mandarin.orange

So I got back my advisor's comments for my dissertation proposal...

I used WestsideRentals for my current place, and am very happy. A broker or pay-for service could make the difference. You're exactly right that you never know for sure until moving in, but I was impressed with the callibre of (still affordable) places we saw and the quick responsiveness of landlords.

How many years in are you? This is relevant.

Eh, not really. Only as an absolute last resort. Are you really going to move it diligently every week? And to where? It's not uncommon to spent 30-45 min trolling for spots. Tickets are $65-80 for neglecting to move on street cleaning days, which as a preoccupied, tired grad I've done more times than I care to admit. Skip Weyburn altogether and find an apt with a parking spot included. That is the ideal situation, and the best advice I can give. I have heard the univ student housing on Venice Blvd has a garaged spot already included in your rent (unlike Weyburn). The rent there is still way above market, however.

It was 3-4 years now since I researched it, but check the additional cost. I vaguely recommend it was astronomical, on the order of an extra $100/month (in addition to the exhorbiant rent). You can park on Veteran Ave for free, but 1) so will everyone else, and 2) you need to stay on top moving your car on street cleaning days -- a huge pain.

Would not recommend Weyburn. Those prices are way above the rental market, and increasing. Anecdotally I've only spoken to about 2 people (out of perhaps 10-12) who liked the setup of univ housing. In one case, she's an international student who doesn't have credit history for a lease and couldn't come out to scout beforehand. In the other case, she's a very gregarious person and liked ease of meeting people. Check out yelp reviews of Weybrun Terrace for more insight. The rest I spoke to hated the experience, citing it was too dorm-like, fire alarm always going off, lost packages, noise issues, or getting cited themselves for normal-ish levels of socializing and noise, expense, etc. etc. PM me if you want to know more about surrounding neighborhoods.

I have subscribed as well, at the urging of my own cat.

Oh my God, this YouTube channel knows my life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te4wx4jtiEA

I hear you on all this! I see you are headed to UC Davis -- CONGRATS, it's an amazing place. I suspect you will love the offbeat, green, nonconventional community there.

Your description makes it sound like this is the student affairs admin/officer of your program, in which case: 1) It's a major and non-negotiable part of her job to stay on top of the Inbox. Don't feel bad. 2) It won't stop in September. You're going to have a relationship with this person throughout the program (or, someone in a similar role) who handles stipeds, payroll, TA assignments, paperwork associated with your progress to degree (spring review, defense, thesis filing, W2s, etc.) 3) That said, "thank you" emails, a note of appreciation (like you posted above, AND in person), small gifts around the holidays or for no reason, and just overall appreciation for, and appreciative demeanor with, this person will go a long way. Sounds like you know to be professional anyway so this point may be moot. But keep in mind this person probably deals with plenty of others (including other grads!) who are hapless, rude, neglectful of their paperwork and have to be chased down, only make contact when they need something at last minute, and/or have old-school misogynistic attitudes about "the secretary laday."

Go to UMN. Signed, a Bruin.

Guys...GUYS I I am so glad that the precious proposal-writing time I gave up to do this, was not in vain! OK so had it backwards, the OP mentioned turning off her music, but still had the objective of taking in every word of her intellectual crush. Not sure why she got downvoted...felt she was kind of poking fun at herself more than anything. And just to add, b/c this thread has made me wonder, would I crush on my PI? Answer: GOD NO. Personality wise, he reminds me so much of an uncle of mine: intense, Type A, extroverted, even some overlapping interests/hobbies. So it's the generational gap/incestuousness of it that makes this a NOPE.

There was a thread here a few years ago about intellectual crushes on PIs and so many people came out of the woodwork to say they experienced it as well. I wish I could find it, but have never found the GC search function very intuitive. One woman in particular mentioned that the moment she saw an email from her PI hit her Inbox, she'd close the office door, put on some classical music, and then open the message to read it reverently.

I seem to be out of upvotes for the day, but will say...MANY THANKS!

Yes, it can be -- you get to design the scope of the lecture and guide the story you want to tell about the material, including which relevant cases to use and perhaps speaking re. your own experience. I now really enjoy the planning aspect of it. It also takes a shit ton of practice, trying, some experimentation, some crashes and burns, etc. before you settle into a style and demeanor that suits you. This is my 9th year of teaching and I still get nervous/worked up beforehand, but know how to portray cool and collected in front of the group. My advisor has been doing it even longer -- whole decades -- and won teaching awards -- and I still see him get worked up and do a lot of prep for his courses.

Yes, best to know your limits, despite the emotional appeal of this cat. My cat is somewhere between generally mellow, but likes to be around people and still plays like a kitten (she's 7). At any rate, I had a rare day of being gone 6a - 10p a couple days ago, AND roomie is out of town...my cat was ABSOLUTELY WILD until about 1am after I got home! Most of the time, though, a cat is such a great complement to grad school...mine is a great companion for times I'm reading/studying/chilling at home or sleeping in. She had to stay with my family for my first two years back in school, and this year I finally had an apt conducive to her being with me full-time. It is great and I'm excited for you! I think the advice you've already received is great, esp. on visiting a shelter, going for a non-kitten, and being careful in selection of one you can bond with yet has a mellow temperment.

Such fellowships are used to recruit students. I received one for 1st year of my MS that relieved me of TA duties, and it was definitely a major reason why I decided to go to that school! For my PhD (different university), they offer fellowships to all first-years with no TA duties. Idea is to get settled into the program, think of your research question(s), and get as much of your coursework done as possible. I won a competitive univ-wide fellowship for my 2nd year that again relieved me of teaching duties...the extra time was invaluable to me for mentoring more students in our lab, making progress on lab analysis, going to conferences to network with people I now email/collaborate with, and moving along on my quals. All stuff we're expected to do anyway, but I could focus more time on it. Only difference I can think of -- other than the sweet sweet extra time -- is pay structure, and whether or not taxes will be withheld. Usually they are not withheld if it's a fellowship; TAships generally mean being on university payroll and taxes are withheld. My philosophy is: if ever you are offered a release from TA duties, TAKE IT. This is coming from someone who's an experienced educator, who enjoys teaching, and is really into pedagogy.

Great thread -- thanks for starting this! My SO (who's been snipped) and I are staunchly childfree (CF). Great to see other testimonials from women who have always felt this way about not being a mom; I have known since I was 15 and announced I was quitting babysitting for good and would never have my own kids. I've hardly wavered from that stance, or ever felt like anything was missing. I feel a CF lifestyle is more accepted in academia than other lines of work...ESP. the high school in the south where I used to work, which was small, private, and community/family/church-centered. [Also, anyone want to help a sister out with how to find/use the "block" function on gradcafe? I couldn't find a button or instructions in my 5-10 min of searching.]

I have this one, which I wear anytime I proctor exams.

For real. I once counted # of word occurrences in a review paper (14 pp long) I was reading that seemed repetitive from the get-go: "spatial" = 40 times "temporal" = 36 times ...aaaaand, "scale"? 137 times.

Rather perplexingly, I was once told by a guy trying to sell me car insurance, "Geography? Cool, cool...I ALWAYS wanted to dig up dinosaurs when I was a kid!" Anyway, Geography jargon: how about "spatiotemporal" and "scale" Or "spatial and temporal scales" Or "varies throughout time and space"

Mustaches on everything.

Many rave about "Six Feet Under." I tried it for a time and was into it (signed up for Netflix expressly to get the DVDs; summers in residence at my uni are boring), up until Season 4 when a switch flipped for me and I lost interest in the characters utterly and completely. I hear the finale is good, though.

From what you described, I guess this is relative. I came from Charlotte, NC before this and def. cycling there is not at all supported, and quite scary. Many of my friends who were big into road cycling there often saw, or were involved in themselves, horrific accidents between a cyclist + car. So LA's somewhat better, but describing it as a "cycling utopia" is a bit of a stretch. Get down to the beach bike paths, or join those huge clubs and groups of 100+ that do the PCH first thing Sat morning, then sure. But for commuting, it's often joked that an accident is not a matter of "if" but "when," and most of the regular bike-commuters in my program have had an accident or two. Yes. I promise you that traffic, time of day (rush hour or no?), available parking, and cost of parking are going to become your very first thoughts whenever you get invited somewhere or contemplate going to an event. You are going to decline more invites and events than ever before b/c you realize those four things are just too much hassle. Motorcylces and scooters get free parking on the UCLA campus. When I moved to LA, I was initially surprised by how friendly everyone is. I would say there's no real difference in "niceness" between Angelenos and living in the South. What people become when they're behind the wheel is another matter...

30 min AT LEAST. Definitely plan on 60 min at least if you're in the vicinity of the 405 or 10 during rush hour!