spectastic

at this point, as I see the clusters of students walk across the intersections, I tend to visualize them as bowling pins. if it were a video game, I'd be driving a hummer and bowling strikes.
 

how about pokemon no?

just different opinions. I happen to side with those who think that obesity is a real problem, and ignorance is not bliss.

just different opinions. I happen to side with those who think that obesity is a real problem, and ignorance is not bliss.

i attribute my weight loss to eating less meat. meat used to be my primary portion. now, I eat about half as i used to. i don't fluctuate very much, and i've gone down from 165 lbs to high 150s. now, if I see low 160s, I'm either over hydrated, or i need to put more time on the bike.
not a health guru, but my advice is to stay away from processed stuff, and replace it with fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc. you can save time and still be healthy. it's more a matter of making the decision
 
also, it's important to point out there are good ways to lose weight and bad ones.. overworking, skipping meals, bad stress etc. are examples of unhealthy weight loss. otoh, exercise, better dieting, are good. kind of obvious, but also very important.

I never limit the amount I eat, but I do stick to minimally processed plant-based meals, and 95% of my meals are homemade so I know exactly what goes into them. My diet is based around whole grains, vegetables, and legumes; within that, there are endless variations if you have a pantry well-stocked with various staples and seasonings and learn to make some good sauces/dressings, etc. I don't buy much snack food; instead, I eat things like fruit, trail mix, or hummus with pita and veggies between meals. I never get bored or feel deprived because I get full on foods that are nutritious and hearty, and I've cooked for myself enough to know how to make things I like, without an undue investment of time. I also aim for making large enough batches that I have leftovers throughout the week, and proportion them out into meal-size containers so that it's easy to grab my day's lunch as I'm headed out the door, which means I'm less tempted to eat out (plus I save money that way). It requires a little extra forethought and an investment of time in experimenting to figure out what you like, but it's really a very simple method and works well for me. 

I am starting grad school in the Fall and finding these tips very helpful!
In undergrad, I actually lost some weight that I had gained in my party-hardy Senior year of high school by following a vegan diet. For me it boiled down to eating less processed food, and cooking at home more often, a philosophy I still follow 5 years later, despite the fact that I have chosen to add meat back into my diet. I decided that a 100% vegan lifestyle was too extreme for me, at this point in time, and I was missing out on key nutrients. When I do eat meat, it is something lean like chicken, or a small portion like a few crumbled slices of bacon in an omelet.
Also, I try to stay active as much as possible since I find this leads to an overall increased sense of well-being (as lrlrlrlrlr mentioned, tired/over-caffeinated sedentary co workers). In undergrad I would utilize free street-parking and walk to class since I lived off campus, and I would try to squeeze in a workout between classes or class/work.
I graduated in Dec 2014, and it was not until the past 6 months or so that I really got back into working out. I've had a membership to a certain Judgement Free gym for much of my adult life, and would casually go here and there. However in the past half a year I started working with the personal trainer they have on staff, and I have gained a lot of strength and confidence. I used to run cross country in high school so I have decent endurance and lower body strength, but I have really seen a lot of improvement in my upper body strength and other weak areas. Since my job during Grad school at UM will be at their Fitness center, I hope to continue using the gym to keep my body and mind healthy.
So basically, my little life advice is:
1) Prepare meals at home as often as possible, eat before you go to class or pack breakfast/lunch. I also love my crockpot, so easy to use and hard to screw it up! Haha.
2) Walk rather than drive if possible. This helps with stress too. If I have a big project or exam coming up sometimes I just need to take a break and walk or bike around the neighborhood to clear my head. Yoga is nice for this too.
3) Find a sport or activity that you enjoy. Set goals and achieve them. For me, this was working out 3x/week with the trainer. We started with 30 minute sessions and now its 1 hour, 3x a week. Even though this is not an intense commitment, I have seen my strength improve drastically and am able to motivate myself to go work out even if I am not in the "mood"... once I get in the gym I know I am there to work and generally get a good session in anyway.
Well, hopefully I can stick to my own advice once classes begin! Only time will tell ;-)

like others, I like to cook in bulk, and make several meals in one session.
also a good idea to keep office snacks like nuts, dried fruits, clif bars. etc

I wear a watch on my wrist, and I look at it a lot.

I wear a watch on my wrist, and I look at it a lot.

maybe they're just infertile

If the opportunity presents itself, I can imagine myself living out my later years in South America. It fits all the criteria you list. you essentially triple your relative wealth and purchasing power. The people are exotic (or so I've heard) at least until it becomes normal. Your skills and knowledge will be highly sought after in a society that's decades behind our curve. Honestly, I'm not too happy about America right now. If I were Canadian, I'd try to seek refuge in Vancouver or something

Oh but they are, though. You might look up the Idaho stop law. Also, drivers frequently ignore and/or roll through stop signs and no one seems to care very much.
Many rules of the road make little to no sense for cyclists, and should be ignored. Similarly, rules of the road that make no sense for drivers (e.g. speed limits) are also frequently ignored.

I always let pedestrians go first. And if i need to turn, i pick a path out of everyone's  way. Like i said, if theres cross traffic, i stop. Otherwise, most people can scan both sides a couple of times while approaching an intersection, such that stopping fully serves no practical utility other than as a formality. Im actually pretty curteous when it comes to sharing the road. And rarely see people almost get hit by bicycles. Most of the time, it's other people popping into my lane unannounced.
 
Only times ive almost hit pedestrians were when they were crossing the street without looking, not at a stop.sign, but in the middle of the road. 

Rules made by people who have never ridden bikes in their lives. There are quirks to commuting on a bicycle that don't fit anywhere in the rulebook. For example it's not always safe to ride on the bike path because there's always pedestrians and cars who don't pay attention. Those who ride bikes know what I mean. There will always be jackasses who don't follow the rules and at the same time put other people at risk. But they're in the minority and the same is true for drivers.

the times I've been in danger on a bicycle, it was the driver(s) who were out of compliance. I breaks the rules a lot, but have had enough trial/error by now to do it safely for me and everyone else. 

don't dwell on the past. learn from it and move on. there may still be a place for you in the scientific community. i talked to a random girl who studied journalism. She edits science news articles... articles that require a high level understanding of broad concepts, with greater focus on market and technological trends. The technician in our lab is bummed about studying chemistry instead of engineering, but he's looking into sales positions, which is slightly technical, but nothing overwhelming. At the other extreme, you have the hard STEM guys grinding it out in the lab to make catalyst B achieve a 5% greater product yield. none of these things were taught in school, and all are possible path forwards 
 
but take it with a grain of salt, because the title of your degree DOES matter, especially earlier on, and there are 20 other peoples who do have that worthless degree, IN ADDITION to the much needed relevant knowledge and experience. in those situations, it's important to know people

I ride my bike very fast until the only think I can think about is how much it hurts to ride my bike very fast. After that, I stop thinking and just enjoy the endorphines. 

I wear a watch on my wrist, and I look at it a lot.

Got two rather dashing khakis from goodwill. $8.11
 
Better than switching to geico

Got two rather dashing khakis from goodwill. $8.11
 
Better than switching to geico

how to passive aggressively deal with dipshit roommate leaving month long dirty dishes in the sink, and lying through his teeth about it not being his.

how to passive aggressively deal with dipshit roommate leaving month long dirty dishes in the sink, and lying through his teeth about it not being his.

Kindle has quite a few different sizes mine is the smallest, 7 inch, which I don't mind for reading books and textbooks. They have a 10 inch for $230. I can't say much about reading papers on it. I typically use my computer for that, so I am afraid I can't help you out too much on that front. Best of luck!  
http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-HD-10-10-Inch-Tablet-16GB/dp/B00VKIY9RG?ie=UTF8&redirect=true&ref_=kin_comp_dk_sa_img 

Snagged a Nexus 9 off of Craigslist. Pretty cool. I can definitely read papers with this. Looks like a winner