I have filled out my UOP application, my TSA education grant application, and my student loan deferment application - I will start my MBA program on January 27, 2007. The first few classes and maybe even all of the FlexNet classes will be at the Renton campus as opposed to the Bellevue campus, which means I will have to wake up slightly earlier on Saturday school mornings, but it is a small price to pay considering the advantages of on-campus learning and saving $600 per class. Because I am a continuing UOP student I did not have to pay the $45 application fee, I got three classes waived, and I wont have to pay any fees for books or resources the entire program! YEAH!! So the $30,000 out of pocket student loans I've racked up at least paid off in that I save about $3900 in class fees, the $45, and about $1500 in book fees. Not bad at all if you ask me.
I'm really excited to begin and I'm so so happy that HG is doing this journey with me. I'm looking forward to the Friday nights that she and the hub may stay over doing homework, watching movies, and just plan hanging out and making school fun.
OH! Unfortunately HG was only able to waive one, maybe two courses instead of the available three. Bummer for her, but our admissions counselor is working on a "creative schedule" that, if worked the right way, will give me the 6, possibly 12 weeks around the wedding and summer off. That would be a great wedding present to not have to worry about classes while I'm focusing on the wedding.
I've transferred funds on my credit cards in an effort to take advantage of 0% APR specials and consolidate my/our debt. This will really help with all the financial woes we've been hit with recently and will help prepare for the wedding. The downfall is that T&E has been stalled till April, leaving Dane and I on a "cash only" entertainment budget. For me that means I have $50/week of play money till April. Hopefully this wont be too hard of a transition though I fear it might as I've gotten to be pretty wanton with my spending. Thanks to the 3 paycheck month in December though, I will at least have a spare $600 or so to spend on Cmas. Dane and I decided our "big" gifts to each other this year will be a contribution to our wedding save fund.
In other news, I made through fiscal close!! There were some casualties and definitely some hard times. I made an ass out of myself more than once and learned a lot of lessons. What I've taken out of this fiscal close:
I don't handle stress well AT ALL and need to learn how to better cope with it for the sake of my family, friends, coworkers, and peers.
It is so, so important to stay on top of my daily work in order to be prepared for the bustling times.
I should not try to prove myself to people who a) don't need to be proven anything, and b) wont be satisfied.
Not to take myself and situations so seriously or personally.
Stop and breathe and make sure I do things right and not in haste.
Appreciate those who I have to call on for instant action and return the favor when others ask it of me.
Not to gloat or be prideful of what I do accomplish while others are still struggling.
All in all I think it was an awesome learning experience and though it was tough, I got a lot out of it and I think a lot of good things are still going to come out of it. While the fiscal year is closed, we are gearing up for Cmas and the kettle season and the actual audit of the fiscal year. So the worst, for the most part, is over, but I still have several different monsters to conquer. IF I stay on top of things, I should manage to stay afloat during the tough times (now that I am comfortable with my new units) and be ready to go and in a good place at the end of January when I start my MBA program.
It's hard to believe, but slowly my goals, career and personal, are coming to life. I will be 27 when I start my MBA program (OMG - 27!!!) and will finish in/around March 2009, which puts me right at my goal to have my MBA by 29. Then I will study for 4 - 6 months for the CPA exam. My goal is to have my CPA by 2009 year end. It seems so far away and then I think "wow - that's just over 2 years". If I think back to 2 years ago November 2004, it seems like only yesterday! 2 years ago I was only half way through my BA program, 2 years into accounting, living at Lameria, 2 years into my relationship with Mr. Man. Time really does fly.
I will say that I'm beginning to back down on my dreams to be so BIG. I'm thinking I might just be happy with a MBA and CPA. But who knows where I will be in 2 years, maybe I will still consider a law degree or PhD. I know that right now it has been WONDERFUL having time to watch tv, go to the gym, exercise in the morning, blog, catch up w/ friends, email, and just have good old fashioned down time. I'm somewhat as loss as what to do most nights, but it does feel good. Dane says I'm not happy unless I'm running a million miles an hour with my hair on fire. :-)
1 comment:
I would have to agree with Dane, as long as I've known you, you've always burned the candle at both ends. It's just the way you work, I admire your energy and motivation. I feel very lazy these days.
I'm really happy that school is panning out well for you, I'm also happy you have a buddy (HG) to do homework with and what not, a buddy helps with everything!
Oh yes and well...2 years can be DAMN quick. Next Tuesday is the official 2 year anniversary of my first 'date' with C, we'd already been chatting, emailing, randomly 'bumping' into one another for a month by this time, but it was the beginning of about a year of being totally absorbed with each other before we finally just said ok, let's do this...make it the 'real thing and buy the house, the whole deal:)
Time is relative to the current state of your existance...or in non-cryptic terms, the older you get, the quicker it goes by. C tells me (he'll be 35 this year!) that he feels like 28 was just yesterday and neither of us can believe we've already been together 2 years, it doesn't seem like that at all.
WOOP WOOP....go Crys!
Post a Comment