Run For Your Life: My Journey to Debt-Free

I Have a Chicago Public Library Card

Posted by I Hope , Wednesday, October 1, 2014 6:00 PM

I just spent $92 for a hotel in Chicago (that I'm not going to use), $35 for train tickets, $45 for a hotel room in Bloomington, about $20 for printing, $15 for food and $16 for some Garrets Popcorn for my mom. All to get two grants in the office to Chicago ON TIME!!

The $92 was money down the drain and I'm not happy about it.

Background....

About 4 or maybe 5 years ago, I can't remember, I started working for a non-profit and my job was to help with grant writing. I assembled a team (well the team was already there) and we wrote a grant for an after school program. I was excited about it, but it was tedious work. Grant writing is not easy. We stayed up late nights because all of us had day jobs, so this grant writing was something we did in our free time. We were under a steep deadline and we knew it wasn't going to be able to be mailed and get to the office on time, so I drove to Springfield to drop it off by the deadline time of 2:00 pm and I got there at 2:27pm (or something close like that) and it was marked with the date and time it came in. We got a letter in the mail that it was late so it would not be read. I was crushed. I poured my time and energy into that project...

Some time later, the same thing happened with another after school program. This time we had to submit it online, but it was a federal grant which was way more rigorous. It was due to be uploaded by 4;00 pm, I didn't make the deadline, so I didn't even submit it.

Now, the same grant has come up again and we decided to write it again. I worked and worked and the team that was one about 7 people was now only 2, and the deadline was Monday, October 6. My goal was to be done by Friday, September 26, but working and homework and other stuff was in my way and then the stupid stuff happened in Chicago....that screwed me up. Crazy, right?

So that means I wasn't done until Tuesday night and I didn't trust the mail so I decided to take the grant to the office in Chicago myself. I booked a room for Thursday night, booked a train ticket and THEN I remembered, Ihave to be out of town for work on Thursday night and I can't cancel. AAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!

I wanted to scream, but I was too tired to, so I changed my train reservations, but I couldn't do anything about the hotel because I bought it on Priceline. UGH!!! I can't wait to be out of debt. I'm not using these bargain basement sights that sometimes are not even bargains if you can't cancel and you waste your money....

So, how did I get a Chicago Public Library Card?

As I was traveling on the train I realized that I forgot a page in the grant. So worked on it on the train and had to go to the library once I was in Chicage to print it out.

I got to the library (after walking for like 10 blocks) and was told that I needed a library card to use the computer and because I had a library card where I lived, that qualified me. So I got a card, put some money on it was printed way (it wasn't that easy, but this blog post is already long). I got the grant to the building on time. I even got another grant completed while I was in Chicago and turned that one in too. Thank God!!!

I just don't know why I had to go through so much hell to get it turned in?!!

Now I just pray for favor. God grant us favor being awarded the grant.

Now for my $92...I'm on the phone now trying to get the hotel transferred into my sister's name so that she and her husband can have a night at the hotel...