Tag: Advice

Lost in the PhD World: The Quest for Committee Members!!!

One of the most important things I will do as a PhD student is form my committee!!! Yet, I feel so confused on how the heck I should do this. My committee is the group of people that will guide me my entire PhD career as I complete experiments. They will advise me regularly and in the end… GRILL ME with questions in my Qualifying Exam and Dissertation. So basically they OWN ME!! Can I just put up an ad on Craigslists saying “Nice hardworking graduate student in NEED of available active and helpful committee members!!” That would be nice!!! So.. what do I do? How do I approach people that have no idea who I am? How do I make them want to be on my committee? Maybe I should bring them cookies/donuts…. mmmm…. Maybe!! I have found it to be one of the hardest things to determine who …

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You are Never Too “Poor” to Travel!

One of the things my friends or people in general comment on is the fact that traveling or adventure COST SO MUCH!!! I am here to tell you that is absolute BULL… Stop making excuses and change your MIND SET!! So, now you are thinking… “But my situation is different Dr. Wanderlust.” Excuses are all in the same… at the end of the day how you think is what holds you from what you are set out to accomplish. I was listening to an audiobook “What The Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast” and it really made me think of all the LAME excuses I make as to why I don’t get things done. For some it is: “the gym is far away!” “another slice of pizza will be fine!” or “it’s not the right time!” Either way we all have excuses. This is how you can start changing your way of thinking (and yes, …

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8 Apps for the Organized Traveler’s Soul

I am one of those overly organized travelers… I even make itineraries.  I research everything in advance, find places I want to see, things I want to do, explore costs the best cost… but I still leave time for the “unexpected” fun I may encounter that my Google search just did not pick up. I have seen many apps out there that are the must haves, and I definitely agree on a few such as Dropbox, Kayak and Skype!!!! Seriously…. what do you do when living overseas for a few months, and just desiring to see your family and friends… but realistically, flying home is not an option…. get on Skype! So, I think if there is anyone out there like myself, that enjoys an organized travel life then here are some Free Apps for you!! I have separated my favorite apps into 3 categories below, and have shared how I use most of these …

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8 Ways to Make Weekends in the Lab Fun

While working on weekends is not a must… research is ongoing and the desire to find out more often gets me to work on the weekends (especially if I don’t have a trip/adventure planned). However, the weekend does not have to be counted like a total loss.  Most people just hear “I’m going to work!” and assumes my day will be sitting inside my lab or analyzing data 9 am – 5 pm. THIS IS COMPLETELY WRONG! First, a lot of what I do includes LONG incubation period/treatment times… so I do not have to sit there and watch my cells the entire time. While, you could sit in lab staring at the many posters that you really only have up because it looked pretty, or scrolling through Facebook to pass time… Get up and do something. Here are some ways how!! 1) Overdrive: FREE BOOKS! FREE AUDIOBOOKS! FREE MOVIES!! I found …

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