The "Holidays Trip Home" Bleah

Min Jung has the info on when, during the year, people are at their horniest: #1—for reasons that are none of your damn business—is my fave: “Folks hate the notion of going home for the holidays, being asked if they're single/seeing anyone and what must be the horrific traumatizing reason why're they're not seeing anyone right now. It's a high grade of guilt/neurosis and judgement. That's the "holidays trip home" bleah to address.”

Home

Transit bus. SkyTrain. Another SkyTrain. Wait. Coach bus. Ferry. Coach bus. Another coach bus. Ride from Dad.

Such are the methods of transportation taken to get from Vancouver to home—Courtenay (just because I don't live there, doesn't mean it's not home)—when one doesn't have a car.

Holidays

Sunday—which just happens to be today—is a travel day, and will be followed by hanging out at my parents' place...Sunday—which just happens to be today—is a travel day, and will be followed by hanging out at my parents' place for a week. It will also involve such fun things as Christmas shopping and cross-country (!) skiing.

Close To Zero

Henry: “Professors tend to sing the praises even of their most mediocre students, and it takes skilled parsing of language to figure out who are the likely stars, and who are less suited to the rigors of a Ph.D. program. When the student himself or herself is writing the bulk of the letter, and choosing the language, the information content of the letter of reference is close to zero. You simply don’t know what to think when reading it.”

Confidence-Killing Daily Assault Of Petty Degradations

Thomas H. Benton: “Be wary of people who claim that grad school is a 'wonderful' experience, a means of acquiring the polish of culture -- a kind of 'grand tour' -- before entering the 'real' world. Professionalism obligates people to speak positively about their alma mater in public. Grad school is not all fun and personal enrichment for many people.

Un Moyen Souple

Karl: “je n'ai pas le temps de travailler sérieusement mon chinois. Il faut que je trouve un moyen souple de le pratiquer. Un professeur pas trop proche personnellement et qui puisse s'arranger de mes horaires un peu chaotique et de mes voyages surtout.” A problem I also face. I have the resources to return to studying Chinese, just not the discipline that comes with a teacher, assignments and tests.

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