On This is a Safe Space to Talk About Your Dissertation
@Ialdagorth I used my undergrad senior thesis as my writing sample for graduate school. I was so proud, seriously.
After one year of grad school I look back at that thing and want to DIE OF SHAME. I cannot believe I got into grad school on the basis of that poorly-researched self-important load of crap.
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On This is a Safe Space to Talk About Your Dissertation
Worst thesis mistake I know of: Colleague got his MA thesis past both of his readers with a major typo in a heading. No one noticed until some time after it was submitted. Literally no one.
I've been working on my MA thesis for YEARS NOW and I finally got it past my advisor, only to have my second reader declare entire sections (some of which my advisor insisted I add) irrelevant, critique bits of methodology that it's two years too late to change, and declare that one of my variables didn't even measure what it was supposed to (YES IT DID YOU MASSIVE ASSHOLE AND I NOW CITE THE RESEARCH TO CORROBORATE THAT). I cried for two days after I got those comments.
That said I'm hoping to submit this week. Fortunately I don't have to do an actual defense (other than sitting in my readers' offices fighting with them about why certain stuff IS SO relevant), because I think I would probably just descend into shouting profanity at anyone who questioned my decisions at this point.
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On Where Brooklyn At? Where Brooklyn At? Where Brooklyn At?
@Rosemary McClure I think this designation is exponentially funnier for people who actually know what Irvine is like, because lol, Irvine.
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On Where Brooklyn At? Where Brooklyn At? Where Brooklyn At?
@TheUnchosenOne And by "a friend" you mean "the entire city of Seattle" y/y
Actually my mind is blown that Seattle is above average by that metric. If the metric was "proportion of the population sporting at least one of the above: Skinny jeans, fauxhawk, ironic facial hair, visible tattoos" we'd be duking it out with Portland for #1.
ETA: Oh, apparently Eddie Bauer counts as "fashion forward". WELL THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.
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On Signs of Possible Snobbery: A Partially Fictionalized Facebook Exchange
@wobbletown I've gotten five calls in the last week from the same wrong number, and they go "Sorry, wrong number!" and hang up every time, so they KNOW it's the wrong number but they KEEP CALLING.
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On Signs of Possible Snobbery: A Partially Fictionalized Facebook Exchange
@byrneunit I just helped my aunt buy her first smartphone and taught her how to text a few weeks ago and she texts in formal letter format also. Including in response to my texting her 'Are you enjoying Angry Birds?'
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On Depends What You Mean by "No"
@Verity I'm a teaching assistant and I feel like it's the worst of both worlds. I have to be on campus at 8:30am four days a week, and hold regular office hours, but also my students expect me to be available by email at LITERALLY ALL TIMES, and tend to get offended if I can't meet with them when it's convenient for them due to having a schedule.
And that's not even mentioning my own work. At least if you work 9-5 or whatever you can actually quit at 5. Any time I'm not writing my thesis I feel vaguely guilty.
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On Choose Your Own Fatventure: Interview Clothes
@TheShe Floral prints do not, in general, make one look smaller so much as they make one look like a sofa.
Usually a sofa in a badly fitting slipcover.
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On Trans-Vaginal What Now?
@Vera Knoop You know, I've had so many transvaginal ultrasounds that I've lost track because I had surgery for ovarian cysts which required 2-3 before the surgery and then I had to be rechecked constantly afterwards, and I think I pretty much give as little of a shit about them as it is humanly possible to give. Like, I just hop up on the table and am like OKAY LET'S GO THEN I NEED TO PEE.
But I still fucking hate them. I mean, who does not fucking hate having an ultrasound wand shoved up their hoo-ha and then MOOSHED AROUND? It's crappy! It's uncomfortable! It's embarrassing! (Especially when the poor male resident is supposed to be observing but no one will let him observe because they're embarrassed and you are also embarrassed but you say okay because you feel sorry for this poor fucker who is NEVER going to see any ultrasounds at this rate so you just hide under the giant blanket they brought you.)
My point is if the government tried to mandate that I have a not medically necessary TVU I would punch that government in the face, because no matter how chill you are about them, they still totally suck.
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On This is a Safe Space to Talk About Your Dissertation
@Tragically Ludicrous The gap between sending in a section and getting a response were one of my favorite parts of thesis writing because they were also known as The Week Every Tomorrow Goes Out Every Night. Suddenly being UNABLE to continue working was kind of the shit.