Need Coffee in an IV

@Neist I also feel the same way. I'm not going into academia, I want to eventually work in a science museum/center, national/state park, or a library. I kinda feel like I have a professional mindset, instead of an intellectual mindset when it comes to grad school. I'm mainly here so I can earn more money/make myself look more attractive to employers. But I'm also refreshing my portal to see if my grades have been uploaded yet ha.

In my undergrad we were always done in early December and didn't go back till mid January so I'm on the same schedule ha. Its a nice break but seems excessive

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny You can do it! @hippyscientist @jlt646 Make sure you guys actually get some sleep ha. I had a paper due this past friday and i finished it up on thursday night so i don't think you guys should stress

@Neist Tbh I feel like that bowling for soup song about high school is very relevant lol. I also think mental stamina can be built. I know that I started early because I used books for my speech therapy. You guys can do it! You guys should treat yourselves afterwards!

Ah well since you are only on the early seasons, you should have plenty of entertainment! Yeah she does, I grew up with bullies so this is just another sand grain in my shoe really ha. No I won't have to deal with anymore, so happy about that! She was a TA for only this class and she starts her internship at the museum. So downside is she is still here but upside I will never have to interact with her.

Dude thats super annoying, I'm sorry! Hopefully they get done soon. My wonderful (sarcasm) TA told everyone at the Christmas party that I called her a bitch....that didn't happen at all. I seriously want her to just leave me alone. She isn't worth the emotion, so I'm just shrugging my shoulders and letting her have her little fit.

I completely agree, thanks for your concern!

Oh no its fine! I actually have a doctors appointment in April (earliest appointment I could get) to try and figure this out. I've also had unusual reactions to mosquito bites so my doctor thinks I may be developing an autoimmune problem. Bf has been very supportive, he's been taking care of me on my off days. I grew up in a household that didn't really go to the doctor as much as we should have. Like this past fall, I've now discovered I'm allergic to a lot of trees, grass, molds, spores in the air, and mice/hamsters.

Lol if only my super power was teleportation. I don't get tired mentally very often but physically I'm useless. Usually only after 3 hours in the lab, my body starts to hurt.

Hey! I applied last year and I hope I can help. I only focused on domestic schools so I can't help much with the international. Your list varies from mine last year except for University of Oregon. I do know that funding was severely lacking, I didn't get a waiver for in state tuition at the very least. But the people at the program seem very nice. I strongly suggest Texas Tech University! I just finished my first semester here. We have a great combination of practical and theoretical. For example, you can work at our museum and actually make some money ha. We have divisions in a wide variety of disciplines and different types of jobs. Also you have an option to either do a masters thesis or an internship. Plus, the program is looking to expand so I think you have a really great shot! The schools I applied to was University of Kansas, University of Boulder, Indianapolis University-Purdue University (IUPU), Texas Tech, University of Washington, and University of Oregon. I also looked into University of San Francisco but thought the cost of living was too high. Maybe check these programs out too? Good luck and feel free to ask me anymore questions.

@Neist I'm anxiously waiting for grades to be posted. I've read three chapters of a book today, that WASN"T for school. It felt amazing ha. Plus now I can watch house hunters without feeling guilty

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny Congrats on the research! I've never published anything before so thats pretty cool

I do know of it! I wouldn't get too hard on yourself, that scholarship is is super competitive. I feel like you like you almost have to be super human to get in. I thought about applying but i couldn't get a decent enough application going plus I was extremely doubtful that I would be qualified/what they are looking for. I do need to find a scholarship or fellowship to apply for

@Neist Sorry about the scholarship! I'm officially done, turned in my paper last night. All I need to do now is wait for grades

Good luck everyone! I was in your shoes last fall! For lurkers and anyone else who may be interested, Texas Tech University's museum science program is really awesome. Its very interdisciplinary and you are able to to tailor the degree to fit your needs. Plus the museum offers employment and possible fellowships so you would actually make some money ha. For example, my focus is primarily on libraries, science museums, and national/state parks in the interpretative/educational programing. Only downside is that this isn't an accredited program for libraries but we are accredited by the American Alliance of Museums which is a close partner of ALA.

@Neist It is very frustrating but after this semester I won't have any interaction with her so there's that silver lining. @Pink Fuzzy Bunny I sometimes forget to turn off my coffee pot so i cam understand forgetting the pressure cooker ha. She does act like a teenager and before grad school she was an elementary teacher....hopefully she was nice to those kids ha. It's only infuriating because she talks about how we need to be professional..

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny Yeah I would do it in person too. Oh you guys want to hear more of my misadventures?! So I finish my exam and my TA asks me to speak to me. I'm thinking urg but I said sure. She then went on about how she heard i'm not going to the christmas because its at her house and she doesn't understand why I have a problem with her. Plus she told me I needed to be more polite in general. I told her yeah I'm not going, our personalities don't mesh and if you can't sit at a table with me then why would you think I would come to your party? The museum was having a christmas potluck and me/several of people in my year sat down at a table that had some second years. The TA comes by the table, there are open seats but she doesn't sit and goes off to a different table. Like 2 min later, the second years are starting to leave and my friend asked them where they were going. They told us our TA summoned them to sit at her table. I brought this up to her and she said "that's not what happened at all!" but didn't even try to come up with a reason for what happened. She then walked off in a huff and said "well come or don't come, it doesn't matter". I'm so dumbfounded and feel like I'm back in middle school.

@hippyscientist I feel the same way, I've been working in them for years and I refuse to leave that realm @Pink Fuzzy Bunny I'm basically a museum employee. So it depends on the day. I'm either in the field excavating, doing data entry on the database, packing up dinosaur skulls to be shipped, cleaning/removing fossils from rock. etc. I do data entry for the registrar division too. There's a lot that goes behind the scenes in museums. All the action happens in the back and the product is what visitors see ha

@MarineBluePsy I work as a graduate assistant for the museum! I float between the paleontology division and the registrar division.

@Neist My background is a BS in geology and several years of work experience in museums. Where I got my BS from, there aren't any reptiles or dinosaurs so my professors never really got into details. My knowledge prior was pretty much knowing the geological ages that these species lived in. So it is hard but I'm trying to catch up. The general background of museum science won't be hard. I just like improving my knowledge when I can. My eventual goal is to work in a science museum, national/state park, or a library.

See I had the opposite problem with my annotated bib. Some people were saying you should only have 3-4 sentences. Um no. If he wants details about the paper and not "vague general things" on top of a summary about the citation, its going to be more than 3 sentences lol. I'm not getting much of a break either. I'm working the following weeks up to christmas and then going back on monday. I need money ha.

Particularly when she has not participated in any of it herself and leaves up everything to her TAs, who aren't the most professional... I mean i understand why we have group projects in our field because everything is a team effort in museums. I'm still annoyed by it ha. @MarineBluePsy Yeah I could but Tuesday is our last class and its an exam day. So it might be awkward. Plus I don't want them to have that much influence over my studies. At least I'll know what to expect from them and adjust accordingly.

Oh no, let's not speak of dark things lol

Dude I want that sundae. Honestly I'm happy I never have to deal with my incompetent group members ever again. They aren't in my program but took this class as an elective for their program. No idea what grade I'm going to get on this project though....

I'm planning on using the break for some light reading for my field. I'm not well versed in the general history/background info so I want to use this time to get more grounded. Plus I need to study more on learning about Triassic reptiles and their skeletons, I'm not where I should be. So I'm hoping by the end of break I can at least identify more bones. Plus I'm working during the break because I need money ha