coming out of the doctoral closet

Sometimes, you feel like you just don't fit in. To combat the winter blues, I've been participating in a discussion group for the past few weeks. This is a real group, not a cyber-group. Only a couple of people in the group know me very well and I haven't offered a lot of information about myself to the rest of them. So the discussion turned to "what kinds of people make you uncomfortable?" For me, it must be anyone I don't know well, as I was sitting there doing my best imitation of a clam. One person spoke up and said that persons of Middle Eastern descent made her uncomfortable. Oh good, I thought to myself, I guess she figured out that my dark hair and eyes were from American Indian heritage and not something more politically unpopular. Then another person spoke up and said people with Ph.D. degrees made him uncomfortable. At this point, I was "outed" as a Ph.D. by my friend. Everyone turned to stare. I don't remember what else was discussed after that.

I think I'll take a hiatus from the group for a couple of weeks. They could use the break.

Halloween Scrooge

I wasn't in the Halloween spirit this year. No, I wasn't worried about the Satanic implications of seeing little kids dressed up like Dora the Explorer or whatever is popular this year. Unlike my neighbors (the "Ned Flanders family"), I don't usually sit in the house with all the lights off for fear that I'll be possessed by the devil if I hand out candy to kids on this particular night of the year. Maybe it was the fact that I have a cold and didn't want to hand out germs along with the candy. Maybe it was the fact that I'm on a diet and don't want to be anywhere near candy. The whole day seems to have become overly commericial. This is Geezer-Talk, I know, but back in the day, no one had big inflatable Frankensteins tethered to their front yard. No one bought pre-packaged costumes for their dog. You didn't go to Wal-Mart to buy plastic Jack-o-lanterns in every color of the rainbow. You bought a real pumpkin (orange!!) and scooped out the disgusting insides with your hand, attempted to carve a face into it, put a candle inside, and that was the end of your decorations. Last night, I saw that the stores were selling Halloween cards...who sends out Halloween cards? I'm lucky if I get my Christmas cards out before MLK day. The whole mess made me glad that today is November, and usually, November is my least favorite month, with the gloomy weather and elections and all.

We need to get back to the basics of Halloween. Jack O'Lantern...that sounds like a good Irish name. That is something to drink about.