health insurance and stuff

Got a flyer today at school for cheap health care, $48 per year! But I just checked out the website and you need to be under 24. So I guess if you're a poor 29-year-old student you're fucked. That's fantastic especially since I chipped my tooth yesterday eating barbeque pork (siew yook). Oh and my vision is blurry out my right eye (again). And did I mention I don't have dental or vision coverage? *sigh*

I learned last week that Assistant Profs in the CSU system make $55k/year. So if I end up teaching at a Cal State School in 5 years after I finish my Phd, I would've paid $20K tuition for my MA (Phd should be paid for thru stipends and assistantships) so that I can take a $20K pay cut from what I was making in software. That is such a grim way to look at it. But I just have to remind myself that when I'm up at 2am pounding out my thesis proposal, I'm enjoying it a hell of a LOT more than flying back and forth to Houston and going in to work 60 hours a week to write brochures and sales programs for some piece of software that I don't give a flying shit about. Life's too short to do a job that doesn't stimulate, challenge and excite you.