keratosis pilaris

I have found that the best "treatment" for keratosis pilaris (see Wikipedia for details of this condition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratosis_pilaris) is washing with an exfoliating soap and moisturizing well, but not with too much think lotion. I really like Burt's Bees peppermint shower soap alternated with Burt's Bees citrus spice exfoliating soap (1 bar of one kind used up then use the other kind). Jergens skin renewal lotion is really good because it has a mild acid in it that helps slough off the dead skin that clogs up your pores. The redness is more difficult to get rid of but Jergens natural glow helps hide it by giving you a pretty good, subtle fake tan. I have tried the expensive, doctor prescribed creams and ointments and they did not help at all.

dealing with big universities or any other organizations

In my many various dealings with big universities, I've come to realize two things. No one really knows the full proper way to do anything and make the "little people" or "support staff" your friend. First of all, one would think that a big university, or any other large organization, would have a full set of proper procedures for various events. For example, consider yourself an outside entity doing some work at a big university. This sounds like something that probably happens alot as the university gets paid for you being able to use their services. Now consider that you need some form of ID, username/password, access to the university's systems. Would you believe that there is no system in place for obtaining these even though the access is absolutely necessary for you to even be approved for the on-campus work, much less actually get into the buildings to do the work? We have spent the last year navigating the terrible inlets of university protocols. We finally have approval and access, but it has literally taken 1 year to get it.
This brings me to my second point. We would still be trying to obtain access if I hadn't made 3 dozen phone calls and been sugary, Southern nice to people. I begged and conjoled for their help. If you do this enough, someone eventually takes pity on you and helps. If you need building access, ask everyone you can who does this until you get a redundancy in the name. This helps eliminate some phone calls as 80% of the people won't know but will tell you someone anyway. Call that person, or better go in person, and get the access taken care of right away. If you need username/password type help, call the IT support desk, pray you get someone with a brain, and beg for help. If they can't get it, they usually know who to call. If they don't, ask for another person. For everything else, talk to the vet techs, custodians, physical plant, animal care staff, core facility manager and technician, etc. Do not go to the head because you won't get anywhere. The people who actually do the work are much more helpful. And don't just talk to them when you need something. Cultivate in yourself an ability to be nice and friendly at any time and you'll find the path much smoother. My best friend is a whiz, born natural at this and she always gets what she wants, even from those of us who know what she's doing.

changing your name 2

Well, I went back to the DMV and was actually taken care of immediately. I, fortunately, dealt with a different lady who was much nicer, even though the original mean cow was giving me the evil eye and being nasty the whole time. She'll probably put a note on my DMV record with something bad.
Another FYI, if your car has a lien on it (i.e. you financed it when you bought it rather than pay for it in cash), you can not change your name on the title. You can either have the title changed when you pay off the car or you can buy a new car. I chose option B and bought a new car in my new name. Doing that was 100x easier.

if you're one of those overachievers, college is still hard

I learned that if you're one of those overachievers in high school, you will still have to study in college. Not studying and not attending class will result in either a withdrawal or forced leave. I was one of those high school students who never studied and still made A's. I went to college and suffered a serious culture shock because no one cared if I attended class or studied (other than my parents and who listens to them at 18). As a result, I failed and had to withdraw from school. I finally got myself together, went back to school, graduated cum laude and went on to earn a PhD. It would've been much easier and cheaper if I had attended class and studied in the beginning. Being in huge student loan debt sucks.
So, for those of you starting college, GO TO CLASS! Find smart, dedicated study partners and study with them. Talk to your professors. Most of them really want to help. If they won't help you understand the work, find another professor or another class. Don't hang out with the "cool" people who never go to class or you will find yourself playing Spades in the lounge all day instead of attending class and failing out of school. If you are lucky enough to live in a state that pays your tuition through something like the HOPE grant, take advantage of it and maintain your grades. Not having 20-30K of debt when you get out will be worth it.

universities don't know if you keep your keys

UPDATE: Well, I've been out of school for 10 years now. Yep, an in-the-work-force PhD for 10 years. Guess what? I finally threw out those keys. The university never knew I had them or what happened to them. Not great security. And I've found that this is the same in other universities. I still have some keys from the last place I worked! I really wonder how many former students and employees are out there with university lab/office keys.

Original Post:

The university I attended for undergraduate and graduate school has some bugs. If you are doing research or teaching, you can obtain keys to the labs or classrooms by having a card filled out and going to the university police office. Supposedly, they keep a record of these keys and will charge you for not returning them. I've been out of school for 1.5 yrs and still have my keys. I suppose they may change the locks in the next 15 years, but I doubt it. I actually forgot about them with moving to a new place and starting a new job, but then realized, they never asked for them back. I'm keeping them as a study of how long it will take for them to realize I have them and to ask for them back or send me a bill.
Also, if you keep your student ID, some universities do not cut off your access to places like internet library resources. If you just graduate, they don't take your ID. If you are an "employee", they make you turn in your ID. Isn't the number of graduated students much larger than former employees? It seems this is a backwards policy.

Changing to a married name is really annoying

Why, in this world where women have been changing their surname after marriage for hundreds of years, is it so difficult? Why isn't there some central database of information that all government offices can access so I don't have to drive to 10 different places just to add a new last name? Why can my bank show me within 10 mins a check card withdrawal but government computers take 24 hr for information to appear?
Here's the story. I got married. I wanted to add my husband's last name onto mine. I checked internet resources for a list of the places/records that need to be changed. They suggested the Social Security Administration and driver's license to do first. In this great state of Alabama, most of the information you need is not online and calling any government office is a study in futility SO I thought, I'll change my license (which also needed a transfer from out of state) first, then SSA, and then I'll have all documents for changing for everyone else. Well, it would've worked out just fine except I can't find my SS card that I put in a safe place and now can't remember where the safe place is located. (Typical for me) When I went to the DMV, the woman was abrupt, bordering on rude, and wouldn't let me tell her that I needed both a transfer and a name change and all I got out before she yelled at me was that I needed the transfer. She sent me to SSA, luckily there's a close office, to "get a printout" with my information on it. Apparently, a government student loan statement with my social, a 1099 with my social, a statement of benefits from the SSA, nor a pint of blood is enough for the DMV. So, off I went to the SSA office, which was an entirely painless process, surprisingly. I changed my name and requested a new card without any issue, and the people there were quite nice. Not surprisingly, I could've made the "printout" up on my own word processor and printed it myself. There was no letterhead or anything to show it was actually from SSA.
I went back to the DMV with printout in hand at 11:58 am and the same mean woman yelled that I would have to come back because they were going to lunch. I went to lunch myself, went back at the appointed 1 pm, and was told that I had to wait 24 hr because THE COMPUTER WOULDN'T SHOW MY NAME CHANGE! Now, if she hadn't been so rude, I would've told her the first time I went there that I needed a name change, went off to SSA, and come back the next day. Since she was such a cow, I had now wasted most of my day and was incredibly late for work so I called her supervisor. When I asked for the name and number, she had her sidekick give it to me like she thought I wouldn't call. HA! I called and now am going back the next business day and am to be taken care of immediately. I also got an apology from the supervisor, unlike the cow in the office. The thing that really irks me is that a guy came in the 3rd time I was there and she was incredibly nice to him and never even asked for his SS card!
To top this all off, I tried to change my vehicle registration, while I was in the courthouse, to my new address and new name and was told I would A) have to change my name on the title on the car before they would change the registration and B) would have to show proof of my new residency. The proof of the new residency would be .......a driver's license! ug. FYI, you can use a utility bill for the residency proof.
So, my advice to new brides is to go to the Social Security Administration, take your current driver's license, your original marriage certificate (no copies), and fill out the form there. Go the next day to get your new license and be sure to take your printout from the SSA and your social security card, an original or certified state issued copy of your birth certificate, your current driver's license, and a flask. After you have the new license and new SS card, then change everything else. I will post further details once I get everything else changed.