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Halfpasser11

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Everything posted by Halfpasser11

  1. I have several tattoos, but only one is visable on a day to day basis and I have yet to have any negative comments. To be fair, I'm in Animal Science dept with equine empahsis and the tattoo in question is a track of horseshoes on the top of my foot. If anything I think it is a positive thing rather than negative. I have gotten several "Must be really dedicated to put that on yourself" or "Cool, you really love horses huh?" etc etc... I don't care to cover it up, unless I'm wearing boots it's going ot be seen and I'm okay with that. I also have a large back piece that shows when I wear sleeveless dresses. Whenever I am around faculty or really anyone that isn't my fellow grad students I just cover it. No big deal. For me I don't really worry about how people feel about my back piece, but it's such a personal tattoo and I have a lot of feeling attached to it I would rather not go showing it off. Makes me feel naked in more than one way...I always bring a cardi with me just in case. Great topic!
  2. If I recall correctly, there were quite a few of us that started before Labor Day (for those of who haven't started yet...hang in there just another week or two!). How's everything going? How was the move into town? Do you like it? How's the school/ department/ lab you are going to working in? Have you met everyone yet, or more importantly are you playing nice with others? Did you get your classes/books/ GA ships figured out? It's a stressful time I thought I would take a census on everyone before the real stress begins. I moved from WI to NM...it's HOT here. I didn't have water/gas/electricity when I moved in because I had to come a day early to meet with my advisor, so I had to get friendly with one of my neighbors real quick! I sat through the terrible school GA orientation...it bored me to tears almost. 8-5 of power points on stuff that if you had enough sense you would just look up on the school website. I had two days after orientation before classes start and I was scheduled to be 'working' as a TA. However, the TA assignments weren't done yet so I got to garage sale/ thrift shop for my new apt (I thought that was pretty slick). I found out the first day of class I would be TA-ing the colt breaking class (as in horses). Granted I really need and want time teaching in the classroom, BUT breaking horses is one of my favorite things to do and it's great I get to wear jeans and boots to TA in (not to mention getting some sun)! However, the people in my program are less than friendly. I've made friends with the other new grad students, but all the older students have been pretty bad. We had a grad student meeting for our department and no one talked to any of the new students, introduced themselves, explained the program, or really even made eye contact. It was appalling...the level of professionalism within the group was nil (for example talking mainly about how drunk they get at the rodeo/horse sale/bull sale...etc). As far as first impressions go I want nothing to do with this group. However, having this happen to me I will make sure it does not happen to others in the future and next year I would like to turn it around. That's my battle at the moment, but so far I understand everything in my classes and I am learning the town and the school little by little. How about everyone else?
  3. Wow, five and a half days?! That's listening to your whole Ipod full of music. I don't have any crazy driving plans, in about a week I will be driving from ID to NM. But I'll have my dog so I will be taking my time a little bit and seeing friends along the way. My father is driving from WI with all my stuff so I pretty much free and clear until I show up at my apartment. I just cannot wait to finally GET THERE! I want to see the campus and explore the town. One more week of waiting...
  4. Ah hahaha! I love the way you put that. It couldn't be more true for me as well Robin N. I am most comfortable in my bed but I end up falling asleep instead of working. But no more! 1. The best advice that I got as an undergrad was "Keep your head down and do your work, everything else will take care of it self and you will excel." I plan on doing just that. 2. Actually try and make friends. I am like some of you guys and I have a hard time coming out of my shell, but moving to a new city where I will not know anyone will be hard the first couple weeks if I don't have any friends. 3. Don't overload myself with work. I am prone to do this. My undergrad advisor told me that the mark of a good grad student is someone who always has *just* a little too much on their plate. I don't like that, so I'm going to try and keep everything managable. I love this thread, great ideas from everyone! I know I will be putting some of these on my wall in my office to stay motivated.
  5. Normally I try not to wear a whole bunch of makeup...but when I was working as a waitress I was expected to "look like I was going out on the town". Ugh, bummer. I have tried what seems like a fair share of makeup. I don't use anything that I cannot get at Wally World/Target. So far the best has been Physicians Formula, for just some powder to even out my skin tone and a bit of mascara (maybe some eye shadow if I'm going to get crazy). They have both mineral and "normal" makeup. It doesn't make me look "WOW" but it stays put all day and comes off with some face wash, and that's all I need for most days. I've lived in WI my whole life and I did my undergrad in Northern WI. What I wore to classes regardless of weather was generally cowboy boots (being an Animal Sci person). But, generally, it was wise to either get a pair of winter boots (that you can stick your pants in!! Very Important!! Or you will have salt stains on your pant legs halfway up your calf) and change when you get into your building or just brave the weather and hope you can find a close spot to park your car. I will say that because I had a small campus most people just wore what they normally would and braved it. The sidewalks were scraped and salted so it was only icky right by your car, but I don't know about a bigger campus. I have never visited NMSU either, so I feel like I am floating in the dark too. My area of study allows for a different kind of "dressy" however. I can get away with a clean pair of jeans, clean cowboy boots, and a western shirt tucked in, a blingy belt, and be called "dressed up" for most things. I'm still worried about my first day (TA training for all the new TA's for the whole school). I'm thinking I'll just wear a black knit skirt, a solid T-shirt, some black mary janes with some jewlery and throw a wrap in my bag in case it's cold. But not like I've thought about it or anything . I will say that I have a collection of knit skirts that I have made myself which has expanded my wardrobe a lot (blk, grey, kaki, and some fun colors). I can dress them up or down and they are really lightweight (I hope it's good for NM). As well, I found that slacks that LOOK like jeans but are fitted like dress pants (you know what I mean?) can be used for any occasion. I have also expanded my wardrobe as an undergrad with more tailored grey skirts/pants and colored tops. I have just 1 suit and 1 blazer...I have never worn the suit and I have only worn the blazer once while I was interviewing at a different school. I'm glad I have them but I don't know how often they will get used. I used the blazer more when I roll up the sleeves and put a t-shirt on under it.
  6. Wooo! Thanks so much for posting this. Hellllllllooooooo buying text books when school starts.
  7. Sitting, waiting, working. That really makes up the rest of my summer until I have to have a week of TA training in the middle of August. I am currently working in the middle of the Frank Church Wilderness in Idaho with little to no contact with the outside world except wireless internet. It's a beautiful thing to not use a cell phone for 3 months. I also am getting a bad case of the Imposter Syndrome. The school I was accepted to was the only one I didn't visit or have an interview with. So I know nothing about it really, I am just crossing my fingers that they don't withdraw all my funding when I get there. I have an apartment that accepts large dogs, and my father is going to drive all my stuff down there from WI to NM middle of August while I drive from ID. Basically move in, register for classes, and start TAing. There isn't a lot that I can prepare for. My advisor gave me the topic of research that I will be focusing on (Glutamine metabolism in the equine placenta) so I starting doing some lit research. But I am figuring that I'll have better luck using the school resources than google scholar. In the meantime, I am gaining some income for the inevitable cash-crunch that is graduate school.
  8. Tell me about it! I was so excited to TA with my advisor because he was the only one teaching the classes in my area of study. After speaking with him I learn that he has been moved to 100% extension and research for the last 5 years and no longer teaches. I am still excited to work with him, but sheesh...after 5 years you think they would change the freaking website.
  9. I'm right there with some of you too. I talked to my advisor and he said that there will be plently of time to get registared before classes start. I start my TA assistantship on Aug 16th and I start classes on the 19th. I guess in my program to TA you sign up for what classes you would like to TA the most and then try and get your grad classes around that. A little backwards but I guess it's easier to fit everything in. I'm starting to get really nervous about what I am going to do those three days I'm TAing, making copies of handouts no doubt.
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