We've wined, we've waited, now it's time to celebrate 2016

[Need Coffee in an IV]

1 minute ago, sjoh197 said:

I hate going to the hairdresser because the always want to "do stuff" to my hair. And I'm like no... Just a trim please.

I don't dye, straighten, curl, blow dry, nothing. And they always want to make things complicated. I finally found this guy that does exactly what I want.

I would have to say pushy hairstylists are annoying. Yes you can suggest things but sometimes hairstylists don't know how to pull back. I will have to say I love my stylist now because I don't feel forced to make small talk. We are able to sit in silence and I love it haha

[hippyscientist]

8 minutes ago, MarineBluePsy said:

You're not using an spf product for your hair?!?!?  Or at the very least wearing a hat?!  It may seem silly, but go into a nursing and see what those people who didn't maintain their hair look like.  Frightening rats nests with patches of bald!

I know. I used to wear a hat, but when you're in the water for 8 hours a day anything you do ends up washing off. I always wear sunscreen though, and used to put zinc on my scalp. Hair care and beauty stuff in general is really alien to me. My mum never taught me, and I was never into it growing up, so here I am early 20s still figuring out things like what shampoo works best for me. 

 

2 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

I hate going to the hairdresser because the always want to "do stuff" to my hair. And I'm like no... Just a trim please.

I don't dye, straighten, curl, blow dry, nothing. And they always want to make things complicated. I finally found this guy that does exactly what I want.

I'm with you on the hairdressers wanting to go complicated. I rarely style my hair - if I do it's because of an important event or my friends have handcuffed me to a bed and decided to give me a makeover (happened) - and I love my current hairdresser. In and out under an hour  a minor miracle! 

[Need Coffee in an IV]

1 minute ago, hippyscientist said:

I know. I used to wear a hat, but when you're in the water for 8 hours a day anything you do ends up washing off. I always wear sunscreen though, and used to put zinc on my scalp. Hair care and beauty stuff in general is really alien to me. My mum never taught me, and I was never into it growing up, so here I am early 20s still figuring out things like what shampoo works best for me. 

 

I'm with you on the hairdressers wanting to go complicated. I rarely style my hair - if I do it's because of an important event or my friends have handcuffed me to a bed and decided to give me a makeover (happened) - and I love my current hairdresser. In and out under an hour  a minor miracle! 

LOL friend makeovers, they can end so badly sometimes. Years ago my friend gave me one and applied wayyyyyy to much eyeliner. Of course the boy I had a crush on ask me if someone punch me in the face because I looked like I had a black eye.

[savay]

I get so exhausted with hair maintenance! I kept my hair various shades of red for about a decade, but it got harder to keep up in the last year or two. It feels strange but nice to see my natural color again. I forgot my hair is naturally so dark!

Something I did in undergrad that I'm really looking forward to doing again as a grad student is seeing trainee stylists. I was a hair model for Vidal Sassoon and got my hair cut and colored for free for a few years, but all the appointments are normally during the day which I can't really do working full time. I would show up, say do whatever you want, and a few hours later (the one thing is that it does take a little longer because they normally have to get work ok'd by their supervisor) I'd leave with an awesome haircut. There's a few salons that have training programs near my program, so hopefully that will work again. I've been going to some cheap barber shops in the interim but it can be hard to find a place that isn't terribly expensive in the city.

[Danger_Zone]

30 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

I hate going to the hairdresser because the always want to "do stuff" to my hair. And I'm like no... Just a trim please.

I don't dye, straighten, curl, blow dry, nothing. And they always want to make things complicated. I finally found this guy that does exactly what I want.

I used to hate this as well.. Usually when I get a haircut I'm getting it done relatively short and my thick hair likes to flip and poof out unless it's straightened really well. Most hair dressers I went to didn't bother and I had to go home and fix my hair. I finally found a wonderful hair dresser and I'm leaving for school in a few months.. I wish I could take her with me. 

[pterosaur]

I never knew hair could be so complicated... I get it chopped short maybe every six months and then wash it with whatever shampoo is cheapest at the grocery store. People compliment my hair, so I guess it's OK?

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

53 minutes ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

I lack hair styling skills, like I have no idea how to braid, put my hair up in a pony tail, or even a bun. I pretty much leave my hair down every single day. I'm growing out a pixie and I'm paranoid it might go into mullet territory 

I mean, mullets have gotta come back sometime, right?

Letting the bleach sit in my hair now... color stripper smells NASTY.

[rhombusbombus]

i haven't been to a hair dresser since the first time i cut my hair off.

I'm reckless and poor so I bleach and color at home.

My actual hair is turquoise at the moment but I'm growing it out with the help of some green crochet faux locs! I think I'm gonna let green hair be my thing during grad school. they're so easy to install and i can change colors without worrying about losing my apartment deposit!

[jlt646]

i love that this thread has turned into a hair adventure. (: before my first school visit, i went to my hairdresser and told her that i wanted it to be dark grey/slate, and she did it, and it was amazing, and on my walk home i remembered that i was going to meet a bunch of potential advisors in three days. whoops. turns out, no one cared at all! i wasn't the only person with funky hair, but i was definitely the only one covered in tattoos. 

now that it's faded, it's this weird dirty blonde color that i can't decide if i like. i think i'm psyched about being blonde again, because it's been five or so years, but it also definitely looks unintentional. @Need Coffee in an IV, i grew out a pixie last year, and now my hair is the longest it's been in fourteen years! i feel like a totally different person. that mullet phase is terrible, but push on! you can do it!

 

[haltheincandescent]

All this talk of hair is so foreign! I've never even had my hair long enough to reach my shoulders.... After my brother decided, when I was 5 or so, to try to curl my hair with a comb, getting the comb stuck, leading to all my hair having to be chopped off to get the comb unstuck, I've stuck with keeping it short--as soon as ponytails are possible, I know I need to immediately go and get it cut again! I seriously don't even own a brush/comb. No need for it. 

[janetjanejune]

All this talk about hair lead me to my own research. I'm keeping my hair braided throughout grad school cause it's easier and letting it grow. Happy to say I found a salon nearby the town I'm moving to that does braids AND has great reviews!!!

I just found a great hair stylist and was nervous to move to a predominantly white area. Not anymore!

[rhombusbombus]

Off topic: Wegmans has the prices of all of their products online. That's better than a sales flyer!

https://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductListView?forwardto=ProductListView&langId=-1&storeId=10052&catalogId=10002&N=207

On topic: I'm really glad I found a way that I like my hair before grad school so i don't have to worry about it. The hardest part was learning how to cornrow my own hair for these crochet locs. But I'm not excited about having to possibly buy my hair online bc of lack of beauty supply stores. i need instant gratification!

[janetjanejune]

I plan to stockpile and bring however much I can to Oregon. I'll restock on holidays.

The struggle is real.

Sidenote: Anyone ever use YouTube to get better at their hair/makeup? My friends rave over it for makeup tips, but I'm weary. Trying to get more into makeup as I have the skills of a five-year-old who's found her mama's stash.

[Neist]

Another random off-topic: Anyone use any text to speech programs? I need recommendations.

I listen to a lot of podcasts and audio books. I've estimated that I've listened to around 20,000 podcasts in my life and I own 78 audio books. Needless to say, my listening skills are slightly better than my reading skills, despite being a history major. Those skills compounded with my fairly extreme myopia made me question whether I should consider text to speech options for my readings beginning in the fall. 

I'm going to get a Kindle in the fall, and Kindle's have built in text to speech that's pretty okay, but I need suggestions for programs/apps for PDF articles.  

[rhombusbombus]

@janetjanejune I've learned SO MUCH from youtube! definitely check it out! you just have to sift through some less than great videos.

 

@Neist I've heard of the Dragon one but have never used one that didn't come with my computer. I actually haven't heard of any that you didn't have to type the text into.

 

her's one with pretty good reviews. it's only for macs though.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/text2speech/id467038962?mt=12

Edited April 3, 2016 by rhombusbombus

[Neist]

6 minutes ago, rhombusbombus said:

 

@Neist I've heard of the Dragon one but have never used one that didn't come with my computer. I actually haven't heard of any that you didn't have to type the text into.

Voice Dream is the big one people seem to use, but I wasn't sure if there's something better. As I haven't heard of anything besides Voice Dream, I thought it apt to ask.  

Even if I could only manage to listen to half of my readings, that'd be pretty fantastic. 

[Euler]

I can't relate to any of this hair-related nonsense- I buzz my hair as soon as it gets long enough that it's "sticking up", which is usually after about three weeks or so!

[hippyscientist]

7 hours ago, jlt646 said:

i love that this thread has turned into a hair adventure. (: before my first school visit, i went to my hairdresser and told her that i wanted it to be dark grey/slate, and she did it, and it was amazing, and on my walk home i remembered that i was going to meet a bunch of potential advisors in three days. whoops. turns out, no one cared at all! i wasn't the only person with funky hair, but i was definitely the only one covered in tattoos. 

Yay someone else with tattoos! I will be getting 2 in the near future - one before I leave and one probably shortly after I arrive. I have a stupidly long list of ones I want but there isn't a good studio near me to get inked. I fear I'm a little ruined for machine tattoos - I got a bamboo one done a few years ago and it was the best experience ever. Don't really want to go back to hand guns. I've been researching the studios in State College but can't seem to figure it out online. Will definitely have to be a walk in and feel the atmosphere deal.

Hair stuff is frustrating - I'm so envious of you boys (and girls) who get it cut short and don't worry. I had my hair cut to like an inch long when I was 14 but mean people at school said I looked too butch and kept teasing me. I've been wary to go above my shoulders ever since.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Turned out much better this time

[hippyscientist]

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny I LOVE IT!!! 

Moving the topic away from hair, what's the deal with sports clubs? I want to keep training but is it going to be weird joining a club with potential students in? Anyone else feeling similarly? My PI is awesome and basically said as long as I get my work done he doesn't care where or when so I'm flexible with regards to timings (other than classes and TA responsibilities). 

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

44 minutes ago, hippyscientist said:

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny I LOVE IT!!! 

Moving the topic away from hair, what's the deal with sports clubs? I want to keep training but is it going to be weird joining a club with potential students in? Anyone else feeling similarly? My PI is awesome and basically said as long as I get my work done he doesn't care where or when so I'm flexible with regards to timings (other than classes and TA responsibilities). 

You totally should... as a grad student, I feel like it's probably pretty important to be a person OUTSIDE of academia, you know? As long as the schedule is flexible, that's the gist I got...

[hippyscientist]

1 hour ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

You totally should... as a grad student, I feel like it's probably pretty important to be a person OUTSIDE of academia, you know? As long as the schedule is flexible, that's the gist I got...

I'm definitely going to train, I just wondered about the undergraduate/potential teacher scenario. In my current clubs none of the TAs are part of them so I was curious about the dynamic in the US. 

My masters advisor is the man! He's seriously awesome. He wants me to present, publish and possibly get funding from my current research. I'm so excited!!!! I mean, there's a lot of work to go into it but YAY! 

[janetjanejune]

@rhombusbombus I've bitten in the bullet and gonna watch some now. Thanks for the encouragement!

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny Your hair is BEAUTIFUL. Total hair envy over here.

I've been curious about clubs and organizations as well. Being an admin at the school, I don't want to blur the lines, but I would like to get involved. @hippyscientist I think you should do it! You've gotten your advisor's blessing.

[RCtheSS]

2 hours ago, hippyscientist said:

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny I LOVE IT!!! 

Moving the topic away from hair, what's the deal with sports clubs? I want to keep training but is it going to be weird joining a club with potential students in? Anyone else feeling similarly? My PI is awesome and basically said as long as I get my work done he doesn't care where or when so I'm flexible with regards to timings (other than classes and TA responsibilities). 

Definitely join one! Intramural sports and sports clubs were some of my favorite activities in undergrad, and I wrote in one of my grad school admissions essays that I would try to start a team with my incoming cohort of classmates. I think it's a great way to stay in shape and build relationships.

[jlt646]

OMG, @Pink Fuzzy Bunny, your hair!! It's so great.

@hippyscientist, I have been getting work done in Philly for the past 10+ years, and my artists are here. If you ever want to explore tattoo/piercing culture in this particular area of the world, let me know! I am (perhaps unnecessarily) hesitant to venture out of the Philadelphia bubble for new tattoos. 

I'm also thinking about joining clubs and things at the university, mostly because there are some aspects of living in State College that I'm worried about. It'll be good to meet like-minded folks, whether it's for sports or for occasional drinks!