BionicKris

I will definitely not miss: 1. Working a crap job that requires no brain power whatsoever 2. Being given the stink eye for complaining about said job when I should be happy to even have one in this economy 3. watching the days tick by as my countdown to August 1, 2010 begins 4. Feeling like my 1 year away from school has leached away any and all Bio info that I so carefully imprinted onto my brain 5. Scrambling to come up with rent on the first because I only make pennies at both of my crap jobs. I will most assuredly miss: 1. MY SO. He's boss! 2. Having time to play videogames, watch my prime time shows AND stay up reading all night in one day. 3. The sunshine and sweet tea of the south - I hate the cold weather of the midwest, but I love the school. And I'll never be able to order tea again and have the server automatically know that the sugar part is expected! 4. All of my friends and loved ones.

Hey - I made it! Not hard when I don't have projects to work on and thesis papers to write like the rest of you that have lives. August can't possibly get here fast enough. I'm going to take this small victory, bake another cake to celebrate (but, really, does anyone ever need a reason for cake?) and hope this is a good omen for my long work week!

You are absolutely right. If the appetizer began with something like "Sup, dawg/homie/homeskillet" or any other form of (I think hilarious) entries, one would notice. But I would hope most profs are mellow enough to not be offended if an email that began with hello, dear or hi. I'm sorry your boss wanted you to be so formal with "Hi." . That is just supremely good comedy.

Totally off topic, and we could probably start a new thread based on this, but I am so glad there is someone else out there that sees John Mayer for the douche that he is. My hope for the world has been renewed. Thank you.

I made a special trip out to Lafayette, IN to look for a place to live. It was fruitful in that I got to see the actual place, it wasn't in that the place I'm leasing with is the one that caught my eye online in the first place. I would say make a special trip or contact someone else that's going out that way and have them look at places for you. I did that for quite a few students when I went and posted the pics on my facebook page. I know it's not the same as being there personally, but it's better than dropping $300 on a flight from the west to the east coast. I also agree with contacting current gradaute students. I did that, but given how picky I am, I had to make a special trip. I didn't make appointments because 1) it was last minute and 2) I was only looking at apartments which are easy to just walk in and see. If you are looking at houses, try to make the appointments for the day after you land, that way you don't have to worry about flights arriving late, etc. It took me about 30-45 min to view each place I visited, including travel. Also call ahead and make sure that they actually do showings on the weekends. A lot of the places I wanted to see (i.e townhomes) only did showings on Saturday's and Monday's or were closed on the weekend. As far as the actual leasing aspect is concerned, it's actually nothing to worry too much about. As with many things, your security deposit will usually depend on your credit. The places that I've leased from made it aware that they tend to overlook bad credit due to medical issues. I've yet to hear of any place that includes that in deciding a security deposit. I would say to ask them just to be safe. You should also make sure that you can get your deposit back once you move out (obviously pending an inspection of the property). The entire process of applying doesn't take long at all. I think the most I've waited is a day or 2. Most places are willing to do everything by phone, fax and email as well. I hope this helps!

I feel your pain. I definitely feel your pain. I went to a small school where it seemed that most of my peers were more about partying than actually preparing for the next phase of their lives. Needless to say, I had a VERY small circle of friends that consisted of myself, my boyfriend, our roommate and my lab partner. I had people that I spoke to at work and various other places, but none of them were people I'd call up and say "hey, let's catch a movie." I also worry about balancing social life with work life for that very reason. I think my grad program will be different than undergrad for the simple fact that I'll be around people that are (mostly) serious about their work. I can relate to people on that level better than I can those that want to party all night and then wonder why they flunked out of a class. I pretty much never had to deal with balancing a social life with anything else, and from what I've been told having that is just as important to grad school as studying is. It seems like it's very easy for people who've been through it and who have PhD's or professional degrees in their families to say plan, plan, plan, but, as with all things, that's easier said than done. I sometimes don't think that people fully understand just how difficult it is to not have been surrounded by the upper echelon of education for one's entire life. Sometimes, it just helps to have someone who is going through what you are help ease the churning emotions within. Kudos on teaching. I plan to do that as well, at the school I graduated from no less.

Okay fellow literature-o-philes: I'm about 75% of the way through Butcher's latest Dresden novel Changes and I have to vent. He's putting my character through some crazy b.s. As my SO so eloquently (and rather snidely) pointed out to me, I guess that's why it's called Changes. I don't know if anyone else out there reads the Dresden Files, so I won't ruin the story - but don't you just hate it when a favorite characters is forced to endure all manner of atrocities before he comes out on the other side. And then doesn't? It's frustrating, and, yes, I know it's just a book, but I've come to count on Dresden for a good read and now it seems like Butcher is trying to end it all. I'm sincerely hoping this isn't the case, but anything could happen. In short, I guess I'm trying to say - don't you just hate it when you have genuinely good reading material on your hands and in the blink of an eye, your author comes along and snuffs it from existence?

@biomed: A "REAL" doctor? *scoffs* MD's wish they could be as hard as PhD's! I had the pleasure of dealing with that sentiment with my family, but mostly because I started off wanting to go to Med school. I swiftly change my mind. Academia has my name written all over it. Thankfully my family is full of people who want small children so I haven't had to deal with the "when are you having kids" conversation. @samjones: I was just having this conversation with a friend. I suck at politics. I'm the person that says what she means whenever she wants. I don't think this is a good quality for navigating the murky waters of academia. I don't even know where to begin on this issue, which is probably even worse. How can I play the game if I don't even know the rules?

Sorry for the multiple posts guys - I'm just starting to get the hang of this multiquote thing. *in small childs voice* But I don't wanna! (grow up that is LOL) Watergirl, I personally think that it would be worthwhile (when we take the whole "giving up the last summer" aspect out of it). My summer program has made sure that I contact someone in my field to ensure that they have room for me in their lab. I don't know that this is a requirement for other summer research appointments, but considering that my PI will be doing exactly what I plan to do in grad school, going for the summer can only help me. It may not help me get ahead of the rest of my class, but I'm not worried about that at all. Behind or ahead, at the end of the day the only thing that matters is that you walk away with the degree that you worked for, not when you walked away with it. I think it's the experience that matters most, not necessarily the data or any papers that come of it. In my situation, I don't really know any of the techniques that are being utilized in eating behavior research. This "extra" summer will allow me to become more familiar with my field and be a little less overwhelmed once school starts. I'm not sure, but I think Gezzloume was more focused on results (i.e. data, papers, etc) of the research than the experience.

I completely agree, Yes. It seems that the feedback I get from most people in grad school alludes to not ever having free time and always being stuck in my secret laboratory. I get that grad school is hardwork. I get that I'm essentially making a career for myself at this point, but does everyone have to make it seem like I'll be a hunchback, with stringy hair and green skin hunched over my lab results crooning "my precious" by the time it's all said and done? I'd like to think that we can treat grad school like the job that it is, and still take itty bitty vacations throughout just to give our brains a break. I'm thinking that though this last year off from school hasn't been a joy ride, it has been a long enough vacation from school. I don't like working hourly jobs. I like being in an academic environment. I figure I can have a good time on the weekend and take a wee break between the end of the summer program and the beginning of my PhD. It seems like the smartest move at this point. So thank you, Yes. Your username has pretty much answered my question

Right turn

Congratulations on your fellowship! I think that's definitely something worth shouting about.

For me, oddly, it depends on the time of day. If I'm writing in the morning I usually go with Good Morning (as I'm sure you've deduced by now ) followed by Dr. or Professor soandso. I've also employed Hello or simply Dear. Given the way I was raised I always use Dr. or Prof and last name. I still refer to my undergrad professors (who've I've gone out to dinner with on multiple occasions) as Dr. soandso. However, I don't think they really care. I know when I read e-mails I skip the appetizer and get right to the meat.

(Please tell me you've managed to keep or drop a word in another language. But I totally agree, many thanks to God for the blessings of this year) PRICE CHECK (on aisle 3)

Wow. I originally thought that this post was about finding a decent boyfriend/SO from simply reading the title. Boy was I wrong. I'm sorry OP, but I really feel sorry for you. You've found a man that is willing to follow you to the ends of the earth and you're upset because he isn't on the same level as you academically. Women have, for decades, been expected to follow men as they pursue their careers and you have (from what it seems) a genuinely great man on your hands that you're ready to throw away because he's willing to do the same for you. I assume that most women would be happy to have a man that is willing to take "slave wages" and live with family just to be with the woman they love. It seems, as so many other posters have stated, that you are looking for a way out. We've given you that, just not in the way you expected. We are telling you to break up with him, but more because you don't seem to even like him than because he's not on the same "trajectory." Good luck in the future. I hope you do eventually realize that money and success and degrees can only keep you so warm at night. I personally like sharing my bed with my SO - he's perpetually at 99 degrees and he keeps my toes nice and toasty.

Wow. Thanks so much for the quick response guys. @gezzloume: I'm not looking at this opportunity as an attempt to get ahead as far as the program overall is concerned. In hindsight, I could have worded that better in my OP. My fellowship applications were overwhelmingly declined this year due to a lack of knowledge in my intended field. I thought it would be a pro to go and do the premie research in an attempt to gain more knowledge of my field and thus do a better job on my fellowship applications/research proposals for the upcoming year. I'm not so worried about trying to get through my program early. I'm more focused on funding. I hope that makes better sense . @ ExoticTeacup: I'm in the same situation. But in my case, over $1000 has been spent on my vacation and I'd very much like to go. I've requested to arrive later than their June 6th start date, but have yet to receive an answer. I'm also the type of person that can only spend so much time "relaxing." I'll still be working over the summer, but I can't decide if I should got to Purdue and work in a lab and get settled, or if I should stay where I am working two terrible jobs so that I can enjoy being around friends, family and the occasional jaunt to the club. @ oldlday: We meet again! If I remember correctly you are the closet scientist! I wish there was a way to do both, but once I head out to Indiana for school, I see very little chance of me commuting back and forth or even visiting that much. School starts August 20 and the program is designed to end about 2 wks before that date at which point I'll (hopefully) be happily settled into my new digs. It's really not a decision of money or saving up at this point. They've indicated that housing and traveling costs will be covered in addition to a stipend that's nothing to sneeze at. I'm really just wondering if it's as difficult to travel and have free time in grad school as everyone makes it out to be. If the case is that I can't at least go on vacation once a year while in school, then I guess my decision will have to be keeping my butt right here in Charlotte, NC until August.

Hello community. I'm back with yet another question. I've been invited by my school of choice to come out and do research for 2 months before school actually starts. Naturally, I've already planned out how much "not work" I'm going to do this summer - including EPIC going away bashes (yes, plural), reading, going on my first cruise, and generally hanging out by the pool and facilitating the arrival of my eventual skin cancer. I was wondering what you all though might be the best route to take for my last summer before grad school starts. Go and do research and let my inner overacheiver out for a spell, or relax and hang out all summer and let my outer slacker have it all? The pros I've come up with on my own include: being able to get a head start on research and thus using that as a backdrop for any fellowship applications next school year/ getting to know the community well ahead of time so that I don't have that fish out of water face in August/ getting experience in a 5th lab as opposed to being stuck with just the 4 rotations of the school year/making the inevitable move that much easier. Cons: Not being able to soak up the loving rays of family and friends for as long as I'd exptected. *tear*

Wow, thanks so much for your input guys! This whole experience will be new for me and I've got this crazy Type A personality to contend with, so not knowing how this will turn out is driving me nuts. My SO and I have been together for 4 years (5 in September) and we've been together for nearly every minute of it, so I'm just not used to not having him around. I think that texting and Skyping will probably work out best for us, but again - I worry. It's nice to know that there are people out there that have done this and survived it! Thanks again for the swift and helpful input!

My SO and I made the decision a few months back that he would stay in Charlotte, NC while I made the voyage to grad school in Indiana. I worry that neither one of us fully appreciates the amount of time that I will have to devote to my studies. Being consumed by work makes it that much harder to survive a long distance relationship. I've never had an LDR and I was wondering how others out there in the world were coping with leaving behind their SO's. And for those of you out there that did it and survived it (or not) I'd really appreciate any feedback/advice you might have.

SO will be left behind . It sucks, to put it mildly. Quick Bionic, happy thoughts! Think happy thoughts! LOL

I totally agree with you Bluesprite! I went to a small HBCU and everyone I say that to looks at me like "where in the hell is that?" It's frustrating having to deal with intellectual snobs and even more frustrating having to do it with a smile on my face. It's great to be smart, and to be engaged in stimulating conversation, but do I have to deal with the "I can't believe she knows that " look every time I say something of even mild importance? Even if you deal with people that are busy looking down their noses at you, there's always gradcafe! I know you can't take us out on the town with you, but many of us here can relate. Having to worry about what your peers are thinking of you while simultaneously doing something alien to you makes the whole experience daunting. I wish you the best of luck in your archaeology program (which I think is totally awesome!), and hopefully you'll find someone else in your program that is a kindred spirit and not a human construct of snobby McSnobberism.

I know! I'm heading out to Purdue in the fall and it saddens me that I'll have to spend the next 5 years of my life enduring in a city that doesn't have an Ikea! Where else am I supposed to have lunch?

Hello Wordslinger! I didn't realize you were in Charlotte either. It's such a small world! Isn't it great that we finally have an ikea here? It's like having an Ikea solidifies Charlotte's status as a city as opposed to an "up and coming" city.

I'm actually not in Charlotte for my program. I did my undergrad here at JCSU and was forced to take a year off from school, unfortunately. I'm off to Purdue in August. I don't know if the ikea website has the living room set up the way they do in the store, though. The only thing I don't like about Ikea is their couches. Do Swedish people not need cushion? What is that about. I've been considering how to get everything transported as well. I so do not want to rent a UHAUL and cart everything to Indiana with just me and my boyfriend. That would be the longest 10 hr drive ever. (Because of the UHAUL. Not because of the boyfriend). I totally agree with you on renting a guy with a truck, too. It'd be much easier to walk into my brand new apartment and not have to unpack, assemble and move everything. Why, oh why, couldn't my life be like a cheesy 1980's coming of age film?

Yay! A cruise. I think this should become the traditional pre-grad school vacation. Have fun!