What a weekend!
The South Carolina Democratic Convention was held this weekend. Since South Carolina has the first primary in the South, it's rather important for any candidate serious about winning the race to have a good showing here next January. So, every candidate (except Gravel) either showed up themselves or had representatives come to our little get-together.
I still haven't made up my mind who I'm voting for, but my rankings have changed a bit after this weekend's festivities. As of now, here's the break-down:
1) Joe Biden. The man is one of the most experienced, knowledgeable, articulate, approachable, and dignified candidates I've ever had the opportunity to meet. He seems to have a real plan for virtually every issue being addressed in this race. The only downside I've seen so far is he does have a tendency to put his foot in his mouth at times (a trait that has been FAR overstated in the media), but so what? Our current President doesn't?
2) Bill Richardson. This is a tough decision for me. I'm tempted to rank him above Joe Biden due to his stance on gun control and experience as the governor of New Mexico and as Clinton's Secretary of Energy. He's not as gifted an orator as Senator Biden and not quite as talented a debater as some of the other candidates, but he's still an amazing candidate with some very workable ideas. He loses a few points in my book due to his stance on immigration (he's basically in favor of the militarization of the border being floated in right-wing circles right now), but beyond that, I think he'd made a fine President as well. So...we'll see.
3) Hillary Clinton. It's weird even for me to see her name placed so high on a list compiled by me, considering I once belonged to the "anybody but Hillary" crowd. BUT...she's a very talented politician with more experience at running a White House than anyone else running, so don't underestimate her.
4) John Edwards. The kingmakers within the South Carolina Democratic Party have apparently decided to give the South Carolina primary to John Edwards again, but you know me...I've never been one to vote a certain way because someone else tells me to do so. I like Senator Edwards. He addresses a lot of my pet issues that most politicians seem to overlook. But...he seems to be long on theatrics and short on details. Charisma will only take you so far. Eventually you'll have to actually get to work.
5) Dennis Kucinich. Again, this seems like a strange ranking for me, since I did work on his campaign in '04. But, let's be honest here, how workable is his plan to cut funding for the Iraq War and bring the troops home immediately? I like his plan for universal health care, but his plan to ban all handguns is a bit...far-fetched as well. I'm glad he's in the race again, but doubtful about his viability.
6) Barack Obama. A great candidate with great ideas who's a real uniter. But...he's only been in the Senate since '04, so I feel his candidacy is a bit premature at this point. He'd be a great Vice President right now, and after he's spent a few years in the White House, we'll talk....
7) Chris Dodd. Yes, he's experienced. And no, I still don't really know what his vision for America is. He may move up once I've had the chance to figure that out, but until more Americans can answer this question, I'm not too hopeful about his chances either.
8) Mike Gravel. He's clearly THE outsider in this race, having no money, little staff, and no post-1981 political experience. Yet, I'm glad he's in the race, since he's one of the few politicians from either party who doesn't sugar-coat anything. No, he won't win, but he'll certainly make the debates interesting as long as he's in the race.
__
Then on Sunday (my birthday), Gina, Tim, Rochelle, and Jesse took me to Carowinds. I rode every roller-coaster (of course), got wet and sunburned, and had a great time. Then for dinner on the way home...Hooters. Thanks, guys!
Yes, it was a long, exhausting, expensive weekend. But I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
The South Carolina Democratic Convention was held this weekend. Since South Carolina has the first primary in the South, it's rather important for any candidate serious about winning the race to have a good showing here next January. So, every candidate (except Gravel) either showed up themselves or had representatives come to our little get-together.
I still haven't made up my mind who I'm voting for, but my rankings have changed a bit after this weekend's festivities. As of now, here's the break-down:
1) Joe Biden. The man is one of the most experienced, knowledgeable, articulate, approachable, and dignified candidates I've ever had the opportunity to meet. He seems to have a real plan for virtually every issue being addressed in this race. The only downside I've seen so far is he does have a tendency to put his foot in his mouth at times (a trait that has been FAR overstated in the media), but so what? Our current President doesn't?
2) Bill Richardson. This is a tough decision for me. I'm tempted to rank him above Joe Biden due to his stance on gun control and experience as the governor of New Mexico and as Clinton's Secretary of Energy. He's not as gifted an orator as Senator Biden and not quite as talented a debater as some of the other candidates, but he's still an amazing candidate with some very workable ideas. He loses a few points in my book due to his stance on immigration (he's basically in favor of the militarization of the border being floated in right-wing circles right now), but beyond that, I think he'd made a fine President as well. So...we'll see.
3) Hillary Clinton. It's weird even for me to see her name placed so high on a list compiled by me, considering I once belonged to the "anybody but Hillary" crowd. BUT...she's a very talented politician with more experience at running a White House than anyone else running, so don't underestimate her.
4) John Edwards. The kingmakers within the South Carolina Democratic Party have apparently decided to give the South Carolina primary to John Edwards again, but you know me...I've never been one to vote a certain way because someone else tells me to do so. I like Senator Edwards. He addresses a lot of my pet issues that most politicians seem to overlook. But...he seems to be long on theatrics and short on details. Charisma will only take you so far. Eventually you'll have to actually get to work.
5) Dennis Kucinich. Again, this seems like a strange ranking for me, since I did work on his campaign in '04. But, let's be honest here, how workable is his plan to cut funding for the Iraq War and bring the troops home immediately? I like his plan for universal health care, but his plan to ban all handguns is a bit...far-fetched as well. I'm glad he's in the race again, but doubtful about his viability.
6) Barack Obama. A great candidate with great ideas who's a real uniter. But...he's only been in the Senate since '04, so I feel his candidacy is a bit premature at this point. He'd be a great Vice President right now, and after he's spent a few years in the White House, we'll talk....
7) Chris Dodd. Yes, he's experienced. And no, I still don't really know what his vision for America is. He may move up once I've had the chance to figure that out, but until more Americans can answer this question, I'm not too hopeful about his chances either.
8) Mike Gravel. He's clearly THE outsider in this race, having no money, little staff, and no post-1981 political experience. Yet, I'm glad he's in the race, since he's one of the few politicians from either party who doesn't sugar-coat anything. No, he won't win, but he'll certainly make the debates interesting as long as he's in the race.
__
Then on Sunday (my birthday), Gina, Tim, Rochelle, and Jesse took me to Carowinds. I rode every roller-coaster (of course), got wet and sunburned, and had a great time. Then for dinner on the way home...Hooters. Thanks, guys!
Yes, it was a long, exhausting, expensive weekend. But I wouldn't have traded it for anything.
Yeah, two months without an update. I suck.
Not that I've had anything positive to post lately. First of all, I did lose my apartment. Thankfully, my friends Tim and Rochelle had a spare bedroom that I'm now living in. It's not the perfect solution, to be sure, but they're good friends and good housemates, and it certainly beats the alternative.
Then my computer died. For some reason, I can't get the power supply to hook up, and now that the battery is dead too, well...no computer. I'm having to write this from Rochelle's laptop (which I didn't eactly ask permission to use. Oops! I hope she doesn't mind...)
Then I got kicked out of school. Literally. And right after I had finally managed to scrounge up the money for tuition, too. As you're well aware, $2,000-plus doesn't just fall out of the sky when you're only working for $7.73 an hour. So, I had to wait on my biological dad to come up with his promised share of it, I had to wait on my tax checks to come in, I had to wait for my grandparents to get it all together...it sucks to be so dependent on others. But when I finally got all the money together and all the required signatures on all the required forms...the school registrar refused to let me re-register since it was so late in the semester. Fucking assholes. Goes to show what's really important to them, and suffice it to say, it's not my education.
I'll be back next semester, though. Assuming, of course, that my biological dad follows through on his promise to hire me as an apprentice electrician this summer. Damn money...
The only good thing to report is that I finally got this:
Yeah, leave it to me to make my first tattoo a political one. And a mere eight days before I serve as a delegate to the South Carolina Democratic Convention too.
More to come soon, I promise...
Not that I've had anything positive to post lately. First of all, I did lose my apartment. Thankfully, my friends Tim and Rochelle had a spare bedroom that I'm now living in. It's not the perfect solution, to be sure, but they're good friends and good housemates, and it certainly beats the alternative.
Then my computer died. For some reason, I can't get the power supply to hook up, and now that the battery is dead too, well...no computer. I'm having to write this from Rochelle's laptop (which I didn't eactly ask permission to use. Oops! I hope she doesn't mind...)
Then I got kicked out of school. Literally. And right after I had finally managed to scrounge up the money for tuition, too. As you're well aware, $2,000-plus doesn't just fall out of the sky when you're only working for $7.73 an hour. So, I had to wait on my biological dad to come up with his promised share of it, I had to wait on my tax checks to come in, I had to wait for my grandparents to get it all together...it sucks to be so dependent on others. But when I finally got all the money together and all the required signatures on all the required forms...the school registrar refused to let me re-register since it was so late in the semester. Fucking assholes. Goes to show what's really important to them, and suffice it to say, it's not my education.
I'll be back next semester, though. Assuming, of course, that my biological dad follows through on his promise to hire me as an apprentice electrician this summer. Damn money...
The only good thing to report is that I finally got this:
Yeah, leave it to me to make my first tattoo a political one. And a mere eight days before I serve as a delegate to the South Carolina Democratic Convention too.
More to come soon, I promise...
Sometimes, I feel like such a hypocrite.
How often have I railed against the selfishness of our society? How many times have I condemned our system for disregarding the least among us?
Yet, yesterday as I was heading home from school, there was a homeless guy standing beside Hearon Circle. He was truly pathetic-looking, too....he apparently hadn't seen a barbershop, shower, or clean clothes in months. He was just standing there, holding a simple hand-lettered cardboard sign that read "Please help the homeless."
...and I just drove off, acting like I didn't see him.
You've all been there. You know all the excuses you come up with to try to justify your actions in these situations. "Yeah, he's probably just a drunk or a drug addict, just trying to come up with enough money for his next 'fix.' He might not even be homeless! He's just here to dupe the gullible..." Who knows? All of that COULD be true. And, in my defense, I didn't have any money on me. I was on my way to go pick up my paycheck, in fact. But that still doesn't excuse my utter indifference.
Where the hell has my compassion gone? Hell, I know how it is to be homeless. I know it can happen to anybody. I've been homeless myself on several occasions. I'm about to be homeless again, in fact...thanks to some stupid financial decisions on my part, I can't afford the rent on this apartment anymore. The only thing that's saving me this time around (indeed, the only thing that saves me every time this happens) is the fact that I have friends who don't mind letting me crash with them for indefinite periods of time. (The next update you read from me will, in all likelihood, be written in Tim and Rochelle's garage.)
The whole reason why I got into politics in the first place was to help my fellow man. Our system is broken, and it's time we turned our priorities around and focused our efforts on helping the helpless. But when I'm standing there, face-to-face with one of those I'm claiming to be so concerned about, I do nothing. How, then, am I any better than the "let them eat cake" conservative assholes who run this state?
How often have I railed against the selfishness of our society? How many times have I condemned our system for disregarding the least among us?
Yet, yesterday as I was heading home from school, there was a homeless guy standing beside Hearon Circle. He was truly pathetic-looking, too....he apparently hadn't seen a barbershop, shower, or clean clothes in months. He was just standing there, holding a simple hand-lettered cardboard sign that read "Please help the homeless."
...and I just drove off, acting like I didn't see him.
You've all been there. You know all the excuses you come up with to try to justify your actions in these situations. "Yeah, he's probably just a drunk or a drug addict, just trying to come up with enough money for his next 'fix.' He might not even be homeless! He's just here to dupe the gullible..." Who knows? All of that COULD be true. And, in my defense, I didn't have any money on me. I was on my way to go pick up my paycheck, in fact. But that still doesn't excuse my utter indifference.
Where the hell has my compassion gone? Hell, I know how it is to be homeless. I know it can happen to anybody. I've been homeless myself on several occasions. I'm about to be homeless again, in fact...thanks to some stupid financial decisions on my part, I can't afford the rent on this apartment anymore. The only thing that's saving me this time around (indeed, the only thing that saves me every time this happens) is the fact that I have friends who don't mind letting me crash with them for indefinite periods of time. (The next update you read from me will, in all likelihood, be written in Tim and Rochelle's garage.)
The whole reason why I got into politics in the first place was to help my fellow man. Our system is broken, and it's time we turned our priorities around and focused our efforts on helping the helpless. But when I'm standing there, face-to-face with one of those I'm claiming to be so concerned about, I do nothing. How, then, am I any better than the "let them eat cake" conservative assholes who run this state?
Snow in South Carolina? As odd as it sounds, it does happen occasionally. And when it does, it usually shuts down entire towns.
This was the view out my bedroom window shortly before dawn on February 1....
....and the same scene just after sunrise.
It didn't add up to much (maybe an inch or two of slushy mess), and thankfully the power stayed on all day this time around, but I still got a "snow day" out of the whole deal. Which was probably a good thing, since I (along with virtually every other native Southerner I know) have absolutely no idea how to drive in this:
Nevertheless, I did head out later in the day after the roads started clearing up, ostensibly to help Gina's mom move into her new house. We didn't get much of anything done, but I did get to snap this picture outside the Rent-A-Center on Reidville Road (which, surprisingly, was still open):
But, of course, it didn't last long. It was gone by the next day and the daily highs were back in the 60s as of this week.
Welcome to "winter" in the South...
___
On the school front, I have some (sort of) good news to report. I talked to some guy in a tie from the university's finance office earlier today. He assured me that I would be allowed to re-enroll in my classes (again) and sign up for a payment plan if I can come up with half my tuition and fees when I do so. Coincidentally enough, that's exactly what my biological dad has offered to pay by the end of this week. So, thanks, Dad!
___
And, finally, news on the pet front. Cookie the finch died unexpectedly last week. Problem is, finches are very social animals who really shouldn't be left alone. Meanwhile, Mao the iguana needed more space, so...
...hello, unconventional solution!
I took Jinx's (peace be upon him) old cage and renovated it for new tenants. And so far it's worked out pretty well. While I wouldn't quite call these two the best of friends, they at least tolerate each other's presence. And both of them now have plenty of room to explore. So far the only down side has been that, in the absence of anything else to listen to, Buddy has taken to imitating the house phone....
In short, things remain interesting in the House of GiddyIguana. Stay tuned...
This was the view out my bedroom window shortly before dawn on February 1....
....and the same scene just after sunrise.
It didn't add up to much (maybe an inch or two of slushy mess), and thankfully the power stayed on all day this time around, but I still got a "snow day" out of the whole deal. Which was probably a good thing, since I (along with virtually every other native Southerner I know) have absolutely no idea how to drive in this:
Nevertheless, I did head out later in the day after the roads started clearing up, ostensibly to help Gina's mom move into her new house. We didn't get much of anything done, but I did get to snap this picture outside the Rent-A-Center on Reidville Road (which, surprisingly, was still open):
But, of course, it didn't last long. It was gone by the next day and the daily highs were back in the 60s as of this week.
Welcome to "winter" in the South...
___
On the school front, I have some (sort of) good news to report. I talked to some guy in a tie from the university's finance office earlier today. He assured me that I would be allowed to re-enroll in my classes (again) and sign up for a payment plan if I can come up with half my tuition and fees when I do so. Coincidentally enough, that's exactly what my biological dad has offered to pay by the end of this week. So, thanks, Dad!
___
And, finally, news on the pet front. Cookie the finch died unexpectedly last week. Problem is, finches are very social animals who really shouldn't be left alone. Meanwhile, Mao the iguana needed more space, so...
...hello, unconventional solution!
I took Jinx's (peace be upon him) old cage and renovated it for new tenants. And so far it's worked out pretty well. While I wouldn't quite call these two the best of friends, they at least tolerate each other's presence. And both of them now have plenty of room to explore.
So far the only down side has been that, in the absence of anything else to listen to, Buddy has taken to imitating the house phone....In short, things remain interesting in the House of GiddyIguana. Stay tuned...
Yup, y'all have missed a lot since I've been gone.
For one thing, I went back for yet another visit to Hilton Head Island. Just in time to see yet another "beach renourishment" project swinging into high gear.
"Renourishment", for those of you who don't know already, is the government's hugely expensive--and ultimately quixotic--effort to prevent barrier islands from doing what they naturally do; namely, move. Doesn't it warm your little hearts to know your tax dollars are being spent to preserve the property values for a handful of hideously wealthy beachfront landowners?
___
GiddyIguana's household has gained a few new members.
Meet Buddy and Cookie, the two best alarm clocks known to man. They're society finches, which is a very appropriate name given their disposition. They're bred that way, it seems...they were first domesticated by the Chinese about 3,000 years ago.
And what's the GiddyIguana without, well...an iguana?
Meet Chairman Mao. I know very little about Chairman Mao at this point. Heck, at this point I'm not even entirely sure whether or not the good Chairman is male or female. Nevertheless, y'all are undoubedly aware that I've been keeping iguanas for....wow, ten years now?...so I'm certain the Chairman and I are going to have a lot of fun getting to know each other over the next few years.
And, of course, I still have my cats. There's the evil genius London (held here by the lovely and talented Gina):
....and the frighteningly-inbred and stupid (but nonetheless sweet!) Cletus.
(Oh, yeah, and I've sorta grown a beard lately too, thanks in large part to my distaste for razors. What do y'all think?)
Yes, the Casa de GiddyIguana is beginning to get a bit crowded, but you're still not going to hear me complain.
___
No, if I was going to complain here, it'd be about school. It finally happened..I was finally ruled "ineligible for financial aid" this semester (one lousy semester before my anticipated graduation date, too!) I can't imagine why they chose to do this NOW...after all, I'm only in year seven of a four-year degree.
Anyways, to make a long story short, I've had to cut my schedule back to next to nothing (I'm only in Senior Seminar and Research Methods now), just to make tuition and fees semi-affordable (assuming, of course, that you consider $1,885 "affordable.") My biological dad has, at least, agreed to help me with that much, but by doing it this way I've bumped a lot of classes out to summer school and possibly one last semester. How I'm going to afford all THAT, I don't know, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
As always, my life is a bit....unpredictable at the moment. Perhaps not a whole lot of fun for me, but at least it makes for interesting reading. So, if you're into the whole shadenfreude thing, I suggest you stay tuned.
For one thing, I went back for yet another visit to Hilton Head Island. Just in time to see yet another "beach renourishment" project swinging into high gear.
"Renourishment", for those of you who don't know already, is the government's hugely expensive--and ultimately quixotic--effort to prevent barrier islands from doing what they naturally do; namely, move. Doesn't it warm your little hearts to know your tax dollars are being spent to preserve the property values for a handful of hideously wealthy beachfront landowners?
___
GiddyIguana's household has gained a few new members.
Meet Buddy and Cookie, the two best alarm clocks known to man. They're society finches, which is a very appropriate name given their disposition. They're bred that way, it seems...they were first domesticated by the Chinese about 3,000 years ago.
And what's the GiddyIguana without, well...an iguana?
Meet Chairman Mao. I know very little about Chairman Mao at this point. Heck, at this point I'm not even entirely sure whether or not the good Chairman is male or female. Nevertheless, y'all are undoubedly aware that I've been keeping iguanas for....wow, ten years now?...so I'm certain the Chairman and I are going to have a lot of fun getting to know each other over the next few years.
And, of course, I still have my cats. There's the evil genius London (held here by the lovely and talented Gina):
....and the frighteningly-inbred and stupid (but nonetheless sweet!) Cletus.
(Oh, yeah, and I've sorta grown a beard lately too, thanks in large part to my distaste for razors. What do y'all think?)
Yes, the Casa de GiddyIguana is beginning to get a bit crowded, but you're still not going to hear me complain.
___
No, if I was going to complain here, it'd be about school. It finally happened..I was finally ruled "ineligible for financial aid" this semester (one lousy semester before my anticipated graduation date, too!) I can't imagine why they chose to do this NOW...after all, I'm only in year seven of a four-year degree.
Anyways, to make a long story short, I've had to cut my schedule back to next to nothing (I'm only in Senior Seminar and Research Methods now), just to make tuition and fees semi-affordable (assuming, of course, that you consider $1,885 "affordable.") My biological dad has, at least, agreed to help me with that much, but by doing it this way I've bumped a lot of classes out to summer school and possibly one last semester. How I'm going to afford all THAT, I don't know, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.As always, my life is a bit....unpredictable at the moment. Perhaps not a whole lot of fun for me, but at least it makes for interesting reading. So, if you're into the whole shadenfreude thing, I suggest you stay tuned.
Guess who's BACK?!?!? 
So what's new, MySpacers? Oops, sorry...CherryTappers? Damn it! SG!!! Jeez, I guess it HAS been a while...
Now let's just see who here still remembers me...
So what's new, MySpacers? Oops, sorry...CherryTappers? Damn it! SG!!!
Jeez, I guess it HAS been a while...Now let's just see who here still remembers me...
So what did y'all do this weekend?
So what would cause me, the quintessential broke college student, to go all the way to Washington to march in support of five men I've never met? It's certainly not for the fun of it, since the trip bankrupted me (literally) for the next two weeks...
Well, it's as Che Guevara once said: "If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine." Considering what a serious miscarriage of justice led to the Five's convictions, and what blatant hypocrisy our government is demonstrating by refusing to do anything about it, I don't see how I (or anyone else) can possibly remain silent.
If you'd like more information on their case, visit the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five's website. Then get active! ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! (The people united will never be defeated!)
So what would cause me, the quintessential broke college student, to go all the way to Washington to march in support of five men I've never met? It's certainly not for the fun of it, since the trip bankrupted me (literally) for the next two weeks...
Well, it's as Che Guevara once said: "If you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine." Considering what a serious miscarriage of justice led to the Five's convictions, and what blatant hypocrisy our government is demonstrating by refusing to do anything about it, I don't see how I (or anyone else) can possibly remain silent.
If you'd like more information on their case, visit the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five's website. Then get active! ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido! (The people united will never be defeated!)
A few brief updates:
My buddy phrogg and his band The Lime Daddies kick even more ass than I imagined! Gina and I got to catch their act at Chief's Wings and Firewater in Greenville earlier this month, and a good time was had by all. If you haven't checked them out already, I highly recommend doing so.
___
In other news, classes are going well so far. An abbreviated rundown:
Introduction to Political Science, taught by Dr. Timothy Dale. Dr. Dale is a newbie professor, freshly graduated from Notre Dame. He's kind of a dork, but he certainly knows his stuff. This is basically a class that teaches you the questions that political scientists are trying to answer.
Spanish 101, taught by Mr. Douglas Jackson. Granted, I've taken this course twice before: once at Erskine College way back in 1998 (which I failed), and again back in 2005 here at Upstate (when I made a D.) What can I say? Foreign languages are NOT my forte. But I need two semesters of it to graduate, and I figured I'd better know what happened in the FIRST semester before I attempt a SECOND one, right? Thankfully, "Douglas" (as he insists on being called) is a good professor, so for once I can say that my school made a good call when they stole him from Greenville Tech this year. Truth be told, he looks and acts a lot like Carlos Mencia, so this class, while still not my favorite, is at least enjoyable this time around. Who knows? I might actually learn something this time.
Political Behavior, which is also taught by Dr. Timothy Dale. A course designed exclusively for the true political geek, since it primarily deals with campaigns and elections (and the reams and reams of campaign regulations and polling data that it entails). It's all good, though...while reviewing THAT many polls at a time would make most mortals go cross-eyed, I'm one of those rare people who've been hip-deep in the campaign game since I was 12. So I actually kind of enjoy this kind of stuff. Also, we're expected to follow a particular race during this mid-term election and submit a paper at the end of the semester outlining everything that happened and why it happened during the course of the campaign. (I've picked the Texas 22nd Congressional district to follow--Tom Delay's old district. It's devolved into a fascinating political sideshow this year, to say the least.)
Introduction to Non-Western Civilizations, taught by Dr. Kenneth Bradley. He's definitely an old-school--he's been teaching for 40 years. He's one of those professors who has a script and sticks to it. Sure, he's not the most exciting guy in the world, but at least he's easy to follow. I should do pretty well with him.
And finally, The American President, taught by Dr. John Grummel. He's a professor who's been kicking around the circuit for a while now, finally landing at Upstate this year. Funny thing about this class: the main project for this semester is going to be running a mock presidential election. There are three candidates (one Republican, one Democrat, and one independent), each with his or her own press secretary, campaign manager, and Party chairman. Through sheer luck of the draw, guess which role I landed?
The Republican candidate for President. BWA HA HA HA HAAA!!!
It's all good, though. I'm running as Harold Richard "Ricky" Geddings, Jr., real estate developer and current Republican governor of Hawai'i. He's also a pro-choice environmentalist who's fully committed to public education. Yes, the "real" Republicans in the class are going to have a duck when they hear about this guy, but who cares? I can do that, I'm the candidate.
All in all, this should be a fun semester.
___
Gina and I will be in DC this weekend, attending a protest demanding justice for the Cuban Five. Yeah, yeah...this is quickly becoming an annual event: we were there last September 24th as well, voicing our opposition to the Iraq War. Oh, well. Somebody has to speak out against the injustice in the world...why not me? It's not like this trip is costing me much of anything. Lucky for me, Gina has an uncle who lives in DC.
___
And finally, I've run into a spot of financial trouble again. This time around, the cable and electric companies are threatening "service interruptions" if I don't pay them something this week. So....I'll just have to give them a little something (enough to get them off my back, at least) when I get paid this Thursday. The good news is, Gina just started a $9 per hour job at Westgate Mall, so we should start doing a better job of keeping up with our bills in the future.
I mention this, since SG has also told me--twice--that my payment cannot be processed. So, if I suddenly "go grey" without any further explanation, y'all will know what's going on. I'll be back as soon as I get my budget balanced again, so please don't delete me off your friends list in the meantime, okay?
Thank you all. And as always, stay tuned...
My buddy phrogg and his band The Lime Daddies kick even more ass than I imagined! Gina and I got to catch their act at Chief's Wings and Firewater in Greenville earlier this month, and a good time was had by all. If you haven't checked them out already, I highly recommend doing so.
___
In other news, classes are going well so far. An abbreviated rundown:
Introduction to Political Science, taught by Dr. Timothy Dale. Dr. Dale is a newbie professor, freshly graduated from Notre Dame. He's kind of a dork, but he certainly knows his stuff. This is basically a class that teaches you the questions that political scientists are trying to answer.
Spanish 101, taught by Mr. Douglas Jackson. Granted, I've taken this course twice before: once at Erskine College way back in 1998 (which I failed), and again back in 2005 here at Upstate (when I made a D.) What can I say? Foreign languages are NOT my forte. But I need two semesters of it to graduate, and I figured I'd better know what happened in the FIRST semester before I attempt a SECOND one, right? Thankfully, "Douglas" (as he insists on being called) is a good professor, so for once I can say that my school made a good call when they stole him from Greenville Tech this year. Truth be told, he looks and acts a lot like Carlos Mencia, so this class, while still not my favorite, is at least enjoyable this time around. Who knows? I might actually learn something this time.
Political Behavior, which is also taught by Dr. Timothy Dale. A course designed exclusively for the true political geek, since it primarily deals with campaigns and elections (and the reams and reams of campaign regulations and polling data that it entails). It's all good, though...while reviewing THAT many polls at a time would make most mortals go cross-eyed, I'm one of those rare people who've been hip-deep in the campaign game since I was 12. So I actually kind of enjoy this kind of stuff. Also, we're expected to follow a particular race during this mid-term election and submit a paper at the end of the semester outlining everything that happened and why it happened during the course of the campaign. (I've picked the Texas 22nd Congressional district to follow--Tom Delay's old district. It's devolved into a fascinating political sideshow this year, to say the least.)
Introduction to Non-Western Civilizations, taught by Dr. Kenneth Bradley. He's definitely an old-school--he's been teaching for 40 years. He's one of those professors who has a script and sticks to it. Sure, he's not the most exciting guy in the world, but at least he's easy to follow. I should do pretty well with him.
And finally, The American President, taught by Dr. John Grummel. He's a professor who's been kicking around the circuit for a while now, finally landing at Upstate this year. Funny thing about this class: the main project for this semester is going to be running a mock presidential election. There are three candidates (one Republican, one Democrat, and one independent), each with his or her own press secretary, campaign manager, and Party chairman. Through sheer luck of the draw, guess which role I landed?
The Republican candidate for President. BWA HA HA HA HAAA!!!
It's all good, though. I'm running as Harold Richard "Ricky" Geddings, Jr., real estate developer and current Republican governor of Hawai'i. He's also a pro-choice environmentalist who's fully committed to public education. Yes, the "real" Republicans in the class are going to have a duck when they hear about this guy, but who cares? I can do that, I'm the candidate.
All in all, this should be a fun semester.
___
Gina and I will be in DC this weekend, attending a protest demanding justice for the Cuban Five. Yeah, yeah...this is quickly becoming an annual event: we were there last September 24th as well, voicing our opposition to the Iraq War. Oh, well. Somebody has to speak out against the injustice in the world...why not me? It's not like this trip is costing me much of anything. Lucky for me, Gina has an uncle who lives in DC.
___
And finally, I've run into a spot of financial trouble again. This time around, the cable and electric companies are threatening "service interruptions" if I don't pay them something this week. So....I'll just have to give them a little something (enough to get them off my back, at least) when I get paid this Thursday. The good news is, Gina just started a $9 per hour job at Westgate Mall, so we should start doing a better job of keeping up with our bills in the future.
I mention this, since SG has also told me--twice--that my payment cannot be processed. So, if I suddenly "go grey" without any further explanation, y'all will know what's going on. I'll be back as soon as I get my budget balanced again, so please don't delete me off your friends list in the meantime, okay?
Thank you all. And as always, stay tuned...
Okay, so the educational bureaucracy officially sucks.
As I said in a previous post, two weeks prior to the beginning of classes, the USC-Upstate financial aid department had claimed that they'd never received my FAFSA information. So I contacted the Department of Education, who also claimed that they'd never received anything from me. Never mind that I HAD, in fact, submitted one way back in February....I said fuck it and filed a new one that day.
A few days later I got a letter from the school saying that I'm ineligible for financial aid this semester due to a "failure to show sufficient academic progress." And, technically, they do have a point. I should explain...
My first semester here at USC-Upstate, I had the brilliant idea to finish out a minor in biology. After all, I had so many biology credits transfer from my Erskine College experience that it'd be a shame not to do something with them, right? Well, there's a problem here. As the result of having credit for so many classes, the only ones still open to me are upper-level (400 and 500-level) courses. So I sign up for one called Parasitology....and promptly get lost. After all, I haven't set foot in a biology classroom in five years, so what the hell am I doing here? I try my damnedest to catch up, but when I'm reading entire pages of the book and not understanding a word of it, really, what do you expect? After a couple of horribly-failed tests, I finally go ahead and give up on the whole "biology minor" plan and drop the class.
And immediately find myself on academic probation. Which, since I receive no further reminders or reprimands from the school, I promptly forget about.
Flash forward to last semester. Most of y'all remember how I wound up sick for virtually the entire month of January with a nasty respiratory infection, which was probably exacerbated by work-and-school-related stress. Well, to make a long story short I missed a LOT of classes because of this extended illness. When I finally recuperated I went to my professors to explain why my attendance up to that point had been so spotty (an explanation that was fully documented by doctors' excuses, hospital bills, and prescription medications, by the way.) Three of my professors were understanding; the other two (my French and Logic professors) were dicks. They pointed out on their syllabi where missed tests could not be made up and told me that since I'd missed so much course work already, I'd be better off to go ahead and drop their courses.
Which I did. And, unbeknownst to me, had signed my own financial-aid death warrant in the process.
Well, there are private companies out there that also offer student loans, right? I'm sure you've seen the TV commercials for those...companies like Astrive Student Loans and Chase Education One that make these grandiose promises of money for "tuition and other educational expenses--computers, books, fees, living expenses..." and claim you can apply for "up to $40,000 in as little as 15 minutes...the check sent directly to you in as few as 5 business days"? Now, I know it's basically a scam to put you insanely in debt immediately following graduation, but at this point classes will be starting in a little over a week and a half and I'm getting desperate. So I apply...and promptly get denied. So I apply again, this time with a different company and for a lesser amount of money...and promptly get denied again. (Understandably so, since I've got lousy credit and am currently earning about $800 a month.) So I call my biological dad in Colorado and beg him to co-sign for me. He agrees, so I apply--again--with him as my co-signer. And get denied...again.
So, I'm really getting stressed out here. So this past Friday (the day my tuition bill is due and less than a week before the start of classes, by the way), I go to the school to plead my case. And the financial aid department informs me (why they hadn't brought this up before, I have no idea) that there is an appeals process to go through to get the department's ruling overturned. All I have to do is to submit a letter explaining the shortfall in credit-hours along with a "course of study" from my advisor.
Well, since I'm still on track to graduate by what has ALWAYS been my target graduation date (May '07) and have a legitimate explanation for the shortfall up to this point, I think I've got a pretty good case. I write and submit my letter of explanation in twenty minutes, but the course of study is a bit more challenging, since my former advisor (Dr. Choong Lee) retired at the end of last semester. I have to check the school's website to even find out who my advisor is supposed to be and then write him an e-mail to ask when I could meet with him.
As it turns out, my new advisor is Dr. Lee's replacement, a fascinating man named Dr. Timothy Dale. He agrees to meet with me on Monday. So I go back to school yesterday for what I think is going to be a brief introduction and form pick-up. Well, it's a little more complicated than that. As we start reviewing my transcript and course of study, we come to the realization that Dr. Lee has royally screwed this form up. We have courses listed in the wrong places, credits listed where no credit was earned, etc. So, instead of just picking up a form, we've now got to figure out exactly what credits I do have and what courses I still need to take. And then we have to completely re-do my class schedule to finish out my required classes in the allotted time. After all this, we finally figure out that I still need thirty-three credit-hours to graduate. No problem, except I'm technically not supposed to be able to take but fifteen credits per semester.
Thankfully, Katie Salvo (the administrative assistant to the department chair and a pretty cool person to boot) was able to fudge her way around this little snag and submit a course of study to the financial aid department stating that I will, in fact, be able to graduate by my target date. (Even though I'll still probably have to take a course or two in summer school, I can pay those out-of-pocket and the financial aid department can't really say anything about that.)
So, now my shedule is revised, my appeal is filed, and classes start on Thursday. And, by God, I'm going, bills be damned. So keep your fingers crossed...even without the financial distractions, this is still going to be the most difficult semester I've ever endured. Let's just hope and pray I'll be able to sort through all the nonsense and come out a winner.
Stay tuned...
Update (7:45 pm): The universe has a strange way of righting itself in unexpected ways. Right after I posted this, a couple of my old buddies from Erskine College called me out of the blue. Good ol' Matt Davidson and Billy Owens....they were two of the best friends a guy could have, but we'd somehow lost touch in the 7 years since I left Due West, SC. Yet by some miracle they'd found my phone number, and now I have both their phone numbers too. As it turns out, Matt lives in Greenville now and Billy is about to move to Columbia. In the middle of this shit storm, it's good to finally find some friendly faces again.
As I said in a previous post, two weeks prior to the beginning of classes, the USC-Upstate financial aid department had claimed that they'd never received my FAFSA information. So I contacted the Department of Education, who also claimed that they'd never received anything from me. Never mind that I HAD, in fact, submitted one way back in February....I said fuck it and filed a new one that day.
A few days later I got a letter from the school saying that I'm ineligible for financial aid this semester due to a "failure to show sufficient academic progress." And, technically, they do have a point. I should explain...
My first semester here at USC-Upstate, I had the brilliant idea to finish out a minor in biology. After all, I had so many biology credits transfer from my Erskine College experience that it'd be a shame not to do something with them, right? Well, there's a problem here. As the result of having credit for so many classes, the only ones still open to me are upper-level (400 and 500-level) courses. So I sign up for one called Parasitology....and promptly get lost. After all, I haven't set foot in a biology classroom in five years, so what the hell am I doing here? I try my damnedest to catch up, but when I'm reading entire pages of the book and not understanding a word of it, really, what do you expect? After a couple of horribly-failed tests, I finally go ahead and give up on the whole "biology minor" plan and drop the class.
And immediately find myself on academic probation. Which, since I receive no further reminders or reprimands from the school, I promptly forget about.
Flash forward to last semester. Most of y'all remember how I wound up sick for virtually the entire month of January with a nasty respiratory infection, which was probably exacerbated by work-and-school-related stress. Well, to make a long story short I missed a LOT of classes because of this extended illness. When I finally recuperated I went to my professors to explain why my attendance up to that point had been so spotty (an explanation that was fully documented by doctors' excuses, hospital bills, and prescription medications, by the way.) Three of my professors were understanding; the other two (my French and Logic professors) were dicks. They pointed out on their syllabi where missed tests could not be made up and told me that since I'd missed so much course work already, I'd be better off to go ahead and drop their courses.
Which I did. And, unbeknownst to me, had signed my own financial-aid death warrant in the process.
Well, there are private companies out there that also offer student loans, right? I'm sure you've seen the TV commercials for those...companies like Astrive Student Loans and Chase Education One that make these grandiose promises of money for "tuition and other educational expenses--computers, books, fees, living expenses..." and claim you can apply for "up to $40,000 in as little as 15 minutes...the check sent directly to you in as few as 5 business days"? Now, I know it's basically a scam to put you insanely in debt immediately following graduation, but at this point classes will be starting in a little over a week and a half and I'm getting desperate. So I apply...and promptly get denied. So I apply again, this time with a different company and for a lesser amount of money...and promptly get denied again. (Understandably so, since I've got lousy credit and am currently earning about $800 a month.) So I call my biological dad in Colorado and beg him to co-sign for me. He agrees, so I apply--again--with him as my co-signer. And get denied...again.
So, I'm really getting stressed out here. So this past Friday (the day my tuition bill is due and less than a week before the start of classes, by the way), I go to the school to plead my case. And the financial aid department informs me (why they hadn't brought this up before, I have no idea) that there is an appeals process to go through to get the department's ruling overturned. All I have to do is to submit a letter explaining the shortfall in credit-hours along with a "course of study" from my advisor.
Well, since I'm still on track to graduate by what has ALWAYS been my target graduation date (May '07) and have a legitimate explanation for the shortfall up to this point, I think I've got a pretty good case. I write and submit my letter of explanation in twenty minutes, but the course of study is a bit more challenging, since my former advisor (Dr. Choong Lee) retired at the end of last semester. I have to check the school's website to even find out who my advisor is supposed to be and then write him an e-mail to ask when I could meet with him.
As it turns out, my new advisor is Dr. Lee's replacement, a fascinating man named Dr. Timothy Dale. He agrees to meet with me on Monday. So I go back to school yesterday for what I think is going to be a brief introduction and form pick-up. Well, it's a little more complicated than that. As we start reviewing my transcript and course of study, we come to the realization that Dr. Lee has royally screwed this form up. We have courses listed in the wrong places, credits listed where no credit was earned, etc. So, instead of just picking up a form, we've now got to figure out exactly what credits I do have and what courses I still need to take. And then we have to completely re-do my class schedule to finish out my required classes in the allotted time. After all this, we finally figure out that I still need thirty-three credit-hours to graduate. No problem, except I'm technically not supposed to be able to take but fifteen credits per semester.
Thankfully, Katie Salvo (the administrative assistant to the department chair and a pretty cool person to boot) was able to fudge her way around this little snag and submit a course of study to the financial aid department stating that I will, in fact, be able to graduate by my target date. (Even though I'll still probably have to take a course or two in summer school, I can pay those out-of-pocket and the financial aid department can't really say anything about that.)
So, now my shedule is revised, my appeal is filed, and classes start on Thursday. And, by God, I'm going, bills be damned. So keep your fingers crossed...even without the financial distractions, this is still going to be the most difficult semester I've ever endured. Let's just hope and pray I'll be able to sort through all the nonsense and come out a winner.
Stay tuned...
Update (7:45 pm): The universe has a strange way of righting itself in unexpected ways. Right after I posted this, a couple of my old buddies from Erskine College called me out of the blue. Good ol' Matt Davidson and Billy Owens....they were two of the best friends a guy could have, but we'd somehow lost touch in the 7 years since I left Due West, SC. Yet by some miracle they'd found my phone number, and now I have both their phone numbers too. As it turns out, Matt lives in Greenville now and Billy is about to move to Columbia. In the middle of this shit storm, it's good to finally find some friendly faces again.
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