brief words before I claw out my eyes with hammer and tongs of work

[silentjack]

So, the lab today ended up not being a review session but an open forum, and I ended up on the hot seat for quite a bit of it. There was some discussion of the instructor, his plusses and minuses, and mainly minuses, what I'll be teaching next term, my view of B's testing procedures and general pedagogical approach, and scattershot discussions about life. One of the undergrads in the lab -- well, one of the three people who decided to show up -- asked me if I was in the doctoral program. I affirmed. He asked me, how can you stand it? What makes you keep going?

And the end of the semester shone upon my face, and I illuminated him:
Sheer force of will, occasional chain smoking, and a little help from my old friend Jack.

Snakes alive I sure do love being candid.