Minnesotan Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 I feel you are mocking curling, which is a helluva fun game, provided beer is allowed in the rink.
canadiana Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 Curling's awesome! A couple of my friends got very tired of my whining about graduate schools one day, so they decided to take me to the rink....and now I love it more than hockey. There's nothing like shouting "sweep! SWEEEP!" at your friends.
Minnesotan Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 Loving it more than hockey might be taking things a little far, but I'm glad you were in earnest about curling. =)
canuck Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 I am shocked at how much more anxiety I have waiting for applications than I ever expected. I applied to the only school I was interested in last year and was offered full funding. I decided to defer for a year, and in this year I somehow got the idea that I might apply to some foreign schools, just so that the option was open. The schooled I had planned to attend is the top domestic school (and likely still will), so basically I only applied to schools I thought might lure me away. Somehow I've gotten myself worked up into such a frenzy now that I check my email about a million times a day and check this website and others looking for the fatal news that my applications have all been launched mercilessly into the wastebin... and this is all thinking that I will probably still go to the school that offered me admissions last year. Now I'm thinking, jesus, why didn't I apply to way more schools! I must have been mad to omit Princeton, UIUC or Carnegie-Mellon. Perhaps some of those schools would have had results back already! The long and the short of it... this waiting is really a damn nightmare isn't it?!
sigh Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 I'm up at this ridiculous hour writing a lab report - the sort of mundane, soul-eating project that second-semester seniors aren't supposed to have to deal with anymore. Pretty much the only thing that could make this night better would be to get an acceptance email before I finally get to pass out for an hour or two. Or...maybe one will be waiting for me when I have to drag myself out of bed and go to class - it could happen, right?
Minnesotan Posted February 4, 2008 Posted February 4, 2008 All we have to cling to at this point is work, beer, and hope. So, yes, it decidedly could happen. I hope it does!
canuck Posted February 5, 2008 Posted February 5, 2008 Well it did happen for me the next day! A prof emailed me from my top 3 and said he was interested and that I had a very strong application!
JordanJames Posted February 6, 2008 Posted February 6, 2008 I've noticed that I've been listening to a lot more Nirvana since finishing my applications. For those of you who are looking for something to do while "waiting it out," I don't recommend listening to Nirvana. It might be hard to believe, but Kurt Cobain isn't that good at lifting a person's spirits.
sarah4153 Posted February 6, 2008 Posted February 6, 2008 You're just now checking the weather? I apply to schools based on weather. I hate lots of winter weather and snow so I ruled out Wisconsin, Syracuse, etc based solely on weather. Well, there were only half a dozen schools that had a program I'm interested in - so not much choice there! And it's official, I've already lost it waiting to hear something. It is only the first week in February - not a good sign!
Minnesotan Posted February 6, 2008 Posted February 6, 2008 Lost it? At least you 'had it' at one time! I'm going bloody bonkers!
AMC Posted February 6, 2008 Author Posted February 6, 2008 I've noticed that I've been listening to a lot more Nirvana since finishing my applications. For those of you who are looking for something to do while "waiting it out," I don't recommend listening to Nirvana. It might be hard to believe, but Kurt Cobain isn't that good at lifting a person's spirits. Nirvana is good for getting rid of the angst!
AMC Posted February 6, 2008 Author Posted February 6, 2008 I've noticed that I've been listening to a lot more Nirvana since finishing my applications. For those of you who are looking for something to do while "waiting it out," I don't recommend listening to Nirvana. It might be hard to believe, but Kurt Cobain isn't that good at lifting a person's spirits. Nick Drake and Jeff Buckly are also bad listening activites. For feel good/cheer me up music try Float On by Modest Mouse (favorite quote: "Good news will work its way into all those plans"), You Get What You Give by New Radicals and anything by Mika- he's so silly its delicious!
Quarex Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 Considering that seemingly everyone on every Internet forum discussing this, not to mention everyone I know in real life going through this process, has had multiple rejections and acceptances come through by now, the fact that I have still heard absolutely nothing from any of my schools regarding my admission should be driving me crazy. And, indeed, I was feeling increasingly insane until about a week ago. Once February came, and I still had not heard anything, I decided that I was either going to hear back from every school I applied to on the same day, or just never hear anything from any of them, and that clearly worrying was getting me nowhere. Now, I am totally cool again! ... Until the first one comes in. Then, I suspect all rationality will break back down again.
JordanJames Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 Nick Drake and Jeff Buckly are also bad listening activites. For feel good/cheer me up music try Float On by Modest Mouse (favorite quote: "Good news will work its way into all those plans"), You Get What You Give by New Radicals and anything by Mika- he's so silly its delicious! Good recommendations, they'll definently find their way into my rotation. I'm very embarrassed to admit this, but today I listened to Stereophonics and found them to be a lot more soothing than Nirvana. So I think from now on I'll be giving myself a heavy dose of them and the Beatles (only McCartney songs, and maybe Here Comes the Sun). Lennon and Harrison tend to depress me, which I usually actually enjoy, but at the moment I think I should stay away from self actualization.
crossedfingers Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 try mark knofler (dire straits). guy knows how to work the guitar and lift your spirits. or you could try becoming a LOST fan. Their superb preview was what sucked me in and i've been watching episodes from season 1. Makes me feel like I chose the wrong grad program: i suddenly have this desire to become an English/Theatre major and write scripts?!!!! so much for BME..
crossedfingers Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 oh and i started compiling my 50 things I would like to do before I die list !!! it gets pretty intense!
Cornell07 Posted February 7, 2008 Posted February 7, 2008 It's awful. I have a job in the corporate world for the time being, but, due to the slow economy, I have a ton of free time to fret about admissions. *check Gmail* *wait 5 minutes* *check Gmail again* Damn. Nothing! Well, my father served as his department's admissions chair a couple of times and he says not to worry and that many schools are just starting to make their decisions. Bah.
crossedfingers Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 got another one: Chinese astrology! yup. if any of you belong to the YEAR OF THE RAT: you will know exactly what I am talking about! Apparently it is our year. The chinese calender begins from Feb 7 and it starts off by stating that since 2008 is the year of the rat, people who are rats (!!) will succeed academically. I am not making this up! It seriously says: the hard work and devotion that you put in last year will reap its fruits this year. You will live your passion!!! ( ha.. serioulsy???) if you wanna know more, apparently you have to pay. BUt if the rest of the forecasting follows the same tone, boasting of the rat's success, it might be worth a shot!!! whatever floats ure boat~~~ i'm just a broke college kid.
AMC Posted February 8, 2008 Author Posted February 8, 2008 got another one: Chinese astrology! yup. if any of you belong to the YEAR OF THE RAT: you will know exactly what I am talking about! Apparently it is our year. The chinese calender begins from Feb 7 and it starts off by stating that since 2008 is the year of the rat, people who are rats (!!) will succeed academically. I am not making this up! It seriously says: the hard work and devotion that you put in last year will reap its fruits this year. You will live your passion!!! ( ha.. serioulsy???) NO It's True!! The Rat in "Lunar" mythology (since countries other than China celebrate it) is known for cleverness, academic success and cunning in successfully fulfilling its goals. I went to Koreatown today (it borders Chinatown and they are having a dual "Year of the Rat Festival") and paid eight bucks for this guy to feed rice to a rat and pop some firecrackers in order to facilitate my grad school wishes. Supposedly the well-fed "cunning rat" will find a way to get me accepted. Laugh and call me neurotic if you will, but at least this is a better option than in Japan where you can pay a "seagull keeper" to feed your bird green food for wealth, yellow for fertility and red for luck and prosperity. After a day or two they release the bird and you run under it desperately trying to get it to sh*t on you. The idea being that if the bird successfully releases its bowels on you, your wish will be granted in the foreseeable future. Hey, I want to get into grad school as much as the next guy but there is NO WAY I'm going to willingly let a bird do his business on my person!! Of course, it's still February. If I hear no word by mid-March I may start looking at pigeons in a WHOLE new way......
JordanJames Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 If a school called me right now and said you're accepted so long as you let a bird shit on your head, I wouldn't even think twice about it. Hell, I'd even open my mouth if that's what they want. It's 1:30 am, I'm reading posts I've read 800 times and thinking about all of the mistakes I've made in my life that have put me in this terrible situation where I have no idea if I'll be accepted anywhere at all. I'll probably be online for another 3 or 4 hours deconstructing every part of my application and convincing myself that there is no way anybody will give me a chance. What's a little bird shit on the head compared to that?
freakedout Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 Well... I can say I have finally freaked out... After reading all the posts at least 12 times, I have signed up. I applied to 9 universities in CS PhD and I haven't heard anything back. It also looks like nobody has, at least from these universities, so I should be relatively calmed... well, I'm not. By the way, why don't we have a nice thread with all the details about our application like the guys from http://www.physicsgre.com/forum/thread975.html ?... I'll let one of those lucky guys with an admission start it... while I just go to my corner and focus to see if I can make time go a little faster....
pleasegodletmein Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 It's 1:30 am, I'm reading posts I've read 800 times and thinking about all of the mistakes I've made in my life that have put me in this terrible situation where I have no idea if I'll be accepted anywhere at all. you are not alone, ammar. you are not alone.
crossedfingers Posted February 8, 2008 Posted February 8, 2008 AMC said: If I hear no word by mid-March I may start looking at pigeons in a WHOLE new way...... LOL!! do we have a contender?!!!! Its strange. Now that you mention pigeon poop, I remember my grandma telling me the same thing. She told me, that pigeon poop falling on you was a sign of good luck. I do not live close to either Korea or China, but the myth holds true in our side of the world as well. She also told me that a crow slightly touching the top of your head was a sign of good luck. I dont know how much of good luck that is, cuz the crow never meant to slightly touch, infact he right out kicked me on my head! but I would have liked to see the feeding the bread thing in Koreantown.
Kee Posted February 9, 2008 Posted February 9, 2008 You people are hysterical. Thank you for the laughs....
ohno Posted February 11, 2008 Posted February 11, 2008 Hmm.. waiting it out... I have: Got a third job. Yes, third. High paying, but not in my academic field. All to save for graduate school. Started to work out. Yay! I have been forcing myself to leave my house and go out! I can't just sit and panic about getting accepted all day. January was horrible! All I did was have mood swings and talk constantly about grad school! Started reading fashion editorials. Started tutoring undergraduates in writing! I have finally been able to start reading non-academic literature. I am going to start visiting museums, galleries, and the beach on a very regular basis.
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