Today I read about a man suing Disneyland over having been stuck on a malfunctioning it’s a small world for forty minutes. It’s somewhat of a cultural joke that the titular song, penned by the prolific Sherman Bros., is one of the world’s most annoying. I think the only reason such a collectively held opinion sticks is because of the ditty’s ceaseless repetition on board the ride and the lack of real variation. To be fair, it’s a cute, catchy little jingle that epitomizes the Disney pluck of its era.

Nevertheless, the song—even when the ride is functioning optimally—does start to wear a bit thin, then chafe, then prompt the first symptoms of mental breakdown by the time you exit your boat. I can only imagine the aural horrors of hearing the same room’s variation on the tune repeatedly for the better part of an hour.

My life feels a little like being stuck on it’s a small world at the moment. I’m in a holding pattern while I wait to hear back from two graduate schools, and it’s because I know that the answers are coming very soon that the waiting is (I say with some exaggeration) slightly maddening. My day-to-day experience is actually really pleasant at present; I’m married to a wonderful gal, living in a wonderful new city, and getting to do lots of things I’m interested in. But, for better or worse, I’ve bought two academic lottery tickets with hopes of cashing the winnings in on a brighter career, and the ticking clock that counts down the drawing is making me, on the whole, rather restless.

If grad school doesn’t pan out when the numbers are read, I’ll happily move my thoughts to plans and dreams of more active job-hunting, traveling, and any number of other adventures simmering on the pot of my subconscious. But for now I’m stuck in a little skiff, watching multicultural dolls merrily singing on a circuitous track, waiting to hop off and explore the rest of the park. What would normally be a (brief) charming throwback diversion is currently a looping test of patience until the operators can fix the ride.

But patience is an excellent thing to learn, and the test is quite often accompanied by exasperatingly repetitive music. Metaphorically anyway.