An Odd Curtain Call

On Wednesday, I had finally mustered up enough courage to write up a resignation notice from the lab. It was sheer exhaustion and a questioning of whether or not I want to continue in the realm of chemistry that led me to this little crisis. So I wrote a draft of my notice in pen, although it turned out more like a letter than anything else. I typed up a copy, getting ready to send it to my P. I., when I was called to do something in the lab. I left the paper draft in my notebook, in case of prying eyes, and when I finished my duties, I came back into the office and my P. I. was waiting for me, smirking as always. "Vell? Have you decided vat you vould like to do viss your life?" Apparently he had read the letter, seeing as it was in his hand and not in my notebook. It is also unedited and included my many scribbles and frustrated attempts to form words that were not offensive. Well, it's interesting how things turned out that way.

He was surprisingly cool with my asking for a break. He was strangely nice about it, which is something that I found rather alarming, as I expected a very cross Russian. At the end of my banter, which included some sighs and tears, he asked me if I had considered talking to professionals. Yes, my friends; my boss had given me unsolicited mental health advice. How cute. And rather disarming. I was looking for further excuses, including making my GPA lower than it is to show him how exhausted I was... but I am leaving, thankfully, and I am ready for a true break, the first break I've had since the summer of 2002 (there were summer courses every summer, and don't forget about college apps, taking care of the house while mommy's gone to Korea to nurse daddy during chemo, and every moment of sexual frustration, which still carries on to right now).

But, here's where the story is even more interesting. The undergraduate O-Chem lab director was scheduled to teach the honors section of O-Chem this coming fall quarter, but seeing as she had quite a bad experience teaching this summer, guess who gets to teach? That's right, Mr. Scary Russian Bossman. God, can I ever catch a break?

Things are quite funny around here, as they normally are, but with the advent of the upcoming school year, I am having yet another U-of-C meltdown. Hail Eris!