WINE, WAIT, AND WHINE THREAD

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Agh... what a discouraging day. Today my parents came by and reminded me that living in Boulder will be nearly impossible. Tomorrow my professors will tell me the same thing. I went from Cloud 9 to ground zero

 

[sjoh197]

Nearly impossible, impossible, and difficult are very different things. Only you will be able to decide not only which one of these it is... But weigh it against the quality, happiness, and likelihood of your success vs other locations.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

1 minute ago, sjoh197 said:

Nearly impossible, impossible, and difficult are very different things. Only you will be able to decide not only which one of these it is... But weigh it against the quality, happiness, and likelihood of your success vs other locations.

Oh, it's not impossible. I'm just so picky... I would rather live in a box on the street than have a roommate. So it's personal preference, and therefore I probably should not complain.

[sjoh197]

Nope I totally understand..... I compromised by getting a roommate that I was also in love with... Lol.

[DrZoidberg]

Are any of you surprised by how weirdly unofficial some of these offers are? I was at an interview/just meet the faculty and eat lunch thing last week, I didn't even know whether it was an interview or just a kind of networking day because my supervisor knows them really well. They casually mentioned they'd nominate me for a (absolutely amazing) fellowship if I was interested. I always imagined I would get a letter with a little yes/no box and that it would be super formal, but this was so casual it caught me by complete surprise. Now I am kind of anxious because it feels like it wasn't a real offer and I maybe I didn't show how strongly I was interested in it and it seems like so many things can go wrong. I am continuously baffled by how complex the application process is.

Edited January 25, 2016 by DrZoidberg

[burgundywave]

12 minutes ago, DrZoidberg said:

Are any of you surprised by how weirdly unofficial some of these offers are? I was at an interview/just meet the faculty and eat lunch thing last week, I didn't even know whether it was an interview or just a kind of networking day because my supervisor knows them really well. They casually mentioned they'd nominate me for a (absolutely amazing) fellowship if I was interested. I always imagined I would get a letter with a little yes/no box and that it would be super formal, but this was so casual it caught me by complete surprise. Now I am kind of anxious because it feels like it wasn't a real offer and I maybe I didn't show how strongly I was interested in it and it seems like so many things can go wrong. I am continuously baffled by how complex the application process is.

Yes, same here! So far my two acceptances came under the form of informal emails from POI. I wish they would still send nice letters like in the movies.

[DrZoidberg]

@burgundywave Yeah, oh God, there are so many things I wish were like in the movies. 

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I know, right? Checking your e-mail 30,000 times a day is so much less romantic than dramatically opening your mailbox after a day at school.

[DrZoidberg]

Also the (almost) compulsory happy ending, you know, just knowing that the leading actor (you) will go through a rough patch but then end up in top #1 school and totally WOW everyone and win the Academic Olympics. That part. I wish life was like that part in the movies. Not the, "I barely scraped through and God I worked hard but I did reasonably well and get an ok amount of recognition for my work but totally have to deal with my insufficiency on a daily basis and that'll probably never go away." Probably no one would watch that movie.

Edited January 25, 2016 by DrZoidberg

[nevermind]

1 hour ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Oh, it's not impossible. I'm just so picky... I would rather live in a box on the street than have a roommate. So it's personal preference, and therefore I probably should not complain.

I was like this. I lived 5+ years without roommates and swore I never would have a roommate again. Then, I decided to get a roommate so that I could save money (to switch form a very lucrative job to a less-paying-but-more-creative job). Now, my boyfriend and I are planning on moving in together wherever I get accepted and I'm really glad I had that adjustment period of living with somebody else first.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

8 minutes ago, DrZoidberg said:

Also the (almost) compulsory happy ending, you know, just knowing that the leading actor (you) will go through a rough patch but then end up in top #1 school and totally WOW everyone and win the Academic Olympics. That part. I wish life was like that part in the movies. Not the, "I barely scraped through and God I worked hard but I did reasonably well and get an ok amount of recognition for my work but totally have to deal with my insufficiency on a daily basis and that'll probably never go away." Probably no one would watch that movie.

It's like you summed up my life right there. Cheers.

@nevermind I don't know what it is. In the past couple of years, I've had probably 8-9 different roommates. They weren't bad roommates or bad people, in fact some of them are still great friends. I just cannot unwind in a space that isn't my own (even when I've had my own bedroom); so I'd end up turning a corner of my room into a "kitchen" and holding my bladder until my roommate left. I wish I weren't this way, it'd save me a lot of money!

Edited January 25, 2016 by Pink Fuzzy Bunny

[DrZoidberg]

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny I just wish we hadn't been indoctrinated with the "special snowflake" lie from birth (ok, my parents were really great and did their best, but there's only so much you can do). I think life would be a lot easier if we were just allowed to be satisfied with our accomplishments.

[nevermind]

11 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

It's like you summed up my life right there. Cheers.

@nevermind I don't know what it is. In the past couple of years, I've had probably 8-9 different roommates. They weren't bad roommates or bad people, in fact some of them are still great friends. I just cannot unwind in a space that isn't my own (even when I've had my own bedroom); so I'd end up turning a corner of my room into a "kitchen" and holding my bladder until my roommate left. I wish I weren't this way, it'd save me a lot of money!

I definitely have my anti-social tendencies too. Being around people just drains me. My boyfriend and I want to get a 2 bedroom apartment (which won't be possible in some places), so we each can be anti-social yet still coexist.

[raaawr]

10 hours ago, aksiksi said:

@piglet33 Thanks a bunch for the pointers!

So guys, I'm in a strange situation. I applied to 6 colleges last year - a MSc for Spring 2016, and 5 PhD programs for Fall 2016. I got an acceptance from the MSc program, and now I'm enrolled for this semester. The program is not top level, but has good benefits, and I'm feeling OK with it.

However, my plan now is to see where I'm accepted out of the 5 PhD programs, and if I get a good option, I'll just leave this program and start over with a PhD in the fall. In a way, I'm treating the MSc program as a semester-long internship.

A week ago I was informally accepted at GATech (yay!), and will be chatting with the program coordinator over Skype. Here is my question: do I mention that I'm currently enrolled in a MSc program, at least temporarily? Will it hurt my chances at being taken seriously? Do you think I can I use the stipend and benefits I'm currently getting as a bargaining chip when interviewed?

Did you declare your MSc program on your application? If you did then won't you be required to submit a transcript from that school? I'm not sure how PhD applications work but weren't you required to submit an unofficial transcript during application period or did you just submit your undergrad?

[aksiksi]

@gelologist and @raaawr: Deadlines for my PhD applications was Dec 15, I got the acceptance from the MSc program on the 22nd. I did not know I would be attending, so I only listed my BS in the applications.

[123hardasABC]

13 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Oh, it's not impossible. I'm just so picky... I would rather live in a box on the street than have a roommate. So it's personal preference, and therefore I probably should not complain.

So much this. I lived in NYC for a year and a half and I had to get roommates to live comfortably. It was the worst thing in the world. If I were to do it again, I would sacrifice food and heating just to afford living in my own apartment. 

 

 

In case anyone asks why...aka I need to rant: 

Queens: was 110% comfortable with living with a cockroach infestation, brought home bedbugs and did not care (I left immediately)

Brooklyn: did not do dishes (left them out until they developed their own ecosystem); never took out the trash (bred maggots); did not buy toilet paper (I had TP in my own room and tested to see how long they would last: 1 week); would leave food in the fridge until moldy, nothing was safe (there was a bag of carrots that turned into green/brown sludge, and mold started growing inside a Britta pitcher -- how??); left cooked food out on the stove because putting it in the fridge was too hard (left cooked pasta on the stove until mold, did this twice); wanted the apartment tropical in the winter so turned up the heat until 75-80 degrees ($300 gas bill)

East Harlem: night owl screamed bloody murder from her room at 3am, legit screamed and cursed in the middle of the night 

[raaawr]

5 hours ago, aksiksi said:

@gelologist and @raaawr: Deadlines for my PhD applications was Dec 15, I got the acceptance from the MSc program on the 22nd. I did not know I would be attending, so I only listed my BS in the applications.

ohhh! I get it now. it seems complicated. i feel like you kind of have to declare it but if you're accepted already maybe you don't have to. but i dont really know how PhD programs work because I applied to an MFA program so I'm not the best to give advice on that matter. sorry 

[raaawr]

22 minutes ago, 123hardasABC said:

So much this. I lived in NYC for a year and a half and I had to get roommates to live comfortably. It was the worst thing in the world. If I were to do it again, I would sacrifice food and heating just to afford living in my own apartment. 

 

 

In case anyone asks why...aka I need to rant: 

Queens: was 110% comfortable with living with a cockroach infestation, brought home bedbugs and did not care (I left immediately)

Brooklyn: did not do dishes (left them out until they developed their own ecosystem); never took out the trash (bred maggots); did not buy toilet paper (I had TP in my own room and tested to see how long they would last: 1 week); would leave food in the fridge until moldy, nothing was safe (there was a bag of carrots that turned into green/brown sludge, and mold started growing inside a Britta pitcher -- how??); left cooked food out on the stove because putting it in the fridge was too hard (left cooked pasta on the stove until mold, did this twice); wanted the apartment tropical in the winter so turned up the heat until 75-80 degrees ($300 gas bill)

East Harlem: night owl screamed bloody murder from her room at 3am, legit screamed and cursed in the middle of the night 

I lived with someone similar to your Brooklyn roommate  but in LA but she refills the TP and washes dishes so it's not as bad. The food thing though was a major issue, she would leave donuts on the couch for weeks until it's filled with ants. expired food on the pantry and fridge, live cockroaches living in the microwave, dirty pans and baking trays placed inside kitchen cabinets straight after use, there was even one time she accidentally dropped a plate on the kitchen floor and just left it there. she barely cleans and on my first morning there (I arrived the night before) i thought we got robbed because when i went into the living room everything was in disarray, apparently that's just how she lives everyday. it's crazy!!

Edited January 25, 2016 by raaawr

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I'm fortunate... some of my roommates were pretty clean, and quiet for the most part. Although I did have to teach a roommate once how to use the vacuum. Not that she ever did... but it's the thought that counts. Oh, and one left the gas for the stove on all day. Thanks, I didn't want to live anyway.

[aksiksi]

6 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I'm fortunate... some of my roommates were pretty clean, and quiet for the most part. Although I did have to teach a roommate once how to use the vacuum. Not that she ever did... but it's the thought that counts. Oh, and one left the gas for the stove on all day. Thanks, I didn't want to live anyway.

Who the hell doesn't know how to use a vacuum? And I thought I was ignorant when it comes to cleaning...

@raaawr No problem! Thanks for the help

Edited January 25, 2016 by aksiksi

[sjoh197]

@aksiksi My boyfriends twin brother (late twenties) recently called home to mommy when his car battery died... because "Oh my god I don't know how to take out a battery and put in a new one even though I'm about to get my PhD in electrical engineering." 

You'd be amazed at what people don't know how to do anymore. 

[aksiksi]

@sjoh197 God that must feel terrible. I made sure to learn that as soon as I started EE to not make a fool of myself haha. There's always Youtube though, so no excuses

Edit: Wait a second, replacing a battery is absolutely trivial. For some reason I was thinking of jumpstarting a battery :/

Edited January 25, 2016 by aksiksi

[raaawr]

ohhhh!! I remember a story when I saw a dead rat in the garage while I was cleaning it. we lived in a house in the suburbs and I was renting a room kind of like an airbnb but long term. anyway the rat died from what i assumed to being trapped there with tons of boxes and other stuff over the years (she was hoarder and the garage was hell.) lol. it kind of looked like a stuffed toy rat and I just swept it and threw it in the garbage pile. she grabbed it with her hand and said, "oh look at this stuffed toy, why are you throwing it away?" my jaw just dropped when she held the dead rat on her hand. 

Edited January 25, 2016 by raaawr

[sjoh197]

@aksiksi I mean jesus.... im a geologist and I know how to put in a car battery. And his mom doesn't know "anything" about cars... except how to put gas in. He could have at least called his dad or brother. It's not like they don't both work on cars in their spare time or anything. Although I think he called his mom because he was too embarrassed to admit that he didn't know how to replace a battery? 

And a vacuum? You push the little power button and move it back and forth.... :/

I am concerned for the well-being of the human population. 

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Hahaha! I mean, I can understand the battery part... I wouldn't know how. But that he's about to get his PhD in EE is just hilarious!! Also I'm a girl, so I'm not expected by society to know how to do pretty much anything

I just wish that I had the patience to live with other people. And in graduate school, I'm going to need to preserve every bit of sanity that I can. I found a cheap apartment but housing goes fast there, so I may have to drive there some weekday (16 hours one way, yay) since the apartment place isn't open on weekends (grrrr!).