The trivial complaints thread

[Broken Irishwoman]

When I lived in London I didn't have any rails or anything to put laundry on. Yeah, we had a drier, but there were things you couldn't put in that. I got very adept at hanging things over the doors of my cupboards and wardrobe to air and dry (with the window open). xD.

That's actually not a bad idea!

[Taffeta]

When I lived in London I didn't have any rails or anything to put laundry on. Yeah, we had a drier, but there were things you couldn't put in that. I got very adept at hanging things over the doors of my cupboards and wardrobe to air and dry (with the window open). xD.

That's actually not a bad idea!

Student life

[Mewtwofan1]

First day of school-were doing learning from home. You’d think that since we no longer have to accommodate for the school commute, we could sleep in a little bit later. Guess who’s been woken up at 6:30 when I set my alarm for 7, and I had a rough sleep? This girl!

[Griffin]

I am not sure my complaint is trivial, but universities genuinely haven't grasped the reality of COVID well enough IMO...

Or maybe it's just me and my bad timing.

I finished my PhD too late to get into any kind of postdoc in 2019.
There are not many of these anyway and they are really competitive, but some of the ones I applied for for 2020 got cancelled because of covid.
Now there are some being listed for 2021 but most of them are restricting it to people who submitted after October 2019.

...So I am not sure right now where that leaves me. I'm not worried about getting a non-academic job, if and when it's safe to do so without putting my family at risk. I had one I almost applied for this week but didn't because the logistics of where it was would be problematic given the covid situation. But it's frustrating to want to get back into academia and to have all the doors shut because of timing. :/ I dunno.

I am working on some things of my own around this, and my former supervisor keeps sending me random links to things I know literally nothing about *lol*. But still. It's a bit of a pain :/

I feel you, Taffeta How sucky that the timeframes are so strict, especially when there is so much competition, AND a pandemic going on.

I'm in the same career phase currently and I feel ashamed now because my own situation is not nearly as difficult (structurally), it's just my own insecurities holding me back. I should focus on grant applications, or job applications, or something, and instead I feel like I'm just drifting. Everything feels so pointless right now.

I know this will pass, as soon as I get excited about some research question again. I guess what applies to my hobbies applies to my career as well, I can be super passionate about things, and I actually do manage to finish projects, but my interest in all things waxes and wanes. It's really, really difficult to force myself to do something that I don't find interesting at that particular moment, even if it's something I generally enjoy (or something I volunteered to do because it seemed enjoyable at the time). But I can do it.

[Taffeta]

@Griffin, I absolutely relate. My sister and her partner both finished PhDs already and reckon it takes a couple of years to really recover and get your head straight afterwards xD.

I put in a bunch of applications last year but as I said, my timing was a bit sucky because of when I finished, so I didn't get anywhere. But I really relate to how you feel because its like...suddenly you don't know where the path leads any more or how to get onto the next one. Everyone else seems like they have it all worked out and you feel like you're left behind.

I also had a couple of articles rejected, and while some of the advice was helpful, a lot was contradictory. Two reviewers stick out in my mind. The patronising modernist who called my text a ballad and the person who reviewed an article built from my thesis and tried to argue with points I didn't make because the ones I made they didn't understand.

...So yeah. COVID just hasn't helped the situation any. I wish you tons of luck with whatever you figure out doing next, but taking a break is okay and don't feel guilty if you are taking one. It's so easy to feel the expectations on you from everyone else.

On topic, my trivial complaint for today - I went out to town for the first time on the bus since March. Actually, mask compliance was up (me included, I mastered it!!) to around 90% or more, and the bus was well ventilated and it didn't seem scary. The town centre though has a one way system and it's all so confusing in how it's marked out. I can't navigate so now I don't know how to get to any of the places I need to get and I had to give up on Town Park, where I had actually been heading. Then on the way back, this woman on the bus, right before we got to her stop, took off her mask and started shouting down the phone at her daughter's school. Yeah, she was getting off, but there is a sign on the bus saying wear the mask FOR THE ENTIRE JOURNEY. Not "unless you need to rant on your phone."

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I know it's not unheard of, but it's relieving to hear of other peoples struggles with career/academic stuff. I feel behind a lot of other people at the same academic level as me. I can't help but compare myself even though I know everyone's got different life experiences and whatever, I feel totally left in the dust when those younger than me talk about how they have worked at this job at a certain level.
I wanted to pursue a masters degree, but being back in classes is taking a severe mental toll even though these are all classes I'm interested, so now I'm not so sure it's right for me. Time's running out to apply for programs, too.

[Griffin]

Taffeta & Tailrust

We should start a thread for this stuff

[Taffeta]

Taffeta & Tailrust

We should start a thread for this stuff

We really should.

TRTL - I decided I wanted to do a MA in 2004.

...I began my MA in 2011.

In an entirely different field. (Well, related in terms of discipline, totally different region).

So there is literally NO rush, if anything it's good to take a break and do something else.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

Thirding that a thread for related issues would be lovely to see!

TRTL - I decided I wanted to do a MA in 2004.

...I began my MA in 2011.

In an entirely different field. (Well, related in terms of discipline, totally different region).

So there is literally NO rush, if anything it's good to take a break and do something else.

That's really reassuring to hear, thank you.  I worry a lot about this stuff, and everything seems to be lining up very poorly with the current pandemic and milestones I feel I *should* be achieving. I feel very left in the dust.

Another trivial complaint that's much more trivial...I melted pony hair!  It was an All About Starlight Glimmer I was defrizzing between classes. I had just finished fixing tails on some other G4 (bagged releases too) so by the time I got to this pony, either my straightener was too hot or it's really just that the plastic hair sucks that much. I've turned down the setting much lower now. She was a double at least, but gah.

[Pokeyonekenobie]

Part of me wants to have friends over on Monday to watch a movie and part of me wants to hide away all weekend and paint...

[slyons]

Watching hubby cook and instead of appreciating it all I can see is the mess he's making that I will have to clean 

[NanoRuby]

Was just cleaning a pony and her tail rust was so bad that bits of her tail started to break apart. I'll have to see what I can salvage and hope that she'll turn out presentable in the end.

[Ponyfan]

Also echoing the career/academic woes and the vote for a separate thread for those of us that are going through that stuff.  I also feel stuck.  I have a Master’s degree and yet my current job is only part time.  I have applied for several openings but never get selected for the better openings. I have seen many that started in my line of work after me get promoted to full time while I am still stuck in part time work.  I have done more than was required of me and tried to do everything that was asked of me without complaint.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago but since we are talking about job situations l fell that it’s worth mentioning again. I applied for a position and got called to come in for an interview.  The day before my interview the company called and cancelled “due to changing circumstances.”  There’s still hope that I might get the next position that opens up there though.

@Taffeta I see people do stuff like that all the time.  It’s really annoying that they seem to think the rules don’t mean what they say.  It’s really bad at Walmart where I live. People will take their masks off or pull them down around their necks once they’re in the store even though there are signs that say masks required.  Or take their mask off to talk on the phone.



Ponyfan

[Ponyfan]

I started a thread in “What’s Your Problem” for career/academic stuff.

Yesterday I was at the store and 3 people decided they needed to come down the aisle I was on. The aisle was very narrow and the only way for me to make enough room for them was to go back down the aisle (even though I needed to go up the aisle to get where I was going).

I’m very non confrontational and have had a lot of real life stuff going on but I’ve always been sensitive about people acting like they have more right to occupy the same space I am in than me.  I’m not saying other people can’t be in the same aisle as me just that it’s annoying when people seem to assume I am just  there without a purpose.

Ponyfan

[Taffeta]

I hate people who think they are more deserving of space than others.

I've had incidents in the past where I have blocked pushing crowd people so that a person in a  wheelchair could get through a convention hall and a person with a visual impairment and a white stick could get off a train.

In London you see it especially. Everyone is hurrying to get on the same tube train or commuter train. There's not a lot of community spirit in those places at rush hour.