Hello JG, good to see you again.
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Opportunity of a lifetime? Sounds fantastic. I hope it was, or is, everything you want it to be. Awesome. Those are not words to bandy about lightly, so I was happy to read that part of your note.
By the by, Braxy, you better believe that I blurted out the word "bandy" up there. Bring it, and ban me, bubba.
(ahem) Doctoral Orals? Over 6 weeks away, plenty of time to prepare. Take some time to get your head in the right place. Personally, I'd recommend some meditation, if you don't already. But think of how far you've come already, just to get to this point. Wow, that's amazing. And impressive.
But ...
Jeff? Sounds like an insensitive prick. Hopefully you'll get to a place soon where you realize that A) he's the problem, not you, and B) he showed his true colors and is not worth your sacrifices. As they say up where Gnome lives, "whadda schmuck".
Life goes on, mon ami. You'll be fine. Hard to swallow now, but take it from an old fart. Okay, wait, not THAT old, sheesh, only 40, geez. Anyway, just remember:
Men Suck.*
Take care, and we hope to see you around more going forward.
RM
* except for Abraxas and Esteban, because they're both cool and they both have a crush on you. Gnome and SirD are cool too, however, Gnome is taken, and SD is too busy stalking a couple Anglefuns models.