Joy, Agony and Ecstacy...My Own March Madness

A year ago, I got dead last on my NCAA bracket - out of 70 or so people. Yikes. There should almost be a prize for that or something, right? Given my standings in '08 I wasn't wild about the idea of plunking down ten bones (which means a lot more as fixed income days loom) to potentially get last place again for a sport I only care about marginally. However, I was persuaded, and am happy to say I am kicking my boyfriend's ass after the second round. Wee! Now that makes bracketology fun.

So, over the weekend, I watched these college games with one interested eye and kept the other on the people around me. It's fun to see the deeply emotional reactions fans have over the tip of a ball and how they go from complete elation t despair in minutes. I am only this way in the fall and winter (BEAR DOWN!) so it's a nice reminder of the sport-viewing adrenaline rush that is to come.

What is also reminded me of is my own mental state: the phone rings with a random number (ecstasy! Could be a job lead!) and I answer (agony. It's the doctor's office.). And then it rings again, three days later, and this time, it is for an interview for a dream job (joy, elation) and then after I hang up I have a mild buzz going...until I start to panic. What if I don't get this job? What then? Am I really still unemployed? And on and on and on.

There are certainly cycles to being among the laid off. Along with the anticipation, joy, let down, despair and hope cycle, I am experiencing the new job?, MBA?, Master of Communication?, Integrated Marketing Communications? and "screw it" cycle. They are both emotionally exhausting. This latter cycle was heightened by me taking my first computer-driven practice GMAT. Four hours. And these ain't your momma's GMATs. These suckers force you to endure a computer screen glare while solving Wiley problems and writing bologna essays.

I have been in GMAT class for six weeks now, and how much better did I fare on this one from my first attempt? Ten points. Talk about missing the shot at the buzzer. And we all know I am a mental math midget, (say that ten times fast: Melissa is a mental math midget, Melissa is a mental math midget, Melissa is a mental math midget, Melissa is a mental math midget...) but I did poorly on the verbal too. There goes my #1 seed.

So, I am thinking perhaps it is time to re-evaluate my priorities? Maybe this unemployment time is a gift to study with. Ten seconds left on the clock...