As Easy As. . .

You know, there's a reason the saying is "as easy as falling off a log," and not "as easy as trying to deal with academic institutions".  

When I decided to become a school librarian, I was clueless about what the requirements for the position were.  I quickly found out it required a Master's degree, and jumped in with both feet.  Once my feet were wet, I found out that you also had to be a certified teacher.  Okay, more jumping through hoops.  I figured graduating in December would give me plenty of time to work on that certification before the next fall, when I would be ready to look for a job.  

So, I graduated, and began with a plan.  I will do one thing (even if it's small) every day to bring me closer to my goal of becoming a school library media specialist.  Step 1:  Send in an application with all my transcripts from all my institutions.  Sounds easy enough, right?  I filled out the application, and sent off for transcripts.  I attended a total of three institutions.  My graduate school requires five weeks from the end of the semester to actually post your degree in their system.  I'm still waiting, although by my count, it's been six weeks now, and a quick call to the registrar's office this morning confirmed that I'll be waiting at least another week or two.  I haven't received anything from the junior college that I took summer courses from yet, although they said they processed the request the day after I sent it in, and I should be seeing it "any day now".  The third institution is the one that awarded me my bachelor's degree, and they were really prompt - I got the transcript within three days of requesting it - only it has the WRONG DEGREE on it.  After three days of getting transferred to wrong departments and leaving voicemails  I finally got to speak to someone that seemed to take responsibility for figuring out the problem, getting it fixed, and resending me the transcripts.  I can hardly wait to see how this works out.

I've decided not to stress out about this too much, because life's to short to sweat the small stuff, right?  I have a feeling that this is another stepping stone on my path of learning how my timing is not necessarily God's timing, but that he has it all under control, so I don't need to worry.  This just gives me more time to update my resume, and create a Linked-In profile. (And re-read Linda Dillow's Calm My Anxious Heart while I'm at it *sigh*).