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

[hippyscientist]

Jumping on the Airbnb bandwagon here. I've had a very good experience with them each time I've used the site. I rented a poolhouse in Pasadena and an apartment in San Diego. I've got a basement apartment in a family house for a week before I move into my apartment too. The flexibility can be awesome. Yes, it's a little odd initially but that's quick to get over. Also, @Danger_Zonecheck what the rental market is like where you're moving to - a lot of places have August-August leases and it's near impossible to find anything outside the renting season. Worth investigating.

 

[Danger_Zone]

14 hours ago, hippyscientist said:

Jumping on the Airbnb bandwagon here. I've had a very good experience with them each time I've used the site. I rented a poolhouse in Pasadena and an apartment in San Diego. I've got a basement apartment in a family house for a week before I move into my apartment too. The flexibility can be awesome. Yes, it's a little odd initially but that's quick to get over. Also, @Danger_Zonecheck what the rental market is like where you're moving to - a lot of places have August-August leases and it's near impossible to find anything outside the renting season. Worth investigating.

 

Well if I can't move in until August that's fine anyway, I'm hoping to call ahead of time and find out what's available. So I guess I will just ask about that when I call, thanks for mentioning that.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Have you ever done airbnb by yourself? I'm wanting to go on vacation sometime but staying somewhere like that by myself just seems... shady...?

[rhombusbombus]

I've never done air bnb myself, but I have a friend who rents out her living room pretty often. I think it's more of vetting the person you're renting from. You can change the settings so you only get a certain gender and a certain approval rating if that helps.

[sjoh197]

Yay Juno!

[hippyscientist]

4 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Have you ever done airbnb by yourself? I'm wanting to go on vacation sometime but staying somewhere like that by myself just seems... shady...?

Yep all my airbnb's have been by myself. It's been fine. You can chat to the host beforehand and if you get a sketchy vibe, you don't need to stay there, you can look for other places before committing.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

That's good to hear. I was surprised at how cheap it is! When driving home in August I thought about staying overnight in a hotel but it would run me like $70 for a cheap one, OR I could stay with airbnb for $25... what kind of a decision is that

[hippyscientist]

53 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

That's good to hear. I was surprised at how cheap it is! When driving home in August I thought about staying overnight in a hotel but it would run me like $70 for a cheap one, OR I could stay with airbnb for $25... what kind of a decision is that

I've only ever had good experiences. I think unless you're really head in the clouds the dodgy ones stand out a mile away. The price just maeks sense for a lot of places!! I'm staying in one for a week before I take over my lease for my new apartment and I think it's like $300 for a week and that includes the gym. Not complaining! 

[Danger_Zone]

15 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

Yay Juno!

I was around last night when the countdown reached zero. Pretty amazing stuff.

[jlt646]

21 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

Have you ever done airbnb by yourself? I'm wanting to go on vacation sometime but staying somewhere like that by myself just seems... shady...?

Most of mine have been by myself! All good experiences. Going to New Orleans for a week with my partner (last hurrah before the big move!), and we are staying in an Airbnb for the whole time. I love staying in a place with a kitchen, and it always feels so much more comfortable than a hotel, because the places are lived in!

[hippyscientist]

I just got my TA assignment  It couldn't be better if I picked it myself! I like the professor in charge (when I met him last year he seemed awesome), the duties are shared with 6 other TAs, I'm dealing with 3rd years (Juniors??) and it's all super basic mechanics which is useful to remember. I get to run the lab and teach them how to use equipment, which is great because it means I get practice too. Plus only 5 lots of lab reports to grade for 22 students. Not horrendous! I'm doing my happy dance (if you follow me on instagram it's visible at the end of my last video). YAY!

[sjoh197]

2 hours ago, hippyscientist said:

I just got my TA assignment  It couldn't be better if I picked it myself! I like the professor in charge (when I met him last year he seemed awesome), the duties are shared with 6 other TAs, I'm dealing with 3rd years (Juniors??) and it's all super basic mechanics which is useful to remember. I get to run the lab and teach them how to use equipment, which is great because it means I get practice too. Plus only 5 lots of lab reports to grade for 22 students. Not horrendous! I'm doing my happy dance (if you follow me on instagram it's visible at the end of my last video). YAY!

I'll be happy when I find out what my assignment is. I really like to plan and be prepared... but it's hard to plan and prepare if you don't know what you're doing. lol

[sjoh197]

Ok my internet friends... I need help. I was thinking about getting my partner this watch for our dating anniversary... which is in 2 weeks. Does this look like a good man gift for an anniversary? 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/252485073/mens-skeleton-watch-anniversary-gift?ref=related-0

I don't have a lot of money right now, and this is basically pushing the limit of all I have to spend. But anniversary gifts seem harder than birthday or christmas gifts where I can lump together lots of smaller stuff.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

37 minutes ago, sjoh197 said:

Ok my internet friends... I need help. I was thinking about getting my partner this watch for our dating anniversary... which is in 2 weeks. Does this look like a good man gift for an anniversary? 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/252485073/mens-skeleton-watch-anniversary-gift?ref=related-0

I don't have a lot of money right now, and this is basically pushing the limit of all I have to spend. But anniversary gifts seem harder than birthday or christmas gifts where I can lump together lots of smaller stuff.

I wouldn't advise asking the Internet about gifts for your significant other. However, I think that's a super cool watch

 

[sjoh197]

48 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I wouldn't advise asking the Internet about gifts for your significant other. However, I think that's a super cool watch

 

Yeah... Normally I'm an awesome gifts... But I hate watches and am no good at them lol.

[MarineBluePsy]

4 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

Yeah... Normally I'm an awesome gifts... But I hate watches and am no good at them lol.

Well if he's a watch guy that seems like a cool one.  My guess is he'll love it because you gave it to him.

[sjoh197]

Earlier today while driving to run some errands.... I stopped at a red light a few blocks from my apartment, and a homeless man walks across the lanes and starts banging on my driver's side window asking me to give him money. 

I feel bad for these people, and we do contribute to local charities and such, but god... I can't leave my house, cvs, downtown buildings, or the train without being harassed. I just want to get home safely without being approached by strange men asking me for stuff, or telling me to smile, or asking me to dance for them, or telling me about all the dirty things they would do to me, or following a few steps behind me all the way to my apartment door while asking if I'm having a nice day and what I'm doing tonight. 

[Danger_Zone]

On July 6, 2016 at 6:26 PM, sjoh197 said:

I'll be happy when I find out what my assignment is. I really like to plan and be prepared... but it's hard to plan and prepare if you don't know what you're doing. lol

Me too. Apparently I will find out only 2 weeks before the class starts... But at least I get to list my preferences for which class to be a TA for, so hopefully I will get something I want. 

 

Edited July 7, 2016 by Danger_Zone

[Neist]

13 hours ago, Danger_Zone said:

Me too. Apparently I will find out only 2 weeks before the class starts... But at least I get to list my preferences for which class to be a TA for, so hopefully I will get something I want. 

1

I'm fairly positive I'm going to be TA'ing for a history of science survey course. My understanding is that's what all first year students get assigned.

It'd probably be more stressful for most students (because most students don't have a strong history of science background), but I've taken all of these courses from this institution, and I've already been a grader for one of the survey courses.

Shouldn't be too bad, I think.  

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I'm so glad I won't be TAing, it sucked up so much of my time in undergrad, I can't imagine the stress it would bring upon me in grad school!

[Neist]

25 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I'm so glad I won't be TAing, it sucked up so much of my time in undergrad, I can't imagine the stress it would bring upon me in grad school!

I think it's definitely more taxing in the sciences. From what I've gathered, sciences expect students to spend a considerable amount of time in lab. My only tasks are:

• Reading
• Grading papers
• Reading more
• Reading even more
• Occasionally writing a paper over what I'm reading

Even if I'm reading 40-50 hours per week, it's not especially time-consuming overall. Reading that much is more an exercise of endurance than time management. However, in the sciences, one must work in labs and study for courses. Reading pretty much fulfills both of those tasks at the same time.

Edited July 8, 2016 by Neist
Typos, Grammar.

[sjoh197]

37 minutes ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I'm so glad I won't be TAing, it sucked up so much of my time in undergrad, I can't imagine the stress it would bring upon me in grad school!

It might be stressful... but to me I don't think it could ever be as stressful as the $100,000 is loans I would have otherwise  

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

Yeah, I definitely got lucky - I don't have to do research or TA my first year, so I'll be able to focus on my courses. And only two

 

[Danger_Zone]

7 hours ago, Neist said:

I'm fairly positive I'm going to be TA'ing for a history of science survey course. My understanding is that's what all first year students get assigned.

It'd probably be more stressful for most students (because most students don't have a strong history of science background), but I've taken all of these courses from this institution, and I've already been a grader for one of the survey courses.

Shouldn't be too bad, I think.  

That doesn't sound so bad!

I really have no idea what I would be TA'ing for. I will say that I'm super jealous at all of the history courses being offered to undergrads, though. My undergrad institution was incredibly lacking in course offerings for history.

I also feel like I'm the only one who is looking forward to being a TA... maybe that will change.  

Edited July 8, 2016 by Danger_Zone

[MarineBluePsy]

Today I had to spend the entire day with my cohort and I'm just now realizing how misleading the whole interview process was.  During my interview weekend I met most of the people in my lab and got a lot of insight into how they all function and thought it was great.  I wouldn't be the only old person and they all have lives outside of the department.  It wasn't until today that I realized that I won't really interact with any of those people (so why did I have to be interviewed by all of them?!) because they'll all be graduating in the next year or two.  My cohort is nothing like them and the whole day felt like I'd crashed a freshman class.  

Yep I'm the old person with enough life experience to just know how to function and not be overwhelmed by the deadlines and rigors of the program.  A lot of their questions were addressed in the zillion emails and weblinks we've been given since committing to the program and I had to refrain from facepalming.  I get not having memorized everything, but it's a general rule of thumb to check your various resources for the answer first before bothering professors.  I was literally counting the minutes until we were free to go and I'm skipping the social outing tonight because I'm sick of their faces.  I'm still trying to figure out how to make this place tolerable and figured I'd at least feel in my element in my program, but I guess not.