jumping through hoops

I am going to rant a little so if you don't want to hear it, don't read. I am so sick of jumping through academic hoops. Being a student really is a full-time job in itself with all of the extra stuff you have to do to satisfy "requirements."

I had a mandatory orientation tonight for grad school (which starts in January). As soon as I got there, the adviser came up to me and asked me if I'm currently enrolled in a Biology class or have taken one in the past few months. I told her no, I already took that class as part of my generals. It turns out, I took that class in 1998 (yes, I've been in school forever) and since it's been over ten years, the class no longer counts towards UW's requirments - and this class is a prerequisite for the graduate program. Therefore, they won't let me start classes unless I can show that I am enrolled in a Biology class and I've started the class before classes start on January 5th. Seriously? This is so stupid! It's not even a class that is pertinent to social work. I could understand it more if it was a writing class or a sociology class or something else that would support my learning in the program, but Biology just doesn't fall in that category. This is really not what I need in my life right now. I am already so overwhelmed, I can hardly fathom adding something else to it in the next three weeks. (I don't think it helps that I am pregnant and get irritated and emotional easily these days.)

That being said, I feel so blessed that I was accepted to this extremely competitive program and that I currently have a job in my field. There are six of us from my BASW Cohort who got accepted to the Advanced Standing Program and none of them, other than me, have found jobs. I was talking to one of my friends there tonight and he and his wife are both out of work. He has applied for every social work-related job he has seen since June and only got calls for interviews this past week. He even applied to deliver pizza and didn't get the job. Others from my cohort are frustrated and discouraged with the job market. Not only do I have a job, but it's a pretty good job, I like it, and it pays really well. It is allowing me to save money to pay for grad school. We also have so much work with our photography business, which is also helpful (though I will emphasize the word work). I am also grateful for my family. My co-worker's brother died the other day while she was at work. I can't imagine getting that phone call. I am also grateful for W. He is my favorite person of all time. (Poor guy - it is his birthday and he's stuck at work as I type this (11:00pm). We were supposed to meet for dinner but he couldn't get away so I got take-out and took it to him. We sat in the cafeteria at Amazon for about ten minutes and ate Indian Food. Awesome. This is the busiest time of year for Amazon. Their sales were double on Black Friday and it only gets crazier until Christmas. (But again, I'm grateful Amazon is doing so well so that he has a job.)

If you see me with a dazed look, know that I'm trying to keep up with my life but I'm not always very graceful about it. Sigh. I can do this, right? Grad school, having an infant and working full-time? (If you don't think so, don't tell me.) I'm all about positive affirmation these days.