Those crazy, hazy, lazy days of College...

I have a friend who goes to George Washington University. He's very fond of telling everyone that he goes to George Washington University.

I go to (County here) Community College. My friend who goes to George Washington University like to remind me that I only go to (County here) Community College and because of that he is in fact smarter.

That's a debatable point. However, I can't debate with him because he doesn't know what the word "debate" means.

I've received some bad news from my bank account statement recently. Funds are actually quite flush right now, but not flush enough to deal with the uncertainty of my roommates new unemployment and my husbands potential unemployment (and the medical bills that come with the reason he may be unemployed).

Oh we'll be alright, things might just be tight depending on how the Navy times things and how soon the boys can get rehired. It's not dire, but we need to do some preventative planning.

That means that I won't be going to college this semester. Things should be fine by next semester. I'll have been at my company long enough to get reimbursed for education expenses, I won't need to work so much overtime, and the boys should have found new jobs by then. If I were a weather caster the outlook would be slight showers with beautiful sunshine in the afternoon. Honestly, we're lucky.

Which is why I felt guilty for being disappointed. I was looking forward to getting back to school and even more excited about the prospect of finishing more classes and getting that much closer to a degree. It's horrid of me to feel this way. I know I'm blessed that we can weather problems like this so easily. A lot of people are much worse off than I am. I should be joyful.

And I did a good job of it for awhile too. I was able to put away the selfish feelings and remind myself how lucky I am until my friend who goes to George Washington University called me to whine about having to pick new fancy classes and buy brand new things for his new dorm. I couldn't help it, in the face of the excitement from a real college student, my woes came tumbling out in a very un-grown-up like whine.

His response? "Why don't you just charge the tuition to your credit card if the money isn't in the bank?"

My credit card? Blink blink blink? Besides the fact that we used our two small credit cards for moving expenses last month, I have almost never used credit money in an amount greater than my bank account.. Sure, I've had a few emergencies like high hospital bills and such, but beyond that I simply used the card for things that I could pay for with cash, but would be easier to pay for in installments. The idea of charging my tuition to the card and not knowing if I'll be able to pay it off in a month or two is frightening. I'm listening to my friend ramble on the phone while I picture huge chunks of my pay check being torn out and given to someone in a three piece suit while I scramble to find the pennies to feed three people and a cat for a month. Maybe I have an overactive imagination. I tell him about how I'd rather save the money for a rainy day and he responds:

"You'll still have the money, it's just your credit card."

Again I'm left blinking and confused till a thought crosses my brain.

"Who pays your bills?" I ask cautiously.

"What bills?"

"You're credit card bills. Your car insurance? Who pays for your books? Who pays for your gas."

"My parents set up an account. It's all deducted from there automatically."

"An account of your money, or theirs?"

"It's my allowance."

"Oh." I say. I stop talking for the rest of the conversation. He rattles on about the hot chicks who are near his dorm room and how he's has a Starbucks right across the street which he visits three times a day. I go "uh-huh" "yeah" "okay" every 2 minutes or so until he hangs up.

I'm still thinking about the allowance. I never had an allowance. My Dad did give me lunch money, I suppose that's an allowance. 75 cents a day for lunch.

Mostly though I had odd jobs. Doing the menial work at theatres and offices. Answering phones, taking out the trash, cleaning. They throw me a few bucks and I got to work in a place I liked. And then I did work-study at school, basically being the modern version of the AV kid. It was enough to go out to a movie every once in awhile.

When I moved out of my house my parents helped me with the travel and I was on my own for the rest. My Father would occasionally send me $50 with a letter..."just cause". He still does that...but randomly and usually he'll just send a book or something instead.

But boy, wouldn't life be nice with an allowance? Wouldn't it be nice to be so unburdened with paychecks and bank statements? I could quit my job, go to school exclusively. No more bargaining with the Professors to let me come in to class late on Thursdays because I have a market report to finish. No staying up till 4am so I can finish my essay, I could do it during the day, because I wouldn't be at work.

I could actually research my research papers rather than pasting together a bibliography of a text book and four websites.

I want an allowance! I want to be able to use my credit card without fear the bills will be too much. I want to stay in a cozy dorm room and live with my parents in the summer - where they will pay my food bill for three whole months, and probably 12 months when I leave.

I can pretend to be independent and free and not have to really worry if I fail.

Instead of substituting my classes this semester with trips to the physical therapist I want to indulge in study groups at Starbucks where I won't feel the least bit guilty about spending $5 on a small cup of coffee and warm milk.

Most of all I want to spend my life living only on a campus and not socializing with the "townies" and feel superior because I go to a good school whose name makes people nod solemnly.

But instead of all that, I should probably just stop talking to my friend who goes to George Washington University for awhile.