This was a big week in the Blap household. We received notification that the buyers of our house put down their (rather substantial) deposit on our house; we finalized a lease on our new rental for the next eight months (before we buy a new house); we locked in a mover and we started some packing in earnest.  It looks like it will happen.  It’s going to be an interesting experiment in remodeling our lives over the next year.  I’m a little bit scared and excited at the same time.  You can’t make a big move like this, so far away from most of what you and your spouse (and kids) know without wondering how it will work.  I’m excited about the change in climate and hopeful about the change in lifestyle – but I’m nervous about finding new income (job or consulting or whatever) and being so far away from our families.  It wasn’t a move I could have imagined a few years ago, but I approach it like I have most of the moves in my life – it is motion, is moving forward, not standing still… and therefore a good thing.

March 2009 Was a Perfect Example of Why You Shouldn’t Try to Time the Market:  Indeed.  But I did, a little, doubling up one of my loser financial industry positions once it hit rock bottom.

Save Money on a Diamond Ring:  I can’t imagine going through this again – is it big enough, clear enough, pretty enough?  I’m glad I got a good diamond.

Eight Ways to Beat Bad Customer Service: I dread my upcoming encounters with customer service – canceling dozens of services and restarting them in a new location will be a lovely experience, no doubt.

How to Hedge Against High Inflation: I think inflation will be under control by 2010, but if not…

Six Simple Ways To Simplify Your Life: I sympathized with this article a lot (let me emphasize, A LOT) because I have the same ridiculous fantasies about moving to the country and living off the land and eating cheese I curdled myself.  Then I realize I don’t even know if cheese IS curdled or what curdling is and I barely keep houseplants alive, and I love my electronica.  But it’s a fantasy, so I don’t blame myself.  I figure I have time to grow into my inner Thoreau.

Frugal Entertainment Rule: You Must Try Redbox:  I see these things everywhere, too, and I just can’t see any reason to ditch Netflix…yet.  Then again, it does seem like a much faster and more convenient option, as long as you’re willing to get to the store on a frequent basis.

Credit Card Spending Down By 10%, Our Is Down By 50%: The most telling part of this article was that SVB’s spending is down because her stress-related medical spending dropped after she quit her job.

Last Minute Tax Deals: Mine are done, but I’ll wait – as I usually do – until April 14th or 15th to file.  I owe a tiny amount – less than $300 – so I figure there’s no rush to file.  I’ve finished everything, but I’ll wait to e-file until the last minute.  If you haven’t started, though – get on it.

Hey Big 4! If I Were You, Here’s What I’d Do (Instead…): If you know anything about the Big 4, this is a grim, grim article. I’d be worried if I knew anyone associated with this industry – or if you are, say, a shareholder in a company audited by one of these four firms, which includes most of the Fortune 500.

Why I’m Glad I Didn’t Kill Myself: Pretty amazing post. I can’t imagine going through that thought process, and it’s a touching piece worth reading. My blog’s named brip blap because I’m a very up-and-down person, but honestly, I’ve never – even in my darkest moments of depression – considered killing myself. I’ve always been, if nothing else, very interested in seeing what the future holds. I also suspect I am a bit too much in love with myself to do that. But it’s a brave thing to discuss, and Mrs. Micah deserves some kudos for having the guts to write about it.

PS: I am referencing the excellent book North Toward Home in the title of this post.  A lazy afternoon spent chatting with Mr. Morris on the front porch of a coffee house in a Mississippi summer haze is a fond memory of mine, and my best memory of talking with a writer.

photo credit: trialsanderrors

This post is part of my “five crises” series.  You can read part 1 here.

Second: Dropping out of graduate school

The second crisis was more profound than my first one. I received a degree in mathematics and did well enough to be accepted directly into a PhD program at another state university.  The program I was accepted into was not world-class, but it was a solid mid-range PhD mathematics program.  I was studying complex theoretical mathematics and thought I had an aptitude for both math and teaching.  I thought I would coast through the PhD program and launch a brilliant career as a math professor studying esoteric theoretical hoohah.

I was wrong. Badly.  The PhD program hit me like a brick in the head almost from the moment I arrived.  I was unprepared to go from my undergraduate math major to a PhD program.  Even while majoring in the subject as an undergrad, I took maybe 2-3 math courses per semester while continuing my other courses – Russian, psychology, English, etc.  I had no real job although I did substitute teach from time to time at the local public schools.  I had plenty of free time for sports, social life and pursuing my other interests.

All of that changed in a heartbeat. My life was math, all math, all the time.  I was teaching undergraduate courses.  My fellow students were all just as good and, for the most part, better at math than I was.  I had no time to develop a social life in a new city.  I was overwhelmed.  I struggled for two semesters, and then sat back and did an assessment of my life.

I was passing my courses, but not by much. I was teaching my classes, but struggling to grade papers and keep up with my own homework.  The single-mindedness of the focus on math bored me to tears.  I had spent half of the season on the lacrosse team before dropping that, so my only social activity was my work with a political campaign.  All of this to pursue a degree that might take another five years to achieve, and then face what appeared to be a long recession when I emerged into the job market (this was the early 90s).

I had never met academic or personal failure to this point in my life. Admitting that I had failed was something I almost could not do.  I was ready to soldier on, fading further and further, just to avoid failing.  But in the end, I did.  I dropped out of school, packed all my belongings into a U Haul trailer attached to my 4-cylinder car, and drove back to my hometown.  I rented a small apartment  with two roommates and started taking accounting courses to build up the prerequisites for entry into the master’s program.

I’ll continue this series intermittently over the next week.  I am traveling, so no roundup until at least Sunday.