oh Sue, doesn't sound too good there. I hope your next day in will be better, I know it's crappy doing a job that you hate, but just remember it's giving you the money you need to stay and finish your thesis, the bit that you DO want to do! As hard and crap and emotionally draining that is too! Just keep writing down in a list all the things you want to do when you are done, like holiday, new (better) job in a new (better) city, etc, and use that as your motivation for when things get really bad. And just remember, keep on going!

I hope the abstract is coming along Chris, just that and you're done! You could be at the printers now actually! :-)

Can't wait to read your submitted post!!! (up)

well done bug!! I'd say you well deserved that, make sure you do give up some of the jobs, you'll need the extra time in final year!

I'd also say go for it, just email asking is there anything you can do in particular to improve your chances for next year as it's something you are genuinely interested in pursuing. Just looks like you are very dedicated, rather than harassing! Good luck!!

Keep going Chris!!! You are getting there!! (up)

I second the posts below here Keenbean. I' so sorry you are going through this again, it's not a nice situation to be in in any way, but I have no doubt it will pass. Truly don't worry about taking this week off, if it's what's needed for yourself and to make sure you are feeling better, then surely that's more important than any academic work will ever be. You must always remember that yourself and your health are more important than work will ever be (a surprisingly easy thing to lose sight of...). Just spend this week doing whatever fun stuff you feel like, and you can get back to work when you are feeling better. You have passed your review, so you are on track, and you are capable of working damn hard as we have all seen here, so I think you more than deserve a damn good break! Think of it as a weeks holidays, I think we are allowed 6-8 weeks so it's fine.
I hope you are feeling better soon (mince)

ugh Chris I could kill your stupid ex for you! Keep on going, you are so close, and I'm 100% positive it's a much better thesis than you think, if it was so bad, your supervisors would have just told you not to bother! It's publishable quality obviously, so you have that behind you! your examiners can't turn around now and say that it's not PhD worthy, so just try to put those worries aside, and concentrate on getting over these final few hurdles. Once you have submitted, you are free for a while, focus on getting to that point and then you can let all the other thoughs come back to you. But stay positive, and keep going. We all have faith in you!

Akui, I think you had to read Goodboys post 5 times because it doesn't actually make sense, and the start and middle are different points to each other as well as to the conclusion. I'm glad you are feeling better about things though, I hope you enjoy starting your PhD! (up)

Holy good God Goodboy, do you ever stop? Akui, congratulations on getting your PhD place! There are a few Chinese people in my office who did find it strange being more informal with supervisors over here, but they got used to it pretty quickly. There are many other ways of being respectful towards supervisors and lecturers, so don't be fooled that it's all very informal! Maybe ask your supervisor if they have any preference in how you refer to them and use that?
Also, I think it's possible to finish in 3 years. Most people I know have finished just over the 3 years, but not by much, I know a few people who finished right on time, a few people who took almost the 4 years, and one person who finished 6 months early. So I think a lot depends on your project, how much knowledge you have at the start and how lucky you are with your data collection! Sometimes problems arise that are totally unavoidable, but you might just get through with no big hassles also!

Good luck :)

of course it's anonymous Goodboy, it's an online forum and all parts of it are anonymous. Unless you're really bad at staying anonymous, like me sometimes! :) There is plenty of info on doing the PhD and viva questions on the tips thread and various other threads. Most posters on here have also added their own thread on how their viva went, what questions were asked etc, and I'm sure if you search for the usernames you'll find plenty of info on subject areas etc.

Hello there everyone :)

Good to see everyones still plodding away here! Great work and the chapters Sue, you are getting there! Just make sure you are still taking proper breaks and you don't burn yourself out! I haven't really posted as I've not had much to say, been trying to get the lab work sorted which has been a holy nightmare to be honest. It took ages to get my method optimised and I ran out of stuff I needed so had to wait to order more in etc etc! But I've done the first half of it now, and hopefully *fingers, toes, legs and arms crossed..* I can get it finished by the end of next week. Unlikely, as I still have to order and wait for the last of the stuff to arrive, but I'm an eternal optimist apparently. In the meantime, I'm trying to get my stats sorted, thanks the the help of some wonderful friends in my uni who know much more about it than I do! I even got a good report from my evil sup a week or two ago, I was in shock for a while there!
Still got loads to write, only 2 months really! I have exactly 80 days to hand in! If Phileas Fogg could go around the world in 80 days, I can write this damned thesis! I'm going to stick my head firmly in the sand and just do what I can!

Good luck everyone!! Oh and Sue, the super fancy restaurant? I was thinking about that too, I think I may settle for one Mitchelin Star though, I'm not that rich! :p

I would say definitely talk to him about how your are feeling before you decide either way.  It's true that doing a PhD comes with a whole lot of other stuff than 'just' the project, if you want it to that is. I do a good bit of committee-sitting, volunteer work and socialising with various people throughout the uni, partly due to wanting to spend time with people I like and doing things I enjoy, but I also know it's a very valuable net working tool, and has helped me in several situations where I needed assistance form other departments.  However, I am in a long-distance relationship, and therefore have the time for a few weeks to do these things, I always take the entire weekend off work and other activities when I see my boyf as it is important to have that time together. I would suggest a bit of compromise here, he will always be a bit short on time, such is the nature of the PhD, and academia in fact, but he has to understand that if he wants to be in a relationship you have to be a main priority also.  I would say if you talk and he continues to expect you to hang around until he has some free time, then you deserve better and should move on. But if he hasn't realised how he has been putting other things first and is willing to reassess how he spends his time, then hang on in there for a while.  But ultimately only you can make the decision for what is best for you. Good luck :-)

um...I have 2 months to go Wally, still finishing off lab work, have written chap 1 (lit review), chap 2 (method development), chap 3 (published), half of chap 4...and that's it! Still have 3 chapters to start writing, loads of analysis to do and lab work to finish! In 2 months!

I feel ill now.... (sprout)

um, well, as I'm moving home, back with the parents, next week, I had dinner last night with a few friends which turned into a bit of a wine-fest...very sore head this morning, vision slightly out of focus. So my main goal today is to get rid of the hangover! Also to fix up my CV and do a bit of lab work, nothing too important though as I don't think I'm that safe yet!!

Chris is there any chance you can take those few days you have to work off just to get finished?  It seems like your ex has just cracked under the pressure of watching you finish your PhD while he can't finish or leave his. Perhaps in the future, after you have submitted and things have a chance to calm down, you might be able to discuss things with him and you might be able to get back on track?  Surely after so many years, including being long distance for a while he might be willing to talk about things then, when the situation has settled down. For now, you have to try to not think about it, impossible I know. 
I'm terrible at focusing on work when I have personal issues going on, I went to the uni counsellor about it and she gave me some visualisation techniques that might help you though. She said to imagine everything I have to do as if it was all in separate little windows like on a computer screen.  Like for example, if I have a row with my boyf and I have to finish a chapter, I imagine 2 windows, one with my boyfs face, one with my chapter. Then, you know how when you're in the cinema and things are so much more engaging on the big screen compared to a little TV screen?  Well, the same thing applies here. She told me to imagine the window with my boyf, imagine it losing colour and turning black and white and getting smaller and smaller.  Then just like on a computer you say to yourself, ok I'm not going to think about that until later, when I get this other thing done, and you minimise it. So it's still there, just has become insignificant and you can concentrate on it later. 
I think trying to put things out of your mind only makes for more trouble down the line so i like the idea that it's still there, but I've put it in its place and am deciding that yes I will deal with it, and think about stuff, just later when I have time. It does take a bit of practice and some imagination, but its worth a try maybe? 

I'm not sure if there is anything we can say to help you, it's only you that can do anything about it, you know you have it in yourself to finish, don't let yourself regret these last few days so close to the end.