15 June 2006

worst to-do's ever

even though school's over, the work never seems to end. and what i have on my plate are pretty much the worst tasks EVER.
  • Shopping around for loan-consolidation programs - I am convinced that loan lenders in general are fully aware of how crappy it is for the average person to shop around for and compare interest-rates, fees, interest-reduction perks, blah blah blah....GIBBERISH! Prime? LIBOR? Prepayment penalty fees? WTF?!?! They all sound the same! My anxiety around this subject seems to get me into even deeper trouble b/c I am just tempted to take whatever "sounds good" - which is basically an arbitrary decision based on brand recognition. Which is why I ended up taking out an alternative loan in my undergrad that has an interest rate higher than some of my credit cards. I hate you, WellsFargo!
  • Conducting a long-distance apartment/roommate search - This is the first time I am looking for non-university affiliated housing. Yikes, it's a pain in the butt. Again, the plethora of choices and comparisons to make makes my head spin. Craigslist is great, but it would be even better if there were actually an animated "Craig" on the screen to just tell me which is the best deal, in a good neighborhood, and that the fellow roommates are sane. Anyway, trying to assess these things long-distance and unable to see places and people for myself really sucks. If you would like to donate airfare for me to fly out to San Francisco, I would have to accept it.
  • Searching for a job - I've passed on my resume to some people in the non-profit world, but beyond that I've been pretty inert on this front. Why is it so overwhelming to look for a job? Oh yes, b/c it actually takes a lot of work. Additional point of complaint: it's not easy to find a part-time counseling job. Perhaps I will fulfill my secret wish to one day waitress or bartend.
  • Studying for a standardized test - I don't think I even have to explain why this is the worst. Luckily, I came upon a great GRE prep course offered by the Cambridge Adult Center for Education that was a fraction ($300!) of the cost of Kaplan or Princeton Review (~$1000!!!). The instructor also formerly taught w/ Kaplan for years, which inspires confidence. I feel like I found a Marc Jacobs handbag at TJMaxx! Anyway, this still counts as the worst b/c I have to discipline myself into studying hard-core for the next couple of months.
That's enough bitching for now. Apologies to all of you who have much worse things on their minds (which I know is a lot of people).

2 comments:

Elaine said...

wow, good luck with all of that! that is ridiculous that interest rates on student loans are higher than credit card APR. our country really has its priorities straight. finding an apartment in a new city--as i am beginning to understand--is difficult! how do you know whether you're getting a nice place in a decent neighborhood near good transportation if you can't be there in person to see it? tis hard.

Steph said...

thanks for the comment! where do you want to live in DC? maybe you can stay w/ your grandparents for the first couple of weeks and then look for a place while you're there. when do you head out?