good school news, for once

today started off quite well... i woke up to a call from a coworker with a fast & straightforward assignment, which is good because i've been lazy this week & a solid deadline will do me good. plus, it's a previous client who is serious about buying in the next two months, which best-case would put another possibility in line to pay for spring semester. the next call was even better. i spent two days this week calling various vcu offices trying to figure out who i should talk to you about my sloppy pile of transcripts, to find out not only what i'll need when i get back there, but also what i should take at the comm college to prepare. (funny-- i'm forced to see an advisor at JSR, but i can't find one at VCU.) finally got a name & number yesterday, along with a warning that the woman i need is teaching two summer classes, which means she'll be hard to get in touch with for a couple weeks. lo and behold, she called me today. dealing with vcu over the past 13 years has involved a great deal of maddening phone tag & miscommunication & bad advice, so the mere fact that *she* called *me* makes me optimistic. she was even willing to deal with all this over phone & email, which is even better. the fact that she actually seemed to know what she was talking about? priceless. bottom line looks like i have to take my last 30 hours at vcu (which i expected, in fact was worried that number might be higher). on top of the one pre-1700 english class i knew i'd still need (because of the nutjob who gave me an I years ago instead of "letting" me get less than an A), turns out there are 3 new english requirements since i left, so that's 12 hours... then there's the new "urban environment" gen-ed req, which they don't allow you to take elsewhere. apparently i also need a statistics class, and the one i was planning on taking this fall for the IT degree won't transfer, so i'll have to see if one that will transfer will also work for the IT. and there's still the one science. the woman made a good point: if i do the science at the CC, i'll have to take a lab (they wrap lecture/lab into one class), whereas if i wait and take it at vcu, and i can do lecture only, and use it to make up the 30 hours, since i don't *need* 30 hours otherwise. she also pointed out that astronomy is now an option, which has the added bonus of being a topic i'm actually interested in, making the prospect of paying $750 for a science class as opposed to $250 a tad easier to swallow. more lovely news from that call: vcu has a "grade exclusion" policy for returning students (after at least 5 years), which means all those semesters i started & then blew off will disappear, and my gpa will shoot up. (the policy requires a 2.0 in the first 12 hours back, which won't be a problem, since i now have a reason to care whether i pass or not.) the only possible catch is, the one science lecture i already took ended in a D, so i might have to retake it. not the end of the world-- at least my lab credit is safe, and the new reqs only require one. ultimately, i'm looking at 2 more years in richmond, unless the "last 30 hours" rule will allow me to take classes at JSR and VCU at the same time-- and, more importantly, that my budget will allow same. the budget's still a question mark, but it's nice to finally know what i'm up against. ah, and she verified that the stupid english class i'm taking now is all i'll need on that front. guess i'd better go write the paper that's due today so i don't have to repeat the damn class...

more school fun

my really-for-real plan to finish my degree(s) has not subsided, and i've decided to take full time classes this fall, even if i have to eat ramen to do it. (or-- egads-- get a roommate.) to that end, i shushed my procrastination long enough to remember to register on time. only one more class that i need for the AA is available online, which means i'll actually have to go to campus regularly, so i need all my options open lest i otherwise get stuck with daytime classes. reg started yesterday, & i had already picked out a nice balance between boring gen-ed crap and hopefully-interesting crap. i confirmed with C that a commission check i've been expecting is indeed in the pipeline & should arrive within the month, & will be equal to or greater than what i need to cover tuition-- & sweetheart that he is, he offered to advance me the dough if the closing goes awry. so, class numbers in hand, online i went. after twenty minutes of going around in circles with the not-at-all intuitive software, i finally had four classes in my "basket." (gee, when you call it a basket, i feel less like i'm giving up four nights a week for several months, and more like i'm buying something fun on amazon, or going on a picnic!), after verifying that i have 2 more weeks to pay, i clicked "enroll." anyone who knows anything about my history of educational issues knows what the next screen said: "sorry, you can't do that-- you have a hold on your account." yes, i hurled an object across the room. no, it was not my laptop. but i REALLY mean it this time, so after i calmed down, i went right back to the site (instead of waiting six months and hoping the imaginary hold would just go away) and clicked through to the "holds" page. lo and behold, "there are no holds." it's incredibly difficult not to assume that the universe just doesn't want me to go back to school, but i won't be defeated. at least not until this happens at least three dozen times. (mind you, that number is not far off.)