So in high-stress places like grad school, where people work hard and many of those who work hard also play hard, it's important if you're not part of the dominant genus (in this case, straight geeky men) to have a very solid idea of who you are and what you want and what you'll put up with. If your head isn't screwed on securely, you're quite likely to find other things screwed, or screwed up, with vigor.

So genera available to nonmen seem to include Taken, Ugly, and Feminazi. None of which are me. Perhaps another one would have, in the past, been Nun, but nobody's seen one in so long that they don't know how to behave. Maybe I should buy me a ruler. I know some knuckles could use a smacking.

Speaking of nuns, check out this poem of Erica Jong, Becoming a Nun.

Just kind of wandering around the zoo, amazed, doesn't seem to be an option. Folks'll want to know which cage you belong in.

Remind me to tell the story of the Hallowe'en party some time...