-
Posts
602 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
1
Everything posted by antecedent
-
63 calendar days left between me and FREEDOM. I gave some change to a lady working the corner near my work (my office is in a neighborhood where most of the survival sex work happens in Vancouver) and I thought, at least I have the good fortune to have a job. Even if it makes me miserable and I can't wait to leave in two months to go follow my dreams. Sigh.
-
Yeah, I should point out that the 20 lbs I lost weren't just as a result of training for a half marathon. For unhappy-GI reasons I had to cut out sugar, all grains, and starchy vegetables. It's not a fun way to eat and I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't sick like I was/am, but I'm sure my weight loss was as a result of that diet PLUS exercize.
-
Heading to the UK for grad school
antecedent replied to Melchior's topic in IHOG: International House of Grads
For me, travelling around the South might actually be cheaper just because I'll be bouncing between family members I'll be in Edinburgh bright and early on the 8th though (or the 7th, depending how fed up with my family I get!) and ready to move in. I never been to Scotland either...I'm so curious about what it's going to be like living there! Did you get that email from the international office about a phone call from a current student to answer our questions? How funny is that? I'd love to bring more books, I just know it won't be worth it for me. I'm bringing five or six that are relevant to my studies, and then a few that I reread during times of stress/sleepiness. I'm also slightly shifting my academic focus and I know I don't have a ton of text books that are relevant to my studies anyways. -
Yeah I think I'll bring my current smart phone and get it unlocked so I can just buy a sim card in the UK. I'd just don't trust wifi to be reliable enough or I'd do the same thing (a commentary on wifi in general, not Britain's wifi specifically)! But I've also heard good things about prepaid, so I might go that route. Also, I misspelled 'there' in my previous post. Oops!
-
Heading to the UK for grad school
antecedent replied to Melchior's topic in IHOG: International House of Grads
I have a UK passport, so I don't have to apply for a visa (though I still have to pay international tuition - stupid residence requirement!) which is how I could get away with buying my ticket without visa worry. I'm sure you'll get your visa though, unless you are a convicted felon (that might make things more challenging). Are you flying in to Edinburgh or flying in to London and catching the train up? I'm taking a week's holiday in England before I move to school so I'm going over early and lugging my life in two bags around the South Coast for a week Oh cool! Sounds very exciting. I'm also thrilled about starting...I wish it were September already! [edit cause I just saw Jon's post]: I'm going bare bones, just because a friend who went to Edinburgh last year said she brought way more than she needed and acquired some while travelling too, and ended up having to give a lot of it away before she moved back. I'm limiting myself to 10-12 books and all the clothes/shoes etc. that I can fit into a suitcase + backbacking backpack + regular small backpack. It's gonna be a tight squeeze! Wow, those are super cheap tickets! Are those all the way to Scotland? Is there a layover? Who is the carrier? -
Reading nerdy articles about the 'iptivism debate that has heated up again.
-
I agree with OnceAndFutureGrad, running with a group/clinic is the way to go. Chain shoe stores like the Running Room always have groups, but they're a bit too commercial for my liking. I joined a clinic at a shoe store that is run by a coach, and that has been AWESOME. We do speed work on Tuesdays, long runs on Sundays, and then she gives us a schedule for all the other days that we can tweak to our liking/schedule/preference. It's what got me through the half marathon for sure. Sunday long runs also enforce the "you should be able to talk while running in zone 1" which is something that can be hard to gauge otherwise. If you don't have a local group, 5k is a short enough distance that you could probably train by yourself. For a while I was going to the gym, leaving my stuff there, then running outside for 20-30 minutes before coming back to do some weights/stretching. Otherwise, grab a buddy or some music and just jog. It doesn't have to be fast to be effective, you just want to get your heart rate up and get moving. I read somewhere that the difference between running and jogging is simply what you call it, and I'm inclined to agree. My half marathon pace last month was probably what a lot of people would call jogging (average 6:45/km) but it was hard fucking work! I also hope you meant 5k You can use this tool to map out your runs for distance beforehand - I always find that helps. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/
-
72 calendar days until I can blow this Popsicle stand! August can't come fast enough.
-
Tell me about it!
-
If you can't run places like ktel (I think I may be the world's sweatiest person, and shouldn't be allowed in confined places or public transit [much like durian fruit] after strenuous exercise) then I can't recommend enough distance running. You get the satisfaction of running really far, you get to do it slow (compared to sprints or track races or anything under 10k), and it's really good for clearing your mind. Plus the occasional race gives you a goal to focus on other than school, and running a half marathon or a marathon makes you feel like a badass, which is particularly helpful when your studies are getting you down. It's also the best way I have every found to lose weight - I lost over 20 lbs that 'd been trying to lose for years in 4 1/2 months.
-
What people said when you told them you were accepted...
antecedent replied to crv7867's topic in The Lobby
When I tell people I'm going to study English Language in Scotland they say "Scotland?! They don't even speak English there!" I know we're "two countries separated by a common language" but come on, people. It's ranked in the top 10 in the world for my program, and is the alma mater of J.M. Barrie, Thomas Carlyle, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Ian Rankin, Sir Walter Scott, Alexander McCall Smith, Robert Louis Stevenson, David Hume, Adam Smith, and Charles Darwin. I think they can speak English there. -
Heading to the UK for grad school
antecedent replied to Melchior's topic in IHOG: International House of Grads
Yeah, I've heard that sometimes if you're willing to wait til the last minute you can get super cheap deals, but I'm WAAAY too much of a worrier to do that. What's your program again, SweetPea? -
Heading to the UK for grad school
antecedent replied to Melchior's topic in IHOG: International House of Grads
Yeah, I booked a one way flight to Heathrow from Vancouver for $620. I bought it off Expedia for Virgin Atlantic - I'm currently not a student so I can't use Student Universe or I would have. I was using SkyScanner also and found some cheap tickets there. I don't actually know if $620 is cheap compared to all possible prices, but from what I was seeing earlier this month it seemed pretty good. I saw one for $602 at the beginning of May. -
Heading to the UK for grad school
antecedent replied to Melchior's topic in IHOG: International House of Grads
Uni Edinburgh for English Language! I'm still holding out for some scholarships I've applied for...any funding will help! I've already bought my ticket, cause I saw one cheap and just went for it. I've never bought a one-way ticket before! It's a little bit scary. Soooo ready to move to Scotland! -
Just out of curiosity, does anybody here have opinions about getting a cell phone in Edinburgh? Are their good carriers or ones to avoid? I've found several free VOIP calling and texting apps for smartphones, so I'll probably end up getting a smartphone. I know the UK tends to be FAR more reasonable than Canada and the US when it comes to phones, I'm just curious what other people have done in the past.
-
Fall 2013 English Lit Applicants
antecedent replied to harvardlonghorn's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Hey Saecla, If you're serious about studying at Oxbridge (or any other UK institution) for a Masters, I would highly recommend applying for the big scholarships - the Marshall, the Fulbright, and of course the Rhodes scholarship for Oxford. I went into this ordeal with a British institution as one of my top choices, but somewhat foolishly expected I'd get in to an American PhD program and therefore wouldn't end up doing a British masters. However, once all the dust had settled, of my three offers, the one from Edinburgh made the most sense. Now I'm faced with the prospect of cobbling together enough scholarships to cover my tuition, which is doable, but only if I get every one that I apply for. It's not a fun place to be in, and if possible I'd recommend trying to avoid it. I'm super stoked about studying English in the UK at one of the ancient universities though...so cool! -
Congratulations! And welcome. I'm soooo ready for September to arrive! Yeah I was convinced I was only going to look privately, to hell with uni housing. Then, I realized uni housing included utilities, internet, and a cleaner, and is also in the coolest part of town AND under 20 minutes from my building. So I decided to suck it up. It's only a year, after all, and for me the pros ended up outweighing the cons. However, if your absolute number one concern is to do things as cheaply as possible, then renting privately might be better for you. Though there are a few halls that are under the equivalent of $700 CDN per month, which is roughly what I'm paying now (once you take into account utilities, internet, etc.)...I guess it depends how much legwork you're willing to do in August/September and how much uncertainty/stress you are willing to put up with along the way. For reference, I applied to Mylnes Court, Morgan Court, and Causewayside (or the other one).
-
Figuring out how far I can stretch my banked vacation days after my official last day has been keeping me upbeat. A paid vacation AFTER I quit? Amazing!
-
Also they skip the relevant post right above them and go straight for the knee-jerk arguments. Typical troll, also covered in internet 101.
-
We're going to grad school!
antecedent replied to Silent_G's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Yeah I think anything in the 90th percentile or above is safe for verbal. My quant score is abysmal, but I really can't be arsed to risk screwing up my verbal in an attempt to raise my quant score. And yeah, WTF is up with the AW grading? I did well enough on my essay about dog grooming practices or whatever, but who knows why or how. I wouldn't bother retaking it if I were you unless you scored like a 2 on the AW section. It sounds like you did great - good for you! What a relief to get that monster behind you, eh? If we were in the same town I'd buy you a drink! -
We're going to grad school!
antecedent replied to Silent_G's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
How'd your GRE go, Two Espressos? When I finished mine, I was totally dazed, and started freaking out thinking I'd forgotten to do a section, then got lost in the ENORMOUS MALL the testing centre was in. I tried to wake my brain back up with frozen yogurt but I think it went dormant for a few weeks after that. Turns out I did alright in the end, so that kind of disorientation and confusion must be normal... -
We're going to grad school!
antecedent replied to Silent_G's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
Yup! Also going to pick up Getting What You Came For - have you been lurking the guidebook thread in the Officially Grads forum too? -
Accepted an offer; now what???
antecedent replied to fedupofthewait's topic in Literature, and Rhetoric and Composition
My dad referred to that as my "running away to join the circus" phase. I was totally gonna go to vet school too, damnit!