psycholinguist

That wouldn't bother me in the slightest either, especially given that there isn't much of an age-difference. Heck, we're in grad-school; by this point it would probably be weirder to be dating a high-school student than to be dating a professor. People bond over shared interests, after all, and people in the same field usually have a lot of the same specific full-fledged passions for the same topics and subdisciplines! I think there might be a middle ground here, though, between flat-out lying about who your partner is and flat-out going, 'O HAI GUYZ, I'm dating a professor'. Just talk about him the way you would any SO, but if you're asked what he does, just say something along the lines of, 'oh, right now he's doing some teaching over at XYZ College'. Let them make their own inferences; most young professors were grad-students very recently, after all, and there's nothing especially shocking about a grad-student dating another grad-student. Your friends might probe the issue further, but you can continue to be vague and/or evasive without exactly telling lies. * grins *

Yeah, when I wrote a letter in support of a favourite undergrad professor's nomination for tenure, I think I called her 'Prof. Y' all the way through. Can't go wrong with that!

I'm becoming more of a morning-person all the time. When I was a first-year undergrad, there'd be something wrong if I were going to bed earlier than 1:30 AM, and if I had a paper to write I'd do it between 10 PM and 3 AM. And I had a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, especially the early morning. These days - five years later - I get back at the end of the day feeling tired, and my energy-level drops all evening (except for the small energy-spike as a result of dinner). By 9 PM I'm often thinking about going to bed, and my productivity has plummeted. If it's 11:30 and I have three hours of work to do on a project, I'm often much better off going to bed early and getting up at 6 AM to do it then, because if I try to finish it between 12 AM and 3 AM, it's probably not going to turn out very well, and then I'll sleep kind of poorly worrying about whether what I just did made any sense. I'm actually finding that I'm feeling pretty energetic first thing in the morning, even without caffeine; it helps that my apartment faces south and is full of light between 7 AM and 3 PM, at least when it isn't cloudy. I've only ever pulled two all-nighters. One was as as undergrad, when I had five assignments all due on the same Friday; and one was about a month ago, when I found I had one heck of a lot of data to wade through before a presentation on it at 9 AM. Neither was a lot of fun. But these days even the thought of being awake at 2:30 in the morning makes me want to cringe.

You're welcome! In retrospect, being really assertive about getting in touch with the supervisor I wanted was easily the best thing I could have done for my application. Best of luck!

That sounds very promising to me; I met up with an ideal potential supervisor at the end of October last year, and she reacted in almost exactly the same ways: she said she liked my research-ideas and gave me a ton of tips on how to refine my application. She is now my actual supervisor. I couldn't be happier! Now, every discipline is different, of course, but one of the most-helpful things that any of my undergraduate professors ever told me about applying to grad-school was that supervisors immediately take a heck of a lot more interest in a particular application if they get an impression along the lines of, 'hey, this person really wants to work with me'. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, and having a few backup-plans is a good idea; but this sounds like a great start!

I love research. The main reason why I took so long to decide whether to go to grad-school was that I didn't think I was the type who would enjoy teaching; it was hard for me to envision. And then I realised that regardless of how I feel about teaching per se, I will automatically talk to anyone willing to listen for any amount of time about any topic having anything whatsoever to do with linguistics. Plus, I've been told that I get pretty darn enthusiastic when I do this. I've since stopped worrying about the teaching side of things. * grins *

I'd go for it and make the change. There's nothing shameful about that; people switch fields all the time. If you know even now that you don't like the work and that this isn't what you're passionate about, then how would things be any better a year from now? Two years? I'd cut your losses and get out of there. After my undergrad degree I didn't know whether to go into linguistics or psychology; however, my first round of applications (to programs in both fields) was terrible for several reasons, and I ended up panicking and accepting an offer from a psychology-department at the last minute. Before the end of the semester I knew I didn't feel passionate about it, that I wanted to work with language-data as opposed to reaction-times, that I wasn't very interested in my classes, and above all that I was dreading having to return after the winter holidays. For pretty much the first time in my life, I was feeling a) restless, bored, and c) homesick. At first I wanted to just stick out the MA program, but although I have a number of interests in psychology, I couldn't come up with a project for it that anyone liked. So I talked it over with a few people in the program (who were incredibly nice about it), and left after a semester. I reapplied to linguistics programs, and now I'm starting an MA in linguistics and I'm absolutely thrilled about it! Everyone in the department is doing such cool research, and I'm getting so many ideas, and everywhere I'm finding books I want to read and papers I want to look at. I think you've been able to sense what your calling is, and I'd say go pursue it!

There's no easy way of determining whether a long-distance relationship is going to work; every case is different. (I've seen it fail and end in unpleasant break-ups; I've seen it work fine and culminate in special reunions, then engagement and marriage.) Try it out, and if it's not working, talk about it; if you can't salvage it, move on. Either way, hang in there!

I kept getting newsletters from Columbia's Teachers' College, which I always found amusingly off-target; I'm not interested in either living in New York City or studying education.

Heh! Thanks! (To my profound embarrassment, this is the second time I've gone to vote-up a post and missed. FAIL. * laughs *)

Darn it! I tried to one-up this post and clicked on the wrong button. Could someone neutralise that? Thanks!

Heh, I'm exactly the same way! That's just what I would do. Keep a good lookout for hidden lounges/study-rooms/hallway-alcoves! * grins *

I like quiet and a lot of light. If I'm working without a computer, libraries are the best bet for me, especially study-rooms with big desks. At home I'm not quite as productive, but I leave my computer there on my desk virtually all the time; not only is it a bit cumbersome to drag around (it's pretty big for a laptop), but I get really disoriented if my peripheral vision sees anything around my computer other than the usual surroundings. * laughs * Lights I'm really picky about: the lamps need to be those nice floor-lamps that emit light outwards from the entire top, with nice full-spectrum bulbs in them. Furniture-wise, I like lighter shades of wood, and surfaces with lots of space. I'm a total neat-freak, so I also tend to collect paper-trays and magazine-holders and little boxes for paperclips and such. Are you allowed to paint? Changing the colours can make a big difference, and white is especially good for making a space seem larger and/or cheerier. Lighting makes a considerable difference as well, so it's worth reviewing what you have as is. Sometimes rearranging the furniture helps, too. I once had a dorm-room that I couldn't stand until I realised that the default layout was horribly inefficient, whereupon I spent forty-five minutes moving the furniture. From then on I loved the room, and ultimately was sorry to have to leave it.

I alternate between walking a lot and doing yoga. If I don't feel like leaving the house, I'll get out my yoga-mat; if I don't feel like setting up my yoga-mat, I'll just walk out the door. Skipping is also a great idea: it's really good exercise and it's fun! The only catch is that you have to find a good surface to do it on, and make sure your shoes are supportive. I totally understand that viewpoint - I was initially pretty sceptical about yoga as well - but it doesn't have to be at all New Age-y if you don't want it to be. It's really just a way of combining some breathing-techniques with stretches involving every muscle you can find in your body and then some. * laughs * I find yoga helps me keep my energy-level up in the evenings, and helps me deal with stress. Even half an hour a day is a good workout.

That is such a good idea!

NYSEG deals with electricity and gas. There are probably a few options for Internet-providers, but I got the feeling that the most widely-used was Time Warner Cable.

* laughs * No worries! I already know I love Toronto. Never lived there, but I've visited (or travelled there with an overnight or two) about fifteen times. I'm already getting so excited about moving out there; I've set up a map on Google Maps with something like 40 stores and museums and concert-halls and landmarks that I want to keep in mind! Heh! But totally feel free to inundate me with lists (though maybe through PM so we don't hijack the thread...heh). In fact, I'm feeling tempted to do the same for you and Vancouver (well, unless you already know the city). And yep, I'm going to be at the U of T (downtown, that is), and I'm thrilled. I went out there in July and found a tiny but totally adorable apartment in the Annex, within walking-distance of everything I need. w00t!

Hear hear! (Also, off-topic, but heh: I'm from B.C. and I'm moving to Toronto to go to grad-school. Want to exchange a high-five between airplanes somewhere over Saskatchewan? * grins *)

Although the event is put on by the international students' centre, I'm pretty sure everyone is welcome. I'd go for it!

* laughs * I actually had to stop reading PhD because it so often tempted me to feel cynical about academia, which is something I don't want to do!

I'm a weird case: I do enjoy clothes-shopping and I tend to dress pretty conservatively (blouses, skirts, dress-pants, cardigans) since I like looking tidy, but I'm also a bit of a tomboy: I don't wear makeup, I haven't got any piercings, I rarely put on jewelry, I cut my own hair since I can't be bothered to go get a haircut (or pay for it), I'm occasionally known to climb trees regardless of what I'm wearing, and all of the shoes I own are über-practical because I really like walking. Go figure. (Though for conferences, operas, weddings, and other special occasions, I do have a few nicer things: blazers, silk dresses, etc.) I agree that it's hard to go wrong at decent thrift-stores: great selection, low prices, pre-shrunk clothing. Finding nice cotton shirts is pretty easy. Also ditto the recommendations of New York and Company (which makes my favourite pants ever) and Ann Taylor/Ann Taylor Loft. I tend to go out of my way to go to any of those three stores when I'm in the U.S. because (as far as I know) neither of those chains has any stores in Canada! Oh well. For shoes, check out if you haven't seen it already. (Personally, I just love Rockport; in fact, it's the only shoe-store I've ever encountered that makes me worry I might buy shoes I don't strictly need! * laughs * They always have a few styles of comfortable, durable walking-shoes that are both professional and cute.)

That is so nifty! Get Back to Work is another good site, come to think of it.

During my second year of my undergrad degree, I came up with a strategy that really helped me: as you're working and you think of interesting things to do that aren't the project at hand, simply make a list of them on a physical piece of paper nearby, and then get back to work. Once you've done enough for the day, reward yourself by going through the list and doing those things. (As I said to a friend once while telling her about this, "Finish the project and then go on Facebook, look up that book that sounded interesting, browse the webcomics, and check your email fifteen times.")

My favourite shoes are all from Rockport; I walk a lot and each pair I've had has lasted more than five years. (If there's one near you, I'd recommend actually going to a store; the online catalogue isn't an exhaustive list of their products.)