So it's been a while. My excuse? The fact that I finally obtained a PS2, and between GTA: Vice City, Hitman 2, Dead To Rights, and NHL 2002, I no longer own my PS2, it owns me. I basically took a whole week off from the world, which was desperately needed following finals. Ever drive 45 minutes to your class only to find out that your final has been e-mailed to you as a take-home due to inclement weather? Not the best of times, mon ami.

Moving along.

I know I promised a rant on the televised abomination known as Friends (everyone and their cousin twice removed is bitching about The Anna Nicole Show, we all know it's bad, so I figured I'd enlighten those of you that need enlightening in regard to the fact that Friends sucks), but I've got one more piece of academic frustration to vent before moving on to more trivial bullseyes.

Y'see, I'm on this plan at grad school which states that if I maintain a 3.3 cumulative GPA following my first four classes, the GMATs are waived. Sounds like a sweet deal, doesn't it? But wait, there's some fine print that we forgot to tell you about!

Bastards.

Because my GPA is evaluated following my first four courses, I cannot take a fifth or sixth course during my second trimester. Translation: I cannot take a full course load, and would ultimately have to either take summer courses, or stay aboard for an additional trimester.

I reiterate: bastards.

Now they've told me that this stipulation was outlined in the second page of my acceptance letter. Well not to make excuses, but who actually reads through their acceptance letters? Once you get past the bit where they either confirm or deny your acceptance, you toss the scraps aside and get ready to buy your books. Sound trivial? You bet it is. But it's also true. Furthermore, I went to visit the head of the MBA department twice this past summer prior to the beginning of the 2002-03 academic year. He outlined the waiving of the GMATs for me, but not once did he bring up said stipulation. No my friends, he was not forthcoming about this at all.

You gotta love the administrative bullshit that colleges and universities make you wade through. Do they not realize that you're having a tough enough time adjusting and trying to get your life in order without having to read Section B, Paragraph 36 of the college bylaws? It's even tougher for grad students, considering most of them are already in the private sector workign 9-5 jobs, then trotting over to campus for a three-hour class between 5:30 and 8:30. Talk about a shot social life (yes, this is what you all have to look forward to).

Bottom line is this, kids. My situation is what's known as a trade-off. Yeah, I could tentatively have the GMATs waived, but in return, the university demands an extra trimester's worth of pay for a measely two classes, just to up their profit margin by that much more.

I cannot emphasize this point enough: bastards.

So what does this mean for me? Basically I gotta shell out $200 and take the damn test before January 6, which I fully intend to do. So I lose out on an extra $200 and kill three hours of my life for the sake of academic testing. But on the flipside of the coin, I finish my graduate education on time and get that big fat Masters in Marketing forked over to me in May of '04. Considering the options, I really don't have much choice. It's really a stacked deck. I mean I could leech off my folks for a few more months, but I'd rather be out the house and working on sewing the seeds of a real life.

The woes of an academic hopeful.

I'm gonna call it a day, bathe, and head off to work. Probably won't get the Friends rant up tonight, possibly tomorrow. At any rate, it's on the way. Also look for my best albums of 2002 list to be posted soon (which will be compared with the best albums of 2001).

Goodnight, and have a pleasant tomorrow.