Misery has its place in life, But it's temporary

*deep exhale*

I just got off the phone with the legislative/financial staffer at Senator Brown's office who's been working on my case. There's no security yet, but he's made a lot more headway than I'd ever be able to do on my own. Citi is pushing back quite a bit, "stalling" if you will. They said some outside federal agency has made them tighten up on their deferral and forebearance policies. This mysterious federal agency turns out to the the OCC- the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. My incredibly helpful aid (let's call him Bob, for privacy reasons) talked to OCC and they have no problem with allowing Citi to defer my private student loan so that I can join Peace Corps. Bob is now going back to Citi with that information; they're stalling once again, but Bob assures me that I should have something secured by the end of May, the time I need to get my invitation to be able to depart in August (Peace Corps requires you have 2 months in between your invitation and departure date so that you can take care of business, etc). Did I mention my Senator is the chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection? How convenient and lovely is that?!

*another deep exhale*

While it's all so frustrating, it's getting somewhere. I've already started accumulating things on my packing list (all things I've already bought have been re

moved....anything left on there is up for grabs by either moi or you lovely supporting folk!). So far I have a beautiful L.L. Bean canvas/leather backpack (thanks to an incredibly generous former co-worker of mine who was inspired by this very blog - see pic below), a gorgeous Leatherman Freestyle CX that is already coming in handy at the farm (that came in a very cool, inspiring box - also see pic below), and an ad hoc kickin' book that has a ton of cool info in it, called The Encyclopedia of Country Living. It basically tells you how to live off the Earth on your own. I'm really getting into it all! I also set up a donation website (thanks to inspiration via Brandon). Feeling generous? And and and...I finally picked up my bike from the shop after 6+ months! I've been riding to work nearly every day, as my PC recruiter told me I need to become a stronger biker.

As of now, my application status looks like this:

As you can see, my dental exam has been cleared, my legal is on hold because of my student loan (as we all know, to be cleared up ASAP), and my medical exam is being reviewed by the nurse as we speak. Or at least my file is in a pile on his/her desk as we speak. Med reviews are done based on your date of departure: 4 months before you're set to leave. Luckily, that's where I am right now (set to leave in August)! But I submitted that paperwork back in the beginning of February, so it's just a continuation of a waiting game I'm very familiar with already.

"Now You're Ready" indeed.

Ah, isn't it pretty? :)

I'm so meant to do this...