So the good news...

As if I can't wait to get to OSU already, I received today an email from my future advisor telling me that I would be receiving an addendum to my fellowship awarded from the college. I told my awesome boyfriend (and then my boss), followed by my parents. Admittedly the folks' reaction was much more subdued... I think maybe they are wondering how any human can survive (fiscally) as a graduate student. So much for my business-saavy childhood. To this I say: I am just maximizing the marginal acceptable technical substitution. I take gas-station coffee to gourmet, long hikes in the forest to nights on the town, and scrubby old track pants to dress up clothes any day. And the funny thing is this: if my thesis is to be believed, and if intangible assets actually can be valued, than the emotional recompense I get from the happiness of a frill-less lifestyle actually makes it more valuable than an ornate one!

Ad astra per aspera, I suppose, but the sightseeing is terrific!