hippyscientist

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!

Sure!
As per the future, a lot of tasks in libraries no longer required skilled staff, or possibly any staff (e.g., self-checkout book stations), and other tasks are increasingly outsourced thanks to increased efficiencies and dwindling budgets (e.g., cataloging). In addition, a lot of resources are either being created on or accessed with digital technologies. So, librarians are increasingly occupied with the management or stewardship of digital tools or items contained within those tools (e.g., databases, libraries, eBooks, audio books, etc.). This digital push is moving librarians into less book shelving and more towards digital preservation, digitization, curation, stewardship, and information architecture.
The basic task of libraries is to make information accessible. Traditionally, this is accomplished through an egalitarian access of books. However, now that there's also a tremendous availability of online materials for free or near free, librarians are concerning themselves with how these resources are best presented and accessed in order to make them as egalitarian as possible. 
TLDR: Librarians help people access information, and now that there's a lot more information accessed via non-traditional means (e.g., online), librarians have increasingly refocused to adjust. This readjustment has required the adoption of technical skills. Librarians of the future will need to be a lot more tech savvy than they were before.
Now, no matter how technology-focused libraries become, some positions will always exist, or exist for at least a good while longer. Reference librarians and children's librarians come to mind. As much as databases have improved over the last decade, they can't necessarily easily suggest what children's book your three-year-old would like. Even so, a lot of these suggestions are being produced as subject guides within a institution's OPAC (online public access catalog). 
I probably oversimplified the situation, but there's it in a nutshell.  

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!  

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.

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.

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

Are we talking dog or puppy? If we're talking about a puppy, keep in mind that puppies can only be trusted to hold it for one hour per month of age (so, 2 hours when they're 2 months, 4 hours when they're 4 months, etc.). Even if your partner has a job with regular hours, one of you will need to be coming home throughout the day and waking up during the night, unless you're okay with the puppy having "accidents" all the time.* In addition, puppies have more expenses (so many rounds of shots!) and training a dog is a lot of work, especially if you've never done it before. Ideally, a puppy would go to puppy obedience classes for socialization and to learn basic obedience skills. 
I highly recommend that anyone considering getting a dog in graduate school try it out by fostering through a local rescue group first. Fostering is less of a long-term commitment (a puppy is a 12+ year commitment so you'd be tenured before the dog passes away from natural causes), lets you experience what it would be like to integrate a dog into your life, lets you try out training, etc. in a much lower-stakes environment. That is, if it's really not working out when you're fostering, you can, with notice, return the dog to the rescue group. Once you've adopted a dog, things are very different. I fostered dogs during the second year of my MA and during the second year of my PhD. Why not the first year? I had WAY too much going on between school, wanting to explore my new area and make friends, and trying to adapt to grad school (or a new grad program in the second case). Could I have managed it with a dog? Maybe but I probably wouldn't have made as many friends because I would've been worried about getting home all the time.
I didn't consider actually adopting a dog (despite the years of fostering) until I was ABD and at the writing stage. Why? My schedule was much more flexible, I had a better sense that I would be able to financially care for a dog in the long-term, and (I thought) I had an idea of where I'd be living and working next. I'm now out of grad school and in the academy and can honestly say that having a dog does help with work-life balance but it also necessitates certain sacrifices. My dog is very active (herding breed mix) and thus requires a lot of playing/walking/exercise each day. For the first year I had her (she was 8 months old when I got her), we'd walk a few miles a day plus go to the dog park for 90-120 minutes 5-6 days a week. Now, not every dog is that time-consuming but it's definitely a possibility you should consider. Because of the way my class schedule is now, I have long days 2-3 times a week where I'm gone for 7-8 hours and there's basically no chance for me to come home to let the dog out. Consequently, I have a dogwalker who comes on those days to walk and play with her. Could I do without it? Yes, certainly. But then I'd be committed to spending a few hours walking the dog in the evening when I'm tired and want to relax. 
Sorry for the long post. This is obviously something I thought about a lot throughout grad school. I wanted a dog from the time I started grad school but waited and then fostered because it made the most sense for me financially and in terms of the time commitment. Fostering also helped me realize that I could and should get a dog of my own but I then waited for the right opportunity. I don't know that the first year of a new program is the right time just because of how many other commitments (academic and social) there are on your time. I'm glad I took the time to socialize with people in my program during year one because I built lasting friendships and collaborations that way, which I'm not sure I could've built if I always had to rush home after seminar to walk a dog. 
*I put that in quotation marks because it's not an accident if they are physically unable to do what you're asking them to.

Well... it's all over now. I said good-bye to my professors/friends, graduated (and just found out I officially have a 4.0!), drove to Ithaca and got all moved in, and my parents just left a few minutes ago to return home after helping me move. Everything went smoothly - on a scale from 1 to 10 in apartment niceness, mine is like a 12, DEFINITELY an upgrade from my previous place! I got a washer/dryer, Internet hooked up, and insurance/license all figured out, and even picked out a cat yesterday (though he's a bit sneezy, so it will be a few days before he is medically cleared).
Honestly, I really hope that moving goes as well for the rest of you as it did for me! It definitely helped ease the homesickness which is what I was most worried about. Cheers to all of you!

Dear all, 
I must admit that I was a bit annoyed when I initially read responses in this thread. This was because I was hoping you'd all just say, "long is fine as long as it is good." 
Fortunately for me, you all did not let me proceed in my folly. You guys really saved my goose. Judging by the consensus on this forum, I think I would have been royally screwed if I had submitted what I had planned to submit.
Anyways, it took me two days--at least 7 hours on each day--to get the essay down to the page limit. And I really hate to admit it, but it's a much better piece now.
So, thank you.
P.S. Thank you also for the specific recommendation about copying and pasting into a new document. I actually did that three times. So, it took me three passes to get it down. But, the process allowed me tighten the argument and improve the flow. I'm REALLY pleased with the end result. Thank you!!
Yours, 
Contrite.

Okay so do you ever have odd dreams? I had a very strange one last night. We (random academic-y people) were at a conference in Ancient Greece, but in modern day clothes with powerpoints, in an amphitheatre and a friend (who did my undergrad course) is presenting her paper. Along the row from me and my  best MSc friend is our most notorious and scary lecturer. He starts asking questions of the presenter, while she's presenting and she's getting visibly more flustered. Then she snaps and asks the audience "I can't be the only one noticing that I'm being grilled right?" Everyone looks at each other and we start to "oooohhh" (you know, like teenagers do when someone does something wrong in class and gets called out?). The scary lecturer turns to me and my MSc friend and gives us the "you understand, you get why I do this" nod. Then my alarm woke me up. 
I'm not too sure what this says about me, except maybe coconut water and rum before bed isn't the best idea. Anyway, thought you all might get a giggle from my weird brain.

You might peruse their website.  http://www.williams-sonoma.com/
As per kettles, if you're talking electric ones, I highly recommend a Bonavita. They aren't too expensive, and they're quite nice. I use mine for all my tea, from expensive loose tea to cheapo herbal bags.

shellac is great, so long as you get it taken off professionally. Sorry to hear that it's not been good for your nails.
 
I should not be allowed to live by myself. I just burnt peanut butter.

Wow I don't think we ever were given this sort of leniency in terms of font, margins etc. It was all prescribed and you were penalised for changing any element. All work was given a word count (I'm talking undergraduate and masters here) and you were allowed to go 10% under but not a word over. The advice @Danger_Zone gives with things to consider is important, but also see if you repeat ideas (but have phrased them differently). To you, the author, it may seem like a good piece of work, but is there someone you could maybe discuss elements with? I have a good critical friend who crucifies all my work, and it's made me much more concise (though not on these forums). Remember, while depth is important, you don't need to cover EVERYTHING in one essay. Key information, key texts, key theories (I'm not sure exactly about history in general) are great, as are more minutiae but not every i needs to be dotted and every t crossed. Be harsh with yourself when you read back over the work. Instead of thinking "Yes this is a good essay" think like the person marking it, or a journal reviewer. Mark it like you might mark other students (in your head). Use other feedback as a reference. Find the flaws. 

Are we all anti-social dislikers of people? Maybe it's a grad school thing! I like my space, just had a friend stay for 3 days and I'm exhausted now. 

Reading all the posts from yesterday is like another reminder of the weird internet kinship I feel with y'all...when it comes to human-human interaction, I'm a natural introvert who was forced into being an extravert by a super extraverted parent. So I can interact with people and ask the right questions, but I would still much rather listen than talk. I still suck at phone calls, and have a handful of very close, and extremely loyal, friends. If I'm your friend, I'm your friend for life--I'll bring you food when you're sick, FaceTime you when you're down, and be threatening to people treating you poorly. But I'm also the kind of person who offers solutions when someone presents me with a problem, so people who kvetch a lot dislike me because complaining over and over without doing anything about it doesn't make sense to me.
With plushies, my pard and I have matching red panda ones we got when we were living on opposite ends of the country. Whenever we would FaceTime or Skype, the pandas would have to say hello to each other too. 

Oh man. Where is your advisor in all this? Do they know about your philosophy on grad school/academia? You need to talk to them (or some other senior person you trust) about your feelings, because you're going about this all wrong.
Yes, many people in academia share your enthusiasm for pursuing knowledge. So do many butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers. But you are not paid to consume knowledge; you are paid to produce knowledge. You have to concentrate on one thing not because it is a mindset foisted on you by evil neoliberal oppressive academia, but because if you work in a niche, you will be able to learn all or almost all there is to know about that niche, and you will be more efficient at producing knowledge other people will find useful. That's what gets you hired into an academic job - not how many classes you take, or how many irrelevant factoids you know. You are not a student; you are a future professional researcher. Grad school isn't a free opportunity for you to chill out and pursue your personal hobbies in CS or statistics - it is borrowed time where you are free of practical obligations such as having a full-time job or finding a way to work with experts in your field and have access to a scholarly library, which you are supposed to use to show the professional community that you can produce competent research and can be considered for a similar, more permanent, and better paid job doing what you have proved you do best. 
Your research and teaching are the only things that matter. Teaching, because that's what pays your bills, and that's what's likely to pay your bills in the future barring a major, major stroke of luck. Research, because that is what you are here to do. They are the two pillars that support your career. If you enjoy pursuing knowledge for the sake of knowledge and taking classes in a variety of subjects for the hell of it, but don't enjoy teaching and aren't dedicated to your research, you should not have pursued academia.
Your advisor needs to know about this because I think you need help figuring out your priorities right now. It may seem counterintuitive, but the wrong priorities, the wrong attitude, and a lack of understanding of how this system functions are probably (can't say definitely because I don't have generalizable evidence) the leading cause of brilliant people not getting academic jobs.

This is awesome! I just got a questionnaire about TA duties through basically a list of classes I'd have to TA and which ones I might be best suited to. There's 2 that are appropriate and another 2 that are questionable but now I'm researching the previous syllabi of those courses to see what I might be required to know! So freaking exciting. Also (sorry I know this was FB) 9 credits for sure! Don't overload yourself first semester, we're gunna have enough else on our plates.
@sjoh197 your cats are cute, and that's coming from someone who's really not a cat person! 

@Neist that book sale sounds incredible! 
 
@Pink Fuzzy Bunny right okay. 80 hours a week. Nope. Not happening (well maybe towards deadlines but otherwise no). When I was visiting schools (before I'd even applied) I told them my work-life balance was important. That I'd do the work, but I wasn't going to be in the lab all hours, and at least one day a week anything related to university work was going to ignored. My new advisor actually respected me for it. This PhD is a job. I refuse to let it take over my life. Yep I'm very excited about starting, and about learning and researching and getting involved, but equally I know I need a bit of me time each week to function at my best. So you won't catch me pulling 80 hrs here - it's unsustainable in the long haul, and I'm in this for the long haul. It's all about time management and priorities. Also, I have never pulled an all-nighter and I don't plan to start. Organization, and preparation are the key. Also yes, moving - disgustingly expensive. 

@Danger_Zone man, I totally encourage everyone to give yoga a few chances. It all depends on finding the right style, teacher and studio for you. The first few times I went I just didn't gel with the experience, but when I moved for my masters I tried again and just fell in love with it. If I don't practice for a few days it feels funny! 
You can get the judgey people that @Cat_Robutt obviously experienced in LA (ugh I hate yoga in LA), or you can get the really really supportive people who don't care if you can't touch your feet. It's all about what feels good for you. Most of the classes we spend with our eyes closed, listening to our bodies. You'll be surprised at what you can do. It's a great mind-quietner too. Sure, it's not for some people, but I'm a firm believer that's more because they haven't found the style that suits them.
Also, Cat Robutt - dude I am so down for tea and cookies. At any and all times.  

I'll PM you with a few more details when I've written this but long story short, yes I've experienced similar. I found that making sure I had a "safe space" to retreat to, and someone to confide in really helped. My bedroom in my apartment is mine, and mine only. No one is allowed to come in it at all, and when the world is feeling too much I know that I have my space that I can go and do some meditation and breathing exercises in. Yoga has helped so much I want to make everyone who's every had any self-doubt, body dysmorphia, eating issues, depression, anxiety ANYTHING like that to give it a go with a supportive and encouraging teacher. Something like hatha where the focus is on the breath, your own practice and self-acceptance. I honestly cannot tell you how much it's helped me start to feel okay again.
Find a councillor, and go see them before you start having flair-ups. Build that relationship before you're in a vulnerable state so if you do have a relapse, there is someone there who is trained and can help you. I also have friends, who although they know about my past, don't know that it's still an issue at times. If I feel the common signs I will go to my friends house, sit with her with a cup of tea and a teddy bear and just vent about anything, nothing, everything. I'm not sure if you have a friend like that but it helps having someone who is totally non-judgemental. She doesn't counsel me about anything, just is there.
Other advice I can give very much depends on you, and your experiences so I'm not going to suggest it. Some people will take it well, for others it makes their symptoms worse. 
Totally switching tracks now, @rhombusbombus I will happily do doggie walks  This can very much be arranged. We will need to do a grad cafe meet up where we can finally meet each other in person come August. There seems to be loads of us going to PSU on here!

@Cat_Robutt I left off the books that are embarrassing haha. I learnt long ago that I have eclectic taste in many things - from music, film, TV, books to food and fashion. I happily own it, but tend to hide the more quirky side from randos! I thoroughly recommend Brent Weeks - I love his work. Check out the Night Assassin series it's a fun standalone trilogy that wraps up nicely at the end. A little too YA for serious fantasy readers but it was a fun, fast-paced story which was easy to get lost in - perfect criteria in my opinion. 
@sjoh197 yeah I've been followed home a few times too. It's not a pleasant experience and living in a gated community sounds perfect! I recently was walking home from a friends house, about 9pm, and a group of three hooded youths were behind me. I later found out 4 people got mugged that night and ended up in hospital. I've never walked/run home so fast in my life. Unfortunately I've only ever lived in ground floor apartments which means I'm pretty cautious about leaving a window open at night or anything like that. I'm hoping state college is as safe as it appears! 
@Neist I'm pretty envious of that. I grew up in a relatively nice neighbourhood, but travelling I ended up in some sketchy situations. I've been mugged twice (actually both times in LA) and followed home more times than I care to remember. The town I live in now isn't scummy but it's also not as safe as some of the places I've lived. Just a lot of petty crime and a few stabbings here and there. 
Can't wait to move into my own apartment - first time living truly by myself. There's going to be so much space! And not having to wait for a bathroom to become free, and being able to cook when I want and being able to decorate how I want and space. Oh the space It's only 450 sqft but that 450 sqft is mine. MY bathroom. MY kitchen. MY living room - I'm gunna have a place to hang out that's not my bedroom! 

I'd like to qualify my response with the statement that I'm not an education major, nor am I overly familiar with education graduate programs in general.
I get the impression that standardized metrics for entering applicants in education graduate programs is softer than many other disciplines (like psychology or anthropology), although I could certainly be wrong, and I hope that someone visits my post afterwards and corrects. I've formed this impression via multiple articles/reports by various sources, most of which focus on average GRE scores. It probably isn't incredibly wise to exclusively rely on GRE metrics for assumptions; I certainly do not. Even so, they are the only metric I can find. Here's a few links I found interesting on the subject.
http://www.kaptest.com/blog/grad-school-insider/2014/11/24/average-gre-scores-top-grad-school-programs/
https://benchprep.com/gre/test/what-is-a-good-gre-score
https://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_guide_table4.pdf
http://magoosh.com/gre/2013/gre-scores-for-education-programs/
https://www.gse.harvard.edu/doctorate/life/who-studies
I'm unsure how non-curricular considerations weigh in education programs decisions. As such, I'll leave commenting on that to other posters.  
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful!

I mean I already have my courses organised. The conferences are so challenging though! So there's 1 big one every year. 2017 it's in Australia, 2018 it's in Ireland. Hopefully I can get funding to attend those because they'd be amazing to go to. I'd also like to keep in touch with an interest group in the UK. Haven't got the foggiest clue about where to start looking at funding opportunities, think that might be a conversation for once I'm in my program.
It's all so exciting! My whole body is basically vibrating with knowing that going down this path is right for me (sorry living up to the hippy part of my name again). This just feels right. #nerdsforlife
 
@Pink Fuzzy Bunny dude, hopefully that's a case of just people complaining and you'll be lucky. If not - at least it's only for the lease length and no longer. 

My father and I are doing a 37 mile hike over the salkantay pass into machu picchu. We'll be over 15000 ft for part of it.
The chocolate peanut butter lasagna is super duper easy to make.
Make a pan of brownies, then cut it up and lay it in the base of a 13*9 pan. Then mix 1 block of cream cheese with about 2/3 cup of peanut butter and some cool whip to make it more spreadable. Put that over the brownies. Then mix a small box of instant chocolate pudding, then put that on top. Cover in left over cool whip, or whipped cream, and then sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top.
If you want it extra peanut butter, you can mix some peanut butter with the top layer of cool whip too.

Okay so housing - Oxford might have an off-site housing website, but Spareroom.co.uk is great for finding housemates/a room in a house. A lot of students live Iffley Road/Cowley area (but that might be more Oxford Brookes students). Avoid Blackbird Leys at all costs. Tips - talk to people, use skype, get them to show you around the place, or at least take time-dated photos. When I was in San Diego I managed to sign a house in the UK with Spareroom this way.
Clothes: it's going to be colder than SoCal and NorCal. It's not going to be 6ft snow-drifts cold though. Be prepared for rain. And wind. But the UK doesn't really have temperature extremes. In summer it will hit highs of ~ 25C, with an average of 15-20C, nights ~10C and winter averages about 5C with nights down at freezing. General wear: jeans, t-shirts, jumpers/sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, (waterproof jackets), trousers, thick dresses. Basically layers are your friends. You're not going to need anything too drastic - just make sure you have cardigans/jumpers and a coat to go over the top. 
Moving from the US: Voltage is different. That means things like your hair dryer may not work properly over here. Other than big-price items, it's more effective to buy electronics over here. Cell phone (mobile) networks are also run differently, so you won't be able to buy a UK sim card and put into a US phone. In Oxford, Vodafone, Three, O2 and EE all have good signal (these are mobile companies). Oxford colleges are gorgeous but the town itself isn't amazing. You do get musicians come play in local venues though which is pretty cool. Lots of hidden pubs (check out the Jericho Tavern - it's a local favourite). Remember to put "u" in words! Let's see. Although our countries share the same language, there's a lot of differences - if you're open to these and happy to laugh off Americanism's and adopt a few English phrases that's cool (I would expect the same of any Brit going to America). Cockney rhyming slang reallly isn't that much of a deal but sometimes we forget that we use it in daily phrases (e.g. I'm having a butchers = I'm having a look) but people might ham it up a bit initially. Also, we use Centigrade not Fahrenheit. We use miles on the road. We use kg or stones and lbs (only for body weight though) for weight. We're not very consistent. Be prepared to have strong opinions over all sorts of trivial things (which brand of tea bag for example). 
Sorry I can't help for the more specific university things and contact points for incoming students, but if you have any more questions about Oxford the place, living in the UK, doing a transcontinental move ask away  Finally, congratulations!