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

[Need Coffee in an IV]

@Danger_Zone Its called The complete book of grant writing: Learn to write grants like a professional. Its really good. For my fellowship i have to submit an application to an external grant. Plus with what i want to do, its better for me to know how to get money! Museums need a lot of it . 

[Danger_Zone]

44 minutes ago, MarineBluePsy said:

Buses to campus rock.  After a 5 min walk I hopped a bus and was on campus in 10 minutes.

That's great! Unfortunately I have about a 30 minute bus ride to campus but I do like that my place is quiet and on its own. 

@Need Coffee in an IV thanks for letting me know! I should look into grant writing workshops as well but there's just so much to think about and do so maybe I'll put it off for now.

[Neist]

Okay, so many soapbox, but...

I'm taking foreign language classes currently so I can skip the need to take a language proficiency exam. Anyway, I'm typing this at 1:20am because my partners, most of which are undergrads, are so lazy that they can't be bothered to do the work themselves. When we claimed what we were going to do for our group project, I deliberately took the heavier selection of work in order to relieve them. Now, I get an email basically summarizing, "Uh, I don't think I can do it all, you need to help me."

I've been doing homework for the last 10 hours, and the work they were responsible for would have taken an hour, tops. 

I feel compelled to slap someone.

[hippyscientist]

4 hours ago, Neist said:

Okay, so many soapbox, but...

I'm taking foreign language classes currently so I can skip the need to take a language proficiency exam. Anyway, I'm typing this at 1:20am because my partners, most of which are undergrads, are so lazy that they can't be bothered to do the work themselves. When we claimed what we were going to do for our group project, I deliberately took the heavier selection of work in order to relieve them. Now, I get an email basically summarizing, "Uh, I don't think I can do it all, you need to help me."

I've been doing homework for the last 10 hours, and the work they were responsible for would have taken an hour, tops. 

I feel compelled to slap someone.

Nope nope nope. I HATE people who behave like that. You have my full sympathies. 

Packing is hell. I am normally pretty good at packing but trying to pack a whole life into 3 suitcase is decidedly harder than packing for holidays. Also, why are textbooks so damned heavy?? I'm scared to weigh these suitcases because they certainly feel heavier than the 23kg I'm allowed per case.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I feel ya, @Neist, group work is the bane of my existence. How did you respond to the email?

 

[Need Coffee in an IV]

8 hours ago, Danger_Zone said:

That's great! Unfortunately I have about a 30 minute bus ride to campus but I do like that my place is quiet and on its own. 

@Need Coffee in an IV thanks for letting me know! I should look into grant writing workshops as well but there's just so much to think about and do so maybe I'll put it off for now.

There's a workshop about grants and i already marked it in my calendar! I marked all the workshops that I want to go to, my boyfriend calls me a work dork ha! They all just seem interesting. @Neist Yeahhhhhh group work is the worst. Most of my group work I was able to pick my team. Except when the project was worth half our grade (had to write a research paper on our assigned area and make a geologic map)......A sick joke by my prof ha. Luckily I and my other teammate were able to get everything done. Our 3rd teammate, not so much. He didn't do any work and tried to "borrow" my field notes, that wasn't happening!

[MarineBluePsy]

6 hours ago, Neist said:

Okay, so many soapbox, but...

I'm taking foreign language classes currently so I can skip the need to take a language proficiency exam. Anyway, I'm typing this at 1:20am because my partners, most of which are undergrads, are so lazy that they can't be bothered to do the work themselves. When we claimed what we were going to do for our group project, I deliberately took the heavier selection of work in order to relieve them. Now, I get an email basically summarizing, "Uh, I don't think I can do it all, you need to help me."

I've been doing homework for the last 10 hours, and the work they were responsible for would have taken an hour, tops. 

I feel compelled to slap someone.

I would leave them hanging, but I'm kind of a bitch who's over it with group work and the lazy behavior it fosters.  If I was really really pissy I might contact the professor and ask if the campus offers any time management workshops that I can suggest to said lazy group members.  

2 hours ago, hippyscientist said:

Nope nope nope. I HATE people who behave like that. You have my full sympathies. 

Packing is hell. I am normally pretty good at packing but trying to pack a whole life into 3 suitcase is decidedly harder than packing for holidays. Also, why are textbooks so damned heavy?? I'm scared to weigh these suitcases because they certainly feel heavier than the 23kg I'm allowed per case.

Wouldn't it be easier to ship your textbooks separately?  Not sure what shipping options you have there, but sometimes educational materials are discounted.

[Effloresce]

10 hours ago, Danger_Zone said:

Good luck! The mandatory TA orientation starts the 17th for me but I have some other teaching related ones plus grad student and payroll orientations (so many of them!) 

It's nice if you can catch a bus right to campus though. I still need to look into bus routes..

thanks, you too! yeah, the bus route is pretty convenient. on days i dont feel like driving, or days i know i wont be leaving really late, i might use the bus. i'm just worried about if they run on time etc. 

[MarineBluePsy]

So is it too late to switch programs?  My advisor just informed me our lab isn't working on any new projects in the near future so not only is there nothing for me to do, there likely won't be anything for me to generate a poster from until the end of 2nd year.  And the best part?  Apparently my lab only submits to 2 major conferences a year and the deadlines for this year and next year passed before I was needed in the lab.  This means that even if a research project became available or I develop one and get it funded soon its too late for me to get in on either of these conferences.  I also don't have any experience getting something funded and was very clear about wanting learn here, but there's no projects to practice on.  And sure if I get a project going I could find other conferences, but right now that's a whole lot of ifs and I don't really know what I'm doing anyway.

So how exactly am I supposed to be boosting my CV and gaining experience?  No idea.  And none of this was disclosed prior to my coming here either and there is no way this wasn't a possibility months ago.  If I don't get enough doctoral level research experience I'm literally going to have to change my career path.  Sure there are lots of options with a Clinical Psych degree, but research is my primary interest.  If it wasn't I wouldn't have bothered with any of this and would have just stuck with my Master's.  Right now I'm really just not seeing the point of any of this and I already have too many things going on.

[hippyscientist]

1 hour ago, MarineBluePsy said:

I would leave them hanging, but I'm kind of a bitch who's over it with group work and the lazy behavior it fosters.  If I was really really pissy I might contact the professor and ask if the campus offers any time management workshops that I can suggest to said lazy group members.  

Wouldn't it be easier to ship your textbooks separately?  Not sure what shipping options you have there, but sometimes educational materials are discounted.

Nope shipping was costing upwards of $500 (that's with the discount) for a 1m cubed box. Contrarily, I now have 4 suitcases each weighing approximately 50 lbs and that's cost about $300. So still a substantial amount but that's not horrible for all my worldly possessions to arrive (minus what mum is bringing out at thanksgiving). 

That research situation you're in sounds horrible. I'd get looking for alternatives ASAP.

[Danger_Zone]

10 hours ago, Neist said:

Okay, so many soapbox, but...

I'm taking foreign language classes currently so I can skip the need to take a language proficiency exam. Anyway, I'm typing this at 1:20am because my partners, most of which are undergrads, are so lazy that they can't be bothered to do the work themselves. When we claimed what we were going to do for our group project, I deliberately took the heavier selection of work in order to relieve them. Now, I get an email basically summarizing, "Uh, I don't think I can do it all, you need to help me."

I've been doing homework for the last 10 hours, and the work they were responsible for would have taken an hour, tops. 

I feel compelled to slap someone.

That's awful. I hate group work too and have never had a time where everybody contributed. I would probably bring this up with the professor early on so if they slack you can show what a significant amount of work you've done. I know that doesn't always work with professors but I would absolutely not tolerate people not contributing.

@Need Coffee in an IV sounds like a good idea to me! My boyfriend thinks the same thing about me, haha. I need to look into workshops soon but when I looked nothing was in the calendar yet. I've decided to do extra teacher's training but it sounds like I can't really work on that until I'm actually leading my own lecture. 

@MarineBluePsy I'm sorry you have to deal with that, good luck. Definitely try to deal with it as soon as possible. :/ Unfortunately I can't really provide any advice for that..

Edited August 2, 2016 by Danger_Zone

[Need Coffee in an IV]

4 hours ago, MarineBluePsy said:

So is it too late to switch programs?  My advisor just informed me our lab isn't working on any new projects in the near future so not only is there nothing for me to do, there likely won't be anything for me to generate a poster from until the end of 2nd year.  And the best part?  Apparently my lab only submits to 2 major conferences a year and the deadlines for this year and next year passed before I was needed in the lab.  This means that even if a research project became available or I develop one and get it funded soon its too late for me to get in on either of these conferences.  I also don't have any experience getting something funded and was very clear about wanting learn here, but there's no projects to practice on.  And sure if I get a project going I could find other conferences, but right now that's a whole lot of ifs and I don't really know what I'm doing anyway.

So how exactly am I supposed to be boosting my CV and gaining experience?  No idea.  And none of this was disclosed prior to my coming here either and there is no way this wasn't a possibility months ago.  If I don't get enough doctoral level research experience I'm literally going to have to change my career path.  Sure there are lots of options with a Clinical Psych degree, but research is my primary interest.  If it wasn't I wouldn't have bothered with any of this and would have just stuck with my Master's.  Right now I'm really just not seeing the point of any of this and I already have too many things going on.

Something very similar happened to my boyfriend. He felt tricked by his program and he shortly left afterwards. If you choose that, I wanted to let you know that you aren't alone! He thought his research was going to be one thing/take certain classes but when he got there it was exactly the opposite. His advisor didn't tell him that he wouldn't be able to take classes or do certain projects. He wouldn't have gone if he knew all of that. He felt like it was a huge waste of time.

@Danger_Zone Work dorks unite! I had to check a certain webpage to find the calendar, you would think they wouldn't hide the workshops ha. Hopefully you find awesome ones. I only need to go to 3 but I saw 7 I wanted to go too.

[Neist]

@Pink Fuzzy Bunny I ignored it.  I'll do the work at the last minute if I have to, but I'll let them sweat it out beforehand. Maybe it'll pressure them enough to do their work.

@Need Coffee in an IV Thankfully, I'm good at what I do, and I have no qualms about pressuring others to do what they're supposed to. I like friends, but I like friends who avoid shunting work onto me more.

@hippyscientist Thanks! And I'm actually surprised your moving expenses were that affordable. I thought it'd be substantially more. Can you pay an extra fee for overweight baggage? Sometime's that cheaper than shipping extra stuff.

@MarineBluePsy I think the instructor is pretty empathetic, so it's not too terrible, and these are people I'll never have a class with again. Now, if this was the same group of people that will be in my entering contingent, I'd be more much vocal. Vocalized annoyance is better than secret, seething hatred.  

@Danger_Zone Well, the class ends this week, so. *shrugs* This is the last assignment before the final exam. I only need a B in this course to avoid the proficiency exam, and I think I'm floating around a middle A at this point. It's also an undergraduate course, so I'm not exactly pining for an A all that heavily.

In other new, I discovered that one of my courses have already posted the required text. Considering reading it before the semester begins, but I'm not sure if that's for the best. I'll probably forget some points if I read it now. Hm. I guess I could read it twice, but...

 

Edited August 2, 2016 by Neist

[Need Coffee in an IV]

@Neist That's something we can agree on! I like to avoid working with friends unless I know that we have similar work ethics. Some people just don't care, and thats fine for them. But I view my work as an extension of my reputation and I care about that very much. I've lost some friends over this and it makes me sad. They let me down at work and took advantage of me. I usually just give one chance and thats it.

[Danger_Zone]

@Neist Well then I suppose you should just put up with it and hope for a decent grade. Good luck!

I actually already own two of the books I'll need to read and have the book list. I am resisting reading them for now but maybe it would be a good idea to start on them. But I'm really forgetful so who knows if it's a good idea! 

[sjoh197]

So I've had 2 meetings with my advisor in the last few weeks... and I am now 100% sure that he thinks I'm an idiot and regrets his decision lol. 

My mind just completely blanked on everything I've ever learned when I went to talk with him. Also... the papers that he gave me are so incredibly over my head that I feel like I have no grasp on what I'm reading. I feel like my undergrad degree wasn't nearly as rigorous as the other people around me. 

I'm beginning to think that this was a bad idea. 

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

@Neist You think they'll sweat it out and worry at the last minute... but you'll just be disappointed when they don't care any more then than they do now.

 

@sjoh197 Girl, are you in my mind? That's exactly how I feel. And you know what? Talking to everyone else, this is how everyone else feels too. It's hard thing to grasp, that you might be in the same boat as everyone else... it's going to be okay!

[MarineBluePsy]

6 hours ago, Need Coffee in an IV said:

Something very similar happened to my boyfriend. He felt tricked by his program and he shortly left afterwards. If you choose that, I wanted to let you know that you aren't alone! He thought his research was going to be one thing/take certain classes but when he got there it was exactly the opposite. His advisor didn't tell him that he wouldn't be able to take classes or do certain projects. He wouldn't have gone if he knew all of that. He felt like it was a huge waste of time.

I pondered this and even if things don't get better or actually get worse it won't help me to leave.  I had so many barriers to acceptance as it was being nontraditional that I can't afford to add "dropped out of a reputable program" to the list and actually expect to get in anywhere next round.  My life has also been such that I can't just go backwards and things will be fine.  There is nothing to really go back to.  I didn't burn any bridges or anything, I just did everything I could where I was and needed a major life change.  Wanting to move my career forward and getting into a PhD program fit the bill, so if I quit I can't think of a single thing else I could do to accomplish that.

I guess I just figured that even if I have little to nothing in common with my cohortmates and labmates, even if I don't care for this city, even if I don't make friends, even if I don't find a husband here, then at least I'll get what I needed from my program and it will have been worth it.  I don't want to completely hate it here is what I mean.  Then I can move on to the next thing and look back at this as that weird time that got me where I needed to be.  

@hippyscientist @Danger_Zone  No idea what I'll end up doing, but it is nice to know I'm not crazy in thinking this sucks.  I'm also the only one in my cohort having this issue.  Everyone else is happily plugging away in their labs and buried in current and upcoming projects.  I want things to get better, but I don't want to be unrealistic either.

[Effloresce]

@MarineBluePsy is there any way to switch labs at this point? i'm sorry you're in this sucky situation.  

sooo my roommate is moving into our apartment tomorrow, and has made some changes to the lease to negotiate w/ the landlord which means i guess i'll be signing that when i actually move in next week? hmm

Edited August 3, 2016 by Effloresce

[sjoh197]

1 hour ago, MarineBluePsy said:

I pondered this and even if things don't get better or actually get worse it won't help me to leave.  I had so many barriers to acceptance as it was being nontraditional that I can't afford to add "dropped out of a reputable program" to the list and actually expect to get in anywhere next round.  My life has also been such that I can't just go backwards and things will be fine.  There is nothing to really go back to.  I didn't burn any bridges or anything, I just did everything I could where I was and needed a major life change.  Wanting to move my career forward and getting into a PhD program fit the bill, so if I quit I can't think of a single thing else I could do to accomplish that.

I guess I just figured that even if I have little to nothing in common with my cohortmates and labmates, even if I don't care for this city, even if I don't make friends, even if I don't find a husband here, then at least I'll get what I needed from my program and it will have been worth it.  I don't want to completely hate it here is what I mean.  Then I can move on to the next thing and look back at this as that weird time that got me where I needed to be.  

@hippyscientist @Danger_Zone  No idea what I'll end up doing, but it is nice to know I'm not crazy in thinking this sucks.  I'm also the only one in my cohort having this issue.  Everyone else is happily plugging away in their labs and buried in current and upcoming projects.  I want things to get better, but I don't want to be unrealistic either.

sooo... This all really sucks. But is there some kind of plan? You can't just not do research and not move forward in your degree. That is unacceptable for any department that has accepted you.Feeling tricked is awful, but them not having a game plan for you is much worse in my opinion.

[MarineBluePsy]

1 hour ago, Effloresce said:

@MarineBluePsy is there any way to switch labs at this point? i'm sorry you're in this sucky situation.  

If I ask to switch labs now, without giving my current lab a chance to improve things it won't look good.  My advisor basically asked me to give it time.  Given my research interests there's only one other lab I could switch to, assuming they'd have me.  If they won't then I'd have to completely change my research area or I'm screwed.

1 hour ago, sjoh197 said:

sooo... This all really sucks. But is there some kind of plan? You can't just not do research and not move forward in your degree. That is unacceptable for any department that has accepted you.Feeling tricked is awful, but them not having a game plan for you is much worse in my opinion.

The plan according to my advisor is not to worry about it and just be patient.  I don't like that plan, but I'm thinking I'll be stuck with it for at least the first year. If significant changes haven't been made by next summer I can use that as leverage to switch labs.  In the interim I might be able to help out in the other lab that fits my research interests, but we'll see.

[Pink Fuzzy Bunny]

I was just looking through my first posts on this forum from the beginning of January... man, how we've changed guys!!

[hippyscientist]

3 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

I was just looking through my first posts on this forum from the beginning of January... man, how we've changed guys!!

I know! I feel so much more with it than I did in January. 

 

9 hours ago, sjoh197 said:

So I've had 2 meetings with my advisor in the last few weeks... and I am now 100% sure that he thinks I'm an idiot and regrets his decision lol. 

My mind just completely blanked on everything I've ever learned when I went to talk with him. Also... the papers that he gave me are so incredibly over my head that I feel like I have no grasp on what I'm reading. I feel like my undergrad degree wasn't nearly as rigorous as the other people around me. 

I'm beginning to think that this was a bad idea. 

This is so normal it's ridiculous (how common it is). When I started my masters I didn't have a clue what was going on 90% of the time, my peers were struggling with super basic concepts that we were taught when we were 10, another friend forgot that there were 360 degrees in a circle. The papers were horrible and felt like they were written in an alien language. To get through, I just gave myself a bit more time. For one course we had to read a set of prescribed papers per week and answer questions on them sufficiently to be able to hold a d2 hr discussion. Here I scaled back my expectations and learnt one paper really well so there was lots to contribute about that. It takes time but you adapt and grow. Comparing my masters thesis to my undergraduate one really highlights the growth and maturation in my work that occurred over a year, so give yourself some time and be kind to yourself and it will become less like wading through treacle.

[pterosaur]

I had the conference for my DOE fellowship last week, and now I'm wondering who thought it was a good idea to give me a fellowship for high performance computing (aka supercomputers). Welp.

Meanwhile I'm also trying to get my masters thesis finished and submitted. I already defended before submitting, due to the fact that both of my advisors are gone for the entire month of August, including my primary advisor being in rural Russia with limited internet access. I was hoping I was at the point where I could focus on writing and get that finished in the next 3 weeks before I leave. Then when I met with my advisors yesterday (right before they left), they came up with loads more stuff they want me to analyse, and one of them ran another experiment he wants me to analyse and include. It never ends!

As someone said at that conference last week, "The best thesis is a finished thesis." And I just want to finish this bloody thesis. I don't want it hanging over my head as I start my PhD.

[Neist]

20 hours ago, Pink Fuzzy Bunny said:

@Neist You think they'll sweat it out and worry at the last minute... but you'll just be disappointed when they don't care any more then than they do now.

 

 

Eh, I'll fix it if they don't pick up the slack. Like I said, I'm pretty good at the school thing, and I'm even better at backup plans.  Besides, I'm pretty sure they have worse grades than me in class, and both partners seem to want A's. We will see.

11 hours ago, hippyscientist said:

I know! I feel so much more with it than I did in January. 

 

 

 

I'm patting myself on the back a little bit, but I had it pretty together in January. However, I had a lot more anxiety. Anxiety is almost always an underlying issue in my life, but it peaks during times of unknowing. Not knowing what I was going to do for the next several years and not having the means to gain that knowledge expediently was my personal hell.  

I'm probably more happy about that experience being over with than actually getting accepted into a program. Ugh.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Neist