Saved-by-Grace-Saturday

This week's saving graces:


1) Finding my favorite (for now) box of chocolates again:

Whitman's Soho Artist Inspired Chocolates.

I discovered them last year around Christmas and then couldn't find them for a long time (and believe me, if there is anything that I believe deserves an effortful search, it is chocolate). Nowhere to be found this past year at Christmas... and now I find them as the big V-day approaches. They are beautiful. They are different. They are only $5. There are only six of them which means there is no guilt or shame in eating THE WHOLE BOX (not saying I did... not saying I didn't, just sayin' there's no shame.)

I may also have caved in my mid-week slump and ate some DQ fries with ranch... and maybe, just maybe, a blizzard. I am so weak.

2) IRS... yes, that's right, the IRS is one of my saving graces this week. I worked out our taxes last night and figured that our return will pretty much cover what we have incurred in credit card debt over the past year (i.e. out-of-state tuition costs and out-of-pocket birth costs). SCORE!!! It is such a relief, I want to go hug an IRS employee.... but I don't know any.

3) If you read my last post, you know I was bummed about blowing a job interview. I am 99.9% certain that I didn't get the job, but if they were to call I could now tell them to go suck it... of course not in those terms... or any terms, really, I still want the job down the line, so I wouldn't show any signs of rejection resentment. But, I would have to tell them, that I have other laboral obligations... yes, that's right, a job.

As I have mentioned before, I am a lowly grad student. I taught as a graduate assistant instructor for most of my graduate studies. There is this silly rule, however, that only allows you 14 semesters, no exceptions, of this kind of assistance... at least the last time I checked. Apparently, after I had already confirmed the 14 semester rule and given notice of my last semester of teaching, they added a few exceptions. I was busy having a baby and caring for a newborn so, I guess I missed all of the notices that were surely sent out to relieve grad students of the impending doom of joblessness... So, anyway, I am eligible to teach for a few more semesters. YAY!!!

As you may suspect, it is not a lucrative position. In fact, it will just barely cover child-care expenses for two lil' tykes. But I will get health benefits again, instead of paying COBRA (which has sucked big time) and I will have time to work more on my dissertation.