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

[sjoh197]

1 minute ago, Effloresce said:

well, there's a duplex that's 10 mins to campus -- but the bedroom is upstairs and the bathroom is downstairs and that bothers me a bit!

then there's a chem student that wants to room with me, but is still indecisive about a place whereas i've kind of made up my mind about an apartment complex i'd like to live in. i guess i could forgo the stress of waiting on other people and put down a deposit at the complex, but they have an income to rent ratio thing and i don't currently have a roommate...

so now i'm wondering do i advertise for one? and hope they have lots of common room furniture (since i don't have much) or are at least willing to go all HGTV on a new apartment with me?  

Probably seems common sense- but if you and a roomie do go all HGTV, make sure that you split costs by buying equal amounts of things, not by purchasing half of an item. For example... I knew people who would split the cost of a couch and table, and then fight over who got the couch and who got the table when they parted ways. If you're going to pay for part of something, pay for the whole thing to keep it, and let the roomie pay for something else communal. 

[MarineBluePsy]

3 hours ago, Danger_Zone said:

Also thank you for the yoga suggestion, definitely going to check out that longer session. My family's house is just super cramped so I don't know if I have the room right now. 

There is also chair yoga!  It's great for people with small spaces and/or aren't very flexible.  Plenty of youtube videos on that as well.

20 minutes ago, Effloresce said:

well, there's a duplex that's 10 mins to campus -- but the bedroom is upstairs and the bathroom is downstairs and that bothers me a bit!

then there's a chem student that wants to room with me, but is still indecisive about a place whereas i've kind of made up my mind about an apartment complex i'd like to live in. i guess i could forgo the stress of waiting on other people and put down a deposit at the complex, but they have an income to rent ratio thing and i don't currently have a roommate...

so now i'm wondering do i advertise for one? and hope they have lots of common room furniture (since i don't have much) or are at least willing to go all HGTV on a new apartment with me?  

I think you should rethink this duplex.  For example.....if you are sick, so sick you can't climb stairs....camp out on the couch and the bathroom is downstairs!  The kitchen is also downstairs right?  So everything you'd need access to is ready available.  10 minutes to campus is really hard to beat.  You could run home for lunch, between classes/research projects, or if you forgot something.

As for the roommate thing, if you have a place in mind then you'd advertise for a roommate who wants to join you there.  You can state that you'd love to find someone with furniture or willing to help furnish the place.  If you go with the latter then do not buy items together.  One of you buys the couch, the other buys the loveseat, etc.

[MarineBluePsy]

And you guys?!  Well anyone who's interested that is....I think I did it.  I think I got everything worked out.  It's not ideal and there will be a few bumps over the next month I'll have to smooth out, but I'm going to make it to my program on time and without starving.  I've booked airfare and an airbnb that is close enough to campus to walk or catch the bus since I won't have a car right away.  I found a great (and affordable!) mom and pop storage place to put my stuff until I've secured permanent housing and then will ship everything later.  I'm packing everything in smaller boxes so its easier to lift them with all of the aches and pains I have and oddly it seems that will reduce the shipping costs.

I also hired a lawyer to deal with the car accident.  They agree that I should be able to just focus on my program and getting settled in a new place while they deal with all of this.  It will probably take a year or so to fully settle, but with them taking all the stress and work off my plate that's fine.

Now I just have to do that estate planning thing and then figure out the whole physical therapy piece while switching insurance plans.  Then after that it'll just be the bumps over the next month.  Geez.  This is good right?  I'm too tired to be excited.

[hippyscientist]

11 minutes ago, MarineBluePsy said:

And you guys?!  Well anyone who's interested that is....I think I did it.  I think I got everything worked out.  It's not ideal and there will be a few bumps over the next month I'll have to smooth out, but I'm going to make it to my program on time and without starving.  I've booked airfare and an airbnb that is close enough to campus to walk or catch the bus since I won't have a car right away.  I found a great (and affordable!) mom and pop storage place to put my stuff until I've secured permanent housing and then will ship everything later.  I'm packing everything in smaller boxes so its easier to lift them with all of the aches and pains I have and oddly it seems that will reduce the shipping costs.

I also hired a lawyer to deal with the car accident.  They agree that I should be able to just focus on my program and getting settled in a new place while they deal with all of this.  It will probably take a year or so to fully settle, but with them taking all the stress and work off my plate that's fine.

Now I just have to do that estate planning thing and then figure out the whole physical therapy piece while switching insurance plans.  Then after that it'll just be the bumps over the next month.  Geez.  This is good right?  I'm too tired to be excited.

That's great news! Try and breathe and enjoy the feeling of not having the entire weight of the world on your shoulders.

[Effloresce]

2 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

Probably seems common sense- but if you and a roomie do go all HGTV, make sure that you split costs by buying equal amounts of things, not by purchasing half of an item. For example... I knew people who would split the cost of a couch and table, and then fight over who got the couch and who got the table when they parted ways. If you're going to pay for part of something, pay for the whole thing to keep it, and let the roomie pay for something else communal. 

 

1 hour ago, MarineBluePsy said:

I think you should rethink this duplex.  For example.....if you are sick, so sick you can't climb stairs....camp out on the couch and the bathroom is downstairs!  The kitchen is also downstairs right?  So everything you'd need access to is ready available.  10 minutes to campus is really hard to beat.  You could run home for lunch, between classes/research projects, or if you forgot something.

As for the roommate thing, if you have a place in mind then you'd advertise for a roommate who wants to join you there.  You can state that you'd love to find someone with furniture or willing to help furnish the place.  If you go with the latter then do not buy items together.  One of you buys the couch, the other buys the loveseat, etc.

thanks guys for looking out! yeah, honestly..i think i'm gonna rethink this duplex. it's in a great location, pretty cheap for the area, and i can get over the bathroom thing surely. i really don't pee that much anyway (sorry for the tmi)...

if it really doesn't work out, i can just move out after the lease is up! easy! 

@MarineBluePsy, i'm glad things are looking up for you! now you can relax.  

[sjoh197]

I just watched my boyfriend's cat intentionally and maliciously push my cat into the toilet.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

45 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

I just watched my boyfriend's cat intentionally and maliciously push my cat into the toilet.

I'm sorry but now you have to explain to my entire office why I started laughing in a silent room

[MarineBluePsy]

58 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

I just watched my boyfriend's cat intentionally and maliciously push my cat into the toilet.

Awww how sweet, it was trying to give swimming lessons

[Danger_Zone]

2 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

I just watched my boyfriend's cat intentionally and maliciously push my cat into the toilet.

Poor thing! When one of my cats was a tiny kitten she was constantly trying to jump into the toilet for some reason... I don't get the appeal.

[Neist]

I get busy for a while and the chat becomes impossible to follow.  

I'm glad people are still active, though!

[nell1099]

On 4/1/2016 at 10:45 PM, TigerMem said:

I forgot to ask, those of you who will be living on your own/renting, what month do you plan to/did you move into your places?

I've found an apartment, but I'm on the fence about when to apply/begin my lease. I live with my parents currently and there's no "deadline" for me to move out, but I'm ready to leave the nest. (I'm in my mid twenties and it will be my first time living on my own. I stayed home during undergrad, with no regrets.) Part of me wants to apply/sign my lease next month (May), but the frugal part of me wants wait to move until July, allowing me to save a little more money during those couple of months. 

Any input? 

I'm actually starting my MSSW this fall at UTK too! Get psyched. But I'm moving from another state and personally won't even be moving in until August. I'm 23 and lumped myself in with the undergrad area because it was closer and semi cheaper. (I might regret this...) I would recommend milking it at your parents for as long as you can because grad school won't be kind on our wallets. I'm not moving up until later because I'll be traveling up until the day I move in. (late reply because I'm just finding this website :P)

[Danger_Zone]

I was registering for international student check-in and it was giving me an error so I decide to call the office. "Can you read out your ID to me? No see if you copied and pasted your ID the last number isn't showing up. Try adding the last number to the end now." 

Oh.. Yeah. 

So why am I being paid to go to grad school again??

[hippyscientist]

19 minutes ago, Danger_Zone said:

I was registering for international student check-in and it was giving me an error so I decide to call the office. "Can you read out your ID to me? No see if you copied and pasted your ID the last number isn't showing up. Try adding the last number to the end now." 

Oh.. Yeah. 

So why am I being paid to go to grad school again??

I think errors like this are actually way more frequent in grad students and academics, and other "intellectual" professions. When we use our brains so much to focus on specific things, when we try to apply our brain to areas we aren't as default-ly used to, we mess up with the silly stuff because we don't need to use our brains as much and we power down too much. That's my theory. It's also why I like ridiculously trashy TV and young adult books and have to constantly check my mental math with a calculator because I know something is wrong about 2+2 = 5 but I just can't put my finger on what it is.

All that to say, laugh it off and yay for being checked in. This international student orientation thing is pee-ing me off. From what I can gather a lot is about getting used to the culture, assimilating with English etc. It seems pretty useful if you're coming from China for example, but personally I cannot see the point in it. Yes, tell us the key bits of information (visa requirements, enrolment, special events etc) but don't treat me like I'm 5. I don't need someone holding my hand while I open a bank account or big groups of "new friends" to eat every meal with. (I hate organised activities if you couldn't gather). It irritates me that the whole 3 day orientation is mandatory, when at most the information necessary for assimilation if you're familiar with the US could probably be condensed into an afternoon. Okay, rant over.

[sjoh197]

28 minutes ago, hippyscientist said:

have to constantly check my mental math with a calculator because I know something is wrong about 2+2 = 5 but I just can't put my finger on what it is.

Made a 97 on my Calc 1 final. 1 of the 3 points I missed was at the end of a problem where i had 4*4= 12. 

[Cat_Robutt]

On June 15, 2016 at 5:44 AM, hippyscientist said:

I DON'T NEED SURGERY! I don't need an MRI! Another 6-8 weeks and I might be functional again yay yay yay yay yay yay yay. Plus something clicked on the project. I'm doing a little happy dance around the office.

YAY!!!!!!

23 hours ago, MarineBluePsy said:

And you guys?!  Well anyone who's interested that is....I think I did it.  I think I got everything worked out.  It's not ideal and there will be a few bumps over the next month I'll have to smooth out, but I'm going to make it to my program on time and without starving.  I've booked airfare and an airbnb that is close enough to campus to walk or catch the bus since I won't have a car right away.  I found a great (and affordable!) mom and pop storage place to put my stuff until I've secured permanent housing and then will ship everything later.  I'm packing everything in smaller boxes so its easier to lift them with all of the aches and pains I have and oddly it seems that will reduce the shipping costs.

I also hired a lawyer to deal with the car accident.  They agree that I should be able to just focus on my program and getting settled in a new place while they deal with all of this.  It will probably take a year or so to fully settle, but with them taking all the stress and work off my plate that's fine.

Now I just have to do that estate planning thing and then figure out the whole physical therapy piece while switching insurance plans.  Then after that it'll just be the bumps over the next month.  Geez.  This is good right?  I'm too tired to be excited.

ALSO YAY!!!!

20 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

I just watched my boyfriend's cat intentionally and maliciously push my cat into the toilet.

That's so mean but I can't help but giggle at the image...

[hippyscientist]

1 minute ago, sjoh197 said:

Made a 97 on my Calc 1 final. 1 of the 3 points I missed was at the end of a problem where i had 4*4= 12. 

Point proven. 90% of the marks I've lost in math exams have been stupid mistakes. Drives me up the wall.

[Effloresce]

so pretty much in the span of 24 hours, housing situations changed!

the chem student is sold on the complex i like..i put in my app, and she's putting hers in later on today! as far as furnishings, she has most of the big pieces so there won't be an issue with splitting things once we part our ways (which i'm hoping won't be for a while). now i need to tell the duplex girl that i don't want the duplex, and i can start looking at things to buy!

also the apartment complex is right across from a target..simultaneously the best and worst thing ever.

[Danger_Zone]

5 hours ago, hippyscientist said:

I think errors like this are actually way more frequent in grad students and academics, and other "intellectual" professions. When we use our brains so much to focus on specific things, when we try to apply our brain to areas we aren't as default-ly used to, we mess up with the silly stuff because we don't need to use our brains as much and we power down too much. That's my theory. It's also why I like ridiculously trashy TV and young adult books and have to constantly check my mental math with a calculator because I know something is wrong about 2+2 = 5 but I just can't put my finger on what it is.

All that to say, laugh it off and yay for being checked in. This international student orientation thing is pee-ing me off. From what I can gather a lot is about getting used to the culture, assimilating with English etc. It seems pretty useful if you're coming from China for example, but personally I cannot see the point in it. Yes, tell us the key bits of information (visa requirements, enrolment, special events etc) but don't treat me like I'm 5. I don't need someone holding my hand while I open a bank account or big groups of "new friends" to eat every meal with. (I hate organised activities if you couldn't gather). It irritates me that the whole 3 day orientation is mandatory, when at most the information necessary for assimilation if you're familiar with the US could probably be condensed into an afternoon. Okay, rant over.

I will take any excuse for making errors all the time!  Seriously though that does sound like me, you're right. I felt silly at the time but it's no big deal.

I agree. It's strange that it's mandatory for you, then. We have some events but they're only recommended, and seem to mostly be for undergrads anyway. I definitely don't like forced organized events either, especially dinners. I just find them awkward, I'm bad at small talk. I've met some people in my department already who have given me advice and have offered to help me with other things if needed. That makes more sense to me then lumping all international students in together for events, but I don't know... at least you can get some free food and maybe find a few cool people to hang out with? 

[hippyscientist]

3 hours ago, Danger_Zone said:

I will take any excuse for making errors all the time!  Seriously though that does sound like me, you're right. I felt silly at the time but it's no big deal.

I agree. It's strange that it's mandatory for you, then. We have some events but they're only recommended, and seem to mostly be for undergrads anyway. I definitely don't like forced organized events either, especially dinners. I just find them awkward, I'm bad at small talk. I've met some people in my department already who have given me advice and have offered to help me with other things if needed. That makes more sense to me then lumping all international students in together for events, but I don't know... at least you can get some free food and maybe find a few cool people to hang out with? 

See that sounds so much better! I'm struggling to see any positives at the minute but I'm sure there will be some, eventually lol! 

On the subject of schools and mistakes, I had an email from University of Florida outlining orientation there...ummmm nice of you to invite me but I did reject you about 3 months ago! Also, the admin "cc'd" everyone htey were sending the email to which is awful! I could look up every single accepted grad student (Only 500 on the list). Someone messed up. 

I also emailed the medical administrators because I had a few questions about vaccines, and basically got told "phone us on this number, or pop in and see us" despite repeatedly mentioning I was an international student out of the country. I guess we shouldn't underestimate the power of autopilot 

[Danger_Zone]

15 minutes ago, hippyscientist said:

See that sounds so much better! I'm struggling to see any positives at the minute but I'm sure there will be some, eventually lol! 

On the subject of schools and mistakes, I had an email from University of Florida outlining orientation there...ummmm nice of you to invite me but I did reject you about 3 months ago! Also, the admin "cc'd" everyone htey were sending the email to which is awful! I could look up every single accepted grad student (Only 500 on the list). Someone messed up. 

I also emailed the medical administrators because I had a few questions about vaccines, and basically got told "phone us on this number, or pop in and see us" despite repeatedly mentioning I was an international student out of the country. I guess we shouldn't underestimate the power of autopilot 

I feel like it's probably easier to get along with random grad students than undergrads, at least. At least grad students all want to be at school and therefore you probably share some qualities related to that (passion for learning/research, hard-working, etc. I still felt like kind of a nerd among some undergrads when I actually enjoyed learning things and all they did was complain about how stupid school was!)

A little while ago I had something similar happen. Somebody e-mailed me requesting my official transcript as soon as possible. This was a school I rejected a few weeks before, but the thing that bothered me was that they were only reviewing my application when they asked me, which was only a couple weeks ago!

Good luck with that! It is kind of annoying still being out of the country when I am trying to deal with school-related things, so I definitely know how you feel. That actually reminds me, I need see what I have to do regarding immunizations. I don't think my new doctor has my vaccine records, so I'm kind of worried thinking I'm going to have to get all of my immunizations again...

[hippyscientist]

17 minutes ago, Danger_Zone said:

I feel like it's probably easier to get along with random grad students than undergrads, at least. At least grad students all want to be at school and therefore you probably share some qualities related to that (passion for learning/research, hard-working, etc. I still felt like kind of a nerd among some undergrads when I actually enjoyed learning things and all they did was complain about how stupid school was!)

A little while ago I had something similar happen. Somebody e-mailed me requesting my official transcript as soon as possible. This was a school I rejected a few weeks before, but the thing that bothered me was that they were only reviewing my application when they asked me, which was only a couple weeks ago!

Good luck with that! It is kind of annoying still being out of the country when I am trying to deal with school-related things, so I definitely know how you feel. That actually reminds me, I need see what I have to do regarding immunizations. I don't think my new doctor has my vaccine records, so I'm kind of worried thinking I'm going to have to get all of my immunizations again...

With that last point, get in touch with your old doctors. I've found they've been incredibly helpful and have ensured all my records have made it to my new GP. So much paperwork to fill out though. I never realised that the vaccinations that are considered normal differ between countries (although that totally makes sense), so there's 2 or 3 I'm supposedly missing. Agh! 

I agree that it'll be easy to get along with people, I just don't do well with people forcing me to be nice - I get there in my own time. I definitely have a bee in my bonnet about international orientation because I'm fine with the regular grad school one! It also helps to have hobbies - pretty sure gym buddies will happen pretty quick. I need someone to spot my bench and give me a handout on max efforts lol!

[sjoh197]

I was sitting at the pool yesterday and there were some people out there chatting and having a good time and I realized that I've been in Houston for over a year now and I don't know anyone. In a month I will have been with my partner for 4 years and in that time I've never made an actual friend.

On a different note, I learned that UH has a pretty cool rock wall for students. I'm definitely into that... Because the rock gyms here are really really expensive.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Random question: has anyone here ever switched over from taking allergy meds daily to getting an allergy shot?

[Danger_Zone]

9 hours ago, hippyscientist said:

With that last point, get in touch with your old doctors. I've found they've been incredibly helpful and have ensured all my records have made it to my new GP. So much paperwork to fill out though. I never realised that the vaccinations that are considered normal differ between countries (although that totally makes sense), so there's 2 or 3 I'm supposedly missing. Agh! 

I agree that it'll be easy to get along with people, I just don't do well with people forcing me to be nice - I get there in my own time. I definitely have a bee in my bonnet about international orientation because I'm fine with the regular grad school one! It also helps to have hobbies - pretty sure gym buddies will happen pretty quick. I need someone to spot my bench and give me a handout on max efforts lol!

Thanks! I did contact my old doctor and they did not have my medical records either. Now I need to go down to Public Health and get a copy of my vaccine records there, so hopefully that all goes smoothly. No wonder my doctors don't know anything about me..

I don't like it either, believe me, so what I told you is what I try to tell myself.

[MarineBluePsy]

3 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

I was sitting at the pool yesterday and there were some people out there chatting and having a good time and I realized that I've been in Houston for over a year now and I don't know anyone. In a month I will have been with my partner for 4 years and in that time I've never made an actual friend.

On a different note, I learned that UH has a pretty cool rock wall for students. I'm definitely into that... Because the rock gyms here are really really expensive.

I'm worried that will be me a year into my program.  I'm so annoyed by the difficulty of making friends.  The rock wall sounds fun, its been ages since I've done that.

3 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Random question: has anyone here ever switched over from taking allergy meds daily to getting an allergy shot?

No, but I did switch to natural remedies so that I rarely take meds now.  I know a few people who've gone the shot route and the results seem mixed.  It takes a few rounds to see any results and for some everything is amazing, for others things are worse, and for a few there's no change.