Lemonade Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use a little help on this front. So far, my anti-crazy efforts have included reading books I doubt I will have time to read if I get in somewhere (e.g. all of Dashiell Hammet's books, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit, the Idiot, etc). I'm also trying not to check message boards/results boards/etc except while at my boring 9-5 job. Any other suggestions?
tortola23 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 I too have a boring job, from 10am to 7pm Monday through Thursday. Since I'm just sitting there occasionally talking to a customer with the internet in front of me, I can't stop myself from checking GradCafe while I'm here. But when I'm at home, I try to relax and not think about it. - reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series - reading Wikipedia - watching dumb TV shows I didn't have time for last year in college (lots of cooking ones, + ridiculous stuff like Criminal Minds, Bones, and House) - knitting frantically - making collages to decorate the apartment - cleaning - cooking - learning about beer It's rough times, but hopefully we'll all make it through without losing it entirely. murkyama 1
courtniep Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 way too late. crazy is in full force. I JUST WANT AN ACCEPTANCE. @#$^!@^#$ I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use a little help on this front. So far, my anti-crazy efforts have included reading books I doubt I will have time to read if I get in somewhere (e.g. all of Dashiell Hammet's books, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit, the Idiot, etc). I'm also trying not to check message boards/results boards/etc except while at my boring 9-5 job. Any other suggestions? augustquail 1
wanderlust07 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 - reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series ... - watching dumb TV shows I didn't have time for last year in college (lots of cooking ones, + ridiculous stuff like Criminal Minds, Bones, and House) - knitting frantically ... - cooking - learning about beer Your taste is excellent. Sam Vimes and House are my alter egos (I'm pretty sure I haven't hit CM psychopath yet...), and one can never know too much about knitting, food, or beer.
pearls Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 way too late. crazy is in full force. I JUST WANT AN ACCEPTANCE. @#$^!@^#{:content:}nbsp; Can I just sign this? Seriously. This whole application/waiting thing is driving me crazy and I'm beginning to wonder how I'm going to survive grad school (supposing someone accepts me) if I'm so stressed out just waiting on the results.
fall-11 Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 Ha ha, I'm researching toads so I can write a poem about them Well, I should explain. I'm supposed to be working on my MA thesis, part of which is on Marianne Moore. Bonnie Costello's book on Marianne Moore talks about Moore's famous phrase "real toads in imaginary gardens" and I was really amused by Costello writing that "Toads ... have their own literary history" and then going on about toads for a page and a half. I thought this is a great idea for a poem, and started looking up and taking notes on literary toads. There's Larkin's toads, Heaney's frog spawn, and so on. Even Wilbur has a poem on toads. Not to mention, I'm inspired by all those weird animal poems by Moore -- and the animals she chooses are often ugly & unusual ones too (like the pangolin and the paper nautilus). Can you tell how nutty this process is making me that I'm finding TOADS fascinating??
againstourfaces Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 I think the key is: don't be at home at all during the day and disconnect yourself from the internet. In the evening, go dancing. augustquail 1
limelight Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) binge drinking... Edited February 8, 2011 by limelight lyonessrampant 1
noxrosa Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 All I can say about this is that today the waiting is killing me. I keep having dreams where all 14 places I applied reject me simultaneously, which would be preferable to this whole damn not knowing. I'm a planner--I'm ready to figure out the next 5 years please!!!
tortola23 Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 (edited) All I can say about this is that today the waiting is killing me. I keep having dreams where all 14 places I applied reject me simultaneously, which would be preferable to this whole damn not knowing. I'm a planner--I'm ready to figure out the next 5 years please!!! I am SUCH planner. This whole thing is driving me nuts. Last year I got rejections, so this year I applied to twice as many schools. I'm so ready to live somewhere for more than a year! Edited February 8, 2011 by tortola23
bottles Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 I am SUCH planner. This whole thing is driving me nuts. Last year I got rejections, so this year I applied to twice as many schools. I'm so ready to live somewhere for more than a year! I am a planner, too...it freaks me out when someone says "Hey, do you want to teach at this summer program in July?" because I have no idea where I will be...and it's driving me insane! To make it worse, every time I go outside in the freezing cold up in PA, I am reminded of all of those warm, sunny graduate programs I have applied to...and how I have only heard from Pittsburgh, which might be a degree or two warmer given it's an hour away! Alcohol and karaoke are the only cures I have found to combat the anxiety.
bfat Posted February 8, 2011 Posted February 8, 2011 Ha ha, I'm researching toads so I can write a poem about them Well, I should explain. I'm supposed to be working on my MA thesis, part of which is on Marianne Moore. Bonnie Costello's book on Marianne Moore talks about Moore's famous phrase "real toads in imaginary gardens" and I was really amused by Costello writing that "Toads ... have their own literary history" and then going on about toads for a page and a half. I thought this is a great idea for a poem, and started looking up and taking notes on literary toads. There's Larkin's toads, Heaney's frog spawn, and so on. Even Wilbur has a poem on toads. Not to mention, I'm inspired by all those weird animal poems by Moore -- and the animals she chooses are often ugly & unusual ones too (like the pangolin and the paper nautilus). Can you tell how nutty this process is making me that I'm finding TOADS fascinating?? Frog and Toad are Friends?
Amalia222 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 I'm sure I'm not the only one who could use a little help on this front. So far, my anti-crazy efforts have included reading books I doubt I will have time to read if I get in somewhere (e.g. all of Dashiell Hammet's books, the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit, the Idiot, etc). I'm also trying not to check message boards/results boards/etc except while at my boring 9-5 job. Any other suggestions? Plan a day trip or something fun. Go see a movie. Go to a museum. Go get a manicure or a pedicure. Take a walk while listening to your favorite loud, happy music. Go to the gym. Reading is tough, because every ten minutes you'll find your mind wandering, thinking, "maybe I should check my email again..?". TV is easier. No thinking involved there. And if you're really desperate for distraction, fall back on the old stand-bys: booze and sex!!! :-) lyonessrampant 1
noxrosa Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Even my email account thinks I'm checking my email too much: my Gmail account totally just stopped working for half an hour.
augustquail Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 I think the key is: don't be at home at all during the day and disconnect yourself from the internet. In the evening, go dancing. this may really be the key to sanity at this difficult time. A week and a half ago I made a resolution not to check my email ever again, because it only has bad news. That lasted for 24 hours... This time I simply *must* include dancing in my anti-crazy regimen...
margate Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Attempt reading long hefty novels that you won't ever have time for in grad school. Bourbon. Cook something. Preferably something time-consuming and difficult that you're convinced you'll fail in making. Because then, when you succeed in making something edible, you'll be reminded that certain failure is not always so certain... Clean. (I finally got around to giving the kitchen sink a thorough scrubbing in the last 48 hours.) Attempt to learn another language. Finally, and most important: strive to become the world's foremost champion in computer Solitaire, Hearts, and Minesweeper. augustquail 1
Raputa Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 (edited) My ways (note: I'm still going crazy) --Definitely cooking. Elaborate, experimental and time consuming recipes for the SO. --Wine. You can cook with wine and drink while you cook; also, I was given a flask as an xmas gift from someone already in grad. --Endless episodes of Madmen and the like from Netflix. Escapism! A show about drinking! --Working out. I really does help with the stress. Sweat out the toxins. --Oh yeah, I'm also finishing up my final UG semester, so I'm trying to throw myself into my classes (I'm taking a grad eng class--woo-hoo!). Because I'm taking the grad class, I obviously feel that I'm getting ready for grad school proper, you know--actually buying books in my field, rather than just reading from the library and such. Yet, this has only served to make me extremely paranoid that I'll be rejected across the board--and then I imagine the bitterness I'll feel when I see my field-specific texts on the bookshelf after having been rejected! The paranoia! The magical thinking! Sadly, they've both set in. The weather here is not helping--it's about -100 degrees and 3 feet of snow. It's turning into "The Shining" over here. Edited February 9, 2011 by Raputa
tortola23 Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 My ways (note: I'm still going crazy) --Definitely cooking. Elaborate, experimental and time consuming recipes for the SO. I do this every single night! So much fun. Hate to bring it up, but . . . are you having as much anxiety as I am about the possibility of being separated from the SO for a grad program? Gah I can't stand even thinking about it, and it makes the tension about decisions even worse.
woolfie Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 I am a planner, too...it freaks me out when someone says "Hey, do you want to teach at this summer program in July?" because I have no idea where I will be...and it's driving me insane! To make it worse, every time I go outside in the freezing cold up in PA, I am reminded of all of those warm, sunny graduate programs I have applied to...and how I have only heard from Pittsburgh, which might be a degree or two warmer given it's an hour away! Alcohol and karaoke are the only cures I have found to combat the anxiety. One thing that I've encountered is that, when tying up loose ends, just taking care of things while waiting, people, not graduate students, hear that I'm moving and they ask where. And i have to say, well I don't know yet. And people who aren't involved in graduate study or academia just look at you like you're crazy. Getting ready to move to a place you don't know where it will be is the hardest part about this for me..
Raputa Posted February 9, 2011 Posted February 9, 2011 Hate to bring it up, but . . . are you having as much anxiety as I am about the possibility of being separated from the SO for a grad program? Gah I can't stand even thinking about it, and it makes the tension about decisions even worse. Yeah, it's pretty much been decided that the SO will not be coming with me (that is, if I even get in anywhere! aarrghh)--SO does not want to live in many of the areas/cities where I applied, so that's about it. It'll add a nice depressing note to the happiness (and shock) I'll feel if I get in somewhere. Geez. On ne peut pas tout avoir.
lapelosa Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Well, I'm both going crazy AND finding ways to distract myself. In my off moments I've been reading the Aeneid, book one and now book six, in order to 1) further refine my Latin skills, and 2) increase my familiarity with what was a fundamental text in the Middle Ages. When I'm done with book six, and after I've revised two articles to submit for publication in March, I'd like to read the Divine Comedy in a facing page translation (I know some Italian). Even if I don't get in, I know what things I can do to strengthen my application for next year -- including having a couple of good publications under my belt! *hope* Anyways...... As I read the Aeneid, I can't help but notice patterns. There soooooooo needs to be a drinking game. Every time Juno is angry, take a drink. Every time the Sybil is raging, take a drink. Every time Aeneas is introspectively pondering matters deep within his soul, take a drink. Every time Aeneas' companions are dissed as if they don't matter and are only brought on stage for a little local color, with some striking fire from flint, some grinding corn, and some cutting up the carcass for cooking... take a freaking drink. wanderlust07 and lyonessrampant 2
wanderlust07 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Well, I'm both going crazy AND finding ways to distract myself. In my off moments I've been reading the Aeneid, book one and now book six, in order to 1) further refine my Latin skills, and 2) increase my familiarity with what was a fundamental text in the Middle Ages. When I'm done with book six, and after I've revised two articles to submit for publication in March, I'd like to read the Divine Comedy in a facing page translation (I know some Italian). Even if I don't get in, I know what things I can do to strengthen my application for next year -- including having a couple of good publications under my belt! *hope* Anyways...... As I read the Aeneid, I can't help but notice patterns. There soooooooo needs to be a drinking game. Every time Juno is angry, take a drink. Every time the Sybil is raging, take a drink. Every time Aeneas is introspectively pondering matters deep within his soul, take a drink. Every time Aeneas' companions are dissed as if they don't matter and are only brought on stage for a little local color, with some striking fire from flint, some grinding corn, and some cutting up the carcass for cooking... take a freaking drink. Every time Aeneas reminds you of Frodo Baggins and you realize you've been forever spoiled by pop culture, take a drink.
lapelosa Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 Every time Aeneas reminds you of Frodo Baggins and you realize you've been forever spoiled by pop culture, take a drink. The whole "I'm so much more moody and deep, ergo so much more important than other people" attitude really grates on the nerves, doesn't it?
wanderlust07 Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 The whole "I'm so much more moody and deep, ergo so much more important than other people" attitude really grates on the nerves, doesn't it? One of my Latin instructors (who had me pegged, let's face it...) once gave me an article that actually used various tree images in the Aeneid and Tolkien to make an argument that Tolkien had drawn heavily on Aeneas as a model (I think...it's been a really long time, and since I was in high school, this was the first piece of scholarly writing I think I ever read...). I have never been able to look at either work the same way since. Looking back, I suspect this was the teacher's attempt to lure me into higher education with the promise of bizarre funsies...I'm such a sucker.
hopefulwoolfian Posted February 10, 2011 Posted February 10, 2011 I do this every single night! So much fun. Hate to bring it up, but . . . are you having as much anxiety as I am about the possibility of being separated from the SO for a grad program? Gah I can't stand even thinking about it, and it makes the tension about decisions even worse. I'm in the same boat! He's applying to CS Master's programs, but our best shot was for me to get into Pitt, which doesn't seem likely at this point :/ He wants to follow me, which is sort of awesome, but also really scary because I don't want to make him miserable. Woe.
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