My hair is really thick, but it grows out instead of down...If it grew down as much as it grew out, I would have long hair, as it is I just have BIG hair by nature. In the 80's, I had to do nothing to get the big hair look--just take a shower, walk outside with wet hair, and instant gorgeous big hair!!!! My current hair tries to pretend to be straight ( oh why do we do this to ourselves, fightining nature), but let it get caught in a rainstorm or even a particularly damp day, and it starts to kink and get big. My faux Jennifer Aniston flatironed hair look starts to edge into BIG HAIR!

Oh this makes my day, to read that BIG HAIR IS BACK! Big crimped hair! Hair that stands out more than it is long! Hair that is curly, cork screwed, big and puffy! Oh yes! You see--this is the natural style of my hair--give it its own way and it will turn presto into 80's big hair, and I don't have to do a thing! No more battling it into a smooth mane with fringe...no...I will be able to have 80s big hair again! In the 80s, when there was 80s big hair, I had the best big hair there was. I cannot believe in looking back I dared to leave the house looking like that, but at the time I thought I was oh so stylish!

I like that quote, Smilodon, and agree with you, tenacity is a key trait for keeping going with this.

Jo Jo! Keep going!

Yes, Jouri, I like that little cartoon guy. He does sort of capture that feeling....

On a happier note--after TEN hours of work yesterday...ugh...I think my mood is better today, but I am reserving final judgment on that until I finish my coffee.

what the???? OK computer STOP acting up.
My bad mood quote for the day: Frank Zappa: Its not getting any brighter out there. You have to come to terms with stupidity and make it work for you.

Olivia's bad mood q

The internet library system keeps leading me down blind alleys telling me that promising articles are available in full text and then they )£*$(&£$&+")£*(£$& B ARE NOT! I already spent too much money this morning on an article that was PANTS! and so I am NOT spending another cent on articles I cannot get for free. You find out too late they are not worth the money.

And my research subject matter is making me mad. Gender based abortion, infanticide, discrimination, genocide, exploitation of the Third World I become steamed reading the articles about the situations that people live in and what creates them. Its heavy going for a Sunday. but necessary to get this research done.

I have done that too Jouri, become transfixed by the Youtube 9/11 videos...I spent an entire evening watching the story of the Falling Man...

I am in a really really really bad mood. I hate my keyboard. I am tired of people asking me if I know where things or places or people are and then standing there slack jawed when I say I do not know, and cannot help...and then they ask AGAIN! I am tired of the slow speed of the internet today. I am tired of the stupid people in Bleak Towers who think the lift is a loo. I am very crabby. BUT I am getting a lot done that I need to....crabbiness is energising.

To second what Hypothesis has said--do not give up your bright PhD prospects simply because of complications around geography and relationships. The reality of a PhD is that you will be studying a lot anyway with more limited time for the relationship, and it might in fact be healthier for the relationship if you had geographical distance during the PhD--this would reduce the potential for conflicts in day to day living. My personal view is if someone loves you, they will want you to achieve your dreams, and not think only of their needs being met or not. If this is important to you, the love of your life should encourage you to follow it, and think of ways to make it work for both of you. If someone makes this an either or sort of choice--that is a warning sign.

The best veggie cookbooks I have ever come across are the Moosewood Cookbook Series ( American). They have wonderfully inventive world wide cuisine, and its fun to cook their stuff! Lots of adventures with spices, different flavors, etc.

Almonds are supposed to have good amounts of protein, as well as being good for you in other ways. I have read that the most "complete" food nutrition wise is the guava.

You can get good quality protein from plant protein, as well as various soya products--there is soya cheese, soya sausage, soya bacon, veggie burgers, beans, etc., and in my case, I eat eggs from time to time as well. Plus enough meat once in awhile to no doubt take care of protein needs. I have tried being various shades of vegetarian and vegan, going in spurts. Its easier in the summer when there is more fresh fruit and veggies around, that make eating them more appealing. That said, I actually do not like vegetables that much! Fruit yes, but very few veggies!

Staying motivated is the trick, isn't it?! And easier said than done. Again, I think that on a small daily basis, a comfortable place to study once in awhile is important--I cannot believe the difference that having some music on while I work makes--it makes all the difference! Obviously cannot do that every day and in every place, but when I know I need to do some serious writing or reading, I can try to do it in that place with my fav. music at hand! Try not to think of supervision as something personal--its not about YOU its about your work--and you SHOULD be getting comments that tell you how to do better--that is the point. Its not a judgment on your worth, its on marking the progress of your work. Try taking the comments to heart in a sense of really addressing them and having something responsive for the next supervision session. If there was nothing to critique in your work, what would the point of a PhD be?