mmorrison

Can anyone offer specific advice on places to avoid or target for decent family-friendly housing? Daviswiki seems very helpful for students, whereas I'm actively looking for something that has NOT been primarily full of students. I'm ok with being "far" from campus, as long as it's in the Davis school district. I want a place that is appropriate for adults raising children, nowhere near undergraduate havens, nowhere near trailer parks with high crime rates. I'm a homeowner who has been on the other side of a rental situation, and I'm really interested in finding a nice, clean, well-maintained home (and keeping it that way) while having a respectful relationship with someone who understands that my husband and I are functioning adults (and treats us that way). Is this a pipe dream in Davis? After an entire evening of reading housing reviews on Daviswiki, I'm starting to fear that it is. If you have any insights, suggestions, advice, please let me know. Thanks! tl; dr - where would a professor live if s/he didn't want to buy?

I declined Kentucky, Oregon, ASU, and UC Riverside.

I had to turn down my acceptance to present at a conference next month because my MA program's portfolio presentations were scheduled for the same days. I sent what I thought was a polite, apologetic letter (apologetic because I didn't notice the conflict when the presentations were announced, so I didn't proactively withdraw my paper from consideration at that point), but I never heard anything back. I felt terrible.

Every time I think about the fact that I have to turn down the opportunity to study at two of these final three schools, I want to puke. Why can't I be three people at once? Surely there's a way. Surely.

So, after some consideration and realizing that public school ratings are probably not based on the same priorities I hold, I've decided to stop looking at the numbers and just explore some areas on my own. I have the entire day tomorrow (today, technically); I'm planning to look closely at Riverside proper as well as venturing as far west as Pasadena, as far northeast as Redlands, and as far southeast as Moreno Valley (which isn't as far, actually, as I'd expected). I'll come back here and try to briefly summarize my impressions in case a newcomer's first look around is helpful to anyone else. For what it's worth, everything I've seen to this point looks great to me. I've lived in sterile gated communities, trendy big-city neighborhoods, laid-back beach communities, and downtown in an economically-bludgeoned Rust Belt city. I am not sure exactly what I had pictured, but Riverside has exceeded my expectations so far.

Those Naked drinks are sugar bombs. Every 4 grams of sugar is a whole spoonful's worth. Do that math, and you will swear off those things. If you can finish one of those, it might be time to try getting your body off sugar for a while to break the craving (which will help with the juice fiending, too--it does for me). When I don't want water and can't afford another $3 kombucha, I like club soda with a splash of juice, or a glass of water with a slice of fruit in it (citrus fruits, apple, pear, watermelon). But if you are drinking sugary stuff, you'll need to break the addiction first before anything else will taste good.

Hmmm. I am closer geographically but didn't receive anything yesterday (or at all, so far). Has your application status changed on the website? Good luck with your other programs!

Don't forget to scour the website for answers to your question. If the information is available online, they probably expect you to find it and act on it independently. If you've already triple-checked the site for funding information/instructions, then disregard!

I know exactly what you mean about the floor-cleaner taste!

As a smaller person, you probably already know that people often will not be supportive of healthy diet changes in people who aren't obese: "you don't need to lose weight," etc. It's hard for people to understand (especially if they struggle with their own weight) that the scale isn't always the important thing; it's ok to not feel good even with a few extra pounds and want to remediate it. I just don't expect support anymore or ask people to help "keep me honest" with smart food choices. It makes it harder, but you can do it. Oh, another trick is to brush your teeth right after your last food of the day (instead of waiting until you head to bed). Late-night snacking is the worst, and if you've already brushed your teeth, you might be less likely to grab a treat that you don't need. I usually drink plain lattes, but occasionally if I'm in the mood for a splurge, I'll get a toffee-nut latte with half the syrup. That might be a good way to wean yourself from that particular sugar trigger. My tough ones are mostly holiday-related, so once I run out of Nyakers gingersnaps, I'm usually good until the following Thanksgiving. ;-) Good luck!

My two cents on eating for weight loss/maintenance: if you can stomach an entire cinnamon dolce latte, you probably have a sugar problem. When I get to that point, I go off it entirely (including breads, caramelized veg, fruits, and pastas) for several weeks. After that, my taste buds return to normal and I loosen up on the restrictions. It becomes easy not to overdo my sugar intake, because I can't eat the over-sweetened stuff after breaking the cycle. Even commercial crackers taste like syrup (because they're too sweet; everyone in the focus group just has a sugar addiction!) I always start losing weight at that point, fairly slowly and steadily, and I don't end up putting weight back on until and unless I let the sugar intake creep back up to gross American levels. Other things to remember: the human stomach is [read: should be] about the size of a fist. If you can finish a typical American restaurant portion of pasta, you have stretched your stomach and need to watch portion sizes. A typical bagel is about 5 adult servings of bread. That's too much of a glucose dump for a person with a normal activity level. Don't skimp on protein and fat. Not because X low-carb diet or Y paleo diet is the answer, but because they feed your body and keep you satiated. Personally I think legumes are the beans (ok, that was terrible; it's late and I'm tired and punchy). Lentils, peas, beans, etc., are cheap and nutritious protein. Buy in bulk. Get in the habit of thinking a meal or two ahead so that longer prep/cook times are not a problem. Season your food well; embrace flavor instead of quantity and the 'comfort' factor of floury, starchy junk. Don't eat a lot of processed foods. Not because it's trendy to vilify "processing," but because they aren't the same foods as they used to be. When I was growing up, ketchup didn't contain HFCS, and alfredo sauce in a jar was actually alfredo sauce, not water and modified food starch with a little dash of cheese and cream. Food is getting gross. Don't settle for gross. If you're going to splurge, do it right, with real ingredients. Then you don't need to do it every other day, constantly in search of the elusive satisfaction that only comes from the real thing. And finally, another salsa recipe: 1-2 Heirloom tomatoes (ugly is fine) 1 jalapeño (without seeds and membranes if you want it milder) 1/6 of a small red onion 1-2 garlic cloves juice of 1 lime pinch of salt fresh cilantro (optional) Buzz with a stick blender. YUM. When tomatoes are out of season, do yourself a favor and use a can (diced). Friends don't let friends eat fresh tomatoes in January. I like to make batch of this and dump it over a few chicken breasts in the crock pot. Cook on low for several hours and shred for tacos, burrito bowls, whatever. It's a favorite around here.

A few more questions… What are the on-campus parking options, and what are the prices? I have heard about several schools with outrageous parking permit costs, and I'm wondering how much that should factor into location decisions (for me or anyone else deciding where to look for housing). Also, how is the on-campus family housing? The places look tiny but decent on the website, but everything looks good in the ads, right? What's the real story? I'm planning to stay an extra day to check out the area; if I feel good about the campus visit, should I consider getting serious about specific rental options this early? How far in advance should one shop for housing? I really would rather be in a house or condo/townhome rather than an apartment complex; does that make a difference in terms of timing? I'm a bit concerned about the lack of responsiveness that aspire[…] is experiencing from landlords/property managers. Besides looking at neighborhoods, any other advice for a day of "checking out" the area?

Yes, and I've written it off as a rejection that they can't be bothered to acknowledge yet. Clearly it's their usual M.O. (based on the results history). I think it's pretty inconsiderate; surely they have a number of definite rejections, and it takes about a minute and a half to send a mass email.

Do it. It won't hurt. It probably won't help you move from waitlisted to accepted, but it will be nice if you do get accepted. I don't see any reason not to go and say hello and genuinely enjoy the event.

The school generally chooses a candidate for that spot, no?