Endurance test

Wow...has it really been over a month since I've been here?!?! Time sure does fly. I guess when you're super busy, though, time just gets away from you.

I still have not heard anything back from the congressman regarding the letter I mailed to him. I have called his office a couple of times, though, just to keep my name fresh on their minds. You know what they say: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." I'll be certain to post something here as soon as I receive any kind of response.

So...here's the reason I've been super busy. I've been bottle raising this little tyke! My best friend's daughters found her at their apartment complex, where she almost got run over by a car! She was only about 1-2 weeks old. They couldn't keep her, because my friend's fiancee is very allergic to cats, so I agreed to take her. We've named her Thumbelina, because she's so tiny. She's just about the cutest thing you've ever seen, but she's having some major health challenges. She has a skin disorder that I'm working to cure, plus the formula I was originally feeding her just did not agree with her delicate little system. Three times now she has just about died on me...and each of those three times were about the most devastating 12 hours I have ever been through. The first time, I sat up holding her all night long, talking to her, stroking her face to simulate her mother licking her, and praying to God to either end her suffering or give her a miracle. About 3:00 a.m. she began to show signs of regaining her strength and by 6:45 a.m. she was just about back to "normal". She has repeated this pattern twice now, but the episode she had yesterday was the worst yet. I was truly convinced she wasn't going to make it this time. She's definitely a fighter, though, because she pulled through once again and today she's bouncing around the house as if nothing happened. This little one is the reason this post is titled "Endurance test". I am fairly convinced that God put this kitten on the earth to test the endurance of my faith. Let me tell you, dear friends, my faith nearly failed yesterday. Never fear, though; I do know who gets the credit for this baby recovering yet again. All the credit goes to God.

I had a horrid day yesterday. I have been excitedly looking forward to beginning online courses with The University of Phoenix so I can work on earning my Associates Degree in Business...a first step towards my dream of owning a catering business. Much to my chagrin, I was informed that I have a student loan in default. What?!? I had requested that my loan be put into deferrment, so of course I was completely taken by surprise with this tidbit of information. Apparently the financial aid representative at the completely worthless trade school I attended (www.claritacareercollege.com) did NOT do as he promised and, therefore, my loan is now in Federal Default. What does that mean? It means that I cannot get another student loan as long as the default exists. It also means they will seize my tax refunds until the loan is no longer in default. I have only two options for getting the loan out of default:

1) Pay off the total amount, in excess of $8,000. YEAH RIGHT!!!
2) Set up automatic monthly payments in the amount of approximately $90. After NINE months of these monthly payments being made, the loan will no longer be in default and will be eligible for deferrment once again. Since I cannot afford an extra $90 a month, this is obviously not an option for me, either.

My dear mother, to whom I owe so very much, called me rather excited this evening when she got home from work. Her wonderful boss had come up with a genius of an idea - write a letter to my congressman!! It's an election year. They don't want ANY dissatisfied voters on their hands come November! I will spend Friday (my next day off) composing a letter that would make even a heart of stone weep at my plight. So, my dear family and friends, please pray that the letter I will place in the mail on Saturday touches the heart of a person who just may have the power to give this situation a happy ending.