Things You Won't Miss

[red_crayons]

I wanted to start this thread because there are many, many elements of my life right now which are constantly aggravating. I'll be happy to leave them behind when I start grad school. I'm sure we all have these things. So let's list them so we can leave them joyfully behind in a few short months.

Number one on my list? WINDOWS COMPUTERS. Never again will I suffer (as I am now) as a (quite new!) Dell Windows laptop tries to figure out how to copy and paste a PDF back onto another sector of its own hard drive. Never again will I have to wade through meaningless programs in the task manager to terminate the one process that is locking up my whole computer. Never again will I have to deal with desktop keyboards which are too big for my hands and take too much force to use, causing repetitive stress injuries. No more Excel 2007 that refuses to open files in any rational way, no more struggling to work for the first hour at my desk every day because Symantec is doing a virus scan, no more ugly industrial design offending my sensibilities, no more bosses telling me that the Dell from 2004 cost $3000 back then so I should be grateful I get to use it, no more 10 year old Windows XP operating system.

Just my own, beautiful Mac that works how it's supposed to and that I'll use every day while I'm in grad school!

What's driving you crazy as you wait for the days to creep by until you can start school? What are you excited to leave behind, whether it's at your current job, school, or city?

[ristastic]

I'm moving out of New York after living here for 7 years, and I will NOT miss paying through the nose for everything ($5.89 for a box of cereal!) or riding the subway every morning at rush hour!

[grad_wannabe]

I'm moving out of New York after living here for 7 years, and I will NOT miss paying through the nose for everything ($5.89 for a box of cereal!) or riding the subway every morning at rush hour!

I'm moving out of Orange County for the first time in 25 years. I will certainly not miss the godforsaken TRAFFIC and the soul crushing commutes (405 freeway, I love you, but you're a bit of a bitch most of the time). I'm looking forward to public transportation!! (which is like a bad word here.)

I won't miss sharing class time with all the kids who signed up to be art majors because "it seemed easy!" or "it seemed fun!"

I sure as HELL won't miss having to say, "Oh, no, still working on that BA .... yeah I know it's been 7 years, what??"

I will not miss filling out subcontractor insurance tender letter matrices, which is what I'm doing at work at this very moment.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

I will miss my mom and dad. I will miss my mom and dad a lot.

[Bumblebee]

I will definitely not miss living in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do during the weekends. I will not miss being one of the 6 persons in the area my age/single/in my situation (I'm teaching at a college while taking a couple of courses as a student). I will not miss feeling lonely (thank god I have a couple of friends who are college seniors and 7 years my juniors). And I will not miss the long, cold winters (although I'm not heading a much warmer place either).

I will miss the colors of the fall in Central New York. I will miss the deer that come to my yard almost daily, or the woodchuck that lives nearby, or the foxes, rabbits and hundreds of squirrels/chipmunks living in the area.

Finally, I will miss my students and my colleagues in the department.

[joro]

I'm moving out of Orange County for the first time in 25 years. I will certainly not miss the godforsaken TRAFFIC and the soul crushing commutes (405 freeway, I love you, but you're a bit of a bitch most of the time). I'm looking forward to public transportation!! (which is like a bad word here.)

I won't miss sharing class time with all the kids who signed up to be art majors because "it seemed easy!" or "it seemed fun!"

I sure as HELL won't miss having to say, "Oh, no, still working on that BA .... yeah I know it's been 7 years, what??"

I will not miss filling out subcontractor insurance tender letter matrices, which is what I'm doing at work at this very moment.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

I will miss my mom and dad. I will miss my mom and dad a lot.

I will definitely miss my parents too. Then again I'm going to have a better job after I graduate which will allow me to help them better financially. I definitely will miss having winter without snow and just having nice outdoor weather all year round. Errs...this is about what I won't miss, right? It's tough to say, I think I will miss everything.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

I definitely won't miss dorm life! I'm so ready to have my own place (granted I'll be going between Columbus and Wooster every 6 months, buutt...)

Won't miss taking out more loans for school.

Won't miss all my peers being pre-med/pre-law/pre-etc. Finally other bug geeks!

Will miss my current lab.

Edited April 28, 2010 by ScreamingHairyArmadillo

[JackieW]

---I will NOT miss a long 40+ hour work week on my feet. While I know grad school will be a TON of work, it is the kind of work I enjoy--- a steady, comforting work, not a job that requires me to kiss peoples' asses on a regular basis.

---I will not miss the area I live in. I grew up here, and I'm really ready to leave and grow up a little bit.

---I will not miss having to answer the question: "So, what are you going to do with an English major? Teach?" Yes, I am, but at the college level and I will be a superstar professor, thank you very much!

I will miss my family, a little bit. And free time! But, thankfully, LOST is ending before grad school, so that cuts out a lot of my TV time...

[BearcatPA]

---I will NOT miss a long 40+ hour work week on my feet. While I know grad school will be a TON of work, it is the kind of work I enjoy--- a steady, comforting work, not a job that requires me to kiss peoples' asses on a regular basis.

I can't help but laugh at this. You know damn well that's not going to happen and we're going to keep having to kiss ass.

[StrangeLight]

yeah, but lit students don't have to stand for 40+ hours a week. they sit for 60+ hours instead.

[pea-jay]

I'm moving out of New York after living here for 7 years, and I will NOT miss paying through the nose for everything ($5.89 for a box of cereal!) or riding the subway every morning at rush hour!

Well I'm moving TO NY and won't miss (most of the time) the isolation that comes with living in out in one of the least populated areas of this state. Subway riding beats driving literally everywhere. And I'm not out in the remote areas. Im also not going to miss the dearth of cultural, retail and entertainment opportunities that comes with living here. I'm not going to miss my dysfunctional workplace that is falling apart literally and figuratively.

I will miss the natural beauty of this area from the pastoral vineyard covered valleys, majestic redwoods and raw craggy coastlines. My family won't miss the torturous drive to the ocean that takes 90 minutes, despite it only being 20 some miles away on the map. I won't miss cleaning up my kids' vomit from episodes of carsickness directly attributable to the endless curvy roads. But I will miss the free and low-cost wine that comes with living and working with vintners in an area with some of the nation's most renowned wines.

[Jae B.]

I won't miss commuting 50 miles round-trip each weekday by public transportation. Especially since fare increases and service cuts have simultaneously made it less of a bargain and messed up my schedule by getting rid of buses I took and making my transfers take longer.

I won't miss being told by financial aid offices that I should take out loans, because everybody does and it's the normal thing to do...and being treated like I'm a brat because I've tried so hard not to.

The first thing I heard from the FAO loan guy at my Berkeley graduate student info session was, "Don't come see me unless you absolutely have to!" Totally refreshing encouragement for a change.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Jae B.

[Riotbeard]

<br />---I will NOT miss a long 40+ hour work week on my feet. While I know grad school will be a TON of work, it is the kind of work I enjoy--- a steady, comforting work, not a job that requires me to kiss peoples' asses on a regular basis.<br />---I will not miss the area I live in. I grew up here, and I'm really ready to leave and grow up a little bit.<br />---I will not miss having to answer the question: &quot;So, what are you going to do with an English major? Teach?&quot; Yes, I am, but at the college level and I will be a superstar professor, thank you very much! <br /><br />I will miss my family, a little bit. And free time! But, thankfully, LOST is ending before grad school, so that cuts out a lot of my TV time...<br />

<br /><br /><br />

I am in a similar situation. I won't miss much, cept my family a bit, and the ethnic grocery stores near my apartment.

[jplunk85]

I'm moving out of Orange County for the first time in 25 years. I will certainly not miss the godforsaken TRAFFIC and the soul crushing commutes (405 freeway, I love you, but you're a bit of a bitch most of the time). I'm looking forward to public transportation!! (which is like a bad word here.)

I won't miss sharing class time with all the kids who signed up to be art majors because "it seemed easy!" or "it seemed fun!"

I sure as HELL won't miss having to say, "Oh, no, still working on that BA .... yeah I know it's been 7 years, what??"

I will not miss filling out subcontractor insurance tender letter matrices, which is what I'm doing at work at this very moment.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

I will miss my mom and dad. I will miss my mom and dad a lot.

Tell me about it. I live in southern OC, near MV, and commuting even to Irvine can get you in a 20-min struggle with California drivers. I will miss friends and family, but OC isn't right for me. It's back to the East Coast.

[poco_puffs]

I'm not making a big move to go to graduate school: same region, same lifestyles, slightly bigger city, more shopping, still within an hour of my friends and most of my family. The biggest difference will be NOT working at this pizza place to make ends meet.

I will NOT miss standing on my feet, washing my hands 100+ times a night, dealing with hungry customers, always keeping my hair tied back in the same damn bun, never letting my nails grow out, never getting to wear rings or nail polish, wearing those stupid t-shirts, running up and down two flights of stairs just because someone wants an extra 2 ounce cup of ranch dressing, screaming children, drunk a-holes, skeezy bartenders, and coming home every night smelling like pizza pizza pizza.

I know that grad school will come with its own set of drawbacks, including drama and long hours, but after five years of pizza I'm ready for five years of something else.

[Squawker]

I used to work in food service and hated it when people would ask for "extra" ranch dressing, mayo, whatever (in quotations because their food came with neither, as they were paying for neither), because it involved digging the gigantic bucket of dressing out of the walk-in fridge and sticking my entire [gloved] hand down in there to reach the stuff with the scoop. Inevitably those who demanded free portions of dressing would then stand around whining about how "she's really taking her time in there" and about how we should really just have free portions of dressing sitting out ready for people to take.

I won't miss living far away from my family and many of my friends. I'm moving closer to home this time.

[RNadine21]

Won't miss all my peers being pre-med/pre-law/pre-etc. Finally other bug geeks!

OMG yes! I'll be so glad to be rid of high-strung and conniving pre-meds who pay for answers to physics tests (I'm not bitter at all, lol)

I won't miss the shallow people who came to this school to party on South Beach all the time.

I won't miss Miami drivers, or most Miami people in general (no offense if anyone here is a Miami native, just too hardcore for me.)

-----------------------------------------------

I'll miss the actual city. I get bored out in the suburbs, but I can't help but smile when I go through the city. What can I say, born and raised in a city.

I'll miss the school spirit.

I'll miss my friends of course.

[mmm35]

Well, I'm only moving an hour away but:

I won't miss a job that requires no brain power at all. I won't miss a job that requires no effort at all. I won't miss being lazy. I won't miss being looked down on for being a woman. I won't miss feeling guilty for complaining about my "good" job. I won't miss the traffic, the pollution, the angry people, and the sight of concrete as far as the eye can see.

I will miss my perfect apartment, living alone, the diversity, the few weeks when the baseball team is in the playoffs and everyone is smiling and talks to each other, the convenience, the adorable and affordable restaurants, my boyfriend, the time to sit with the cat for hours, and the spending money.

I have such a love-hate relationship with this place, but I have a hate-hate relationship with my job and a love-love relationship with grad school. Woo-hoo, one month left!

I'll miss my parents a lot too, but I have been missing them a lot for 7 years now. The feeling never really goes away, though you do get more used to it. ( wow I cannot believe its been 7 years :'( )

[NeuroNerd86]

I will definitely not miss the notorious LA traffic

I will not miss the warm weather every day of the year- I do belong in the North

I will not miss the area of LA that I live in, because it is ugly and depressing

I will not miss working "in the group" - I'm excited about the opportunity to work all by myself with my mentor's guidance

I will miss my friends and my labmates dearly, because they bring me so much joy and love

I will miss the ability to go and see world class DJs anytime I want

I will miss the ocean, even though I rarely ever get to see it

[JackieW]

I can't help but laugh at this. You know damn well that's not going to happen and we're going to keep having to kiss ass.

Yeah. yeah, I know. But it's a different kind of kissing ass: to respected professors, and not to irate customers who hate my exhibition and think I should die.

[jlee306]

But, thankfully, LOST is ending before grad school, so that cuts out a lot of my TV time...

OMG!!!! LOST is my reason for living (attention: nerd alert). I will miss it soooooo much! But I will not miss the guilty feeling I have while watching it and thinking that I should be doing school work instead.

[ScreamingHairyArmadillo]

OMG!!!! LOST is my reason for living (attention: nerd alert). I will miss it soooooo much! But I will not miss the guilty feeling I have while watching it and thinking that I should be doing school work instead.

I actually haven't been watching Lost this entire semester so now I get to catch up after exams. For hours at once.

[Sarah S.]

I won't miss being so broke that I literally cannot pay bills OR buy food.

[BCHistory]

I will not miss working a typical 9-to-5 office job. I just can't adjust to it. I've never been able to. I can't stand the rigid structure.

Edited April 29, 2010 by BCEmory08

[JackieW]

I actually haven't been watching Lost this entire semester so now I get to catch up after exams. For hours at once.

GAHH!!! You haven't watched it yet? LOST is also my reason for living. It's kind of sick.

[poco_puffs]

GAHH!!! You haven't watched it yet? LOST is also my reason for living. It's kind of sick.

Re: The Lost sub-thread.

Something I *am* worried about in grad school is recommitting myself to veritable bungloads of reading and writing after taking a year off from school. Not because I feel like I'm less of a scholar; more because I filled that year with countless seasons of countless TV shows on Netflix and Hulu, plus hundreds of hours of video games. At least Lost will not be returning this fall (one less show for me to follow) but I *am* worried that Fallout: New Vegas is scheduled to drop sometime "Fall 2010."

If my will holds strong, I won't watch much TV or play any games during the term. Winter Break will be another story.