Pink Fuzzy Bunny

Can I call the sidecar?

53 minutes ago, hippyscientist said: I GOT A DISTINCTION ON MY MASTERS and it's thanksgiving break finally. Today is a great day! HIPPY I HAVE NO IDEA WHY THE FORMATTING OF THIS POST IS SO BROKEN BUT I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!! Congratulations!!!

Guys, three people showed up, just a few hours late We baked cookies and decorated them... it's totally possible that they didn't have any fun, but I'm flattered that they would come anyway just to show that they care for me, y'know? Plus, I think one of them (the labmate I work most closely with) I think could sense that I was a bit bummed out, so he helped me with some labwork last night even though it was super late. I had a shoddy week, not only for the obvious political reasons but I also said something to my closest friend that was pretty insensitive (thoughts before words... I need to learn!) so she isn't talking to me now. Anyway, thanks for the venting session @MarineBluePsy I hope that you have an excellent support system. Not doing well in classes and research being frustratingly slow can really wear on you. Maybe some friends in or outside of the department?

I'm so sorry!! That must have really taken a toll on the department as well

@Neist Departmental eccentrics are the best kind of people. Who else would liven up the place??

I legitimately had the worst week I've ever had... of course there was the election, but also I'm failing both of my classes and getting nowhere in research. Decided to have a get-together at my house for my labmates, and invited >20 people. Not a single person showed up. But hey, at least my apartment is clean.

When is this whole thingy due?

Sounds like sort of a "wait and see" scenario, at least to me. Also, in my experience, college towns (like State College) tend to be in their own little "bubble" when it comes to politics (and this is actually quite obvious by looking at election results maps from last night).

Always looking on the bright side

I... I guess I just fail it? I'm not planning on retaking it. *shrug*

Yes exactly!! I'm failing but I'm very happy here. My labmates are great and the friends I've made here I think will last a long time

I mean it's not a cakewalk for them, but I have the lowest grade in the class... by far. I scored 2 standard deviations below the average on the last test. Owwww

I actually recalculated... I can't pass.... ha. I'd need a 104%. HA.

Okay, I'd much rather fail a class on my own than have a major group project to do. This is grad school, students don't have enough time to get things done on their own, let alone having to collaborate for a class. I'm so sorry.

Same here. Assuming my average on homeworks is what it is now, I need to get a 95%. And HA

@pterosaur that sounds exactly like my exam. Didn't even answer 2 of 4 questions... got a 36% on the exam. Ouch. I am enjoying grad school though, honestly. I am loving my research and group especially For those of you who, like me, have moved somewhere long and dark winters... I highly recommend light therapy. I bought a full spectrum lamp yesterday, somewhat thinking that the science behind it was kind of hocus-pocus, but I actually am amazed at the difference in my mood.

Gahhhhhhh! I'm so sorry that you have to deal with that. It does bring back memories of application season, doesn't it? *cringes*

Yeah seriously! It's so strange to think that our grades will never matter again (but after last week's exam... I'm so thankful)

No offense, but I'm kind of glad someone else is struggling. I also felt good going into the exam and did previous years' exams and flew through them. Fortunately my professor is not as much of an %$& as yours is, holy cow.

Well, I knew I was going to get steamrolled on that exam but not to that extent. I felt pretty confident going in - I had put a lot of work into this class to the point where I was more comfortable with the material than any class I had in undergrad. The whole semester I studied probably 30-40 hours per week for this class... doing homework problems, doing extra problems, talking to the prof/TA, etc.... I got maybe a 25%. Sat down and couldn't even answer two of the four questions. And it wasn't a lack of studying, I just... had no. idea. at all. And of course, everyone after the exam says "Oh, it wasn't that hard!" Like, is that supposed to make me feel better?

I have my first exam today... fortunately, GPA doesn't matter in the slightest here, but I'm still going to get steamrolled and it's going to be bad. But on the bright side, we got our first snow, and it stuck! Yay!

To add to the above, one lesson I learned: no matter how cute/playful he seems, do not adopt a cat that is already chronically ill. I love you, Murphy, but you cost me way too much!

I'm sad that this forum doesn't have an emoji that encapsulates the stress of grad school, but I guess this is close enough -->

Come talk to me next time: 1: You get woken up by barking because your dog saw a squirrel / the garbage man / his own tail. 2: You have to pick up feces with a pooper scooper or a plastic bag. 3: You can't stay at school for more than 8 hours because you need to let your dog out. 4: You notice a sock, a chunk of a dining room chair, or a cardboard box disemboweled on the living room floor. 5: Your vacation becomes a source of stress, since you can't leave a dog at home for very long without someone coming to check on it or let it outside. 6: You have to potty train a dog, since unlike using a litterbox, having to request to be let outside every time it needs to "go" is not a natural instinct. Now, of course I made this post in jest... I love dogs, and had both growing up. However, as a grad student, having a cat is generally more feasible. This is not to imply there aren't downsides to cats - this coming from someone who just had to fork over $300 for a vet bill (though that isn't cat-specific), but dogs as a whole require more attention.

This is brilliant