katerific

Oh man, I remember. As an undergrad, back in the day, I could stay up in the computer lab all night, fueled by nothing but coffee. I think I also walked uphill both ways in the snow to get to my office, and there were saber-toothed tigers all along the way.
 
uh, I guess at this point you only have 24 hours or so left, but uh... good luck. If you aren't done, work like hell. You can do it! [/Rob Schneider]

Do you have other deadlines this week? Maybe I'm jaded by my own procrastination, but starting an essay on Sunday that's due on Friday sounds pretty good.
  I work similarly to bedmas when I need to work late at night. I'll work until 12 - 1 AM, sleep either 3 or 4 1/2 hrs, then get up early and finish. This works for me because I don't work in this way constantly: I usually only have to do it on occasions when I have two deadlines the following day. I don't worry or guilt myself about my procrastination anymore, and I am feeling and working better because of that.    I think often the worst part of procrastination is worrying/feeling guilty about it, so if working hard tonight will make you feel better, then I think you should do it this time.  It sounds to me that maybe the anticipation of getting started makes you feel the most anxious, so in your case perhaps it would be helpful to start things as soon as possible, even if you need to start with what seems to be a "simplified" approach. Good luck; you'll get it done.

the four horsemen, of course: jack, jim, jameson, and johnny. equal parts, all together, because apocalyptic levels of bummed-out-itude call for apocalyptic measures.

waking up at 11

Tom Cruise!

I am so, so, SO happy this thread is still alive. My work lives on!

Dude, a million e-hugs to you. Honestly, his reaction sounds completely inappropriate. COMPLETELY f'ing ridiculous. I think everyone has given some good tips, but definitely talk to your program director. Personally, I suggest explaining to him/her what exactly happened. I assume it varies from program to program, but my impression is that programs would rather help students get a degree of some sorts rather than just, you know, yell at them inappropriately and cut them off completely. It is true that they HAVE invested time and money in you, but it'd be infinitely more constructive to help you get a degree and help you not fall off the map--wouldn't it look better for the school and the advisor?

I mean, that's just my logic, so yeah.

Here are some dogs hugging.

He didn't even mention (Mg,Fe)7Si8O22(OH)2. Now THAT'S restraint.

My bucket list for grad school.

1. Don't fail out
2. Read at least one non-science book
3. Don't hate everyone and everything when I'm in the abyss of graduate school despair
4. Travel at least once (conferences don't count, but it can be before/after a conference, I guess)
5. Please don't fail out??

I don't have the highest standards.

My bucket list for grad school.

1. Don't fail out
2. Read at least one non-science book
3. Don't hate everyone and everything when I'm in the abyss of graduate school despair
4. Travel at least once (conferences don't count, but it can be before/after a conference, I guess)
5. Please don't fail out??

I don't have the highest standards.

Dude, a million e-hugs to you. Honestly, his reaction sounds completely inappropriate. COMPLETELY f'ing ridiculous. I think everyone has given some good tips, but definitely talk to your program director. Personally, I suggest explaining to him/her what exactly happened. I assume it varies from program to program, but my impression is that programs would rather help students get a degree of some sorts rather than just, you know, yell at them inappropriately and cut them off completely. It is true that they HAVE invested time and money in you, but it'd be infinitely more constructive to help you get a degree and help you not fall off the map--wouldn't it look better for the school and the advisor?

I mean, that's just my logic, so yeah.

Here are some dogs hugging.

Dude, a million e-hugs to you. Honestly, his reaction sounds completely inappropriate. COMPLETELY f'ing ridiculous. I think everyone has given some good tips, but definitely talk to your program director. Personally, I suggest explaining to him/her what exactly happened. I assume it varies from program to program, but my impression is that programs would rather help students get a degree of some sorts rather than just, you know, yell at them inappropriately and cut them off completely. It is true that they HAVE invested time and money in you, but it'd be infinitely more constructive to help you get a degree and help you not fall off the map--wouldn't it look better for the school and the advisor?

I mean, that's just my logic, so yeah.

Here are some dogs hugging.

My bucket list for grad school.

1. Don't fail out
2. Read at least one non-science book
3. Don't hate everyone and everything when I'm in the abyss of graduate school despair
4. Travel at least once (conferences don't count, but it can be before/after a conference, I guess)
5. Please don't fail out??

I don't have the highest standards.

Dude, a million e-hugs to you. Honestly, his reaction sounds completely inappropriate. COMPLETELY f'ing ridiculous. I think everyone has given some good tips, but definitely talk to your program director. Personally, I suggest explaining to him/her what exactly happened. I assume it varies from program to program, but my impression is that programs would rather help students get a degree of some sorts rather than just, you know, yell at them inappropriately and cut them off completely. It is true that they HAVE invested time and money in you, but it'd be infinitely more constructive to help you get a degree and help you not fall off the map--wouldn't it look better for the school and the advisor?

I mean, that's just my logic, so yeah.

Here are some dogs hugging.

Dude, a million e-hugs to you. Honestly, his reaction sounds completely inappropriate. COMPLETELY f'ing ridiculous. I think everyone has given some good tips, but definitely talk to your program director. Personally, I suggest explaining to him/her what exactly happened. I assume it varies from program to program, but my impression is that programs would rather help students get a degree of some sorts rather than just, you know, yell at them inappropriately and cut them off completely. It is true that they HAVE invested time and money in you, but it'd be infinitely more constructive to help you get a degree and help you not fall off the map--wouldn't it look better for the school and the advisor?

I mean, that's just my logic, so yeah.

Here are some dogs hugging.

*hugs*

Take time to recover, but then schedule a meeting with your Director of Graduate Studies or the department chair. Try and negotiate a way to continue your Masters degree, perhaps with a different advisor. If that is an option that is on the books in your department, you have the right to try and make it work for you and hopefully there will be people in your program who will understand and agree to help you. Honestly, what your advisor did sounds completely out of order. Your reasons for wanting to switch programs are perfectly legitimate and you shouldn't have to apologize for them; a change in interests in no one's fault, and bad fit to begin with (if that was the case) is a bad decision on both sides, not just yours. I agree that getting a letter from this person now could be a problem, so you need to concentrate on finding replacements (like the DGS, dept. chair or other professors). All is not lost just because of this one bad interaction!

Accepted to UMich and UMN this week!  Booked flights to visit UT and WashU (for interview) - it's all happening so fast.  Good luck to everyone else, you guys stay on my mind, it's been good to know there are other people going through this crazy process.

Hey! Fashion trends change each year (thus "trends"). I would never be caught wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt and khakis from 2012. Gosh!

I was once in a bad roommate situation with a similar thing where I had to give thirty days notice. I decided that I couldn't live with my roommate at the time and put in my thirty days notice before having even found another place. I put it in writing, got it date stamped and signed by a third party, made two copies, and then gave my roommate the original. Then, I hit Craig's List hard, posting a housing wanted ad, browsing the listed ads for roommates, sublets, and apartments, and working all my in-town connections (at the time, I had few of those). I was moved into the new place in less than 2.5 weeks and didn't even care that I had a couple weeks of rent overlap. It was all worth it to be out of that place. And I got my deposit back. So, go for it. Give notice and then find a place. You've already got one potential option and I'm sure you can find more if you try.

I would definitely argue against ear plugs. If used too frequently, they can cause irritation of the skin in the ears and can contribute to ear wax buildup (and subsequent pushing in of the ear wax when putting on the plugs). I just got headphones that cover the entire ear, so I get passive noise cancelling, or at the most, a muffling of the noise around me. Stuff that is usually marketed as noise cancelling headphones can send out destructive sound waves effectively cancelling out noise around you, but I personally don't think it's worth the extra money. 

An alternative is Mack's swimmer ear plugs. They don't push in like common ear plugs do, but effectively block out a lot of sound. 

Just regular headphones. Usually Mendelssohn, Strauss, Chopin or Tchaikovsky, but I have to be careful because I might get too into the music.

I'm not a brilliant student so all this doesn't apply Q.E.D.

I'm going to hate...HATE myself for saying this, but a lot of what you're talking about doesn't become 'work' after awhile...it's basic instinct for me to go through journals in my spare time looking for interesting articles, or picking a book related to my work to read in my off time.
 
Time spent working though will depend a lot on where you are in your degree...well, expect to spend full-time hours (i.e., at least 40 hours/wk) working.
 
Course work will take up a lot of your time. I easily spend 8 hours outside of class doing readings and writings for my classes (I like to over prepare and read the suggestest literature, as I find it helps with my dissertation work too). Reading journals and literature is a task that will NEVER end - there's always new relevant literature being put out, so expect a normal task to be keeping on top of it.
 
Doing research- that depends on where you are in your program, but also if you have the opportunity to take on some outside projects! Then there's TA work too! I will often clock busy 12-13 hour days during the week, and then low key 8 hour days during the weekend. But I find a lot of the work i do doesn't feel like straining work!

Katerific, I think I may be in love with you... just sayin'. Or maybe just with that bird. It looks super-happy. I could use some super-happiness.

Though I'd say that Gangnam Style is totally preferable to -- oh, it could totally be grad-ified:

I threw an app in the pool,
I know it isn't really cool,
I may possibly be a fool,
and now I'm losing my mind.

I'd trade my soul for "approved"
All my fears so disproved,
Time so slowly does move,
and now I've lost my mind.

My adcomms were meetin',
Stacks of apps, cheesy greetings
On SOPs, my POI's tweeting
You think you're getting in, really?

Hey, I haven't met you,
And this is crazy,
But here's my application,
So admit me, maybe?



(Maybe I need to take a break. This obsessive-compulsive email-checking is rotting my brain.)

May we all get showered with awesome data and "paper accepted" notifications


 
 
and may our advisors stroke our egos for our small yet big accomplishments