Sarochan

While I agree that depression is not solely overwhelming sadness, it definitely is a symptom of depression. There are a wide range of symptoms associated with depression, and some of them are sadness/melancholy/despondency and the like.

Well, speaking as someone with depression, that honestly sounds a lot like me sometimes (especially the sleep/digestive issues). Of course, I'm not saying that you definitely have depression! Just sharing some of my experiences with depression, and the more visceral symptoms it can cause. In any case, whatever the cause, I hope that you feel better soon.

I personally would not recommend a tablet for note taking. I use one for digital art, but I would hate to take notes on it. I suppose it would depend on the program you were using to take notes with, but I find that writing is difficult and generally uncomfortable on the tablet. I'd also find it pretty uncomfortable to support a tablet one-handed, even a small one. Of course, YMMV. I would choose one of those Livescribe things over taking notes on my tablet, if I were looking for a way to take notes digitally.

Very useful info, thanks!

As a short-haired person for probably ten+ years now, I have to disagree! Long hair was always way more work for me (took forever to dry, brush, was generally unruly and uncomfortable) than my short hair. If you get a good cut, you really don't have to put that much effort into styling, unless you want to. I get my hair cut every three months, roughly, and while yeah, that means I spend about 45 dollars per year on my hair, I don't feel like that's a budget-breaker. It also means my hair care products last a whole lot longer, and I spend way less time doing anything to it (such as drying it with a hairdryer, braiding, etc.), or damaging it with hair ties (was always a problem when I had long hair). TL;DR: people have different opinions about hair and mine is that short hair is way easier. But yeah, pretty much rehashing what a lot of other people have said. Making own food, no cable/Netflix, going to libraries, etc. In the case of buying something that's a necessity (like winter boots for Chicago), I do a lot of research first and try to buy at the right time of year, when things are on sale. I also might sacrifice my own preferences for a better price. In the case of the winter boots, I would have preferred black, but there was a discontinued blue coloration that was heavily discounted (about 40 bucks less than the already sale-priced black ones), so I went with that. I guess that's not really something I did myself, but it definitely helped save money (here's hoping that the reviews were right and the boots last for years). I also knit my own hats and stuff from a huge yarn stash that was given to me by relatives.

Oh my word. These spider stories. I'm usually the one who rounds up spiders/house centipedes/beetles/bees/other arthropods and puts them outside, but man, I don't know if I could deal with some of these situations. My most hated insect is the dreaded tent caterpillar. We had a bad year for them in the San Juan islands (where I spend my summers) a couple years ago, and it was terrible. Caterpillars falling out of trees, crawling up your pant legs, making the apple orchards gross to be in. Ugh. I used to carry an umbrella around to try to keep them off me.

Thank you all so much for your replies and insight! It is very helpful in trying to plan our summer. We're still trying to figure out how much time to allocate to various things, like apartment hunting and moving and the like.

Alright, I apologize if this has already been answered elsewhere (I did a search, but couldn't find an answer). My question is this: do you have to travel to an apartment in person to rent it, or can a person (or people) sign the lease/etc. from a distance? Unfortunately I am completely clueless, so any answers/suggestions about where to look for answers would be very appreciated.

(　ﾟдﾟ) Well, now I have a new thing to worry about when my SO's driving our newly-repaired car. He hates spiders.

When my SO built his current computer, most of the parts came from Newegg, which sells computer hardware. While I was only minorly involved in the choosing of bits and pieces, we actually built the computer together and watched a lot of tutorials, unboxing videos, and the like. We just searched on YouTube for tutorial videos, and to see reviews. Various places have threads dedicated to helping people build PCs; typing in "build a PC" on Google turns up a lot of sites.

Thank you all for your input! I am really out of the loop when it comes to social media stuff, so your comments are really helpful.

GameCenter CX. A show about a man trying to beat retro games. Admittedly, I don't watch much TV. I'm also into Steven Universe right now, haha.

I had a bad depressive episode on the 15th (apparently actually making a huge choice about the whole course of my life is seriously stressful!), but got over it relatively quickly. Now I'm super excited and also very apprehensive, especially about moving to the third (I believe) largest city in the US. Can't wait to get started in the lab, I'm really looking forward to working with my PI and the field. 110 days left. It feels like an eon but also so little time to get prepared.

I don't usually use Twitter but I decided to update my profile just in case I decided I want to use it in the future, and while browsing around the website, I found the professor whose lab I'll be joining in the fall. Do you follow your PI? Is there some sort of etiquette about following PIs/other lab members/etc.? Curious about other people's experiences with the whole social media side of things.

Takasugi Satomi - Tabibito Hiroshi Yamaguchi - Tomorrow is Mine A bunch of Itou Kanako music aaaaand Patent Pending - Falling out of Love

Thanks so much! That bag looks like exactly the kind of thing I was thinking, and it's cheaper than a lot of the ones I was looking at. ETA: Whoops, didn't see your reply, Sigaba. Thank you for the direction to that thread, and your other recommendations. Gonna have a fun night checking out all the cool bag options!

Can anyone recommend a good, professional bag? My backpack is feeling a little old and maybe not quite up to the image I want to project. I'm thinking messenger bag-style, one that can be worn over a shoulder or carried by hand.

I usually deal with the trackpad, because I feel very confident that I would forget my mouse somewhere. I've gotten slightly better over the years, but I'm still wary of trusting myself with things like that after losing two iPods.

Thbanks for the advice and insight, TMP and Dedi. I think that you're both definitely right about the positivity. And luckily, with the health insurance I'll be getting, I will actually be able to see a professional if I need to! I'm definitely committed to doing what it takes to manage this, so hopefully I can convey that to her without seeming like I just want special treatment. Good luck and best wishes to all future and current students who have to deal with some sort of chronic illness or disorder.

Yeah, I'll probably wait until I've settled in more and gotten more comfortable with my adviser (apparently it's spelled that way?? I've been spelling it wrong for years) before I do anything or make any decisions one way or another. I didn't even think of looking into disability services, but that's a good idea! Thank you. I hope things go well for you, especially if you have to start changing meds around.

I would also like anyone's input on housing! I've got a few things in mind, but would be very happy to hear some ideas from people who've actually experienced living in Chicago, going to UIC, and the like. The on-campus housing for families seems pretty expensive, so that probably wouldn't be an option for us. On a different note, hello! I've accepted an offer to join the Ecology and Evolution section of the Biological Sciences Ph.D. program. Anyone else out there going in for E&E or biology?

Just wondering about people's experience with similar situations. I have been dealing with depression since my mid teens, and while it's generally well-controlled with medication I still sometimes have very severe episodes. This does not seem to be a thing which is ever going to go away, and it really seems like something my advisor should be aware of, but I have no idea how to bring it up. (Worried about reaction, looking like I'm just trying to get sympathy/leniency/special treatment, doing it in a bad way, awkwardness, etc.) Anyone have any input, or had a similar experience?

I did, and everything is fine, just as you said. Damn anxiety making me freak out uselessly. Thanks to all the friendly and positive people here who've helped me when I had questions, whether reasonable or caused by excessive anxiety! I really appreciate your help and kind words.