Timestamps - Penn State University

A day in the life of a grad-student at penn state my version. [supposedly found on the net by Charan Pushpanathan.]

revised 03mar2025

Each day changes but one common day occurs usually, my shcedule.

4:00 am       Wake up and get ready at 1/2 hr.
4:10 am       Make a coffee or tea Preferably adding whole milk to it, side of cookies, it infront of high ray of an computer rather than sunrise.
4:30 am       Start studying any paper; do a close reading, struck up with terms and research it.
6:00 am       Finish reading that paper, stuck with the author ideologies and agree or disagree; get diverted onto some other classic that cited on that paper.
6:05 am       Now, two allocations, Slow thinking that cited paper and Fast thinking what to eat
Fast thinking wins. Always wins.
6:10 am       Make something or eat what I made for prev day. Realize you've been eating the same meal for 4 days straight.
6:30 am       Get ready, dress up well, Sit simply.
6:42 am       Reach bus stop, shiver on chillness at minus, think thrice and realize "was it worth it" or "are you a defect". Keep rationalize and then your bus comes.
6:48 am       Catch the first bus which is mostly "N" from home to pattee library.
6:55 am       Reach pattee. Walk to Westgate buliding take the curved route (by crossing: Irvin hall, Mckee hall, Rec hall, Waring commons, Sigma Nu frat), heads up and walk, you will see the beautiful view, at the same still snow on your face, makes you blush.
7:01 am       Reach Westgate buliding.
7:06 am       Take a lift to Jack's lab E346. Check-in with your PSU ID. Sit at your place.
7:30 am       Move here and there inside the lab like a rat. And start your systems on to make it as good day. The comparison to a rat hits too close to home. Wonder if the maze you're in actually has cheese at the end.
7:40 am       Start you information retrival startegies get some research papers, Add to zotero.
7:55 am       Delibrate, Delibrate, Delibrate.
8:00 am       Fix one thing to study, make theories what If I wrote this paper.
9:00 am       Deep learn the hope you took notes of it on the one hour gap. 
9:10 am       Talk to you, Alone in the lab. Pretend like Travis Buckle “You talkin’ to me?” [personal confrontation, self-assertion].
9:16 am       Eat fruit yogurt, Share some reels to your friends group or talk to your parents.
9:30 am       Move the rolling chair, listen to movie OST or do a Dooms scroll.
9:50 am       Decide again what to do next for the next hours.
9:55 am       Go out, look for friends from other lab. 
10:00 am      If not, Stand at the coffee room for a while and see the view towards half of the downtown route.
10:20 am      Go back to lab, Code, synthesis & iterate the idea, Get some sense even though vague.
11:00 am      Think about how my advisor Jack thinks, Stare at his Google scholar.
11:20 am      Sometimes make it wrost to stare at homepage of google scholar.
11:30 am      Get some students perceptions from you TA job. Send email, store as a draft, leave like it.
11:44 am      Some component on your stomach translates as soundbox. Strave to death.
11:48 am      Think should I get some snack at wending machine or think about big deans/ nittany mini mart/ subway.
11:55 am      Check your bank balance and hate your life with a silent scream.
12:00 pm      Note down jack's work and prepare for question to ask on group meeting, but don't ask due to nervousness to talk to him, stay silent.
12:10 pm      Shelve it somewhere on your computer.
12:12 pm      Day-Dream, that will forget your hunger.
12:15 pm      Keep indexing, for a specific file or paper. Say fuck off. [apologies for language violence]
12:16 pm      Have a lite panic attack.
12:20 pm      Instant remedy? talk to a girl or crack some jokes to her in-person or from your personal digital assistant. think she is the one and forget about her for now.
12:30 pm      Curse your bank balance and walk to Nittany MinitMart 214, N Atherton St. 
12:37 pm      Preferably Crispy chicken sandwich/ wrap or sometimes a slice of pizza. Get a compulsory chocolate bar for aftermath.
12:50 pm      Sit there and stare at the truck drivers, check what they order and try that later.
12:56 pm      Get the order and smile at cashier for more ketchup or ranch.
1:12 pm       Reach lab with that greatest smell and drools on your mouth.
1:15 pm       Start eating with a privillage on an American student visa.
1:35 pm       Trash it, go to fetch the water on the lab kettle. 
1:40 pm       Cross dr. frank ritter room.
1:40:20 pm    Watch him what he do. If busy don't interfere.
1:40:30 pm    If not, say hi have a conversation. within 10-20 secs gap prepare atleast two question or talk about his advisor newell.
2:00 pm       Listen to him. Thank him for GOATed conversations and analogies or metaphors.
2:00:20 pm    Thank yourself for not saying something stupid to frank.
2:02 pm       Note down, whatever he said as verbal data as reports (good discipline from ercisson & simon)
2:05 pm       Yawn it, the eye drop was about to fall after a good lunch.
2:07 pm       Wonder why asian girls are always pretty. Argue with my friends about this. 
2:10 pm       Take pride about my advisor, that you're working with Jack Carroll, one of the HCI pioneer and Chomsky student.
2:15 pm       Say hi to your lab mates mostly Phd's.
2:20 pm       Talk some random stuffs to him.
2:30 pm       Read, Research, Retrive, Recite, Argue and Break your head. Curse myself as an asshole for too late or take pride I'm the "ONE".
5:30 pm       Put the airpods on your ears, listen to harris jayraj songs. Sing; if you're alone at lab.
6:02 pm       Take bus at Pattee, If your song queues or your day was good take "N" bus for long, If not or urgent work to home take "NE". 
6:05 pm       Miss that bus, take "N". Meet your friends on the upcoming stops. Look at the movie board that are in state theatre.
6:35 pm       Reach home. Talk some random shit to your roomates, make a philosphy, listen to them (Mostly programming, rizz jokes, she is cute or tips to welcome her in my life), sudden feeling something missed out, Make plans for weekend (mostly don't go) The weekend plans that exist only in theory, like quantum physics for social life.
7:00 pm       Cook something, Praise your roomates if they had something for you.
7:30 pm       While cooking stand at your balcony, blow on minus degree, Pretend that your smoking naturally.
7:48 pm       Comeback, Eat, Get cursed for random shit's from your roomies.
9:00 pm       Scroll social media for a while Fall into the Instagram hole where everyone else seems to have their life together. Question reality.
9:30-10:00pm  Shutdown your phone, get your ass up on your bed and sleep. Promise yourself tomorrow will be different.
Spoiler alert: it won't be.

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Inspired by:  
“ A day in the life of a grad-student…” by Frank E. Ritter,  
Available at: https://www.frankritter.com/grad-day.txt