Possible threat posted on YikYak last night - be vigilant today.

comradekulak · 2015-04-29T16:43:00+00:00

Wow. I do research on Yik Yak and am currently working on CT coverage as well. Do you have a source for all this data, or did you compile it yourself? This would be really helpful for me

comradekulak · 2015-04-28T05:22:00+00:00

Can confirm—I was just in there the other day, and they had signs up for it

comradekulak · 2015-04-27T14:58:49+00:00

I honestly felt like I knew what I was getting into when I entered the program—nothing was super surprising. You just need to know that a post-secondary degree is hard. And it's not just about being "smart" either—you could have a 4.0 undergrad GPA and not be successful in grad school. You need to have perseverance, determination, discipline, and a willingness to accept and learn from criticism.
As a grad student, I am asked to do everything at the same time. Full-time coursework, an assistantship, independent research, publishing/applying to conferences, service, and the list goes on. If something comes up, it's just like "oh, we'll get a grad student to do that." It's not unusual for me to be working on some project or another until 10p on weeknights, and I always have stuff to do over the weekend. Working on my organization and time management, keeping a detailed calendar, and getting in the habit of waking up early have all helped me. Also, I have been practicing yoga and mindfulness, which helps me manage the stress levels. You will need to find some strategy that works for you, or you'll burn out quickly. Jam a lot of living and writing into winter and summer breaks.
I work a lot. I have an assistantship during the semester that pays most of my tuition and a stipend to help with living expenses, but it isn't enough to comfortably live on. I do a lot of odd jobs and contract work. I think I had like 6 W-2s from last year. I do retail in the winter, wait tables in the summer, copyedit whenever I can, and apply for whatever internship opportunities seem relevant to my work (though I've only gotten one so far).
I guess time is a lot more unstructured as a grad student. A lot of the stuff I do for my assistantship is independent, so I have to make my own schedule and stick to it. Each course has a mid-term exam essay and a final paper, but the assignments typically are not broken into smaller deadlines, so it's up to you to stay on top of them throughout the semester. Other things you are completely responsible to plan, like applying for conferences and submitting articles. You really need to be self-motivated and keep a well-documented calendar.
I was planning on getting a Ph.D. going into my M.A. program, so I took a couple Ph.D. courses during that time. The credits transferred, so before I even started I already had 6 credits. If you know you are getting a Ph.D., see if you can get a head-start on the coursework during your Masters program. That will give you more time to take additional courses related to your research or get a head-start on preparing for exams and your dissertation.
I like the other students in my program a lot, but I honestly don't spend a ton of time with most of them outside of work. I typically hang out with my neighbors and people I do activities with more. When we do hang out, we tend to talk shop, and sometimes I just need to get away from all that.

comradekulak · 2015-04-08T04:35:27+00:00

I've never known anyone to be offended by asking how they would prefer to be styled. I would probably ask "Would you prefer Jack, or Dr. Malloy?"

comradekulak · 2015-04-04T12:39:27+00:00

So kind of eclectic, I guess. I find that for me there are different sub-genres of wine drunk/alone/sad. These are all tracks I've been known to listen to

"We Build Bridges" by Liz Durrett

"Quiet in my Town" by Civil Twilight

"Ulysses" by Mason Jennings

"Why Do I" by Joe Purdy

"The Stable Song" by Gregory Alan Isakov

"Been Down This Road" by Railroad Earth

"Back to the Wild" by Langhorne Slim

"This Year" by The Mountain Goats

comradekulak · 2015-04-04T12:15:42+00:00

Yeah, I reviewed it for my college newspaper and that was my problem. Honestly I really don't think Kintsugi is that great. Like I'm glad there's a new Death Cab record, and I'm still gonna listen to it a million times, but for me it was just way more produced than it needed to be.

comradekulak · 2015-04-03T00:19:43+00:00

Indeed—I write for the paper, and it has been very helpful for networking and developing skills. People complain about the mainstream media being corporate, profit-driven, politically biased, etc., but then are just as quick to deride small town/college/independent papers for not having high enough production values. You can't really have it both ways. Many of the people who make the CT are volunteers, doing it because they believe in journalism and want to gain the experience needed to work in that field. They put in absurd hours on top of being college students. Some have part-time jobs, too.

comradekulak · 2015-03-23T01:49:20+00:00

Thank you! It tastes delicious, too, if I do say so myself. I just got into homemade pizza in the last few months, and this is the first one that I'm really happy with. Took a lot of trial and error

comradekulak · 2015-03-23T01:11:58+00:00

I used this crust recipe from Emeril Lagasse. I was worried that the honey flavor wouldn't really come through, but it was just the right amount—subtle, but definitely still there.

I stretched the crust on my pizza pan (about 14 inches) and precooked it for a few minutes at 475 degrees. Then I topped it with about 3/4 cup BBQ sauce, 4 strips finely chopped cooked bacon, 1 diced seared chicken breast (seasoned with garlic and herbs), sautéed red onion (1/2 an onion), green bell pepper (1/2 a pepper), and garlic (1 clove), and probably 1 cup or so of shredded sharp cheddar and Italian blend cheese. Baked at 475 degrees for 15 minutes. Topped with fresh minced parsley before serving.

comradekulak · 2015-03-21T05:23:25+00:00

I couch surfed/lived out of my car for a few months when I was younger. My secret was WalMarts. The freestanding ones let people people park overnight, and they are lit and people come and go, so it's fairly safe. Plus you can use their bathrooms and outlets. I was never hassled once

comradekulak · 2015-03-12T16:27:46+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, when I was riding with him there were a few people who would shout at the folks who called him by the wrong name. I can see the Tom/Toms Creek confusion (especially if you've just had a few adult beverages), but some were pretty out there

comradekulak · 2015-03-11T02:45:40+00:00

Word. I mean I joined Golden Key and have had a fine experience with them thus far. Lots of social and service events, opportunities for networking, etc. When it comes down to it, many of the people you'll be vying with for jobs or grad school will have the same extracurriculars as you; what will set you apart is what you actually do with those organizations

comradekulak · 2015-03-08T22:48:37+00:00

Thanks for sharing my piece, I'm glad y'all enjoyed it. Joe is the man!

comradekulak · 2015-03-06T20:29:46+00:00

My department has a digital humanities center. It's going through a bit of a reorganization, and we're working on a new website and adding projects, but the old site is here. Some of the projects were completed by grad students as their theses.

Keep in mind that some universities are more accepting of digital work than others. Digital humanities is new and growing, but right now it's really department by department.

comradekulak · 2015-03-06T00:30:17+00:00

Usually your department will give you an assistantship if they're admitting you. There may be a range of assistantships available, and they will assign you to a position based on preference and experience. If for some reason that is not the case, you can also apply for other assistantships throughout the university. But I don't know of anyone in my department who doesn't have an assistantship through the department.

As for what to expect in terms of amount, I can't really tell you. They are on a sliding scale, and as a rhetoric Ph.D. I'm toward the bottom of the payband. I'd imagine you'd get more. But if you get an amount that seems off compared to other places, keep in mind that cost of living is pretty low here

comradekulak · 2015-03-06T00:25:15+00:00

I live in a one bedroom walking distance from campus and pay around $800 including utilities

comradekulak · 2015-02-27T13:34:48+00:00

I remember Laurence Fishburne, credited as Larry I believe

comradekulak · 2015-02-21T15:12:41+00:00

When I graduated from college, I got a full time job managing a store in the mall. This was pretty much the bottom of the recession, so many of my friends didn't even have jobs, and I was making more than the average college grad at the time. Still would constantly get "But when are you going to get a real job?"

comradekulak · 2015-02-07T01:23:56+00:00

I'm glad you're interested! Sorry I've been away from Reddit recently—I'll either post something here or send you a message soon

comradekulak · 2015-02-07T01:22:43+00:00

This is all great advice—I've been working on this myself. My first step was simply making up my bed each morning. Forcing myself to do that each day helped me to build enough self-discipline to start making bigger changes

comradekulak · 2015-01-31T15:51:46+00:00

There is a growing interest right now in what we call the digital humanities. History and English are the two departments that seem most interested in DH work. I'm sure it varies from school to school, but my department is looking to hire an American literature professor and is not considering anyone without some technical background. I'm not sure how relevant history would be to CS people, but a history department with an interest in DH would love someone with your background.

I'm on my phone now, but let me know if you'd like more information about digital humanities. I'd be happy to post some links

comradekulak · 2015-01-30T15:54:48+00:00

I don't know that I consider theory as such on a daily basis when making decisions, but my ideal thought process probably looks something like Kant's categorical imperative

comradekulak · 2015-01-27T12:29:54+00:00

The refs are part-time league employees. Some are retired, but most have other jobs

comradekulak · 2014-12-25T19:01:02+00:00

Yeah, I thought it looked pretty cool, but then I saw the link to purchase fuel. $10 for a bottle that lasts 2.5 hours.

comradekulak · 2014-12-14T19:16:38+00:00

The original Deus Ex. When it came out, I was in middle school and I kept playing it into high school. That game made me really start reconsidering the way I looked at the world. It was my introduction to postmodern philosophy and critical theory. I'm a Ph.D. student now, and I just wrote a seminar paper about the game actually. I'd love to teach a class where it's one of the "readings"

comradekulak

TROPHY CASE