G'morning, 2013! - Post-Kopocalypse Sunshine Frolics

[Idun]

That's a downer. Still two more to go, right?

Nope! I only applied to four, so 3/4. Pondering, pondering. Making a list and doing a whole balance-weighing thing.

Edit* If I got into Northwestern, I wouldn't have to ponder. It'd be Northwestern. POI sent a very nice letter, I can see why I don't "fit," since his work delves more into the contemporary realm these days. Le bleh.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

So, your situation is better than I thought -anyway-. It's kinda fascinating to see your fragmented thoughts over this, I have to admit.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

The thing about energy drinks was literal. You were partly right at least.

E: #bonezone

Remember dude. Finish strong and Separate Entirely.

No worries bro. Not only did I use a fake number, I used a fake name, occupation and place of residence.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

If you did anything less, I'd have to ask who are you and what did you do to Rob.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

By Rob, you mean Dr. James McEneely, M.D. F.A.S.C.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Precisely.

[Yoshiken]

Family funeral, being asked to break into a friend's house and plotting to overthrow the admin of a site I've been on for almost 9 years. All in a day's work, I guess.

Oh, and I quit my job a couple of days ago. I guess that's also a thing.

[Hunter Sopko]

By Rob, you mean Dr. James McEneely, M.D. F.A.S.C.

Of the McEneely & Tobaggin Practice?

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Dr McEneely is a neonatal cardiac surgeon in Chicago. Mantis Toboggan is a general practitioner in Philly. So no. See, a mistake like that would torpedo the elaborate lies I build, which is why I have stopped making mistakes (instead, I BECOME someone's mistake for the night).

[NotMiki]

Family funeral, being asked to break into a friend's house and plotting to overthrow the admin of a site I've been on for almost 9 years. All in a day's work, I guess.

Oh, and I quit my job a couple of days ago. I guess that's also a thing.

Sorry to hear it.  hope everything works out well for you.  p.s. maybe don't talk so much about overthrowing admins on facebook.

[Dark Holy Elf]

New computer get! My old hard drive did indeed survive, and it is now snugly in a new external enclosure, all files intact. Unfortunately nothing else worth noting about the machine did. Fun story, the first couple places I talked to wanted to charge me $100+ just to transfer the data out of the dead machine. Phone around, and I find somewhere that will do everything I want (i.e. move the drive, since I don't trust my data to my own hands mucking around in there with a screwdriver) for $25. We call the first retailers scam artists. I guess they do it because they can get away with it, a lot of people might think that was a decent deal not knowing better.


On another note, went to Brandon Sanderson's Memory of Light signing yesterday! That was really awesome, it was a very long wait but we spent it nerding out with other Wheel of Time fans which was generally a joy, and the author himself was really cool to talk to even if just briefly. A great Valentine's Day. <3

[Luther Lansfeld]

They gave us chocolate in the line. We also got a Memory of Light tote for having long conversations with the Memory Keepers. One of the MKs drove 13 hours to Vancouver to do it. It was originally going to only be four hours for her, but the signing was cancelled in Calgary. That's dedication! (Or insanity. :p)

[Idun]

Congrats guys. (:

I am playing on my new Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet gift for phd studies..... this is fairly weird, but I like tablets that let you have multiple docs open on one screen. Will use this on campus now, but am waiting for some case that is supposedly sexy to arrive..... friends gifting me shit within the last twelve months.... ninentdo 3ds, sur la table swag (cept no one got me that 399 espresso machine.....) and now a tablet. Welp.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Enjoy the gifts as much as you can, Doons. Nobody gives me the sexy electronics and then I have to buy them myself. Philistines.

Daylight Savings Time is finally over. Hallelujah, sisters.

[Idun]

It is much better if you buy it. Then you don't feel like you owe something.... sure, spotting dinner/brunch, but tech?

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

I think of it this way: if the people giving you a tech gift wanted to spend -that- much money on you, unless they're horrible human beings, the only thing you owe them is the unbridled glee of getting such an awesome gift. And if they're horrible human beings, they shouldn't be your friends anyway. Thinking of gifting as an action/reaction proportional deal can be very socially exhausting and unfulfilling, and it's good to just let it -go- at times.

[Idun]

Gifting, yeah. Long established social history, and I agree. Grad school finances certainly exacerbates my feelings. I will eventually get over it like I did the 3ds. And holy shit, this fucking thing will not die. I have everything open D:<

[Idun]

My advisor isn't teaching courses after 2014. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since she is still advising. But without her on campus consecutively teaching American art courses, I have little incentive to remain here. Yeah, amazing-amazing funding package, but.. sort of undermines my academic integrity if I graduate an Americanist. We'll see, I may have to pick up a position in the American Studies program, but bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh.

UTA sent me my funding package, five different fellowships each year, pretty fuckin' amazing funding package (except they make their TAs/AIs, both of which I would be, pay ~200 in tuition because of some increase; I believe no one should spend a dime for school, but their art history program is becoming much more reputable than UChicago.....)

Yale. So, what the fuck. I haven't received anything from my last call and am lead to believe I was in the first round of fucking calls, also known as the fucking waitlist not reflected on the online application, also known as maybe invite to the prospect weekend, also known as what the fuck. So maybe I was accepted into the AFAM (since they are the ones that called) and not the AH? Which means I am rejected all-together since I applied to the joint. And I fucking refuse to call and ask.

BU, UTA, BU, UTA, BU.. UTA, UTA.. UTA... BUTA... ;_______________________________; both good choices, I seriously just do not want to part with my advisor, but being in a shitty city and having to head to her house once a week........might as well choose the school where courses will be offered every year.... and has a better job placement rate (tied with MIT, what?) anyway.

*headdesk*

Visiting UTA. Have my Yale visit on hold due to moar snow this weekend and the fact that I ain't payin' jack shit for them to be like "Ooooh, yeah. Heeeey." It's not like they're organizing one for me anyway! Sounds like the reimbursement would take longer than nec. also. putain.


Edit* Apparently I'm her "last" student as well. So perhaps I can brilliantly frame my choice as poss: UTA, but with my advisor being 3rd on diss com and orals, so I get my 1820s-1940s down on fucking lock, then I got them awesome peeps as 1 and 2, so I won't be limited to only "Afam" art courses. ELECTRICITY BULB.

...Austin better wow me. $3.95 margaritas...ho shit


Edit edit* I am sympathetic to her 50+ years of teaching.

[Lady Door]

I really hate everything about the job application process.

[Grefter]

Painful process of being judged on your worth as a human being in terms of value in profitability where the prize for winning is indentured servitude.

Hooray.

[Cmdr_King]

Yeah.  It really is the cliff notes version of everything wrong with humans and why western civilization cannot last.

[DjinnAndTonic]

I got bored with my awesome low-stress private tutoring gig and decided to pick up a second job at something easy, like hotel work. I applied to three hotels and got three job offers. Also, while all of this was going on, I was randomly contacted by a new Tutoring business in the area which offered better hours, better pay, better student:teacher ratio, and best of all better management than the private school I was associated with, so I decided to upgrade. Fuck you, harpy boss!

So now I have two tutoring gigs - private (pays the most) and professional (more stable and long-term), and my choice of three hotel gigs to fill my free time.

Anyone have any opinions on my options: Embassy Suites (part time, $10/hr, high class beach resort, lots of employees, free hospitality training programs, opportunity to actually use my foreign language skills), Hampton inn (full time, 8.75/hr, cross training for all jobs in the hotel, benefits after 90 days, history of promoting from within and lots of available management positions to fill, but not as high class and seems to have a high turnover rate), And Candlewood Suites (part time, more flexible hours, 9/hr, extended-stay hotel, more responsibilities, lesser known but nice brand name, management seems unreliable).

[Anthony Edward Stark]

I avoid places with high turnover just because that usually means you get left holding the bag pretty frequently.

[AAA]

something easy, like hotel work.

hahahaha

[Lady Door]

Embassy Suites. But they're all going to suck.