Ah, the aftermath...

So, honestly, I'd like to know how people fared this year.
Did you hear back from all the schools to which you applied?
Did you get form letters or more personalized?
Did you get in the university of first choice?  Did you get the advisor you wanted?  How does your future look to be shaping up?

If you've been following, I was accepted to the PhD program of my dreams, after building a fantastical rapport with my advisor.  At the same time, I was also offered permanent employment at the company where I spent my internship last summer.  I chose the job, for a multitude of reasons.

But my advisor wouldn't let me go quite so quickly.
Together we crafted a proposal by which I can continue my job, reviewing data and applying relevant science to build a database, hypothesize, build a test scenario, and deploy said test, reviewing collected data as it becomes available.  In this manner, I can still achieve my PhD in about 7 years (instead of 5), while building my field experience and seniority at my job.  I'll be their home-grown PhD geoscientist, one of many who work there.

And they will pay for it (reimburse tuition each semester).

Where's the bad, right?

I'm pretty stoked!

Wow!  6 months have slipped by!  Let's get updated.
I am polishing up the last of my geology classes, and loving it.  Loving being done.  I have had my fill of school in a way I never would have believed before.  It's hard, but fun, but I just want to be done and get back to a daily routine that doesn't change.  I want to generate a dependable income for a while, my family deserves that.
And then there's this...
the graduate program with which I have had the best contact has expressed an interest in bringing me in.  The advisor I chose says he wants me to attend, and asked if my application could be adjusted ever so slightly to make it more likely I will be accepted.  (simply a change of the program to which I applied, same degree, same advisor, same projects I'll be working on, just a nomenclature issue).

Now it gets tenser...

Also this:
the job at which I interned last summer has contacted me to notify me that the job posting I trained for is now up, so I applied within 5 minutes of its posting.  They want me also, and although it's not a sure thing until I have an offer letter in my hand, ..., it looks pretty good.

I want both.  What to do...what to do...
more later...