I've got about 8 conferences I want to present at but don't want to have to write new abstracts each time, so I have the same dilemma. If you are rejected for one conference then there's no problem in submitting the same abstract for another one but if you are still waiting to hear or there are two deadlines at the same time it's difficult to know what to do.
I would assume that graduate conferences mostly have an audience from that university with some people coming from other areas so if the two conferences are far apart you might be OK. But as papers are about your research then they are not all going to be totally different. I think changing the title, re-writing the abstract to include references to the theme of the conference and planning will be enough. You have more time to write the actual paper and if you do get accepted for both conferences you can then vary the papers a bit.

I was on a course re publishing in journals last week and was told the main criteria for assessing a good journal is one that is refereed anonymously. Then if you get in you have got in on your merit alone.

If you work in IT or arts/humanities this may tickle your fancy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQHX-SjgQvQ

I was wondering how far people live from their university. This probably applies more to arts/humanities rather than lab-based Phds.
I work from home mostly and only go in to see my supervisor or for teaching. At the moment I live about half an hour away but I really want to live with my partner, whose work and family commitments mean he is living 150 miles away and can't move. I just wanted to know if people don't live near uni how does it work for them.

Did anybody else feel the earth move this morning? I was woken up at 1am by the bed shaking and a rattling noise - and I was alone!
Looks like there was a quake across England from the news reports.
It was weird!

I'm overwhelmed and exhausted!

I had been in touch with an old boyfriend for a couple of years, just e-mail and occasional drinks, even with my husband as well. It was just a friendship. But when we met again last year I felt that my marriage was over and there was something between me and this other man so I began to have an affair. But I felt I should respect my hiusband even if he didn't me, and I knew I wanted to be with this other man, so told my husband very soon into the affair. I could not have carried on doing something in secret and it wasn't a case of having something as well as marriage. I knew I had to choose and I did. Yes I was unfaithful but I hope I did the best thing in a bad situation and didn't deceive my husband for any longer than I had to.

Lots of interesting and valid views but until something like this happens to you, you don't know how you will react. My marriage broke down because of lack of sex. Three years without it - and unlike all the articles, problem pages etc it wasn't me the wife who always had a headache! So it was difficult to try to deal with the problem I triared to talk to my husband. He was drinking a lot at the time and doesn't eat well and smokes (I tried to encourage him to be more healthy). He would not go to the doctor to get checked out, he would not go to relate and was happy not to try anything to rectify the situation. There were other problems too and all in all after a number of years I just felt that he didn't respect me enough to want to change to save the marriage.
I wanted to leave but kept hoping we could sort things out. I couldn't afford to leave though. Day to day we were friends but I needed more than that. Not just sex, but respect, and reliability.

I work at home mostly because like others I need to be able to get cups of tea at regular intervals. Also I prefer being able to have all my stuff here so I can get books, notes etc whenever I need to refer to them. I find I am not distracted by the TV anymore as it's usually rubbish during the day. I can also do power naps when I need them and then get back to work when refreshed. Plus I can sit here with greasy hair and no make-up and scruffy clothes.
I can only work for probably about an hour and half max in the library then I have to go for a cuppa or do something else, usually not work related.

Olivia, I can understand totally what you are saying. I'm sad my marriage failed but I want my ex to be happy and hope we can still be friends. We have had ten years together and I wouldn't want to change the majority of those as we were very, very happy. But people's lives change and they often want different things which are incompatible with being married. It is healthier for all concerned to end the marriage rather than stick with it if one or both of the people aren't happy and feel stuck and stifled.

I was telling a friend all about the things I had had to deal with over the past year - bereavement, moving house, marriage break-up, and she pointed out that it was probably the PhD which was keeping me sane! How ironic is that?!

We are still living together and it looks like we can be good friends as most of our time together was good. I have recently met someone else - the first bloke I went out with when I was 18. He is divorced with three teenage kids (I don't have children). We have so much in common and I get on with his kids and we both know we will get married or handfasted one day. However he lives 150 miles away from me which is bad when we can't see each other but is great for my PhD as I can work hard and then reward myself with a weekend with him. He understands the pressure I am under. Hopefully this relationship will work.

When I got married we did the ceremony how we wanted not to please other people. I wore purple and we had a hog roast and a ceilidh band. The wedding was great and the first few years of marriage and the living together before that were great. But we are now in the process of splitting up. Various factors involved but we have definitely grown apart maybe because of the PhD or maybe not.

Does anybody know of any resources to help with writing abstracts? I have quite a few conferences I want to present at but need some help with writing the paper proposals. The course my uni was running has been cancelled and re-arranged for a date which is after all my deadlines!!

Grey, I was a journalist for 12 years but am missing deadlines in PhD. As a journalist I always worked on the premise that there were deadlines and there were real deadlines. Most deadlines can be extended and I always work till the last minute.