I’m reading Facebook updates posted by a long-lost friend. Whenever she posts a photo of her son, people respond with literally dozens of comments about how the boy “needs a sister.”

The poor woman published at least 10 comments just this week (and it’s only Wednesday) stating that they are perfectly fine just as they are and no new baby is forthcoming. Her comments are becoming very terse and annoyed, and I don’t blame her. People persist, however. (The son is 13, so you can imagine how long she’s been hearing this).

This woman has the nicest, kindest, sunniest personality I have ever seen. And this is what she gets as a result. It is a lot more profitable to be a grumpy, scary sort of person who only gets told what she wants to hear because people fear making comments she will not enjoy.

P.S. By the way, the need to police the reproductive choices of others means you are not happy with your own. A person who is 100% at peace with his or her reproductive choices will be equally supportive of a friend who has 10 children as of a friend who has none. So if it really bugs you that somebody is or is not procreating, do something about your unhealthy attitude. People who hope to become grandparents are somewhat excused because they have a legitimate reason to care.

I’m back to writing my research articles in Spanish, and what a joy, what a relief! It’s like coming in from the cold and immersing myself in a bath filled with hot water.

I love English and all but it is so hard for me to do without wordiness. I’m wordy by nature and struggling to find the most concise way of saying everything I need to say (which is the requirement of a good style of writing in English) is very painful. In Spanish, the sentences just go on and on and on. You don’t have to make them stop until you are really ready to do so.

And the indefinite phrases? “It is crucial to recognize. . .”, “It is necessary to keep in mind. . .” Oh, how I love them.

Answering the survey on moving to NCAA Division I is really bugging me out. I have no idea what half of the questions mean, and it isn’t like I’m very used to feeling stupid. See this one for example:

Recruitment of student-athletes reflects the University’s commitment to diversity.

This is just bizarre. Is an “athlete” a new identity group? I thought that diversity meant including people who don’t choose their identities (like race, gender, ethnicity). If athleticism is now an identity that merits specific efforts at its inclusion, then so should surely be other hobbies like stamp-collecting, video-game playing, blogging, etc.

Another question: Did this reclassification enhance our university’s prestige. I’m not American enough to answer this. What do you think? Is it prestigious to belong to Division I as opposed to Division II?

I’m supposed to express my opinion as to whether I support the “reclassification of our university’s Athletics to NCAA Division I” (from NCAA Division II). Does anybody know what this means? More specifically, what costs a university more, Division I or Division II? Or does this make no difference for the finances?

I really hate being asked questions without being given any information on what the questions mean and what the possible answers imply.

1. Somebody who threw a tantrum saying, “I’m trying so hard to be perfect all the time but you keep giving me suggestions how to improve my essay. And that tells me I’m not perfect!”

2.  Somebody who tried to relieve boredom by trying to provoke the peaceful, content me into a petty conflict.

3. Somebody who asked me to complete the Dean’s evaluation while making it impossible for me to be honest in expressing my opinions.

4. Somebody who designed the Kindle charger in a way that makes one fall apart every two months.

5. Somebody who got very pissy and threatened to complain when I said that “create an original idea for your research project” does not mean “repeat what a critical source said verbatim without even understanding what you are repeating.”

A student decided that it was a good idea to answer the question of “Which other Christmas tales do you know? How are they different from the short story by Galdos?” with the following,

I am an atheist so I don’t know any stories that mention Christmas.

What a cute excuse this is! I guess I should prepare for “I’m religious so I don’t read any texts where secular events are mentioned” or “I’m a woman so I don’t know any stories about men.”