Grumpity grump

I read this thing over the weekend, on how to not drop out of graduate school, and it made me sort of angry. Don't get me wrong - it's full of useful and constructive ideas that are comforting when it comes to coping with the trials and tribulations of grad school. Just wait, though, innocent students, until you hit the postdoc stage. You have no idea what's coming next, and if you thought grad school was hard, you're in for a wake-up call.

Just now I encountered this post on how moving is the hardest part of academia.

Yep. Nine months later and I really don't have any friends here. First-year syndrome. I don't mean to state that in a complaining fashion - that's just how it is. The closest I've come is the Randonneuring dudes, and I know there are other awesome cyclists afoot but I don't make it out to 'cross races or to the bike co-op or basically out of the house much at all, so it's hard to get to know anyone.

The hard part is trying to dig up motivation without any social support. C'mon, motivation, help me out here!