Retail wisdom

Thanks to a lack of student jobs and a love of shopping, I held a variety of retail positions throughout high school and undergrad. The list includes two clothing stores, a beauty store/salon, and a fine jewelry store. These experiences not only helped pay for tuition, but they also taught me a lot about shopping and style.

One thing I learned was the idea of cost per wear. It’s a simple calculation: cost of the item divided by the number of times you’ll wear it. I think that cost per wear is most important for wardrobe staples and sale items. A wardrobe staple, like classic black trousers or a flattering cocktail dress, will get a lot of use. It’s worth paying a bit more up front for fit and quality because you’ll be wearing them often for a long time, so cost per wear is low. Sale items may not seem like pieces where cost per wear matters but if you’re buying an ok item just because it’s on sale, you’ll wear it a few times and the cost per wear will be high. Like with any item, you should only buy sale pieces you love.

Of course, cost per wear doesn’t work for everything so you have to use your discretion. A relatively low cost per wear for a purse, for example, doesn’t always justify an overly expensive purchase. Let’s say you’re deciding between two purses. One is $40 and the other is $80. Assuming you use the purse roughly 4 times per week for two years, that’s about $0.10 per use or $0.19 per use, respectively. Really not a big difference between the two but you’re paying double up front when you probably don’t need to. So long as the first purse is well-made, you may want to buy that one then save the rest for groceries.

——–
Do you use cost per wear as a rule of thumb? When has it worked or not worked for you?

Attitude of gratitude

Let’s face it – grad school can sometimes foster a negative attitude. You’re stressed and overtired while facing a huge list of demands. Long, endless hours working out complicated proofs, for example, isn’t your cup of tea but you have to get comfy at your desk and do it anyway. Then there’s the added stress of money, family, etc etc. It can really turn people into downers.

I had a big issue with this after last semester. I was unhappy with my program and the work I was doing so I took on a negative outlook. This semester, I decided that it had to stop. After surfing through some blogs, I determined that my first step would be to become more grateful. There are so many things in my life to be thankful for! Every night this semester, I thought about three things from the day that I was grateful for. The catch was that I couldn’t repeat anything on another day (or at least I really had to try not to).

The results? Awesome. Seriously! My mind is much quicker to find the positive because I’m used to doing it every day. Maybe I didn’t ace that midterm, but I’m proud of how hard I worked and lucky to be in grad school at all. I might have missed the bus but it’s a good opportunity to get some exercise by walking to school on a nice day. Now that I’ve got an attitude of gratitude, I’m a much happier person  and am much better able to handle the rough patches. I highly recommend trying this technique for a solid month to get yourself into the habit.

——–
How do you keep yourself positive with everything grad school throws at you?

How Many Holes it Takes to Fill the Albert Hall: A Day in Justin’s Life

Part two in my series on the daily life of a grad student comes from Justin, who is currently doing his PhD in English. Thanks for a great post based on one of my favourite bands!

Volunteering to write a guest post in this series and being a rabid Beatles fan I couldn’t help but think of the song ‘A Day in the Life’ as I wrote this. You know the one, now you know “how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall,” &c. In a lot of ways, I think that my average day goes a little bit like that song. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the song, here is a link to it. If you aren’t at least familiar with the Beatles, I’m afraid we cannot ever be friends until you fix that.

My academic workday, as I’ve said above, is like ‘A Day in the Life’ in that I always see it from a perspective of looking back rather than ahead to things that I’m going to do, with a weird bit in the middle where I feel really productive and into things. I never have the same day twice — there are just too many variables — so this day in my work life is really an amalgamation of the kind of feeling each day has for me when I’m doing academia. Let me show you.

Phase 1: “I read the news today, oh boy / About a lucky man who made the grade”

I try my best to get up early every morning and be happy about it. This never works in my favour, however. My days usually start fairly consistently: first, I get up way later than I should have, especially if I’ve got nowhere physically to be like, say, a classroom. I need — with significant stress on the word ‘need’ — to shower and be clean before anything else happens in my day. This is not an obsessive thing; it is rather a practical thing. After cleaning comes breakfasting for me and the dog. Then the dog craps outside and I come back in to ostensibly start to do some serious academic thinking work. This is inevitably interrupted by social media and other generic time wasting activities. Ultimately, if it is a weekday, I switch on the previous night’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart and Colbert Report because there’s no way I’m staying up until 1AM to watch them when I have so much important early morning business to attend to. I usually feel like a complete failure by the time Jon Stewart does his moment of zen.

Phase 2: “A Crowd of People Turned Away”

TV procrastinating over and the dog is looking at me forlornly. “No time now, Brody old pal, I’ve got work to do. We’ll play after lunch,” I say, returning to the computer where I have every intention of making serious headway on the day’s tasks. No dice. More social media and, before I know it, it’s lunch time. Let’s look in the fridge for the least healthy choice.

Phase 3: “Woke up, got out of bed / Dragged a comb across my head”

This is the point in the day when I actually get something done. I’ve walked the dog again because a few hours have elapsed since the last time he’s done anything. Have I mentioned how forgiving my dog is? I basically ignore him all day long under the guise of ‘working’ and he doesn’t hold it against me. He’s a good buddy. Seriously, though, I am about now hitting a peak of productivity where I can read, write, or research most effectively. I don’t know what it is about the middle part of the day that does it for me, but I get this enormous burst of productive energy. I’ve always liked to attribute it to the spectacular amount of coffee I’ve consumed up to this point in the day, though I somehow think that works against me. Anyway, if ever you’re looking to get me to do something quickly, well, and thoroughly, I’d suggest you hit me up between the hours of 1 – 4PM if I’m working at home.

It is also in this phase of the day when I find myself having to ‘put off’ my work so as to have dinner ready by the time my wife comes home. In reality, I am glad to quit working to cook.

Phase 4: “Now they know how many holes it takes”

This is the after dinner lull period when my wife and I are both home, have work to do, and, for the most part, get quite a bit done. This is when I usually do any reading I’ve been putting off while intermittently messing around online. This part of the day consists of as many memes as serious academic things. However, it is also the time of the day when I look at what work I have accumulated throughout the day and I feel as though I’ve got a handle on the things I need to have done. And, much like the song, the day usually ends with a barely discernible repetition until it fades away and I go to sleep.

Coda

In rereading this entry, I see that I have made my average day out to be more self-deprecating than it actually is. I don’t want to give the impression that I do nothing all day, but rather that it feels that way sometimes. I am in this degree for the long haul and the thing about grad school and academic work is that there’s so much to cover and to know in order to be crowned ‘expert’ some day that I find it helpful to not take it too seriously. Thanks for reading and thanks to Sara for letting me do this on her blog.

The past two months

The past two months may have been the busiest of my grad school career thus far. The majority of the workload for my courses has been crammed into the latter half of the semester so I’ve been busy with midterms, papers, assignments, exams, and TA work. It’s been pretty stressful but I’ve been managing reasonably well. I still have a lot to do in the next few weeks so I’m really looking forward to the relaxed pace of summer!

It’s also been really busy because of PhD programs. I applied to 7 programs for the fall and had been waiting on pins and needles ever since I pressed ‘submit’ last December. Why apply to so many? Honestly, I was nervous that I wouldn’t get in anywhere. I only had one semester’s worth of MA level grades and one of said grades was less than amazing. My other grades, as well as already having one publication with another under review, seem to have made up for that. I was fortunate enough to receive multiple offers from some fantastic departments. Making my decision was very difficult and I truly believe I’ve made the best choice. I’m really excited (and a bit nervous) to start my PhD in September.

With all the work I’ve been doing lately, there hasn’t been a ton of time for fun but I have had some nice trips home and spent some good times with students in my program. Now I’d better get back to work – my research project won’t write itself!

Better late than never?

Wow so I’ve been gone for a long time! My computer is still going bananas after being gone for a while, then over a month, and then again for a while. Time and money aren’t plentiful these days so I haven’t been able to get a new computer and figure anything out. I’ve also been buried under a pile of work and have been using that as an excuse. Unfortunately, it seems that this blog has taken a hit as a result. HOWEVER. Thank you to everyone still reading and commenting. I will get back to you and resume regular posting shortly

Day in the life: Sara

Ever wondered what life is like for other grad students? Now’s your chance! This ‘day in the life’ series will give you a peek inside an average day for students from different disciplines and at different places on their academic journey. First up – my average Tuesday.

7:00-8:00 - Rise and shine! I like to get up reasonably early because I’m most productive in the morning.
8:00-10:30 - I have an assignment due soon so I’m busy working on that. Also tidying my apartment, making lunch, and sending a few emails.
10:30-12:30 – Office hours. I’m a TA for a second year class. Nobody shows up (typical) so I do readings and chat with my officemates.
1:00-2:30 - Class. I only have one class on Tuesdays. I have either one or two every other weekday.
2:30-3:30 - Time to pick up some groceries, do a couple errands, and head home.
3:30-6:30 - Research. There’s an annotated bibliography for my Research Methods class that needs to get done.
6:30-9:00 - Meet up with friends for a potluck dinner. Delicious!
9:00-10:00 - One final bit of research work before my day is done.
10:00-11:00 - I like to spend the last hour, or at least half hour, of the day relaxing before bed. Perfect time for yoga, playing guitar, and chatting on the phone with the boyfriend.

——–
I’m looking for guest bloggers for this series! Comment below if you’re interested

Yay! Blog changes

Hello lovely readers,

Time to change things up on the blog. Starting next week, regular posts will be on Thursdays. Plus, I’ll be introducing a new series: Test Kitchen Tuesdays! This year, I’ve decided to turn cooking into more of a hobby because I enjoy doing it and I enjoy eating well. I also have a passion for finding quick, easy, and inexpensive meals…ones that are also yummy and healthy! I’d like to share my culinary adventures because I know how hard it can be to find meals that suit grad student life. Please feel free to share your feedback and favourite recipes!