I should be at a party right now...

...but I feel yucky; girl stuff-- I'll leave it at that and spare you all the details. Suffice it to say that my head is pounding and my mid-section feels like a pretzel looks. As a result, I can't sleep, which really stinks. Hopefully, the party-givers will forgive me.

Last night was a really great time, though. Our grad director invited all the newbies over to his house for a cook-out/pool party. Yes, I did say pool party--as in bearing skin and getting rather wet in front of superiors. These Southerners are VERY friendly, like I said. Luckily (and rather ironically), it was just too hot to swim and we were all too shy so, we just ate and chatted all night.

I am SOOO relieved now that I've met everyone. No weirdos, no psychos and no cling-ons. Everyone is nice, normal and a lot of fun. Not to knock my field or those who many inhabit it but, let's face it, academics (especially in the grad student gestation period) tend to be....shall we say...eccentric. Many of them seem to live in their own little world where nuclear war can be caused by incorrect margins, Communist theory is still an acceptable discussion topic at a bar and a copy of Foucalt is most likely the only thing to ever accompany them to bed. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being passionate about what you do-- in fact, it's a very necessary component--- BUT having an active, normal social life that doesn't involve any kind of citation is too. That kind of full-time obsession only leads to isolationism, burn-outs, break-downs and far too many cats.

I was also pleased that my group of newbies represents several states and countries. We have: Miss Jamaica who is absolutely beautiful and so charming, Mr. Canada who is hilarious, Mr. Missouri who seems very sweet, Mrs. Pennsylvania who is the "baby" of the group, Mr. New York who is reserved but not anti-social, Miss Poland who seems exceptionally nice and eager to experience everything, Miss Scotland who has a lovely accent and is SO smart, and Mr. Kansas who is still adjusting to city life. There are a few others but, unfortunately, I didn't get to talk to them during the course of the night so, their stats are a bit fuzzy for me. All in all, it was a wonderful night and I look forward to getting to know everyone much better. More to come very soon...classes start on Wednesday!