Money makes me happy

Just a few short hours ago, I was complaining to Jacque that I still hadn't received any news of financial aid from my school. And what should I come home to find, but a lovely letter informing me that I qualified for the highest amount of Stafford loans possible! Yay!! The national limit for Stafford loans for graduates is $20,500, which is roughly $10,000 short of the cost of tuition, and less than half of what I'll need overall (you know, to survive and that). But I'm on my way! Now I can apply for the Grad PLUS loan, which has no limit. That should cover the rest. *crosses fingers*

That's a bit of a weight. I like things to be progressing forward. I don't like to have to wait, feeling powerless. Now I can take the next step (which will be followed by more waiting and feelings of impotence).

Also, I finally submitted my housing application, complete with two AWFUL passport-sized photos. The photos aren't quite as bad as my appalling driver's license photo (due to expire in NINE YEARS!) and I don't look stoned, as in my passport photo. Is my beauty really so hard to capture on film?

Anyway, housing applications aren't due until June 30th, at which point all applications will be considered (so, not on a first-come, first-served basis), which makes me wonder when I'll hear back whether I got a room. August? The day before I fly out? I've applied for a studio apartment within the "residence halls" (basically dorms, but with more choices than dorms). This particular residence hall has single rooms (shared bathroom, meal plan), single studios (private bathroom and kitchenette, no meal plan), double studios (for couples), and even apartments to accommodate families. Families! In the residence halls! Ain't that swell? I realize that might sound sarcastic, but I actually think it's pretty cool. Though ask me again in a year, when I've been sharing a common room TV with a bunch of kids. Kids like "The Mighty Boosh," right?

Also, um, you should go to PangeaDay.org and watch the lovely, lovely films made by people all over the world. Watch out, though, many of them are tearjerkers. But it'll be worth it, cuz you'll learn new things about all sorts of countries and cultures and you'll be inspired to save the world and heal all the booboos (meaning owies, not the race of invisible, shape-shifting dogs that my little sister imagined as a child). So do it!

Now it's time to make myself some Hamburger Helper.

Rejoice!

Yaaaay! My big, ugly, space-eating TV is gone! I rarely used it, seeing as how I'm too cheap to pay for cable, and I didn't even get basic channels on it. Who needs TV when you have the internet? I can watch the Office on NBC's website, and I can watch movies from Netflix online, and I can watch DVDs on my laptop. So the giant TV had to go. Ian came to take it away, and now I have more room for, you know, pretty furniture. I'm excited to rearrange my furniture. And I even got a free dinner out of the deal!

So, I got my lip waxed on Sunday (probably should have done it years ago). Two days later, and my lip still looks a bit like a field of land mines. Here's what happened.

Becky suggested this place in Redmond that she had been to before, which was cheap. We walk in, we're taken to a shabby looking back room, I'm told to lay down, the woman immediately applies the wax, then rips it off. The whole experience was over in three minutes, and it cost a grand total of $5. Awesome deal, right? Except for the burning sensation that lasted for several hours. And the hives that broke out on my lip ten minutes afterward. And the glowing red color of my lip, which lasted well into the following day. I figured it would die down overnight, but nooooo. The next morning, land mines. Or more specifically, tiny zits covering my whole lip (I really prefer the British word for zits, "spots"). Luckily, I had bought concealer the same day, so I was able to hide the glowing redness in order to go to work. I was afraid I was gonna have to call in sick!

Today, the inflammation has gone down, but it's still all bumpy. Afterward, when I was complaining to Becky that it was really inflamed, she was like, "Yeah, it'll be like that for about a day." I'm pretty sure that's not normal. When I used to wax with home products, I never had inflammation longer than 10 minutes. And those were home products! I totally won't be going back there for waxing, but I wonder how much their pedicures cost...

Oh, and on my To Do List, I forgot to put:
6b. √Buy plane ticket to LONDON!!!! (Less than $500! Sweet!)