fri

Once again, I did not snap one frame today. This picture is of the ladies at my mom's work in Effingham, a music sales group for what was formerly known as Midco. My mom's the one in the middle holding the head thing. They won a little costume contest between the different offices and got a $25 gift certificate for a pizza party. Woot!

I went to the office early to pick up my new photo requests and honestly they were disappointing: A USG meeting, 2 speakers, a poetry reading, and some singers. I'm starting to wonder if Ryan doesn't think I can handle "good" assignments. I did get called by the sports editor Sean this evening asking if I wanted to go with them to the football game at WIU, an overnighter and guaranteed full timesheet for next week, but I turned him down because I was hoping my brother could come down and visit tomorrow and I had a speaker to shoot Saturday.

Well, Andy, my brother, has other plans so he can't come and all I have tomorrow is a speaker shoot. Plus I have a feature photo due on Sunday.

There is a basketball game tomorrow, SIU's first of the season and I was not asked about that one. I'm hoping there will be a way I can get in because I'd really like to shoot Saluki Basketball, even if my shots don't get in the paper. They're ranked no. 9 this year.

So, I'm going to take the initiative and go out and find a story or at least some damn good feature photos to prove myself tomorrow. It's gonna be a shooting day! I'm also hopefully gonna get my paycheck tomorrow, because I missed it today. Waited till after my test in history and the people that hand em out were already gone by then. It'd be nice to get my check in the bank because I have a $197 car payment due Tuesday.

Also today, I received word from the SIU Financial Aid Office that I have been given a "Saluki Bound Transfer Grant," a grant given to transfer students that reduce their tuition to what it would have been if they had come to SIU right after high school. Having looked at the tuition figures before, i was somewhat expecting the grant to be may $900-1100 and i wasn't sure I was gonna get it at all. Turns out, I received a grant today for the 2007-2008 school year for $6,300! Putting my grand total of financial aid for the year at $26,000 some when the costs of attendance are only estimated to be $18,900 tops.

If they dont automatically put all that extra money into the loans my mom and I have, I very well may receive a $6,300 check soon! That would pay off all the debt for my computer and my scooter and some of my video camera! That would relieve a ton of financial stress for me as I would no longer need to make monthly payments on my credit accounts, at least until after college. Then I could cut all my cards up and put my real money towards my car and tuition.
Wouldn't that be nice!

Not sure at the moment how it's all gonna work out, but the news of the grant was pleasant.

TB