the wrong side of the bed

i have never been to the essen house. i don't know. i'm part german. i'm part irish. i'm part some other white stuff. but, i really hate that so much of being irish means drinking, at least in popular representations of the irish. in madison (and in parts of texas), being german means beer (or bier) and sausages. i know, i know, it could be worse. i could have to deal with nazi stereotypes all of the time. fortunately, wisconsin is so german that being german is a given, really. still, sometimes i get tired of the drunken stereotypes. and the idea of people going to the essen haus to eat ground up meat shoved in intestines and drink from a boot that is not supposed to be set down irks me.

but, this is not the only boot that madison has to offer me. the program seems to want me gone, too. oh, i'm advised that i can come back in a spell, no problem. you know, once i get my shit under control. this just seems unlikely to happen. since when has my shit ever been under control? i'm irritated by all of this. i'm being pushed out into the real world. i have a useless degree. seriously, what is master's degree in sociology going to get me? i'm simultaneously over qualified and under qualified for office jobs. i'd rather have a job that paid more than that, anyway, because i have debts that i need to pay off, but if i get a real job, how likely am i to be to come back to grad school? but, at the same time, i'd just like a damn job. i am not fond of the real world. it isn't something i am good at. maybe i am worse at the real world than i am in grad school, but, hey, i will supposedly be able to get my life together.

the only good thing that can come of getting the boot is that i don't have to engage in the debate on jeremy's blog.

So are you gonna take me to this Essen House place for dinner when I come to visit? Because I'm really curious about those boots.

If you're leaving the program, may I advise securing one of those only-for-students temporary European work permits before you do? Then head to Europe for 5-7 months of not being a student and yet not being in the real world either. And you can personally investigate the actual drinking habits of the Irish and Germans.

Carole