so i'm back now. i've been back for a week now. things are going well with my dissertation and i'm moving forward, which is good as you know. but i'm hating the midwest more than ever. you know what? i realized earlier that i feel a little bit like i'm in ghost world, part two...where she leaves on the bus, goes to graduate school, leaves, has an adventure, meets her great love but then has to return to graduate school in order to resolve the things left unfinished before she can return to that wonderful place. i dunno. something like that.