Money ... that's what I want.

The best things in life are free.

I firmly believe that.

Unfortunately, some of the "less than best" things in life cost money.

In case you haven't guessed, I spent the start of my morning in the financial assistance office (why is financial "aid" no longer PC?). Many graduate students get loans during their pursuit of higher education. But I, as always, tend to make things more difficult for myself.

Like I turned in the application late. Without W2s. Then I forgot that at the beginning of 2005, I wasn't actually here (despite the sense of permanance at my current university), so I had to get a second W2. And the financial assistance office refuses to understand that it is impossible for me to be living in Buffalo, NY and going to school in PA, so they consistently send my mail to my parents' house, then my poor mother has to send it back to me in PA. So, the relatively easy process of getting a student loan has taken months (hello -- the semester is almost OVER!). Sigh. I hope they get it right this time and I actually see a check before Christmas.

Not that I want anyone to think I am desperate for money. I get paid enough as a teaching assistant to get by. But there are a few things I would like money for this semester that are just out of my current financial reach.
For example:
~ fixing the brakes on my car so that the grinding metal noise stops
~ paying off some credit card debt (APR > 20%, as opposed to student loan of 0)
~ buying some plane tickets to Costa Rica

Now, I know the last one seems a bit frivolous. But, the Costa Rican plane tickets are not for a "Grad Students Gone Wild" Spring Break. The trip will actually be for some field work on the fish that I study here in the lab in PA. I really like the work that I am doing studying these fish and their behavior. But every good behavioral scientists knows that some field work to help support the ideas of laboratory work is not only a good idea but necessary for a great dissertation.

So, please keep your fingers crossed for me as I await a check!