If you're stressed it might be thatyou are grinding your teeth at night. I nearly had a toothe rmoved by a dodgy dentist once , because it ached so much, but on second opinion it turned that my stressed out tooth grinding, and not decay was the issue.

I have tooth ache at the moment, decay due to a dodgy, hard to clean filling, and my dentists says that tooth ache comes intermittently at tfirst, if it is due to decay, and only after some time takes up full time residence.

Good luck, can only recomend Ibuprofen, and asparin works for me too. X

Hi Bug, if you do the massage thing, it's important that you allow some time afterwards for your body to process the chemicals released by your muscles. Some people get flu like symptoms fr a bit, but it's just your body getting rid of al the rubbish you're been locking away. Have a good relax today x

======= Date Modified 14 Mar 2010 01:09:34 =======
Hi Bug, Here is a linkk to some bereavement couselling in London: http://www.bereavement-counselling.org/

I think you are holding the tension of your recent experiences in your body, I did it too, when my sister was dying. I found deep tissue massage (full body) very theraputic, it should releases tensions you'll have built up in your body over te last weeks, and is especially effective of you go once a week or so, because there is a build up effect with the treatemts. It's like having the biggest, deepest cuddle you can imagine, all over, inside and out, and I used to leave feeling like I'd just spent two weeks on a beach. I think we need comfort and re-assurance most of all at these times, and this kind of physical treatment is a way of directing that at your entire system.

I went ot a local private gym, but some university sport centres offer deep tissue massage therapy too for a cheaper price. Check for student discounts

Big hugs (((((())))))))and love X

I agree that a bit of alcohol can loosen the old grey matter. I never write after a bevvy though, I did it once and my writing was Reeeeaaaalllly good, my supervisor even read that bit out loud and goes 'now I lllliiiiiike that!' so I see it as a potentially dangerous and slippery path for me; instead, I try to replicate the drunken mentality without chemical intervention.


Teek, I love the family Bush moment! Do we all love Kate Bush here? I imagine that I am Kate Bush quite frequently. I think given the right nurture as a teen and the right breaks I would have been Kate Bush; I get this feeling particularly strongly during dance classes and afetr a bevvy or two, so I can relate to the clan celeration.

I just went to an amazing classical concert tonight, this top violinist doing beethoven and this teen prodige who's composed an entirely new latin american tango inspired piece. It was fantastic, such mazingly beautiful sounds.

Thanks for the Oscar Sneaks, although I am convinced I have the same number of inappropriate crushes as other people, only I talk about it when others don't... (I have a secret thing about Nicky Clarke, the hairdresser to, and this is possibly my most embarrassing one of all - but there, you all know about it now - I secretly like camp straight blokes with good wafty hair). The charity shop man is not a hippy, he is, in fact, very dapper with short grey hair, and, yes, I do feel quite embarrassed about that - my old mate reckons he could be a best selling novelist who works in there to get a bit of company during the day - she is obviously a very good friend.

I'd like to give Badhaircut an Oscar for best ghost of academic futures.

Billbobaggins deserves an Oscar for outstanding contributions to the forum. Tirelessly helpful and supportive, I'm so glad she's around to help the newbies because I've become a bit jaded on that score. 

Sue for best feminist, and well adjusted role model.

Hey, Angel, congratulations on making your decision, and for getting a good night's sleep, keep coming back if you need us for motivation for the MPhil or whatever. I hope life gets better now, I am sure it will; enjoy your weekend X :-)

Maria, I did a photo shoot once - for a photographer friend - and people said I looked like a cross between Uma Thurman and Kate Winslet (very flattering, although am not sure I look that good in real life). So I think the Winslet thing could be spot onish, on a good day!

I guess that means I'm the Bjork of the PGF oscars...

Hi Natassia, not bad! I do like my vintage clothes, I like all clothes, but I do have quite a few vintage things - I've been wearing a black 1980s wrap over dress almost every time I go out for a over a year: I wear it with a short black and diamante statement necklace! I do wear large earing sometimes during the day, and i love getting the chance to wear my giant multi shades of blue chandelier earings. I do wear new too - I crave Jaeger at the moment, I just bought a cape their in the sales - amazng and I reckon it'll last until I am 95, and have bought a Miro style print top from River Island recently too. My sister once told me that she thought the best thing about me was my sense of style, and we got on very well, so I'd guess I can put things together well. I have long dark hair that I wear down most of the time, but it is poker straight - can't get a wave in it... I hope I do intimidate the little bu****s, especially in the first year, it'd do 'em good. I'm nice really though.

It's funny how we get these ideas baout eachother, isn't it.

I think Sneaks is very laid back, but always gets her way, while persuading everybody else that it was all their idea in the first place. A skill I would live to have.

======= Date Modified 11 37 2010 23:37:55 =======
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year already.... and we have Ricky Gervais here to present, and Winnona Ryder, to open, but not walk off with, the gold envelopes. Please keep your acceptance speeches to a minute each, we are on aschedule here.

First up, Wally gets an Oscar for funniest poster, any more ladies and gents? So here Wal, Winnona has handed you the PGF Oscar, with its snowman like silhouette: (snowman)


Please offer up your own awards.

I imagine Natassia has amazing long blonde hair, wears horse riding clothes all the time, even to supervisory meetings, and is super savvy and cool; I also imagine that she doesn't really fit in that wellwith the stuffy ways of academia, and tsks at the space cadet mad professor like behaviour of her supervisors.

I imagine Wally has long hair too, why I really do not know, maybe it has to do with the heavy metal vibe: it's that super nice self depreciating, fun quality, I think. I think wally has reddy brown hair too. I think he has lots of friends, both men and women, and that he socialises much more than he lets on.

I think sneaks is quite short with shoulder length dark hair, and immaculate make up, and that she sleeps in a dog basket, but manages to wake up pristine.

I think Cobweb looks and acts a lot like Kate Bush.

Hey Wal, we all love you! We would all love to know who you are, but we are doing this annonymous thing, so there we have it...

Here, have an ego boosting sprout: (sprout)

yes, I feel like that sometimes too Sneaks. It's really funny that we have this community, we've got to know eachother over time, and are like frienda and colleagues, but we don't actually know we all are, and we do have this 'other life' with another name.Although I do think it would be possible to spot who I am, if someone really tried, very hard... some stalker type.

Hi all, thought I'd join in this discussion. I too am really embarassed about the title 'Dr.' I don't thnk I'll use it outside of work; however, my friend's dad, who seems to be very proud of my PhDing told me that we non-medical doctors are, in fact, the real doctors and the medical ones just have an honorary title.

Lately, I;ve been feeling a bit melancholy at times about hte fact that this will be my final qualification, my final course of study in the subjects I love. This has been especially true since my PhD is going smoothly and I can see it all mapped out, I just have to leap along and get the things done (mostly writing) now. I may do a fine art degree when I retire! I am desperate to get away from the poverty, but will miss the studying aspect soooo much, I hope to become one of those acdemic that dips into lots of different related areas, I want to keep learning. I guess being a PhD supervisor would keep you learning too, so, hopefully that will happen for me.

======= Date Modified 11 Mar 2010 11:05:14 =======
hey Oldwoman, I totally agree about the poor service students get. I often look at my students and think 'you poor blighters, and you're paying for it!'. I am not allowed to dicuss essays with my students, outside of the 5 minutes each they have for tutorials (that includes email requests), and essays are never back on time, usually die to admin errors, and then a build up because when the essays do find their way to me the next term has started and I have a host of other, immediate things to tdo like run seminars and give/write lectures. I am usually working the equivalent of a full time week for my teaching during term time, and I barely make enough money to live on - I think it's horrendous that students are being taught by people in such a position, their education is too important for that. Sometimes, I think if they knew the truth about the pitiful amount of resources the universty pay out for their actual teaching, that they'd be outraged and something might change, they would very likely stop blaming us as individuals. Myself and a couple of others have started to be more open about what we, tempotary staff, get paid, and for what duties, and the students have been totally shocked.