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So it turns out being in graduate school also means you have to do adult things like take care of your immunizations. This is a law instituted by the State of Illinois in the 50s, and it’s kind of irritating because you have to make sure you have your immunization records in hand. It’s not that you shouldn’t have this: it’s a responsible thing to do. It’s also a serious pain to get all your birth shots again because you can’t find them (this happened to one of the people in my program).

I just had to get my tetanus booster, and I was not happy about it (see above). However, the man working reception and scheduling in the front was beyond enthusiastic. The facility is small for a school of this size and much, much smaller than the University of Michigan University Health System, but it did the job here. If you try to walk in without an appointment past the early morning, you will probably have a hard time seeing someone that day. However, they have gotten friends of mine in within 24 hours, and that’s not too bad.

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To bring the camera out a bit: do not neglect the parts of graduate school that involve simply being an adult and taking care of your stuff. This is a no-brainer for some people, and for others who might be younger, it’s kind of a foreign thing. Maybe you have never lived this far from your parents in your life. Whatever. Don’t put stuff off. Make sure you get financial aid in order. Make sure you have your immunizations in order if that’s necessary. Get your housing taken care of as quickly as possible, and make sure you do your research so you don’t get stuck in a neighborhood you don’t like or are even uncomfortable in (they do exist in a big city).

Check back here for a post about doing a housing search independent of the apartment finding services soon.