Masters?

As I mentioned in recent posts, I've been in the process of applying for grad schools for the past few weeks. I took the GRE a few weeks back, was rather disappointed in my scores, but I did well enough for some of the programs I applied to. I've still got two applications to finish and submit and I'm hoping to complete those this weekend (fingers crossed, focused).

While most of the programs I'm applying for start in the Fall semester (2011), I managed to get everything done in time to be considered for the Spring 2011 semester at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS). I'm happy to say that I was admitted and I will be starting classes for my Masters in Public Administration in a couple of weeks. Public administration is not my first choice, as my passion and what I really want to study more than anything is international relations/global affairs, but I feel like this will be a very beneficial program. At the risk of sounding like I'm writing another graduate application statement of purpose, I know that having an MPA will increase my education in the oh so important areas of leadership and management, as well as my understanding of other types of administrative work, nonprofit management, economics and finance, and public policy/the democratic process. I feel very privileged to have been accepted into the program and I'm looking forward to being back in the classroom soon. < Keep this in mind in March or April when I'm writing blog posts about how my brain is melting due to too much studying and reading.

I haven't signed up for my classes yet officially but once I get my registration materials I should be able to sign up next week. I'm going to take two classes, so I'll be full time and I'm going to continue to try and work full time at my job. If it gets to be too much I might have the option of switching to part time at work. I'm gonna test the water the first few weeks and see how it goes.

I should know about the other schools and programs in March and depending on where (if any) else I get accepted and how the classes at UCCS go, I'll decide what to do for the summer and fall. If I get into a program in Denver or New York, I should still be able to take online classes at UCCS and work on both my MPA and MA. Now isn't a bad time to be a student so I figure two and a half to three years in school working on two masters degrees can't be that bad.

In other news, life is good for the most part. I'm done working overtime for now and just trying to focus on reading and working out as often as I can, as well as trying to catch up with friends and spend quality time with friends and family. I've got some ideas for some 'life projects' I want to try out in the next few months. More on that later. :) My good friend Sam is in town from Alaska right now. Needless to say, my liver has been taking some damage the past few days but it's been fun. I'm looking forward to seeing my health increase tenfold when Sam flies back to Alaska. Love ya Samson.

As also mentioned previously, I was hoping to take the Foreign Service Officer written exam this year and as luck would have it, I was able to register and schedule and I'm taking the test in Denver on February 9th. I've got a study guide and I'm hoping to brush up a bit on my history and politics over the next few weeks. Looking forward to seeing how I do on that and determining whether or not a career in the Foreign Service is realistic for me.

Just wanted to get a quick update in, will write more soon when I have some time. Thanks for reading.

Lil Wayne line of the month: "I been fly so long I fell asleep on the f*cking plane'.

God I love that guy.