I bought a used book online, and it arrived in perfect condition, as advertised. Except that on page 1 there is a post-it that somebody must have used to prepare an in-class presentation on the novel. Item 1 on the Post-It says, “We only find out at the very end that Martin’s father is dead.”

Oh, thank you so much, dumbass, for killing the book for me. 

The reason why Russia is hysterically and obsessively supporting the Catalan independentists is that, in the Russians’ eyes, it all somehow legitimizes “separatists” in the Ukrainian Donbass region. But it doesn’t legitimize Chechen separatism, of course. 

Also, of course, anything that allows them to conclude that Western democracy doesn’t work is a good thing. 

Some people when they enter into a relationship bring out the worst in each other. Some bring out the best. It isn’t a magical process. It’s simply the way their neuroses lock into each other. Like pieces of a Lego puzzle that can lock into each other to bring forth something beautiful or something ugly. 

Sometimes it’s best to stop futzing with the pieces and just accept that nothing good can be designed out of them.

What I didn’t like about the citizenship exam is the language test part. All it entailed was reading aloud “Who can vote?” and writing the sentence”Citizens can vote.” You don’t need to have any language competence at all to do this. 

I’d prefer for there to be a real language test and for free language courses being offered to immigrants. There’s a ton of time between filing the paperwork and the exam. This would also mean new employment opportunities. You don’t need qualified teachers for this. A conversation group with several immigrants and a couple native speakers would suffice. Immigrants and natives would be brought together and allowed to interact, which is a great educational opportunity for everybody.

Pro forma tests like this one are worse than no testing because you send a very dubious message to people.

Turned on the TV, heard “thoughts and prayers! Let’s not politicize!”, spit on the screen, and turned it off. 

People should be ashamed of themselves. 

I detest it when interlibrary loan gives me a 1,038-page book for 5 days with no renewals. What am I supposed to do with it in 5 days? Celebrate its existence?

I could read 1,038 pages in 5 days but only if I did absolutely nothing else.

Now that I’ve passed my citizenship test and submitted my grant application, do I deserve to stay on the couch for an hour reading a book? I think I do. Yes, I think I definitely do. And I won’t feel guilty. I hope. 

This was addressed to myself more than anybody else. 

What other extravagance am I entitled to? Ah, I know. I’ll eat potatoes. 

I wish I could become a citizen every day. 

I just passed my citizenship test!

And guess what? The very first question was the one I posted about Africans. 

I also got the “no taxation without representation”, Mike Pence, Supreme Court, the number of amendments, and one other I don’t remember right now. 

The whole thing took under 15 minutes. Which makes sense because I’m totally a model prospective citizen. 

And the prize for the most meaningless sentence of the day goes to the MIT that is posting the following gem:

 Access knowledge from industry thought leaders and learn to lead the implementation of sustainable improvement strategies to solve organizational issues in your unique business context.

Is there anybody who hasn’t died of boredom after reading it? These thought leaders definitely have a great future in curing insomnia.

I have two projects I’m working on that are mutually exclusive. If I get funding for one, I can’t do the other, and vice versa. Given that I’m not one of the fortunate folks who can hold two contradicting thoughts in their minds at the same time, the whole process confuses and disheartens me. It’s smart to apply for both at once because I maximize my chance of getting something. But I’m a very one-dimensional, obsessive person. If I get invested into one thing, it’s super hard to break the concentration and switch my attention to a parallel project.