I hate the fact that scholarships are considered taxable income.
Srsly, for reals, and all that.
See, I got about 7300 in scholarship credit according to my form. The expense calculated was about 7990.
I originally, with my money made from work, got $100 in credit. But because I have to claim my scholarships as income, which they wanted 350 for taxes on, I owe the government 250.
If Mom doesn't claim me as a dependant and I claim myself, then I don't have to pay the scholarship taxes and I get to keep my refund.
If Mom does claim me as a dependant and doesn't claim the expenses, then she doens't get any money, and I have to pay.
If Mom does claim me as a dependant and claims the expenses, I have to pay stilll, but shes looking to get over 1000 back.
Despite the fact that I paid for school,not her, she gets the refund and I get to pay the taxes.
Now, because I have to pay, basically, I shouldn't be remaining exempt for 2008, because I do have some tax liability, but you know what, screw it, they let me put in for it and I had to put the form in before I even knew if I was liable or not.
I'm hoping she does that and reimburses me at least the 350, if not go halvsies with me so I don't have to live paycheck to paycheck over the summer to pay off the loan for my car/summer courses. $300+/month? On a bagger's salary, making maybe $100/week working weekends....
I need at least two weeks off in May and one in July, so that only leaves me, if there's 4 weeks per month, 9 weeks to work. $900 in 3 months, after using up all my savings. I'll have to pick up shifts at work somehow after school, and get Dad to loan me money for gas to go to school.
It'll be hard, and I'm going to hate it, but its something I need to do.
On a related note, GOD DAMN GOVERNMENT TAKING THE MONEY THEY GIVE ME.
I SWEAR, is that not the definition of extortion? Giving someone money then demanding money back from them on it?
The scholarships ARE my income. They aren't supposed to be a loan, but because they're 'income', I have to pay taxes on them. Give them money back for the privledge of using their money.
So essentially they wanted me to give them their money back for the privledge of using the money they gave me in the first place. But because I kinda spent it to pay them, the state, they want MORE.
Loan sharking much?
So now I have to find a way to get more money to pay them AGAIN for the money they gave me in the first place.
And my mother gets a nice check for me paying for my own schooling.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Love Psalm
So it is official then that I win at life.
Or maybe not so much life but at least my current academic world.
Despite being grossly underslept, I still somehow managed to get a 93 on my Microbiology test (highest grade a 94), an 87 on my Zoology test (highest grade was a 95.5, next highest were 82 and 81), get a 95 on my American Government test, and write a perfect paper for Dr. English, who is notorious for only giving out maybe one or two perfect scores the whole semester.
And it isn't so much the fact that I "didn't do good enough" by not having the highest grades, but more so I have a challenger to my "win" status that keeps me on my academic toes and pushing harder and harder.
Or maybe not so much life but at least my current academic world.
Despite being grossly underslept, I still somehow managed to get a 93 on my Microbiology test (highest grade a 94), an 87 on my Zoology test (highest grade was a 95.5, next highest were 82 and 81), get a 95 on my American Government test, and write a perfect paper for Dr. English, who is notorious for only giving out maybe one or two perfect scores the whole semester.
And it isn't so much the fact that I "didn't do good enough" by not having the highest grades, but more so I have a challenger to my "win" status that keeps me on my academic toes and pushing harder and harder.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Pulse of Life
What a beautiful day today. Woke up, took a shower, made myself pretty, got some yoghurt and some granola and was off to computer science. Pleasant class discussing the ethics of computing. I drew.
Then Biology 102 was apparently cancelled, so I read outside the library and sipped some coffee. Then half of Government was wasted waiting for a computer for the teacher, so I discussed my old Women's Studies professor with some of her new students. Learned some tricks for Excel and Word from Pr. Q (who is not to be addressed a 'the great Q-man'). Met Wes for lunch, joked, then read an essay on the Black Plague for my English paper. It focused on how it wasn't the disease so much as the abandonment and loss of future people felt from the extreme death that the disease caused. How "Charity was Dead".
So I was going off to Engish class, but needed to pee. Found a girl sitting on the bathroom floor.
Those floors are nasty, so I figured she wasn't just waiting, so I looked closer.
Pallor, sweating, shallow breaths, abdominal pain around the uterus. I asked her if she was okay, and she said 'oh yeah, I'm fine'. So I knelt down and asked her again, because she didn't look okay. She admitted she left her test to go throw up because her cramps were that bad.
Got a quick history (ever happen before? What you eat? How long?), got her to lay down to rest on her bookbag, got compresses of paper towels for her abdomen and forehead/back of neck (warm and cool, respectively). Brought her fever down, got her calm, eased the pain some. She was feeling weak and couldn't stand up for us.
Well, us, because one of the professors (Dr. Zoology Lab) walked in and helped as well. Called Health Services, who were so busy with people in their office who had the flu that it took a while, but eventually they sent a nurse. Who then checked her blood pressure (98/66 with a bpm of 70, normal range, kinda low blood pressure but she was laying down) and glucose levels and found her to be normal. Called the EMS anyway, who put her on a stretcher and took her to the ER.
I got to ride in the front, then we waited in the waiting room since she got better. Was able to walk now, whereas before she couldn't even stand up. I got her to talk to me, tell me about herself, so she calmed down and all her symptoms went away. Her parents showed up and she walked out against medical advice.
I'm going to call her later, or at least knock on her door since she's on my floor, to check on her.
But I had to miss English. Dr. Zoology Lab did do as I asked though and told Dr. English where I was going and why I wasn't going to be in class. I emailed Dr. E later, clarifying that he did get the message and all, and he said, "Good job vanquishing Evil today!"
I'm not sure what evil I vanquished, but at least I did a good job at it.
I certainly do have a topic to add into my English paper though. Though I'm quite sure she didn't have the plague, still applies.
Then Biology 102 was apparently cancelled, so I read outside the library and sipped some coffee. Then half of Government was wasted waiting for a computer for the teacher, so I discussed my old Women's Studies professor with some of her new students. Learned some tricks for Excel and Word from Pr. Q (who is not to be addressed a 'the great Q-man'). Met Wes for lunch, joked, then read an essay on the Black Plague for my English paper. It focused on how it wasn't the disease so much as the abandonment and loss of future people felt from the extreme death that the disease caused. How "Charity was Dead".
So I was going off to Engish class, but needed to pee. Found a girl sitting on the bathroom floor.
Those floors are nasty, so I figured she wasn't just waiting, so I looked closer.
Pallor, sweating, shallow breaths, abdominal pain around the uterus. I asked her if she was okay, and she said 'oh yeah, I'm fine'. So I knelt down and asked her again, because she didn't look okay. She admitted she left her test to go throw up because her cramps were that bad.
Got a quick history (ever happen before? What you eat? How long?), got her to lay down to rest on her bookbag, got compresses of paper towels for her abdomen and forehead/back of neck (warm and cool, respectively). Brought her fever down, got her calm, eased the pain some. She was feeling weak and couldn't stand up for us.
Well, us, because one of the professors (Dr. Zoology Lab) walked in and helped as well. Called Health Services, who were so busy with people in their office who had the flu that it took a while, but eventually they sent a nurse. Who then checked her blood pressure (98/66 with a bpm of 70, normal range, kinda low blood pressure but she was laying down) and glucose levels and found her to be normal. Called the EMS anyway, who put her on a stretcher and took her to the ER.
I got to ride in the front, then we waited in the waiting room since she got better. Was able to walk now, whereas before she couldn't even stand up. I got her to talk to me, tell me about herself, so she calmed down and all her symptoms went away. Her parents showed up and she walked out against medical advice.
I'm going to call her later, or at least knock on her door since she's on my floor, to check on her.
But I had to miss English. Dr. Zoology Lab did do as I asked though and told Dr. English where I was going and why I wasn't going to be in class. I emailed Dr. E later, clarifying that he did get the message and all, and he said, "Good job vanquishing Evil today!"
I'm not sure what evil I vanquished, but at least I did a good job at it.
I certainly do have a topic to add into my English paper though. Though I'm quite sure she didn't have the plague, still applies.
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