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