This entry is entirely me complaining about money matters. I'm unemployed. Getting a job would be good.
Monday, Nov. 22, 2004 - 09:59

I'm sitting at my desk with my pants around my ankles now after having to hop/penguin walk to the bathroom. I had to pay $90 to see a dermatologist for five minutes this morning. I have a rash on my leg, that's why I went to see her, and she said to put some stuff on it and now I'm waiting for the stuff to dry. So that's why my pants aren't on me properly.

Here's what happened with my loan: A very long time ago, like maybe two years ago, I noticed on the NSLDS website that the balance of one of my student loans was a few thousand dollars more than what the original loan had been. It was a $3500 loan, and it said I owed over $6000 on it.

I called the loan servicer in New York about it but they had no idea what I was talking about, and they seemed to have the right numbers in their computer, so I hoped the problem wasn't really a problem, so I decided to ignore it and pretend I never found out about it.

But then I went back to that website a while ago and the problem was still there and it still seemed to be a problem. I worried about it but didn't do anything.

But then last week I was thinking about consolidating my loans so I looked at that website again and it still said I owed more than I borrowed and I was like, "Fuck it dawg, I'm calling ACS again." So I called them, the servicer, again, and I tried to explain to them what was going on, but they still had no idea what I was talking about and they didn't care. Maybe I was having trouble communicating with them, I don't know. The people I talked to there were never native English speakers. They were just phone operators, and they just wanted me to get off the phone.

Each one I talked to was like, "On August 20, 1996, you received $1750, and then on January 20, 1997, you again received $1750, and that adds up to $3500." And I'd be like, "Yes, I KNOW WHAT I RECEIVED, thank you, but now I owe more than that," and they would say, "And then on August 28, 1997 you received..." and then I'd say, "Okay, fine, bye," and they'd say, "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

So I called the financial aid office at my old university in Montana, and they were more empathetic, and they spoke the same dialect of English that I do, and they understood what I was talking about, and they tried to help, but they couldn't really do anything, so they told me to call the lender.

So I called the lender in Salt Lake, and they said all they did was disburse the loan, and to call the servicer since they're the ones servicing it, and they should know what's been going on with it after disbursement.

So I called the stupid servicer again, and they still had no idea what I was talking about, and they still didn't care, and they tried to tell me again about the disbursements I received, and they still just wanted me to get off the phone, so they told me to call the guarantor.

So I called the guarantor in Seattle, and the guy I talked to was like, "Well, we don't really deal with that, we just make sure the loan gets repaid, you should talk to the servicer," and I was like, "The servicer sucks, and they told me to call you," and he was like, "Well, we don't really deal with this, but let me see what I can do."

He left a message for me this morning while I was out seeing a $1080/hour dermatologist. He fixed it! And so now I only owe more than $18,000 on my student loans instead of owing $21,000! Hooray!

Also, I recently wrote a check for something and didn't record it in the register. Maybe it was for my credit card, I don't know.

Also, I might have to rent a Uhaul trailer to move to Seattle because I just went through all my boxes that have been sitting out in the garage for a year and a half and damn do I have a lot of stuff. I forgot about a lot of it. I have a lot of stuff.