1. I've been in grad school for 3 years now. For two of those years, I've gotten the flu. (Yes, for two of those years I also neglected to get a flu shot, but as we all know, correlation does not prove causation. That and - I was too busy to get flu shots, business directly resulting from grad school).

2. Even though most of you don't believe me, I've gained 15 pounds in graduate school.

3. I am currently sick. I have yet another really bad cold. This is at least my 8th cold since starting graduate school...and if we round up to 10, that means I've had an average of 3 colds a year. That's way more than I had in college.

4. Last semester I really thought that I was going to have to be institutionalized for insanity.

5. Sitting at a desk reading and/or typing all day has given me really bad neck problems. But, I'm too busy to go to the chiropractor because I know he'll want to see me more than once.

6. I have never in my life had a cavity until last year. Thursday, I found out that I have my 4th.

7. For the next three Mondays, I have class from 9-11pm, you heard me: 9-11PM!! That means I won't get home until about 11:15, putting my in-bed time at probably 11:45...and knowing my pattern, my falling asleep time around 12:30am. That makes the probability that I will get up the next morning in time for the gym slim to zero.

8. I have to stop now because it's been about 2 minutes since I've blown my nose and even though my face is turning red from kleenex friction, I can't seem to go longer than 2 minutes without feeling like my face is going to explode.

In sum, graduate school is really bad for you and that's why most grad students are stuck buying really crappy health insurance - because the company knows they will make a lot of money off of you since they cover so little. BUT - thankfully, I am married and have a real grown-up insurance plan courtesy of J. Morgan. Thanks, Babe.