Today I applied for financial aid so I can go to school. To be able to afford going to school, I had to extend my program time from 15 to 21 months, so I cover 3 scholastic years (each is 7 months). Doing this, I will qualify for about 16K in Pell grants over the 21 months, and qualify for enough federal loans where I only have to privately finance about 7K total out of the 43K that it costs for the whole 21 months. The school will either finance this, or allow me to do it on a payment program at about $130/month for the duration of the 21 months with no interest. 

I fully plan on applying for as many scholarships and grants that I qualify for during my schooling. This will hopefully further reduce the amount I have to finance through federal and private loans.

From here it's a done deal. I start classes for my Associates degree in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu on August 16th, with an expected graduation date of May 18, 2012. I'm waiting until August because I have my 30 year high school reunion on July 31st, and I plan on taking a few weeks vacation around the event.
I'm so excited about the possibilities. I'm one step closer to my dream!

This week a good friend and my dad-in-law sent a note asking what the three of us thought of Arizona SB 1070, and along with it an open letter to everyone by AZ State Senator Sylvia Allen that tried to explain the bill in simple terms.

First of all, I am all for removing illegal immigrants from our country in a reasonable manner. Illegal is illegal, and people make choices to break the law, and should bear the consequences. As an aspiring chef, I find it disturbing that the primary language in many of the restaurant kitchens in the US is spanish, not english.

Even though I support removing illegal aliens from within our borders, I think SB 1070 is not well thought out and goes a long way toward intimidating those who are here legally, including citizens of foreign heritage. This bill sends the message that if you are not white, you need to be able to prove you are a here legally at any time an officer asks you. As a white person without a foreign accent, I'd never be asked to prove my citizenship, but my hispanic friend, who is a citizen, would. This can happen at a traffic stop, or just walking past a cop who might suspect that you might be illegal. Is this fair and equal treatment for all citizens under the law? Absolutely not.

Another aspect of the law that if I am caught driving an illegal alien in my car I can go to jail. So, I have to determine that anyone that I might give a ride to the store or church is not an illegal alien before I let them in my car. Do you ask their friends their immigration status when you meet them?

Another fear is that women who are illegal aliens who are raped or beaten will not report the crimes because they fear they will be arrested. Previously, law enforcement would never ask a victim of their status. Now, if they have any reason to suspect the victim is illegal and they don't ask for papers, they can be sued.

This law tastes like the early stages of a police state. It is certainly born out of racism as it was introduced by Senator Russell Pearce. Mister Pearce is a holocaust revisionist and a racist who associates with Neo-Nazis. If you doubt this, a few Google searches will yield the truth. The bill was written for the Senator by a member of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), which might seem harmless, but when you look into the roots of FAIR, you will find that it is a nativist hate group.

As for Sylvia Allen, she doesn't really address the more serious questions that are brought up regarding SB 1070. She points out all the violence going on by drug cartels and illegals, and how we need to crack down on the border. SB 1070 has nothing to do with the border. She also shows her cards by calling the President of the United States "The Socialist". She is using her letter to divide us, not unite us. United we Stand. Divided we Fall.

SB 1070 will be a great money maker for lawyers who specialize in immigration law. The bill hands them every opportunity to make money by suing police, and collecting attorneys fees from the party being sued. People in other states aren't just boycotting us because we hate illegals, they are boycotting us because someone with a high school education and the ability to read can see the flaws in this law.