I'm not a graduate, I'm a firefighter

See, I hate when I don't check the blog for a while, and I miss out on all the weirdo crap that is brought up, but what is good is that I actually have something to talk about when I update. And I certainly have stuff to tell today. This is Part 3 in my saga of pre-graduation woes.

So, a week ago Friday, I'm kicking around online, and I figure I'll check my uog account, clear out the mucho spam. As I'm clicking the boxes to delete, I come across one from the university, so I open it. It reads, "I regret to inform you that your graduation application for Winter 2006 convocation has been denied.The reason for the denial is that the Letter of Permission grade(s) were not submitted by Friday, January 20, 2006, which was the deadline date for clearance to graduate." My face turns into a scowl, I can hear the blood rushing in my ears, and my stomach drops.

I inform my mom of the email and she insists I try calling, even though it's already 4:30 that afternoon. Luckily, she was right, and the grad clerk was still there and she told me that they never received my transcripts from IUS. I am dumbfounded and tell her that surely that is not possible, since I ordered them on Dec. 14. She confirms with the system that they are not on file, but understands the problem and transfers me to Dr. Larson, my advisor. Dr. Larson is very understanding and also perplexed as to why they haven't been received yet and says that the best option is to have IUS fax up a copy of my transcript. She says she just needs to see my grades, then she can put me on the graduating list. Slightly calmer, I call IUS.

Luckily, they are still in their office, too. I relate the situation to the lady in charge of transcripts and ask her if she can fax it to Guelph. Her response is, "We don't fax transcripts." In my mind I'm cursing her, the school and the world, but I listen as she explains that there is a watermark on the transcript that obliterates the info when it goes through a fax. I ask her if, by any chance we could try anyway, or maybe she can email it. "No, we don't email transcripts, either. It's not a formal copy." I f-ing know that, but all they need is the grades, they can get the official copy later, so I tell her that... er, most of that. She decides to take down the fax number, but doesn't say if she will use it. I also find out that my initial order of transcripts was sent out Dec 22, so it's not like they didn't fulfill the request. I ask if there is any way they can tell if Guelph received them, and she answers in a condescending tone that they are sent regular mail, so they have no way of knowing. They only way they can be sent by courier is to pick them up myself and take it to a FedEx store, etc. (As I discuss this fact later with my mom, I can't understand how something that many lives depend on, whether it's graduating or getting a job, could be treated so non-chalantly.) So, I am told to call Guelph again and see if we can figure something else out or that maybe they were sent to the wrong address. Before we hang up, she asks me to call her back after I talk to Guelph, leaving a voicemail if necessary.

By that time, it is just after 5pm on a Friday, so I would be hard pressed to get anyone, but I do get in contact with Dr. Larson's secretary, who normally I hate to interact with because she is the most cold and curt secretary I've dealt with. But, she says that Dr. Larson has left for the weekend and asks if I want to leave a message. So, I inform her of the situation and she offers that if I can persuade IUS to try the fax, then do it, since it's worth a shot. Otherwise, my best bet is to have a copy of my transcripts couriered up. I tell her that if I do that, it may not get there until Tues, at the earliest. She says that should be okay, since it's better than nothing.

After I hung up with her, my nerves were shot and my tear ducts opened. I was actually impressed that I had, for the most part, held my composure that long, seeing as how I had cried within minutes at my last two academic complications, which helped, but left me embarassed. So, after a half hour of crying and discussing, I have a course of action planned. My dad said that the solution to the watermark problem is to photocopy the transcript since the watermark won't transfer, then fax the photocopy. To back that up, we plan on going to IUS on Monday to pick up a copy of the transcript to courier up. With that figured out, I call the IUS lady and leave a voicemail stating the plan and suggesting that they try the photocopying idea. I am left with nothing to do but wait.

The weekend goes by, fairly easily since I went to visit a friend in Dayton, Ohio, and I find myself in the shower Monday morning when the phone rings. I hear my mom outside the door say, "She's in the shower... okay... ... oh, GREAT, she'll be so happy to hear that!... good... thank you so much... bye-bye." Turns out it was Dr. Larson's secretary saying that they received a fax from IUS with my grades and that they got what they needed and I'm clear to graduate. She said it isn't necessary to courier them up, but I want to make sure they had an official copy, so we went ahead and did it. Is the story over now? Not quite.

Part 4: I received my congratulatory letter from Guelph Saturday, with all the details of when and where to meet. It said the ceremony is on the 23rd, not the 22nd. My parents and I were hoping it was a typo, because my address was also listed as IA (for Iowa), not IN. That would screw up things with our reservations and my brother and family coming up. Another phone call to the grad clerk confirmed Thurs the 23rd as the actual date. She said that I should have received an email back in Nov. informing me of the change, but I don't remember such, nor do I have one in my inbox. So, we are now trying to figure out if my brother will be able to stay another day and what to do with the reservations.

So, am I happy to be graduating? Hell, yes! But, I'm walking on eggshells until I have my degree in hand, just waiting for another snafu to rear it's ugly head.

In regards to visiting the Trash on Wed night, I will not be able to get plastered since I will have to make sure that I am well enough to shake the chancellor's hand without puking on his shoes. Plus I have to be at War Mem by 9am. But that does not mean I won't be out at 2am dancing to "Rasputin" with some of you guys, I just won't be as drunk as previously thought. BTW, what's the plan? I'm staying at a b&b with the fam. You'll be in town, Dave? And you are planning on coming up, Amanda? Are you staying with Dave? Do you think you guys will be available earlier in the evening, so that you can meet my nephew, et al.? Just curious of the details. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to this. Well, maybe you do, but still.

Anyway, I want to write more, but I already wrote a lot, so I'll save it for a later date. Much love.