The OFFICIAL distract yourself while waiting for invites thread...

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layleh

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Let's face it; we are all driving ourselves crazy waiting to hear how our various applications will pan out. I'm creating this thread as place for people to share tips on keeping theirselves distracted while waiting (and waiting...and waiting) for responses from schools an internship sites.

So...how are YOU passing time?

For me, I'm reading up on what to expect from all those microwave dinners I will be living off of for the next four/five/six years if I get in at:
http://www.heateatreview.com

I'm also busy reading up on Llama farming, which I just MAY take up if I get rejected and go through an existential crisis:
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/llamaalpaca.html

(Non-computer time passing stategies include meditation, yoga, and blood donation...oh, and work.)
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I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but I'm on a horrible rollercoaster.

I got an invite to the school I thought I had the least chance of getting an invite from. Whoo hoo!

I got nothing from the school with what I thought was the very best POI match, and I know invites have been extended. Wahh!

I'm in the dark about all the other schools! Good!? Bad!? Arggh!

I'm spending half my time stressing over my upcoming interview, and worrying that it's my only chance to get in anywhere.

I'm spending the other half of my time imagining what it will be like to go through with my backup plan, after spending two years preparing for these applications. Which gives me alternating feelings of relief (it would be so much easier to do almost anything else!) and depression (I really WANT the PhD, and frankly I'll be mortified about not getting accepted after telling everybody I know I'm planning to go to grad school).

I'm having *really* intense dreams at night!

And then, sometimes, I get really zen and feel like well, whatever happens happens. If it was meant to be, it will be.

OK, my fifty minutes are probably up. Thank you, counselors. :)
 
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I've been gambling and eating awesome food. :cool: I had my last interview earlier this week (for internship) and I gave myself a couple days to sleep in and relax. I did well enough at the tables to cover my expenses....so now I just need to make up some hours at work I missed.

I also have been catching up on my blog reading, and LOVING all of the feedback about my NY Mets and their trade for Johan Santana. :D

-t
 
Keep up your zen moments, chinakat! There is only so much we can do at this point....

I can't believe my eyes: 74 viewing the Clin Psych Forum at 3 pm, and over 57,000 views on the interview thread? Wow....we are all very obsessive! Do you think we are more so than the MD-wannabes? :D

To pass time....I read and write blogs, facebook, read Entertainment etc....need something more meaningful to keep my mind off the submitted applications!
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
I've been gambling and eating awesome food. :cool: I had my last interview earlier this week (for internship) and I gave myself a couple days to sleep in and relax. I did well enough at the tables to cover my expenses....so now I just need to make up some hours at work I missed.

I also have been catching up on my blog reading, and LOVING all of the feedback about my NY Mets and their trade for Johan Santana. :D

-t
Click to expand...


LET'S GO METS!!!!

it's always great to see another mets fan around :)
 
chinaKat said:
I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but I'm on a horrible rollercoaster.

I got an invite to the school I thought I had the least chance of getting an invite from. Whoo hoo!

I got nothing from the school with what I thought was the very best POI match, and I know invites have been extended. Wahh!

I'm in the dark about all the other schools! Good!? Bad!? Arggh!

I'm spending half my time stressing over my upcoming interview, and worrying that it's my only chance to get in anywhere.

I'm spending the other half of my time imagining what it will be like to go through with my backup plan, after spending two years preparing for these applications. Which gives me alternating feelings of relief (it would be so much easier to do almost anything else!) and depression (I really WANT the PhD, and frankly I'll be mortified about not getting accepted after telling everybody I know I'm planning to go to grad school).

I'm having *really* intense dreams at night!

And then, sometimes, I get really zen and feel like well, whatever happens happens. If it was meant to be, it will be.

OK, my fifty minutes are probably up. Thank you, counselors. :)
Click to expand...

Fortunately, I have a really wise boyfriend who's been with me 2 1/2 years (we started dating a week before I moved away for 21 months to do my masters) who has formed an immense catalog of Zen rhetoric for all of my graduate school related freakouts ("Honey, it's JUST a paper. The worst thing it can do in the end is give you a papercut"). He constantly reminds me to be cautiously optimistic about doctoral programs--hope for the best (I've got good credentials and my first interview next week), but be prepared for the worst (as in, remind myself that I have a back-up plan and be mindful of the fact that if this is not the year, life WILL actually go on). My suggestion to you is to find a sounding board that is NOT in the process of applying but knows you really well. Sure, they might not know what you are going through, but it's always nice to realize people who like you and care for you for things other than being an applicant to a doctoral. Having a fresh perspective around has kept my anxiety and depression in check and kept me a HECK of a lot calmer.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
*high fives a fellow Met fan*

I'm a die-hard fan. I actually have a '86 WS baseball signed by all of the Mets....it is by far my favorite collectible. :D
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I cannot claim to be a Mets fan, but I'm a Red Sox fan. You KNOW I hate the Yankees with a passion. That counts for something, right? :thumbup:
 
I'm a Yankees fan living in Boston. So, yeah, life's been great baseball-wise for me the past couple of years :p I actually couldn't stand the Mets in the 80s, but grew to like them in the late 90s and past few years. I think the Santana trade is going to be great for them (and I'm happy the Yanks didn't give up their young arms for him, too!)

As I'm going nuts waiting for results, I'm working full time doing vision research (control group and people with central field loss using a driving simulator), helping my wife study for her last semester in law school, and progressing nicely through Super Mario Galaxy :laugh: If I get into a PhD program, my treat for myself will be either a PS3 or XBox 360, and GTA IV. My first system was an Atari 2600 when I was 6... I was hooked from the first game of Pitfall :D
 
I got a PSP and now I'm totally distracted!
 
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New distraction...

My birthday was three days ago, and I got a kitchen herb garden as one of my presents. After receiving my very first rejection letter (ever) today, I've been planting that tonight. I may not be going to Loyola College of Maryland, but dammit I'll have fresh, indoor cilantro!
 
Just got my first (ever) rejection letter today too, but omg that comment really cheered me up Layleh~
 
I am trying to be a good applicant by reviewing questions & preparing for interviews where I *was* lucky enough to receive an invite.

However, I do plan on getting a nice pedicure a few days before my 1st interview. Not only do I REALLY need one (thanks to the budget I set on my severely underpaid RA salary and my payments for 12 application fees, 20 transcripts from EACH of the 4 different schools I attended as an undergrad, 13 requests for GRE scores, etc.), but it is the most relaxing thing I can do for myself before the madness. And yes, it will be madness :O

Good luck all!
 
Lindz said:
Just got my first (ever) rejection letter today too, but omg that comment really cheered me up Layleh~
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To quote Jimmy Buffett, "If we couldn't laugh, we'd all go insane."

I just want to remind everyone to keep a sense of humor through all of this.
 
layleh said:
To quote Jimmy Buffett, "If we couldn't laugh, we'd all go insane."

I just want to remind everyone to keep a sense of humor through all of this.
Click to expand...

thanks for the reminder! this whole process is totally absurd ... and there's nothing you can do but laugh about it really. :laugh:
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
I also have been catching up on my blog reading, and LOVING all of the feedback about my NY Mets and their trade for Johan Santana. :D

-t
Click to expand...

psy19 said:
LET'S GO METS!!!!

it's always great to see another mets fan around :)
Click to expand...

Therapist4Chnge said:
*high fives a fellow Met fan*

I'm a die-hard fan. I actually have a '86 WS baseball signed by all of the Mets....it is by far my favorite collectible. :D
Click to expand...

lakan said:
also a fan. saw all 86 playoff games, almost stopped watching game 6 - it seemed too sad for a 10 year old...
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T4C - trading away so many pitching prospects is a recipe for disaster!

Next thing I know, you all will be trying to convince me that you you were all hanging out drinking and doing drugs with Strawberry, Gooden, Dykstra, and Hernandez! :laugh:

So what happened to all of you at the 2006 NLCS at Shea! Dancing after the win on the 7 Train with a bunch of strangers was great! And where were you all last year, 2007, when Florida and the Phillies ruined their season?

Besides, right now, New Yorkers are only concerned with the Super Bowl! Can Big Blue triumph over the undefeated Patriots?
 
Come on RayneeDeigh! This is the Thread! It is time to bring back the greatest post of all time! Show everyone, one more time, how you passed the time last year! :)
 
I seem to recall a basketball discussion last year, not baseball?

If you guys (and gels) haven't checked out PhD comics yet, then I highly recommend wasting hours of your time going through all of them. I discovered them shortly after I registered on SDN, and both kept me quite entertained.
 
GiantSteps said:
T4C - trading away so many pitching prospects is a recipe for disaster!
Click to expand...

Gomez is a legit CF of the future. Guerra is raw talent. Humber should be a serviceable reliever, and Mulvey is going to be solid. Mulvey and Gomez both stung me....I was hoping they'd take Sosa instead. :laugh:

GiantSteps said:
Next thing I know, you all will be trying to convince me that you you were all hanging out drinking and doing drugs with Strawberry, Gooden, Dykstra, and Hernandez! :laugh:
Click to expand...

Nah...curfew and all.

GiantSteps said:
So what happened to all of you at the 2006 NLCS at Shea! Dancing after the win on the 7 Train with a bunch of strangers was great! And where were you all last year, 2007, when Florida and the Phillies ruined their season?

Besides, right now, New Yorkers are only concerned with the Super Bowl! Can Big Blue triumph over the undefeated Patriots?
Click to expand...

I was sadly watching. I was actually at the FL game when they blew it and PHI came from behind to win their game....talk about a punch to the gut. :( What was worse was that I was there with my buddy (in his company's lux. box) and he is a DIEHARD philly's fan. I heard a few comments after that night.
 
yeah we had to give up some pretty good prospects, but we needed a #1 pretty badly... haha T4C, I hate Sosa! Always messed things up... him and Mota. My favorite will always be Jose Reyes :love:

The only games I could go to last season were at RFK against the Nationals. Not too exciting, but it was nice to see that there were more Mets fans than Nats fans there!

Oh, and I hate the Phillies :barf:
 
my boyfriend just got a play station 2 off of ebay, so he distracts me with star wars legos, and lets me be chewy. chewy is the best.
 
Therapist4Chnge said:
Gomez is a legit CF of the future. Guerra is raw talent. Humber should be a serviceable reliever, and Mulvey is going to be solid. Mulvey and Gomez both stung me....I was hoping they'd take Sosa instead. :laugh:

Nah...curfew and all.

I was sadly watching. I was actually at the FL game when they blew it and PHI came from behind to win their game....talk about a punch to the gut. :( What was worse was that I was there with my buddy (in his company's lux. box) and he is a DIEHARD philly's fan. I heard a few comments after that night.
Click to expand...

What is Pedro still doing on the team freezing up millions of dollars? How many pitches has he thrown in the last two years? I think he averages a pitch a year.
 
Today's layleh-approved distractions:
1) Sushi for lunch (bonus distraction points for putting HUGE globs of wasabi on your food).
2) The Tom Cruise Unauthorized Biography...the "book the Scientologists don't want you to read"!

PS: Thanks to the Mets for taking Pedro off our hands.
 
psy19 said:
yeah we had to give up some pretty good prospects, but we needed a #1 pretty badly... haha T4C, I hate Sosa! Always messed things up... him and Mota. My favorite will always be Jose Reyes :love:

The only games I could go to last season were at RFK against the Nationals. Not too exciting, but it was nice to see that there were more Mets fans than Nats fans there!

Oh, and I hate the Phillies :barf:
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Unfortunately Willie really mis-handled the relievers last year. I think they have talent, they just need to be more particular with who goes when. I never liked Sosa, and Mota is okay but not someone I'd want in crunch time. Sanchez coming back will be HUGE.

I go to every Met series with the Marlins, though I can't make every game....I still get to 1 or 2 each series.

GiantSteps said:
What is Pedro still doing on the team freezing up millions of dollars? How many pitches has he thrown in the last two years? I think he averages a pitch a year.
Click to expand...

When he did pitch...he was good. He has had a lot of time to rest, so I'm expecting a solid year from him...albeit 6 inning starts.
 
I treated myself to several meals at various places in NYC....thanks Restaurant Week! :thumbup:
 
JungandHorney said:
I treated myself to several meals at various places in NYC....thanks Restaurant Week! :thumbup:
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I sooo envy you! I love restaurant week in NYC... eating at all the places that I'd never be able to walk in the door at during the rest of the year :hardy:

I'm up in Boston right now, I need to find out when Boston's Restaurant Week is!
 
Thrak said:
I sooo envy you! I love restaurant week in NYC... eating at all the places that I'd never be able to walk in the door at during the rest of the year :hardy:

I'm up in Boston right now, I need to find out when Boston's Restaurant Week is!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it ended today and it was great. Went to Le Cirque, Japonais, Chinatown Brasserie, Asia de Cuba and ended today with lunch at the 21 Club. :D
 
Thrak said:
I sooo envy you! I love restaurant week in NYC... eating at all the places that I'd never be able to walk in the door at during the rest of the year :hardy:

I'm up in Boston right now, I need to find out when Boston's Restaurant Week is!
Click to expand...

Boston's restaurant week was sometime during the fall. Oh well!
 
JungandHorney said:
Yeah, it ended today and it was great. Went to Le Cirque, Japonais, Chinatown Brasserie, Asia de Cuba and ended today with lunch at the 21 Club. :D
Click to expand...


I love le cirque!! That is a impressive list of restaurants!
 
Thrak said:
I sooo envy you! I love restaurant week in NYC... eating at all the places that I'd never be able to walk in the door at during the rest of the year :hardy:

I'm up in Boston right now, I need to find out when Boston's Restaurant Week is!
Click to expand...

ACTUALLY boston has restaurant week again for 2 weeks in march. :)
 
How do I distract myself? I check my online application status 20 times a day....even on a Saturday... :cool:
 
Before I got my first interview invite, I went back to playing my Nintendo DS and doing the hobbies I had before the application process began (which includes making collages and autograph collecting). Now I am obsessively preparing for my interview even though it is four weeks away haha.
 
I have another new distraction! I bought the Wii Sports accessory kit (it includes all these soft foam, sporting equipment attachments for Wii remotes). My aim in tennis has never been better!
 
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