pears

this makes me feel a lot better about adding "10/10 chocolate chip banana bread" to my skills on my resume. only adding to the madness of my impatient mind: my significant other has 6 tentative summer temp job offers on the table and 1 tentative permanent job interview (prestigious group in his line of work, only hires every few years, etc.), while a handful of my job apps have only just moved onto the next selection round. he thought he wasn't going to get a job because of an injury; i thought i was set because i've got a lot more experience under my belt. argh. certainly takes a lot of weight off my back knowing he's set for this season, but semi-big decisions down the road for both of us -- together and individually -- are not helping my blood pressure or sanity right now. can't the forest service just send me an email to the tune of "omg ur so kewl! lol! here's a job, take our monies"? that's how it works, right?

ugh, my top choice sent emails like that, too! it's like, "yknow, favorite program, you're lucky i love you so much, because if i didn't, your buns would be toast." ..funny, because that's exactly what i catch myself saying to my dog and my significant other sometimes..

RubyBright, i have nothing to say..just this to show. ps: to heck with it, this is TOTALLY my new avatar.

even better. my phone turns it into a very pretty curly cursive. so many delectably happy fonts! (not that i check the forum from more than one place or anything..)

peer pressure

Armadilla- thank you! their forensic anthro, in a strange way, was a big selling point for me- all of the programs i applied to are terminal MAs that have good forensic anthro, bioarch, and/or zooarch electives, plus enough wiggle room for me to get a little more experience with bones. plus, everyone i've talked to in chico's department has been so sweet! being a non-resident would make them a bit more expensive, but it'd be worth it. platypus- welcome to purgatory, hah! i feel you on the lack of access to HI. my job can cover the fees, but not the airfare or accomodations- considering how little i make, i'd be seriously screwing myself over if i spent that much. alas. one day, we'll be superstar grad students, who use their powers of awesomeness and brilliance and academic charm to woo our programs into fully funding our attendance!

heck yes for public archaeo, the nw, and bioarchaeo! sounds like we've got a few things in common and i'm oh-so-envious of that last bit- despite my abiding interest in all things bones, i've never actually had any hands-on experience in bioarch. i shadowed for an ME's office when i was considering a post-bac for forensic patho, but man, what i wouldn't do to be dusting away at some old bones in a crawlspace.. ciistai, congrats to your friend! good news is good news, even if it's from outsiders (aka people who have enough sense not to drive themselves even more nuts by lurking around here all day). on a similar note, if anyone else is waiting on news from chico, my POI said they "will be reviewing applications very shortly," so i suspect their decisions will be out in 1-2 weeks.

if anybody else is waiting on csu - chico, i was in touch with my POI today (yay for nice people!) about the status of the hard copies of my letters of rec (boo for having to heckle other people!), who mentioned that they "will be reviewing applications very shortly." considering we last spoke about the letters' status 10 days ago, i suspect this means they'll have some decisions out within the following week, perhaps two. not sure if this makes my nervousness better or worse, but hey, at least it's a step up from having no idea what's going on!

real talk

yard sale

not exactly losing my mind over it, but it is majorly bumming me out that there's a wall of red when i search for my alma mater in the results.

sometimes, i like to check my apps that say "congratulations! your application is complete/submitted!" just for the heck of it, so i can feel good about reading something less bland than "received." if i'm going to be stuck in purgatory for a while, might as well find a way to make it mildly less miserable.

these are the positive vibes i totally needed! i think my favorite part of this thread is that my office computer seems to be struggling with the fonts, so everything changes to comic sans.. normally, it'd make me cringe, but now i can't help but crack a smile at the utterly unabashed fluffiness and cheesiness! i feel like this thread would benefit strongly from some "blingees" of unicorns or lisa frank stickers. nothing says "go get 'em tiger!" like a fuzzy sticker of a rainbow-spotted cheetah hanging out with a hot pink dolphin.

sconnie: i don't want to jinx it, but it sounds more like a good thing than a neutral or bad thing to me best of luck!

bedmas: at least you have the patience to pull off a pokerface! my reactions are starting to look more and more like grumpy cat's every day... them: "why would you want to go there? i mean, it's a state school. you're smarter than that. why not just go to (insert hyper-competitive ivy program here) instead?" me:

short circuit

majolie: hmm, i'd say it depends on how many weeks it's been since your applications were considered 100% in. if it's been 6 weeks, i bet it's fine to try to get in touch. nothing official, but my POI at one of my schools emailed me to let me know he'd be away while they were reviewing apps, but he wanted a personal digital copy of my stuff so he can vouch for me to the adcomm. it's really nice (and flattering!) to have someone go out of their way to speak on my behalf!

artichoke dip

kraft singles (ick)

if it's an option, have you looked into any apartments in co-ops that allow pets? my mom is on the board for her co-op in nyc, and although there's a "30 lb. limit," larger dogs (up to 50 lb. or so) are often allowed if they're well behaved. many of her neighbors have larger dogs that are a lot more well behaved than the little yappy things, so nobody minds at all. depending on the reviewing committee and how long you'd be staying in an apartment, it might be worth getting in touch with people and asking anyway!

i'm both very happy and very sad that i'm not the only person who does this, hah! i'm a worrywart by nature, so i try to keep myself in check, but ma dukes (who's pretty much queen worrywart) has been heckling me about looking up housing info since square one! everything from neighborhood safety to prices. woof. it's a little bit intimidating that it's becoming more reasonable to think about, though..

i'm quite thoroughly graduated (done since last may), but i wanted to give you guys mad props! my GREs and application process were chaotic and stressful, but all i had on my plate was an internship. i can't imagine how stressful it'd be if i were still a student, so well done all!

data point

mmmm, chocolate.. my philosophy: if beer/wine, chocolate, and/or duct tape can't fix a problem, it's not a problem worth solving!