Hi, yes this WAS a serious post... although actually I can understand the confusion since it's not really clear what exactly I'm looking for here. Reassurance of what I already know intellectually (that it'll all be fine -- assuming I can overcome that irresistible urge to massage myself, that is), I guess. Thanks to those who did reply seriously. As to the youtube suggestion, I'll have to keep thinking about that one. Maybe if I decide to drop out and want to go out with a bang...
Apologies for the insanity that ensued there for a while. As I mentioned, our department is well-known for its hot quotient. But over the course of graduate school, all of them have become just people, and it's impossible to even see it anymore. After someone tears you a new a$$hole in a seminar or ignores your urgent email for two months, they're not so hot. So you will be fine.
