It’s true what they say. . .

There's no such thing as a free lunch. You can't have your cake and eat it. What goes around comes around. You can't have it both ways (well, technically, you can have it both ways, but that's something else all together). For some of last year, I dated another graduate student in a different department at UCLA. First, after having dated an architect just prior to him, I had vowed not to get involved with professionals who had the luxury of nonchalantly leaving their job at work at 5pm, not to be reminded of it until they hit the snooze button at 7 the next morning and who may be erratically beckoned away into the depths of "overtime" to meet important "deadlines." Second, as it turned out, the new guy's apartment was a mere four blocks from mine. Imagine the convenience -- no reason to worry about parking, designate a driver or feel stranded should an impromptu video game tournament break out. I thought this arrangement was pretty swell. Fast forward to now. What was once a delightful convenience (and certainly more spurious "evidence" that this time it would really work out) is now a looming bane to my daily routine of commuting to school via the earth-friendly Santa Monica Big Blue Bus. Not that our split wasn't amicable, but once you've gotten really friendly with someone and you decide you don't want to anymore -- that's not the person you want to make small talk with when you're standing on a street corner for an indeterminate amount of time waiting for the bus. I feel like I've seen more of this guy in the last month than I did during some of the time we were actually dating. Fortunately, I'm a master at the "I'm concentrating on a really tough word puzzle in my head" look, as well as the "I'm lost in this fascinating scientific article about millipedes -- see, watch me highlight things" act. Although these techniques have helped so far, I'm not sure how long this can last. Maybe it really is time to invest in an iPod.

Earlier this week I was on the phone with my grandmother, telling her about a second date last weekend that helped me determine I wasn't interested in a third. She says, "Well, you know what the lesson in this is, don't you?" Me: "Er, no. What is it?" grateful that someone had at last figured out The Answer. She continues, "Well, it's just that there aren't that many people that you're going to like." Great. Thanks. That makes me feel a lot better. And all this time I thought the problem was something beyond my control. At least I know we're on the same page.

Tomorrow is the first day of the new academic quarter! The first day of school has definitely lost some of the anticipatory spirit it carried in the old days when the state paid for my textbooks. I mean, I'm not in the least bit concerned where I sit at lunch and my first day of school outfit isn't even laid out on my bed yet.