Sunday February 13, 2005
Some of the comments asked about how long dh has to go in school. The answer isn’t clear cut, mostly because they don’t always offer the classes he needs to complete the degree when he needs them, but hopefully he will have the classes he needs to graduate Spring 2006.
He finished his bachelor’s degree by doing 18 hours in the Spring (12 hours is full time), and 12 hours over the summer (6 hours is full time). Now he is doing 9 hours of class work (full time), 6 hours of grading (Graduate Staff Assistant), and 10 hours of teaching a lab (Graduate Teaching Assistant). Yes, he is busting his butt, and he is doing very, very well.
Not only is he ahead in all of his classes (in fact, he is almost finished with a major project not due for another month or so), but is impressing the profs he grades under (hands him a stack of papers to grade on Thursday, and dh has them back to him by Monday….now we have taken the class he is grading for and got used to it being weeks until we saw our homework back, so this time frame is really good) The prof. was also happy with how he graded…what he let slide a bit and what he counted off for, and his comments on the student’s papers…showed that Zach really understood what was going on.
He also impressed the teacher he is a GTA under, first by having a website up for the class in a few days after the class started, and has continued to be happy with how he is teaching the class. A few of the students have come up and asked him when he was going to start teaching “real” classes (not just labs) so they could register to be in his section. That was cool because it isn’t because he is ‘easy” — heck, he has almost no control over what is tested for, nor does he grade for the class, it is because he does a good job explaining stuff, and he includes a lot of stuff that he has learned on his own and isn’t usually taught in the classes that allows the students to really understand the stuff.
It can tough sometimes with him so busy, but it is completely worth it to see him gain confidence and experience some success in life.
About the money stuff I talked about, I wanted to say that we aren’t in a desperately bad situation right now, I was just really irritated about how we were treated by that guy. I have always been treated with respect and kindness by SRS people and when he was so nasty it just threw me for a loop. We got our tax return on Friday (not tons of money since we didn’t earn much, but it still is helpful), and he will be getting a small paycheck throughout the semester. I just want the FS so we don’t get into a desperate situation. We have been eligible for assistance Zane’s entire life (as soon as a child was added, our income has qualified us) and have only been on any kind of assistance for about 12 months of that (on and off), total. We don’t ask for cash assistance, and we didn’t ask for help with our utility bills (LIEP, or something like that) even though we qualified because we were able to make it without, and we know that a lot of people need it more than us (especially people on life supporting equipment) and there are only so many funds available. I am applying with the hope that it is the last short-term stint we will be this poor.
I just want food stamps because it is really hard to swing a healthy diet in this area. Whole grain stuff is pricey, and I really prefer organic milk and eggs to regular stuff. (the organic stuff tastes like I remember them tasting instead of plasticy like the ‘normal’ stuff tastes to me…and organic eggs are still cheaper protein than meat, and we only go through a gallon of milk a week in this house.) Organic fruits, veggies, and meat are way out of our price range, so I don’t worry about that stuff, even with assistance….it doesn’t seem right to me to spend money on that kind of stuff when it isn’t ‘your’ money. If I can find a less expensive source for organic stuff, I would love to since every organic thing I try really does seem to taste better. But there is no way I am paying $4 for an organic bell pepper (or $20/lb for meat) when I cringe at paying $1 for a normal one. We make it work to keep Zane on healthier food, but without some help, that often means that he eats well while we are eating a lot of carbs because they are cheap and filling. I REALLY want to lose weight and be healthier, and that takes some money. (not tons, but it does take some)
We are not, by any stretch, in the worst financial postition we have been in. And, most importantly, we know it should just be a short term thing, relatively speaking. It is a whole lot different to be poor and knowing it should end, and being poor with no light at the end of the tunnel. We have been in both, and I can deal with this a LOT better….most days. lol.
