hidden bombshell
bonus: when the boss comes out and says "Go home and hour and a half early today."
extra bonus: when the boss asks "Who wants a day off tomorrow?"
SchquaBAM! You know I volunteered for the day off!!
So long as it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll use the day to sneak in another ride at Suwanee Greenway, this time doing for a little extra distance but at a chilled out pace. Maybe I'll take another stab at finding the geocaches I gave up on that are in the park where my ride ends, which I gave up on the weekend before last. I'd use tomorrow to go back to Gainesville College Trail, but the parking lot will be filled with student cars and I don't have a valid parking pass...so that trail will be weekends only for me until I start school.
I haven't really said anything about it on here, because i don't want to jinx it, but I actually register and go to orientation on thursday, to start in the Web Design Diploma program at Lanier Technical College April 7th. It's a huge step for me. Getting into school is a big chunk of the set of goals I had when I decided to remove myself from Atlanta and start building Robert Ashton v2.0. I want to be a real actual adult person with a skillset other than mixing records.
So far, the school thing has been the usual hassle. I have -really bad luck- with all things school related. This time around its all about financial aid issues. To make a long story short, the FAFSA folks who dole out the aid didn't believe I actually only made $375 total in 2005 (yes you read that right...only $375...excluding the paintings I sold which weren't on the books), so they have sent me two lengthy additional verification process paperwork mountains...each one crawling further up my ass about how I actually could make such a small amount of money, and not be living in a a grocery cart.
Just last week, they sent me ANOTHER (3rd) set of verification paperwork, which resulted in my second trip to see the financial aid advisor, who basically told me I didn't need to fill out all that crap, took the paperwork from me, and said "Just come in and register for what classes you want...you are going to get the Hope Grant, but you won't have anything on paper that says so by the time registration happens, so just tell them you got it when they ask you to pay". SOUNDS SKETCHY RIGHT? I mean, I asked her previously, and she said I would receive a letter with an actual dollar amount of my award.
So now I am kind of flying blind as far as how many classes I should register for...its like I won't find out til I get to the point where they actually want me to fork over some dough...which is about the most asinine thing I have ever heard. How is a person supposed to make plans when the system works like this? Also, you can't go into the financial aid officers office and rail out on her, because then you might end up with no free money at all. UGH...it's been a rough start...but hopefully the actual going to classes and learning part will go alot smoother. Thursday at registration though, I am expecting to have my patience tried.
Anyway, some of you folks are probably scoffing because I am not going to a -real- school and won't get any kind of -real degree-, but I can't help but think that I made a practical decision by taking this Technical College route. At 36 I am coming into the web design game waaaay late, and I just couldn't justify trying to go to a more traditional school to learn the same skill set, and have to take a bunch of unnecessary academics, which I would spend $ on but never use the knowledge from. I also know full well that I am taking the web design route just as much for applying it to my personal creative endeavours as I am hoping it'll eventually net a somewhat secure realistic adult job.
There are a few of you who know how big this is for me though, even if its not a big proper school, and how much change has had to happen in my life for me to get to this point...so maybe you can send me some good luck vibes through the ether...I'll need em knowing my luck with school in the past.
The Lanier Tech campus is shared with Gainesville State which is why my parking pass will allow me to ride the Gainesville College Trail on weekdays.
extra bonus: when the boss asks "Who wants a day off tomorrow?"
SchquaBAM! You know I volunteered for the day off!!
So long as it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll use the day to sneak in another ride at Suwanee Greenway, this time doing for a little extra distance but at a chilled out pace. Maybe I'll take another stab at finding the geocaches I gave up on that are in the park where my ride ends, which I gave up on the weekend before last. I'd use tomorrow to go back to Gainesville College Trail, but the parking lot will be filled with student cars and I don't have a valid parking pass...so that trail will be weekends only for me until I start school.
I haven't really said anything about it on here, because i don't want to jinx it, but I actually register and go to orientation on thursday, to start in the Web Design Diploma program at Lanier Technical College April 7th. It's a huge step for me. Getting into school is a big chunk of the set of goals I had when I decided to remove myself from Atlanta and start building Robert Ashton v2.0. I want to be a real actual adult person with a skillset other than mixing records.
So far, the school thing has been the usual hassle. I have -really bad luck- with all things school related. This time around its all about financial aid issues. To make a long story short, the FAFSA folks who dole out the aid didn't believe I actually only made $375 total in 2005 (yes you read that right...only $375...excluding the paintings I sold which weren't on the books), so they have sent me two lengthy additional verification process paperwork mountains...each one crawling further up my ass about how I actually could make such a small amount of money, and not be living in a a grocery cart.
Just last week, they sent me ANOTHER (3rd) set of verification paperwork, which resulted in my second trip to see the financial aid advisor, who basically told me I didn't need to fill out all that crap, took the paperwork from me, and said "Just come in and register for what classes you want...you are going to get the Hope Grant, but you won't have anything on paper that says so by the time registration happens, so just tell them you got it when they ask you to pay". SOUNDS SKETCHY RIGHT? I mean, I asked her previously, and she said I would receive a letter with an actual dollar amount of my award.
So now I am kind of flying blind as far as how many classes I should register for...its like I won't find out til I get to the point where they actually want me to fork over some dough...which is about the most asinine thing I have ever heard. How is a person supposed to make plans when the system works like this? Also, you can't go into the financial aid officers office and rail out on her, because then you might end up with no free money at all. UGH...it's been a rough start...but hopefully the actual going to classes and learning part will go alot smoother. Thursday at registration though, I am expecting to have my patience tried.
Anyway, some of you folks are probably scoffing because I am not going to a -real- school and won't get any kind of -real degree-, but I can't help but think that I made a practical decision by taking this Technical College route. At 36 I am coming into the web design game waaaay late, and I just couldn't justify trying to go to a more traditional school to learn the same skill set, and have to take a bunch of unnecessary academics, which I would spend $ on but never use the knowledge from. I also know full well that I am taking the web design route just as much for applying it to my personal creative endeavours as I am hoping it'll eventually net a somewhat secure realistic adult job.
There are a few of you who know how big this is for me though, even if its not a big proper school, and how much change has had to happen in my life for me to get to this point...so maybe you can send me some good luck vibes through the ether...I'll need em knowing my luck with school in the past.
The Lanier Tech campus is shared with Gainesville State which is why my parking pass will allow me to ride the Gainesville College Trail on weekdays.