Red Tape

Red Tape. It's been MY LIFE for the past two years. Any time I call some place they tell me "No, you actually need to talk to Shana over in Department X" and then you talk to Shana, and she tells you "No, it was actually the first department you talked with that could have handled this, but I can take care of it for you" I'm sure this happens to A LOT of people without traumatic brain injuries, but it's just become more and more aggravating to me post-TBI. I have memory issues people. Most days I can't remember what I ate for breakfast. And now you want me to remember to call person X on X day at such and such a time to deal with something I DIDN'T EVEN CAUSE! Awesome.

Today I got a letter in the mail (Yes, paperwork, oh, my best friend) asking me to prove what I did from January 2010 to December 2010. I WAS IN GRADUATE SCHOOL PEOPLE, and it'd be A LOT easier to complete my LAST semester if I didn't have to continue to fill out paperwork. Honestly. Who does the government think I am? I know you're paying for my tuition and all, but if this is the price, I don't know if I'm down for that if this is what it is going to cost me anymore. Especially since your jumble of legalese makes it sound like I could loose my firstborn if I check the wrong box. And my "Guardian" lives 2,000 miles away. And my counselor at the hospital I was at only works part-time, and all the other one's have retired, left, or never been replaced. Way to leave me hanging. So here I sit, in my room, bawling my eyes out, thinking about everything they could possibly come after. I just want to finish graduate school people. Is that so much to ask? 64 days and I'll be done. This weekend I find out if I passed COMPS (Dear Jesus, after everything I've been through in the last two years, please have mercy on me and pass me please!), and then I should have 64 days left of graduate school. Dear God, if I've had to deal with a stroke, migraines, and a seizure, please just get me out of graduate school now. When I think about what the government must be thinking when they send these letters out to people, it just seems asinine to ask someone IN SCHOOL to fill out more paperwork. Really? That's the best use of our tax payer's money and my time? Really?

So this weekend I find out how I did on my comprehensive exams. I've had A LOT of people praying for me, and a strange peace that no matter what happens, He's going to be with me even as He has in the past two years. Amen. That freaks me out a little, but my family mentioned a family vacation for the 5 of us to someplace WARM and it must include water. That was Kelli (my little sister) and I's requirements. So options are being thrown out and we'll see. For right now, I need to finish my NT assignment for the week, take a quiz for the class, and start on a paper. Just the ideal Friday night, right? ;)
Love,
Amy Christine