I have at least convinced myself I can not afford to race cross this year. So with my extra free time I am going to try and get a second job and save my pennies for next year's mountain bike season. Nationals are in CO so that will be expensive as will every other race. Right now I am applying for some paid internships on the weekends, and some other retail jobs. I will let you know if anything happens. 

I mailed off my first student loan payment yesterday, it sucked. There are a lot more to come....