MidwesternAloha

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.

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.

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.

I disagree. They will see through a pretentious, lofty response. Just be honest. Nobody knows what they want to do the rest of their life. One of my interviewers even said that during my last interview- most of his students' goals change about halfway through, and that's okay.

Meal planning/meal prep.  Do it on Sundays. Make enough for a week.
 
If you're a coffee drinker, learn to like black coffee.  It's all the creams and sugar additives that will pack on extra pounds when your lifestyle becomes more stressed/sedentary in grad school.  Eliminate those calories wherever possible.

Meal planning/meal prep.  Do it on Sundays. Make enough for a week.
 
If you're a coffee drinker, learn to like black coffee.  It's all the creams and sugar additives that will pack on extra pounds when your lifestyle becomes more stressed/sedentary in grad school.  Eliminate those calories wherever possible.

I concur.

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.

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.

You don't have to reciprocate. He makes a lot more money than you, hence, he provided an educational gift. A thank you card will be sufficient.

You don't have to reciprocate. He makes a lot more money than you, hence, he provided an educational gift. A thank you card will be sufficient.

You don't have to reciprocate. He makes a lot more money than you, hence, he provided an educational gift. A thank you card will be sufficient.

Do what is best for you.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is the sort of petty cliquishness that comes in most work environments. Think of it like a job, stay professional and try to make friends outside of grad school. That will really help put some perspective on the pettiness. You don't have to be friends with them; I'm certainly not friends with all of my coworkers, I don't even like most of them, but we have to work together.
 
Also, I've always been a fan of "killing them with kindness" when people are unnecessarily rude or mean. It's hard to continue that when all you're doing is being friendly and polite.

Yes, thank you for asking! Non life threatening bite.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I've had it with spiders falling on me when I'm in my car!