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spacecheetah

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  • Location
    Texas
  • Application Season
    2017 Fall
  • Program
    MA Humanities - Studies in Literature

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  1. Thanks for the thoughtful comments, avflinsch. The backpack -- Of course, everybody's needs are going to be different, so from my POV it's pretty small, actually. True, it holds a lot, but I rarely pack it full. Nice to know I can if I need to, though. I have upper back and shoulder problems, so messenger bags, totes, briefcases, shoulder bags, anything that pulls me to one side, even if it's fairly light, seriously jacks up my upper back and shoulder blade. This backpack distributes weight so that I have zero pain, which is the main reason I carry it. Fountain pens -- I have tried a few of these, most recently the Lamy Safari, which my husband swears by. I cannot get the ink to flow comfortably for me. It's ok if I write slowly, but I'm a fast writer and I take a lot of handwritten notes in class, and I can't really slow down. Maybe I haven't found the right fountain pen for me. Handwritten notes help me focus and aid recall, so I don't plan to stop taking them anytime soon. Stabilo pens -- You may be right! I don't use them for note-taking, just for dating/heading notes and color-coding my planner, so I write with them fairly seldom. The highlighters -- I still print most articles out. I do kindle books but for some reason I can't properly articulate I like to highlight journal articles by hand. The Kindle -- I'm considering replacing mine. You're right, they save so much money and hassle. I also love that the books are searchable so easily. Asking the prof for TOC is a great idea! Moleskine -- Hmm, I've never run into problems with the paper, maybe because I don't use fountain pens? I did try Black 'n Red as well as Rhodia but I just haven't found anything I like as much as Moleskine. Something about the paper feel, color, lines -- it just does it for me. Planner -- I'm so old school about a paper planner. It's just the most satisfying process -- picking it out, setting it all up, choosing the colors, writing things down, crossing them off when they're done. I don't know if I'll ever be able to give it up. External drive -- 1 TB is more than big enough for me right now! YMMV Amazon -- I still watch a lot of their streaming content, and do a lot of shopping on their site. Like, maybe too much. It might be a problem, actually...
  2. I created an account just to respond to this topic, after reading the first 15 pages and enjoying not only the thoughtful responses, but the evolution in recommendations alongside tech. I am chiming in with what works for me. I was a non-trad undergrad and begin graduate work in a Humanities program (literature concentration; apparently I want to be poor forever) this coming fall. The ink is barely dry on last semester's final papers, and I'm already nerding out hard about school supplies. When I was first giving college a try (mumble) years ago, I just used any old crap, as long as it was cheap. Now that I'm older, and have wasted about a Brazilian dollars replacing cheap junk, I believe in "Buy once, cry once." After much trial and error, this is what worked for me as an undergrad, and what didn't. Osprey Celeste Backpack -- Amazon reviews made me choose this over North Face. For one, it's lighter. For two, it was much cheaper. I paid about $60 for it. I got a year-old model on Amazon for extra savings. It's perfect in every way. Has a pocket for everything, carries a bunch of stuff (I think 29 L?) but is compact in size. Also came in Candy Orange. (Orange makes me happy. It's the little things.) Super durable, looks and behaves good as new after two semesters of hard use. Moleskine Cahier Journals -- Spirals are the worst. By the end of a semester they come apart on me. I get the new XXL size cahier, which is about notebook paper size, and after my brother's Barnes and Noble employee 30% discount and including tax, I pay a little over $5 a piece for them. One notebook holds an entire semester's worth of notes for 15 hours worth of classes, two semesters in a row. Plus my husband, who has some artistic ability, has fun decorating the plain kraft brown cover for me. I love how smooth and fine the paper is, and how narrow the lines. I also use a smaller Moleskine journal for notes on each major paper I'm writing. (Little bit of trivia: I had to call Moleskine customer service once, and inadvertently found out how they pronounce the name: mole-uh-SKEE-nuh. Who knew?!) Moleskine Planner -- I got the 18 month weekly academic planner. It's my bible. I have used it for two semesters, and will use it this summer and in the fall, at which point I will probably switch to a 12-month daily. It's been great, but I think having a full page for each day will be even better. I got the Peanuts edition because Snoopy makes me happy and, again, it's the little things. Stabilo colored pens -- My husband had a set of these that lasted 20 years. I found them in the garage, necromanced them, and used them for a semester, when they started to finally dry out, so I got another set. I use them to color code my planner. Each semester I assign a color to each course so when I write in my planner I know which class the item is for at a glance. I use that same color to head and date note pages in my Moleskine. There are enough colors that I don't have to reuse the same color two semesters in a row, so I don't get confused. They also come in a durable, attractive little striped plastic case. Stabilo Boss highlighters -- I wouldn't believe Amazon reviews that these last 10+ years if I hadn't experienced Stabilo pens. These highlighters are smooth, vibrant, and perfect. After a semester of heavy use, still going strong. Columbia Regretless rain jacket -- These are $100 or so retail but I found one for $20 on Amazon. It lives, rolled up, in the bottom of my backpack. Super light, so I forget it's there until I need it. This has saved me a million times over on my half-mile treks to/from the parking lot. Much better than an umbrella. It zips up all the way up to your nose and the hood tightens down with a drawstring and has a little visor over your face. I stay bone dry from the hips up in this thing. Skechers waterproof work boots -- These look like ugly-adorable hiking boots but are actually mens workboots. If it rains, even though these aren't my favorite shoes fashion-wise, I wear these and they never fail me. Teva sandals -- Or anything comfortable. Essential in Texas where it's hot 9 months out of the year. Contigo 20 oz. Autoseal tumbler -- I just lost this the other day after a year of hard use and almost cried. It has never ever leaked, it's easy to clean, and it keeps hot stuff hot and cold stuff cold for hours. You need a bottle brush to clean the inside thoroughly. Trader Joe Spiced Chai tea -- I gave up coffee in January b/c my OBGYN said it can mess with hormones. I didn't die. Instead I drink tea now and this is my fave. Other chai tastes like medicine. This is $2.50 a box for 20 tea bags. Add a dash of heavy cream, stays hot for hours in my Contigo. Brown Betty tea pot -- If you're a tea drinker, this original ceramic pot handmade in England is not expensive and makes the best pot of tea ever. Might still be available on Amazon. Google Drive -- I am ashamed to say I only discovered Google docs and Google Drive this semester and I don't know how I lived without them. My kindle Fire has trouble with it but I edit on my iPhone. I love being able to hop on a computer in the school library and pull up all my work without lugging a laptop around. Google Docs -- Why would I ever pay for MS Office again? Kindle books -- Have saved me a lot of money, plus you only have to remember one item. I think my kindle might be dying, though, so I may be going back to paper for a while. It can be a pain when page numbers don't sync up with the prof's edition, but I love being able to search the entire book rather than flip through page after page. Really helps when writing papers. Bic Atlantis pens -- Smooth, bold line without being too bulky. (The Bic Velocity was too thick and messy.) Inexpensive. I may switch to Pilot G2 though. Avery Six-Pocket Organizer -- This is basically 3 folders in one with six transparent pockets. I used to carry a big binder with a divider for each course but it was bulky. Now I carry this to keep syllabi for each class (all instantly visible in the transparent pockets) and stick handouts behind them. Very slim, light. My notes stay in my Moleskine. I often need to print out journal articles, so I keep a separate slim binder for each individual research paper, and only bring it with me when I need it. Lap desk - Really handy if you use a wireless mouse with your laptop. Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime -- Essential. Amazon Prime for Students -- A discount on Amazon Prime. Check it out. Evernote -- I've been paying the $6/month for premium but I may stop. For a semester I religiously scanned and uploaded every page of notes, but I didn't use the digital versions enough to make it worth it. This semester I stopped using it almost altogether, and didn't miss it. I use Google Docs way more now. External wireless mouse and keyboard -- Makes using a laptop more flexible and comfortable Bluetooth keyboard -- Works great with my kindle. Wouldn't use it for big jobs like writing papers, but for my Digital Humanities course where we needed to bring a machine, it was more convenient than lugging my craptop. Noise-cancelling earbuds - I found some good ones on Amazon for $9.99. Now I can go to the Pub on campus for lunch and barely register the terrible pop music. Friends -- I have two "school BFFs." We have basically nothing in common outside of school but we don't need it. We have our suffering to unite us. Find buddies and support each other. It helps. Things I plan to acquire: Lenovo Thinkpad - I need to replace my old craptop and my brother, who teaches computer programming, recommended this. A lot of his students use it. WD 1TB external hard drive -- I will probably use this when I start my TA-ship next year. For now Google Drive is fine. Dry erase board with markers -- My husband uses this at work and wants us to get one, put a week's worth of more detailed planning on it alongside our regular monthly calendar. Avery Multiuse Ultratabs -- I will probably get these for my Moleskine daily planner because it doesn't have tabs and I like to be able to see the months at a glance. Moleskine Chapters Journal -- I'm considering doing a bullet journal type thing so I can organize non-academic aspects of my life, which for a while have been woefully underrepresented. This has several sections and a table of contents page, so you can have sections for finances, household, fitness, medical, etc. Brother laser printer -- We have a Canon MG 5200 Inkjet with a scanner and copier that prints color. Ink is EXPENSIVE. I can get a monochrome Brother that duplex prints for $79 refurbished on Amazon, and I think it will save a lot of money. We'll keep the Canon for fancier jobs. Chacos sandals -- These are a sorority girl staple but they're popular for a reason. Waterproof, adjustable straps, last forever, lifetime guarantee with free repairs. Worth the hundred bucks, especially in this climate where it's hot but it flash-floods often. Believe it or not, I could add more, but this is long enough. I hope it helps someone. Kristen
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