- And It Was All Going So Well

And It Was All Going So Well

04:21, 2-Sep-2008 .. Posted in Grumblings .. 19 comments .. Link

Today started brightly enough. I've been waiting over a week to take delivery of Warcraft III and it finally arrived this morning, along with my new Visa card and the train tickets for the final leg of my move on the 15th.

I played through the introduction to Warcraft III and had fun doing so.

Then it all started to go a bit wrong...

Enrolment day at university has always been a messy one. Queue after queue wrapping around a sports hall of tired and frustrated new students all waiting for hours on end to get the relevant forms checked and signed and their ID cards given.

This being the internet age, however, enrolment can now be done online. The first step is to arrange payment of the tuition fees, if it hasn’t already been handled by the LEA (Local Education Authority). Mine hadn’t been so I checked the documentation they sent me to see if it said when they would be.

It didn’t.

Instead it claimed that I hadn’t even applied for them!

Traumatised, I tried to call the student finance direct helpline to find out what was going on, while I checked my online application to see if I’d really been that stupid.

I hadn’t.

There it was, plain as day: Do you wish to apply for a loan to cover your tuition fee costs? - Yes

Trauma turned to confusion and I made sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me by reading it a few times over while I waited in the queue for an operator.

Twenty minutes went by.

Displeased, frustrated and increasingly anxious, I decided to head down to the council offices and speak with the LEA people face-to-face. The woman I talked to looked confused, took my forms, disappeared into an office for ten minutes and returned with the expression of someone about to deliver bad news.

It seems that the LEA will only provide a loan for tuition fees four times and, since I’ve already had it twice before, they’re not going to give it this time and will instead hold it for the second and third years of the course. The £3,145 required for the first year, I’ll have to drum up myself.

I’m pretty sure, if there weren’t people standing around waiting to be dealt with, I still wouldn’t have swung for her, but it did take a lot of restraint not to put my fist through the glass panel behind me.

I tried to get some kind of explanation out of her as to why this restriction would be in place, seeing as they’re loans and are paid back eventually anyway, and why I wasn’t told my application had been unsuccessful a month ago when the decision was made and I might've had some time to prepare, but the best she could do was look uncomfortable and mumble something about that being how their system works.

I spent a coupla more minutes pointing out the gaping flaws in that system, increasing her discomfort in front of the other people she’d soon have to deal withh, before storming off in a bit of rage, leaving, “Nice of the Local Education Authority to completely fuck-up my education,” as a parting shot.

I pondered a little retail therapy and perhaps a large cuppa joe, but was in too bad a mood and chose to come straight home.

After gathering myself for a few minutes, I looked into the fee payment process on the uni’s site. Two instalments are taken in November and January, so I at least have some time to work something out. The measly £500 in my savings isn’t going to cut it, but it’s a start. Regardless, I set up the payment plan and completed the enrolment process.

Wanting to turn my mind to something else, I set about sorting through my DVD collection to figure what’s going with me. Pixie gave me the idea of taking them in a CD carry-case to save room and I fortunately have two; a 33 slot and a 64 slot. Still, deciding what stays and what goes was not easy. Fortunately, series box-sets are more often than not in handy little display-type cases and take up less room, so the few of those I’ll be taking can go as they are. Hopefully there’ll be room for a few more when the boxes are packed.

I don’t think I can afford to buy another case…
Leave a Comment

05:04, 2-Sep-2008 .. Posted by birdsnest
dude that sucks.
maybe you can turn tricks on the weekends to make ends meet?
:P
good luck.

05:10, 2-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
As profitable as that might be, I can assure you my end is meeting no other!

But thanks for the support.

05:40, 2-Sep-2008 .. Posted by birdsnest
you're welcome.

10:41, 2-Sep-2008 .. Posted by WelshPixie
Oh wow... that sucks. But yeah, because I didn't finish my neuroscience degree I can't get any more loans from the LEA. It's fucking disgraceful that they didn't let you know, though.

*big hugs*

10:56, 2-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
I was surprised that they didn't get all uppity about me not finishing my first degree. Apparently it's the standard practice to pay no more than four years' worth of fees.

What's really fucked up as that they don't tell anyone that that's all they'll get.

I even posed the point; "So no one's allowed to take more than one whole degree?"

"No. They're allowed to..."

"But you're preventing them from doing it! How's a student supposed to three and a half grand for a year's worth of tuition?!"

I think she was about to try and argue the three-and-half-grand point, but she decided to keep staring at the desk.

I hate this useless fucking country sometimes...

10:56, 2-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
But thanks for the hugs :)

01:33, 3-Sep-2008 .. Posted by cherry

Feck! That's seriously NOT good enough. Did they just expect you to swallow that?? You should tell someone who has the power to do something about it.

08:20, 3-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
The ones with the power to do something about it are the ones who set the stupid fucking rules. If it had been one of those there, crowd or not, the desk would've been split apart with their face.

A good night's sleep has not made me any less angered by the situation.

Want to punch something...

10:37, 3-Sep-2008 .. Posted by Twist
I can't even begin to wonder how these people sleep at night. It's ridiculous.

*big hugs* I hope you can get yourself sorted, man. Punch a pillow or something. Sure, it sounds gay, but you'll feel a whole lot better afterwards.

10:52, 3-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
Hehe - I was thinking of something with a little less give. Not much satisfaction in punching a pillow. Need that booom type sound...

It's a shame the bathroom door didn't wait a couple of days before jamming. I had to give it some gentle persuasion with my shoulder and ended up ripping off half the door frame.

That was oddly satisfying, once I got over the initial feeling of *woops*

10:53, 3-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
In retrospect, I should've seen what kind of week it was going to be then.

11:05, 3-Sep-2008 .. Posted by Twist
I know it sounds soft and stupid, but you can hammer a pillow til your heart's content, without hurting yourself. Trust me, punching doors and walls is never a good thing. Kicking, maybe.

11:22, 3-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
I might give it a try if no other option presents itself...

02:23, 5-Sep-2008 .. Posted by sarai
awww man that sucks ((hugs)) I know you got some already but more hugs always make things better.

08:24, 5-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
Hugs are da shiz! :)

It's all sorted now, though in a far from ideal way.

Anyway, onwards!

05:13, 23-Sep-2008 .. Posted by annmi
"Warcraft III and it finally arrived this morning, along with my new Visa card and the train tickets"

I hope you didn't order the visa from the same place as Warcraft III. :P

So, since you have not enough money and too many dvd's, why not sell some dvds...? No, no, I know, not really an option. I feel the same way about mine.
Good luck. Perhaps you can get a friendly loan from a parent or friend?

05:51, 23-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
My dad's helping me out :)

08:35, 23-Sep-2008 .. Posted by annmi
Wonderful :)

11:01, 23-Sep-2008 .. Posted by bebbet
Life-saving :D

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