Venting Thread- Vent about anything.

[Ocean-Atmos-Climate]

56 minutes ago, spectastic said:

we're going to pull out of the Paris deal, dissolve the EPA and cut all funding to the DOE, in order to redirect that funding to "Make America Great Again"

 

fuck me

I conduct climate research and my graduate degree is funded by the DOE. Yipee. Good thing my fellowship already has the money set aside...

[shadowclaw]

6 hours ago, spectastic said:

we're going to pull out of the Paris deal, dissolve the EPA and cut all funding to the DOE, in order to redirect that funding to "Make America Great Again"

 

If his policies related to the EPA, energy, climate change, etc. actually come to fruitation, the environment is fucked.

I think I lost a friend when I pleaded with social media to explain what part of his platform was so damn amazing that it trumps his homophobic, racist, sexist, xenophobic, anti-science, and anti-environmental rhetoric and policies. I legitimately want to know. Instead, the response I got was that this person (who I didn't even know was a trump supporter) uses social media to look at people's pets and babies, not to be judged for their vote and told that their decision will hurt certain groups of people. I am certainly guilty of being judgmental, but for Pete's sake, don't complain about the few times I engage in political banter. Pets and babies are great, but seriously, discussing the future of our country and the potential harm to its minorities is pretty freaking important. I'm sorry if people want to live in some weird bubble where everything is rainbows and sunshine, but I for one want to use the social tools available to me to be informed and communicate.

[Cheshire_Cat]

14 hours ago, shadowclaw said:

If his policies related to the EPA, energy, climate change, etc. actually come to fruitation, the environment is fucked.

I think I lost a friend when I pleaded with social media to explain what part of his platform was so damn amazing that it trumps his homophobic, racist, sexist, xenophobic, anti-science, and anti-environmental rhetoric and policies. I legitimately want to know. Instead, the response I got was that this person (who I didn't even know was a trump supporter) uses social media to look at people's pets and babies, not to be judged for their vote and told that their decision will hurt certain groups of people. I am certainly guilty of being judgmental, but for Pete's sake, don't complain about the few times I engage in political banter. Pets and babies are great, but seriously, discussing the future of our country and the potential harm to its minorities is pretty freaking important. I'm sorry if people want to live in some weird bubble where everything is rainbows and sunshine, but I for one want to use the social tools available to me to be informed and communicate.

It isn't about platform.  It never is.  It is always about who is more charismatic and sells themselves better. 

I did NOT vote for the guy and never will.  But I have a good amount of friends on FB and in person who did.  For the less educated voter, he sold benefits instead of features.  Any sales person knows that people don't care about features, they want to know what benefits they get from the features.  What does that mean?  He told America that a vote for him was a vote to make America great again.  Hillary told America that a vote for her was a vote for... ovaries in the white house?  Now, I know that she had more plans than that, but if we just look at their campaign slogans.  Trump sold "America great again."- benefit.  Hillary sold "I'm with her."- feature.  For those who don't care about a "Her" being elected, "America being great again" is a big selling point. 

The reason I can see for the more rational educated people I know who voted for him is because of judicial activism.  Democrats have used the Supreme Court (and the Circuit Courts) to create laws they could not effectively get through the legislative process. In this election, that came back to bite them. Most of the people I know held their noses and voted for Trump over fear of losing all control of the political process to a dictatorship of nine. 

As far as his policies go, I read his 100 day plan, and I think his healthcare plan is a start. (I worked in the industry for a few years, so its the only think I know a little about)  It needs work, but healthcare savings accounts would help most people with the small everyday things that they struggle with health-wise and reduce economic shocks there.   It needs to be coupled with a good catastrophic insurance plan to cover the big things, but it's a start.  I am for universal healthcare, but the ACA was a very poor implementation of it.

He's also pro alternative education, which I like.  And cutting taxes on the middle class  and business is a good thing. (The effects of taxes is another thing I know a little about)

I know this seems like a very pro-Trump post, so let me say again that I did NOT vote for him and never will.  But I am trying to look at the bright side.

Also, I don't think he will be as bad for the LGBT community as people think he will.  He has Pence as his running mate to satisfy the Religious right, but if he doesn't veto legislation the RR try to put forth, I will be extremely surprised.  He is probably the least socially conservative person in this election. (I think Hilary is a closet prude, but tows the party line) I am very afraid of his foreign and immigration policies though.  And I am worried imposing term limits on congress will have unintended consequences.

[spectastic]

21 hours ago, Ocean-Atmos-Climate said:

I conduct climate research and my graduate degree is funded by the DOE. Yipee. Good thing my fellowship already has the money set aside...

good thing the renewable market (what I'm interested in) is doing pretty well in the private sector, even without government subsidies, it will still survive. the people will do what the government is blind to.

[unræd]

On November 10, 2016 at 10:48 AM, Cheshire_Cat said:

Also, I don't think he will be as bad for the LGBT community as people think he will.  He has Pence as his running mate to satisfy the Religious right, but if he doesn't veto legislation the RR try to put forth, I will be extremely surprised.

Of course, if you're somehow wrong about your gut feeling and it turns out he doesn't veto legislation the religious right tries to put forth, I and many other Americans will be less "extremely surprised" than "deprived of our civil rights," but hey.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edited November 13, 2016 by unræd

[dr. t]

You know, next time you think that maybe we should give Trump the benefit of the doubt or look for ways to work with him, or that we should look on the bright side, or that he's not as bad at all that, I want you to stop for a second.

I want you to stop, and I want you to imagine you're one of the women whom he sexually assaulted, who came forward to accuse him of sexual assault. I want you to imagine that woman on election night at the moment she hears Trump declared to be the next president of these United States.

Tell her he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Tell her he's not as bad as all that.

Edited November 13, 2016 by telkanuru

[Cheshire_Cat]

15 hours ago, telkanuru said:

You know, next time you think that maybe we should give Trump the benefit of the doubt or look for ways to work with him, or that we should look on the bright side, or that he's not as bad at all that, I want you to stop for a second.

I want you to stop, and I want you to imagine you're one of the women whom he sexually assaulted, who came forward to accuse him of sexual assault. I want you to imagine that woman on election night at the moment she hears Trump declared to be the next president of these United States.

Tell her he deserves the benefit of the doubt. Tell her he's not as bad as all that.

One of my few political posts this election was denouncing people who said that what Trump said was okay because others have said and done worse.  It is not ok.  It will never be okay.  The man is vile in other ways and I would never vote for him.  In fact, I never once posted why you shouldn't vote for Hilary, but several times I posted about why you shouldn't vote for Trump.  However, I don't believe everything I hear, especially if I can use it to justify my own biases.  Those people only came forward after he started running for president.  The guy is a multi-billionaire.  Certainly someone should have come forward before then, if just to get some money off of him.  Now, I'm not defending him.  If he did it, he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.  However, I was also an auditor for a number of years and I have learned that just because someone says something, does not mean it is true.  Innocent until proven guilty is still the rule of law.

But now that he is elected, we should try to work with him, because I want what is best for the country.  When the Democrats took office and passed the ACA, the Republicans refused to work with them, and I think we got a worse plan for it.  Now the Republicans have the power, and some of the things they propose make me cringe.  But that is why we have to work together. They need to moderate eachother, because otherwise it will be the dystopian future y'all are afraid of.

[Cheshire_Cat]

Also, I'm trying to give y'all what other people see in him, not exactly what I believe, because that was the original question.  Also, you don't understand your own position until you understand the strongest argument for the other side.  So far, I see the left making a lot of guesses about why Trump happened, and they are all weak arguments.  They don't line up whatsoever with why the people I know voted for him.  And until you understand why the hell people would vote for him, despite all of his vile ways, you will never beat him.

[DBear]

Gah - 

I just paid to report GRE and TOEFL to four out of 8 schools I'm applying to. 

That's 165 dollars that I'll never see again. 

Between taking the GRE 3 times (one time, I paid extra to reschedule) and the TOEFL once, I've already spent over 1,000 dollars in test taking and related fees - and I haven't even started paying for the applications themselves  and still need to order some more transcripts...

I know a lot of people that applied to over 15 schools and spent over 2 grand on applying .. GAH

 

Sorry - just had to vent GAH GAH

[shadowclaw]

On 11/13/2016 at 3:51 PM, KaffeeCafe said:

Not to one-up anyone, but this is also my first year at grad school, and we are on the quarter system, and they have us TAing and taking THREE classes!!! Coming from the semester system, and cramming three courses into 10 weeks just doesn't feel possible. 

You will make it through. I took 4 classes each quarter last year and TAed for two of those quarters (roughly 20 hours per week of work related to the TA position). Why did I do it? The tuition scholarship I had my first term required 12 credits, and all TA positions require 12 credits for some reason. It didn't occur to me to take 2 courses and fill the rest of my credits with thesis credits (which is what is normally done at my school) and my advisor didn't suggest it, either. There were weeks that were really tough, especially when everything was due at once, but I made it. Looking back, I'm rather happy I did it, because I finished probably 2/3 of my coursework. I now have time to finish the remaining coursework over the next few years plus complete a graduate certificate in university-level teaching (and of course do research!).

Since I now have the luxury of taking only 1 or 2 courses per term, I decided to stick with just 2 courses this term. When chatting with my program director, I made a comment about thesis credits and she was shocked that I was taking some already. Her reasoning was that since the TA position pays for 12 - 16 credits, I should be taking all of those credits in coursework so that if I go onto an RA position which will only cover X number of credits, I won't have to worry about paying out of pocket for any courses or thesis credits. I guess it's not an unreasonable idea to prepare for potentially crappy tuition remission, but I think expecting people to take 4 classes on top of a high FTE TA position is a little unreasonable.

She also discouraged my advisor from letting me do a field season of research this summer and doing my qualifying exams in the fall, just in case I failed (thanks for the confidence boost). It's by no means a university or program policy to do exams before research (in fact, most students in my program do two years of research before taking exams, and some have even procrastinated and did them the same year they defended their dissertation). So I have no idea why she was pushing that. Thankfully, my advisor told her I'd be fine. 

[Cheshire_Cat]

It is getting near the end of the semester, which means my artistic side wants to come out so that I can think about things in a diffuse state.  Unfortunately, I have something wrong with my hands and too much use causes them to be in a lot of pain or numb with a lot of activity.  So I have to save them for writing my end-of-term papers.   I want to needle-felt and I want to draw, and both seem like a terrible idea if I want to be able to function for the rest of the semester.  I need a new hobby.

[SG_SC]

Help. 

I am working on an academic Master's at a hippie dippie seminary. My classmates are largely incompetent (save one or two who seem to have managed to get their heads out of their own asses long enough to come up for air). My thesis, which is in philosophical theology, is 4 weeks behind schedule- and I can't even talk about it with colleagues because it isn't about some touchy feely shyite.

I'm applying to PhD programs and F$#%*ING nervous about it because my application is... acceptable (but only just). 

My boyfriend is 5 hours away, in his Residency and I barely get to see him.

If I don't get into one of my top 2 programs (which are only an hour from where he lives), it might mean the end of my relationship since most of the other programs are so far away. 

And my dog just destroyed my last pair of clean underwear, and the washer is broken. 

And I have a cold.

Someone please bring me bourbon. And a hug. And tell me it's going to be okay. 

Edited November 23, 2016 by SG_SC

[DBear]

On 2016. 11. 23. at 11:26 AM, SG_SC said:

Help. 

I am working on an academic Master's at a hippie dippie seminary. My classmates are largely incompetent (save one or two who seem to have managed to get their heads out of their own asses long enough to come up for air). My thesis, which is in philosophical theology, is 4 weeks behind schedule- and I can't even talk about it with colleagues because it isn't about some touchy feely shyite.

I'm applying to PhD programs and F$#%*ING nervous about it because my application is... acceptable (but only just). 

My boyfriend is 5 hours away, in his Residency and I barely get to see him.

If I don't get into one of my top 2 programs (which are only an hour from where he lives), it might mean the end of my relationship since most of the other programs are so far away. 

And my dog just destroyed my last pair of clean underwear, and the washer is broken. 

And I have a cold.

Someone please bring me bourbon. And a hug. And tell me it's going to be okay. 

Here's a virtual bourbon and hug -

In my experience (and I'm like a decade older than most of the MA classmates I graduated with this summer) "this too shall pass" really is true. Somehow, no matter how shitty things get, the world hasn't ended for me yet (sometimes I'm REALLY surprised about this) and you'll get through this too!

[AP]

There are such things as stupid questions. People ask them. It doesn't mean they are stupid, only the questions are. But it bothers me when they get angry when I point that out. 

[AP]

On 11/22/2016 at 11:26 PM, SG_SC said:

Help. 

I am working on an academic Master's at a hippie dippie seminary. My classmates are largely incompetent (save one or two who seem to have managed to get their heads out of their own asses long enough to come up for air). My thesis, which is in philosophical theology, is 4 weeks behind schedule- and I can't even talk about it with colleagues because it isn't about some touchy feely shyite.

I'm applying to PhD programs and F$#%*ING nervous about it because my application is... acceptable (but only just). 

My boyfriend is 5 hours away, in his Residency and I barely get to see him.

If I don't get into one of my top 2 programs (which are only an hour from where he lives), it might mean the end of my relationship since most of the other programs are so far away. 

And my dog just destroyed my last pair of clean underwear, and the washer is broken. 

And I have a cold.

Someone please bring me bourbon. And a hug. And tell me it's going to be okay. 

Things will work out the best way possible. Clearly, you are doing everything you can and you need to remember that. 

[AP]

NEED TO VENT:

So I'm reading this source and trying to write the story behind it. Clearly, I need to read more about a policy that the source mentions so I Google it as my first approach to anything. A book that I have appears so I go to the book and read this chapter. The author quotes the source (yes, the one that I have right here) but does not cite it, he cites HIMSELF. Ok, whatever. I've met him and I know he is one of those historians who needs to cite himself every two words. Whatever. 

Wait for it.

So I say, OK, maybe he includes the source at the end of the chapter (it is an edited volume so bibliography is at the end of the chapter). No source. Not even ONE source. I mean, you are a historian. And I saw you quoted a source of the end of the 19th century. We actually use sources! But OK, whatever, maybe the source is cited in this article of his that he cited instead. Nope. He didn't include that article in his bibliography. He included all his other papers (including a draft in his computer) but not this particular article. How messy is that? CITE YOUR F**KING SOURCES!

Agggghhhhhh

[spectastic]

i need to unplug from the news, because every corner i turn, all i see is trump and his cabinet of cronies. 

[Sageofpain]

I am dying on the inside, it is almost Christmas and I only have 3 schools send me interview offers out of 14. What about all the other schools, have they not processed the documents or am I undesirable to them? I have a sinking suspicion that majority of the interviews have been sent out and I am up shit creek getting only offers from my number 3 pick, 7 pick, and 11 pick. why does this have to be so painful, an interview isn't an acceptance, what if I don't get in after the interview. This is so damn stressful, make time turn faster with only positive outcomes.

[ellieotter]

Love that there is a vent thread!!

I am getting SO discouraged with apps this year. One interview so far (and one where I'm an alternate) and I am so freaking terrified that I won't be getting in...I've sacrificed so much for this. Most importantly the love of my life who I chose not to follow to grad school so I could work on building up my research experience for my own grad apps. I am so ready for the next chapter of my life to begin...unless I don't get in ughhhhh It's so hard to be happy for fellow applicants who are getting tons of interviews when you have the same cred's but you're just sitting in silence staring at your email 

[avflinsch]

On 11/22/2016 at 8:31 PM, Cheshire_Cat said:

It is getting near the end of the semester, which means my artistic side wants to come out so that I can think about things in a diffuse state.  Unfortunately, I have something wrong with my hands and too much use causes them to be in a lot of pain or numb with a lot of activity.  So I have to save them for writing my end-of-term papers.   I want to needle-felt and I want to draw, and both seem like a terrible idea if I want to be able to function for the rest of the semester.  I need a new hobby.

I can feel your pain there, I get terrible cramping in my hand when doing anything that requires fine motor control, so I limit it to note taking during the school year.

That said, the last day of classes was yesterday, the last day of work is on Friday, so the last week in December and first Week of January (when I return to work) I always get reacquainted with my sketch pad, pencils and pens (along with my whisky collection).

vent - whisky collection needs replenishment,

[psyched64]

I'm so glad there's a venting thread! The uncertainty of not knowing where I'll end up this time next year and checking my email compulsively is making me really really anxious.

[shur42]

Yesterday I emailed one of my LOR writers who didn't submit his letter to 2 out of 7 schools. And it's past deadline. I know that at this point it's very unlikely that adcoms will meet until at least Jan 1st, but I really want everything to be in order ASAP.

The LOR writer promtly replied with a nice "Merry Christmas" email, AND STILL HASN'T SUBMITTED HIS LETTERS! Why  

[crugs]

6 hours ago, avflinsch said:

vent - whisky collection needs replenishment,

Nothing is more accurate about this application process!!!

 

As for my venting: I work in a public HS in a new state and they're sending me through a thousand hoops still to get reciprocity for my license. Meanwhile right before Holiday break I want to tear my hear out. 

And besides that, with one sister married a month ago, the other getting married next summer, and me recently single after 4 years...I feel like I need *something* to go right in my life this year. 

I need an acceptance more than anything and time has never felt so slow moving....

 

[PhDorBUST]

On 11/9/2016 at 3:23 PM, spectastic said:

we're going to pull out of the Paris deal, dissolve the EPA and cut all funding to the DOE, in order to redirect that funding to "Make America Great Again"

 

fuck me

 

This just made my fucking day OMG I laughed and then almost coughed up a lung (thank you bronchitis!) and then laughed my ass off again. My dogs are currently looking at me like, Fuck should we do something??

 

I'm currently in a social work program, so I'm either going to have ALL the work, or literally live in my car for the next four years so I feel you

[PhDorBUST]

21 hours ago, crugs said:

Nothing is more accurate about this application process!!!

 

As for my venting: I work in a public HS in a new state and they're sending me through a thousand hoops still to get reciprocity for my license. Meanwhile right before Holiday break I want to tear my hear out. 

And besides that, with one sister married a month ago, the other getting married next summer, and me recently single after 4 years...I feel like I need *something* to go right in my life this year. 

I need an acceptance more than anything and time has never felt so slow moving....

 

 

Are you the oldest? I'm 29, my oldest sibling is 21 and every time I go to family functions I can see their literal fear for my life in their eyes like OMG she's still single and all her younger cousins are all married off...

Meanwhile, I'M SO HAPPY I'M NOT MARRIED. 

I feel like I'm gonna be that person who doesn't hear anything from programs until like, May. If at all. I'll call, and they'll be like, omg you didn't get your rejection letter?? SO SORRY