Michigan: Give Me My Damn Money

I am really pissed off right now.

Back in Junior year of high school I took a test called the Michigan Merit Exam along with every other Junior in a public high school in Michigan.  And I did very well.  My scores qualified me for what is known as the Michigan Merit Scholarship, or the Michigan Promise Scholarship.  What this means is the state of Michigan gives me $1000 a year for the first two years of college and then, at the end of sophomore year, they give me another $2000 to put toward the rest of my education.

Well, this is the beginning of my first semester of Sophomore year.  They’ve given me $500 toward this semester’s tuition.  But something terrible has happened.

Michigan is breaking their promise.

Yes, the state of Michigan has the worst economy in the United States and in order to keep the state from going bankrupt, they’re doing away with the Michigan Promise Scholarship.  And not only am I not going to get the $500 for next semester, or the $2000 at the end of this year…

But I have to give BACK the money they already gave me this semester.

Yep.  I owe the state of Michigan $500.  And not only the $500 from the Michigan “Promise” Scholarship (isn’t that the most ironic name EVER?) but also the FAFSA money they gave me.  My financial aid money.

I can’t do this.  My parents paid my tuition and I pay them back in installments.  This weekend I plan to give them the final payment of this semester’s original tuition and then start saving up for next semester’s.  Well, now I owe them another $500.  I don’t have that kind of money.  I only work 11 hours a week.  I can barely pay the bills.  I’m seriously screwed over.

I don’t understand why Michigan thinks it’s a good idea to cut costs on education.  They obviously don’t want an educated workforce.  It’s not like we can quit school and go work in the factories because the damn state government gave companies subsidies to ship the factories overseas eliminating thousands of jobs.  We’re in a state of economic collapse and I really wish that someone would bail us out of it.

Bailout, you say?  Didn’t the government already spend 700 BILLION DOLLARS on a bailout last year?

Why, yes they did.  And who did they give it to?  The BIG CORPORATIONS.  That’s right.  Big corporations who use the money to save their asses so they can keep making shit that we all can’t afford because we DON’T HAVE MONEY.  Maybe if the government had given US the money instead of the big corporations then we could use that money to buy their products and restart the whole production/consumption cycle.  But no, that would be SOCIALISM.

Ugh.  I swear to God I am leaving this state as soon as I graduate.  I have to go find a place where I can live and get a steady job.  I don’t want to leave Michigan – my family is here – but really, when you look at it, what other options do I have?  I’ve got another two and a half years of school left.  I just hope I can afford it.

Here’s to you, Michigan.  Because of you, hundreds of college students in Michigan will likely drop out of school.  You’re really doing yourself a big favor.

syyskuu is over

Het is alweer een tijdje geleden dat ik iets van me heb laten horen, dus hierzo: een update.

Afgelopen weekend heb ik kennis gemaakt met een cottage-weekend op z’n Fins. Denk: een sauna, een meer, een houten hut, kampvuur, barbeque en dronken Finnen. Véél gelachen, filosofie over het universum, Engels op z’n Frans en kussengevechten. What more do you need ?

Nadat ik het kampvuur uit mijn haar had gewassen en wat slaap had ingehaald kon de nieuwe week alweer beginnen. Mijn Finse uitspraak begint stilaan te lukken en ik moet al niet meer zo hard lachen als ik mensen hoor praten. Toch blijft de Finse les op z’n zachtst gezegd moeilijk en onbegrijpelijk.

Ondertussen zijn ook de mama en papa langs geweest om kennis te maken met Helsinki. Voor mij was het hoogtepunt van hun bezoek misschien wel het eten. Eindelijk fatsoenlijke maaltijden op restaurant en ontbijtbuffet

Gisteren heb ik ook kennis gemaakt met de Finse reggae- en dancehall-scene. “Speciaal” is hier het juiste woord voor.

Verder is het Finse weer plots omgeslagen. Van zonnig naar ijskoud en regen. Sommigen onder jullie zullen het wel weten dat ik nogal wat pret beleef als er dikke regendruppels zijn. (Ik weet dat het vreemd is.) Denk daar nog eens mijn roze regenlaarzen bij en ik ben helemaal in mijn sas. Toen ik net naar buiten was er een zwembad voor de voordeur gevormd. Junailijankuja is een rivier geworden van wel 10 cm diep. Er is hier duidelijk geen waterpas gebruikt bij het aanleggen van ghetto Pasila (Böle voor de Zweden onder ons.).

Moimoi,

Ines

PS 1 : Nicky, nogmaals “hyvää syntymäpäivää” !

PS 2 : Ik verdien een taart.

 

 

Questions

Question: Why do psychiatrists only work weekdays?
Answer:  Because they have better things to do with their time than look after us mentals.

Question: How are you today?
Answer:  I have literally no idea.  I can’t sit still and my head is buzzing, but it’s the same few thoughts buzzing around the whole time.  I’m not in the mood to do anything.

Question:  What’s with all the questions?
Answer:  I’m bored.

Daughter Am I Is Finished!

I received my final proof copy of Daughter Am I, my young woman/old-time gangsters coming of age adventure, and I’ve reluctantly agreed to let it go to the printer.  There is always that moment when you realize this is it — you have to live with any mistakes that end up in the book. If there are any, though, it will be sheer accident. The novel went through several good editings, including a final scrubbing by Deborah J Ledford, fellow Second Wind author and editor extraordinaire. It was also scrupulously copyedited by Donna Russell, (creativemuse1(at)aol(dot)com) a treasure I found on Facebook. So my reluctance is more imaginary than real — the book is as perfect as I can get it.

When I received the final copy edits from Donna, she enclosed a note:

Thank you for the opportunity to edit your book, Daughter Am I.  You certainly put a lot of time and effort into researching all of the historical elements, and did a good job incorporating them into the plot without overwhelming it.  I learned several new things — Hegelian dialect, terms such as “lamster,” and a lot about guns, cars, and the Mafia.  I personally enjoy it when an author sends me to the dictionary or encyclopedia (or Google). There were also many excellent lines in the book. I thought these were especially good:

“The loss of something that never was can be as devastating as any other loss.”

“They thought they could rule by fear, but when fear is around every corner, people lose their fear of the fear.”

“They worked in silence, their excitement so great it seemed to shimmer in the air like a heat mirage.”

“It’s odd—I never used to be aware of old people as real persons. I’m not stupid. I know they weren’t born old, but it didn’t occur to me that heroes and villains, killers and great lovers could be hidden in those feeble bodies.”

I also enjoyed your use of humor, and the way you developed the characters.  It was nice to see Mary grow into a more confident woman, see her influence on the old gangsters, and the way she and they came to genuinely care for one another.  You made me care about the characters.  Have you considered a possible sequel?  I can see the potential for more “adventures.” Anyway, just a thought.

Hmmm. A sequel. Could be interesting, but first I have to sell the original. Luckily, it will be released soon  — maybe in two weeks. Sounds like a good excuse for a party! 

 Daughter Am I will be available soon (!) from Second Wind Publishing, LLC

Saturday morning coffee challenge

We headed to Starbucks this morning for the VIA coffee challenge. Marc was successful in identifying which tiny cup help the instant coffee; I was not. I then suggested that we spend the rest of the day visiting Starbucks all over Manhattan and taking the tasting challenge — eventually I would be able to discern the difference between the two, and think of all the free coffee! — but that idea was vetoed.

4 am...

It’s 4 am and I am wide awake. Poor Mr. G is up with me. Of course, I am shopping online and reading blogs and he is fighting with his new Blackberry. His company upgraded him to a nice Crackberry (3G capabilities) only it won’t receive or send SMS messages to me. Okay… maybe a few more people are affected by it than just me, but at 4 am I can say I am the only one that matters? Back to online shopping!  Look at this shirt that I just bought my sister! Found on Cafe Press

Sprickets

Anyone who knows me knows im deathly afraid of spiders. Iv been telling everyone about these fucking sprickets that have been invading my garage, I’ve only started noticing them over the past year, and have no clue as to were they came from but no one else seems to know what the hell im talking about so I snapped a few photos so you assholes can see what I have to deal with everytime I try and do laundry.