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Danger_Zone

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  1. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to fernandes in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    Finally graduated from college!! Now I'm excited about starting grad school in August!
  2. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to hippyscientist in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    With that last point, get in touch with your old doctors. I've found they've been incredibly helpful and have ensured all my records have made it to my new GP. So much paperwork to fill out though. I never realised that the vaccinations that are considered normal differ between countries (although that totally makes sense), so there's 2 or 3 I'm supposedly missing. Agh! 
    I agree that it'll be easy to get along with people, I just don't do well with people forcing me to be nice - I get there in my own time. I definitely have a bee in my bonnet about international orientation because I'm fine with the regular grad school one! It also helps to have hobbies - pretty sure gym buddies will happen pretty quick. I need someone to spot my bench and give me a handout on max efforts lol!
  3. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to hippyscientist in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    I think errors like this are actually way more frequent in grad students and academics, and other "intellectual" professions. When we use our brains so much to focus on specific things, when we try to apply our brain to areas we aren't as default-ly used to, we mess up with the silly stuff because we don't need to use our brains as much and we power down too much. That's my theory. It's also why I like ridiculously trashy TV and young adult books and have to constantly check my mental math with a calculator because I know something is wrong about 2+2 = 5 but I just can't put my finger on what it is.
    All that to say, laugh it off and yay for being checked in. This international student orientation thing is pee-ing me off. From what I can gather a lot is about getting used to the culture, assimilating with English etc. It seems pretty useful if you're coming from China for example, but personally I cannot see the point in it. Yes, tell us the key bits of information (visa requirements, enrolment, special events etc) but don't treat me like I'm 5. I don't need someone holding my hand while I open a bank account or big groups of "new friends" to eat every meal with. (I hate organised activities if you couldn't gather). It irritates me that the whole 3 day orientation is mandatory, when at most the information necessary for assimilation if you're familiar with the US could probably be condensed into an afternoon. Okay, rant over.
  4. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to MarineBluePsy in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    And you guys?!  Well anyone who's interested that is....I think I did it.  I think I got everything worked out.  It's not ideal and there will be a few bumps over the next month I'll have to smooth out, but I'm going to make it to my program on time and without starving.  I've booked airfare and an airbnb that is close enough to campus to walk or catch the bus since I won't have a car right away.  I found a great (and affordable!) mom and pop storage place to put my stuff until I've secured permanent housing and then will ship everything later.  I'm packing everything in smaller boxes so its easier to lift them with all of the aches and pains I have and oddly it seems that will reduce the shipping costs.
    I also hired a lawyer to deal with the car accident.  They agree that I should be able to just focus on my program and getting settled in a new place while they deal with all of this.  It will probably take a year or so to fully settle, but with them taking all the stress and work off my plate that's fine.
    Now I just have to do that estate planning thing and then figure out the whole physical therapy piece while switching insurance plans.  Then after that it'll just be the bumps over the next month.  Geez.  This is good right?  I'm too tired to be excited.
  5. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to hippyscientist in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    I have a mat at home and while very cramped provides enough space to get in a practice when I feel like I'm going to combust. I use youtube videos if I want a guided practice - last night I used https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDQNqZMv1V0 Davids videos are great as they have more of a meditative element, whereas if I just need a good stretch I'll go for something like Yoga with Adriene (https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene). 
    Totally understanding that feeling about it all setting in. Like you're really excited but there's a little quiet doubt that's saying "are you sure?". 
  6. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to hippyscientist in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    I DON'T NEED SURGERY! I don't need an MRI! Another 6-8 weeks and I might be functional again yay yay yay yay yay yay yay. Plus something clicked on the project. I'm doing a little happy dance around the office.
  7. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from MarineBluePsy in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    I just bought my plane ticket!! I'm really excited but my nerves are starting to set in more. New country, new school, new place to live, this is too much!
  8. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from MarineBluePsy in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    I haven't even thought about insurance.. There's too much adult stuff to do, good grief. 
  9. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from DGrayson in Recommendation for Reading on Ethics   
    I only took a few philosophy classes during undergrad but I've always enjoyed it, especially the topic of ethics. I would recommend Ethics: The Essential Writings and The Ethics of Ambiguity. The former is an extensive overview of ethics by many big philosophers (Plato, Nietzsche, Kant, etc.), and the latter is an existentialist view of ethics by French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir.
    If you are at all interested in medical ethics, I think Doing Right: A Practical Guide to Ethics for Medical Trainees and Physicians is an interesting read as well!
    Hope that helps!
  10. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from marycaryne in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    Yeah you're definitely right about that. You're allowed to think or believe anything you want, but once it starts to negatively affect others then it becomes a problem. But there are a lot of things people are adamantly against that do not directly affect them in any way, not just somebody's sexual orientation.
  11. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from 5kids in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    I think I will talk to the department about their policies before planning anything then. I just like to plan things far in advance especially since I have to book reservations and plane tickets and such.
  12. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from 5kids in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    Well I e-mailed to clarify and was told I have the same holidays as others, only at the end of the semesters my break doesn't begin until grades are submitted (I kind of assumed this would be the case.) So my holiday starts a few days later. I think I'm going to be on an RAship in a few years so I will re-clarify what the policies are then. I'm glad I've made sure of things, now I can go on and plan my vacation soon!
  13. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from 5kids in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    That's the idea! I Even if things get stressful (or once they inevitably get stressful) I can just remember that I have a relaxing vacation waiting for me.  I only had my first real vacation recently, but it really did wonders for me in terms of relieving stress and being able to relax. So I may be planning a lot of them during grad school.. for my health of course.  
  14. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to sjoh197 in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    @Cat_Robutt @jlt646 Maybe its because I am very anti-religion, but I just really couldn't give a rat's ass about what consenting adults do in their own bedroom. It never ceases to amaze me how many people shove their hatred on the gay community.
  15. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to sjoh197 in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    Oh god... Our kitties conspire against us all the time. I walk in on secret meetings everyday.
    In fact, just this morning I woke up in the middle of a plot to murder me. Kitty #1 was laying squarely across my arms and diaphragm in an attempt to hold me down while Kitty #2 sprawled all 8lbs of extra long fur and undercoat across my face in an attempt to suffocate me.
  16. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to Pink Fuzzy Bunny in We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016   
    So it turns out I have an addiction to cats... here's kitty #2!
  17. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to TakeruK in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    Yeah, I know how you feel. Although after a few years of grad school, now I think booking something more than 4 weeks in advance is "far in advance". Don't worry you will definitely be able to see your family, it's just a better idea to wait until you know your commitments! So you'll still be able to make plans a few months in advance!
    Also, most of what I'm saying applies more to those who are working as RAs as well. If your funding is just from TAship, then you might not be required to be on campus other than your TA duties so there may not be as many restrictions on your vacation time. And like fuzzy said, some supervisors are okay with you being out of town and working instead. When I was writing about breaks above, I was thinking true vacation time where you don't do any work. But to clarify, there are plenty of students that even spend several months away from campus and work remotely (especially those in long distance relationships).
  18. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to fuzzylogician in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    Some of it depends on the field and advisor, some on the department culture you'll be entering. In my department, some people (international students, people in LDRs) were basically gone every break they got, so about a month and a half between the semesters in the winter and over three months for summer break. The expectation was that you would continue to work and you might update your advisor once in a while (email, skype meetings), but if you can get work done elsewhere, go for it. Obviously not every place is like that. It seems to me that in general, lab sciences naturally require more presence on campus, and fields where you could basically do your work anywhere and where you're generally pretty independent from your advisor have a lot more flexibility. In addition, there are also official university holidays that you can find in your university's calendar, which always includes a break roughly between just before Christmas and through the New Year, where the university will be officially closed. You might still come across an advisor who would expect you to work during that time, but then you have much bigger problems (I would switch advisors, that kind of work style is not for me). If you already know who your advisor is going to be, you could email and ask (I would often try to coordinate my summer travel with when my advisor(s) would be out of town). If not, the grad secretary or DGS are safe options. Generally, I would assume that late December/early January should be a fine time to be away, assuming that you don't have class then, and exams/grades are done.  
  19. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to Apogeee in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    In general, the academic calendar's list of breaks applies to everyone, and you should be able to find that now on the Internet for your school. However your department could possibly have other ideas. Be sure to observe the exam schedule, too. Are you going to be a TA? You will probably have to turn in your grades first. Everyone takes break at the same time in all of the places I know of.
  20. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to TakeruK in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    This depends on the policies of your state/province, your school, your department and your supervisor.
    At my school, the official policy is that graduate students get all University holidays (11 or 12 days per year) plus 2 weeks of vacation time off. We are expected to work the rest of the time. For Christmas in particular, the University holidays are all the weekdays between Dec 25 and Jan 1. In essence, we should be working whenever the administrative staff is working. 
    In addition, our 2 weeks of vacation must be scheduled and approved by our supervisor ahead of time. This is the same as any real job though. So, I can't just take 2 weeks off whenever---I always talk about vacation time with my supervisor ahead of time and figure out a good time to do it (i.e. during an experiment would be a terrible time to do it).
    So, the short answer is likely no, we do not have the same breaks as undergrads. Just because classes are not in session does not mean that we have the time off. We should have some number of vacation time but that depends on your school and your department.
    I think you are starting grad school this fall right? If so, I would not make any plans for December/January yet. You will likely be able to get a week off, but you don't know when that will be. Wait until school starts and see what your responsibilities are and whether or not you need to get vacation time approved. Once you do this, then you can make vacation plans. For example, at many schools, exams might go until Dec 23 and if you are a TA, then you may have to keep working and grade exams etc. 
    So that's the policy side of things. In reality, at my program, people don't really keep track of our vacation time. I think I can pretty much get whatever reasonable request I want off, but in general, I try to keep it within the official vacation time limits. I usually work on random holidays though (e.g. Columbus Day, Memorial Day, etc.) that aren't meaningful to me and take a different day off instead. I just give my advisor(s) a heads up before I plan a personal trip (or if I'm staying an extra few days/week at a cool conference place). 
    For visits home, my family and my spouse's family does not do Christmas so we always try to avoid traveling during the Christmas season. I find that it's best to go home during American Thanksgiving week. They get Thursday and Friday off and so it only costs 3 vacation days to go home for a week (my spouse has a "real job" where vacation days are carefully tallied). And, travel outside of the US is generally pretty cheap during American Thanksgiving because most people are flying to various places in the US to visit their family.
  21. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from Apogeee in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    Do grad students get the same breaks as undergrads, such as a couple weeks in December for Christmas? I'm planning on booking a week long vacation sometime in December or January, but wanted to be certain that I'd have that time off and am not expected to keep doing work during the holidays (not that I wouldn't if I felt it was needed though, of course.) But then again some people act like you never get a break..
  22. Upvote
    Danger_Zone got a reaction from Apogeee in Do grad students get the same breaks/holidays?   
    I've sent an email just to be sure. I definitely wouldn't want to book anything without knowing when I will be needed. I just hope I get some time off or I don't know when I'll ever get to see my family!
    And thanks!  
     
  23. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to Sigaba in Multiple research interests?   
    Find a copy of Natalie Zemon Davis's Society and Culture in Early Modern France. Not only is it a work that can change your life (and not just in an academic sense), the introduction is an excellent example of how a master of the craft can connect topics together.
    Alternatively, you could find collected essays in your fields of interest and see how the editor pulls things together in the introduction.
    If you need additional support, let me know.
  24. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to Sigaba in Multiple research interests?   
    IRT the push/pull in different directions, it happens often with graduate students. If you can articulate (in casual conversation, in seminar, in office hours, and in your writing) the themes your different interests have in common and draw connections to historiographical themes in your main area of  interest, you're going to be in a very good position. As Americanists tend to over-specialize, I recommend that you explore how Europeanists, especially those who focus on early modern Europe connect the dots between disparate topics. You could also explore the influence of political science (the dreaded "case study") upon history.
  25. Upvote
    Danger_Zone reacted to Sigaba in Venting Thread- Vent about anything.   
    PM inbound.
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