Things I need to do very very soon to achieve my latest Crazy Idea:
1. Speak with Social Security (finalize name correction)
2. Renew my Driver's license (with correct name)
3. Get teeny little pictures taken for passport.
4. Renew my passport.
5. File my FAFSA
6. Obtain transcripts from schools.
7. Send in application.
8. Wait for acceptance letter (oh please oh please oh please)
9. Apply for student VISA
10. Find housing
11. Figure out financial aid.
12. Save a gazillion dollars (actual amount TBD: so far the tally is $4000)
13. Minimize items owned and kept and find storage for remainder
14. Find home for darling Izzie-belle

I went hunting for more glitches in this plan. My plans always fall through, and not usually for lack of persistence. The logistics usually are such that what I thought I could do and what I actually could do in the context of the Crazy Idea were completely different things.

This is different. I keep thinking of things that the program is missing. And then I discover not only is it missing what I want, but it has something better and more in line with my career goals than my original plan. Griffith doesn't have the computer science classes I'd like to take. No big deal, neither do any of the other programs I'm looking at. I'll deal. It does have two concentrations that are similar to those I was looking at domestically: accounting/finance, and information systems. Information systems, as they see it, involves considerably more project planning courses than computer courses, which is disappointing, and altogether not worth my time.

What it does have is this nice little "General Management" concentration that is exciting. It consists of any six electives in the MBA program. Meaning I can take six fun (being a relative term, here) courses that all support my career goals, resulting in an interdisciplinary degree just the way I want it. This is getting better and better, and as it does, my anxiety is rising.

I went running yesterday. This is definitely anxiety-related. Since the Weight Gain of 2002, I've been very anxious about my appearance (not that I wasn't before, just moreso now). Australia will be mid-bikini-season when I get there in January. I will most definitely not be bikini-ready then. I could potentially be swimsuit-ready. Potentially. But I've got a ways to go.

So I just have to convince myself that if I keep up with the health-kick I've been on lately, keep working out, keep eating right, keep on keeping on... I may not be the epitome of beach babe in January (who ever heard of swimsuits in January... tsk, tsk), but I will be at the very least back to my normally adorable self. And it's not like there are rules against working out in Australia. Hardly the case, actually. I'm most likely to end up walking to classes every day. Add to that my access to the gym, and my normal exercise regimen and I should be good to go.

This is quite a process. And despite my anxiety, I'm looking forward to it. This is something worth writing about. This is something worth doing. This is something that I'm glad a certain friend of mine suggested. Not to forget, who else could possibly serve better tropical cocktails like mai tai's than the bartenders on the Gold Coast? I see the light, and I'm walking toward it. Heaven, here I come.