Fires

So, those of you involved in academia will know that there are always little fires to be put out- usually just before the start of something or just before the end of it. Here's the fire I had to put out today:



My mortgage people in Florida wanted a copy of my final letter of acceptance from Florida State. Sure thing, I thought. I'd gotten it about a week ago. They needed it because the documentation of my assistantship said (of course) that it was contingent upon admittance to the University. No problem. I should have read the letter more carefully when I got it. I pulled out the final letter to scan it... and noticed... at the bottom... that my acceptance to the MFA program was contingent on... having received a Masters degree. What? I'm going into a Masters program. Nowhere is it written I have to finish this one before starting a different one. No one else has to have a Masters degree to get into this program!



So Friday, I called my contact at the School of Theatre. She gave me the number of someone in admissions. I had to leave a message, and I also sent an email, because I've found, when dealing with University administration, it's always best to attack on every possible front. If I weren't almost ten hours away, I'd have shown up at her office, too. I also forwarded my email to my advisor.

I had no response by late this morning, so I called again. Guess what? She's on vacation. So I pressed 0 For Immediate Assistance. I was routed through 3 people, and left a message for someone else. Someone Else called me back a couple of hours later. They were just a little confused, since you're not supposed to be enrolled at two different schools at the same time. I explained that I wouldn't be in classes at both schools at the same time- I'll be at ETSU again next summer, when I'm not in classes in Florida. Oh, well, that explains it all. No problem. The condition is removed and he's sending me another letter of admission. And I got him to send me an email saying just that.

So here's what I don't get: why was my admission contingent on completing my current degree program prior to starting there? I had all the required criteria for admission. I can understand how they might make it contingent on "not being enrolled in any other Masters degree program," but why was I required to finish it, when no one else would be required to have a Masters degree already to get in. It's beyond me. Luckily, though, this is the first and so far only glitch I've run across in dealing with FSU administration. After dealing with ETSU for two years, I'm just beside myself about it. ETSU is quite possibly the worst-run University in the country. It's certainly the worst I've dealt with, and I've dealt with a lot of colleges.

So that's pretty much all. I'm in a holding pattern now, waiting for the appraisal of my new house to come in, and waiting for the mortgage people to tell me when closing is- and, of course, that I've actually got the loan. Just... waiting. I officially picked out my refrigerator (and I'm spending $50 more for the "EnergyStar" rated one- it'll save me around $15 a year on electricity). It's very cool; I've wanted a side-by-side fridge my whole life. It's big, 26 cubic feet, and has filtered ice and water in the door and shelves that pull out, and it's "stainless look," meaning it's steel, but it's got a finish on it that doesn't show fingerprints. And it matches the range and dishwasher and microwave. Here's a picture. I'm such a House Nerd, excited by a refrigerator. Here's a picture: Unfortunately, some of the reviews I've read say it's kind of loud.

Anyway, I started thinking today about all the things I'm going to have to buy because the house is brand new, things I wouldn't have to worry about if the house had been lived in before- like window coverings for all the windows. I don't even have cheapo mini-blinds. And some sort of outdoor storage thing for the lawn mower, since there's nowhere to keep it currently. And, of course, a washer and dryer (I sold my old washer and dryer with the house, and they were less than a year old!). When I say I'm moving to a small town, I mean it. The nearest laundromat is 18 miles away, in Tallahassee. And a fence for the back yard, so the doggy can go out by herself. And a mailbox- can you believe my house doesn't even come with a mailbox? And hopefully, I can pick up off-air TV signals with an antenna, and hopefully I can still get them if the antenna is in the attic, so it doesn't have to go on the roof, and hopefully, it won't be too hard to wire electricity to the antenna in the attic- which is accessed through a little square in the roof of a bedroom. Not in a closet. A bedroom. Without pulldown stairs (I guess my ladder will be living in the outdoor storage thingy).

I don't want anyone to think I'm all "Woe is me; I have to buy a bunch of stuff to go with my brand new little house 15 minutes from the Gulf of Mexico." I'm just thinking out loud/in print. Feel free to skim, or not to read at all. I've said it before- if this saga had started six months ago, I'd be all set. As you may know, all this started six weeks ago, so I'm still playing catch-up.

What else do I need? I can tell you what I want, that will have to wait, probably: a back door. Daddy says it won't be hard to do, but with all these other things I really need immediately, the back door is on the back burner. And I need some sort of decking for the patio furniture and the grill I already have.

OK, enough of the thinking in print. I'm sure you have better things to do, like plan gender-neutral bedding for your fetus' crib from IKEA. I'm all for gender-neutral bedding. I've slept in it for years. By the way, I think that "Dos Equis" is a lovely name for a child. That or "Marmoset." Of course, I have a niece who calls herself "Bug," so what do I know?