jumping in.

Well, K told me to write more since I’m going off the train as far as gchat goes. In fact, I finally switched to using my married name email because I didn’t want the temptation to go back.

So this is the post where I want to talk a little bit about what my thanksgiving week looks like. In fact, I conveniently made a fake calendar to show you:

I know, it looks a little halloween-esque down there at the bottom. Oh well. But, my real point is that I get three thanksgivings and one of them is with my Clemson family – my best friends. I am so, so excited.

You see, my Clemson thanksgiving usually has way too much food and way too many people crammed into way too small of an apartment. We all cook for hours usually (one year Chad made a ham that we bought at Kroger here in Athens since we were visiting – that’s kind of a cool connection right? yeah.. i know, it’s not really) and it took about 5 hours to slow cook to perfection. Another year, we went to my mom’s family pre-thanksgiving thanksgiving and ended up late to Clemson thanksgiving… so Mandy made tea and pumpkin pie for us to all take. It’s usually cold, rainy and there’s college football playing in the background. Basically, it’s thanksgiving with the family that you choose – the happy, non-awkward thanksgiving.

I love my Clemson thanksgiving and knowing that everyone will truly be gone from Clemson next year means that this is it, the last one. It’s bittersweet but, since Adele and Chad will be off starting the friday before thanksgiving, we are all cooking up a massive feast to celebrate and inviting “home” some people who have moved away. Since I started finally considering the fact that we won’t end up in Atlanta after this year, it’s getting easier to cherish the memories and harder to truly say goodbye. I can (and do) drive to Clemson, run errands and drive home [side note: this is for a bank that does not exist in Georgia. I am not actually THAT attached to doing errands], but even that will be gone soon enough.

Do you have any friend-based holiday traditions? Have they changed? I’m curious to see how we will all celebrate next year. Since we’re currently looking at three and four bedroom houses with large finished basements in Cincy – my Clemson family is all welcome to come to my house. In fact, I’d like to take this opportunity to tell them to please do.

 

lol.

someone actually took my last post pretty seriously. (there was a comment, but i do not allow comments from “non-friends”–people not on my blogroll or people i dont know– so, sorry)

in all honesty, “dave”, i doubt you’ve called financial aid for three days trying to get information to be told you’ve been on hold too long so they hang up on you. clemson also probably neglected to tell you that you had a form to sign. just one. and they “forgot” to email you about it.

And yeah, it is all about me. Because my parents do not finance my education–guess who it’s left to? That’s right.

and of course, this is my personal blog. totally allowed to rant.

but thanks for the laugh, “Dave”!

hey kids, don’t go to Clemson University.

Man, looking back on everything, I love my friends but I wish more every day that I’d transferred to somewhere else–Clemson sucks.

I have been put through the ringer for everything. The first sign should have been orientation four years ago, when they didn’t even provide enough water in the middle of June.

But now, and this is a whole lot of BULLSHIT,

Clemson has decided not to give me my student refund until August 28th. Today is August 19th, the first day of classes. By some miracle I am expected to not need my book money for the entire first week and a half, nor food money, nor electric bill payment, etc.

This is because Clemson only doles out the “Preferred lender” checks on the first day. I’m sorry, wait, I went through a lender that was on YOUR financial aid webpage after the PREFERRED LENDER stopped private lending, and almost ran out of money sometime last October. Are you kidding me?

The most inexcusable thing about this is the fact that Clemson had record enrollment this year. That’s $20,000 times about 1,400 that they didn’t expect, just sitting around. They could pay refunds out on time, but no.

The sad part is, this is just the latest in a long line of Clemson’s failures throughout my education here, and here’s the kicker: as a product of the Charleston County School district, I thought I’d seen it all before. But the incompetence and misrepresentation of almost everyone involved with this money-making scheme is enough to make one ashamed.

I won’t be a proud alma mater at football games, I won’t be buying my kids little clemson shirts and I certainly won’t be donating money to this sad excuse for a state university. When it’s cheaper to go to a comparable out of state university for the in-state price of Clemson, it’s time to look elsewhere. My kids will not be legacies.

in case you were worried i forgot about you.

i didn’t!

i promise!

This month is crazy. It started with me going to Charlotte, and then going to Charleston last weekend for wedding planning… and this weekend is Charleston again for Robbie’s wedding/my Uncle’s annual (belated) fourth of july party (b/c of the wedding in charlotte), then next weekend I’m trying to decide about going to Boone (that’s going to be a big we’ll see because I feel like crap already and camping does NOT mix well with that).

Then… August! Rockville Regatta & I turn 21 and school starts back… so weird because it feels like since I haven’t left Clemson, I’m still waiting on summer. Haha, I wish. Mandy will be back up here in just three weeks! I cannot wait until she moves back here… and of course, Chris is coming in August.

Wow.

When did summer just end?!?!

tonight

wake forest game tonight–go tigers! going to watch it, going to eat wings and mac and cheese and ignore all the “bad” things that happened today economically and the fact that i need to find a job! i’ll figure it out…

The thing is, I’d call some banks, but they’re not going to be hiring in this market.

So, for tonight, it’s all good. (And you know what? It is. I mean–I’ve got plenty of cash for the rest of the year. I might have to buckle down, but I’ll be good.)

EDIT: This game is NOT good.