That is just so confusing. I was looking through at my account summary on my student account, and decided to calculate the bill and how much I owe after all the financial aid, etc., and then decided it was a good time as any to figure out how income tax works. :( It's confusing me.

So, according to my calculations:
My total bill for Fall 2008 is $7,711.75, but after scholarships and other aid, I have to pay $1,533.25 for this semester. Not bad at all. But my parents are also paying about $2,000 per year for Ying Ting's bus service to Bronx Science H.S. because they don't want her to spend 4 hours every day taking public transportation. That means my family's going to have a tougher time paying off the bill. I wish I had been able to get a job this summer to make this easier. :( Now I'm just sitting at home, jobless, and reflecting on life all the time. Completely useless. I'm not even losing weight like I had planned to. So I must get a job during the school year, whether on-campus or off-campus to 1) pay some of the bill and 2) be able to hang out during college, instead of sitting in my dorm being a recluse and saving money. I really, really hope that more stores/companies would want to hire me now that I'm 18 (and therefore, automatically deemed more responsible) and a college student (because that sounds slightly more mature than high school student). Of course, it's going to be mostly up to me whether or not I get a job (how do people with very little experience manage to land a part-time job?) and also the economy. The economy. I don't even want to think about it. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to study abroad in China in my junior year at this rate.

But! Back to the bill! The final bill is $1,533.25 and I'm wondering how much I should take out in a loan. I really like that the Stafford Loan they're offering me is unsubsidized, but I'm not sure if we can pay off some of it during the 4 years of college, or whether it all has to be paid off after graduation only. I would really like a head-start in paying off loans, especially during the time when it's interest-free. I'm going to have to look into that. The most I can take out is $3,500 for the whole year, which means about $1,750 per semester. Should I take out about $1,000? Am I even allowed to change the amount I want to borrow at this point?

In a short while I have to go hunting for my USB cable that goes with my scanner. I had to buy a power cable for it last week, only to figure out when I got home that I wasn't sure where I saw the other cable last. I stayed up till 1:30 last night, and for some reason I found myself watching Starship Troopers again. While watching it I felt like a geek thinking of all the tactical mistakes they made. Well, I'm not General Patton, but come on guys how about a few tanks?!!!  See, I'm not Hello Kitty and JPop all the time.