(no subject)
Feb. 14th, 2021 10:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI talked to my stepfather on the 11th (his birthday). He told me that my mother is scheduled for surgery the first week of March and that they don't yet know what will come after. I suspect a lot will depend on whether or not her lymph nodes are clear. Mom's apparently very adamant that she doesn't want to do radiation. I didn't ask about other treatment modalities.
My stepfather confirmed that they're not heading up here when they usually would. They're still not sure when they'll be up to making the trip as they have to drive (because of having two large dogs).
Mom has had both doses of the vaccine. My stepfather has had the first and is scheduled for the second. He told me that my brother has had both doses and got sick for about three days after the second dose. (My brother is a social worker who works with people who have some intersection of developmental disabilities, substance abuse issues, and mental health issues. It requires a lot of in person interactions with his clients.)
My right hand isn't quite as bad as it was on Monday. Both hands and wrists are worse than they were at the beginning of the month, though. This may be, at least partly, because I pushed to get back to being able to prepare things like instant oatmeal for myself. I feel like this injury is going to happen again. Probably not often but still inevitably.
It's like how walking on ice over and over and over leads inevitably to an occasional fall. I can minimize some of the risks, I can try to be careful, but it only takes a moment of inattention to cause injury. There's no guarantee that any such injury will be minor, either.
I've been doing more than the usual amount of typing as I try to finish my long term disability review paperwork. That typing doesn't help, and the need to get this stuff done is also leading to migraines. I'm glad I'm not committed to writing for any exchanges right now.
Maybe next year I'll remember and leave February as a deliberate gap. This year was accidental.
We got delivery from Totoro for dinner on Wednesday. I didn't get what I usually would because that involves a lot of stuff that I can't reasonably eat without utensils. I got edamame, a vegetable tempura side, and some very tame sushi. I shouldn't have gone with the tempura because the batter gives me reflux; I just keep forgetting because I like it. I ended up with enough leftovers for a couple of small meals that got me through Thursday.
Cordelia is still considering her college options. She really doesn't like the price tag attached to Michigan State in as much as their financial aid plan requires me and Scott to borrow about $12K next year and more every year thereafter. I'm a little boggled at the idea that anyone would consider giving us loans that large given that all we own is our house and that, if something happens to Scott, I wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage and feed myself on my SSDI. And that's without considering any other expenses.
Eastern Michigan University is offering a better deal, financially, but Cordelia really wants MSU. Of course, part of that is her hoping to have some of her friends also there which I'm not sure will happen. Her best friend got into the University of Michigan and, while she was accepted at State, State's honors college refused her on grounds that make me suspicious.
The girl's in an International Baccalaureate program, and the MSU honors college told her they considered her high school curriculum 'insufficiently rigorous.' Them saying that is sufficiently transparent a lie that I'm suspicious about the real reason being more to do with her being brown and Muslim.
Which rather makes me more reluctant about the idea of Cordelia going there. It may be that Cordelia goes to Eastern and her friend goes to U of M. That would give them as much proximity as they've had through high school (they were at different schools).
But Cordelia is also feeling guilty about the idea of living in the dorms at Eastern because it's (theoretically) possible for her to commute by bus. I would like her to live in a dorm for a while as a sort of transition to more truly independent living. I've told her that, if she lives at home, we'll have to get her a car and pay for the insurance, gas, etc.
I'm pretty sure that that cost would eat up any savings from her living at home. Well, I'm pretty sure I can spin it that way so that deciding about dorms versus commuting isn't about the money. Especially given that some of the scholarship EMU is offering is based on them assuming she'll live on campus.
If she goes to MSU, commuting won't even be on the table.
Anyway, we're in a holding pattern while some of Cordelia's friends decide where they're going. There's one member of the group who hasn't been accepted anywhere yet, and I think that the others are waiting to see what happens with her.
My stepfather confirmed that they're not heading up here when they usually would. They're still not sure when they'll be up to making the trip as they have to drive (because of having two large dogs).
Mom has had both doses of the vaccine. My stepfather has had the first and is scheduled for the second. He told me that my brother has had both doses and got sick for about three days after the second dose. (My brother is a social worker who works with people who have some intersection of developmental disabilities, substance abuse issues, and mental health issues. It requires a lot of in person interactions with his clients.)
My right hand isn't quite as bad as it was on Monday. Both hands and wrists are worse than they were at the beginning of the month, though. This may be, at least partly, because I pushed to get back to being able to prepare things like instant oatmeal for myself. I feel like this injury is going to happen again. Probably not often but still inevitably.
It's like how walking on ice over and over and over leads inevitably to an occasional fall. I can minimize some of the risks, I can try to be careful, but it only takes a moment of inattention to cause injury. There's no guarantee that any such injury will be minor, either.
I've been doing more than the usual amount of typing as I try to finish my long term disability review paperwork. That typing doesn't help, and the need to get this stuff done is also leading to migraines. I'm glad I'm not committed to writing for any exchanges right now.
Maybe next year I'll remember and leave February as a deliberate gap. This year was accidental.
We got delivery from Totoro for dinner on Wednesday. I didn't get what I usually would because that involves a lot of stuff that I can't reasonably eat without utensils. I got edamame, a vegetable tempura side, and some very tame sushi. I shouldn't have gone with the tempura because the batter gives me reflux; I just keep forgetting because I like it. I ended up with enough leftovers for a couple of small meals that got me through Thursday.
Cordelia is still considering her college options. She really doesn't like the price tag attached to Michigan State in as much as their financial aid plan requires me and Scott to borrow about $12K next year and more every year thereafter. I'm a little boggled at the idea that anyone would consider giving us loans that large given that all we own is our house and that, if something happens to Scott, I wouldn't be able to pay the mortgage and feed myself on my SSDI. And that's without considering any other expenses.
Eastern Michigan University is offering a better deal, financially, but Cordelia really wants MSU. Of course, part of that is her hoping to have some of her friends also there which I'm not sure will happen. Her best friend got into the University of Michigan and, while she was accepted at State, State's honors college refused her on grounds that make me suspicious.
The girl's in an International Baccalaureate program, and the MSU honors college told her they considered her high school curriculum 'insufficiently rigorous.' Them saying that is sufficiently transparent a lie that I'm suspicious about the real reason being more to do with her being brown and Muslim.
Which rather makes me more reluctant about the idea of Cordelia going there. It may be that Cordelia goes to Eastern and her friend goes to U of M. That would give them as much proximity as they've had through high school (they were at different schools).
But Cordelia is also feeling guilty about the idea of living in the dorms at Eastern because it's (theoretically) possible for her to commute by bus. I would like her to live in a dorm for a while as a sort of transition to more truly independent living. I've told her that, if she lives at home, we'll have to get her a car and pay for the insurance, gas, etc.
I'm pretty sure that that cost would eat up any savings from her living at home. Well, I'm pretty sure I can spin it that way so that deciding about dorms versus commuting isn't about the money. Especially given that some of the scholarship EMU is offering is based on them assuming she'll live on campus.
If she goes to MSU, commuting won't even be on the table.
Anyway, we're in a holding pattern while some of Cordelia's friends decide where they're going. There's one member of the group who hasn't been accepted anywhere yet, and I think that the others are waiting to see what happens with her.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-15 04:24 am (UTC)(But she has made good friends in the dorm. We think the dorm has been an excellent investment, even though our house is literally closer to some of the main classroom buildings than the freshman dorms are.)
no subject
Date: 2021-02-15 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-02-15 08:25 pm (UTC)IBacc insufficiently rigorous? WTAF? It's an amazing course, real strength in depth as well as a decent amount of breadth. It's accepted by all the top universities, from Ivy League to Oxbridge and the Sorbonne.
I too would be extremely suspicious, and as a parent would want to consult the IB authorities about this. It really stinks.
I hope your lass finds the right place for her. My girls both took a year out between school and university, which certainly helped them cope when they got there.
no subject
Date: 2021-02-16 02:25 am (UTC)