Graduation Gifts to self for a job well done (completing a PhD)

[Miro]

Hello fellow grad students. 

 

I am nowhere close to graduating but i wanted to  know what are some of the gifts you might give yourself for completing your PhD. two people in my lab finished within a week of each other. one bought  a one way ticket to Chile while the other is going to visit 10 different island around the USA. 

 

I am sorry is somebody has started a similar thread ( i search already and did not see any). 

[AJ-Hippocampus]

I'm going to buy me a nice cold beer. Then I'm going to go home and stare at my degree.

[fuzzylogician]

A celebration dinner with friends, followed by some beers. Maybe some school memorabilia to go with me when I leave. 

 

I will be starting a new job within probably 2-3 weeks of graduating (maybe less). No trips or vacations for me. I would just hope for a little bit of time off, but I think I'll probably need to deal with packing and moving and with putting together a course that I'll be teaching in the fall, so I'm not even sure that is going to really happen. 

[rising_star]

Man, I haven't thought that far ahead! There will definitely be post-graduation beers and dinner with my family, because they're coming to town for it. I'll probably celebrate with friends earlier in the week, before my family gets to town. I was hoping to have the money to go on a post-graduation international trip, ideally to Central America or Southeast Asia but, it's just not going to happen.

[pears]

My S.O. hasn't traveled outside the US, & he's really into brewing beer. I'd like to do a "beer-hopping" backpacking tour of Europe, after our work seasons are over so we've got time & money to spare. He could experience international travel & learn a lot about brewing, & I'd have a chance to see places I haven't been (Germany, Belgium, Czech Rep., Ireland, Netherlands). I love traveling, he loves brewing, we love adventures. Also, I mean, hey— any excuse to drink tasty beers & eat tasty cheese, right?

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

My S.O. hasn't traveled outside the US, & he's really into brewing beer. I'd like to do a "beer-hopping" backpacking tour of Europe, after our work seasons are over so we've got time & money to spare. He could experience international travel & learn a lot about brewing, & I'd have a chance to see places I haven't been (Germany, Belgium, Czech Rep., Ireland, Netherlands). I love traveling, he loves brewing, we love adventures. Also, I mean, hey— any excuse to drink tasty beers & eat tasty cheese, right?

That's actually a very good idea. I want to go back to my ancestors' land of Ireland and pub hop my way from one end to the other. 

[pears]

That's actually a very good idea. I want to go back to my ancestors' land of Ireland and pub hop my way from one end to the other. 

 

Great minds think alike! I've got Irish roots on one side, too: fairly recent additions to the US, so it's not hard to figure out where "home" was. Unfortunately, I have a feeling my "ancestors' land" & history is less than illustrious, but it'd be irreverent of me not to follow in their (intoxicated) footsteps if I visited, I suppose.

[roguesenna]

That's actually a very good idea. I want to go back to my ancestors' land of Ireland and pub hop my way from one end to the other. 

 

thirding this. I've got a looooooong time before I'd be done with a PhD (not even in one yet) but a post-PhD trip to Ireland sounds like the best thing EVAR.

[pears]

thirding this. I've got a looooooong time before I'd be done with a PhD (not even in one yet) but a post-PhD trip to Ireland sounds like the best thing EVAR.

 

We should do a TGC forum users field trip! "So, honey, who are these people we're traveling with exactly..?" "Oh, just some strangers I met on the internet 7 years ago."

[PhDerp]

We should do a TGC forum users field trip! "So, honey, who are these people we're traveling with exactly..?" "Oh, just some strangers I met on the internet 7 years ago."

Count me in. XD

[threading_the_neidl]

There are only a few times in our lives when we have the freedom to take extended trips without any other obligations. In a magical dream world, I'd like to have a postdoc start date set up for 1-2 months after graduation, then fly off for an extended trip somewhere in Asia. Or Paris. Or California. I'm not picky.

[roguesenna]

Count me in. XD

 

me too!

[anthropologygeek]

Well, I was hoping to go travel outside the US but turns out my fellowship goes to 3 days before I must report to my job so that's not happening. I plan on buying the diploma display cases from all three universities I have gone to so I have something to hang up in my new office. Other than that ill be saving for a down payment for a house since I plan on being at the new city for a long time or I may wait till I am officially tenured before I buy.

[scottdickson86]

I would get myself something German (A. Lange & Söhne 1815). 

[maelia8]

This might seem simplistic, but I'm thinking I might like to reward myself with whatever new piece of technology I'll have been hankering after which I know would distract me from my studies, such as a sound system, a tv, a tablet, etc. After completing my Ph.D. I might finally have the time to enjoy using a new tech toy

[juilletmercredi]

I start my postdoc about a month after my defense, and I'll be working over the summer to help pay relocation costs.  So no huge trips for me.  I'm hoping that me and my husband can take a nice trip together in the summer of 2015; he graduates that year, and we can celebrate both of our graduations then.

 

My original gift to myself was going to be an expensive pair of shoes, but I got bitten by a practical bug lately and decided against that.  Or rather, I decided that I wouldn't enjoy them as much as I thought I would.  I want to buy a new iPad Air - I have a 3-4 year old iPad 2 that's cracked - so maybe that will be my graduation gift to myself.