My New Ride

I'm going to take this blog back to its humble beginnings and talk about some of the things got this bog started in the first place...swimming, cycling, and running. After a long layoff and an ITB injury, I've been slowly trying to get back to the triad, but it's been tough with grad school. When push comes to shove, what will win out? A) sleep, B) homework, C) exercise. (This is a multiple guess question.)

The one thing that I have been enjoying is my weekend rides. My big 2009 Christmast present was a new Specialized Dolce with a compact crank. The picture above was from my first spring ride with the new bike. I feared that my feet would get stuck in the clipless pedals and I would fall in a heap and scratch the bike. Didn't happen! Although I spent little time on the trainer, my feet are at peace with the pedals. I'm having a lot of fun with the newfangled bike, playing with the brakes and the shifters on the handlebars.

I enjoy the anticipation of the rides and investigate new cycling routes on www.mapmyride.com. So what if I'm totally out of shape? If I want to dress up like a cycling fashionista and cruise around the block on the weekend, that should be encouraged. The scenery and the stress relief are priceless.

Lost

Is is dark where you are?

Can you count the stars where you are?

Are you lost where you are?

--Howie Day, Longest Night

Do you ever feel like it's dark and you're lost an unable to look up at the stars to navigate a path through life? I feel like this a lot these days.

I can't figure out my assignment. I know not where I'm going with school. Should I follow my head and stay with my current program with its shorter time-to-degree? But is this program really right for me? Or, should I follow my heart? Should I try to transfer to the program that I rejected? The one with the longer time-to-degree that I keep looking back at over my shoulder?

I'll take a break from that puzzling assignment that I'm stuck on to edit this post to be more revealing and less cryptic. And I welcome suggestions for this situation, dear readers (if anyone reads this).

Last fall I entered a 39-credit master's in management program. Although I never said it on my application, I intended to specialize in marketing. Three weeks after entering the program, I found out that my intended specialization was discontinued. I decided to make lemon aide and choose to stay in the program, with a different specialization.

I'm now taking the first online class in that specialization and I love it a little too much. My advisor warned, "these classes are condensed...the material is taught at a higher level." I find that the higher-level material is stimulating, the condensed time period is manageable, and the students are more mature. While I like the class, but I'm still unsure whether the specialization is right for me. My goal in this journey is to gain knowledge that will be marketable in the workforce. And if the specialization is not right, then the degree looses its value and my time, money, and effort are not well invested.

I made a decision and I take responsibility for that, but I also feel that I am not entirely to blame as I got caught up in a circumstance I never anticipated. Of course I wonder whether I should have faced my fears gone into the MBA program that I turned down with much reluctance. Of course I feel that I should have made different decisions at different junctures.

I've tried very hard to make lemon aide, but it's not tasting good. As I complete 9 credits, I know that I'm crossing the Rubicon, that point of no return. If I go further, I will have too many credits to transfer---and I may very well be at that point now.

What are the options?

• Remain in my current program: Choose between my current specialization ... or the "individualized specialization" (read = just choose 4 classes of interest)
• Choose an MBA program. Choose between a program that will allow me to transfer some credits ... or no credits. Choose between an online program ...or a traditional program.

Maybe some day I'll look to the heavens and see a constellation that will guide me. For now, I'll get back to that homework that's puzzling me.

And here's a truely corny conclusion to this post, my fortune cookie: "You have an important new business development shaping up."