The Dishes and The Phone Call

The other night, my sister pretty much made all of dinner and my dad was pretty tired. So I was left with doing all the kitchen clean up (normally I just load the dishwasher, put leftovers in containers, and wipe off the table). Since I was doing everything, I also had to wash all the pots and pans that were left over. I did what I normally do, and then kind of killed time downstairs. I really didn’t want to wash the pots and pans, and I knew my mom would catch me if I came upstairs too soon. My plan was to go up and seem like I did them, and then when someone noticed I hadn’t, I’d just say I thought someone else was going to do them. That’s the kind of shit I would always do. So I went upstairs and laid on my bed. But I couldn’t do it! I laid there thinking how the dishes were there, how I knew that it was my responsibility. So I got up, went downstairs, and did them. Effing amazing, right? There have been other instances like that recently, but this is really the best example of how I’m starting to grow into an adult and not do things just because I don’t want to. And it feels really great.

I’ve been having a bit of trouble applying for a checking account. Bank of America denied my first application. So I tried reapplying that night, and they were having “technical difficulties”, which really started to piss me off. So I woke up at 7:30 this morning, and did it again. It finally went through. Then, later in the day, I checked my email, and I had received one that said I needed to call the bank to verify my information. I thought, “Oh shit. But if I have to, I have to.” I almost put it off until tomorrow, but I wanted to get it done as soon as possible. After dinner, me and my dad went in his and my mom’s room to call, since I applied the second time with him as a co-applicant. I was really nervous, but I think I did really well. I was completely normal (at least from my point of view; my parents didn’t say anything, so I assume I really was fine). I’m really glad that I was able to get myself to call.

Anyway, after the guy looked up my application with the confirmation number I gave him, he said that my information had already been verified. So I said, “Oh, okay. Do you need to verify my dad’s information, then, since he’s the co-applicant?” The guy said that yeah, he needed to talk to the co-applicant. So I just handed the phone to my dad, and he ended up talking to the guy more than I did, haha. So, now my account has been approved and they’re just in the process of setting it up and all. It should officially be open in a couple days, but it’ll probably be a week or more until I get my debit card and other papers.

Financial

If today had a theme, it would definitely be money. I can understand why money troubles are the number one cause for divorce.

I asked my mom to call Capital One to verify our joint savings accounts, because I had too many failed login attempts, and their system now things someone who shouldn’t have access to our accounts is trying to get in. She seemed okay with it the first couple times I asked, but the third time, late in the evening, she asked me why. I replied honestly with, “So I can transfer my money to your checking account and buy my laptop.” She replied, “I told you you’re not getting a laptop until you go to school. Not until we know you’re going for sure.” It pissed me off so much. It’s like she thinks I’ve actually gone through all these obstacles just for a damn laptop. Not only that, but it’s MY money. But apparently, she can do what she wants with my own money and not even tell me. However, when I want to use it, it’s completely off-limits. It’s really one of those “What the fuck?” kind of situations. But I’m not taking this shit from her, anymore. I was working on the floor as I asked her the third time. When she gave me her reply, I put down the board I was working on, and stopped. I told myself I wasn’t going to do anymore floor until I can use my money. I haven’t told her, yet, unfortunately. I’m not sure if I will. I enjoy working on the floor most of the time, but I really want my money. But I’m also about to open my own checking account, after I look over my options with my dad and see what will work best for me, since he has a little more experience with things like this.

I’ve gotten down the basic things involved with opening a checking account, so right now I’m just trying to learn the different terms and stuff so I have more of an idea of what exactly is coming with the accounts at the four different banks I’m looking at (Charles Schwab, ING, First National Bank of Omaha [formerly Washington Mutual], and Bank of America). I also need to look into which institution is safe to bank with, considering how unstable the economic industry is at the moment. I thought I heard that certain parts of Bank of America had gone under, but I dunno. Again, I’ll just have to look into it. I want to get this over with so I can move on to the next hurdle and so my mom has that much less control over my stuff.

CCSF’s Financial Aid Office also emailed me today with the list of their forms I need to fill out and send to them. I’ve gotten three of the requirements done with, and just need to finish the other ones with my parents’ help. Once that’s all done, I can mail them in and pretty much just wait.

I’m also close to registering with a residence club. I looked up reviews of the three I was looking at (Vantaggio Suites, The Monroe, and USA Student Residences). USA Student looks like it’s the best overall. I shouldn’t be there for more than a few months, anyway. On the registration form, they ask for an end date for my stay, and I have no idea what to put. What if I put a date that ends up being too early and I’m forced to move out? That would really suck, haha. I’d email them, but they’re not very good at writing back. I’ll probably put my end date at maybe two to four weeks after the Spring semester is over. I should have some friends (read: potential roommates) by then, as well as enough time to look for a decent apartment and know what’s good and what’s not in San Francisco.

Seven Years, One Month*

Tonight around 9PM, John Muhammed will be put to death by lethal injection at Greensville Penitentiary in Jarrot, VA. Muhammed, and his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo, are better known singularly as the Washington sniper. I can’t believe it’s been a little more than seven years since that terrible October. I was living in Herndon, at the time. It was so frightful living in the DC area during that month. I remember how people were saying that the sniper may be going around in a white van or truck. From then on, everybody would have one eye trained on every white vehicle they saw, wondering if that’s who had killed 10 people and was out looking for more blood. Once when we were at Office Depot in Fairfax, my mom and brother, I think, went inside to look at printers. I stayed in the car, but it got too unbearable just sitting there. So, I kept an eye out for any white cars, and when I didn’t see any, I made a mad dash for the store. Then my mom asked me to go back out and get something, then bring it back in again. I really didn’t want to do it. God knows why I eventually did. But I was scared out of my mind for the 20 seconds it took to run out to the car, get whatever it was, and haul ass back into the store. Metro DC is a huge area, so it’s hard to fathom that kind of fear coursing through more than six million people for a whole month, all because of a man and his then-17-year-old friend.

One of the shootings happened less than half a mile from my grandma’s house in Falls Church, at the Home Depot at Seven Corners. That really got my attention. It was immediately reported on the news, and I asked my dad if grandma was okay, and that maybe he should call her to see. I don’t even remember if he did or not, I was just really frightened by how close he had been to someone from my family. I’m not really someone who openly shows compassion towards family members, also, so that just shows you how worried I was.

I don’t necessarily approve of capital punishment, but when you think of how much that guy affected the area I lived in, it’s hard to think of any other punishment as justice.

Noobs Pwned!

I got my official GED certificate in the mail, today. I scanned it to the computer, along with the congratulations letter from the governor that came with it (ha), and the contract I signed during the registration/orientation night. I’m not sure why I scanned the last one. I guess I just want it to document as much as I can before I end up throwing it away in 10 years, haha.

Anyway, apparently I suck at putting images in here, so I’ll just put links:

GED Testing Candidate Code of Conduct Contract

Congratulatory Letter

GED Certificate

I think it’s funny that the letter was from Tim Kaine. We just had an election last Tuesday that Bob McDonnell one, so now we have a new governor (although he probably takes office at a later date, just like with presidential elections). Anyway, it’s official! I have now graduated high school. As for the title of this post, for a few days before the test, my awesome friend Mila would keep telling me to “pwn noobs!” every time I mentioned how nervous I was about the test. So, mission accomplished!

Earlier tonight, I was able to submit my FAFSA, and it’ll be processed in about 3-4 business days. I can’t wait for CCSF to get it, because then they’ll email me links to their own financial aid forms, which I’ll then fill out and mail to them (I probably mentioned this in an earlier post). So, once those forms are filled out, sent, and eventually received by the school, it shouldn’t be too long until I know how much money I’ll be getting in grants, scholarships, and (if need be) loans. CCSF isn’t real cheap when you’re an out of state student, but it’s still a hell of a lot cheaper than a university, even a public one.

But, I’ve gotten slightly off-topic. Once I know how much money I’ll be getting, I can safely register to live in one of those residence clubs or hostels that I found off of the CCSF site. Once that’s done, everything’s pretty much a done deal. I’m so excited to be moving out! The realism of the situation becomes clearer and clearer with each day. Like, before, it was just, “It’ll be a while, you have a lot of time to get ready.” But now that it’s so close, it’s becoming a little surreal. I know I’ll be moving, but I’ve been living this life for so long, that it’s hard to imagine anything different. I’m scared as balls, to be honest (who wouldn’t be?), but it has to happen sometime. Billions of people are living in the world on their own right now, and they’re making it fine, so why can’t I?

I’ve started talking to a friend of mine, Stephy. We didn’t have a falling out or anything, she just didn’t really get online a whole lot in the past few months. I really missed her. Her and I used to be really close, like… almost dating, I guess you could say. But, at that time, Laura and I were starting to get serious, also, and I made the unfortunate decision of going with Laura instead of Steph. It’s nice to be talking to her again, though. She said we should hang out sometime before I go to college. But, she lives down near Richmond, so I’m not sure how it’d work. I’d really like it, too, though. We were supposed to meet a couple summers ago when I went down towards Richmond to visit my aunt and uncle for a weekend, but it never happened. I hope I do get to see her before I go, because I have to admit, I still have a major crush on her, haha.

Progress and An Argument

Well, I have some good news! I showed my mom the residence clubs I found last night. The prices are pretty damn good, and will definitely work well as semi-temporary living while I look for a more permanent apartment. My mom seemed to approve of them, although she did question how I would pay my rent. That’s really not a big deal, though, because she’d ask that of any place I was looking at living in. So I think it’s going to work out. I’m going to have to finish my FAFSA with my dad tomorrow, sometime, and submit it to CCSF. After they receive it, I’m supposed to get links to forms I need to fill out for their Financial Aid Office. If you live more than 90 miles from CCSF (which I definitely do), you can print out the forms and mail them. Which is definitely good, because I thought I’d have to submit them in person, at first, which would really hold some things up. So everything on that front looks good.

A little while ago, though, me and my mom got in an argument. It started because I questioned why the laptop has to all of a sudden go in her room when she goes to bed, now. It doesn’t really make sense, because I go to bed relatively early (by my standards), and at the same time each night. And, despite what she says, I don’t leave the internet on over night anymore, because my dad once got in some trouble because his work tried to call him early in the morning to tell him to go to a different post office. But anyway, I eventually said, “I’ll be needing to get my own laptop, soon, anyway.” Then my sister said something about only being $500 in my savings account, which is WAY too low. So I immediately questioned my mom about it, and she said how they had taken some money out and it wasn’t hard to put money back in. I said, “That’s not the point. I told you a long time ago not to take any of my money out.” She just kind of gave me this bullshit “I didn’t know!” face. She’s so full of crap. I told her, “I want my money back in. Soon.” I think she was kind of surprised at how firm and aggressive I was being in the matter. It really pisses me off, though. She gives me these mini-lectures about spending my money wisely all the time, and not lying, etc. Then she goes and takes MY money, even when I asked her NOT to, then lies about it. I swear, my mother is possibly the biggest hypocrite I know, and I can’t wait until I’m out from under her.

On the stereo, listen as we go; nothing's gonna stop me now…

The other night, my mom told me that I should look at community colleges closer to home, because we can’t afford to stay in a hotel while looking for a place for me to live in San Francisco. I was pretty pissed off when she told me that, because I’ve been working so hard to get to this point, and I had everything planned out. And then she tells me I need to consider other options, and it just really started to stress me out almost to the breaking point.

So, last night I checked out some other community colleges, and none of them really met my requirements as well as being nearby. And I got thinking, I’ve been wanting this for so long. And one of the reasons is to get away from my mom, so it’s absolutely ridiculous to change any of my plans for her, of all people. As a result, I’m sticking with my original plan and going to San Francisco. I’m still a little uncertain about how it’s all going to pan out, but I’ll figure it out. I did a little searching earlier on the CCSF website and found some housing links. I also read about something called Residence Clubs. They basically sound like dorms, but they’re in normal apartment buildings and not really related to the school. I’ll definitely be checking those out in a little bit.

On a completely unrelated note, I picked out the paint color for the walls in my room. It’s like a lightish blue, kind of like the sky. Since my desk is supposed to be a tree, I thought it’d be cool to make my wall like the sky, so it’s like my room is sorta outside. It’s nice, too, because the blue perfectly matches the blue on the linens we bought for my room that go with the desk. It’s kind of odd to design a whole room around a desk, haha.

We’ve been on the run, driving in the sun, looking out for number one…

I passed! I got an email today saying my GED123.org account status had been changed. I went to check out and saw my scores were posted. It was incredibly surprising to see that I did best in science. Lowest in math, but that’s not a real big shocker. Here’s a screenshot of the PDF of my scores:

I wish I had gotten a specific grade for the essay, because I’d really like to know what the graders though of that. But all I got was a general score for the Writing portion of the Language Arts test. I’m not sure about the accuracy of the 96 percentile for the science test. What that basically means is that I scored higher than 96% of graduating high school students. Oh well, either way, I’ll let it inflate my ego for a short while, haha.

I’ve also determined that I was accepted to CCSF. I finally got into the email account they had set up for me, but no acceptance email was in there. I then went their CollegeBoard school profile page, where it said their acceptance rate was 100%. So yeah, definitely accepted!

So, things are really starting to get into motion, now. I refined my profile on two roommate finding sites, and have found a couple people that may fit my requirements. They’re both girls. I don’t think I could live with a straight guy (I haven’t found any gay ones so far). I just don’t really get along with straight men the way I do with girls and gay guys. I’m hesitant to message these two girls, though. It’s a big step, and I just want to make sure it’s the right time to take it. I’d hate to start talking about getting a place, only to have to back out on one of them later.

I took the orientation course for CCSF earlier, only to learn I needed a student ID number to print out my certificate that would prove I had taken the course. Oh well, it wasn’t that hard, so it won’t be such a hassle to take it again once I take the placement tests (which I’ll have to do physically at the school). The Spring 2010 semester begins January 19th, so I think I’ll be going there at least a week in advance. But that all depends on how much time I need to get settled and whatnot. The placement tests are held regularly according to the website, but I don’t know how often is “regularly”. It could be once a week or every other day. I want to make sure I go when I can take the test, see a counselor, and register for classes, with at least two-three days to get myself oriented with the environment.

I’ll be talking to my mom tomorrow about what the next step should be. I’m no fool, and realize that I can’t do this solely on my own. I need to know I’m taking things in the right direction. One little misstep could really set me back.

I may also mention to my mom about the laptop. I honestly haven’t thought about it in a few weeks. I’ve really only been concentrating on getting my GED and progressing to the next step that will take me to college. I just hope if and when I bring it up to my mom, she doesn’t think, “I knew you were only doing this for a laptop.” I don’t mind, though, because I’m totally expecting her to deny it and say that I need to do a few more things that sets the whole going-to-school thing in stone.

Either way, California, here I come!

Future Destination: TBD

Well, the GED tests are over with. Hopefully, anyway. If I failed any, I have to retake the respective test(s). But I really don’t think I’ll fail any. The tests were noticeably easier than the SATs, and I got decent scores on those. I also think my essay was pretty amazing and unique, but I thought the same thing about my SAT essay. And I got a 7/12 on that one, haha.

The whole morning went pretty much as planned, other than leaving the house a few minutes later than planned because my mom wanted to snooze for 5 minutes. But I still made it there with a decent amount of time to spare. In fact, the examiner wouldn’t let us in the classroom until 7:25, so a few of us sat on some comfortable chairs in a hallway leading to the student lounge. A lady and her daughter were sitting to the right of me, talking about if we could take stuff into the classroom. I told them that on the piece of paper we got in the mail, it said that we could, but that it would have to be left in a designated area. It’s funny to look back on it now, because I was pretty normal and not at all talking nervously or anything. It just helps proves my theory that when forced into such a position, I can be just like anyone else when talking to strangers.

When 7:25 came around, the examiner had us follow her back to just outside the classroom. She explained that she’d call our names, have us present our photo IDs, and tell us which table to sit at. When my name was called, I did what she told us to, and went to sit down at my table. That’s when all the nervousness and anxiety left me and I just focused on what I had to do. The tests weren’t at all given like the SATs. With the SATs, you had to wait until your given time for each test was up before you could proceed to the next test. With the GED, though, if you finished before your time was up, you could immediately go to the next test. I always finish before my allotted time is up, and I hate it. I feel like I’ve rushed through the section and not adequately looked at the questions. But I also feel like I’ve done the best I can, so it’s really quite hard to move on to the next section. I usually don’t check my answers very much when I finish, but so much was relying on me passing, so I did an extra good job making sure I understood why I chose a specific answer and didn’t make a mistake. If I fail any tests, I’m certain it’s because I didn’t know the material, not because of a clumsy mistake on my part. But everything seemed relatively easy for me, which would lend itself to meaning that I knew the material. So I think I’ll be okay. If I fail any section, it’ll definitely be science. That was the one I really had noticeable trouble with.

My essay is another thing that could go either way. But that’s because, like my friend Mila said, it’s really up to the personal opinion of the readers who grade it. My topic question was, “If you could spend day with one person, who would it be?” I chose Stephan Jenkins, the lead singer of my favorite band, Third Eye Blind. It was somewhat of a risky choice, but I think I effectively proved my point in the essay. It’s funny, because I used things that I briefly read about in college essay books and other tips I read more than a year ago for the SAT essay. It’s funny how much you remember when you need to.

I think my essay was a little too political and controversial, but, like I said, I think I effectively got my point across, which is what really matters. I chose Stephan Jenkins because he remains true to himself and doesn’t adhere to other peoples’ principles. An example I used was the recent single “Non-Dairy Creamer,” in which he bluntly voices his frustrations with America’s political system. The most controversial part of the paper was when I specifically used the last verse of the song, “Young, gay Republicans,” and went into minor detail about what it symbolized. Again, I may have gotten a little too political and controversial.

I also injected some humor into the essay, which I’ve heard is a risky thing to do. But I think it worked to my advantage. Oh well, we’ll see how I did next week when my scores are online for me to view. I should also receive my actual certificate in two to three weeks via snail mail.

They gave us a lunch break when we finished the writing section of the language arts test. For me, that was around 11:20 or so, until 12:15. I went to the student lounge, where they only had vending machines with snacks, and one with mini frozen pizzas and the like. None of the latter stuff looked good to me, so I just got some Brisk Iced Tea, chocolate pretzels, and some gum. Then I just sat down, propped my legs up on a center table thing that four comfy chairs were surrounding, and hopped on my PSP. I chatted with my friend, Nina, via facebook comments for a while, and posted a little bit on The Mind-Fucked, my other friend Brandon’s forum. The lounge was actually pretty nice for a somewhat small community college, and I could definitely imagine myself taking breaks there between classes, if I were to attend Lord Fairfax. There were other students there walking around and getting snacks on their way to another class. It was really nice being in the middle of that sort of atmosphere. I got a piece of what it would feel like to be attending college myself, and it really made me feel right at home. My God, is there anything better than that feeling of belonging?

After lunch, I headed back to the classroom a few minutes early and had to wait outside with some other students. When we went back in, I started on the science test, then social studies, and finally the reading part of the language arts test. I really started to notice the effects of not getting enough sleep the night before. I turned out my light around 12:15, but I kept waking up. It wasn’t the worst sleep I’ve had in a few weeks, though, so at least that’s good.

When I was done (at 2:30; lightning fast, baby!), I went to the student lounge to get something else to snack on real quick, because I was pretty hungry. It took me 5 minutes to realize all I could really get was a Butterfinger for $0.90.

Afterwards, I walked outside and was amazed at the view across the street from the school. It’s in Middletown, which is a pretty rural town (even though the school is fairly big). Across the street was just these big, open fields, and beyond those was the mountainous skyline of the Blue Ridge. It was, for lack of a better word, breathtaking. Of course, after taking a test for 7 hours inside a room with little or no windows, doesn’t any sort of outdoors exposure look beautiful?

I called my mom to come pick me up. She called back a couple minutes later to tell me my dad was on his way back from work, so he’d be getting me. I went inside to wait in the lounge and take advantage of the free wifi to get on eBuddy and talk with Nina some more. Around 3, I went back outside and waited for maybe 15 minutes longer until my dad got there. We dropped some overdue books off at the library and then went straight home.

I was so tired when we got home. I’m starting to despise having to put nice clothes on when I go out places, because taking it all off when I get home is really becoming a bitch. Anyway, I went in the den to talk with my mom and sister some, and we discussed the whole testing process and whatnot. Then we got to talking about what’s next for me. I told her about SFSU some, and she immediately asked me who lived in San Francisco. I told her no one. Which is true. Athena lived there at one time, but she’s passed away, so I really don’t consider her as a person I’m going there for. I mean, I am going there partly because she lived there, but there’s really just no other city like San Francisco from what I’ve read about it.

I also told my mom about City College of San Francisco, and how I need to fly there for orientation. She said, “Well, have you been accepted?” I told her I was. At least, I think I was. I swear I remember getting an email letting me know I’ve been accepted, but I still want to make sure. She said that if I was accepted, then we could just fly there and do orientation and I could just stay. But I found out that I can do orientation online. What I need to fly there for is placement tests and a meeting with a student counselor. Still, I need to find out if I really have been accepted, which is proving to be a pain in the ass. I can’t remember the username or password for the Gmail account the school set up for me, and I can’t find anything yet on any of the websites I’ve visited that pertain to the school.

I’ll have to figure out a place to live in San Francisco. That could prove more difficult than you’d think, because I’ll need a roommate, and it can be hard to find a suitable roommate whom you’ve never met before. The place will also have to fit my budget. So many gears that have to work together in order for this thing to work. But that’s just part of the job. I’ll make this work.

If I’m able to go there, the semester starts in January. I never thought I’d really be leaving home so soon. Not that it isn’t welcome, but it’s funny to think that in two months I could be out of here, whereas for the past few weeks I’ve been thinking I’d be here until next year. Damn, am I excited!