Phew!

I'm in a much better mood today, so I'll try to explain myself a little more clearly! I have to say I'm sooooo grateful for the support of other people going through the same things! Rita and Anya, thanks so much for your comments.
In general, I'm pretty okay with the whole process. But on days when I'm already frustrated, it's a very easy thing to fixate on! I do believe wholeheartedly that it's going to be worth it, but I can't wait for it to be done. And I've been very blessed to be able to find ways around things. Although I lost the classroom job, my job in the doctor's office is going great and letting me have lunch almost every day with my college roomate, who got me the job. Definite blessing. And since I had to defer my admission to a special ed Master's degree program once they moved my surgery to August (should have been tomorrow, actually!) I've discovered that an online program would be more affordable, as reputable as I need it to be, and much easier to do with my schedule. Like anything else, you just have to keep an eye out for the good. I totally believe in the whole when God closes a door, he opens a window thing... some days I just don't feel like looking for the window, you know?
The surgical hooks aren't even that bad- they rubbed a lot the first week. Now there's just a few on the bottom that hurt a few days each week, probably because of how tightly I pull my lip in to close my mouth. I mainly just hate how they look! I'll put up a few pictures soon, so you all can see how funny-looking they are. But they have their advantages- now I plan to dress up as Darla from Finding Nemo for Halloween- the little girl with even more mouth gear than me!

update

Warning- this may not be a pretty post. Braces and I are not getting along right now.
Well, the way the job/surgery battle played out wasn't good. I asked for assurance from the principal that I had the job before changing surgery. He said I unofficially had the job, we just needed a contract and it would be official. So I got on the phone and changed surgery to November 10. I called to let him know, and his first words were, "About that job..."
I didn't get the job. And other appointments had already been scheduled during my surgery time (they go like hotcakes, apparently) so I also lost the surgery date.
Fortunately, I've since gotten another job working as a receptionist at a doctor's office. It's not something I want to do long-term, but they say they'll be okay with me taking a few weeks off so I'm okay with answering phones and working on insurance (I certainly have experience with that part!)
I'm just SO sick of the waiting. I want the surgery done, I want the braces off. At this point, I would settle for just losing the surgical hooks (the orthodontist was going to charge me to get rid of those, so I'll have them for 7, count 'em, 7 months before I even have surgery) But I'm just so tired of the whole process I could scream. I know that when it's over it'll feel like such a short time, but right now it feels like I'm going to look like this for the rest of my life.