LingGrad2009

No. You'll have no problem setting up an account. Cell phone companies here would sign up my dog if he was willing to enroll in a two year contract. And if all else fails, you can get a pay-as-you-go phone, which are designed for drug dealers and don't even require your name.

Another thing to check for is if your university belongs to or runs a credit union. In addition to getting better service and rates in almost every imagineable category, a university credit union will definitely be more used to setting up accounts for international students. The only downside to a credit union is the severe shortage of ATMs outside of their immediate area. This is a non-issue nowadays though with every grocery store operating as a feeless ATM.

Thirded here. Intimidating is right though -- every single example letter in the book was someone WAY more qualified than me. "After interning on the Apollo missions, I designed a near-earth satellite navigation algorithm that reduced collision rates by 98%. Meanwhile, my "Homes for Orphans" program was expanding nicely . . ."

You didn't include netbooks so I'm going to write in 9-10". Mine is so small I don't even need a computer bag to carry it; it fits right in the top or in the front pocket of any bag I choose to carry that day. It does everything I need it to (which is run Word and get on the internet). And no, the keyboard is not difficult to type on. The only thing I miss is the number keypad, and that's missing on any of the options you present.

At this point there's like four people left on the site anyway. Maybe next year's class of applicants can be amused by our meanderings. Unless the site mods archive all these chit-chatty threads for the new season. I'm just here because half the sites on the internet are blocked at my work. This one slipped through the cracks somehow.

Yeah. I'm an idiot anyway because I completely forgot that we were talking about the Northeast (although I actually consider Baltimore/DC to be more associated with the Midatlantic) and I was recommending stuff in LA. To be fair though, I don't think the OP was clear about whether she/he was after style or climate suggestions. Style varies so much anyway it's pretty much a lost cause to try and target something so generally. You can probably wear whatever's hot in Thailand and be alright. Maybe even start a new trend!

I've gotten $600-800 suits that looked like they'd been worn twice at Goodwill for $120. I've seen tabloid-level fashionistas hunting for styles at Buffalo Exchange. I didn't say you have to buy the raggediest stuff there. I meant that those are places you CAN find decent clothes on a stipend like mine that only leaves $300 a month after rent and bills. Also, if you happen to be in LA, you can get clothes that were used on movie sets really cheap. There are a couple places in Hollywood and a big shop on Robertson that the production companies sell to. I got a pair of THICK leather biker boots for $30 there that were used on the set of Kalifornia (or some such post-apocalyptic Mad Max clone). They tend to have lots of suits and lots of unusual looking trendy-but-casual stuff you see on extras milling around in the backgrounds.

Grad student? Buffalo Exchange, Salvation Army, Good Will, Hand-Me-Downs, Using a Needle and Thread to Prolong the Life of Whatever You Already Have . . . given a typical stipend, I doubt if anyone will blame you if paying rent and buying food come before fashion.

If all it takes is a beard to be a grad student then I've been one for five years now! Hah, no seriously, I think you may be overestimating the rarity of beards outside of academia, or maybe you're just in a region where they don't happen to be the general style. At my workplace, about a quarter of the guys wear beards, a third if you include goatees, and up to a full half if you count moustaches. And I work in an area that's about as least-academic as you can get and not be working a front-loader. I've actually been considering shaving my beard to change my look for grad school. I like to make major changes like that coincide with a move though, because I hate inane palaver for days over a haircut or new glasses or whatever. Ugh.

This made me sad.

Not yet, and I don't want to. An update since I created the thread -- I told ONE coworker, a freelancer that works in my department who's a friend of mine. I figured that was safe enough, and I frankly wanted to brag to someone. He IMMEDIATELY went into "gun-for-my-job" mode. I think I mentioned earlier that I am in a very competetive area, and it's possible to bum around in freelance positions for years before landing a full-time regular job like mine. So now I'm worried everyone's going to notice this guy's schmoozing and wheedling, and worse yet is that when I DO tell my boss, he's going to ask my imput on a replacement, and I have to tell him that this guy isn't qualified (he's not). I broke my self-imposed rule ONCE and it was a huge mistake. I'm kicking my own ass right now. I should've just kept my trap shut until 28 days prior, as was my original plan. Arghg

At my school that's only possible with the university-owned housing. I'd imagine that would be pretty standard. However your university (or whatever your funding provider is) should be able to give you proof of income forms and such if your potential landlords need them.

Well those stories certainly make me glad I'm keeping this under my hat. I figure I'll let them know far enough in advance that they can hire a replacement, but not so early that it'd be worth the paperwork to lay me off. Unfortunately I work in a competetive field that's saturated with qualified people, so there'd be little motivation for my workplace to keep me on if I told them sooner (or had let them know I was applying in the first place). And dherres, I have a google widget that counts down the days for me. 1693 hours : 40 minutes : 14 seconds! I wonder if I can imbed that in my sig? That'd be slick. Edit: No. Did not work : (

I sure am. (This is obviously for those of us leaving the "real world" to go back to school, not the ones going straight from undergrad.) I got my acceptance back in March sometime, and I don't start until September. Six months! I haven't let on to a soul where I work, because I need to save all the money I can and I can't risk getting cut off early. For the first month or so I kept myself busy by carefully documenting everything I do so my eventual replacement will have an easier time of it. But now that's done and I really just feel very surreal every day. It peaked this week when I had a yearly review where I had to write up my goals for next year and talk about them with my boss. I just made up the most minimally believable list I could think of. I almost lost it when he strongly suggested a few continuing education classes to keep myself current. "That's a great idea" I said, "I really enjoy being a student." People are making softball leagues, talking about getting new clients, planning next year's convention -- and I'm wandering through it all like a ghost nobody can see, smiling bemusedly as these mortals while away the time in these pursuits that no longer touch me or have any meaning. But I can't let on to a soul . . .

Sounds fine.

Congrats! That's awesome

May as well take a stab at it. What do you have to lose?

Sounds fine.

Wow, okay. never mind I withdraw my statement. Maybe I just got lucky with a couple decent franchises.

Hi Mochi, The service is called auto driveaway. You'll find a large number of companies that offer it. You can also probably find people on craigslist who will do it cheaper, but that's a real crapshoot. The companies are pretty rigorous about vetting criminal and driving records before turning your keys over. The most responsible drivers are also pretty rigorous about searching EVERY square inch of your car before driving it a foot, because if there's so much as an ounce of pot in it, they'll be the ones doing federal time for trafficking (once you cross a state line, the amount is irrelevant). With a driveaway, though, you turn the car over and then fly. You wouldn't be driving with them. That'd be a rideshare, which you can also find on craigslist and through most universities. I've had some bad experiences ridesharing (nothing criminal mind you, just unpleasant people, ones who didn't have the gas money they promised, or just outright no-shows). As you might have gathered from my last post, I get pretty focused on the haul and don't have time to dither with tourists and partiers. My dad's a trucker and I must get it from him.

I've crisscrossed the country several times solo and Mon-Thur for a crosscountry trip seems reasonable. I recently went from Portland to New York on that schedule and it was a pretty easy drive. You'll have to average 12 hours a day driving to make that. Drive in 4 or 6 hour shifts with a couple hours between each. Don't stop any longer than you have to for the night. Stop the car, go to sleep, wake up, start the car and drive. Eat during the shift breaks. Drink plenty of water and make frequent mini-stops, even if it's just for a minute or two to experience a standing position. Don't try to combine a move with a sightseeing trip if you're soloing it. About two-thirds of the way through you'll realize you could be there already if you hadn't been sightseeing, and you'll get demotivated and dangerous for the last leg. Also if you really don't want to drive but do want your car, consider paying a service to drive it. They pay people like me to drive it for you. We're generally a lot safer and more trustworthy than internet horror stories make us out to be. And on a related note: I've also used U-Haul for a number of moves between and among LA, SF, and Portland. I've never had a problem. U-Haul haters, are you sure it's not just a case of only hearing the squeaky wheels while the satisfied majority remain silent?

"So you're a proctologist huh? So how many . . . uh . . . you know what -- never mind."