beth, I have to agree with everyone else. There comes a point where you just have to get out, and it sounds like matt reached that point long ago. As long as the new place is competitive financially and at least has the possibility of being non-soul-draining, there really isn't a choice.

I've got a place to myself, in a decent neighborhood where I don't feel afraid at night, that fits within my budget.

As long as everything runs properly, I don't see where anyone else has room to criticize this arrangement.

Skipping to say, Daisy Jane: if my calculations are correct, there will be an OMWF singalong in Oakland that Thursday night. Regardless, I'm excited to see you!

I am so excited I don't even know how I'm going to make it to April! Everyone I've told says I'll love it there, and I'm thrilled to meet y'all!

I also meant to say a lot of our friends don't understand why we don't buy something suburban and appropriately white-married-middle-class like. And we may someday, but we're in no rush, we don't have kids (another thing they're all over us about), and we may not want to stay in Dallas, or we may want to buy a bar instead.

I've got a place to myself, in a decent neighborhood where I don't feel afraid at night, that fits within my budget.

what more could you want?

Talked more with matt this morning - he told me more about the counter offer and I laughed. He really can't take it. He is worried about the new job - but he has never had a job where his inital job description and his job actually matched.

I hope I haven't seen any more posts from you because the words are just flowing out of you in an effortless stream of writing, Aimee. Good luck.

I did not. You did not see any posts from me because I was hunched over my keyboard, sobbing, because I could not for the life of me, understand what the paper was supposed to be about. I couldn't figure out the definition of conventions or statuses in how they relate to Hispanic Americans.

I also could not understand the thinking behind assigning a research paper 2 weeks before my final project is due.

Joe finally pulled me away from the computer saying, "You can't write anything decent when you are this upset and tired. Let's go to bed." So, I did. After declaring that I was quitting school (I'm really not - that was the frustration talking.)

I'm tempted to just take the 100 deduction and get my B and be done with it. Hell, at this point, I'll be happy with a C.

...

School hard. No wonder I was content to sit there and be pretty my first time around.

Lemon yogurt and a vanilla cap:

STEPH! I had a dream about you last night! I came to stay with you in Cincinnati and you took me on the "Jennifer Crusie Tour" and showed me all of the landmarks that she talks about in her books! It was way fun!

Timelies!

I went to a very fancy party on Saturday that was way fun, but now I have a cold and that's no fun at all. Also, I got my ass grabbed but have heard nada from the grabber. So I am offended.

I'm sorry about school woes, for Aimee and ChiKat and others.

Work calls. Blech.

Oh! I am trying to schedule a brief visit to Puerto Rico. Any hints, tips, or advice?

Aw, Aimee. That sucks. I'm really sorry. It is SO HARD to balance schoolwork AND full-time work AND personal stuff (witness my total freakout crying breakdown staring at the online database this morning.) And I don't even have the having-a kid stuff that multiplies all the stuff I just said by a factor of 10.

I freak about it all the time. It makes me tired all the time. I try to focus on the good stuff, and try to take one thing at a time (while also... looking to the future. It's very convoluted). Once I figured out my studying/paperwriting style, it got a little easier to figure out ahead of time how to get in the groove, in theory anyway. There's always something that shakes it up.

It's very overwhelming. I know this is not encouraging, but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone.

It's hard.

I can't even imagine taking more than one class at a time.

Thank you d. Also d! Stephanie - one our beautiful Bitches here, is living in PR right now. You should try her email addy and see what she can reccommend.

And thank you , Nora. And it is encouraging in that, "Whew. THank gods I am not alone in feeling like this. While I love my online university, I feel as though going through school on a campus would have been a great support. Other students you could study with, bemoan classes with, etc. I kinda feel really alone in this cause everyone around in RL finished long, long ago and I'm sitting out here, under the trees, like Stitch yelling, "HELP! I'm lost!"

STEPH! I had a dream about you last night! I came to stay with you in Cincinnati and you took me on the "Jennifer Crusie Tour" and showed me all of the landmarks that she talks about in her books! It was way fun!

I would TOTALLY do that! You just have to visit....