#phd blog

[alexistudies]

monday, march 11th 2024

spring break came and went in the blink of an eye, but it was lots of fun! met up with friends from HS, went to disneyland, and spent time with my family. I also still did some work over break that was time sensitive, but I can't really complain :)

its officially past the halfway point of the semester and i can see the finish line. ahhhh. i also realize i need to start studying more for my classes because things are getting more complex... BUT WE WILL SURVIVE

follow my studygram if you want a more frequent, up close in my daily academic life - IG: lexthephdstudent

[thephdpensieve]

2/100 days of productivity • 26-Oct-23, Thu

Today's tasks

Took the day off as I am a bit sick. But I am hoping to get some work done from my room.

Attended a webinar on physics-enhanced machine learning by Prof Sinha @ 1pm

Work on time series prediction code

Read journal article:

Mail Merten & Manish

Call SERB about claim

Text Alberto about application

Self care: Listened to a bunch of songs from 2010-16 and made a playlist called "Sunshine years"

Sick day care: Pizza, pasta and Pride & Prejudice.

[seasage-phd]

Days of a week in December!

I'm so burnt out these days, that I'm so behind on so many things. It's all chaotic and I have no way of taking a vacation right now (broke PhD student problems).

Tried taking a day off in between and making delicious food, however, life's monotony is kinda killing me(?).

Even if I force myself to go on a vacation, I'm afraid I'll just end up feeling guilty for having delaying my timelines. Also, this sinking feeling of 'not having deserved a break' is clouding my brain.

I really don't know what to do at this point.

Would appreciate any help from you guys.

[phdguides]

A Ph.D. is the art of never giving up, with guidance as your brush

[definitely-not-a-real-phd-diary]

I've been returning to dance as a hobby this year, and as of yesterday fulfilled a little goal of mine, performing my own dance choreography!

I found out I was choreographing a routine for our winter dance in November - as I was learning a different dance routine for a Scottish Country Dance Festival. So between country dance rehearsals and ceilidhs I jumped around my bedroom trying to come up with the winter dance choreography - first rehearsal I was leading was literally the morning after Festival performance! Thankfully I mostly got a skeleton of a dance together in time.

Teaching other people my choreography was honestly intimidating and more stressful than coming up with it in the first place. I weirdly felt like every move I suggested would be scrutinised and judged by everyone - and I was worried because this group usually has a set choreographer who just didn't have time this winter. Thankfully everyone in the performance group was lovely, and one of the more experienced dancers in the group helped lead the class. I was really lacking the confidence at the start, but I like to think by rehearsal number 3 I had gotten a bit better!

I was also pretty stressed at the dance before our performance, but it went pretty well overall I think! We got some applause, a few extra compliments, and - most importantly - the performance group members seemed fairly happy!

The rest of the winter dance I could finally relax, catch up with some friends, and dance.

And, minor success, I won my first ever dance-related competition. Mind you, it was a solo jazz relay race in teams of four and nothing serious. But you got to take your wins (and enthusiastic victory crash landing slides into your friends) as they come!

Dance is lovely and joyful. I just need to keep fighting my fear of being judged and laughed at. We will get there!

[unintelligible-screaming]

so i’m re-reading homestuck. currently i’m near the beginning of act 5. assorted thoughts:

1. rose is so fucking funny. fanfic writers never remember this

2. speaking of rose — her classpect means that in fanart and fanfic, her mysterious seer-iness is highly emphasized. but in acts 1 through 4, the mysterious one is jade. DREAM VISIONS! ENIGMATIC HINTS AT PROPHECY! TIME LOOP BULLSHIT! jade is THE mysterious seer-adjacent character. meanwhile, rose acts like she knows what’s going on but she basically never does. as a result, fanfic especially gives the mysterious-seer attributes to rose and jade is just sort of… there. (i am kinda guilty of this myself.) my new 2024 slogan: let jade be enigmatic as fuck!

3. the first time vriska ever appears — unless you count her username appearing without being directly referenced, which happens pretty early — is at the very very edge of a panel, in which you can see one of her horns. that happens a few times pre-act-five, especially in panels that involve terezi. honestly most terezi conversations pre-act-five get funnier if you imagine vriska looking over her shoulder like ::::/ or like ::::D

4. the fandom image of karkat is highly positive. the idea of his character is kinda locked to karkat as he appears in act 6 (maybe late act 5?), and fan depictions of early karkat (pre-sgrub, or simply early act 5) seem to retrospectively plaster his later characterization onto his earlier self. his general assholery is interpreted as blunted grumpiness that no one really takes seriously. that interpretation more or less makes sense for later versions of his character, but it’s startling how genuinely mean he is in early act 5! he’s such a jerk that in a conversation with early act 5 vriska he comes off looking worse! that’s HARD. and a really interesting facet of his character!

[signals-and-soma]

19/100 days of productivity | 19/01/2024

study break = trying the buns from home weekend special (tea and custard - yum)! found a cute little cafe to do some reading

[pefkaes]

23.04.2024 // some affect theory and writing on a fairly warm day. i'm taking it slow this week, mostly because i feel lazy and kind of...blah.

affect always escapes any attempt to explain or understand it because it lies outside of language or cognition. perhaps that explains why affect seems so vague and abstract. im trying to figure out if affect theory will be useful for my research but I won't pursue it if it continues to be beyond my grasp.

[official-linguistics-post]

have you considered not being a loser

never once in my whole life :)

[skwpr]

Incredibly Healthy Habits For Students

The most commonplace advice on good habits for students. This crucial component of a healthy relationship is not to be overlooked.

1. Don’t over-stuff your backpack.

Unless a professor tells the class to bring a textbook – keep that thing at home/in your dorm. Also, try not to carry too much with you anyway. At most I have a spiral or two, my computer. It’s not only unnecessary, but it’s heavy. It wears you down over time just adding stress and annoyance that you don’t need.

2. Work out every week.

Finding time to run a mile or two, play some basketball, or lift weights is important. It was a huge stress reliever for me and it also made me happier.

3. Stop Putting Things Off.

You know you should be finishing homework instead of going out every night. The crazy thing is, we ALL KNOW what we should be doing. But a lot of us still don’t get anything done. I’m in awe of the number of times I have put off studying or reading. However, every time I come to the simple conclusion that getting it done in the beginning is waaaaaay easier than trying to finish the task later.

4. Socialize.

Involvement in college is a spectrum. One extreme includes hobbits who stay in their dorm or apartment all day and the other includes social butterflies who are out on the town every night having fun with friends. Your goal is to find a happy medium. You don’t want to be closed off but you also want to interact with people every once in a while.

For me, this was the hardest part. I do not like to make acquaintances, but for myself I decided that it would be useful. I stepped out of my comfort zone.

5. Eat Healthier.

This is the most predictable advice I can give you. What you put in your body matters.

6. Drink more water.

Drinking water is one of the most essential healthy habits for students.

7. Know When To Say NO.

If you get your work done first, you will have time to have fun without any grief or regrets.

The most important relationship you make in your life is with yourself. It’s genuinely all a mind game. You have to learn to trust yourself by putting yourself first so that you can enjoy what life has to offer you. Having fun with this grey cloud of regret and worry about work you haven’t finished is just not fun at all. So have fun and be yourself but learn when to say NO. You’ll be forever grateful you did in the long run.

8. Give Yourself Grace.

One of the biggest downfalls for me was stressing out. Stressing over school work, time management, boys, networking, and the list goes on. It’s important to shut all the negative voices out.

There’s only one you so treat yourself with respect. If there are things you need to fix, make a plan and make it happen. If that fails, adjust the plan. No one is perfect and I wish we would collectively tell ourselves it’s going to be ok. Because it will be!

[outsassing-nero]

27.03.2024// busy busy week so far, but the easter break starts soon!! i've even managed to squeeze in some phd reading today which i'm so happy about :)

let's be friends: isitreallyalicja

[alexistudies]

tuesday, march 26th 2024

stats exam in 2 days means lots of studying today. it feels like some of this stuff we learned forever ago, but I remember the concepts way more than I thought, so this is a good sign. Means that study sessions tomorrow and Thursday will be way less heavy lifting and more so a review.

i got back from Atlanta on Saturday and am slowly getting back into the swing of things! i have some writing i'd like to get done, but other things (mostly coursework and future presentation related) are more of a priority right now. it'll all work out in the end :)

btw march flew by like 2 girlies in a nissan altima, i'm not sure how to feel

[lizzardstudies]

03/03/24

after every good week of research and being the bravest soldier, there comes the crash

I was still doing pretty well in the morning but then I came home and got completely discouraged by the useless stuff I had to do for one of my classes. the absolute basic level of knowledge I'm supposed to gather there is just annoying. that time would be better spent working on my actual thesis or even just going to the gym

so yeah. now I'm annoyed and frustrated and tomorrow I'll be bored at uni again. ugh. need to find something to go during the useless class

btw it was a tea king of a day, i chose some grape one that came from Czech Republic apparently ✨

[ibchemist]

Spring Break Study Plan

March 24th Watch the glopol documentaries Finish copying the Spanish analysis

March 25th Finish planning the English Paper 2 Continue the guide for my friend's MUN (introduction to topic, and historical context)

March 26th Continue the guide for my friend (the rest of things) Begin the engagement activity

March 27th Finish the MUN guide

[phdguides]

In the world of research, each day is a step closer to your dreams. Keep walking, keep believing

[notyetjaded1]

2024.02.13