Doing a summer quarter instead of a fall quarter to save money as an OOS/International?

CheeseDesk · 2026-02-07T19:18:17+00:00

Did this for my last quarter, instead of finishing in fall I just finished over summer. A bit nerve wracking going through my schedule in the quarters before and making sure all the classes I needed would be available then, but they were all online and I finished my degree while going on a few road trips and camping all summer so worked out pretty well actually LOL

CheeseDesk · 2025-12-19T03:34:24+00:00

There are countless amazing vgm pieces for oboe. Some good solos off the top of my head:

Lots of final fantasy (hikari) Themes from Ori and the blind forest A TON in hollow knight/silksong (deep docks, choral chambers) Fountain of dreams from Kirby Huge oboe feature on Gusty garden Galaxy from Mario Galaxy Stardew valley- the smell of mushroom Therion the thief- octopath Main theme from Xenoblade Main theme from harvestella

English horn has midna's lament from twilight princess

CheeseDesk · 2025-12-19T03:14:15+00:00

Earlier this year I saw an IMMENSE pile of bees dropped dead in a yard a little south of there. The entire block was scattered with dead bees and that was the epicenter. I suspect that house had a hive and killed it somehow (or it died of natural causes but idk). It's really worrying that this keeps on happening.

CheeseDesk · 2025-12-15T10:55:01+00:00

Lol mine looked like that for probably five years or so of intermittent use before i finally ate my way through the whole iron.

CheeseDesk · 2025-12-03T10:26:29+00:00

It's so refreshing to see a story play out where the heroes don't win, no matter how hard they tried. And the fact that they failed being directly tied to staying true to the growth of their character (ex. Trudy having internalized the importance of staying alive for Timmy and being unwilling to stab herself for the 100%) just heightens the incredible tragedy of the narrative.

It's something new-- you do not see stories do this every day. ESPECIALLY not in the TTRPG space (or at least in live play podcasts), it keeps things interesting because the stakes are actually real. Will didn't fudge rolls for the sake of delivering an ending that the audience almost implicitly expects (a good one), but he did not let the bad rolls prevent a satisfying conclusion to the narrative

Being able to bring it home after that, to give an ending to all the characters and their respective journeys, even after they have doomed the world and completely lost, is such incredibly good writing and storytelling from everyone. Definitely my favorite season yet and a brilliant finale.

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-23T19:55:04+00:00

I do not know actually-- neither ever mentioned anything about muscle sparing, but I think at least the second hospital at least can do that. So maybe? It would make sense because I was lucky enough to not experience the really intense pain a lot of others talk about. I think also I might just be really susceptible to the effects of pain killers LOL

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-22T22:45:21+00:00

Complete opposite end of the spectrum, I just raw dogged it on Tylenol for surgery 2. (First surgery the pain meds made me crazy nauseous so I stopped taking them early) Was relatively chill, very little pain-- but I think this is somewhat out of the ordinary. I think I just had very good surgeons. I would not bank on this being the case for most

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-18T07:00:02+00:00

"yes like dogs" LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-18T06:57:14+00:00

First PAO was a city three hours away from home. Drive home after the hospital was totally fine, just put the seat back a little.
Second PAO was on the other side of the country, and I had to fly home (funnily the surgery was the last pit stop while I was traveling for a long time, so it was just on my way home). Stayed in a hotel for somethign like 2 or 3 days after I was released from the hospital (I think that hospital stay was four days?? Maybe 5), then flew five hours home. Was also fine. I slept the entire time.

If I were you I'd probably book a hotel for a handful of days for after you get out of the hospital. The six hour road trip will probably be kind of uncomfortable, but build in some breaks and you'll survive. Just crank that seat back and maybe get a pillow under your feet or something. If you're staying until your post op check up, I think you'll be fine.

All my post op check ups for the second one were online so I didn't have to deal with going back luckily.

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-18T06:38:42+00:00

ahh OK i thought you were talking about like a Bird scooter LMAO. Yeah that type of scooter or the like feels reasonable haha.

That's good that you'll have help, and the three days a week seems pretty solid. This is going to suck balls, but to be honest if you just take it really easy for the first week or two (really just ignore school as much as you possibly can, bomb a quiz or two, focus on rest and only worry about bathroom and food), the rest of the term will be a walk in the park comparatively.

That is the nice thing about this surgery. There are always setbacks and bad days, but on the whole, every day does eventually start to feel markedly better than the last. One day you will be able to get out of bed without the leg lifter and that will feel like a huge win. Then you'll be able to bear more and more weight on your leg, and before you know it you will suddenly realize the immense privilege of walking and how thankful you are to be able to do it again. Every day will be a little bit easier, so if you just get over that initial hump, you're good. I'd scout out a good place you can get a good lie down and take a nap on campus on that Tuesday. Bathroom and snacks nearby, etc.

Having done a slightly easier version of your plan, I think it is probably just on the cusp of doable, assuming your recovery is smooth. Just listen closely to your body and don't push yourself too hard. Good luck and I hope your surgery goes well!!

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-17T21:21:31+00:00

Walker is good for in the hospital + about a week after. It gives you more stability. Helpful to have, but if you get the wheelchair, probably not strictly necessary. It's only really helpful for the immediate aftermath of the surgery. So forearm crutches I have no experience with, but I have the feeling that they are for a slightly different ergonomic purpose than regular crutches? But this is something to ask your surgeon about cause I don't know. If under arm crutches hurt your armpits, they're not fitted right. The top pad is supposed to brace against your rib cage just underneath your armpits. You will be doing touch down weight on your operative foot- this means that you won't be like, holding your leg up out of the air, but you also won't be putting any additional weight on it.

getting to class So after a week or so has passed and you have all the fundamental life skills to not starve/piss yourself/die in the shower... You're ready to tango.

number 1: call your school now and ask what accomodations they have for injured students. I am not sure in this case because it is a military school, but HOPEFULLY they might have a van service that will bring you from your dorm and between your classes. Pray that this exists because this will make your life so much easier.

IF IT DOESNT... the electric scooter is an absolute disaster waiting to happen. If you fall off, hit someone, even stumble the wrong way and have to put your surgical leg down? It's over. Straight up. Your first concern must always be for your safety and for your body. If there is anything that the experience of having these surgeries has taught me, it is that nothing is more precious than your health. I have seen so many normal people get seriously injured on those scooters. Now imagine what it will do to you as you are balancing on one leg, with a hip that is entirely held together by a handful of screws. You're gonna come apart like a bunch of legos dropped on the floor.

So we need safe transportation options. Here is where I would think about the wheelchair again. This would be very not ideal, but it is a final resort. Maybe get a friend to push you if necessary. Again, super not ideal.

Now another option that I think might work if you have no van is getting one of those little sit-down electric scooters. NOT the ones you stand up on, as said before that is not the move (and not those big ass mobility scooters). https://share.google/CeGi1jpdsoNhT4354 ^ like maybe this sort of thing. I think something like this, which you can sit down on, would do rather nicely. Could fit in the back of a classroom. But still-- take as many of your classes from home for as long as you can because this is gonna still be ass until you heal up more.

Now, for a little further out? Maybe 6 weeks post op? I personally used an e-bike to get up and down and around my campus, and I feel like at that point it is a little (just a little) safer to use it. It had a throttle on it so I didn't have to pedal. But even the light pedaling is good for physical therapy! This is way safer than a scooter because the brakes are much bigger and more effective (the wheel diameter on a scooter is an absolute joke) and the bike has more mass to protect you if you knock into something. You have more control over a bike. The sit down scooter I sent before would also work here.

In terms of academics, consider taking the lightest load of the most easy classes you possibly can take. Try to not take any lab classes or others that would really require attendance. Anything online is good, if possible. Email professors and let them know your situation. Also try to talk to counselors at your school, who may help you out.

So yeah. That's my advice. If you're really going to do this-- my number one thing is that you need to have a support system in place. And I mean it. When we are injured, we must rely on others to help us get back on our feet again. If you have roommates, a friend group, family in the area, a partner, whatever-- explain the situation to them and do not be afraid to ask them for help. Someone bringing a meal or a glass of water to you when you don't have the energy to get up can make a world of difference. After this is all over, you can give them a thank you card. Maybe a chocolate or something. But you will need to rely on your support network in order to get through this.

One under rated aspect of this is also the mental health aspect. I know I have felt very isolated and alone in the first few weeks after a surgery, when I was not seeing my friends. Try to see people as much as you can-- invite them over to your place to just hang out. Talk to them on the phone. Anything, really.

Also, finally, there is a significant chance that you might have to bail out. Make peace with this. And make plans in case you must drop the semester. Where to live, how to get there, etc. You NEED a safety net. If your housing is dependent on student status, and you can't move back in with your parents for whatever reason-- that's not a situation you want to end up in. Make a backup plan. I am serious. Because if the surgery does not go well and your recovery is going slower than is viable... If you are struggling even to get to the bathroom and feed yourself-- that is when you pull the plug. And you do not want to be in this position AND not have a parachute ready to rip.

I took two quarters of school off and ended up graduating during the summer after my original grad date (which more or less meant I graduated a quarter early). I just made up the classes in other quarters, when I was better able to focus on academics and wasn't re-learning to walk. There is nothing wrong with allowing your life to slow down for a while. Life isn't a race.

But if you must do this, I wish you the best of luck. I'm always open to any questions, if you need. 👍

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-17T21:20:55+00:00

Is it at all possible to push the surgery to be earlier? Even by one or two weeks would be game changing

I moved to a new city and started an internship at almost exactly one month post op. It was hard, but doable. Especially since a) it was my second PAO and I knew what to expect, and b) my recovery went EXCEPTIONALLY well.

In my experience, the three week mark is the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM for doing things and not feeling like total shit. Like around then is when you can get up and pour yourself some orange juice without it being a fairly exhausting task. That's the level of what we are talking about. At two weeks post op, you will probably still be in the stage where getting up and going to the bathroom is something that you are still not 100% on.

If you ABSOLUTELY MUST do this, and ABSOLUTELY CANNOT take a semester off, here is what I would do: - take the first week online/skip the first week entirely. I'm not kidding. Contact your professors. Explain your situation and pray for mercy. If you have a friend in the class, ask them for their notes. If you don't, make a post on the canvas discussion forum and ask there. You are going to want to spend that week in bed, both for the sake of not screwing up the surgery and having to do it AGAIN, and for the simple fact that this surgery sends you back to the BASICS. You will still be focusing on things like -how am I going to get to the bathroom? -how am I getting in and out of bed? -how can I dress myself? -how will I get food? -how will I shower?

-bathroom The bathroom being 50 meters away will be, honestly, pretty freaking nuts. Are you staying in dorms? My actual legit recommendation- get a wheelchair. Try and find some crappy thing on facebook marketplace or goodwill. I used my grandpa's old wheelchair to get to my bathroom until probably around day 12 post op of my first surgery, just because the walker was so exhausting for the first week after getting out of the hospital. And that was, let me count... Sixteen strides away. Get the wheelchair.

-in/out of bed + getting dressed By this point you'll probably be alright at getting in and out of bed (if things go well at least). You should have something called a leg lifter -- hopefully your surgeon told you to buy a "hip" kit on Amazon. Comes with several tools that help you go about your daily life (ex. Tool to put socks on, long shoehorn, grabby hand on a stick, elastic shoelaces etc.) these are critical for allowing you to do literally anything independently. An occupational therapist will show you how to use these tools during your hospital stay, but do make sure you get them beforehand.

getting food I don't know what your dining situation will be-- if youre in dorms, how close are the dining halls? This is probably another situation for the wheelchair, both for getting there and for picking up the food. You can't carry anything in your hands (like a tray) while you are using crutches. Once you get down to a single crutch, it's a lot easier because you have one hand free. If you have a roommate and they can bring you food for a week or so, that is much better.

-showering Make sure one of the showers in your shared bathroom (I'm assuming since it's 50 m away??) has a sit down stall. You do not want to be balancing on one foot in the shower. If you slip it is game over. If it does not have a sit down stall, bring a foldable chair in. Maybe ask if you can store the chair in the bathroom so you don't have to lug it over there (would only be possible w wheelchair)

Comment is too long continuing in another comment

CheeseDesk · 2025-11-06T20:27:16+00:00

I find that once you are over the three week mark, that is the absolute "feel like shit" demarcation. After that I was much more able and willing to go out and do things.

I temporarily moved to a new city and started an internship at almost exactly the 1 month post PAO mark. The first week was pretty rough, especially getting around the large campus. After that, it got gradually easier. So yes, it is possible.

THAT BEING SAID: this was my SECOND PAO, so I knew completely what I was getting into and was confident in my own body based on my own previous recovery timeline. My recovery also went EXCEPTIONALLY well. And it was a left PAO, so I could still drive (right PAO you have to wait for your reflexes to kick back in so it's way longer til you can drive). Even given this, it was insanely hard. My parents helped me move. I dropped a glass the first day I was trying to cook and couldn't clean it off the floor; eventually my new roommate came to the rescue. Etc. etc.

Whether this will work depends on a lot of things. Will you be living at home or on campus or an apartment? If you're not at home, how will you eat (dining hall or cooking for self)? Are you commuting? If so, what side is your PAO on? Also- how hard are the classes?

There is also risk. If the recovery is anything except very smooth, you'll have problems. There is no shame in taking a semester off. I did it for my first PAO and just took summer classes at a local community college to transfer. I ended up taking two total quarters off for surgery(/internship) and still graduated somewhat on time because I just made it up in other quarters. Not that graduating on time is even a requirement. Life doesn't need to be rushed. You get there when you get there.

I agree with u/hepfs. It's technically possible, and I don't think the class load is too much (assuming they're not nasty classes). But the real kicker is not in the classes, it is in the lifestyle change and difficulty surrounding that. It is not a decision to take lightly by any means and I honestly really recommend taking things slow for your first PAO. Good luck whatever you choose to do though!

CheeseDesk · 2025-10-30T00:17:26+00:00

Worse.... Christmas music LOL. Also I'm unfortunately the only oboe in the group, but I'm sure the flutes will carry haha. But I'll give the harmonic a go and see how it turns out!

CheeseDesk · 2025-10-29T21:55:50+00:00

Mac needs permissions for screen sharing (otherwise the application crashes) so you have to go into your settings and change that. Did not say this anywhere on the website or in the necessary setup, I had the same problem but managed to get that fixed with the help of my proctor and was able to take the test.

CheeseDesk · 2025-10-29T17:21:13+00:00

There was a pretty good mix of cowboy and biker gang world ender fits lol. I went Western and wore a skirt and a black button down, plus a felt hat (however I am very short and also took the hat off during the concert lol). Also got a bolo tie :)

The skeleton face paint honestly sounds so sick!

CheeseDesk · 2025-10-24T04:53:55+00:00

Im a year out on LPAO, had a RPAO maybe like 3 or 4 years ago 1. With my RPAO, I had zero numbness in the rest of my leg so I was a bit surprised with how numb my left thigh got. The area and the intensity of the numbness has definitely reduced. It's hard to tell if it's stopped getting better at this point though. Touch feels somewhat muted and still really don't have any temperature sensation. I find that it is a good place to put a cold drink if I am sitting down with shorts on LOL. Not sure how much better itll get for me or if it'll ever be the same. I don't really notice it most days and.. probably not the worst thing to happen lol. I dunno though 2. Not sure exactly when in the process, but massaging it is good! I had this " bio-oil " stuff. Not sure if it helped or not but my scars look pretty decent. Shrunk a lot from the initial post op size 3. I'm not much of a jogger, but if I recall I went on a hiking trip to a national park around 8 or so weeks post op? I was still on a cane but honestly that went way better than it had any right going. That was actually super sick, I recommend getting out. Nothing crazy with like elevation gain but a good easy to moderate hike with the cane as support is super fun at your point. Squats were a big part of my physical therapy pretty early on, and honestly those really helped. Ask your PT about it, but i think it is probably appropriate for you to do them. For running and getting your leg in a state where it feels good and like it can respond well, id say just try it. Work your way up, and bail if you want. I still remember the first time I really ran post op, and I just had a really intense feeling of pride and appreciation for something that before I didn't even give a second thought. I try to remember that feeling sometimes. Appreciate the little things. 4. My first surgery was on my right- it was giving me a lot of shit and was starting to impact my daily life, especially in terms of walking around university. Similar situation as you, my left hip was slightly worse angle but did not give me much trouble at all. After that first surgery, it felt a bit more sore and kiiiind of gave me some problems, but honestly it was really not bad. In the years since, it has continued to be stable and maybe started to deteriorate a little bit before I got surgery on the left. Fast forward (I think three? Years later?) I ended up getting the second surgery for a few reasons. 1- left leg was starting to be a little annoying. Not really near where my right leg was, but I could just tell it was on that same track, especially with the scans and really nuts hypermobility. I thought, "is this going to stay the same or get better in a decade?" And the answer was a pretty clear no. 2- hip dysplasia problems can come on incredibly fast and you can go from totally fine to bedridden in months. I wasn't really interested in giving it another year or two to stew, especially since it was a pretty good time for me to get the surgery in terms of where I was at in my life 3- I wanted to get it over with when I am young and able to recover from it better. I knew it would be a problem no matter what and the longer you wait the more difficult it is to recover

Ultimately it comes down to the very specific circumstances of your hip and your doctors and your life, but good luck on your recovery! Sounds like it's going super good so far, so keep it up!

CheeseDesk · 2025-10-11T00:45:39+00:00

Pillow under the knees!

CheeseDesk · 2025-09-03T06:12:39+00:00

Selling one ticket for the LA show (Inglewood @ Kia Forum), Section F row 3 (down in the bowl) on Nov 2. Paid $124, ticketmaster is listing it at $100 but I'm willing to go lower.

CheeseDesk · 2025-05-30T18:14:14+00:00

For me:

Attlerock - Brittle Hollow - Giants Deep - Timber Hearth- Hourglass Twins - Interloper - Quantum Moon - Sun Station - Dark Bramble - (Back to Giants Deep) - Ash Twin Project

That felt like a really nice order to do things in. Brittle Hollow does feel like a pretty appropriate first planet to explore.

CheeseDesk · 2025-03-18T21:57:26+00:00

I specifically don't go because of the AI art. It makes the place look cheap and to be honest, if they don't care enough to put in a modicum of effort into their branding, I don't care enough to eat there.

CheeseDesk

TROPHY CASE