gainful employment

and by 'gainful,' i don't mean the mass of peanut butter filled pretzels or terra chips i just washed down with whole milk. (menstrual gnomes are lining up at the entrance to the mines, ready with their pick-axes).
i mean that i got a job, and i actually want it, and i'm going to take it. next friday will be my last day inhaling acetonitrile fumes, and i'm taking the following week off to write my paper from my last job. and clean the house.
and maybe now that i'm getting a 48% raise over what i've made since college (excepting the last month at the gulag; once you subtract pain and suffering, excess is moot), i could balance my freaking checkbook. or at least buy new things.
it's nice to take a break from the scientific breadline. i'll be back in a few years anyway when i pony up for my phd and make babies. until then, all my $$ are belong to me.