I actually got a fair amount accomplished yesterday.
In the morning, I faxed my forbearance paperwork to the loans people, with an attached letter explaining that I was sending it so that it would be processed more quickly, even though I mailed them a paper copy a week ago. It apparently sent just fine with no issues, so they've now had two copies sent to them, copies which they can look at and work on and be happy with -- except, like a moron, I forgot to sign and date the newly faxed form. So now, this morning on West campus, I have to fax another, third form, to them to get them to work on it in a timely manner, and I basically burned another "business day" in the process.
I'm really getting sick of this bullshit. I signed the first one and mailed it, of course, so that's still there and on its way, but it's ludicrous that it takes this long and that there's not an easier way aside from mail or fax. It's 2013; shouldn't there be a way to fill out an application for this online by typing into text boxes and then searching my HD for a digital copy of my pay stub to attach to it like an email attachment? This faxing and mailing shit is slow and ponderous and drives me up the wall. It really doesn't help my stress levels at all at a time of the year when my stresses are at an all-time high. I want this done, I want it taken care of, and most of all, I don't want to worry about it anymore. Waiting days and weeks at a time to get the people doing the paperwork to sort though it is terrifying, and it's burning time that I don't have to burn.
I keep reminding myself that people go through this sort of thing all the time and get it sorted out, and I keep reminding myself that this isn't really a big deal because I clearly qualify for forbearance based on my (quite low) pay -- but until it's done and over with I cannot stop stressing out about it. I am not a patient person. It's something that desperately just needs to be done. I also learned last night that there's no way to "postpone a payment" for a month as I was told -- it's just another way of them saying "apply for forbearance." Well, okay, I've done that. Like, three times now. And a fourth today. Now process the fucking forms, please. Just do it. Time is wasting.
On the plus side, I won't go into default if it takes them longer than the due date to process the forbearance, only delinquency. It has to be in delinquency for 270 days before it goes into the default category, so that's good, right? Delinquency may affect my credit rating in the short run if that forbearance timeframe runs past the due date of my first bill, but I really, really don't have a choice here, folks. I simply do not have the money. There's nothing else I can do. Literally nothing else. It won't even let me pay it with a credit card -- it all has to be from a checking or savings account. I checked. That's bullshit in itself. This is why they just have to do it.
Anyway. This morning I'll fax that other set of paperwork to them and then I'll (hopefully) get a response that they're working on it sometime later this week. I mean, there's really nothing else I can do. If I go into delinquency, I do -- and it'll be their fault, not mine for lack of trying since I've been sending them stuff over and over, and it's not my fault they took four days to update my account after my grace period ended.
Again, I know it will get all sorted out, but shit, the timeframe is so frustrating. I have enough shit to worry about and deal with; I don't need this as well.
Today/tonight I will (hopefully) teach my last Tuesday/Thursday classes of the semester. My 101 students are turning in their final papers today and are taking their practice final. My 210 students are giving their oral presentations, starting as early as possible. All I'll have to do on Thursday, hopefully, is go in there in the morning, give the 101 students their final exam, and come home, which means my weekend should start about twelve hours earlier than normal. This is good, as it's supposed to snow on Thursday afternoon/night here...and it's supposed to be in the 60s here today. I'm not kidding:
Yeah, that's the actual forecast. I just screencapped it.
Again, welcome to Kansas, where if you don't like the weather...wait five minutes.
It's actually below freezing now -- 28 degrees -- as I type this at 5:40 AM. It was in the mid-60s yesterday afternoon when I came home. Now, mind you, it is December, but as always, this warm/cold, warm/cold, warm/cold/snow weather cycle is killing my allergies because I can't get used to any sort of weather for any duration of time. When I was in Omaha last week, it was bitterly cold with 20-30mph winds all the time, and there was snow on the ground there which had been there (according to Daisy and her family) for well over a week. Omaha isn't incredibly far from here -- it's not like it's thousands of miles away, only 300 or so. I can't remember the actual mile count, really. I know it's 200 miles from Concordia, the little town we stop at in northern Kansas, and that's probably around 100 from here, so it's an average at best. Yet, still, snow on the ground. It's nutty, I swear.
Daisy is supposed to find out this week about whether she got her new job up there or not. I'm hoping she finds out sooner rather than later. I was told yesterday morning in the department that I will have several classes in the spring, and not to worry about that, reaffirming my assumptions and further calming my fears there. I told the administration once more that I'll take anything and everything they can give me, as I'll need the money. Desperately. I was assured I'll be fine once more. I already know for certain that I'll have most of my current 101 students in a 102 class on West campus on the same times/days my 101 class is held over there now, and that more than likely I'll get the once-a-week 210 class over there on Wednesday nights as well. I'm good to teach anything the administration throws my way, and added that I love doing the 011 class I'm teaching now because it's fun -- which really seemed to visibly calm the fears of the office administrator. So, I'm not exactly worried about the spring semester. All I'm worried about for spring is the weather in the first half of the semester or so, and having enough money to pay the bills and save up a bit for the wedding and afterwards. After the wedding, I don't know where we'll be living and/or if I will continue teaching here or anywhere else for the fall -- it depends heavily on where we end up and what sort of job Daisy has at that time, but the big thing is that I'll no longer be doing everything all on my own since we'll have a dual-income household regardless. It's really these next few weeks and the next month or so overall where I'll be a little panicky about finances and the like. I really can't do much about that, to be honest with you. I just have to wait to see where the cards fall.
Yesterday I also learned my "grading partners" and the location of my room for my 011 students' final exam. The room for the exam is on the bottom floor of the building the English Department is in -- it's the first time I've ever been able to give an exam in my "home building" since I've been teaching for the university. My grading partners are the Director himself for my 101 final, and one of our fellow poet GTAs for the 011 final. The Director doesn't teach a 101 class this semester, so I don't have to "trade" exams with him; he just has to grade mine. I asked him about this yesterday morning, and he said he'll be there early on Monday morning so we could get them all done quickly. The poet GTA grading my 011 exams is an awesome guy, and we'll be able to knock them out quickly (I assume, anyway), so there's a really good chance I'll be done fairly early on Monday afternoon and will have all of my grades entered into the system. I'll be able to enter my 210 class's grades into the system tomorrow at the earliest, really, as that class should end tonight. I am really antsy to get all of it finished and done with so that I can focus on more pressing matters (such as bills, paying my car insurance this month, and taking care of the forbearance thing).
On that note, I'm getting a shower and getting dressed for the day, my last long day of the semester (hopefully). It can't end soon enough.
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