Enrollment Letter, Private Loan, and...Harry Potter

Yay!!! I'm on vacation in South Carolina: a time when I have no paper work to do, people to call and get irritated with, or obligatory drives to Iowa City/Chicago. But of course, we must take a trip back in time to find out how I finally reached the light at the end of the paper tunnel. After being informed by the Italian Consulate that I required a UIowa enrollment letter for my student visa, I called the registrar and explained what it was that I needed. I was told that the supervisor, who was out of town, would have to approve the letter since it needed to contain information about SACI. To make a long story blessedly short, they informed me 1 1/2 days before my family's vacation departure date that they would not write this letter and that I'd probably have to go through the study abroad office. After emails, phone conversations during which I was informed that all persons writing enrollment-style letters were gone for the day, and voice messages, my wonderful study abroad advisor called me and (wait for it) told me she was writing the letter, stamping it , getting it notarized, and leaving it at the front desk of the study abroad office for me (alleluia!). It was wonderful! I was able to just drive up and get it. Autumn, if you ever read this, I know I thanked you when I saw you but you can have no idea what a comfort it was to me to be the object of your assistance! Thank you again!
I also filled/submitted my application for a private loan and helped my dad fill/submit his application as a cosigner. Unfortunately, we found out that the online system we used only allows a person to enter an account twice a day after which point a firewall renders the account inaccessible until the next day. While this did complicate things slightly, the e-signature made things much easier! On Friday morning (today being Monday) I mailed the necessary loan paperwork, my visa application, and quite a few thank-you letters for scholarships. Speaking of which, I learned that I was awarded another scholarship this past week. This comes in handy since I changed my return flight (I'll get to spend a day with my uncle, aunt, and cousin in Germany!) and incurred some fees along the way. It also looks like I'll get to spend a day in New York with my mom!
Finally, this has nothing to do with Italy, but on Friday night I actually stood in line at a grocery store in eastern Indiana for the final Harry Potter. Yesterday afternoon, after many tears, I finished it and decided that it was definitely my favorite of the series. J. K. Rowling, you have done British fantasy writers proud. Thanks for not killing Hermione.