Below are the 3 most recent journal entries recorded in taobenli's LiveJournal:

Thursday, May 28th, 2009
3:44 pm	bummer...all-nighter As a grad student I'm a lot better about planning than I was as an undergrad. I tend to be a morning person now and I don't find I'm able to get a lot done by staying up all night. BUT right now it's crunch time, as I'm writing general exams (I just came on lj to ask this question, I swear!). I have finished two of my essays, 3/4 of the third, and about half way through the fourth. I'm not writing as fast as I should be (writing quickly has never been one of my strengths). I also still need to be mentally alert enough to do a final proofreading and bibliography copying-and-pasting. My exam is due in 17 hours (if I don't sleep at all between now and then- I will probably at least nap for a couple of hours). The advice I need from you fellow grad students is how to best get through the night and get this done! My body handles caffeine well, but unfortunately that doesn't mean that it always keeps me awake (I'll still fall asleep, but will just have nightmares and twitch!).I find if I drink cold things that helps keep me awake. I need to invest in some energy drinks that won't make me tense and anxious, but will get me through. Luckily there's a Safeway all of 30 seconds from my apartment, and I can also send my husband out to buy these things for me. My mental state is pretty good (did some yoga this morning) and I'm happy with my essays so far, but I'm worried I actually lack the adrenaline to make these the best they can be in the time I have left. Advice is greatly appreciated! (Brands, staying awake methods, etc.). Okay, internet break over! I'll check this in a few hours before I go to the store for my stims. (Oh, and no Ritalin suggestions, please- I don't have access and I'm not about to jump on that weird bandwagon anyway). (Comment on this)
Monday, January 12th, 2009
3:20 pm	exam scheduling question Quick question for those who have been through exams... I'm preparing for qualifying exams (in a social science) and am trying to do it quite quickly, doing most of my reading this quarter (and a little last quarter). Originally I planned to write my exams the first week of March, give my committee a week to read them (as is required) and then do my oral defense of my exam on March 16th. I have planned for a long time to go on vacation with my husband to another country over spring break, and will be leaving the country on March 18th. It would be great to have my exams done by then, but I'm also thinking now that I could really use that extra week to prepare, could take my exams the week before spring break, have my committee read in a more leisurely way over spring break, and take the oral part of my exam when I come back for spring quarter (giving myself a few days to get over jetlag of course). Any experiences with this? Pros or cons to breaking up the written and oral parts of the exam? I realize how the time on vacation may give me too much distance, but also think it's possible I'll be less of a stress case defending my exams after a vacation (since the orals are the part I'm most scared of, being shy). (Comment on this)
Monday, March 6th, 2006
9:05 pm	FAFSA and paranoia Hi, all- Perhaps I am getting a bit paranoid and thinking that random things will affect my chances of acceptance since I am still waiting to hear a thing from 4 of the 6 schools I applied to! I still haven't filled out the FAFSA (or my taxes) despite my best intentions. I definitely plan to get to it in the next few days. Is it going to create problems that I haven't done it yet? Really, I will most likely not attend a school where I don't get actual funding (as opposed to more loans given out based on FAFSA information)- would probably just cut my losses and re-apply next year to more schools. Yes, I realize that the question is a bit inane...it's that time of year. (2 Comments |Comment on this)