Grad school has to be one of the unhealthiest things I’ve done in life, and I can’t get over the irony.My field is health education and behavioral sciences (i.e. studying how to get people to practice healthy behaviors), yet I consistently fail to practice them myself.As I’m typing this, there’s a half drunken Coke on my desk, BBQ chips on the table behind me, and my running shoes are neatly tucked away in the back of my closet.Over the last two years, I’ve gained almost 25 pounds (~11kg) and am the heaviest I’ve ever been (for the first time in my life – to my knowledge – my BMI is in the overweight category, though barely).And it’s not just me.My classmates who are ahead of me (i.e. working on their dissertation) say they finally have the time to fit exercise into their schedules, while my trailing classmates (i.e. started the program after me) complain that they no longer have time to exercise, eat healthy, relax, etc.And that’s only the physical aspect of health.This weekend, I hit up a few bars with a college friend, which was the first time since February I spent any sort of time with my friends (other than an occasional night with classmates, but I’m not sure that counts because the topic invariably turns to public health, school, academia, or research).Grad school has been quite an isolating experience socially.Oddly enough, I can’t remember it being like this when I was getting my master’s degree.Oh and then there are things like buying a house or apartment (everyone seems to be doing it and I’m sick of paying rent), having kids (I want them but I don’t think it’s doable while I’m still in grad school, yet if I don’t I’ll be “older” – i.e. mid-30s – when I start), and general financial concerns I worry about (funding isn’t that great and I’m gettting married in August).
Since I’ve been on this music binge lately, I figured I would post an example of what I have been listening to recently. Compared to my musical preference from high school through college, I think I might be getting old…or at the very least soft. (not crazy about the video, though.)
Since my recent rediscovery of RATM I have concluded that Zack de la Rocha has the baddest voice in music. He might just have the greatest name in music, too.
I spent a few hours last night listening to music, mostly rediscovering old favorites. Here are two, in particular, from circa High School thru College.
A construction worker and Boston fan working on the concrete crew at the $1.3 billion new Yankee Stadium buried a Red Sox shirt in with the concrete foundation under what will become the visitors’ clubhouse, in the hopes of jinxing the New York Yankees‘ new home, the New York Post reported.
I’m not superstitious so this shouldn’t bother me. But it does. That bastard.
preparing my lecture for tonight. Otherwise I might fail these fine bright minds who, at least partly, rely on me for knowledge. But instead I’m reading strangers’ blogs.
Another weekend spent in my office working on class projects. I’m gonna start referring to this 10*10 ft space as my work apartment. I spend more time here than I do at home, and more time with my computer than I do with my fiance. That’s probably not healthy.
The US News and World Report Top Graduate School Rankings were published. Not good for my school. We dropped from a near top 25 ranking to unranked. If you review the methodology, I think it’s clear that this ranking says very little about the quality of education. For example, the opinions of the respondents (Dean’s, Faculty, Admins of peer schools) has the largest weight (in some cases only). In that sense, I’m not worried about the quality of my education as I am quite pleased with it so far. However, as someone who will be going on the academic job market, where the reputation of your PhD grantor counts quite a bit, this worries me. Can you say Postdoc?
