hippyscientist

Thanks fuzzy! I think it will mentally be pretty restful, although I need to learn to use MATLAB better. It's getting pretty exciting now. Hows the research group going?

So while I cannot comment on cats (deathly allergic so tend to avoid like the plague) I had to come on here and say I'm officially ABD in my masters. I'm pretty sure that's not a thing, but I'm making it a thing! Just got to finish the research and write it up and I am done YAY! Hopefully get a month between finishing this and starting the PhD. Admittedly that won't be a restful month but I'll take it!

@Neist that's awesome. Thank you for explaining That sounds actually pretty interesting!

Okay I'm definitely one of those people who hasn't a clue what librarians do. I thought it was stocking books, understanding the stock enough to be able to recommend and direct...but apparently I'm WAY off base. Care to fill me in a bit @Neist? How do you envisage the future of library - I'm not sure how I fit "reference and technical fields" into my incredibly limited and wrong knowledge of librarians!

I'd call and just say "I was a little concerned by the fact I have yet to hear anything regarding starting in the Fall. I sent an email about 2 weeks ago with no response and just wanted to check and see if there's anything I need to be doing in the meantime." Or something along those lines. If you're saying librarians can't fit in with academic librarians, and academics in general who are completely nutso, goodness gracious. Tangentially related, I'm currently reading a fantastic book which is an ode to the love of books "Ink and Bone" by Rachael Caine. I recommend! It's quick, a little silly but reminds me just how much I love books. The world is controlled by the "Great Library" and the librarians are the holders of knowledge and also a little bit like secret agents

So you haven't met the right people. It takes time, I'm pretty abrasive and will purposefully push people away, yet can be professional and amicable in a career setting. As such, I have a handful of good friends (they hate people, bitch far too much and definitely don't conform to societal normalcy) who are incredibly similar to me, but they're not easy friendships! To me, a friendship is worth keeping only if each party fully "gets" the other. So screw likeability. You can be pleasant upon first sight, but all my friendships have come about from random encounters leading to massive bitch sessions. Not exactly the definition of likeable! (N.B. I'm not a two-faced bitch, anything I say behind the back will be said to the face -> even less friends!)

Haha I figured you lot on here would be similar - we are achievers after all! It's pretty cool because most of the post-docs I'm looking at end up in the medical schools, working alongside orthopedic surgeons. I just think that's so awesome. I get to be a medical doctor, without being an MD!

So this is a little premature, but I just found the perfect post-doc. I checked the PI and it's a guy my new advisor supervised a few years ago! Small world.

good luck! Also snow now is not okay!!! @sjoh197 that sounds surprisingly tasty - did you have a great trek?

Oh wow they look amazing. I'm ill, my allergies are playing up and I have a week to get better before my visa interview and I now want someone to make those for me! They look like they'd be great with a cup of tea! Damn you @Neist. My stomach couldn't be stopped - I'm baking these as I type.

I have my visa interview next week too. Good luck!

If anyone's (@rhombusbombus @Danger_Zone)interested in the pinterest boards mine's https://uk.pinterest.com/francescaelizab/. I pin far too much. Also, rhombusbombus, I did think about roommates, and figured I'd live on my own to start, and would move in with someone only if I felt I needed to (like a friend, partner etc). I'm so lucky that my stipend allows me to afford my rent, my current housemate is doing my head in! @Neist congratulations!! I have no idea what cheddar bay biscuits are but they sound delicious

We're in exactly the same boat. It's weird trying to get rid of perfectly good stuff, but stuff you don't need to be taking with you. Interior design wise - pinterest is heaven. I browse their home decor section frequently and have boards for different rooms in my new apartment so I can pin things I like. Then, when I look at the board as a whole I can see my tastes, common themes etc. It might work for you, it might not!

Yep exactly. There's so much stuff I've had for ages that I've been using because it's at the end of its life and I can't wait to get rid of it all and get shiny new pretty things in the states haha. Black Friday/Cyber Tuesday whatever the blinking name is is going to be my lifesaver this year. ALL the stuff!

If I was a native US citizen, I'd get a tiny house! As it is, I cannot really justify it as there is no guarantee after graduating whether I'd need it or not. Sure I could sell it, but it makes more financial sense for me to rent (as ridiculous as that sounds). Plus having lived in a really small apartment (bedroom is about two full beds across and you can just about fit a yoga mat at the end of the bed, plus a closet bathroom and kitchen where I have 1 cupboard and 1 fridge shelf) I am looking forward to being able to spread a bit. Is it really too much to ask to have a place to entertain visitors that's not my bed, or be able to lay out my yoga mat and actually have space to get into warrior poses? Apartment life seems to suit my needs right now quite well. Re moving and packing, I've put up quite a lot of stuff on Gumtree (UK craigslist) but nothing so far. I'm using a lot still, and won't be able to get rid of it until mid-July which is frustrating. I've been paring down my wardrobe, but just went to a fitness convention and got a load of gym stuff (including the worlds snuggliest hoody) so that's not going too well either haha. I'm all itchy-feet about wanting to start though. Stuff keeps trickling back from my house to my moms (like spare bedding, rugs etc) but I can't wait to have a massive clearout in July.

That's so epic!!! I'm interested in the stuff that happens to the human when they wear that stuff - how do their mechanics differ etc. That's pretty cool

@pterosaur that sounds epic!! I love exoskeletons and all that. I've been contemplating with researching them in rehabilitation settings as a side project. Tell us more!! I think this threat has made me realise I gotta get some extra cloud storage - it's all full at the minute

For storage, I have two external hard drives. One is for my music and movie library, suitably named my entertainment drive. The other is for work that I don't need easy access to any more - it has all my undergrad stuff on, and most of my MSc stuff now. That way I can access it if I need to but I don't take up space on my laptop and clouds. They are both kept safe somewhere! Then my dropbox, google drive and laptop have all my current stuff on. It means I know where everything is at any one point. Emails: I sat down and just manually went through. So many junk, important at the time but no longer needed emails. Of course you keep the nice ones but I copied and pasted them into a document (I don't get many nice ones....). To be fair, all my university accounts are for dealing with admin-y stuff, stuff needed for that degree and that's about it. I have my professional account tied to just me for errything else. I've had a really weird day. Partially it's been awesome. My research has been really productive and I feel happy taking tomorrow off to go to this fitness convention guilt free. But then it's also been really awful because I got some bad news about a very good friend. I just want to go give him a hug but he's in Australia and its a bit far to go for a hug.

Yay! So many of us in the NE. My instagram is public too - PM me if anyone wants it. I'll be hanging around here but probably less active from July. I do think of most of you in this thread as friends!

Yeah my experiences of the DMV include one in NYC and one in San Diego so probably not the best introductions! I'll be going in the week as soon as I can - I'd never go at the weekend if I can help it!

It's kinda absorbed both as correct. I give up lol. Ooohhh, helpful and no lines? What is this sorcery?! I literally need to turn up, take the theory test, take the practical test, get my license and go. That's it. No faffing. But it's the DMV so faffing will be involved. My familly are starting to take bets on how many times I'll have to go back and forth to the blinking centre! I just bought Bakewell Tarts. There is a reason my cut isn't working. But sugary, tasty deliciousness.

Oh I'm not worried about being in the US and acting English it happens, but I'm concerned about writing my thesis because my laptop doesn't tell me it's wrong! Lots of search and replaces coming up in the next few weeks I envisage.

Haha I have the PA drivers license theory app on my phone - I keep taking the test and passing so I should be alright! I agree a quick turnaround is good - but maybe having a week would be nice! Intl students are allowed in no more than 30 days before the start date on their visa (which is the first day of classes). Unfortnately, my program requires me to be there 2 weeks before classes start, and so I could only enter the US 2 weeks before that (but I can't because still got to finish my MSc). I think it's something to do with funds - we're FULL-TIME students, therefore we have to be in school full-time, and a month is long enough to do all the stuff to organise ourselves without having to resort to illegal activity (I'm assuming this is their thinking). I don't know, it's frustrating, but a month would be amazing to have time to organize everything. Please don't talk to me about hte DMV. I'm not looking forward to that. Ugh also I've realised I've bastardized both US and UK english - I keep flipping between the two. This is not cool!!!!

@rising_star wow thank you for that post. I've been toying with the idea of a dog in grad school starting in my second year for all the reasons you pointed out. Fostering seems like such a fantastic option, I'll have to look into it in due course. Honestly your post helped clarify a lot of things (I know I'm not the OP but still). Thank you

Oh I am so with you on all the stuff to do once getting to the US. I'm feeling really pushed for time in that aspect. I arrive literally the night before I have to start induction so there is no time. I need to go DMV, sort out a phone, buy furniture, check out my apartment, buy some respectable clothes for teaching in (I'm not sure I'll get away with sports bras and leggings...), sort out insurance, get my drivers license, buy a car etc. I just wanna get started haha. Driving - you'll be fine! It's pretty straight forward, just remember the power at your finger/toe-tips and you'll be safe. Luckily the US has some of the easiest driving ever - roads are big and relatively empty (in comparison to some places in the world) and if you're not learning in rush hours you'll soon get the hang of it. I'm nervous about taking my driving test - I've got in some bad habits in the 7 years I've been driving legally and I really haven't a clue about stopping distances and stuff in feet. Regarding the packing stuff. Books and ornamental pieces - try to carry as much as you can in your carry on (ornamental more so than books). Luckily that you can leave stuff with your parents, they can deliver it to you when they come see you in Tucson? When I moved to Australia, I barely took anything - just the sentimental stuff and a few expensive electronics. It made life a lot easier.