Grrr!

I mentioned in my last post that I am beginning a course on Monday.

I know the office received my application, because I had a phone call with a question. But as of last night, no confirmation.

Today I called. It turns out, they don't mail confirmations anymore. It's email only, and the person sending the email had a typo in the address. So, fine, she sent an orientation message that would give me the gist of things.

I go to the web-site, and I cannot sign in. My user id does not exist (the user id I've had for oh, about seven years now). I call the office again. The poor woman on the other end tells me that I need to email tech support. I am more than impolite when I tell her that's not acceptable, and I need a user id, and I need it NOW. So, she keys in my name, and tells me that I have a different user id now.

Thanks. When were you going to let me know? And, how?

I am furious.

One of the reasons I gave up taking courses is that it's all delivered on-line, and there were platform problems, database problems, proof-reading problems, other problems that I don't even remember anymore, and for an organization that prides itself on communication (and drilled that good communication skills were necessary into us, the students) any communication was absolutely abysmal. I know bad grammar and incomplete sentences when I see them, and I was not impressed. A sentence fragment is not a question, and I don't care that my response to your non-question is worth 30 marks. Let me, instead, write a dissertation on how much of a farce this is. Believe me, I did.

I am amazed that I am paying thousands of dollars for the privilege of being this angry.

Tuition has gone up 20% in the two years I've been gone. And, there's a new on-line delivery system now (I guess they read my hostile letter about how incredibly much the last one sucked).

I have struggled, for two years, to let this anger go. I re-evaluated my professional goals, thinking the letters behind my name weren't necessary to accomplish what I wanted to. I bought a house, and needed to concentrate on that for a while. But, now I have a job where I want to stretch and learn. The look on my boss's face when I told him was joyous to see. It is wonderful to be supported and encouraged. To be in a place where I am challenged. (Look! A sentence fragment!)

But, in the space of fifteen minutes this morning, I was right back in that place. Stomping angry. Cursing angry. Taking it out on people-who-have-nothing-to-do-with-it angry. I haven't grown at all.

Or, maybe I have. I didn't cry.