I had a bad time in the canteen. I threw out most of what I ate, then I fainted and woke up again on the infirmary bed. Felt miserable all day, and if I’m better now that’s only because I had a good long nap. I feel refreshed, but still exhausted from the physical weakness.

Dr. Firebot said I got an energy overload—that means I ate too much the day before, so my body treated the new food as excessive energy load and rejected it, having all my system go fizzy. It’s been terrible! x_x

So, I’m afraid I won’t be able to upload the site updates I was meant to upload tonight. Ugh… I need more sleep.

Don’t worry, I will be back soon! A couple of days, that’s all. ^_~ *hugs*

[Tickets were bought on Ticketamerica. Ticketamerica.com has tickets for UMass Minutemen, UNC Pembroke Braves and the UNLV Rebels team games.]

The interesting facts below that you may not know about grad school all have to do with getting the most out of this experience. Grad school is not like the education you received before. It’s not like when you knew exactly what you had to do because professors told you and where you could probably do the minimum and get by. Here are 10 interesting facts you may not know about grad school that will help you thrive during this trying time.

Read A Lot

Grad school isn’t about reading the bare minimum basic assignments. It’s about reading everything you can read within your discipline and then whatever you can get your hands on from related disciplines. This will make writing your dissertation a lot easier.

Ask For Criticism

As good as it may feel to get a good grade and no criticism, this is not helpful in grad school. Criticism helps you to be always improving your writing and your studies in general. If you don’t get criticism then ask for it.

Make Sure Your Advisor Is Good For You

For your advisor to be good for you they have to be able to make time for you and to give you feedback whenever you need it. Some grad students feel fortunate when they have advisors who aren’t that demanding. If your advisor doesn’t push you then that will only hurt you in the long run.

Share Your Work With Other Grad Students

You may want to hide your work from other grad students because you don’t want them to judge it or you but this is the wrong way to go. Your fellow students can give you more valuable feedback on your work. You can aim to form a writing group for consistent feedback and equal exchanges.

Get To Know The Faculty

It may be tempting to interact only with those members of the faculty that you have to but this is not in your best interest. You want to get to know more faculty members beyond necessary interactions because they will be able to help you out when you need it and so that you won’t be that student who only shows up when they need help.

Learn To Focus

As you start your career as a grad student then you will be bombarded with fascinating dissertation topics. You don’t have to choose one immediately but you do want to start narrowing your focus once you do so that you can put all your effort to good use. You can study other topics after grad school but focus on your dissertation topic now.

Grad School Isn’t For Everyone

If you find out that grad school isn’t what you want to do then it’s okay to move on to something else. Really.

Have A Social Life

Having a social life may be challenging as a grad student but it’s part of what makes life worth living. Get one.

Know When You’ll Be Done

Grad school could go on for a long time if you don’t have a set date to finish. Pick that date and don’t stray from it.

You’re In Control

You are in control of your grad school experience and of your life. If something isn’t working then change it. You’re the one making all the big decisions so don’t forget that.

Mare Ward is interested is answering questions from students about various online masters degree programs.

School is cheap here, but things like electricity, water and gas are not.

Here in Robocity we split every bill, but it’s still high for our budgets. There’s been a lift in cost and now bills are higher. I really hate financial crisis! x(

I’m doing my best to save as much money as possible. My budget is limited, I’m young and certainly money isn’t manna from Heaven. I try to cut off superfluous lightening and cooking expenses, and sometimes I go frugal with food as well.

Dear fellow Robocitans, we’ve got to roll up our sleeves and start working hard on savings, if we don’t want to go bankrupt. ^^”

Since when I discovered that site, I can’t live (and shop :P) without it.

Ooh, there’s a wonderful offer for our Leaders too… so many hosting coupons! I wonder if they’d be happy with the news…

I must tell’em. NOW. Ihih!

All I hope is that they’re gonna update at least once a month or every two months.

As for me, I’m back.

I feel more motivated to blog now. There is so much I can do with Star-Song.org, and I certainly don’t want to waste the opportunity.

Do you like personal blogs?
Or do you prefer niche blogs?

Some people are serious yard sale shoppers, compiling and maintaining lists of sales, and traveling from sale to sale, weekend to weekend, in the hope of finding bargains on useable items that are being discarded by the sellers. Those shoppers know a bargain when they see it, and to them, yard sale shopping is more than just fun, it’s a businesslike undertaking which commonly yields profit, or at least allows for deliberate penny pinching.

Finding Gold

Not everything at a yard sale is junk. In fact, some items can even be new or like-new. Everything at a yard sale is at least no longer wanted, or no longer needed, in the way, or maybe just forgotten. Therein lays the secret to bargain shopping at yard sales. Some things really are junk, in anyone’s eyes and at any price. Those things are for sale at yard sales nevertheless, although it’s best to leave them where they’re found, on the shelf, for sale to someone perhaps less discriminating. Splendidly, though, finding something new, nearly new, or at least highly undervalued is the thrill of yard sale shopping and a thrift-worthy accomplishment.

Professional Yard Sale Shoppers

There is a class of yard sale shopper who are distinct in their dedication to the activity. They might be called pros, even if most people might regard them more as simply having too much time on their hands. However one might regard them, though, they are the ones who come away from yard sales time and again with treasures. A treasure might be a treasure only to its collector, but it might also be the sort of treasure that will make a buck when sold again to another buyer or at auction. Speaking of auctions, many yard sale items wind up being sold on eBay and the like, and earning the seller, nay yard sale bargain hunter, a nice profit.

To rise to this level, a yard sale shopper must be prepared to mold him or herself. Surely training as a professional yard sale shopper would be possible if there were any trainers involved in doing so, but more likely this molding will come more through experience and investigation. By experience is really meant attendance at yard sales on a repeated and ongoing basis. Check the newspaper, find the sales, and go! This weekend, next weekend and every weekend into near perpetuity. In other words, learn the ropes. The best sales are normally those with the worst attendance, or at least, before attendance begins. Sometimes yard sales are conducted by retail stores and actually held at the storefronts. Anyone finding such a sale will probably come away from it with items worth more than was paid for them.

This is where investigation comes in. Investigation is really only a matter of finding and compiling lists of coming sales and evaluating them as to likely offerings. Again, look for sales in out of the way settings. It isn’t always just the middle class that holds yard sales. Often sales are held in upscale homes or neighborhoods, where junk is less junk than simply unwanted stuff, even if it is of comparatively high value. Any yard sale can yield a treasure or two, but some are simply better than others. The experienced yard sale shopper can tell them all apart with even just a quick glance. One also wants to know what to look for at yard sales, and knowing what is commonly sold can help with that.

Price is Always Negotiable

When attending a yard sale, be prepared to dicker. It’s part of the fun, but it’s also a part of the fabric of buying left-overs. Sellers at yard sales expect to have to negotiate price, and normally yard sale items are intended as “best offer” items anyway. Shoppers often get the high hand when bargaining actively, but at the very least a few bucks will be shaved off and kept for other items.

From Entertainment to Enrichment

For most people, yard sale shopping is no more than a little weekend fun. For others, it is an earnest effort at penny pinching and economizing. For some, even, it is business conducted for profit. Rising to that level, shoppers educate themselves, train themselves, and discipline themselves. Likely they don’t make a million dollars, but maybe even just a couple hundred dollars per month makes the effort worthwhile.

Emma Martin is an avid garage sales fan, regularly scouring her city for unique finds and great deals. Weirdest thing she ever bought at a yard sale: a dinner plate with George W. Bush’s picture covering it. She is a content contributor for Yard Sale Search.

Anyway, I downloaded some free apps for my tablet just yesterday. Didn’t think Android had so much free stuff around its App Market! ^^ There’s this game I’ve been playing all night, called ZENONIA 3, which made me feel like a super-adrenalinic hero! The RPG storyline takes place in the Realm of Midgard and the player has to combat and get titles. Feels like an old Arcade game, love it!

I got the game from appaggie.com, as there’s a lot of stuff there. I’m still not good at searching directly on App Market, and honestly, I like reading reviews and ratings first. What about you guys? Do you have a tablet with Android OS too?

Yet about my site, I am almost done with my pages and contents: I will be uploading them all the next weekend. Also, I am trying to find new online friends to add to my Affiliates and Link Exchanges list. I need to get more social. Perhaps I ought to create a Twitter account as well, which may help build traffic and friendships. Uhm.

Life has been nice on me, these past two months. I have joined the Robocity community on the 18^th of January, and now, two months later, I feel like I belong to this place for eons. How weird is that, huh? I am bonding with my fellow citizens more and more, and with my room-mates more than anyone (yes! I have room-mates for a few weeks :3). I also made friends with one of our Leaders, Megatron Soldiery. I really look up to him! *_* I hope to be a Leader too, one day.

I have several plans for this site, including the possibility to host other people, fellow Robocitans, and to contribute to the web world with some written tutorials and articles. I am not good with graphic design, alas, so there won’t be any downloadables, unless it’s legal redistribution.

Since my apartment needs my attention and care, I will drop it here, for today. I will start blogging regularly soon. Have a nice day, dear visitors.