Talk About An Oxymoron.

(photo: Jed in front of the van)
Today's been a car day. First my mom locked her keys in the car... so I had to put the kids in the car, drive to Burlington, to pick her up, so she could go home & get the spare...

Later, my dad said that one of the shocks in the strut on the van is going bad. I've been hinting at him test driving it for a couple of weeks - I just knew something was going on. So I ordered the part. Rod came home from work & picked it up. Meanwhile my dad was over, to help change it, when he realized that we needed a special tool, in order to put it in....

At first we thought we'd rent the tool from Schucks - it was $49.99 for the day. But they didn't have one. Rod called around and the Schucks in Sedro Woolley had the special tool for sale for $39.99. Go figure! So we drove to Sedro Woolley to pick it up. Then we drove out to my parents to switch cars, so that my dad can work on it tomorrow. I guess if he needs help, he'll wait until Rod gets off work.

Rod got an email from one of the advisers at Skagit, saying that if he didn't turn in a FAFSA application that they wouldn't pay for his Spring quarter classes. So he got online & filled it out. We spent an hour or so looking for 2007's tax records... other years are filed and right where they are supposed to be... 2007's weren't. Apparently, he may be eligible for a grant. Who knew?

Then he got another email, from the workforce people saying that, because of all of the people applying for the workforce program, that all workforce students have to pay for their own books - uh... a couple hundred dollars??? Are you kidding me? He was approved last Sept for tuition AND books! Literally, if Rod wasn't working, we could not pay for the books that would allow for him to continue to go to school and stay on unemployment. A month or so ago, we were barely paying our rent - books would have been a luxury! Talk about an oxymoron. It irritates me - we are trying to get on our feet - and things like this DO NOT help!

The workforce people want Rod to stay in the program. You would think that keeping Rod happy would keep him in the program. It makes them look bad if he doesn't finish. Go figure. He's not in it for them! I want Rod to finish because he's always wanted a degree. Workforce is supposed to pay for two more quarters. Rod'll end up with two certificates. If he wants a degree, I think he needs two more quarters. That's almost tangible - if we ever get that far.