The best laid plans

So you remember how I was so proud of myself for moving my money into higher interest-bearing rates? Well, unfortunately it seems that my money will not get a chance to multiply. I found out today that even though I am registered for the same number of units as I was last spring that I am now considered "part-time" and not "full-time." My department told me to register part-time extended residence because that's all they pay for above the minimum full-time residence requirements. If I changed back to full-time extended residence I would have to pay the difference.

One consequence of this change that I had no idea about until approximately two hours ago is that now I can no longer defer my student loans. Instead they are due now. I had this great plan to save my money in these interest-bearing accounts until May and then pay everything off in one fell swoop so I wouldn't have to pay any additional interest (all my loans are subsidized which means the government pays the interest while I'm in school). Now, my interest is accruing at the rate of $3.13 each day or $94.04 per month! Ack. At the interest rate on my loans it doesn't make sense to keep any of my money in my savings account (unless I think I need to keep some emergency cushion) because the rate is approximately twice that of what I'm getting for my money.

Also, I don't have enough saved quite yet to wipe out my loan amount completely which means no matter what I do, I will be paying more than if I had until May like I had previously thought. Argh. Sucks.

I know I have a lot to be thankful for - that I'm reasonably intelligent and can talk to customer service representatives to get things figured out, that I have money and that I'm married. Seriously, if I was still living off my student fellowship 1) I would have no savings now and 2) I would have no money to make even the monthly payments (I'd have to get a hardship deferment, etc).

Other, better news:
- Had a lovely time at my friend Ginny's baby shower. Her friends did an amazing job with the afternoon tea they hosted. Everyone made a scrapbook page for baby Grace. It's neat to see how God is working in the lives of many even before her arrival (adoption).
- Watched the movie Crash on DVD. Ezer really, really liked it. I could see the point it was trying to make but got a bit hung up on the unrealistic plot twists.
- We had some new people over for dinner on Thursday - everyone had a good time. I was a bit overambitious though - made lemon lager chicken, green rice (cilantro, green onion, lime), cherry tomato pasta, roasted asparagus with sesame sauce, and an apple cake.
- I had some time to scrapbook, work on my theology take-home exam, and enjoy the sunshine which was much appreciated after a week of rain.

Now reading: On Beauty by Zadie Smith