Just a "few more days/ weeks."
Since October PEI student loans have been jerking us around.
We sent our information to the respective provinces loan departments in August... 4-6 weeks before classes started. Both wanted our SIN and a signature saying they could look at our income tax stuff... PEI wanted that AND my paperwork from my return for last year (for some reason, I guess my SIN and signature saying "yes you can look" on a piece of paper stating "I _____ hereby give... permission... signed _______ on ________" means "but only provided the information I have given you permission to look at is sent to you in hard copy too.) So we sent in all of the information. Bethany's income tax was taking forever but that was okay... With some help from MP Joe Mc(Mac?) Guire, in Summerside it finally came in and got rushed from Revenu Canada (RC) to Charolttetown PEI.
October came and went. We called them every other day and they told us "there's nothing holding it back you should get it soon". November came, "Nothing holding it back you should get it any day now". Meanwhile we're dipping into the surplus from my first semester and there's about $1100 left. December came... On the first we called them, livid, because ABU wanted money, we needed rent money, we needed Christmas money, we needed money for fuel, to pay bills, and MBNA was harassing us for "just $46 more dollars".
"Sorry we didn't tell you before; the information your husband sent [in F****** August] was incorrect. We need you to send schedual X and Xi." You know cause they didn't have written permission to look at my tax return online or have it sent from RC so they could look at it. So... on December 2, 2006 I RUSHED them my tax information from 2006. I paid $10 to have it get there overnight... We paid rent, $510, Groceries for most of December, $120, Fuel for Golf Cart, $55/ tank, Phone/ Internet, $100, cable, $45, and I think we went out to dinner which was about $45 at East Side. $270 left to live off of until my student loan came in. January's rent was another $510... and more expenses.
The day after we sent my tax stuff we called PEI SL. They received it and it would be the 23rd of December before we got the money. "It will be in the mail on the 23rd of this month". Greatful that the ordeal was finally over we did some number crunching and figured on a surplus next semester of almost $10,000. We'd be okay.
Things happened and Bethany was now no longer a student. A combination of being sick, low marks, and lack of money for tuition having been paid made up for that... But it was okay because on the 23rd our money was coming in and we'de figure something out in the meanwhile when we got home from Christmas vacation. We went to Summerside for a couple weeks. The 23rd came, the mail slot opened, "bill, bill, bill, Flyer, Card... No papers". Paulette calls PEI SL. "why are'nt the papers in, you people promised they'd be in on the 23rd."
"Oh... um, They missed the deadline of November 14th to get all of their paperwork in, we can't process anything for first semester after the 14th of November."
"Well yas didn't tell them they were missing information until December how would they know if they weren't told?"
"Well there's nothing we can do you'll have to appeal..."
*click*
Annoyed, we sent off Bethany's appeal, we sent a letter from Joe M(a)c Guire as well. We had $200. Christmas came, and went. We couldn't get anyone gifts cause we needed all of our money for rent in January. We had to borrow $310 from my mother to pay rent for January.
We got an e-mail from PEI SL telling us that Bethany's appeal went through and she was going to get her first semesters money. *Sigh* glad that's over. Oh wait we read too much into "you will receive funds for last semester" cause apparently it was alagorical (like a bible story) and didn't really mean "you're getting money". It meant more like "you would get money if you were still in school but [since we fucked up and didn't give you money for last semester like we promised leading (partly) to your expulsion] since you're no longer in school [cause we didn't give you money] we can't trust you'll spend the money on educational costs [so fuck you]." Well of course it's not all going to educational costs. We have bills. Rent doesn't pay itself, cable isn't free, the internet only pays you if you have some sort of internet business... bunch of stupids.
They told us the only way we could get the money was if Bethany re-applied for first semester (cause that makes sense) and was enrolled in some sort of Post Secondary Study. She applied and got into Athabasca (*yay*). We re-applied for her loan. Now we're back to just a few more days, nothing being requested, nothing holding it back. I have half a mind to take this to the press. Paulette was going to too. But we need money for rent, food, fuel, llqp test, cable, phone/ internet... It's really annoying to be so close to being completely broke. Our bills for the month is $700 and we have $500. My student loans are tapped, friends can't help cause they are all poor too cause they are students. I can't wait until this is over. I'm tired of getting food-bank food, choosing between one or another credit card to pay, shoosing between cable and internet to pay off (internet/ phone won). I'm tired of not haing the money, especially when we planned on having such a big surplus.
Funny thing though. We decided to buy a lotto ticket. If it had won it'd have been worth $2,000,000... we won $2.