Shopping

Last night I went to Aveda for my semi-annual purchase. Except, since I'll be out of the country in December, it's actually my annual purchase. Except, since I'll be out of the country in April / May / June ...


As a general rule, I schedule my purchases around the double rewards points offers. These happen the 1st weekend in December, Mother's Day weekend and for roughly 90 days around your birthday (you get a cert for 1 day of double points, not 90 days of double points). 


I went a little nutty with the purchases, which is crazy. It's not like they won't have shampoo, conditioner, lotions, and hair product in Germany ... I'm thinking this behavior may be related to growing anxiety / nerves.  


In other news: next Friday is the 2nd of three scheduled going away events. The first was a small lunch with what ended up being just a couple of people from work. This next one is a girl's night at my place, and looks like it'll end up being 7 - 10 people. Then, after I'm back from Greece, there's a scheduled happy hour with work people. Finally, there'll be my last day party.


I hadn't really thought about it, but one of my cohort's fb posts, earlier this week, mentioned a dwindling number of lunches, so clearly I'm not the only one quietly stressing. Or not-so-quietly, I suppose.


I ordered my camera, for Greece. I thought it was on the way / had been shipped, but a quick check of my email shows that the SD card is on its way, not the camera. Sigh. Regardless, this is what I'm getting:

It's a Sony-Cyber-shot 16.2-Megapixel Zoom Digital Camera-Black-DSCHX9V/B, a slightly up-market and, I think, somewhat newer version of the camera I bought before my trip to China last year, which was later stolen. One of the things I loved about that camera was the really great panorama shots it took, and which I'll be taking on this, too. It also, apparently, offers 3D panorama. I'm ... not so excited about that. The other think I loved was the way it made many of the pics look, to me, like movie stills. Hopefully that still happens.


I also bought, at a website's recommendation, a book:
How to Shit Around the World

The title amuses me, and the advice (what to eat & drink, where, to have a prayer of maintaining intestinal regularity) is supposed to be straight forward and usable. I read the intro last night, and have high hopes. 


Departure: 58 days
Last day: 56
Leave for Greece: 12 days
Girls' Night: 7 days

Progress

With the countdown getting scary, I'm starting to work my lists and wrap up my life. Here's how that's going. 


Packing
So, the plan to use the box recycling place hit some hitches: the visa debit card didn't work, and when I re-placed my order I never got any sort of confirmation. So now I've gone and re-re-placed my order. Actually looks promising, this time? But, since I needed to use my own card, I went the paypal route, which I'm not generally a fan of as it means endless spam. 


Also I'm a week behind ... sortof. I also scheduled my "Drink my Wine" party, and turned it into a girls' night. Honestly, most of the previously scheduled girls' nights have ended up being 3 or 4 people, total. Mine ... looks bigger, so far. Like, 10 people bigger. Everyone get's their own bottle of wine! Or something.


I also checked out Ikea, so I could see what my shelving collection is selling for now, to get a better sense of what to ask when I attempt to sell. ... The entire line has been discontinued. Also, apparently it is all solid pine. So in addition to looking nice and being mid-range expensive, it apparently is decent quality. So now I don't really want to sell it. Or at least not the big bookshelves. So my current thought is to disassemble the three and the table I want to keep, at a minimum, and put them in storage. Yay?


So my current plan is to leave everything as-is until my party, then start packing that weekend. Yes, okay, that Wednesday I leave for Greece (woohoo!), but I want to put the stuff I'm keeping into storage, except probably a few dishes, July 16th or 17th. So ... packing.


Shipping
I suppose that also means I need to firm up my shipping plans. I intend to pack the majority of what I want to bring to Germany and ship it (SLOW ship it!) in advance. I need to find out if a traditional trunk (well. The current version of a traditional trunk, which has wheels) is shippable via UPS or USPS or whether it'd have to go into a box, in which case not much point to have the trunk ... well. Except when it comes to getting the shipped items to my new residence. Then it'd be really, really handy to be able to unbox and roll. Hm. Thoughts.


Augh
I suppose I also need to get on buying my health insurance, setting up my car-custody (for insurance) and reserving my storage space!


Weight
I'm not doing as well as I'd hoped but frankly, between people visiting me, me visiting them, (possibly) herniating a disc in my back debilitating me for 2 weeks, and, of course, general laziness as I fall out of the groove, I'm really not doing too badly. I haven't gained anything, and in the 6 or so weeks my body has done some re-distributing of weight so I actually look pretty okay. It is impossible that I'll reach my initial goal-weight before I leave for Germany. I may, maybe-possibly, lose another 10 by then, but with 2 weeks in Greece in the middle, I rather doubt it. Still. 


I went clothes shopping the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and was quite pleasantly surprised to be back in clothes that are carried in the store now, instead of only online. Even better: I can squeeze into some clothes the next size down, even if I wouldn't yet leave the house in them. That means, to me, that soon (SO SOON) I may be buying that size. That was kindof the reason I went shopping when I did: I don't intend to be in these clothes for long, so 30% off everything, including clearance, makes purchases reasonable even knowing that.


All that, however, obscures the fact: I am officially 3 full sizes smaller than I was this time last year!! Jeans that I couldn't wear last year are now too big! And I can no longer buy anything from Womens Plus - I'm back into Women's proportion-wise, if still at big sizes. Super exciting!


What's Next
I have started my application for the Peace Corps. It sounds like I want to get that completely squared away by the time I leave for Greece. That can be done. And then when I get back I'll need to start my GM application. 


My sister asked me how serious I am about the Peace Corps. It's hard to say, honestly, but I was thinking last night: this is my life. I want it to be a good one, and an interesting one. I want people to talk about me and how neat I am or what I've done is. Sure, going to school in Germany is a start. I want to find myself interesting, and for that to happen, I need to do things that make me think "wow, that's really cool". That would happen with a stint in the Peace Corps. It would also probably happen with GMs ECLP program - it sounds like the projects are fast, intense and informative.


So I guess my ideal would be to do the GE thing for 2 years and then do the Peace Corps? Glad I worked that out!

Counting down

‎16 days: Greece; 55 days: goodbye apartment; 60 days: last day of work; 62 days: goodbye Orlando

Wrapping things up

My mind is a disorganized mess, at the moment, which will be reflected in this post. All over the place, is what I'm saying. 


Suddenly it's June and I'm looking at a very limited number of weekends between now and when I leave - 10, to be precise. 


As of yesterday (I bought my plane ticket, finally), I officially have 10 weekends until I leave the country. And since I gave my landlady notice yesterday, with my rent check, I have to move out of my apartment in 9 weekends. 2 of those will be spent in Greece. So all of a sudden I have about 6 weekends to get packed up, organized, and sell or donate what I'm not keeping. Yikes.


Today I bought boxes online. I recently received a $100 Visa debit card in the mail, having apparently won a drawing after taking a survey for my dentist. This is actually fantastic, as it allows me to order boxes online from a company I've never heard of - boxcycle.com, which is a clearing-house facilitating selling used boxes. Which, frankly, is pretty awesome, but I'm not at all sure I would have trusted them with my actual credit card number. This way, I'm just waiting on confirmation from the seller and then I pick up the boxes at the agreed upon time. And then ... it's time to start packing. Because I'm moving. Really, really soon. 


I recently noticed a used-book store, which is super awesome, right next to a used CD store - which is even awesomer. Even if, as I suspect, they're not going to be giving me money for most of my collection ... either of them. I'm unloading my CDs and I'm going to force myself to unload books. Lots of books. And I'm not going to like it one little bit. But ... not having to pack and store them is a valid need. Alas. 


The other day I realized  I can use the space saver bags to flatten the insane amount of throw-pillows I have (that came with my sectional), then stick the bag in the cedar chest and call it good. I'm excited by this solution, and will execute it in the very near future, possibly today. This will help me, when it comes time to move. I think ... I think I"m going to try to move everything I'm not getting rid of on the Sunday I get back from Greece. 


And on top of all that: as of last Friday, my vertical, at work, no longer reports to me. They now report through my boss, theoretically freeing me to concentrate on the various projects I'm supposed to be working on. That I'm totally not working on, but that's a separate issue. 


So, what am I keeping?


The stools in the dining room. The bureau. The plant stand, and probably the pots for plants. All the kitchen gear. The coffee table, the drinks ottoman, probably the sectional - though I'll post it on craigslist, just for fun. The bedroom & dining room carpets, and the runners. The etegere, the bedroom lamps, the cedar chest, the small chests in the bedroom, the knick-knacks and shadow boxes, the art on the walls, towels from the bathroom (mostly). 3 boxes of books. The dinner services.


Undecided: The sunroom carpet, the blue couch.


And ... that's it. Huh. 

Injured

Last week, during pilates, something went popcrunch. Not all that unusual, but usually it's in a joint, not at / near the juncture of my neck and shoulder. I ignored it, as it didn't particularly hurt, and went on with my life. The next day it felt vaguely as though something were hot and swollen under the skin but not particularly painful or noticeable to my touch, but ... there.

By this past Tuesday I was officially in pain, so I went to the clinic we have at work. The PA checked my range of motion and attempted to recreate the pain by external pressure, commenting one of my muscles on my shoulder was a giant knot. 

I'm tentatively diagnosed with a herniated disc in my neck, and was given a course of steroids and muscle relaxants to take. That was working for the first day or so, not so much today. Over the past few days as the muscle unknotted, other joints I hadn't even noticed getting stiff have been popping and relaxing. Super nice. Today, however, I think it feels like my neck needs to pop, so I keep stretching it without thinking ... which keeps aggravating the nerve / disc and causing the muscle in my shoulder to knot.

On the other hand ... I feel like it's enough better to be basically in the same state my shoulders sometimes get when I've been exercising regularly and then stop. Like it just needs to be stretched out and worked. I'm giving it another day off, but I'm back to the gym tomorrow. I can't take it anymore!

I think also, however, that if I wake up again in the night with my shoulder & my calf trying to do charley horses, like happened last night, I'm going to go ahead and take the pill and just deal with the upset tummy and headache. 

Countdowns and Greece and Insurance, Oh My!

Greece is in 29 days! Greece is in 29 days! Exciting!


Also, my last day is in 73 days, I'll be working 35 more days, and, no, I still haven't bought my plane ticket. But! My bank account information finally came through, which means I can buy my health insurance.


Speaking of insurance, I was talking with a co-worker who lived abroad for a couple of years (she went to Russia as a missionary!), and she said she wasn't able to keep her insurance - she had to transfer ownership of her car to her mother. While I didn't really think I'd have similar issues, I decided that, if I did, I want to know now so I can make plans to sell the car.


And so, I called USAA. Man they're awesome. Yes, I can keep my insurance. I will designate a custodian (need to provide name, DOB, whether they're a US citizen, FL licence #) and provide the garaging info. I'll also change the annual miles driven, drop my rental car reimbursement and towing coverage and raise my deductables. Overall, I know my rates will drop some, and expect they'll drop at least $100 per 6-month period.


I also found out about renter's insurance. Even without lowering my coverage (currently $32,000), moving to Hanover and putting my stuff in storage here will save me around $80 per 6-month. Since I'm getting rid of a LOT of stuff, I expect my savings will be close to double that. Woohoo!


AND there is a toll-free number I'll be able to call while in Germany, and apparently there are call centers in Britain & the US, and there is an adjustment office in Frankfurt, so I'll have no trouble getting in touch, should I need to. 


The one thing they don't seem to offer is health insurance, so it looks like I'll still be going through the recommended company. Probably. 


I'm also starting to look at storage. I've pretty much given up on Pods, I think. I think it makes more sense for me to pay the lower storage costs (and get the free moving truck) at a U-Store location, and just figure it out when I come back to the States. I'm still not sure how much space I'll need: I'm getting rid of all my bookshelves, and books, and CDs, and dining room table & chairs, and bed, and chest, hopefully the recliner. So I'll be left with kitchen stuff, school stuff, the couches & coffee tables, the cedar chest ... knick-knacks, dishes, pictures (in frames), maybe the shadow-boxes, the TV, maybe the stereo, the table lamps, bathroom towels, spare pillows .... and that's about it, right? hmmmmm. 

Looking forward

One of the big questions for next year is ... what comes next? What do I do, once I've quit my job, gone to school in Germany for a year and have two MBAs (one from the US and one from Germany). 


As a general goal, I want to do something that matters ... something that I can see matters. I'm sure going on vacation matters, but to quote an old co-worker: no one has ever died because they couldn't check-in to a timeshare.The very thought is ludicrous (and I'm sure, by typing this, someone is going to get murdered for this exact reason in the near future. I will be flummoxed.).


Thinking of "things that matter", I mentally gravitate to NGOs - especially as it's one of the areas of concentration available to me. On the other, I have heard truly appalling things about the (non-existent) level of professionalism in the world of non-profits, and I'm not really sure I want to deal with that.


I've been in a massive company for 9 years. I am curious about smaller companies, but, again, the rumors of the unprofessionalism abound. Sure, that is likely a mixed bag across industries, and will vary by the tone set in each company. Still, it's something to be aware of, along with my low tolerance for bad behavior.


This morning, my LinkedIn email from my alma mater included a link to GE's ECLP - Experienced Commercial Leadership Program. It's a competitive program lasting 2 years, with 3 rotations (generally geographically and always functionally diverse) where 100 associates are given the chance to learn and to shine in GE's corporation. There don't seem to be a lot of reviews of the program online. The company in general gets rave reviews online, generally, with the caveat that entry level is underpaid (I know! It's shocking!!) and that career progression can be frustrating so maybe don't plan to stay in the longterm. At least that's what I'm seeing. Also, if you want to succeed plan on looong hours. Which, again, shocker. So, at a guess, many of the reviews are by younger workers, particularly the negative ones. You can pretty much expect anything flagged as from an Analyst as negative. By the time you get to Senior Analyst, Manager or Director, however, things are brighter and, let's be frank: I'm not starting at the Analyst level. 


For once, I'm seeing this potential opportunity well in advance of application deadlines - applications go in October, decisions are made in November, program starts mid-July. Which ... would be perfect, actually, if I don't want to take any vacation after school. 


So ... that's a thought

Sabotage!

My family has a long history of disastrous drainage issues occurring during holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc - that generally resulted in a plumber and, on more than one occasion, subsequent removal of the downstairs closet ceiling and disassembly of a pipe-joint, with super gross sludge being removed. Until this weekend, I'd assumed the story we'd been told - the pipes weren't installed with the proper grade, so particulates and larger items were settling instead of flowing down hill - was true. Now I know different: it was sabotage! By my siblings!!

Visits!

Yay! It's finally the time when my brother & sister are coming to visit! John arrives tonight ( in about 5 hours), Beth arrives before dawn tomorrow. I imagine I'll be slightly less enthusiastic at her actual arrival, glad though I'll be to see her. AND tomorrow I'm off, going to Universal. AND I'm leaving early today. Yaaay all around!

Assuming I do leave early, as planned (I'm bad at that), I'm going to bake a cake this afternoon. And do a load of laundry. And run the dishwasher. And do a small bit more of tidying and taking out trash, but otherwise, I'm ready! Except for buying raisins. I need to buy raisins ...

We had a cool front come through yesterday, which means it'll be well under 90 the entire time they're here, which is a big break for them. 60 degrees to 90+ is rather abrupt ... as Floridians may recall from this past Feb. Too much too soon, etc. Anyway, I'm hopeful the weather will be ideal for our purposes.

Following their visit, it'll be time to officially start the divesting of excess worldly goods. Ideally this would be via a yard sale, but more likely it'll be via Craig's list. And in 2 weeks I go to visit John. And a month after that it's off to Greece, then give notice and then it's alllll over. Crazy. Also in there, right in my last week here, John will (at least in theory) be back down here with his girlfriend doing Disney. I expect I'll see them, though I will, by then, be homeless.

Oh! And the weekend after I go see John it's Memorial Day! So I get 3 3-day weekends this month! Sweet!

I was realizing that it'll be 90 more days of employment on Mother's Day. That feels like it should be meaningful or ironic or something, but I've so far failed to figure out why, so perhaps it just ... is.

I continue to obsess over the plane ticket, despite having decided I'm not buying until after my current credit card bill closes, so the end of May at the earliest.

Currently, I can fly for $704, but will arrive late enough to need a hotel room AND will spent nearly 20 hours in transit. Alternately I can spend $1140, spend 12 hours in transit and arrive in time to go to where ever it is I'll be living and move in. It is making me crazy, actually. Hopefully a less time-consuming and better arrival-time option will open up in the $700 range sometime in the next 3 weeks.

The visits, though, absolutely are starting to feel a bit rushed & crammed in, as I approach the end of my time here. Which is true! They probably wouldn't be coming, or at least not now if I weren't leaving, and didn't complain about no visits for 2 & 3 years.

Argh

To sign a lease for Germany I have to have a residency permit. To get my residency permit for Germany I have to have medical & liability insurance. To get medical & liability insurance for Germany I have to have a German bank account. To have a German bank account ... I have to be patient. Grr.

I spent some time, this morning, going through the various offerings from the recommended insurance company. Do I want to be insured worldwide, or just in the EU? Do I want coverage for accident-related vision aids? What about accident insurance? Do I plan ahead for perhaps becoming a work-seeker after graduation? What about medically necessary rehabilitation measures as a subsequent medical treatment prescribed by a physician? Some of these are mutually exclusive. And then, do I want to pay an additional Euro 17 per month for luggage insurance?

Man. It's complicated to plan for not having a job.

In related news, we're moving ahead at work and have posted one of ultimately two positions that will take on my work as I transition out and then depart. This is, frankly, huge progress, since 48 hours ago we didn't have agreement that anyone would be hired. 

94 days of work, 96 presumed days till departure, still no ticket. 

Anxiety is attacking

I'm feeling a bit freaked out, today, on a variety of fronts. It's because I'm overtired, which is, in turn, because I'm an idiot and stayed up super late reading. (I highly recommend the entire Hunger Games series, btw. I've now read all three books, 2 of them yesterday).


Still.


I can't stop thinking that next year is going to be hard. I'm going to be far away, and I won't know anyone, and my entire support network, flimsy though it will be, will be 6 to 9 hours off from me. And, as I learned traveling last year, 6 hours is the worst possible time zone difference. When I'm at home and tired and overwhelmed and needing support, everyone will be at work. And when they're at home I'll be asleep (fingers crossed, anyway!). And when I'm getting up for the day .... they'll be asleep. Yes, yes, emails will work, but I'm rather addicted to and dependent on supportive, instantaneous texts. And even phone calls won't really work, except on the occasional weekend. 


Also, for next year: so far I'm the only one from the US who's signed up with my class's FB page. Intellectually I know very well the rest are coming, but it's sort of freaking me out. Cultural centrism aside, I can't really imagine a true year long study abroad without any fellow Americans. Super scary.


I think this is really hitting me today (aside from the tired-ness) because, paying rent today, I noticed I have just 2 checks left in the pad ... and that's all I'm going to use before I leave. And next time I pay, I'll need to give my 60 day notice. Freeeeeeaky.


Also, my brother & sister are coming this next weekend. I was supposed to get ready for the visit over the past couple days - shopping, cleaning, etc. I totally didn't. Hell, Sunday I only got out of bed to snack and to use the bathroom. And I don't see where I'll find the time to get it done between now & Thursday. So I'm panicking a little on that front, too.


And I keep looking at my savings so far and thinking they're not going to be where I want / need them to be, by the time I leave. That's probably not true but ... scary. 


And I still don't know where I'll be living!! That, honestly, is starting to really, truly bother me. And it's completely out of my control.


I'm starting to do the things I do when I'm overwhelmed: I start shutting down, sleeping a lot and shirking any and all responsibilities. Basically: when I start to feel buried I stop shoveling. Not good, and a really, really bad habit. On that score, I guess it's actually good they're coming this weekend as I'll be forced to get my shit together.


Right? 

99 days (or 101, depending)

Today I drop to the double digits of time remaining until my last day of work. On Saturday I drop to the double digits of time remaining until my expected departure for Germany. I think I may be sick. :)


I was reading the Sony Playstation blog post about the intrusion, earlier today, and they mentioned in passing the "I've been mugged in London & need money" scam that follows an email or facebook account hacking. It suddenly occurred to me: people would actually believe it's real, possibly, should such an email come from me in 102 days. I'm going to need to come up with some way to alert people if I do send an actual message of that type ... though probably just for people on email. I figure people I'm in contact with solely via FB can be trusted to ignore such a message. Just another thing to think about.


I lost 2 pounds this week, and am annoyed: I've been working really hard. That said, I've been to two ice cream socials and there was cake this week. So, really, 2 lbs is good! I'm still hoping for better next week: why else am I trying for 15 hours of exercise per week (9 down!) if not to accelerate weight loss? Of course, I really only stepped it up last Friday, did nothing Sat & Sun, and started to get consistent on Monday (so I've done 3 hours each on Mon, Tues & Wednesday).


I'd really, really, really been hoping to have lost 40 lbs by the end of April. Not going to happen (though I'll weigh myself on Saturday, just so I can be extra frustrated. Good times.) I was also hoping to have lost 20% of my initial weight by the time I go to Greece. In all likelihood, I'll be within 2 pounds, but I won't quite hit the target. So close! Perhaps the extra time at the gym will pay off for those 2 lbs. Hoping, but not counting on it. 


This Saturday is the dinner / reception for Stetson Passport Graduating Seniors. I find myself really looking forward to it ... which is pretty much a gte of a bad / boring time, but for now I'm excited.. 


And next week my brother & sister come for a last Florida visit. It's weird to be starting to wrap things up.  I actually turned on the AC last night, in anticipation. Well. In anticipation and because it was ridiculously muggy and I was tired of sweating

Procrastination

Around a month ago, I made an appointment for the honorary German consul, went to the law office and paid to have my signature witnessed 6 times, and my photocopy of my passport validated. I need all this for opening a blocked bank account in Germany. I need to open a blocked bank account (and put $10,000 in it) so that I can get my student's visa. Apparently, should all else fail, the German government believes I can live on $10k for a year. Good to know!

Anyway, I was going to mail it that day but ... something happened. I think I was just running really, really late, because the appointment took longer than expected? Anyway. Didn't get to the post office. Forgot to bring the papers with me when I mailed my dad's birthday present. Post office was closed another time, and the next time, last week, I wasn't positive I had all the pages I needed.

Today I finally, finally got the papers in the mail. Really, they should get there in 7 - 10 days, and then there'll be a couple / few days before I hear anything but I should have an account in Germany by the end of May.

Exciting, and alarming.

Similarly exciting & alarming: 101 days until my last day of work. Eek. Eeeeeeeeek.

Anyway. So, what's a blocked account? It's an account I can put money into, but cannot withdraw from until I've filled out some additional paperwork once I'm living in Germany. Mainly, I think the requirement to get this all done prior to arrival is for the students who will be arriving from countries requiring visas for entry - not a problem for someone coming from the US - but regardless I'll fill out forms for unblocking the account and applying for my residency visa during orientation. 

So, yeah, bit of procrastination there (if you're counting, that's just 3 attempts in over a month). Some other things I'm procrastinating on: buying the health insurance; following up with the potential movers; following up with the apartment people, and the student housing people, contacting the financial aid person regarding 1st dispersement in July and finding out about assistance for study abroad programs; contacting my insurance company regarding the car being kept at someone's house and barely driven ... and, of course, the big one: buying my plane ticket. Though, really, I have been shopping that, just not buying. Yet. Eek. 

It's all very upsetting

I'm having one of those days where everything is upsetting. Or extra upsetting. 


I lost 3 lbs, which started the day off right (35 is the new total) but ... I went to bed late. And I didn't go to the gym last night. And I had a donut this morning. And two fun-sized candy bars this afternoon. And those people on The Biggest Loser somehow manage to lose 5 - 9 lbs EVERY WEEK. So I'm a little down on myself right now, and panicking at how close everything suddenly is. Beth & John visit in 2 weeks. I visit John in 5 weeks. Greece is in 10 weeks. And Germany is in 15. Eek. And eeeek and eeeeeeeek. 


Found out today I can't go to the Baccalaureate ceremony. Well. Technically I can go of course, but I can't process in with the rest of the graduates. Why not? Since I'm not walking in Saturday I didn't order a cap & gown (I did, of course, pay for one. Sweet.), and to be in the processional you have to be kitted out. 


And I'm arguing with Peter. As I do when I'm overtired. 


And it seems like all of a sudden there are these great opportunities for growth in the company, and I have to keep reminding myself: I don't care. I'm going to be doing something else entirely and I'm going to grow in new and unforeseen ways. I still feel left out.

Officially counting down

I officially started my countdown to my last day today: 107 days to go. Yesterday I figured out how many actual work days that means, once weekends and vacation days are taken into account: 51. That's really close.


At the same time ... that's FOREVER from now. I am so ready to be done. Some days more than others, of course, and today is a particularly bad day, exacerbated by how tired I am of being tired. Which is my own fault for not going to bed but ... whatever. And if I DID go to bed early, speaking from experience I'd just lay there awake anyway.


In an effort to up my exercise, even slightly, I bought some Reebok Easy-Tone shoes. I don't know how well they work, but they are brutal when attempting to lunge / stretch after a work-out: there are small balance balls on the sole, and when I'm stretching & holding, my legs get fatigued pretty quickly. Also, walking in them without socks gave me blisters. 


Speaking of walking & upping my exercise: I'm trying to up my exercise time to over 10 hours a week. So far I'm able to hit 9 pretty easily, but 10 is a challenge. I'm adding walking. I also discovered there are Cardio Strength classes every morning at the Dr. Phillip's Y, at 5:30, and am considering trying to catch that twice a week. That and the walking should put me over 11 hours no problem, which will be good ... if still tiring. Also, it will increase the time I'm spending on strength training, which is otherwise less than half of the time I'm spending. 


Also: the classes are 55 minutes, not 60, so even if I am hitting 10 classes a week, I still need to walk (or do something) for 50 minutes to make it actually 10 hours of exercise a week. 


I don't think I'm going to hit my goal of 40 lbs lost by the end of this month. I would need to lose 6 lbs since last Thurs, and there's only this week and next week. I had hoped to have lost 70 by the time I go to Greece. I don't think that's going to happen unless I do something drastic / unhealthy. Right now, most probably case is I'll have lost 64 lbs by the time I leave for Germany, 68 by the time orientation starts. This manages to be both disappointing and an achievement. 


On the other hand, last night, for the first time, I could actually see a difference when looking in the mirrors during class. That was nice. 

Man. Really gonna pay for that.

Yesterday, at what feels like 'long last', though it's probably been 6 weeks at most, I got my financial aid package.


It's about $3k less than I expect to want to spend. And it's all federal funds (the program is through Purdue, so I'm eligible to borrow from the government. Typically, the US gov't doesn't contribute to the cost of educating citizens overseas). I am ... relieved? I think? This has absolutely been something preying on the back of my mind, adding to stress when I let myself think about it.


Interestingly, that $3k is the expected cost of the study abroad programs. So it makes sense the school wouldn't budget that for me (not being open for registration for another 5-6 months!). I just wonder if I can get an additional loan from the gov't for them, at a later date. ... and if I would really want to. It's a lot of debt. 


I honestly didn't know what to expect, and am super delighted about how easy this all has been, so far. The amount (just over $47k) is alarming to consider as a lump sum. Super scary. On the other hand, it's my tuition room, board, transportation ... basically it doesn't cover random souvenirs. I think I can deal. 


And here's a thought: I paid $22k-ish to Stetson over 18 months, with no debt at the end. I can do this. And I expect I can do it in under 5 years .... depending, of course, on my post-graduation employment status.


I've already completed my entrance counselling, required to accept the loans, and accepted the loans online through the Purdue portal.


Spending all that money, and more:

The look

A few months ago, a study came out correlating tendencies to hire vs. weight of job applicants. The (probably over-simplified) result? Particularly for women, the more overweight you are, the less likely you are to be hired. Interesting on its own, alarming in context: I'm overweight. Really, really overweight. And I have been, for years. Something to change. 

The whys and wherefores. ... and some serendipity

About 3 years ago, my job got ugly and I got restless, and I started looking to make a change. I rapidly discovered that my extensive experience did not, in a hiring manager's market, overcome my lack of formal education. In my then early-30s, I was already, frankly, embarrassed to have still not done anything about not getting a degree, so ... I made a change.

Under the theory that whether I went to school or not, in 2 years I'd still be 2 years older, I sucked it up and enrolled at my community college. Unsurprisingly, I loved it. Weirdly, I kept it a secret from my family (which, being single and 1000s of miles away is relatively simple).

Time passed, I kept on keeping on, and I got my AA. Step one: complete. Time for another change.

Somewhere inside my head, getting an AA isn't really considered 'getting your degree'. Oh, it's fine, and it's a step in the right direction, but ... it's not really 'real'. 'Real' is a bachelor's degree ... which is also the minimum expectation of an educated adult. ... unless, you know, you're doing fine without one? I don't know. It's the standard I apply to myself, at least, if not to others.  I attribute this attitude to my up-bringing, but, frankly, no specific reason for this comes to mind.


So, step two: get my bachelor's. 

After a false start with the local state college, I decided (after being accepted and registering) I did NOT want to 1. Drive an hour each way for class; 2. spend time with college students; and 3. spend all my other spare time driving AND hanging with college students for the apparently de riguer team projects. Shortly thereafter, a co-worker and I got to talking about her degree program, from a branch of Stetson University that does a Saturday-only program for working adults. In late Feb I applied. I started the 2nd week in March. Added bonus? It's apparently the #3 school for business in the South. 

One of the great things about the Stetson program is the constant reinforcement of the path to a higher degree: many, possibly even most, of the Executive Passport students go on to get their MBAs, frequently with Stetson. I wasn't initially interested, but a year or message-reinforcement changed my mind. I took the GMAT and started receiving recruitment information.

Around the same time, after a year of hearing about the international program (field trip to China! MBA classes in Austria!), a school-friend and I signed up to do the 10 days in China, which had the extra incentive of allowing me to finish my degree in July last summer. I'd be a fool not to go! And ... since I was graduating and eligible, I thought, why not go to Austria, too! I applied and was accepted to the MBA program, and registered to spend my two weeks. 

As my first trips abroad (not counting childhood trips to / through Canada and adult trips to the USVI), this was a major change to my vacationing style. I had to get a passport! And a visa! And international currency! In Austria would have to navigate public transit in foreign cities all by myself! Heady stuff! 

During this time, I started receiving emails from a school in Germany. Get 2 degrees in 11 months! AACSB certified! Live abroad for a year! Frankly it sounded too good to be true, but I did some research and .. it seemed to be legit. And, since I was going to be in Austria anyway, why not go see it in person? The timing was a little off (right in the break between the last class leaving and the next class starting), but, hey, I'd be wandering around the region for 3 weekends so, why not?

So, summer came. I spent 10 days in China. I finished my undergrad. I headed off for two weeks in Austria, with side trips to Germany and Switzerland. ... I landed in an airport not speaking or reading a single word of the local language (hint: at a bare minimum, learn the written words for Exit and Terminal so you can at least leave the airport.) 


Like most Americans who get an opportunity to go abroad, I was hooked. I wanted to go back. Suddenly, instead of vaguely planning to go to grad school, I was actively pursuing quitting my job and living abroad, if only for a year ... and longer still hasn't been ruled out. 

.

In November 2010 I applied and was accepted to the 2011/12 cohort for the GISMA full-time MBA program, a joint venture between Purdue University and Leibniz Universitat Hannover. Running mid-August through mid-July, at the end of 11 months I'll have a degree from each school. And then everything will change again.

In December I received my scholarship package (1/4 tuition. good, not great).

And, now, I'm in the count-down. In four months I'll no longer be working. In four months and 1 day, I'll be Hanover-bound. And in a year and 3 months, I'll be done with the program, waiting for graduation. In the space of 5 years I'll have gone from having "some college" to obtaining an AA, a BBA and two MBAs.

I'm changing my life.

What follows is .... what follows.