The MBA Project: Next Steps

Step One: Find money.  The school will notify me of any grants and loans within the next week or so, but I will definitely need to apply for more loans beyond that and I started identifying private scholarship opportunities a few months ago.  Unfortunately, they all stipulated that one must be admitted into a program, and at the time I wasn't.  Now it's time to dust off those saved Favorites and get to work.  This means more essays and probably more recommendations.  *sigh*  Worth it, of course, but I'm not looking forward to more application processes.  Work does have an educational reimbursement program, but it's exactly that: reimbursement.  Meaning I will have to cough up the money up front and then I am reimbursed according to my performance in the class.  Thankfully the program also covers things like paying for a parking pass, books, and other incidentals.

Step Two: Time for an upgrade in a few things...

• Laptop:  I bought a used Powerbook G4 from my friend's husband four years ago and it's been limping along for awhile now.  It no longer recognizes that it has a battery, and thus will not operate without being plugged in, it's only got a 60GB hard drive (I had a larger one put in, but it failed...twice), and its processor can't keep pace with today's software requirements.  I stand by Apple products, but age eventually claims all electronics and this one is at least 6, possibly 7 years old by now. Mama wants a MacBook and has the perfect excuse to get one now!

• Location, Location, Location: My livelihood is in the region known by locals as "North County", and the school is waaaaaaaaaaaaay down south, just 10 minutes or so from downtown San Diego.  Where I live now is a good 40 miles away from school and 10 miles north of work.  In order for this arragement to work out without me going insane and/or bankrupt from paying for gas, I will have to move somewhere between the two.  The challenge is that in order to go to a place in a decent neighborhood that will accept a pet, I am facing a huge increase in rent.  I would also really like to get into a 1 bedroom, as I've been living in a studio for almost 4 years and have outgrown it.  I have been periodically trolling the Internet to find places that meet my needs and budget, and there are precious few.  There is a reason why most people out here have roommates.  San Diego is 'spennnnnsive.  However, I won't really be in a position to know exactly what I can afford until after the annual reviews at work next month.  While I know that a merit/performance based raise is not a guarantee in this economy, my company has been able to at least provide standard Cost of Living increases these last few years.  So I'm just playing the waiting game here...

And naturally when I know what my class schedule will be, all of my other extracurriculars will have to fall in line accordingly.  I really hope that it will work out for me to make it to at least once dance class a week.

Other than that, it's so nice to be out of the woods with waiting for acceptance/rejection and just being able to move forward with plans.  Between that, my Europe trip, and Maid of Honor duties for my brother's wedding, I have plenty to keep me occupied this summer!