#I've always been a gullible sucker

[ordinarytalk]

I FINALLY QUALIFY FOR PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS

My initial student loan was $54,935.92.

I paid over $30,887.83*

My loan is currently at $51,756.93.

I thought I had made all 120 qualifying payments last year. I had to submit and resubmit the PSLF application multiple times, because it kept getting sent back because of problems with how my employers signed the form. It turned out some of the payments didn't qualify, so I had to stick with helljob for at least another year.

I definitely had made 120 qualifying payments this year, so I sent the application in December 2023.

Just got notified now that I have made all qualifying payments. I've made three extra payments, even.

"After we receive the approval, it may take up to 90 business days to process this information."

Three more months of helljob, because I still don't trust this is going to go through and I don't want to quit until I know my loans are gone. I do not have anything lined up after helljob, and I'm terrified of losing my helljob health insurance because I got medical complications. But I hate helljob. I hate helljob so much and my first emotion waking every workday is despair.

At least the loan payments have been paused until the reimbursement is processed. Theoretically I should get reimbursed for the extra payments, too.

* This was only my qualifying payments. The total amount I paid was higher. The website isn't showing me the non-qualifying payments and I have to submit a formal request to get my full payment history. I submitted the request, but it will take a few days to be sent to me.

[askknuckles]

heres a fun question (maybe?) rank your rivals, worst to best :p if you can hehehe

That "maybe" is right. This is a question I never thought I'd have to answer... Hm. I'm not sure how we're supposed to be ranking them exactly, so I suppose I'll just be ranking them by how much I like having them as my "rival".

Let's see. I guess I could start with Sonic.

I've said before in another answer that I don't hate Sonic. We started off as rivals, mainly through Eggman pitting me against him back when Sonic and Tails first discovered Angel Island.

We've maintained something like a rivalry over the years, though I'm typically paired with him on adventures since he needs my super-strength. There are a lot of times where we butt heads, especially when he wants to be on my nerves.

Yet... he helps me out. He does seem to care, and I can actually call him a friend. Any friendly competition is purely that, just rivalry. I don't think he's my real rival, Sonic has a bunch already- but he's definitely high on the totem pole in terms of "power level" as I've heard Charmy mention before.

Now if you wanna talk about real rivals that get on my nerves... *sigh* let's talk about Rouge.

She's been after the Master Emerald for a while. The master jewel thief who wants MY emerald because it's massive. Though she could also want it for its power, as she does remember my explanations about the Master Emerald being the only thing that can neutralize the Chaos Emeralds. Either way, it's annoying.

But I guess she does have her good traits. She's very honest about her intentions with the Master Emerald, even as a secret agent. Our rivalry, though full of fighting, is mainly friendly. I wouldn't want to see anything really bad happen to her, I just want her to stop coming after the Master Emerald. She's high on the list for her persistence and ability to hold her own in a fight alone.

Who else... Well, I guess there's Shadow.

I guess he could be considered a rival, since he's fought me a few times. I've talked before about how I feel about him. Nowadays he's nothing but some kind of brooding loner because he's become as bitter as the guy who created him.

He's powerful, but we just steer clear of one another. In fact, I don't really think he's my rival more than he is Sonic's. In terms of him being my rival, I'd have to put him at the bottom of the list. Both because he's not really my rival and because, well, he's not that thrilling to me.

I remember having a pretty major rivalry with that big bird from the Babylon Rogues. His name was Storm, right?

That guy was annoying, but I'll give him one thing: he can pack a punch, and that's what I like in a "rival". Rouge has her legs, but Storm can sucker punch you. The only downside to him is just how dumb and gullible he can be. That and he's part of a trio of thieves.

He would probably be pretty high on the list. I haven't seen those guys in a while, but the last time I saw Storm was when the Rogues were contracted to take a few Echidna artifacts from Angel Island. We didn't get our proper rematch, but I know that'll be a fight for the ages.

Anyone else...? Well, I guess Bark deserves a mention.

That hooligan and his crew haven’t shown their faces in a while, but when they did, Bark was always who I went after. Like Storm, he's someone who can pack a punch, and I like that. Another thing I like is that he's quiet. What a refreshing change of pace.

He's pretty high because of strength and silence alone. I haven't seen him in a long time though... Last I remember, him and that green duck-bird-whatever split from Fang the Hunter before me and the others fought Fang on the Northstar Islands... I don't remember if anyone ever mentioned if those three got back together again.

So, my final ranking would probably be...

Rouge

Sonic

Bark

Storm

Shadow

And that should just about do it.