wheatGrass Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I check my admission status way too much, and I know it won't change from "under review" or "no decision yet" for many, many weeks. I also check gradcafe way too much. I suspect that this is a common problem (or just common and not a problem depending on how you look at it/your propensity to acholism/the frequency of your boss' visits to your workspace). Anyway, I'm coming up with a list of useful things to do instead of checking admit status that take about as long as checking gradcafe and are equally painless/harmless. So far I've only come up with two: write an email or similar message to an old friend from high school or undergraddelete undesirable posts from facebook before Timeline strikes Now I will have to keep returning to gradcafe to see if anyone has any other ideas. Brilliant. wildviolet, quantitative and BreathingSister 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gellert Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Learn to play the accordion. Invent your own language. Beat the world record at Minesweeper. Try to kiss your elbow. Get involved in a local Star Trek live action role play group. Make Lazy College Senior memes (or live them). Sew a quilt. I'll come back later with some more serious ones. jspring86, trina, deleteuser_184321 and 5 others 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unitname Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 This is a great thread. With that said, I will probably do none of the things suggested, and just keep checking non-changing statuses. crazygirl2012, wildviolet, thomasantony and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purpledinosaur Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Things I do: Knitting something (scarves are good: hard to mess up and very repetitive). Checking google reader. Reading the same paragraph over and over. Midnight baking, resulting in post-midnight noms. Eating all the edible things in my house. Calling people to complain about PhD applications. Drinking wine. Watching funny YouTube videos (more time than I would like to admit) DaisyAdair and Julianne Pigoon 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrazilianGuy Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Things to do instead of checking your status: "Check every 5 minutes your email" "24x7 on GradCafe" "Call every day the admission offices and ask about your status" HEheheheheh gellert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunty DaGnome Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I'm making a list of programs where I should have applied but didn't. It will be my silver lining when my rejections start to roll in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gellert Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Seriously? Downvoted for being a little silly on a bad day? At any rate, here are some more serious offers: Learn a new language. Pretend you're a spy and you have to recon your house and figure out all possible exit points/weapons/etc. Also works for zombie invasion prep. Vacuum. You know you need to. Find a new interesting recipe you've never tried before and cook with a friend. Read a trashy/guilty pleasure book. (Gossip Girl, anyone?) Buy yourself flowers to put on your desk and keep your spirits up. Read the entire Guide to Getting It On. Learn to draw. jbriar, A Finicky Bean, Andee Kaplan and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCoasting Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I'm 36 weeks pregnant so I like to make a wish list for the baby, though I imagine this is not much of a relevant project for most... Honestly there is nothing that can distract me from checking my email 15 times a day. trina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snes Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Hahaha gellert I reversed the downvote because I have no idea why anyone would downvote SILLINESS in this time of need!! Here's my boring list even though I end up running back to my computer regardless: workout replay Zelda Ocarina of Time start email threads with faraway friends puzzles get better at basic piano skills follow my friends and family on their travels away from my computer clean (ha!) gossip blogs. hgd12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoggieMom Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 obsess about outcome instead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreathingSister Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Make Lazy College Senior memes (or live them). lolol, check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunty DaGnome Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I'm 36 weeks pregnant so I like to make a wish list for the baby, though I imagine this is not much of a relevant project for most... Honestly there is nothing that can distract me from checking my email 15 times a day. I think you definitely win the prize for caring the most about grad school, if 36 weeks pregnant is having trouble competing. habanero, trina and MashaMashaMasha 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLajax Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Learn to play the accordion. Invent your own language. Beat the world record at Minesweeper. Try to kiss your elbow. Get involved in a local Star Trek live action role play group. Make Lazy College Senior memes (or live them). Sew a quilt. I'll come back later with some more serious ones. I like all of these suggestions. I tried to upvote it, but I've reached my positive votes quota for the day. I'm already looking for my local Star Trek group. If I can't find any, I'll start inventing my own language for when an away team lands and tries to talk to me- they're translators won't know what hit 'em! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
applyingfromtexas Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 paint a room... then watch it dry. BreathingSister, hgd12 and abc123xtc 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socihealth Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 organize your desk clean up your contacts list on your phone go to the grocery store watch a dvd read a newspaper you usually dont read a magazine up vote people whose silly posts made you laugh (lol accordion) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hegel's Bagels Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 What I should do: Finish my thesis (Master's) Assure adviser that I'll finish my thesis. Back-up what I've already written for my thesis. What I'll actually do: Pretend to be busy writing my thesis while I'm obsessively checking GC, email, and app statuses. socihealth 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panasic Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 run a lot clean/ de-clutter (come across mailed GRE scores in the process and freak out) read russian novel (will keep you busy for a loooong time) make home made chai cook/bake/invite friend over and NOT talk about grad school i made plans for this entire week every night (except tonight) so i won't have to think about this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panasic Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 btw, great idea about emailing friends, wheatGrass! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhDreams Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 spring cleaning a season early (positive thinking for future move)! go through ridiculously long netflix queue...feel like i'm in touch with reality read the stack of books on my kitchen table... avoid leaving apartment write thank yous to referees...before i get my decisions (to avoid uncomfortable phrases like "thanks anyway") start running... wake up early... wake up early to start running. give up coffee, muffins too. find another substitute for coffee. skip dessert...have coffee in the morning. Gvh and BreathingSister 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contretemps Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Eating all the edible things in my house. I am doing this now, kthxbai MashaMashaMasha and snes 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abc123xtc Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Reading articles on Cracked.com Watching ALL the queer movies on Netflix Cuddling with my cats Apply for jobs Figure out my backup plan in case I don't get into graduate school Think of tattoo ideas Listen to music Get in shape Write essays, short stories, poems, personal narratives, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazoo Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Get clothes you don't wear out of your closet and donate them Start a blog about your interests Get out more! (galleries, shows, parcs, zoos whatever!) and my personal favorite: make Valentine's Day cards! kazoo and stephanopolis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaetzli Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 I just finished the third level of "Angry Birds Season" with *Total Destruction - Three Stars in All Levels* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlkwih2 Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 The schools should make an RPG in which the hero is our almighty WannabeGrad. There are 10 big levels, and you have to collect data, documents and LORs instead of coins like Super Mario. You fight one member of the admission committee after completing each level. And to stay alive, you have to refresh your status every 30 seconds (it's like checking inbox). If you fail to defeat the last boss - your POI - there's a consolation prize - you get another game (a new acceptance) for free via snail mail in March! I should do this, really. This is my new research proposal, could be good for Comp. Sci., Psychology etc. violet., quantitative, surefire and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kazoo Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 The schools should make an RPG in which the hero is our almighty WannabeGrad. There are 10 big levels, and you have to collect data, documents and LORs instead of coins like Super Mario. You fight one member of the admission committee after completing each level. And to stay alive, you have to refresh your status every 30 seconds (it's like checking inbox). If you fail to defeat the last boss - your POI - there's a consolation prize - you get another game (a new acceptance) for free via snail mail in March! I should do this, really. This is my new research proposal, could be good for Comp. Sci., Psychology etc. Haha you are so creative wlkwih2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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