hippyscientist

Hmm okay so I know I could hit up google for this question but it's so much easier just to ask you guys! I was reading something about paying tattoo artists and it mentioned tipping them, which didn't even cross my mind. I've never tipped my artists before, I've paid them enough for their work already. I obviously know tipping is a thing in US culture, but I've never had to deal with it before (my American friends and partners always sorted it out), and it's very alien to me! Who do I tip? How much is reasonable? I don't want to offend anyone when I arrive!!

I just got my TA assignment It couldn't be better if I picked it myself! I like the professor in charge (when I met him last year he seemed awesome), the duties are shared with 6 other TAs, I'm dealing with 3rd years (Juniors??) and it's all super basic mechanics which is useful to remember. I get to run the lab and teach them how to use equipment, which is great because it means I get practice too. Plus only 5 lots of lab reports to grade for 22 students. Not horrendous! I'm doing my happy dance (if you follow me on instagram it's visible at the end of my last video). YAY!

I've only ever had good experiences. I think unless you're really head in the clouds the dodgy ones stand out a mile away. The price just maeks sense for a lot of places!! I'm staying in one for a week before I take over my lease for my new apartment and I think it's like $300 for a week and that includes the gym. Not complaining!

Yep all my airbnb's have been by myself. It's been fine. You can chat to the host beforehand and if you get a sketchy vibe, you don't need to stay there, you can look for other places before committing.

Jumping on the Airbnb bandwagon here. I've had a very good experience with them each time I've used the site. I rented a poolhouse in Pasadena and an apartment in San Diego. I've got a basement apartment in a family house for a week before I move into my apartment too. The flexibility can be awesome. Yes, it's a little odd initially but that's quick to get over. Also, @Danger_Zonecheck what the rental market is like where you're moving to - a lot of places have August-August leases and it's near impossible to find anything outside the renting season. Worth investigating.

I FINALLY HAVE MY DATA, this is not a drill So happy and so relieved!

I get puppy cuddles tomorrow. I'm so excited! While that looks lovely I'd be in hospital if I tried it

Can I cry? I have to write ~ 15,000 words to journal submission standard in a week AND analyse my data. All because people don't get back to me in time and when they do they have unreasonable expectations of what I can accomplish. I work blinking hard but is that even possible?!?! I'm already 2 weeks behind schedule and am running out of time to get everything done before I move. My mother is pressuring me to go on holiday before I move (I don't have the time or money), my father wants to see me, a million friends want to see me, I still need to pack up three houses and finish this stupid work. I just need more time

I'm with you bud. Its stressful and scary and stressful!! Good luck You're not the only one doing this madness. So I only have one textbook to buy but it's a stats text book. I already have an excellent one from both undergrad and masters so I'm hoping I can get away with the one I have. I mean stats aren't going to change between books are they?

That's the thing right? I don't even have relax time! I was at home to vote and kept getting told to just relax but I couldn't. I'm really antsy about getting this research done. As soon as I have my data in my hand I can push forward. And great. My dad was meant to come out for Christmas this year and he's just said he can't make it out so yay....now I have to make friends! lol. I guess if all else fails I can head up to Maine to stay with an old friend.

Man I'm so envious of you guys not still in school. Yesterday my mom had a big car crash, she's fine but the car isn't. Thankfully it happened only a few miles away from my house so she stayed with me last night (I only have a double bed and no couch so it was nice and cosy). Needless to say neither of us got much sleep. Then I woke up to news I still had to edit my data for my research. Like guys, I'm moving in 5 weeks and I need to be done here in 2-3. But on the plus side, my intro and methods are written (pending a paragraph which depends on my results). I ended up snapping at a friend too - she keeps trying to arrange a time with me to meet up and I just don't know yet. She doesn't seem to understand that finishing my masters, spending time with my gran (who will die before I get to come back from the US so we all know it's the last few times we get to see each other), and spending time with parents is more important than seeing her. I also found out I need glasses (explains all the headaches). Just lots to do. Anyone got a time turner I can borrow?

Ahhh, yes, my move to the US has just got a lot more expensive!

@pterosaur has summed it up nicely. We don't know what's going to happen. I'm curious as to how the rest of the world is reacting to it, but at the end of the day we won't know for at least a few months. The Prime Minister is resigning in October before the party conference, and is leaving the negotiations to the new PM. There's a lot of speculation going on, a lot of misinformation (what's new), and there's a lot of uncertainty, but there also seems to be an undercurrent that the financial markets had put contingency plans in place for this outcome. We will see.

Thanks for the information everyone So I'm not too sure if the US has been following or even aware of the referendum we've had yesterday. The results have just come in and the UK is leaving the EU. It's going to be very interesting to see what the reaction is.

I'd love to go for it, but I can't order it (No US bank details) and have nowhere to deliver it so unfortunately gotta miss out on that one. Just hoping to find some decent discounts around Labor Day instead! Thanks though I'm kinda bummed on missing out on that, but I don't move to the US until the beginning of August and guessing that Labor Day will be the nearest big sales that I can take advantage of. At least that's not too long to wait!

Go in earlier first time and then figure it out from there. Eeee it's exciting.

I need your help people! I see there are sales on at the minute for 4th July. Wondering if they're usually this far in advance, and are there normally sales for Labor Day? Trying to figure out when is best to buy my mattress. Saw one down from $1000 to $377 and that's amazing, and want to capitalise on this if I can for Labor Day sales. Does this make any sense?!?!?

On the subject of names, I was always going to keep my maiden name professionally. It's easy to spell, easy to say, and just works in a professional capacity. Personally, I haven't decided and I think an element of that decision will depend on who I end up with. When me and the ex were talking about marriage, it would have been hyphenated but my maiden name was always going to stay my professional name. It just works! @Danger_Zone The impression I've got is that it's not necessarily a bad idea to publish under two names, so long as all your work can be attributed to you.

like 2.5 weeks time. I'm hoping I can get it done in time.

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny I get it, I do, and we gotta find what works best for each of us! 12 hrs a day + at school I only pull when I have deadlines that are pressing (like now). I've been working myself to the bone (in the office at 6am, leaving at 9pm plus training on top) and my body has said no. I've come down with a fever and I can't rest because I can't use my software at home - it has to be in the office. I just don't know what to do

But you can leave it 12 hrs or so. And if you do have to change it in public, you just use toilet paper/bottled water in the stall and wait til you get home to wash it properly. It's surprisingly not that icky

@rhombusbombus I have one too! They're awesome once you get used to them I've gotten back to university after being away for the weekend and they've deactivated my internet. I can't access it until 12pm tomorrow (that's when the helpdesk opens)!!! Not sure how they expect me to work with no internet. I'm on my phone's internet currently but it's crap. So much for catching up on netflix tonight.

Yes. In some stores a packet of cigarettes is cheaper than a box of tampons. Also I feel you on the ankle shot- I got an ankle tattoo and that was a wee bit painful. @Pink Fuzzy Bunny neither am I. I am more than happy to pay for feminine hygiene products, I am not happy being blatantly taken advantage of with the amount they charge for them. Okay so I might have forum'd after a few glasses of wine and margarita last night so my suggestion may not have been overly successful. But it does illustrate the point. If every woman for a month bled everywhere they went because they couldn't afford the feminine hygeine products we've come accustomed to, "the man" (you know, like from the 80s when they stuck it to the man) would have to do something about it. I am well aware there are many cheaper (in the long term) alternatives, but sometimes they just don't work. Burning them is also not really great for the environment (and I hate the environmental impact of pads and plastic tampons) but I would love for all the women to unite over this. Ain't gunna happen, but it would be awesome.

US healthcare has it's issues, but the NHS isn't perfect. On the topic of medicines, I know the NHS is wonderful in terms of cost, but I'd like to announce that medicines are not covered. If doc prescribes me drugs it will cost me £8.70 for each medicine. While not comparable in cost to many other countries, I'd like to point out that we do still have to pay for drugs! And admin fees, ugh I hate admin fees. I need a doc to sign the record of my immunizations and I have to pay equivalent of $40 for a blinking stamp. Irritating. My allergy meds suck too. I've been working outside all day at my dads house and I can barely breathe. His friend came over, who's a doc, and was worried about me. I'm not sure whether I also have a bit of a cold but this is really unpleasant! Meds not working properly. Also, feminine hygiene products. I'm okay paying a nominal fee for them because they're not ABSOLUTELY essential, we could make alternatives with towels and walk around like we'd poo'd our pants in big baggy trousers but basically they're essential. I'm all for the notion of all women not wearing feminine hygiene products for a month, we'd soon get reduced cost products!!! Drives me up the wall.

Okay I have to say I like the sound of volleyball and tug of war but that's because it's sport. If it had been anything else I'd be with you! @Effloresce that sounds awful for your friend! My allergies are just to pollen (but what pollen we can't work out) but they are pretty bad. Not quite hospitilisation bad, but close. My eyes swell shut, my throat expands so I can get *just* enough air to breathe, it also gets super itchy and my skin inflames up with huge red welts and gets so painful that wearing clothes causes me to cry. But docs prescribe regular meds which reduce my symptoms to bearable (I can wear clothes near enough, my eyes open slightly, and I can nearly breathe). Non-medication natural remedies don't work as much as I'd love them to. I hate medicine!