What are YOUR coping mechanisms?

[Beck]

Watching Doctor Who - and Torchwood - start to finish was one of my main coping mechanisms too. Then I broke my laptop (again - only just got it back). So I'm restlessly reading the titles of every book on my shelves hoping something new materialises. Or that I remember which book I used my Christmas book voucher as a bookmark in, so I can hit the shops after work tomorrow and buy something THICK to get me through the weekend.

Edited February 18, 2010 by Beck

[Nighthob]

Does anybody else spend hours sifting through Craigslist, imagining where you would live if you got into one of your top schools? Or is that just me ...

Besides that and gradcafe.com, the rest of my time is working at my full-time job.

I've been in serious fantasyland when it comes to housing. I've been looking at online real estate listings. Now, how I think I'm going to afford to buy a decent house with a stipend, I'm not sure, but in my head, it all works out. Sure would help if I heard from some more schools, though.

[Ozymandias]

Wine. (and occasionally whine)

[Maxwello]

Besides GradCafe and TestMagic:

1.) Obsessively reading every linked article at Real Clear Politics (further eroding what little hope I had retained in the political system)

2.) Terry Pratchett Men at Arms

3.) Reading Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar

4.) Farscape marathon

5.) Researching diy tube amp kits and speaker plans

6.) Cooking, cooking, cooking. My wife has said she'd be fine if I became a full-time house husband if it meant I'd keep having time to cook.

7.) Half-hearted job search, in case the worst happens.

8.) Editing essqys and cover letters for friends.

I haven't seen any activity at any of my programs other than a few interviews at two of them, but hopefully responses will start going out and I'll have exciting new things to panic about later this week.

[Lise]

OMG. I just caught myself staring at a stupid sweater from the VS Pink Collegiate collection from my dreamschool. If I only could buy it!

[Branwen daughter of Llyr]

Besides GradCafe and TestMagic:

1.) Obsessively reading every linked article at Real Clear Politics (further eroding what little hope I had retained in the political system)

2.) Terry Pratchett Men at Arms

3.) Reading Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar

4.) Farscape marathon

5.) Researching diy tube amp kits and speaker plans

6.) Cooking, cooking, cooking. My wife has said she'd be fine if I became a full-time house husband if it meant I'd keep having time to cook.

7.) Half-hearted job search, in case the worst happens.

8.) Editing essqys and cover letters for friends.

I haven't seen any activity at any of my programs other than a few interviews at two of them, but hopefully responses will start going out and I'll have exciting new things to panic about later this week.

Pratchett kicks ass .

As does Farscape.

[Medievalmaniac]

Yesterday, I went roller skating. I highly recommend it. You will be entirely too busy trying not to fall down fifty times to focus on whether your grad schools have notified you via email on the weekend! Plus- it was actually pretty fun, and kind of like riding a bike - awkward at first, but then I remembered how to do it and hey - not too shabby! lol

[Tiglath-Pileser III]

I received five new plants for my terrarium yesterday in the mail. Scrambling to plant them all took my mind off of my applications. At least for a moment.

[psych21]

First, I had my MS thesis. Plus, I'm taking a regression analysis course with math grad students which is absolutely killing me. That was enough. Then I finished the stupid thesis and started to get a grip on math... enter insanity. Fortunately, my full time job resumed! I teach HS psych and philosophy, and our super lengthy summer break ended. (Yes, summer, I'm in South America) So my kids keep my sanity until 3.30--except for prep and lunch, during which I compulsively check this site, Craigslist, and update my email (which doesn't require updating.)

Getting back home is a problem. My husband laughs, and I do all of the following...

1. tutor students

2. alter clothes I haven't used in a while (takes a good chunk of time, for the life of me I cannot sew)

3. clean my house

4. overeat

5. clean some more (I've used some more plates and spoons while eating)

6. again, computer, insanity

7. grad school classes (math made me cry this weekend once again)

8. gym

9. putting prices on our furniture + appliances

10. budgets for next year

11. dreaming about apartments, learning about bus routes, checking cars + insurance...

12. going out with friends and having friends over

13. watching reruns like 90210 (the original), Felicity, etc., as well as all the Big Bang and House episodes

14. and still, somehow, I have time to freak out!

[Ari*]

I bought a cat. I have always wanted one. She is proving to be a delightful distraction.

She will either be celebratory: "yay! I got into grad school AND I finally have a cat!" or consolatory: "I didn't get into grad school, but at least I have a cat."

[wannabePhD]

I bought a cat. I have always wanted one. She is proving to be a delightful distraction.

She will either be celebratory: "yay! I got into grad school AND I finally have a cat!" or consolatory: "I didn't get into grad school, but at least I have a cat."

This made me smile. We have three cats and a dog (waaaaayyyy too many animals, but they are rescues!), and they are quite the distraction!

In addition to Milano (the pernicious papillion), Moses (the tuxedo kitty who NEEDS ATTENTION CONSTANTLY), Mustard (the uppity one who likes to drink out of the kitchen sink) and Whitman (who sadly was relegated to outdoors for refusing to use the litterbox), my distractions are:

1. My full-time job, kinda. I have too much downtime to check my email (and GradCafe!), though.

2. My part-time job, teaching at my potential school. If they trust me with their students, don't you think they'll trust me as a student? We'll see ...

3. Pilates with my roommate.

4. Ice cream (to offset the pilates!)

5. Ghost Hunters (my guilty TV pleasure)

6. Etsy.com. It's an addiction that has provided me with a nice distraction. My Plan B is to open my own shop! (Not a great plan, though, since I'm not creative ...)

You'd think I wouldn't have time to fret ... you'd be wrong.

[Nighthob]

6. Etsy.com. It's an addiction that has provided me with a nice distraction. My Plan B is to open my own shop! (Not a great plan, though, since I'm not creative ...)

I love Etsy. But even more, I love Regretsy.com. If you haven't visited, it's a website that features the the worst (and funniest) Etsy crafts. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

[wannabePhD]

I love Etsy. But even more, I love Regretsy.com. If you haven't visited, it's a website that features the the worst (and funniest) Etsy crafts. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.

Hilarious! Thank you! It's officially added to my Google Reader ...