Good News

There are no student loans, The News told me. They have dried up. Bone dry. Drier than a Chenin Blanc. No loans. NO. LOANS.

It was with some trepidation, then, that I applied for financial aid. I just wanted a little under two grand a semester, enough to cover tuition so that I wouldn't burn through my savings or forgo every small luxury. Enough loan to breathe.

I checked my mail every day for the last three weeks, anxiously hoping for and simultaneously dreading a cream envelope with the navy Cambridge College insignia. I nervously logged on to my college email account and my college e-portfolio-thing looking for news.

Spit it out, kStyle.

OK! They gave me the maximum possible subsidized Stafford loan per semester! That's $8500 each semester. It's ridiculously more than I even need. Then they threw in an extra $500 in unsubsidized Stafford per semester, just in case.

Thank you, Uncle Sam.

Mellow Mix

I'm having way too much fun with iTunes this weekend. In no particular order, here are the songs of my Mellow Mix:

Name Artist
Salala (Featuring Peter Gabriel) Angelique Kidjo featuring Peter Gabriel (Thanks, Larry!)
Aguas De Marco Bossacucanova
Space Oddity David Bowie
That's The Way Of The World Earth Wind & Fire
World Seems To Come And Go Holly Cole
Didjtal Vibrations Jamiroquai
What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong
White Lexus Mike Doughty
Crumblin' Erb Outkast
Golden Lady Stevie Wonder
My Cherie Amour Stevie Wonder
Amber 311
Galileo Indigo Girls
Down on the river by the sugar plant Mike Doughty
True Dreams Of Wichita Soul Coughing
Flake Jack Johnson

New Template

Blogger has a nice pink template! Have I told you my theory about pink? I swear to goodness that people are nicer to me when I wear pink. I think that Margaret Atwood mentions this theory in one of her novels, too.

She totally got that from me.

Employ Me! And, Your Music Suggestions Requested

I am striking out applying for school positions. I began, optimistically, by applying for full-time faculty and then broadened my scope to include "support staff" positions (ie, tutor, permanent substitute teacher). I have a few theories:

1. Education is even clubbier than other fields. You have to know someone. This is why it's useful to have my dad make calls, but he doesn't know anyone at most of the schools to which I've applied.

2. I may not know the "code" for education applications yet. Each field has certain keys to a successful resume, which may or may not apply to other fields. In publishing production departments, for example, the interview-worthy resume must list at least Office Suite, and preferably includes "Adobe Suite" and "dual platform" as well. We love phrases like "detail-oriented" and "within budget". Outsiders may not realize that the humble PowerPoint can make or break a resume. I suspect that there is a Magical Incantation for the Education Resume that I'm missing.

3. The economy is, shall we say, soft, which means less funding in the town budgets for school faculty and staff.

4. I won't apply for special ed jobs. I know, I just know, that I lack the particular flavor of patience needed to work in special education.

Sigh.

***
Onto a happier topic. I need workout tunes! Not fast, peppy cardio tunes, but slower, more deliberate weight lifting/calisthenics ones. Poor G. is going to lose his mind if I play any more Bowie. Here's my playlist thus far:

Damien Marley--Beautiful
Bob Marley--Jammin (too sweet for the tough business of weights)
Spoon--I Turn My Camera On*
The Dandy Warhols--We Used to Be Friends* (too played out)
Chromeo--Fancy Footwork
Gaudi--Ayahuasca Deep Fall
Stevie--Higher Ground (too slow, surprisingly)
Jamiroquai--Traveling without Moving, Alright (too dancey), and Virtual Insanity (too negative)
Prince--Musicology
Beatles--Good Day Sunshine, Taxman (way too fast)
Weezer--Island in the Sun

MIA--assorted songs (don't know the titles. may all get deleted on account of being slightly irritating)


So, post me your recs!


*Yes, I bought the Veronica Mars soundtrack.

All this talk of the suddenly-famous Hockey Mom

...is reminding me of a fantastic quote from last season's 30 Rock. In the uproarious "MILF Island" episode, Jack Donaghy (fictitious NBC Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming) reports that new reality TV star Debora (pronounced de-BOR-ah) is a hit with all the major demographics:

"soccer moms, NASCAR dads, white-collar pervs, and the obese.”

Raised by...

A dear friend who is a liberal but chose to stay home (mostly) and raise her kid pointed out that no one will play the "childcare" card with Palin, as they shouldn't, but who the heck is raising her (FIVE) kids (one of whom has Down's Syndrome) while she runs the state, runs for VP, and runs marathons?

I posed this question to my dear husband. He thought about it for a moment, and said, "Elks."

My head is full of stuffy

I'm home sick today. I have the sort of stuffed head that reduces reading comprehension, which is Just Not Safe in the publishing industry. I've worked feeling like this before. Inevitably, the fog inside causes me to do something dumb, which I then pay for in a couple of weeks. (Who make that edit? Oh...oh.)

I have an appointment to see the NP at 11:45, when we shall play the game, "Virus, infection, or ragweed?"

UPDATE: It's "just" allergies, but it turns out that I am Very, Very Allergic. The NP looked into my nose, ears, and mouth. She said that the lining of the nasal passages should be the same color as the lining of the mouth. Bright red tissue means infection, pale pink tissue with a film of fluid means allergies. My nasal tissue is white, not even a hint of pink, and covered with lots and lots of fluid. I am already taking Claritin every morning and Chlor-Trimeton every night, leaving just Flo-Nase to add to the arsenal. Grrreeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat