busybeinganxious

My 17 year old daughter decided to share a piece of 'wisdom' with me..."Worry is like a rocking chair. You have something to do, but you don't get anywhere." I laughed and told her I would post it on this thread.

I wish I could upvote this more than once. Awful, awful commercial. If it was about how to stop the fatal accidents I could almost tolerate it. This just felt wrong on multiple levels. Nationwide may be on my side, but I'm certainly not on theirs after this.

I truly didn't know this was even a thing. I am SO relieved. I thought it was just me!

Gender studies, popular culture, and sociology of aging. The last one is a bit of a reach, as neither of the programs I apply to really deal with it very much. I think my sweet spots lie in the intersections between them. How the elderly navigate different aspects of popular culture for example.

Heh. The gender roles thing rotates with me. Sometimes it bugs me, sometimes I find it funny, sometimes it makes me furious. Funny: I have four daughters and one son. All of them rotate chores, including mowing the lawn and washing dishes...the rotation is equal. I had a family member tell me that my son shouldn't have to do dishes, and my daughters shouldn't have to mow the lawn. I laughed at him. Bugged me: My older girls date and go "dutch" more often than not. They're independent ladies, and I'm proud of that. Apparently a couple of boyfriends Moms have fussed about it. It isn't proper for them to pay their own way...or to treat their boyfriends sometimes. Infuriated me: I know how to change a tire. I had a flat and was griping to an acquaintance about the timing of it. She told me I should have waited for help. Why? Because it "gives away" that women can do it...thus she might have to do it eventually. I had to walk away from that conversation.

I don't feel like I did horribly on anything in particular. I'm just feeling utterly mediocre. I need to stop looking at the stats on the results page.

Over dinner every night, my kids ask if I've heard anything from schools yet. I reply "Nope, not yet." They answer "You'll get in Mom!" I respond "Thanks honey." while thinking "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" They're great kids, and I know I should be grateful they care what's going on...I am, but geeez...talk about pressure. Nothing worse in the world than letting down your kids.

As I stated earlier in this thread I've been pescetarian for almost 25 years. I am the only person in my family (both immediate and extended) that does not eat what is referred to in my house as "meat with legs." I have five children, ranging in age from 18 to 12. All of my kids eat meat at this point. Their Dad eats meat, as does their Stepdad. I see vegetarianism as a personal choice, and it was, and still is, very important to me that my children make their own choices, and that they know I'm OK with those choices, even if they don't coincide with mine. If some of them turn out to be vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian or some other flavor of meat abstainer that's fine with me. I'm also OK if they are carnivores of the first order. They've all asked why I don't eat meat more than once, and I've answered their questions as best as I can. When I was 14 and this all started it was fairly political. As I've aged, I just find the idea of consuming another being distasteful. They got different versions of this very abbreviated explanation as they've aged, as almost all explanations of life change as children age. Regarding dating: Um. Well. Assuming I was still on the market...I don't require a gentleman to agree with my beliefs, I do require that he respect them. That's the root of all good relationships though isn't it? I do cook meat for my family when it's on the menu and it's my turn, but my husband cooks vegetarian when it's on the menu and it's his turn. The kids eat what's served regardless of meatiness or lack thereof.

No worries, my immediate family teases us about our landline regularly. Just trying to give as good as I get.

I'm old and have kids in school! Don't judge. I do use the new-fangled push button phone instead of the rotary dial though.

I'm 39 and applying for PhD programs. I'm graduating with a Bachelor's this May so don't have an angle on the thinking that sometimes the Bachelor's is "too old" as opposed to the student, which I have heard somewhere on this forum I believe. I will say, however, that my one of my mentors actually suggested I work in the field for a few years. Her take was that grad programs like applicants with a little real life experience. I wouldn't think that early 30s would be a hurdle at all given that input. I only applied to 2 schools, and haven't heard anything back at this point, but will post when I do.

I get a lot of wrong numbers to my landline, which usually doesn't bother me. Now however, I've taken to Googling the names on the missed calls I don't recognize. If it were a school they'd leave a message surely. Doesn't stop me looking up the name though.

Sports on TV. It's boring, and the commentators piss me off. I do like live events though (in moderation)

My husband wasn't very involved in picking schools, but in my case choices were made with the given that relocation isn't possible. He was very involved in the decision to apply to grad school though. There were countless long talks, numerous pep talks, and a high level of general support for his increasingly on edge wife. He's been a rock through this whole adventure. If I wasn't already married to him, I'd propose.

I've moved from endless pondering to pointless swearing. I swear profusely at my computer (mentally at least) on a far too regular basis. If no one can actually hear me I string together an impressive number of expletives all verbally directed at my poor innocent laptop. Sometimes rude hand gestures are included. From multiple countries. Anybody else seen Fantastic Mr. Fox? I'm just cussing in my head all the cussing time.

My husband and I did the long distance thing for just over two years before we were married...ours was an international romance. We were about 4,000 miles apart and got to see each other in person about every 5 months. It sucked. A lot. But he was worth the wait, and I wouldn't take any of the horrible, lonely, crappy parts back because we've been married for almost 8 years and neither of us have ever been happier. Tips: 1. Skype, or Google hang-out, or any other form of video chat is your friend, it's a way of feeling like they're there, even if they aren't. 2. Make plans to see each other as often as possible, and then keep them. 3. Rotate visits so no one feels like they're doing all the work. 4. You both need distractions, hobbies, or what have you. Just sitting and pining after each other won't do either of you any good. 5. Communicate, communicate, communicate. He won't be able to read non-verbal cues from 2 hours away and vice versa. You both have to be able to open your mouths and gripe when something is bugging you. Good luck to you!

I don't know how much we spend monthly on food. (I buy stuff in bulk, when it's on sale, or both when possible.) I wanted to voice my opinion on the vegetarian/pescetarian food slant though. It doesn't have to be expensive...avoid the heavily processed stuff and it's an inexpensive lifestyle choice. No "walking meat" for almost 25 years so speaking from experience. I live with 5 1/2 omnivores, and have gotten them to enjoy eating vegetarian 3-4 nights a week. My go-to cookbooks are The Moosewood Cookbook by Molly Katzen and The Bean Book by Rose Elliot. For frugality I would recommend The Bean Book strongly. I can make dinner for my family of seven for between 3 and 4 dollars, and that usually includes a "free" frozen dinner, or a few leftover lunches. The kidney bean curry recipe is FANTASTIC (and crazy cheap). Wanted to add....I'm only pescetarian because I refuse to give up Worcestershire sauce....or smoked salmon. ETA: We rarely eat out. It's too dang expensive, and half the time we end up saying "our homemade version is better".

Great. Now I can't stop checking until 2:15 AM.

www.anxietybox.com I wish this thing was up and running at present....would be awesome to just hit DELETE on anxieties.

It's sex smothered brain candy. If you read it as a light distraction read it's fine. As meaningful literature it's pretty much crap.

Not only rejected, but we'll all be asked to not reapply.....ever.

I am actually in the exact same boat age wise. I differ in that I'm finishing up my undergrad now. I have to say that actually this time around has been easier than my first abortive college attempt in my late teens. The abilities to multi-task, shut out distractions, and prioritize things (skills every parent has honed to a fine edge) have served me far better than the few IQ points I may have lost in the intervening years.

Sooo you're learning to herd cats. Application process not frustrating enough for you?

Overheard: "Why do I need to learn biology to be a nurse?"

I have several, but to start.... Law orientated TV shows (even if they aren't very good) provided I can watch the entire series on Netflix or Hulu. Somehow, seeing how it ends is important...even if it's utter garbage. Police or lawyer orientated...doesn't matter. Microwave quesadillas. Yes, I know they aren't as good as "real" ones...but they're so easy.