It seems that I've been blogging a lot about baking. So, I guess that I'd better write something about grad school so you don't think I spend all of time baking cookies. Here goes:
Yesterday, I got my hair cut. This isn't particularly interesting, except that it highlighted how geeky I have become. See, when I'm surrounded by grad students and professors, I feel perfectly normal. (In fact, I feel more than normal and I like to mock the socially awkward grad students and professors.) Yet, when I'm around non academics, I am reminded of my nerdiness. So R, the guy who cut my hair, and I made some small talk. It was the 2nd time that I've seen him in the past 2 months, so he remembered me and that I am a grad student at UCI. He asked about my summer plans, and I told him that I was getting ready to go to Michigan for a month long class to learn statistics. "So, you're going to stats camp?" he asked. I replied yes, and I just could not keep a straight face. When it's said out loud and to a non-academic, it sounds so geeky! We had a good laugh. I promised to return later in the summer and tell him all about it.
So then R asked me what my typical days were like. Good question. I had to think about it. So, I told him what I did on Monday, which basically resembles a typical day:
7:30am- Wake up. Reset alarm so I can sleep 15 more minutes.
7:45am- Shut off alarm, lay in bed for a few more minutes, think about going back to sleep.
8:15am- Check email, read New York Times headlines.
8:30am- Read newspaper, eat breakfast, and drink lots of coffee.
9:15am- Bake cookies, double check to make sure that I'm prepared for my afternoon meeting with DM, edit and rewrite sections of my abortion rates paper.
11:00am- Walk to campus, check my mailbox, say hello to poli sci friends.
11:45am- Go to my office, talk to a friend.
12:30pm- Read books and take notes for my women in parliament paper.
2:15pm- Meet with DM.
3:30pm- Coffee and study date with a friend at Starbucks, continue editing and rewriting abortion rates paper.
6:30pm- Dinner and done for the day!
So, grad school is a pretty good gig. This has been my typical day this summer, except that I also work out either in the morning or in the evening. Oh, and I don't necessarily bake cookies everyday. I know it seems like I do, but I really don't. The flexible schedule is nice; I can take breaks to get my haircut, run errands, etc. Yet, this can be a double edged sword since it can be tough to stay motivated sometimes. This is why I try to have semi-structured days and I set little goals each day to stay on track. I'm still trying to figure out how I work and the best way to structure my days, but so far this has been working for me.
I finished up my women in parliament paper today, so that takes care of an incomplete from last winter. I am also getting ready to submit another draft of my qualifier before I leave for Michigan this weekend. And on a side note, I've started running again. I mean, jogging.
PS- to those of you who have requested the recipe for the Cinnamon Sugar Puff Cupcakes, I haven't forgotten about you! It's on my to-do list, and I'll get to it in the next couple days.
Yesterday, I got my hair cut. This isn't particularly interesting, except that it highlighted how geeky I have become. See, when I'm surrounded by grad students and professors, I feel perfectly normal. (In fact, I feel more than normal and I like to mock the socially awkward grad students and professors.) Yet, when I'm around non academics, I am reminded of my nerdiness. So R, the guy who cut my hair, and I made some small talk. It was the 2nd time that I've seen him in the past 2 months, so he remembered me and that I am a grad student at UCI. He asked about my summer plans, and I told him that I was getting ready to go to Michigan for a month long class to learn statistics. "So, you're going to stats camp?" he asked. I replied yes, and I just could not keep a straight face. When it's said out loud and to a non-academic, it sounds so geeky! We had a good laugh. I promised to return later in the summer and tell him all about it.
So then R asked me what my typical days were like. Good question. I had to think about it. So, I told him what I did on Monday, which basically resembles a typical day:
7:30am- Wake up. Reset alarm so I can sleep 15 more minutes.
7:45am- Shut off alarm, lay in bed for a few more minutes, think about going back to sleep.
8:15am- Check email, read New York Times headlines.
8:30am- Read newspaper, eat breakfast, and drink lots of coffee.
9:15am- Bake cookies, double check to make sure that I'm prepared for my afternoon meeting with DM, edit and rewrite sections of my abortion rates paper.
11:00am- Walk to campus, check my mailbox, say hello to poli sci friends.
11:45am- Go to my office, talk to a friend.
12:30pm- Read books and take notes for my women in parliament paper.
2:15pm- Meet with DM.
3:30pm- Coffee and study date with a friend at Starbucks, continue editing and rewriting abortion rates paper.
6:30pm- Dinner and done for the day!
So, grad school is a pretty good gig. This has been my typical day this summer, except that I also work out either in the morning or in the evening. Oh, and I don't necessarily bake cookies everyday. I know it seems like I do, but I really don't. The flexible schedule is nice; I can take breaks to get my haircut, run errands, etc. Yet, this can be a double edged sword since it can be tough to stay motivated sometimes. This is why I try to have semi-structured days and I set little goals each day to stay on track. I'm still trying to figure out how I work and the best way to structure my days, but so far this has been working for me.
I finished up my women in parliament paper today, so that takes care of an incomplete from last winter. I am also getting ready to submit another draft of my qualifier before I leave for Michigan this weekend. And on a side note, I've started running again. I mean, jogging.
PS- to those of you who have requested the recipe for the Cinnamon Sugar Puff Cupcakes, I haven't forgotten about you! It's on my to-do list, and I'll get to it in the next couple days.
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