Screw you guys, I'm staying home.

Got a much-needed pep talk from a friend today who insists I should start on the job application process, even as I'm agonizing over publications, publications, publications.

So I swore I'd try to get in the mode of moving forward, not worrying about past mistakes, not being afraid of the worst possible outcomes.

Bite the bullet, make the leap, that sort of positive thinking!

But then I checked my junkmail folder, and found that an abstract I submitted a couple months ago for a meeting got assigned to a Poster.

I am somewhat amused that my email program knew exactly what to do with an email like that!

I hate posters. And this work, IMHO, deserves to be presented in a talk.

And I always hate this meeting.

So I'm thinking I'd rather not go.

It's supposed to be good to go to these things, for networking, blah blah blah.

But this meeting is big enough that it's really hard to meet anyone new.

And most of the people I know who go religiously every year are people I don't really ache to see. You know how it goes, you go out and drink with them because that's what you're supposed to do, but you find yourself having to drink just to numb the pain of having to talk to them?

Yup, this is one of those meetings that makes me question if I'm in the wrong field. It's that bad. It's one of those meetings that makes me remember why sometimes I really hate scientists and science.

So I think I'll take a line from Cartman on Southpark and just skip the whole thing.

I'd much rather stay home and like science than go to this meeting and hate it.

It will be the second abstract I've withdrawn this year for lack of getting picked to give a talk, so I'm wondering if that looks bad.

Somehow I doubt anyone who relegated me to poster status would even care.