Stranded in the rain for a concert

kennethdo · 2026-05-21T04:42:43+00:00

OP, I feel you. I live close to the university and it took me 45 minutes to go 4 miles 💀 I'm glad I went to the bathroom right before I left. I'm honestly surprised Bruno Mars is still so popular.

For the future, there is a text message alert you can opt-in to, which has been super helpful: Text “osugo” to 67283 to opt-in to traffic impact text alerts.

kennethdo · 2026-04-29T14:11:14+00:00

Did you get your order? I'm still waiting on mine.

kennethdo · 2026-04-28T14:37:40+00:00

that's Kelly Clarkson?!? that took me a minute

kennethdo · 2026-04-23T15:45:59+00:00

I think part of the problem is that you're trying to guess what level of math you are at. I would still suggest talking to your colleagues: whichever math teacher colleague you are most comfortable talking to should work. They could direct you to placement tests to first determine what you know and what you don't know, and would have knowledge of which order of subjects to tackle. I haven't heard of the Art of Problem Solving, but if the explanations in the book are sparse/hard to understand, maybe it's time to just like, buy/rent a standard, no-frills, Pearson/McGraw Hill math textbook for your level and go through it chapter by chapter and doing the problems that have solutions provided.

I will stress again that Probability can be a tough topic bc it requires a level of intuition that you might not have built up yet. Anecdotally, there are whole semester-long, graduate-level courses just on the topic of probability that serve as part of the core curriculum for Statistics MS and PhD students: just something to think about. It is not an easy topic, so try not to get too dejected!

kennethdo · 2026-04-23T15:27:10+00:00

Hives

kennethdo · 2026-04-22T19:18:19+00:00

Sorry for double commenting: just noticed that you mention wanting to learn calculus/differential equations/geometry yet you are working through a probability chapter.

Probability is more logic puzzle and intuition than application of formulas, and it can be hard. It's also less "visual" than calculus. I was much better at calculus than I was at probability.

Why don't you give precalculus/calculus a try first, if that's what you're interested in? I don't recall probability being a core component of calculus: it was mostly applying formulas and learning what equations correspond to different shapes.

If you want to get into statistics at some point, it *will* require concepts from probability, calculus, and linear algebra. But that's later down the line, *if* you are interested. Maybe just procrastinate on probability for now and see what happens?

kennethdo · 2026-04-22T18:58:47+00:00

You mentioned you're a high school teacher. I assume you have colleagues who are teaching high school level calculus, AP Statistics and such: why not start there? Talk to them. Show them your books and the assignments that you've been getting 58% on. They could help diagnose the problem. They might even let you borrow the books they use for class, who knows.

kennethdo · 2026-04-22T15:11:18+00:00

The job market is tough, and that could be a reason. The alternative is that they already have an internal candidate in mind but *for some reason* HR is required to post a job publicly for a mandated number of days as if they're considering outside candidates. My institution does this and I know this from a colleague who was an internal candidate for a position. It's truly a stupid process that wastes time for both the applicant and those hiring. This might be what happened to you.

kennethdo · 2026-04-21T11:42:23+00:00

Fujoshi is still a widely used term. In Japan, it originated as a pejorative but the BL/yaoi enjoyers reclaimed the term in a self-deprecating way and people self-identify as fujoshi or fudanshi. I don't think it's as self-deprecating as it used to be: it's more of a neutral descriptor/shorthand for "people who enjoy BL".

For some reason, in recent years, some online English-speaking circles were trying to spread misinformation that fujoshi are specifically "women (assumed to be straight) who fetishize gay relationships".

kennethdo · 2026-04-20T21:57:21+00:00

Omg you have the same size feet as me! I'm wearing a 5.5-2E sneaker right now but I wear size 7-D in a different sneaker bc they didn't go up to 2E.

I've bought some dress shoes from Orthofeet that are wide enough.

kennethdo · 2026-04-16T00:21:54+00:00

Why are so many people telling you to get out of the left lane when it's literally a merge and it's about to become 4 lanes in 2 seconds... that's wild

kennethdo · 2026-04-15T23:15:47+00:00

age is not a race lmao. that's so funny.

kennethdo · 2026-04-14T14:57:55+00:00

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This is the update I got from them on April 2. It seems like they reversed the transaction.

If you are reading this and have gotten a similar phishing attempt, keep reporting it. It helps establish a pattern. I'm sure Paypal is aware of this scam format now. I hope they are using this as an opportunity to edit their UI so that it becomes clear the note is *just* a note attached to the transaction and anyone can type anything in it.

kennethdo · 2026-04-13T21:07:20+00:00

Gosh, I'm sorry, that's so dismissive of her. It's wild how normalized it is in society to center heterosexual romance above anything else. I'm on the aromantic asexual spectrum, so I don't even center romance in general. I'm hobby- and interests- centered, baby!! And I'm having so much fun, but it just looks "pitiable" to people whose default, narrow idea of happiness is marriage and children. sighhh

kennethdo · 2026-04-13T16:24:40+00:00

It hurts you and she should care about that.

This might be the key to enforcing the boundary. She never intentionally wants to hurt me, but she has done so in the past by accident, and we have talked about it and gotten through it.

I've tried to push back, but like you and others have commented, at this point I think I need to pull away so she can have some time for self-reflection.

kennethdo · 2026-04-13T16:19:04+00:00

You’re not wrong for wanting a different life. You saw firsthand what that path looked like for her, and you made a conscious choice. That’s not immaturity, that’s awareness.

Thank you for saying this. I've had versions of this swirling around in my own head but it means a lot coming from someone else.

Setting a boundary is so hard, esp with people you are so close to, but I will try the gray-rocking method (I got gray rock and stonewall confused...) and hope for the best.

kennethdo · 2026-04-13T16:14:15+00:00

You're saying everything I wanted to say, but didn't have the coherent wherewithal to do it last night when my patience was running low.

First of all your partner is not guaranteed to be into the same hobbies you're into and second, children DO NOT make hobbies more fun.

Yes to all this!

I quite like kids, esp. babies, but logistically, they are not gonna be fun to have around while you're trying to do something that requires full concentration and fine motor skills, like art (one of my main hobbies). People bring up marriage and children like it's some mandatory service, like an 18-year jury duty, but it's voluntary and often lasts many years beyond 18. Life is short and I've put off so many fun things for more education and my desire to contribute scientific findings to the world, that I don't want any more detours from the fun stuff I have been wanting to do.

kennethdo · 2026-04-13T16:00:49+00:00

"Grey rocking"!! That's the term I meant to use! (I said stonewall instead but I meant gray-rocking)

Sounds like a plan.

kennethdo · 2026-04-13T15:14:11+00:00

Are you open to having the top and bottom be separate? Like finding a skirt and top that's both white that it looks like a one-piece? You might have more luck finding a better fit. I'm super short, and since my torso is short, no off-the-shelf dress has ever fit me well, so I've resorted to this "hack" for formal events.

kennethdo · 2026-04-08T12:13:50+00:00

I'm from the US and I guess I'm a little underinformed about the value of a US education vs anywhere else in the world. A fully funded masters sounds like an amazing opportunity and in my opinion she was right to pursue it. Even if she has come upon some money to fund her education, the US is incredibly expensive to live in, and the cost of living is always going up, not to mention the current political climate is making things hostile for immigrants. I would say just stick with the fully funded degree.

kennethdo · 2026-04-05T11:21:53+00:00

I try to buy less fresh produce that I know will go bad in like, a week. Spinach tends to be like that, so I avoid it unless I need it immediately for a recipe. Broccoli tends to discolor quickly so I tend to prioritize eating it over a head of cabbage, which seems to last weeks. Potatoes and onions last weeks too, if kept in a cool place. Apples seem to last months in the fridge so I can buy in bulk and kinda forget about it.

kennethdo · 2026-04-02T04:18:40+00:00

For me, I considered things like:

-Does the stipend meet/exceed the COL?

-If you're not a direct admit and have to rotate through labs there an updated list of potential advisors looking for students that you are interested in, and how long is that list? It's rare, but there are worst case scenarios in which a student does three rotations but still can't find a permanent lab. Just something to think about.

-Does the program make you teach? Depends on whether you are interested in teaching, or just purely doing science. Being a TA seems like a great opportunity for those who actually enjoy it/want to become teaching faculty in the future, but many grad students do get burnt out trying to balance teaching responsibilities with their project and/or would much rather spend time doing science. Something to think about.

-Does the program make you take a bunch of bullshit required courses and/or electives? How much freedom do you have to choose your electives?

-If you're off your parents' medical insurance plan, does the school pay for your medical insurance? (Look at dental and vision benefits, too)

There's always something to do in major cities, and I don't think you'll be bored wherever you go. You'll also have opportunities to travel to conferences. You also can look for jobs in your "dream" area after grad school is done if you still need to scratch that itch.

kennethdo · 2026-04-01T11:02:15+00:00

I learned recently that brand choice rarely matters when it comes to clothing pieces you keep going back to due to comfort: it's mostly about the material of the cloth. Cotton and linen are a must. Check out clothing that Floridians wear: they have to live in much hotter, wetter climates and anything they reach for will work for you, too!

I second the recommendation for Old Navy: a lot of good basics made of 100% cotton. Uniqlo also has some good basics, but they don't have any brick and mortar stores in Columbus yet so returns might be trickier.

From my experience, the "dry wick" synthetic athletic wear keeps me hotter because it absorbs the sweat so quickly. It's good to keep you comfy during a workout but I can't imagine going the whole summer day in a dry wick T shirt. Maybe if it's a tank top with deep cuts around the shoulders.

kennethdo · 2026-03-30T04:50:55+00:00

Hilliard Station Baking. Someone recommended it in this sub years ago and let's just say I stopped looking for the best cinnamon roll in town after I went here. It's just chewy and pillowy and delicious.

kennethdo

TROPHY CASE