seven DOs and DON'Ts

no matter what it looks like, this is a happy post..

1. DO NOT meet me in the a.m. hours and be all cheery, chirpy and stuff like someone's been beating you with a happy stick, or like optimism is going out of fashion.
2. DO ask me how the laptop is, but only if you are wishing her well. I'm a geek, and you better know how much she means to me.
3. DO NOT talk to me if at some point in reference to the laptop you are going to smugly retort with mock horror "you didn't have backups?!". the whole effing reason i got a 60Gb hard disk is so that i don't have my shit all over the place. i think differently, bite me.
4. DO ask me how the girlfriend is doing, and how things are going with us, cos she makes me one very, very happy man.
5. DO NOT mention the words 'research' and 'thesis' within at least 5 minutes of each other unless you have a pressing need to reschedule to an earlier appointment with surgical staff of the orthopaedic persuasion.
6. DO NOT ask me how the thesis is going unless you are desperately seeking an immediate dental rearrangement.
7. DO NOT ask me how the job search is coming along unless you are ready to listen to a rant about how cross-disciplinary grad students get a raw deal from both sides.

thank you folks.. see y'all tomorrow :-)