Now what?

[philapgirl]

What are you guys doing while you wait? I basically spent the last million months focusing on grad apps and now I am just anxious, waiting for something to happen, stalking gradcafe too much. How are you keeping yourselves sane and busy?

[jjb919]

I have a full time job, so I am just focusing on work (although the field my organization is in is higher education so I can't get too far away). I'm reading some literature, playing music, spending time with my wife, catching up on old and new shows. I've had my applications done and ready for a long time so although I have been submitting them piecemeal up to last week, I haven't worked on them or changed anything since August or so. I've just been keeping my mind off it as best as possible.

[smwinterfeldt]

I'm in the middle of working on my thesis. So far, I'm ahead of the curve, but I still have a lot of reading and writing to do. I also work part-time. Once the semester starts back up, I'll also have two classes and a TA-ship to focus on. I'm hoping that should be a sufficient distraction.

[abisch]

I started playing Fallout. I figure now might be the last time I'll have this much free time in awhile (if I actually get in anywhere). 

[dgswaim]

Working on my thesis and reading "The Expanse" series.

[gughok]

I'm not quite done myself, but I've been trying to keep myself from going insane by reading Asimov (I can't get enough of the guy) and play my fair share of video games (Steam's winter sale never disappoints) while I still have the chance.

[samori]

I'm going to try to keep working on my application, just in case I'm out of luck this year and decide to apply again next round...

... but mostly I will also be playing video games.

[philosophe]

We just need to keep ourselves occupied until the end of the month, that's when the fun starts! (And by fun I mean paranoid phone/email/results page checking). 

Personally, the fall semester was a lot of work so I'm using the break to binge on TV and read some non-philosophy books. I'm trying to give myself a break, I recommend you netflix it up for the next couple of weeks! I hear making of a murderer is good. 

[metaphysician]

Have a drink, everyone--you deserve it! 

[dgswaim]

2 hours ago, metaphysician said:

Have a drink, everyone--you deserve it! 

It's funny to me that you think my drinking is conditional on just deserts........

[philapgirl]

I'm definitely doing stuff in line with a lot of what you guys are saying--reading, video-gaming, netflixing, and working (tutoring). Though, my job doesn't take much time out of my schedule and I only need to work a few hours to have a sufficient amount of $$$ to live off of. I think getting another job would be good. 

I'll probably start swimming more and pretend I'm training for something.

It's been a while since I've read anything in philosophy that didn't have to do with my writing sample. Maybe I'll go through someone's syllabus or something. I've definitely also been meaning to read some history of mathematics and logic. I just adore the subject. 

[dgswaim]

1 hour ago, philapgirl said:

I'm definitely doing stuff in line with a lot of what you guys are saying--reading, video-gaming, netflixing, and working (tutoring). Though, my job doesn't take much time out of my schedule and I only need to work a few hours to have a sufficient amount of $$$ to live off of. I think getting another job would be good. 

I'll probably start swimming more and pretend I'm training for something.

It's been a while since I've read anything in philosophy that didn't have to do with my writing sample. Maybe I'll go through someone's syllabus or something. I've definitely also been meaning to read some history of mathematics and logic. I just adore the subject. 

Kneale & Kneale, The Development of Logic. Read it. It's the shiznaz.

[philosophe]

1 hour ago, dgswaim said:

Kneale & Kneale, The Development of Logic. Read it. It's the shiznaz.

That's on my to-read list

Edited January 8, 2016 by philosophe

[dgswaim]

1 hour ago, philosophe said:

That's on my to-read list

How long is said list? I find that academics usually have a completed infinity of things on their to read list... and, paradoxically, that that completed infinity just grows. Certainly rings true in my case.

[metaphysician]

10 hours ago, dgswaim said:

It's funny to me that you think my drinking is conditional on just deserts........

I just meant we should have a celebratory drink. By all means, drink as much—and whenever—you want to. 

Edited January 8, 2016 by metaphysician

[thatsjustsemantics]

I plan on reading a lot of books; watching a lot of films. I just finished Johnathon Franzen's Purity, and now I'm reading Donna Tartt's The Secret History. I plan on reading her next two books once I'm finished with the first. I'm waiting for Tarantino's The Hateful Eight and Inarritu's The Revenant to be released here in France (I'm teaching English for now). Otherwise, you can find me watching shows dubbed in French on netflix or playing League of Legends.

[FoxAndChicken]

So, given that it's my last semester of undergrad, I signed up for six classes because they're all cool. I'm also working three jobs and in four student orgs, two of which are major leadership positions. I was also recently asked to help on a project to choose art for our math department and another project to develop an online logic introduction for students taking lower level math. (A database of problems.) I'm also speaking at graduation. So, basically, I'm not sleeping. ???? You would think with all that, I'd be sufficiently distracted from waiting but I feel sick to my stomach all the time about the fact that I literally don't have an idea about what I'm doing five months from now. 

[philstudent1991]

I'll be teaching and writing my MA thesis, and I'm weirdly zen about my applications. It's really only a month or less until places start releasing acceptances. I can handle that. 

[dgswaim]

4 hours ago, philstudent1991 said:

I'll be teaching and writing my MA thesis, and I'm weirdly zen about my applications. It's really only a month or less until places start releasing acceptances. I can handle that. 

I'm pretty chill about it too. I mean, I figure I'll either get accepted and so go and get a PhD and really get my career started as an academic, or I'll get shut out and go on a murderous rampage. Either way I get to have new experiences, which is nice.

[SamStone]

It definitely feels weird just waiting after all that work...

However, I did just get back from a great trip out of town with my wife before the next semester starts. We went to the beach, and it was so nice to not think about applications, my thesis, etc. for a week. 

Now that I'm home I plan to do some extra reading before courses start up again. I've started reading the biography Walter Benjamin: A Critical Life by Eland and Jennings, which has already been somewhat encouraging during the application process: despite his brilliance, Benjamin seemed to face so many rejections and struggled to find his place in a university (not that I expect to be rejected..but that is always a possibility). I'm also reading Deleuze and Guattari's A Thousand Plateaus, which has been really fun. I'll probably read a few other other books that I don't get to engage with at school, but haven't quite planned out a reading list. I'm really just relieved to get a chance to relax this semester.