Thanks C-dog. I appreciate the feedback. It is very refreshing, too, since the only people who really seem to be trumpeting the CELTA re thsoe with one. Especially on ESL Cafe. I suspect a lot of it to be people who are trying to rationalize thier time and expense, and at the cost of others. I've met a lot of people without certification that were fantastic teachers, and I've met many with certification who were miserable. The individuals who had the certification and were terrific also tended to be the ones who didn't trump one particular course over the other, let alone pontificating about it as the be-all/end-all of TEFL certification ad nauseum on internet message boards. They were too busy applying their knowledge to their work and enjoying life while occasionally offering unbiased advice!
So, it was good to have the opinion of a CELTA survivor who didn't bash the concept of certification and didn't thump their proverbial chest in making CELTA seem as though it was an invite to the O. B. E., either.
I am now going to bypass the certification altogether and just put 99% money towards the Masters degree (which will help me in some parts of China, but definitely will help me teaching outside of China, should I so desire), with the remainder on good books that expand upon concepts I experienced on that little island China has a fixation on (and some loose cultural ties to) taeching first hand, as I'll apply them when I'm in the
"middle kingdom".
Thanks again, C-dog and everyone else who took the time to address my quandry. Free beers all around!