Another Weekend, Lost Forever

(a poem)

There once was a mis'rable grad student

who always tried to be prudent

but when friends knocked on the door

or called him a boor

He’d drop his books though he shouldn’t

You think I'm a jerk, don't you?

So you probably think my parents were a little over-indulgent for flying me home at 2-hours' notice. And you probably think I'm over-dramatic for going on and on about my unhappiness when I've been given every opportunity in the world to have a master's degree. Well, you're either partly or completely right.

I am a rich, lucky, spoiled American who can quit a job to be a full-time student without sacrificing a $5-a-day coffee habit. And that makes me both the scum of the earth and exactly like every other student on my campus. So am I redeemed by my pseudo-liberal guilt? I don't know. Could that get me into heaven? Maybe, ... if I can still afford a good lawyer at the end of this.

But, dear readers, as somebody in the bible once said, "To whom more is given, more is expected." And for how much I've been given, I have a universe of expectations to fulfill. And since I'm so far not producing a good return, I get a little depressed sometimes. OK, signing off. I gotta go dig some talents out of the hole I was storing them in.

Caramel Macchiwhato?

Since I've been spending so much time in no-internet land (Starbucks), I thought it was worth it to take a little trip to its Web site and find out exactly why my jeans no longer fit. I found my answer in an easy-to-read table format.

My favorite drink is surprisingly not too bad, ... actually, yes it is. 300 calories is a lot for a liquid (even for a "venti"). But on the bright side, 13 grams of protein is about as much as you get in some meats (don't ask me which ones, I'm not a food scientist). And one can always hope that 150 mg of caffeine will speed up the metabolism enough to ward off weight gain (though in my case I have found that to be a vain hope).

PS. The image is the official picture of a caramel macchiato from its Web site, but I've never once seen it served in a real mug like this. Do you have to request that?

Caramel Macchiato

A signature Starbucks® beverage. A creamy mix of vanilla and freshly steamed milk marked with intense Starbucks® espresso, topped with velvety foam and our own proprietary buttery caramel sauce.

		Serving Size 20 fl. oz. Amt Per Serving Calories 300 Fat Calories 70 Saturated Fat (g) 5 Trans Fat (g) 0 Cholesterol (mg) 35 Sodium (mg) 160 Total Carbohydrates (g) 43 Fiber (g) 0 Sugars (g) 39 Protein (g) 13 Vitamin A 15% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 45% Iron Caffeine (mg) 0% 150

THESIS PROGRESS: 21.90 of 40 pages written*
*That's only for chapter 3, the full thesis is much longer.

14 Minutes Later

My virgin post was bared to the world exactly 10 minutes ago, and I already have four (4) views! This is so much more gratifying than working on my thesis, which is worrisome.

Since only 10 minutes (now 14) have passed, I am still sitting at a booth next to the Chick-fil-a, trying not to start a downward spiral of guilt about the seven million calories I just consumed.

But, hey, I drank tea instead of Coke, so at least my bones won't crumble inside my body when I get old.

Being unemployed, err full-time student, I have the entire glorious day spread out before me. Should I hold my ground here in the food court and type to the music of the people shutting down the restaurants for the week? Should I walk to the campus library (there's a nice spot on the 3rd floor with big windows and the sweet smell of musty books)? Or should I head to a coffee shop for a little hipster studying? Maybe I'll do all of the above in that order.

By the way, I have exactly one week to turn in 40-50 pages to my adviser. So far, I've written a page, but I have one hell of an outline. Does this mean I can't go out this weekend? Oh no.