…enjoy your bacon and eggs this morning, everyone.

As you all know, I am no animal-rights activist by any means, but give me a freakin’ break.  Anyone who thinks this is normal and humane, is morally bankrupt from my point-of-view.  In my opinion, it is this greed and a lack of empathy and sympathy for others – animals and humans alike – that has gotten us into the socio-economic mess we are all living through at the moment.  Sooner or later, the tides have to change so we can all enjoy the life we were designed to live.

I’ll jump down off my soapbox now…

Not that we have anything to worry about at the moment, but I thought I would share this video with you. Sort of as a reminder as to just how important November 4th is.  We’ve heard it every 4 years since we were 18 and probably even earlier that, “This is the most important election yet.”  Anyone want to argue that this one isn’t?

After 6-8 months of attending information sessions, writing essays (the fun never ends!), completing applications, and acquiring recommendations from colleagues, I have made a not-so-easy decision regarding my MBA.

As many of you know, I had been contemplating both Pepperdine and UCIrvine’s Fully-Employed MBA (FEMBA) programs.  Both offer tremendous opportunities from both a networking and education standpoint.  I had also been contemplating some other Tier II schools: Redlands, La Verne, and CalBaptist to name three.

What turned me away from my first two choices was:

• $75,000-80,000 in additional school loans.
• The need to study for the GMAT (and pass with above a 600 to qualify for scholarships and secure a spot in the program).
• The need to meet once or twice a week roughly 30 miles from the office and home; adding to an already long day (considering I am at the office between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m.).
• Both schools offer some sort of cohort curriculum in which, you are partnered with 4-5 other students and they represent your “team” for 27-33 months. What happens if you get some slacker or, as in the real world, someone you just cannot seem to get along with or get through to? To me, that could make for a long 3 years and be a detriment to my education.

Regarding the other schools, CalBaptist was my fallback. Though a ranking school on US News & World Report’s 2009 Best Colleges list, I just was not going to be happy going to a Tier III (in my opinion) school nor was I going to be all that thrilled with sitting in class every Friday evening and all day on Saturday.

The University of La Verne has been talked up quite a bit by colleagues and also has an online program available which would be nice. Unfortunately, their systems are a bit screwy. I sent a transcript to their admissions department over 6 weeks ago, and they have yet to be able to get it to my admissions advisor since she is in a satellite office. I applied in August and have yet to hear anything on financial aid, admissions status, registration…  You get the picture. I have succumbed to the fact that you are pretty much on your own there. No one will take you by the hand and walk you through the process as they would at the aforementioned schools. Not that I need it, but as a full-time employee with limited time and someone willing to spend cold, hard cash at their school, I thought I’d get more assistance in this area.

In the end, it came down to Redlands which I officially start in on October 29th. They have a satellite campus about 4-5 minutes from my office (depends on how many lights you hit). Not to mention they completed my admissions process in less than two weeks. And I can say arrivederci to the GMAT too! Nice. Though not my first choice nor a Tier I school, I can complete the program in 24 months while attending one night per week. Plus, I’ll save about $50,000 in tuition and by my calculations, an extra $1500 in gas per year not having to drive 140 miles to and from school every week.

Should be an interesting two years. I’ll keep you posted as I go along.