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MidwesternAloha

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Posts posted by MidwesternAloha

  1. Just a tip I thought I'd share - the HP spectre x360 is excluded from all promotions and won't be a part of any back to school bundles this summer. I called their sales number and basically said I want a better price, or more stuff included if I have to pay retail. They said Okay we will take $100 off. They can put together accessory and warranty packages, too! So whole you're shopping, don't forget to call! It never hurts to ask! T

  2. I am in no way justifying the unprofessional behavior of your cohort but part of growing up is learning how to deal with people you don't like. You probably won't want to be friends with with most of the people you encounter in your career. That's okay. You're there to do good research, learn as much as you can from your mentor, and be polite to those around you. It's a shame your peers are less ambitious and not the type to encourage you to do you best. Let their comments bounce off of you. Keep working hard and getting funding awards. It's better not to disclose funding to peers, anyway because it breeds jealousy and greed. My boss recently obtained a $12M grant and professors are coming out of the woodwork, giving me their sob stories as if I can somehow relay that to my boss and get them a sympathy grant. The real world doesn't work that way. The best way to handle your cohort is professionally. Kill em with kindness. You'll probably be their boss someday.

  3. That's annoying. Super annoying.

    I have a great spider story. My best friend is terrified of spiders. One day we were in the kitchen and her cat kept batting at her feet and acting strangely. At some point I looked down and the biggest spider I've ever seen was on her shoes. It was about the size of my palm. I told her not to move a muscle, and of course she looked down and saw it as it scurried off her foot. She made an incredible sound, jumped over it, ran into the living room and stripped naked while screaming "it laid eggs!" Eventually she decided it didn't lay eggs, put new clothes on, and we captured it in a Tupperware container and walked about half a mile away and tossed it into the woods.

    Any time someone says, "don't move," you know it's going to be bad. Lol

  4. You want a spider horror story? Approximately 2 nights ago:

     

    I had just turned off the lights and slipped into bed, excited that I was going to get a whole 8 hours of sleep before work. My sleep habits are pretty awful (thanks college) and thus I usually don't get that much sleep. To celebrate, I decided to sing a song that's been stuck in my head recently - You and Me (but mostly me) from The Book of Mormon (I just saw it, would highly recommend!).

     

    As I stared into the blackness singing about something "incredible" (listen to the song), I noticed a part of my eyesight that was *darker* than the surrounding area. As the words "what in the hell...?" came to my lips, I felt... wait... is that... A SPIDER ON MY LIPS?!?!

     

    Commence Freak Out in 3...2...1...

    Immediate Spitting Start.

     

    I sprinted to the light switch, crammed my glasses onto my panicked face and went to survey the damage. Besides all the spit everywhere, I noticed not one... not two... but three giant ass spiders on my pillow + surrounding area. Based on this, I surmised that the three spiders were descending together, trying to land gracefully. One was positioned directly above my eye, another my mouth, and the third... I didn't care to find out.

     

    Needless to say, I didn't feel very comfortable sleeping in that same spot and spent the next 30 minutes moving my bed to the middle of the room under solid ceiling.

    How many hours of sleep did I get that night, you ask? Let's not talk about that...

     

    I'm honestly not that afraid of spiders (I put the three spiders on a piece of paper and released them outside), but that legitimately scared the hell out of me.

    If that happened to me, I'd be sitting here thinking of what to tell my husband when he saw that I burned the house down. Holy cow. That is terrifying. I'm glad you survived it, though.

  5. I'm petrified of them. I will legitimately sponge bathe in the kitchen if one is in my shower. I ran into a banana spider web (complete with an inhabitant the size of a mouse) when I lived in Hawaii. Horrifying. Still have PTSD about that. It's just funny because snakes, cockroaches don't even bother me. I used to want to be an entomologist til I learned that, professionally, they mainly work on ways to kill insects.

  6. I found the best luck browsing universities' websites (career openings) and applying for anything remotely resembling a position I'd be qualified for. With a bachelor's degree, you are OVER qualified to be a tech. They will not pay you to spin tubes all day, no matter how willing you are. I found a full time research assistant position within 2 weeks. Also, going through scientific recruiting (aka temp agencies like Kelly Services) is a great, underutilized option. Certain desirable companies (Cleveland Clinic, for example) only use staffing agencies to weed out applicants. I highly recommend using them.

  7. ( ゚д゚)

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

    On the bright side, I learned I can operate my vehicle from the passenger seat. Maybe that's a skill you guys can learn, too! Jk... I hope you don't have to. And I hear Peppermint oil keeps them away.

  8. Thank you, geodude and esotericish!! I haven't bought a laptop in almost ten years (used a netbook in college and have a desktop at work that I use now, no need for a laptop since I can use my smartphone at home) - so I am learning all the new technology. Thanks for breaking it down! I'm guessing the 512 upgrade is worth it, and will likely go with that option.

  9. I got into every school to which I applied with my 3.2 GPA. I had a very average GRE score. The things that drove my applications were my publications. I worked after college in a really great lab and had 1 first author and 2 Co author pubs. I received a lot of praise for them in my interviews, despite them being in no-name journals. Long story short: a 3.2 is not bad!

  10. What did you tell them?

    It went totally not according to plan. I called the department of Graduate Studies to ask how to proceed. They gave me directions but followed up with an email, cc'ing my program. The program coordinator instantly responded with severe concern, and I explained my personal situation. She asked me to let her know ASAP what I was doing. This occurred around 4:00 pm so I slept on it. The next morning, she reached out to me again, stating that the program head "needed a decision." I composed a formal/business letter stating my gratitude for the acceptance, reason for withdrawing, and wished that if the course of events dictate, we may meet again on pleasant terms. I cc'd the graduate studies department and he was the only person to confirm receipt of the message. I haven't heard from them since. I hope someone on the waitlist was able to receive my spot.

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