spectastic

I seriously have nothing better to do. My job sucks.

oh man, my shoes smell like bags of Cheetos right now. Good thing I get work off tomorrow, so I can get some sunshine and gamma rays on them.

I used to do it maybe 2 or 3 times a month. more than that during busier semesters. I don't plan on doing it again though. I need my 8 hours, and I envy those who only need 6. I wish I could compress all that sleep into like 5 minutes; run a cooling coil through my brain to prevent spontaneous combustion. That would be super duper.

I was really confused by NC State's essay prompts. Their personal statement asks you for your qualifications, aspirations, experience etc. And then they have this optional supplemental essay that asks for very similar things. Was the supplemental essay geared towards fellowship considerations or what?

Having a pet will definitely limit your leasing options. You might not be able to get the locations you want, the pet friendly apartment might charge you a lot more for your pet. My apartment charges me $200 pet nonrefundable fee, $200 pet deposit, and that's just for one pet. Any 'undocumented' pet warrants immediate deportation, a $100 fee, and a $10/day penalty for everyday the pet remains within the residence. (it's fkin ridiculous) I have two cats, and I'm pretty sure my landlord is aware of it. So far, nothing has happened, although I'm not expecting to get my pet deposit back because of it. ANYway, I find cats really easy to take care of. You don't have to walk them, give them too much attention, and litter training is already coded into their DNA. All you have to do is buy them a scratching post, leave them a few shipping boxes from Amazon, get a few rounds of vaccines, and be good for life. Same deal with outdoor cats, except they require a little more maintenance in terms of vaccines and vet visits. I had originally wanted a dog, but I find a cat to be much easier to manage, especially with a grad school schedule. They'll also kill bugs and eat them, which is a nice bonus. And perhaps this stems from my background as an only child, but I think it's better to get two cats. They'll keep each other company, so there's no reason for them to self-destruct, or cause havoc in your home.

If they don't smell, or have holes.

yup. There are various forms of intelligence, and IQ is probably the most overrated.

You're probably smart enough. But being smart isn't the key in grad school. I think a lot of people are smart enough to be successful grad students. The key difference is your drive/motivation, as well as your ability to manage your state of mind. I find it incredibly helpful to be constantly aware of my state of mind, in order to have better control over it. For instance, I find it helpful to realize when I'm stressed, frustrated or overwhelmed, and that realization keeps me from losing my shit. I'm sure someone talks about it in a self help book.

that's the exact one I have, except the genius who designed this apartment decided it was a good idea to make the ceilings outside my rooms the same height as the door frame. I realized that when I first tried to do a pull up, but instead banged my head against the drywall like a freaking idiot. I'd buy the screwed in ones, if I had any faith in the screws and studs holding me up.

Some of my coworkers are expressing concern about me biking 40 miles to and from work on the interstate shoulder, and early in the morning in the dark, with a blinking tail light. I try to do that 2-3 times/week. Now I'm starting to second guess that decision.... But that's seems to be the only way to get in the exercise I need to be good at my hobby. At my old apartment, I setup a pullup bar and did a routine every morning. It took no more than 10 minutes, and I was actually able to make a lot of gains from that. But with the way my new apartment is setup, pullup bar is no longer practical. so I just bike.

also out of curiosity. anyone have had industrial experience? I'm working in industry right now, and I'm curious what others have drawn from it.

anyone have information on GA tech so far?

excellent point. Studies have also proven that those who are physically active, particularly in cycling, are typically smarter, more successful and better looking than their counterparts.

when my old PI got back from rehab, he had a rubber band thing that tied his fingers together. I'm assuming those two fingers tied together were fingers he used to smoke. I've never smoked in my life, but I hate it very much, so I hope you can cope and overcome.

I've never understood what the lucky numbers are supposed to mean.

the answer is obviously chemical engineering, particularly those who pursue career in polymer research.

do tell!

how much are you going to bring with you? I've never done something like that before, but if you go to bikeforums.net, there's a whole bunch of wise old folks, a lot of them know way more than I do. 3300 miles, 80 miles a day (that's a very generous amount if you can sustain it). you do the math. And as I remember, you have a fixie, am I right? Fixies suck at climbing. You're going to need a generous gear ratio to get you up those 20% inclines, which will inevitably happen. There are a variety of other factors too. you're going to have to either get a new bike or customize that baby up with some thick tires, compatible saddle, the whole getup. That stuff adds up fast. Biking long distance with a bad setup will seriously fk you up. A small discomfort will multiply over long distance and turn into real pain, and eventually injury. You're probably going to have to start training and take some baby steps before shocking your body with a tour like that. But I highly recommend you doing your research first. Visit the forum I showed you, lots of information on there I could never tell you. oh and I'll be honest. this idea is completely ridiculous. just be prepared to get shot down.

I'm not very anxious surprisingly... Is there something wrong with me?

race my bike go to Europe? visit some friends? I intend to use up all my vacation and sick days before I leave my job.

I was more or less screwing around about biking cross country with 300+ lbs of luggage. But people do actually ride their bikes cross country., They typically carry around 30 lbs of gear, including a sleeping bag. They'd just find a quiet place to camp out, where nobody would find them, much less than bother them (ladies may have bigger needs though). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66w56k2gsqU This guy looks like he got his trailer from someone in my hometown, who runs a small bike trailer business from his garage, reasonably priced too (like $500 for something that big?). I couldn't understand why he put the wheels so far back. The weight distribution would put more stress on the hinge, and put a lot more weight on the back wheel. Oh well, they work like a charm, and a hell of a lighter and sturdier than the one I made. nevermind, the guy's from seattle. I think there's another guy in Portland that makes these trailers. they like bikes a lot over in portland.

why not save money on the plane ticket and just bike your way crosscountry with your luggage? I can show you how to make a bike cargo trailer with $120 bucks. anyway, good idea on shipping all the small boxes that'll free up 2 boxes up from my car trunk. I will also throw out there getting one of those vacuum bags to store all your clothes and fabrics, especially those with lots of fluff. it doesn't make sense to waste all that space on air.

parent: have you retaken the GRE yet? me: yep, I think I did ok (I didn't even sign up) parent: Son, let me tell you, you need a good GRE. You can't let those kids from China have a higher score than you me: yea I won't let that happen (I don't actually give a sh*t) parent: Also, send me your essay, I'll revise it for you. me: but I've already submitted parent: send it to me and I'll revise it. me: ok... parent: make sure you have a good GRE score when you apply. me: *at this point, I'm just looking for an exit strategy* for full disclosure, my GRE was 153V 168Q and 4.5AW. (too bad I'm an illiterate fool who don't know words that are never used in real life)

can't believe everything you read these days.

Do these adcoms you're referring to happen to be freelance sleeper Russian double agent super spies?