Never in my life have I been in a place where people so obviously judge you based on your alma mater. It makes me wonder how I'd be treated had I not coughed up tens of thousands of dollars to go to a recognizable grad school program - I get the feeling I'd have official peon status and be banished to the city's, well, industry's outer limits. It really makes me sick.

It also makes me uncomfortable when I name said grad school, and people say, "Oh, wow, that's impressive," and then immediately press me for details - "How was it?" F-ing A, it was school. Some days sucked. Others were inspiring. I read a lot. I wrote a lot... Like you do.

Yes, school is a formulative part of a person's life, and warrants bold print on a resume. But sweet Jesus - if where I went to college is the sole definition of myself and my life up to this point, that omits all the best parts. Eat a dick.

And now I'm all riled up before bedtime.

Speaking of Jesus, I know I'm going to get a lot more hate mail at work based on the last page of the March issue alone. A lovely comic depiction of Jesus' bar mitzvah. (Run with it.) Add that to the questionable D&G ad, which trumps even last month's questionable D&G ad, and that adds up to an inbox full of disgruntled straight men who are offended by the homoeroticness of it and the insinuation that they, as straight men, would be caught reading a not-so-straight magazine. Or, the men not comfortable enough with their sexuality to flip past the ad and continue enjoying the editorial, but feel the need to bitch because the spread-eagled naked man has aroused some feeling of curiosity and/or tantric buzz and they are ashamed/anxious/in denial about it.

Had lunch with one of the contributing editors, who snuck Brokeback references into the conversation at every opportunity (will that never grow old?), argued that nude beaches are an example of degenerative human culture, and says his 6-year-old is reading Beowulf. What?? I love my job...