I am being punished by the Ph.D. gods because I dared to pursue a field that was edifying for my soul. I did not want to be an M.D., a J.D., a pharmacist, a dentist, a portfolio manager or a corporate executive. I had no desire to work for pharmaceuticals, education profiteers or the war industry. I neither wanted to be rich nor poor. I just wanted quality of life, edifying work and enough money to pay my bills, raise a child or two and leave the country once in a while. I dared to pursue a field that was not made for lower-middle-class, immigrants like me.