So I called CRA on Tuesday and they informed me that my payment DID go through, but it went to EI.  I owed EI between 100-200 dollars, so I don’t know WHY they took my entire $1042.  They had no right to, I didn’t owe them nearly that much.  I had to call EI and ask them to transfer it to student loans.  They told me it would take up to 45 days to transfer it. FUCK!  Then I called student loans and they could see that I had paid 1042 dollars, and they knew it was getting transferred, but they couldn’t rehabilitate my loan or lift the restriction until it is actually transfered and in their account.  So then I called CRA and cried and now I am supposed to call this guy on his direct line on Monday and he’s going to try and hurry up this transfer.  So he will give me good or bad news.  Sigh.

And then, AND THEN I called my movers to find out how much I owe and they gave me this insanely high number.  And I practically died inside and was like “I’m never getting my stuff!” Cue tears.  So then I called around today and a relative is loaning me some money to pay them.  I do have SOME money for them, but not enough.  And I also sent them a request for a breakdown of how much I owe and why, and they gave me another quote that was about $600 less than I had been told before.  So that seemed more sensible.  I was really upset for a while though.  And I changed when they would bring my stuff to Thursday.  But then my relative called me again and said the bank transfer of their money would take until Thursday or Friday, so I may have to call AGAIN and get the delivery date  changed again because they won’t drop it off until I can hand over a certified cheque, money order, or cash.  It’s all incredibly frustrating.

Someone is lending me a bin of house things while I basically camp out in my suite until my stuff arrives.  It’s reminding me of what life was like when I moved to Vancouver as a teenager, or Montreal as a beginning-to-go-insane 20 something.  When I am in my 40’s and moving to LA to get my big break in show business, I will probably wind up in a bare apartment with an air mattress, old sheets, and a pot of ramen noodles yet again.  Nah, I won’t move to the States.  But it’s just a really weird thing that happens to me a lot.

My friend Louis was like “Oh, I hope your suite isn’t haunted.”  And I was like “Ah, I think ghosts follow me anyway so it probably will be.”

It’s been an incredibly stressful week, and I STILL didn’t miss a single class, not even the one that had a very dense article we had to read full of big unpleasant academic language. So that was good.  I handed in my homework on time.  So far no prof has told me I suck, so that’s a good sign I guess.  I didn’t do any school stuff today, just worked out my moving issues and then hung out with Louis and then came home to pups!  I left Posey for literally six hours and she acted like I had been gone ALL DAY!  She gave me kisses for about an hour and cleaned my ear and ran around my shoulders.  Little Mister also snuggled, but he’s a pretty independent guy so he wasn’t as needy as little girl pup.

And just before I wrote this they told me in their doggy way that they were ready for bed, so here we are.  Tomorrow I have an appointment for an interview with a Co-op Housing place, so I am gonna go do that and then maybe see my friend again.  It’s close to where he lives, so it would be nice if I got into it, although I know it’s probably gonna be a waiting list situation for a year or more.

I’m sleepy.  My night meds are kicking in.  Posey is all cuddled up under the covers.  I haven’t had to call a suicide crisis line so far, which I think is pretty good!  It’s been a really stressful couple of months.  I think and hope that things will change pretty quick, but it’s really unknown.

And through all of this my Grandma is still having a hard time, and I am far away, and somehow I have to have some extra money in case I need to go home because of an emergency.  Not for good, just for a little bit.  Whew.

I figured out something I am going to add for my performance in London Ontario.

Today I called CRA, found out I needed to pay them 1042 to rehabilitate my loan, and within hours my friend emailed me the money and I paid it through online banking.  Now I just have to call them again on Tuesday and confirm that I paid it, and then call Student Loans and get my restriction taken off.  But also I had a thing that said I should send them a written letter stating the same things.  SO I will do both, to cover all my bases. I really want this to work out!

I was gonna stay up late tonight because I have no school tomorrow, but I am already yawny!  Tired me!  I was up early, and had no naps.

I went and got some food for my dogs, muzzles in case they get barky at the new place when they are settling in, poop bags for obvious reasons, and some stuff for school.  I ordered two books I need for a class and they should arrive tomorrow, and the rest of my texts are gonna be available via PDF files online.  So that’s good.  Books are cheap! 😀 $40 bucks so far!  I have another class on Monday, hopefully the books for that are cheap or online too!

I don’t have much else to say.  I hope my loan gets approved next week!

Classes have started!  Besides this funding quandary I am actually really enjoying myself at school and having a good time!  Ryerson increased my fellowship by a thousand dollars, to five thousand dollars.  Including my Residential School Education Credit from my Grandma, I have about 8000 towards my 10,000 tuition.  Which is why today when I found out Mom and I don’t qualify for a student line of credit because she doesn’t make enough money, I still felt sort of hopeful.  I mean, the tuition is gonna be mostly paid for, it’s just living and books and about 2000 for the rest of my tuition.  That’s ALL I need.  Which isn’t so bad.

But it’s still kinda stressful.  Anyway, today my info from Student Loans showed up saying I COULD rehabilitate my loan and get the restriction taken off, if I pay about 800 in interest and do two monthly payments to CRA.  And my loan is so little, SO little, it’s $2000.  So the monthly payment might be 25-50 bucks for all I know.  I was so frustrated though, because all the money I have is paying for rent and moving costs and maybe some food.  But then a friend said she might be able to loan me the money to rehabilitate my loan as long as I pay her back when I get my next loan.  So I’m gonna give it a shot, call CRA and find out how much my monthly payments are.  So I don’t know why that woman was telling me it was too late to rehabilitate my loan.  SHE LIED!  She just wanted to be an asshole, and probably assumed I owed tens of thousands of dollars!  Anyway, hopefully this can get worked out in the next week.

It’s so weird, I never realized how much of a struggle it would be just to go to Graduate school.  I haven’t even done any assignments yet!!!!

In better news, my new landlady checked my references and was happy with them and I will be moving in on September 15th.  So YAY!  🙂  I’m relieved!  She’s drafting up a lease and letter and then I’ll be handing over rent money.  It’s a good thing she is renting to me too because I already told my movers where I was going.  If I hadn’t got the place I would have cancelled and changed it, but now I don’t have to!

The pups are getting used to my friends dogs and Posey was trying to play with the old matriarch dog, Tashi, but we couldn’t tell if Tashi was getting pissed off at her or being playful because she kept growling and wagging her tail.  Mixed messages!  At one point I witnessed all four dogs running around in a circle through some doorways from the living room and kitchen and hallway.  I think Posey was playing and Little Mister was chasing and the other two were just caught up in all the hubbub.  Either way Posey and Mister are settling in to their temporary situation.  I feel bad because their little lives are going to go through another upheaval in a couple weeks.  And then a little bit again when the new roommate moves in.

What else?  I’m excited to be reunited with my things.  And my bed!  And have my own place again!  And my books and bookcase and various important things!  And filing cabinet!

I’m gonna have to find a couch or chairs or something tho.  For my living room.  I only moved bedroom furniture.

Things are so up and down.  I’m hanging on though!  I’ve been on time for all my classes so far, I have one more tomorrow morning at 9, and then I’m done for the week!  Tomorrow is Media Production I, the lecture part.  And then we do the lab half on Monday.  I’m not sure what to expect, I guess I’ll find out!  I have no printer at the moment, so my iPhone has been saving my life.  It’s telling me when and where all my classes are and I can check the campus map on my gmail app.  And google maps has also saved me, especially watching my gps dot move around telling me where I am.

I also got my OneCard student ID thingy today, and I found a pharmacy near my school where I got my prescriptions transferred.  They said I could pick them up on Friday.  So it’s working out.  I also need to get a doctor, psychiatrist, dentist, optometrist, hairdresser, and Little Mister’s new groomer.  But that doesn’t have to happen just yet.

I’m feeling better again, I’m staying in Toronto now with my dogs, they are having a hard time adjusting to the changes, and there will be a couple more changes happening to them.  So I hope they do ok.  Took them for a walk today and they were alright in their current neighborhood.

Everything is really hard to focus on, because so much is in flux.  I had been hoping to have some things settled by now, but things are really tenuous still.  I haven’t signed the lease yet, but I am hoping this weekend she contacts my references.  I am going to see the bank on Tuesday about a Student Line of Credit which would give me some room to not worry so much over money.  And I am going to be waiting to hear about another funding situation for a while still.  I think I’m going to email the administrator for that and ask if she has a time frame for when I will hear back, because I’d just like to know.  But money is still coming in through my gofundme, and I got an artist fee, although the cheque has vanished for some reason and I have to call my distributor to cancel it and reissue me one.  I hope they can do that soon.

It’s the last weekend before classes start.  I’m having a hard time because I’m really not in the frame of mind to be a student, I’m concentrating on surviving and that’s been really hard.  I guess it’s not so bad in the grand perspective, but it’s a lot of stress on me and I’m already bipolar, so my ability to cope with stress is diminished compared to people who have no anxiety/mood issues.  This next week I am going to go to the disability office and talk to them about possible accommodations.

I think when I have moved, have my stuff in my apartment, my dogs settled, and some answers about money I will feel better.  I know it will be alright, it’s just getting from here to there that is hard.  Life is really hard.  I’m staying with some nice people though, and that’s really good.  I’m worried about a lot of things.  It’s wearing on me.  I am hoping within the next week I will know more about what my future will look like, because right now it is really up in the air.

So I called that number yesterday and got this really mean Francophone lady who told me it was too late to do loan rehabilitation and that NO ONE could give me my balance over the phone, it would be mailed in five to ten business days.  She was the most unhelpful person I had talked to during this whole thing, didn’t give me any options for how to get the restriction removed from my student loan application.

So I cried for a while and talked to my friend Robin and she had all these suggestions, and some other people had suggestions.  And I sent in an application to this foundation but I don’t know when I will hear back.  AND today I followed up on a suggestion and called TD to set up an appointment for a Student Line of Credit.  It would give me enough for this semester and I could pay it back anytime.  So I don’t know what will happen to me, but I’m gonna keep on going and just hope that somehow this all gets paid for in the end.

It’s been really stressful.  If worse comes to worse I’m gonna drop out at the end of September and get a job.  I’m not able to move back to Saskatchewan because I can’t afford it and also I don’t want to go back, it’s too racist there for me to get a job and I’d just be living with my Mom again and feeling shitty.   So there’s no where to go but forward, and I’m just gonna have to do it!

My psychic said I would go to school, so I really hope it’s true and that I am destined to go there.  In the meantime orientation is coming up and I have to move over to my friend’s and start classes.

My roommate situation might be falling through, we’re not sure if she can move or not.  We’re gonna wait one more night and see if our fortunes change, but I might have to find someone else to move into this basement suite with me.  So that also sucks.

In good news I now have enough to pay my first and last month’s rent and also the costs of the movers.  I just need to have this place locked down so I can give the address to my movers for our move in date.  Whew.  🙁

I may have a place to live!  My roommate is gonna go see it and then the landlady is checking our references and stuff.  But I won’t be moving in until Sept 15th, which kinda sucks but also will be okay because I can stay with my friend Louis.  AND she knows about all our dogs.

I found out my fellowship is getting split into 3 payments over 3 semesters, which SUCKS because now I need to find money for my tuition and books.  I’m really really hoping student loans pulls through.  I had a loan I wasn’t able to pay back, which is why I am worried about it.  On the other hand it was a really really small loan and I was on disability for a long time.  So hopefully they will be compassionate and give me a loan?  I really just have to wait and see.  So frustrating!

++++++++++++++++++hours later+++++++++++++++++++++++

So I got tired of waiting to hear about my student loan and called the service centre in Saskatchewan, they told me they sent me a letter on the 18th saying I was rejected because of a federal restriction, BUT they gave me a phone number to this federal student loans place to see if I could get the restriction lifted.  The next phone rep gave me another number to call about getting a “loan rehabilitation” where I pay off my interest and make two payments and then I can call them back and get the restriction lifted.  SO I made another call and got yet another number which I can call tomorrow and ask about all of this.  I’m feeling really relieved, I was worried I would be banned from loans forever, instead it seems like the government is actually willing to work with people to find solutions.  Which is funny because I knew that already from my interactions with Canada Revenue Agency.  But yeah!  I actually have a chance that I can fund my schooling through traditional mainstream student loans.

It would be nice to not have to get a loan, but also I am not that worried about giving myself more debt to pay off.  It wouldn’t be anything like getting loans for a four year undergraduate program, because it’s a masters program and is only 12 months long.  Anyway, I have some hope again, and it’s making me feel a lot happier and I am losing that cry eyes feeling!

Whew!  Still, I am not out of the woods yet!  But I hope to have this all sorted by the time Friday rolls around.  One place to call tomorrow, possibly making a payment through my bank, then another phone call and then I should be all sorted!  It does mean I’m gonna have to juggle money around again, and that sucks, BUT things will work out.

So for a while I was feeling down, and like I would be in school a month and then get booted out for not paying fees and have to move back to Saskatoon or something.  Not that I would move back.  But it looks like I will be able to do school!  And who knows, maybe in January I will get off the waitlist for band funding and be able to NOT have a student loan anymore!

In bad news Posey has been eating my glasses.  🙁  What a jerky kid I have!

I’m staying with my cousin in Mississauga before September when I move to Toronto, and because of a housing situation I may have to stay somewhere else for two weeks before I can move in.  It’s all really up in the air, and we don’t know for sure where we are going to live yet.

The dogs have adjusted really well.  Posey and Little Mister were fine with the plane flight, I was a nervous wreck at the end waiting for them to come out in the oversize luggage area.  But they showed up eventually, Little Mister pooped in his kennel, but that was the only unfortunate thing.  He got a bath when we got him to the house and then they have been settling in.  Little Mister is getting better at not peeing or pooping inside.  He goes to the stairs when he needs to go out for a pee.  Posey is still having a hard time with the inside/outside thing.  But she’ll learn!  They’ve gotten along really well with Theresa’s dogs, Little Mister and Peanut the Pug have had a couple fights but Porkchop the Pomeranian has broken it up right away.  I think Porkchop is the leader of the pack.  Everyone is figuring out where in the hierarchy they fit.  Posey and Porkchop have been playing chase in the backyard.

Of course I am in Mississauga right now, so they are adjusting well now because it’s fairly similar to Saskatoon, but when we live in Toronto they are gonna have to get used to a more busy streetscene.

What else?  Oh man, tomorrow I am getting word if I get funded from this place.  I really hope for good news.  I’m worried about the future a lot.  I’ve been doing this gofundme thing, but it’s been a few days since I got a donation.  I think I might be ok for rent and moving, but I don’t know what I will eat.  Or how I will pay for books.  So it’s pretty weird.  Also I read that student loans won’t give you a loan if you defaulted on your previous one, and I did.  It was a 2 or 4 thousand dollar loan, not a lot, but I never made enough money to start paying it off.  I was also on social assistance for a long time.  Which paid barely enough for food clothes and other neccessities along with rent.  So anyway, I don’t know if they will forgive it and give me another loan, or be pissy and tell me to fuck off.

So many things unknown!  And school starts in just over a week!  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

On the other hand, I have been having lovely visits with friends, both ones that live here and ones that are visiting from afar.  Little Mister got to meet two of his fans from Berlin, Juli and Liv.  Unfortunately Posey was a jerk and barked at them for a while, her high pitched squeaky bark.  Louis and I went to the AGO and saw the Anishinabe show.  We also just hung out and visited another day.  Did we go for dinner?  It is all becoming a blur!  I’m gonna eventually get to see my friend Margaret, because she comes to Toronto a bunch for work related reasons.

And of course there are good things about school, like that I will be meeting people and working on stuff and learning.  It’s just awkward when all my stuff is in storage and I am living out of a suitcase.  🙁  I really hope we get this place we want.

So a whole bunch of stuff happened.  Like Robin Williams died.  And I don’t have time to write a decent post about it now, because a whole bunch of stuff is still happening.  Like I am moving in about 28.5 hours! I will be on a plane, taking off, leaving this little prairie city behind!

With my dogs!  And I am still feeling guilty about upending their lives, but the vet says dogs are very adaptable with moves and just want to be with you, and she says small breeds do well in big cities, better than big pups.  So they should be okay.  We even found the other thundershirt!  TWO thundershirts on TWO dogs!  Keeping them calm through the plane ride!

Well, I really was gonna write more, but it’s late (or super early depending how you think of it) and I should go to bed.  Tomorrow I have my last haircut with Carolynn, go to the Coach for the last time with Deanna, see Shar for the last time, and then spend most of the evening with my Mom, before having basically a nap and then getting in the car to go to the airport at 3:50am to check in pups and stuff.

I’m sleepy!

The countdown is on!  Friday morning at 5:30 the plane will be taking off with me and my two dogs in it, heading for Toronto! I’m getting excited.  I think I will just stay around where my temporary home is on Friday, but Saturday we are going in to Toronto to hunt down a place! I really hope it works out!

My stuff is almost all packed.  There are just a few boxes left that need to be finished.  But there is a lot done!  I am leaving a bunch of video tapes behind.  I figure I can move them when I know which ones I want to keep.  Mom is staying in this house until the spring, so I have that much time at least.

I’m worried about how Posey is gonna be on the plane flight.  She’s gonna hate it, if she hates cars she will hate the plane even more!  But she will be so happy to see me on the other end!  Little Mister I am not too worried about, I think he will be fine.  He takes things in stride a lot easier than Posey.  He was a show puppy in his youth.

Mom says she’s gonna miss Posey.  She has been really funny around here.  She’s such a goofy puppy!  And she has such long legs!

I hope my little fuzzy family is okay!  I worry about them.  I think they will adjust.  It’s just all the unknowns that freak me out!

But everything is gonna change soon, and I think in the end my life will be better for it.  I’ve been wanting to get out of Saskatoon for a long time, and finally I have a chance, so I had better go for it.  And I think there will be more dating options out there, which is really nice.    Whew.

I have to get my phone unlocked, take the pups for kennel cough vaccinations tomorrow, get some medications for the month, finish packing, help the movers take my stuff, and then . . . and then I think I’m done!  Just getting ready for leaving after that!  I think my movers are coming tuesday, I hope it’s then anyway!

My gofundme is going well!  I’ve raised $800 so far!  Yay!  I’m feeling like I might make my goal!

I also got some back gst today!  Which is what I was hoping for before I move.  And it will go to my movers, so that’s good!!

I’m still woefully unaware of funding decisions for school and I have no clue about being given a TA/GA-ship.  I have to apply, but they aren’t posting any that are in my field yet.  I think they said they would post them in the middle of August.

I need to get serious about packing.  There are assorted things I have to do.  Like get my iPhone unlocked.  And call the vet and get some kennel cough stuff for my dogs done in case they have to go to the kennel in Toronto while I find a place.  Really I should just make a list of things to do.  I have a place to stay now when I get to Toronto, except it’s not in Toronto it’s in Mississauga.  BUT I can stay with my pups, and I can come to Toronto a few times before I move to look for places and get my student id and stuff.  I’m thinking of asking a friend in Toronto to let me use their mailing address for my mail.  Just while I find a more permanent place.

My grandpa keeps asking if I have enough money for school, and I don’t, YET! But I think/hope I will be okay.  I have about three back up plans going right now. So hopefully one of them will work out for me.  Or ALL of them will work out and then I can cancel some and go with the best option.  So it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing.  And it’s so close, I mean school starts in less than a month!

The other thing that has me panicking is the search for a home for September.  I have been looking for months but either places are too expensive or they don’t want dogs living with them.  Right now my cousin and I are looking for a two bedroom, but I don’t know anymore if that is for sure because she had to spend a lot of money on her dog’s vet bills and I’m not sure she can afford first and last month’s rent anymore.  I’m hoping I will find a place. I’m reducing my requirements for a home, in particular in regards to location, just so I will have a better chance of finding something.  But I am not sure what’s gonna happen.  Also having no idea of my living allowance is freaking me out a bit, and hindering my ability to confidently state my rental budget.

I read that homeless women in Toronto are getting sexually assaulted frequently and it made me freak out a bit because I don’t want to wind up homeless in a big city, AGAIN, and I’m not sure how I could do school and having dogs without a place to live.  Ugh.  Moving sucks ass, man!  It seems so exciting, but there are so many terrible pitfalls to it. Especially when you have pets.

So blah!  I look at the ryerson taga site every weekday, and the off campus housing listings, and kijiji, and craigslist, and viewit, and two facebook groups for rental properties which are mostly looking for roommates.  And it’s pretty boring.  And really we can’t go look at any places until I get there, because now my cousin can’t even afford to go to Toronto once a week for viewings.  🙁

Stress sucks.  Blah!

So that’s what I’ve been doing!  Not very exciting. Change is such a weird process. I’ve stopped looking at profiles on OKC because I’ve stopped being remotely interested in potential girlfriends. Like, where would I take them?  I think I’ll be more interested when I’m settled a little bit more.  When I have a schedule and a place to live.  It will happen, eventually. I’m starting to think about looking for a sublet for September, but also I think I should just find a place for good for September.