dimanche0829

tree stump

night owl

friday night

free spirit

With acceptances out and decisions to be made, it's only a matter of time before people start getting jittery about embarking on their grad school journey. For many, these jitters will continue to develop into an ugly case of Imposter Syndrome. But I'd like to think that most everyone eventually has a "breakout" moment; that moment when the discussion spotlight is on you and you suddenly muster up the courage to let unexpected words of sheer brilliance roll off your tongue; that moment when you finally feel like you're on the same level as your cohort. So I'm just curious about how that breakout moment happened for you. What were you talking about? At what point did you finally feel like you had made a strong contribution to class? That sorta thing

leper

I would definitely still go! Heck, I'd even set aside $10-20,000,000 in to help other grad school hopefuls from this website. Nothing breaks my heart more than reading a post about someone who couldn't go to grad school because of money troubles.

I did my undergrad at Rutgers; ah, how I miss it there! Congrats to all of you lucky birds who will be attending, and good luck to those on the wait list!!!

Anyone planning to go to the Festival of Books next month? Which panels and authors are you most looking forward to? I was thinking of heading out to Publishing: Nuts and Bolts, Who Says? Habits, Fears, and Why We Think the Way We Do, a few Memoir panels, Fairy Tales, and will definitely be checking out Etgar Keret's bit. http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/program-schedule/

Medieval Times

I wouldn't want to see it; the fact that someone thinks highly enough about my work to write the recommendation is validation enough for me. (Plus, I don't want to chance reading a letter where my expectations of content don't align with reality.)

Just curious as to whether or not you like to listen to music while studying. If so, what do you usually listen to? If I'm studying for an exam, I always go classical: Klaus Schulze, Balmorhea, Mozart, Chopin, London Symph.Orchestra, &c. If I'm just working on homework, I prefer more mellow tunes. I'm on a big Mumford & Sons kick right now.

I highly doubt any school would reject someone because of one typo, especially if your SOP is strong in its content and message. Besides, you won't be the first or last person to make such a small mistake. It has already been submitted, so just leave it alone.

I'm 29...shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...don't tell anybody.

Since it's the holiday season, I think it'd be good to share some holiday recipes. One of my faves: Three-Layer Peppermint Bark 17 oz. white chocolate, which includes cocoa butter as ingredient (such as Callebaut), finely chopped 30 red-and-white-striped hard peppermint candies, coarsely crushed 7 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (OK to use semi-sweet or milk chocolate for added sweetness) 6 Tbsp. heavy cream ¾ tsp. peppermint extract Lay out a 9x12 sheet of aluminum on flat surface Melt the white chocolate by placing into metal bowl, set over saucepan of lightly-simmered water. The bowl should not touch the water. Stir until melted and smooth. Pour 2/3 cup of the melted chocolate onto the aluminum and spread close to the edge. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of the peppermints on top. Chill for 15 minutes. While that chills, warm the bittersweet chocolate, cream, and peppermint extract over medium-low heat. Stir until melted and smooth. Cool for about 5 minutes (lukewarm). Remove white chocolate layer from the fridge, spread all of the bittersweet chocolate mixture on top. Chill until very firm ~ 25 minutes. Heat the rest of the white chocolate again until it is melted and smooth. Pour over the firmed bittersweet chocolate layer. Top with the remaining peppermints. Refridgerate for 20 minutes. Once cooled, cur the bark into desired sizes/shapes. Place into air-tight container and keep refridgerated. Layers of bark should be separated by wax paper. For best results, remove from fridge 10 minutes before serving so that the middle layer can soften a bit. Approx. 36 pieces.

Breathe!!!! I'll ask around the department tomorrow and see if I can get you a firm answer on whether or not he is leaving.