Okay, here's the thing. This is a little bit harder because I know I've got at least one Rice person reading this thing, but I trust them.

I'm leaving. Ideally, I will finish this semester and be done with linguistics. I am working on finding new employment, browsing the job sites and whatnot.

While I have not felt right here for a long time, I have finally arrived at the conclusion that there is no reason for me to continue to push myself through graduate school toward the goal of something that I won't like, won't be good at, and won't benefit from. I can make similar compensation doing many other things, most of which are much less stressful than linguistics. Really, a career in linguistics is only worth doing if you love linguistics, and I don't at all. So I'm showing some sack, and moving on. I don't know how to leave, though. I've never dropped out before. And there may be this conference in Paris-- if we get accepted and I have to go to France and present a talk after having quit the program, that will be the very height of awkwardness.

I also have the issue of figuring out what to do, but I'm feeling semi-optimistic about that. Despite not feeling like it in my current environment, I am a damned smart dude, and capable, and highly educated. Plus I smell good and I am amusing.

Okay, so that's that. We all knew it was coming. I just have to, you know, do all of it now. That and tell my parents, which is going to be interesting.