Total Bum


With hubby in Vegas for a business trip, I find myself being totally bored out of my mind. After cleaning house and putting my assignments on hold, I refused to leave the house and was content vegging out watching one DVD after another. With the exception of eating and taking necessary bathroom breaks (oh yah, and blogging), I succeeded in getting to disc 3 the Gilmore Girls Season 2. I also popped in "Pieces of April" and jumped around in "Under the Tuscan Sun." After psyching myself to finally do my work, I'm beginning to feel a bit ill. It must've been all those chocolate almond kisses that I scarfed down during my Gilmore marathon. Ugh. Tummy hurts once again.


Should I or Shouldn't I?


The end is finally in sight. I began taking online classes in March 2003 through the University of Phoenix. The Masters program that I am in can be completed in a year and a half. Had I stuck to the program without taking any breaks in between, I would've been done a long time ago. But as my luck would have it, I chose to spare my sanity after going weeks and weeks straight of late night reading, homework assignments, and communicating and hating many of my online classmates. Had I continued without breaks, I wouldn't have had so many opportunities to visit da Bay without fear of assignments looming over my head. Had I presevered through class after class, I would have suffered the stress of moving out of state, being home for my dad's quadruple bypass surgery, and other numerous events and activities that have added excitement to my life. I don't know how people do the whole school-work thing on a full-time basis. I mean, I did for a while, but that was at the expense of much needed sleep and the sacrifice of missing out on the fun things. In many ways, I feel so lucky that I only have my school to focus on right now. It continues to blow my mind when I hear about people furthering their education while raising a family, too. Just the time, effort, and dedication that is required for such programs validates the theory that there is simply not enough hours in the day to do everything that we'd like.


I am 7 units from completing my Masters degree. How dope is that? I now have the opportunity to participate in the graduation exercises this coming July in Arizona. They actually have a ceremony for the online community. I have a chance to finally meet and put the names to faces of so many that I've worked with, bitched with, and stayed up late hours with just to finish a project. Joy. Honestly, that could either be a good thing or a bad thing. All that aside though, I'm seriously considering flying out because, well, gee, I am earning a Masters degree! It's something that I take pride in, not only because there are only a handful in my family who've gone beyond the college diploma, but because this achievement is something that I've put a lot of hard work into. In college, I couldn't wait to be done and I thought that would be it. I never even contemplated going back to school. But even though there were MANY times that I wanted to quit, I toughed it out.


So the question is, should I go to Arizona this July? Do I attend this ceremony knowing that my family cannot be there to celebrate with me? Do I really want to spend the loot for a plane ticket and hotel to see people I rarely know or do we save that for the house or a ticket back home to CA? But wouldn't it be cool to wear the cap and gown with a hood? Hmmmmm...decisions, decisions. Is it worth it? Any thoughts?