Too Much Spaghetti

Two weeks into school, I remember thinking to myself, “Grad school isn’t so bad. I don’t know what all my friends were whining about when they were in grad school. Sure, there’s reading but I’ve been reading since first grade. What a bunch of Negative Nancies.”

And then week three came and punched me in the face like the odor of a homeless man sitting next to you on the bus, who’s been sweltering in the August heat of a particularly humid day in D.C., (I can tell you from personal experience that it’s quite pungent).

Projects and papers, which I had neglected the previous two weeks, began to pile on top of more projects and papers, which piled up on presentations, which piled up on the readings that were due. Four a.m. bedtimes became the norm. I would take showers at three a.m. so I wouldn’t fall asleep just yet.

So week three came and went, and I survived. It was tough, but I took care of business. Entering week four, I am happy to report that not only am I caught up on all of my current work, I am getting ahead on papers that are due two weeks from now, (nerd alert!).

To all of you Debbie Downers who still contend that grad school is hard, well, I agree. But I’m not going to whine about it. As long as you stay on top of due dates and assignments, it’s no biggie. Organization is key.

Two references to D.C. in two weeks, let’s see if I can keep it going next week.

Jokes, Spaghetti, and Life as a BU Grad Student

The great American philosopher – and fellow D.C. native – Dave Chappelle once wrote, “I got jokes, and jokes, and jokes, and jokes, and spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti, spaghetti!” Well played, Dave. Truer words were never spoken.

When you think about it, life as a graduate student can be boiled down to jokes and spaghetti. You have the social aspect: meeting new people, venturing out into the city, having fun. These are the jokes. But you also have to eat the spaghetti to survive. This includes reading for classes, doing the projects, and writing blog entries. So in the spirit of Chappelle, I’m going to blog about the jokes and spaghetti I encounter every week as a graduate student at Boston University.

And if it sounds like I’m retrofitting an old “Chappelle’s Show” skit into a philosophy for the purposes of creating a somewhat interesting blog, well that might be valid. But honestly, who doesn’t like reminiscing about classic Chappelle?

Tyrone Biggums: "You know what dog food tastes like? Do you? It tastes just like it smells... delicious."

On that note, I'd like to end this post with my initial impressions of Boston: beautiful, elegant, and very expensive. There is nothing cooler than running over to Cambridge, seeing the gorgeous Boston skyline from across the river, and reminding myself that I actually live in this city. Having said that, I must have spent a few hundred dollars between this weekend and last barhopping around downtown Boston. This needs to stop. I think I'll be hanging around the slightly cheaper -- but just as fun -- Allston area for the foreseeable future.

That's all for now, see you next week.