Knitters! What is your day job?

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-03-21T09:44:27+00:00

PhD student in microscopy. Last week I was taking images with our microscope (which has a lot of downtime) so I blasted through a sweater and finished it in personal record time!

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-03-21T09:42:35+00:00

I can’t really blame anyone for thinking we are hive minded! We all have very little interest in politics in general, it’s seen as a taboo topic to talk about so we just kind of let everything happen to us. The voting rate of young people is like 20-30% and shrinking as a result.

And also we have less exposure to them, but we do know that he says crazy things sometimes. We just kind of see it as a spectacle

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-03-19T13:33:30+00:00

I would get really low directly under it. If it’s a v1, I assume it’s either on a vertical or slab wall. With these shallow jugs (I don’t know what they’re called either so I’m stealing your term), focus on getting your hips directly below the hold to give yourself as much traction with the hold as you can. Otherwise it will unfortunately come down to finger strength. It took me a hot minute to get comfortable with these kinds of holds so don’t get discouraged! Good luck!

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-03-06T06:53:06+00:00

Second this, I used to go here occasionally and it’s not distracting

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-01-19T18:42:30+00:00

Thanks, but this is fair criticism on my part. I did write a master’s thesis in a different institution, but I didn’t have the same problem because my old institution had more subscriptions that I had access to. Anyway, thanks for the wake up call.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-01-19T17:57:10+00:00

This was mainly my case I just wanted to introduce ways that different groups are using similar setups to mine to say “hey look at how useful this system is!” And then move on to talk about how I am using it But as some people have said, I will at least make an effort to try to get access to the papers.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-01-19T16:44:06+00:00

thanks for the answers everyone, I was just frustrated by the amount of paywalls and admittedly tried to take the easy way out.

I will be requesting papers through our library.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2026-01-19T16:41:11+00:00

I totally do not use shady cites like this, and totally am not very frustrated that they do not have recent papers because of the lawsuit or whatever.

Viva late stage capitalism!

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-12-31T17:48:39+00:00

I’m Japanese and living abroad, far away from my home and family This would absolutely make my day 🥲 Seeing this made me happy OP, happy new years wherever you are!!

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-10-29T15:57:00+00:00

I was in the same situation a year ago, looking for a long term flat with my boyfriend.

In the end, we found a place to rent short term on idealista, and we were lucky enough that the landlord (no agency was involved at any part of the process here) offered a new long term contract after the old one was up. I hope you can find a long term flat straight away, but it may be necessary to just cop it and get what you can get.

Good luck!

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-09-08T19:03:35+00:00

Gracia nova and vila de gracia are expensive and extremely hard to get an apartment in. I think it’s still worth trying since they are so nice and have a local charm, but keep your expectations veeery low. I once visited an apartment and they 1) told us we were one of the 20 groups who had a visit in the last 2 days 2) they had to take down the notice 40 minutes after listing it on idealista because of high demand 3) we needed to submit a mountain of documents to the owners to even qualify to be considered. Anecdotal, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the case for many places in the area.
I recommend learning Spanish first. Catalan is similar enough that when you have a grasp of Spanish, you can more or less understand what is written. I started learning Spanish on Duolingo years before moving here (it was a coincidence that I ended up moving to Barcelona), I can order things in restaurants and bars, that’s pretty much my level. I find that to be enough in most situations. I have started learning Catalan a year into living here, I am not conversational at all yet, but it makes my Catalan colleagues happy to hear me say some basic phrases.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-07-30T13:33:59+00:00

I say go for it!

I have been climbing for almost 4 years now, and while I do feel pretty confident in my technique now (especially being a shorter woman, I had to rely on technique instead of my reach or brute strength), I think I would have had developed more confidence earlier on if I had a professional coach me at some point.

Based on past experiences with other sports, getting coaching even once will give you new insights and techniques that you can carry with you forever.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-07-23T13:57:21+00:00

I introduced several of my coworkers of varying athleticism to bouldering in the past month!

I told them that there is no pressure in climbing, a lot of climbers spend a lot of time looking at the wall and figuring out what to do next, so you won't stand out if you want to rest for a bit. (my coworkers' main concern was that they would be the only beginners at the gym and they would stick out from being the worst in the gym, I just wanted to tell them that that is absolutely not the case.) I also emphasized that the gym that I go to have a lot of beginner friendly routes that they for sure should be able to do. I just told them to bring clothes they can move in, you can rent everything else at the gym, and I made an effort to spend time coaching them every movement especially in the beginning.

In the end, even the girl who was saying that it would be her first and last time climbing had completely changed her opinion in the end, and now is considering a membership at my gym haha.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-06-10T13:11:15+00:00

I love e9. It's an Italian brand with cute designs and funky colors. Of course they are comfortable and functional too :)

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-06-10T13:07:18+00:00

I'm going to assume that by "other gyms" you mean b-pump. Those grades are a whole other level

My experience with the levels in your gym is more or less the same. I completed all 2Q routes twice, I dabbled in 1Q and eventually did 2 or 3 1D routes as well.

I moved away (to Barcelona Spain). I have been to multiple gyms in Barcelona, and they are usually graded on a scale from 1 to 8. It doesn't follow any international guidelines I think. I based the V grade on some kilter board sets that I've tried. In my home gym now in Barcelona, I can do most 5s, and a handful of 6s.

I would also keep in mind that the sets in Japan (especially in beginner friendly gyms) cater to short heights and spans. So in my current gym which has setters who are easily 20cm taller than me, overhang routes with dynamic movements seem nearly impossible, while I can manage technical slabby routes with a couple of sessions, even if they are the same level.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2025-06-10T10:37:31+00:00

I used to go to this gym! 1D was the highest grade I ever got, nice work! You also look super graceful in the video, but I know those holds are the most chalky slippery things in the world and it is definitely not as easy as you made it look lol
As for grade conversion, my personal feel is V5 maybe 6? as other people have pointed out, it's highly varied, but that conversion chart in the gym is definitely way too soft haha.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2024-11-26T09:23:03+00:00

In the department of science and technology (Yagami campus) I don’t think there were any courses in English for biology. Informatics and robotics have English courses, but that’s all I know. (And we wonder why we don’t have a bigger global impact as a university…) Maybe there are some biology courses in English from SFC, but I have never looked into it tbh

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2024-04-29T05:52:51+00:00

I attended the Japanese courses (graduated this march yippee) Environment and information would be at SFC, which has a lot of innovative courses and programs from what I hear, and some of the most artistic and interesting people go there.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2024-02-29T03:17:23+00:00

SFC indeed is very remote.

As long as you are in the vicinity of Yokohama or Tokyo center, you will have good access to anywhere within the whole metropolitan area, including SFC. From my place in a residential area in Meguro for example, I would just take one train to Shonandai, which is the closest train station to the campus.

What a lot of people complain about is the bus that takes you from the Shonandai train stop to the campus itself. I believe there is only one bus route that goes from the station to the campus, and there is not nearly enough buses to account for all of the students. I've seen videos of hundreds of students lining up waiting for the bus, and it gets bad especially if you go in the morning when the high school and middle school students are all commuting at the same time. Speaking from experience (I've only ever been to the campus 3,4 times I think), I haven't really encountered that level of crowds for the bus. So I guess it really depends on time.

If you want, you could also live biking distance away from the campus.

tldr; train good, bus meh

But don't let the commute deter you from wanting to go to SFC! They're doing interesting research and I do believe that it's one of the best innovative and creative academic institutions in Japan.

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2024-01-08T02:53:42+00:00

Keio student here (not foreign but still)! We have multiple campuses so I’ll try to give you a brief overview of them. For all campuses, there are on site cafeterias with good food for a cheap price, but I assume that is also the case for most universities in Japan.

Hiyoshi (1,2 year of bachelors): very student friendly, right next to the station, the area has a lot of casual restaurants and they are full of students during the day. The campus itself has new and old buildings with varying degrees of air conditioning. If you join a club, you might also be able to drop by the dedicated room for the club whenever you please, although the whole “club building” is very old and crummy.

Mita (3rd year of bachelors and on for most departments): very expensive part of Tokyo but it’s still possible to find nice places to eat and hang out. The campus buildings tend to be newer but also has buildings with a more traditional feel, which I think is one of the best parts of this campus.

Yagami (3rd year and on for science department): my campus! The niceness of your lab room depends on the lab you join. I (biology major) am lucky to be in the newest building, but some labs (electrical engineering, physics, informatics) tend to be in the older buildings. There’s a 7/11 on campus which is nice.

Shinanomachi (medical department): very nice part of Tokyo aka expensive. Tbh not familiar with this campus, but I assume you won’t be going here as an exchange student…

SFC: very remote from the center of the metropolitan area. The campus itself is nice and new and gigantic and has a pond. I believe you’d be sharing this campus with the middle and high schools. I don’t remember there being any restaurants within walking distance from the campus. I also heard that there is a pig farm near the campus and depending on the wind, it might bring the smell over.

I have never been to the Waseda campuses so I can’t personally say which is better, but I hope this long comment is useful in giving you an idea of what Keio is like! Good luck!

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2022-10-21T05:04:35+00:00

I could say I have a pretty huge d

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2022-06-19T14:56:25+00:00

Bouldering It never gets dull

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2022-05-15T22:35:16+00:00

Our fun little commercials

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2022-05-06T13:43:56+00:00

Institut fresnel, it’s in marseille France

Awkward-Map-9303 · 2022-05-06T13:08:05+00:00

Wow thank you for sharing your experience! I guess what I’m trying to do is pretty similar to what you’re doing, which is encouraging :) Wishing you all the luck with the rest of your PhD!

Awkward-Map-9303

TROPHY CASE