MarineBluePsy

Hmmm it never occurred to me to not use winter break to do some reading. My research interests require more background reading than I anticipated and there just aren't enough hours in the day on top of everything else I need to do during the semester. I fully intend to use the break to plow through most of that reading and develop an additional research proposal so that I can hopefully start collecting data next semester. I also really miss pleasure reading and only managed to read half a book this semester. So I am also going to finish that book and probably read 2 others. I also will have plenty of relax time and will likely not do anything academic for at least the first week because binge watching some trashy tv show sounds so much better. I used Thanksgiving break as a trial run to see how it worked out. I had 5 days off and spent one full day working, two full days vegging and doing fun stuff, and two days split 50/50 with fun and working. I was way more productive working a full day and full days off made me feel more like a normal person. So winter break will be fine alternating work days with fun days.

Lol but that might then lead people to look for you and if that happens somehow you'll end up with more work. Blech no more work!

I'm not really sure and academic probation has never been an issue for me so I am trying to have a wait and see approach for now. I know there have been some changes in how our courses are graded and one was converted to pass/fail for reasons that aren't very clear. Conveniently that is the class I'm doing the best in and getting a letter grade there would push me up enough to not be on academic probation. Without that my other grades are good, but not quite high enough. At some point I'm just expecting my advisor to say next semester is pretty much make it or break it which I understand, but am still quite thrown by the lack of support from the faculty and the department. In all of our classes (and even the students farther along have said this) they tell us they expect us to learn a bunch of things, but when we ask for additional support to help us master those things we're ignored. I don't see the point of being a teacher if you don't want to actually teach nor do I see the point of a degree program being unguided independent study. Assuming I continue on I can't help but wonder what the end result will actually be or what I will have actually accomplished.

I had to do this last year and then rushed to the post office with barely 5 minutes before they closed the doors. Absolutely ridiculous that 1) every school hasn't done away with snail mail materials and 2) that letter writers procrastinate this much.

I'm expecting a C on the final exam and if I'm right then with everything else I will finish the class with a C. That will pull my gpa down so much that I will end up on academic probation, which oddly my advisor did not comment on when I mentioned it. I guess I will learn of the severity of that soon enough.

Ahhh so you're eliminating everything and then will slowly add things back to see what causes problems? A tedious process, but likely worth it in the end. Good to hear! Have things gotten any better with your classes?

Grad students are supposed to drink coffee? No wonder I don't fit in.....I've never touched the stuff. What's really sad to me is how much I'm not compelled to watch the reboot over again. The original series I could have spent the last decade watching endlessly on repeat without ever tiring of it. The reboot? I'll probably rewatch it again after I've literally gone through everything else.....including the news, the nature channel, pbs, and sports. *sigh* I did something similar this fall and am going to do it again early next year. Are you training for something specific or just want to be healthier? And is it just me or have we not heard from @sjoh197 in ages? Chick are you still breathing?

Pretty much no one from Yale except Logan, Colin, Finn, and Robert. Where was Marty? Where were Lucy and Olivia? Where were any of Rory's roommates? No sign of the Yale Daily News peeps other than Doyle? I get that they weren't major players, but I sorta figured we'd see them in passing the way we saw them when the show was new. In fact there were no scenes at Yale which seemed weird. Also where were Madeline and Louise the Chilton hoochies they later saw on Spring Break? Why didn't we see Max at Chilton? Where were Sookie and Jackson's kids who must be super adorable by now? How could there not be a scene with Sookie and Jackson when their relationship was so hilarious? The phoney Tristan sighting was funny, but there should have been one of Dave as well. And where the hell were Liz and TJ and their kid? Yeah yeah I get they gave them a lame story line as an excuse, but it was still weird not to see them passing through driving Luke crazy.

OMG I know! I'm so angry about that its distracting me from my annoyance about all the characters that were missing.

Please tell me you finished watching the reboot?! I must talk to someone, I must! I'm such a fan I couldn't just not finish it and I will say that Fall finally started to feel like Gilmore Girls. And the background music was back! I was falling in love with the show all over again until then end. That was the worst ending of all shows ending I have ever seen! Totally unacceptable! Absolutely not! Who can I complain to?! Just hell no!!!!!!

Yeah its actually kind of hard to get through. I have seen every episode of the show a few times and just didn't expect such drastic changes in the reboot given how they were able to get pretty much the entire cast to come back and the setting is the same. You know what else is different? The Gilmore Girl fashion! I always loved the clothes Lorelai and Rory wore and have slowly started to incorporate some of that style into my own wardrobe. The reboot fashion is so bland I don't even remember it.

So I just watched the first episode of the Gilmore Girls reboot and I'm not sure I'm liking this. I won't spoil it, but Rory 2.0 just ain't Rory and they got rid of the background music! They didn't even do the theme song! All of this has made me wonder if being a 30something is more drastically different than I realized. Sure I get that some things change, but are there so many changes that we're actually completely different people? Am I as unrecognizable now as Rory is? Not sure I like this.

Exactly! It is both the pc and mac version of 2016 that no longer have grammar and style editors so the complaints aren't going to stop. Supposedly they are working on a patch to reinstate it due to the backlash, but apparently it hasn't been released yet or it might be something that requires an additional fee. The easiest (and free!) solution I found was just to uninstall it, downgrade to 2013, and ignore any messages requesting I upgrade. I also didn't uninstall 2007 just in case I run into any issues. It may have some quirks, but at least I can use it in a pinch.

Ahhh I see. That would likely be too much multi tasking for me, but good to know its an option.

And the one time I decide not to listen to my instincts and upgraded to Office 2016 anyway I just can't stop kicking myself now. I got sucked in by my University offering it for free and given everything else I've had to pay for how could I resist? Plus it was really time to let go of Office 2007 lol. Apparently the "geniuses" at Microsoft decided the grammar and style editor was completely unnecessary and got rid of it and have been processing refunds like crazy. So now I am downgrading to Office 2013 which is also free courtesy of my University and has the grammar and style editor I love so much. I mean honestly! If we didn't want to use available software to improve our grammar and writing style then why would we ever have advanced beyond typewriters?!

How exactly did you do this? I'd be way more productive if I could read that much in a day.

Like a person's feet?

Most campuses have some kind of student resource center that hosts workshops on effective study tips, speed reading, note taking, etc so look into that. Also check in the library because sometimes they host these types of workshops or can direct you to books, videos, or websites that can assist you. I have not heard of many campuses offering any kind of tutoring services for graduate students (because apparently our professors are supposed to be helpful and I find that is rarely the case) but it wouldn't hurt to inquire about that as well. What I have learned is that there isn't one way to study and many people need to change the method of study depending on the material. For some classes group study might be more effective than independent study or using flashcards might be more helpful than re-reading the textbook. Some people are visual learners, some learn by doing things, etc. It really is just trial and error. And I know this is easier said than done, but stop comparing yourself to everyone else. There is nothing wrong with you not having had a psych related job already and there is nothing wrong with you being younger than some of your classmates. You have a different background and your own interests therefore your path through grad school and a career is going to be unique. It is also perfectly fine to seek friends outside of your program or even completely off campus if that is where you find you fit in. Another key thing to understand in grad school (in addition to the fact that extra credit is nonexistent) is that you cannot possibly do everything. It is not possible to read every word of every assigned reading, attend every talk/symposium/seminar, research every question that interests you, and submit a poster/paper to every conference. The sooner you figure out where it is best for you to devote your attention and what you can put less energy into the better off you will be. You'll never complete everything on your desk in the amount of time you have so go to bed when you're tired, eat when you're hungry, and exercise or go do something fun when you can't learn anymore. There is always something else to read, study, learn, or attend but breaks and self care prevent burn out.

Up to two years of study to improve proficiency does make sense. That's what I've been told whenever I've inquired about picking up Spanish again. What will you do when you've mastered Russian and finished your program?

Yikes and it probably isn't a priority for software developers to improve that either. I'm not sure where in the world you are, but if meetup.com is active where you are often people form language groups to help new learners practice and for natives to stay connected. Something like that might be a good supplement until your language class starts and the environment is likely to be a lot more relaxed. Shotgun!

Welcome aboard! I can't even imagine reading something in a language I'm trying to learn without a translation to double check my understanding. Aren't there software programs that can help out a little?

Yay people came! No one is bored baking cookies because you get to eat them lol. Looks like we both got surprises this week. I got a call from a relative I haven't talked to in 20 years. I got updates through the grapevine and all, but a direct call was wild. He lives a few states over and said I could visit any time so I will definitely be doing that. As for building a support system here I have started attending events outside of my department and in the community to meet new people. It's slow going, but better than sitting around. I have even gone to a couple of my cohort's socials even though we're extremely different people.

Thanks for sharing this link, it seems very interesting and definitely applicable in my non-STEM field.

{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}} Pink I would have come! I feel like we're both having the same experience with the class struggles and research going nowhere and being isolated in our departments because of it. The fact that none of your classmates showed up is telling and no it is not acceptable to just blame it on being busy or forgetful. We're all busy and have forgetful moments, but out of that many people there were at least a few people that could have put forth the effort to drop by. What this means is that you'll have to build your support system outside of these people. It won't be easy and it may take longer, but your classmates are making it pretty clear that they aren't going to be much of a support system for you. Have you already started making holiday plans? You can not sit in your apartment by yourself I don't care how clean it is. I'm guessing you'll go home part of the time and see your mom, but if you can't go home the whole time you need to have things to do that get you out of the house and meeting other people. Better people. Maybe a charity project, trying a new hobby, or attending free events? Is it weird that I'm surprised we're not seeing more eccentric people in our departments? I think I expected half eccentric and half not because academia attracts all sorts of people, but apparently its a bunch of sameness and one eccentric. I dig eccentric people, the world needs more of them.

Some of my classes seem like this and what's worse is when someone asks the professor for clarification they're often dismissed. So how are you supposed to learn something if you're saying you're unclear and the person tasked with teaching you isn't teaching you? And somehow these experiences are supposed to motivate us to become professors? Hard pass.