What do you do to have that kind of tendency?
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Excellent question. I do not have an answer, but my wife finds it hilarious, especially when the critter in question is normally considered harmless.
I once had a bone broken by a pufferfish.
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Last year, out on a bike ride, one of those goddamn yellow jackets flew into my face and popped me in the mustache. Much to my surprise, the irritation went away in less than 24 hours (probably because I took a Benadryl as soon as I got home).
I’ve had those fuckers bounce off my glasses on occasion as well - one more reason why I won’t wear contact lenses.
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That seems like a feat in and of itself. Your insurance must love you.
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The usual methods are:
i) kill a unicorn;
ii) consort with evil spirits, Old Ones, take up necromancy, etc.;
iii) become an evil spirit yourself (Ringwraiths, vampires, werewolves I’m looking at you);
iv) do all of the above.
Any of those ring a bell? 
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We lost a lovely Lhasa of 13 this morning and it feels pretty fucking abysmal.
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I am spiralling.
Fuck.
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Thank you.
I’m better ATM. This adulting is so exhausting, sometimes it gets to me badly.
It will again, and I’ll be back here at FT to whimper, I think.
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Just so you know, adulting can be hard for all of us, so that’s part of the reason we set up this thread, for some no judgement support when things get tough. We feel ya!
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I know.
You guys are the reason I keep coming back. (And that includes, of course, the mods.)
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Right back at ya… it’s folks like you that make it worth while!
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I took my GRE last night. I did well. I got a near perfect verbal score and an okay math score which I attribute to desperately needing to pee during one section, despite having gone before the test began. (I still think it’s a pretty worthless test.) Mostly the whole grad application process has me stressed out and annoyed.
Someone needs to tell me to shut the fuck up, because in a way, I have some great problems. The lab I did undergraduate research with hired me during my gap year and is paying me (admittedly not much) to do research. My boss is trying to woo me into continuing my graduate education there with promises of funding and setting me up for an NSF grant. My grades are just good enough to apply to grad schools, so I kinda want to take my boss up on his offers, but my girlfriend desperately does not want to stay in this town. I really can’t blame her, since there’s nothing for her here, careerwise. That said, I’ve expressed to her that in selecting a grad school, there’s no guarantee that there will be something for her where we move. The compromise I’ve offered is that she can move anywhere she needs to for her career and it’s just three years for me if I stay here (that’s another piece of the offer, which is attractive for a chemistry PhD, although it’s contingent on getting the NSF or departmental grants that I would start working on in January), but she really does not want to live away from me which is sweet, but not conducive to a resolution that both of us will be happy with. At this point she and I have been together for close to five years and whatever happens, this isn’t something we’re going to walk away from just because our careers are running slightly crossways at the moment. That much we’re clear on, at least.
All of this is causing me no end of stress right now, which I expected to improve when I finished the GRE, but seems only to have intensified.
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This is no advise, just a personal account because your text triggered memories I still struggle to come to terms with from time to time.
Once upon a time, when 500km were a long, long way, I changed my Uni and subjects some weeks into the courses to be closer to my partner at the time. I was very unhappy with the courses, unsure about my path and subjects (and “career” path) and was clinging to my partner. Maybe I was looking for stability.
My anxieties and subsequent depression killed the relationship within six weeks of that decision. Which didn’t make the depression any better, of course.
I came through this, but never stopped asking myself if this was the right decision. I often ask myself what would have gone different if I decided differently. And I know that I should have searched for professional help, during and afterwards.
I don’t know shit about you, and how you deal with stress. But I sincerely whish you all the best. Take care of yourself, and your partner. And however you decide any of your choices, I hope you’re able to stand by it happily ever after.
And I really, really mean it.
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Finished applying to my reach grad school and I felt happy to finally hit the submit button only to be hit with waves of regret. Now, I just feel like I flushed $90 down the toilet.
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I have no doubt you’ll get in. Unlike me, I’m sure grad school won’t be a waste of your time! 
Cat and Girl will cheer you right up!
Good luck and let us know if you got in! Congratulations on starting human life!
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I have a fun story about this. I was working in the lab when one of the well known professors of the department walks in. Guy worked for [Major Chemical Company You’ve Definitely Heard Of], and made a buttload of money before donating a bunch of it to the university and now has his own lab there.
I was still in undergrad at the time and the guy asks me for my plans after college. I knew I wanted to do grad school, but I felt like maybe I wanted to take some time and work for a few years in industry. I told him I was looking at a master’s program that sort of married you with an internship program and he just looked at me and said, “Y’know, in industry they don’t really take master’s degrees seriously, you’ll really be limited there.” And he walked away.
This was like the time when someone told me that they don’t take anyone seriously if they don’t wear a wristwatch, despite the advent of phones, which made most wristwatches jewelry*. Dude was an attorney who hired people. The upper echelons of anything and everything are filled with people like this and you have to appeal to their stupid prejudices.
I hope you don’t really feel that way. I wanna say something about how having a Fud is personally enriching even if it doesn’t translate into specific career aspirations, but we all got fed that line in undergrad too, and I’m not sure we bought it then.
*Nothing against a nice wristwatch, it’s just not necessary to own one to demonstrate to me that you care about your time.
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I don’t know… I’m probably just feeling pretty bleak about the job market, honestly. I really do suck at the networking part of academia and it’s coming back to haunt me a bit.
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