Hahahaha Ruby u r soooo funniieeeee!!!!yeah the right mix of guilt and enthusiasm always gets one going!!!How we live on pressure to motiate us to do things!!MyMy!! Do have a gud day today Ruby, was gud that u started early....gives u more hours in a day ;-)
Gud morning everyone!!! how is the day begining for all of u?? I will start my lab now so thought I would peep in and say hi!!!
take care all,
Me!!

======= Date Modified 30 Sep 2008 10:42:36 =======
Hi everyone,

It turns out that it is wet, windy and miserable out side... Perfect day for thesis writing! So I decided to stay at home working all day rather than going to the University. I'll just send an email to my supervisor (I haven't heard from him yet) asking what the status is and turn up on Thursday. Hopefully I'll have something to show for by then.... So, battle face :-s:-s, and finish the chapter once and for all.

Ruby is right Lara, keep working on the thesis, but take it easy. The only thing you need to do is read it, if anything needs to be fixed, you'll know when you read that bit... and just keep going. You'll have a brilliant thesis to hand in.

Ruby, I agree with you, but I thing that panic some times gets me going faster than guilt. Although it doesn't matter as long as I'm at it. We need to get this done, if anything else, just to get our lives back... ;-) Good luck with that chapter... Lets finish our respective chapters today, shall we?

Pari, thanks very much for your messages; they are always uplifting :-)

To work :-s:-s8-):-s:-s

Hello, I just did a post but it got stuck and disappeared so I won't do it again as I'm tired now.
Hope you got lots done today though - I nearly did, I mean my chapter's done-ish, just needs two more tiny bits included and all the pics renumbered ... there's 20 now... so not too flaky today hehe! Off to bed now so see you soon!

Rise and shine everyone!!
how are we all doing today??
Amendarf, Hope u fet to meet ur Prof on Thursday... Sometimes the Profs can suddenly become so elusive,otherwise they always seem to be poping in from thin air when u dont want to meet them... Dont worry I am sure that u have done everything just fine!!! And u r also early with ur submission, which is great and I am sure will also impress ur Prof.... Gud luck on Thursday... And till then happy writing!!!:-)
Hiya Ruby!!! Gud that u r going well with the pictures... Wat happened finally did u have to listen to other persons suggestions regarding the pictures?? or was ur Prof cool with the way u had put it up??? lemme know....
Lara!! how have u been??? Still buried under a pile of books?? take it easy girl..... Do small little things everyday and enjoy the little bit of sunshine which is shining upon us now.... Umghhhh!!! I hate the bleak weather and guess its gonna get down hill from now....
Have a nice day... and remember to enjoy every bit of ur PhD!!!:-x *HUGS*

HEY Ruby!!!
that happened to me once... the post dissapeared into the wworld wide web!!! never to be found again... And then I just didnt have the energy / motivation to retype it!!!:-(
tadaaaaaa all!!!:-s getting back to the lab with the battle face its me versus the chemicals... grrrrr!!!

Hi Pari,

All of my panels and pics have come out well, finally! I think it gives a reasonable introduction to my topic, though I've left out some of the new bits I want to pursue post-doc. And someone said my submission was one of the best! :-) 8-)

I'm at work now for a few days, so will try to pop over when there's a moment to see if there's anything going on around here!

btw if it's a battle between you and the chemicals, I have a feeling that you would win ;-)

hey Ruby!!!
Thats greatttt..to get a compliment!!!wowooow!!! i am sure that ur thesis is greaaaaat!!! welll done grl.... And the rest of u guys how have u been doing??How was the day??
Meet u in the morning I guess!!
Gud Nite

======= Date Modified 01 Oct 2008 23:47:23 =======
Thank you so much Ruby, Armendaf and Pari, for your lovely encouraging and kind words of support and advice, really really appreciate it! you all are just so great!

Sounds like you three are rearing ahead well done!

well i've been naughty! monday i did some work - i started to sort out my reference file and noticed one reference i accidentally missed. and i sorted out my files of the latest chapter versions, so i know which is the latest one. and i also backed up my work on another external hard drive.

but then tuesday was a family day, my brother came over, so i spent time with my family and didnt get any work done.

and then today, i was planning on starting work again. but i did absolutely NOTHING today. i felt so tired, mentally and physically. i just ate most of the day lol and just watched some dvds had a nap. i dont know why but i just felt so tired.

but you guys are right, i shouldnt be so hard on myself, and should slowly get back into it. tommorow i am going to start a regular routine. i am going to wake up by 9am. and work during the day eating light snacks and then have a heatlhy dinner around 7ish, and then relax in the evening. i think it would be good for me to have a regular routine.

see you guys tommorow! thanks again for the support, really really appreciate it!

Pari, sounds like you're doing really well in the lab! Ruby well done on your hard work, you are being so good! And Armendaf you're doing really well, i hope you have heard back from your sup by now about the extension?

hey everyone...
Seems like a nice day today, with the weather being bright!! Hope it stays that way!!!
Lara, since u have officially completed ur thesis regard this period as a job...So work from say 10am o 5 pm, and taking a proper 1 hour lunch break in the afternoon.... U have worked so hard for ur thesis now its time to losen up a little.... Also, after 5 pm dont do any 'work' !! Spend time on ur favorite DVDs!!;-) Because as I see it this extension is not exactly for u to redo ur work , but was given coz ur prof didnt have the time to look into it !!So dont fret grl!!! Enjoy ur time....
Ahhh!! Its Thursday today, a biiig day for u Amendarf... wat did ur Prof say... Im waiting to know... I know that tings will tide in ur favour!!
Ruby u have a gud day tooo grlllll!!!
Gonna go to my lab now!!! Cyaaaaa!!!

======= Date Modified 02 Oct 2008 10:28:02 =======
Thanks Pari, that is REALLY good advice!! I was actually feeling depressed! thinking oh no , i had to redo my entire thesis and rewrite everything cause i have a month extension, and had no motivation to do it! i felt oh great, another month of jail time to serve! and felt closed in. but i like your idea, of treating it like a job and just work 10-5 or something. thanks so much Pari. that's really made me feel better :-) You're a star!! Thanks so much for your message, amazing how you knew what i was feeling and thinking!

I agree the weather is lovely today. i hope you have a good day Pari.

Ruby how are you ? you back at work now? Armendaf, not heard from you, hope you're okay and you worked things out with your sup.

==========
my aims: lots of sorting out things today!

sort out reference file

sort out papers into collections
sort out chapter folders, putting aside really old drafts that i dont need anymore
sort out loose papers

Hi Lara,

Nice to hear from you :-)

It's great you've had a break, I can't see how anyone could just get on with it again after that stint you've just been through! I usually do that after handing one chapter let, alone a whole thesis.

I don't want to sound cheeky (well, there's a surprise...!!) but obviously I think I'm going to be, as I've just said that.... ;-) Do you reckon it might be a good idea to start reading through your thesis for possible glaring typos, corrections etc rather than doing 100% tidying up? Is that something that you could do after submission when you're preparing for the viva maybe? I'm only saying that as I use tidying up and sorting things out as a form of procrastination myself, when there's something even more boring to do. I know it has to be done as I live in complete chaos after I've handed something in, paper everywhere and I haven't got a clue where things are, but I have actually done that instead of getting on with the next important thing....:$ I've never been as bad as a friend though, he was so messy at home for a while that all horizontal surfaces in his flat were covered in stuff, so he got out his ironing board to use as an extra table, lazy man! When I feel messy, I think of him lol!!

Anyway, what I was trying to say was that I'm sure you must still be really drained physically and mentally, and the idea of reading through your thesis *again* might not be a very appealing prospect, but I'm worried that your extension period will drift by without you getting enough out of it. But you know best how you feel and what's necessary, obviously!

Anyway I'm off to a meeting so better get my act together - good luck with whatever you end up doing today, I'm sure you will use your time wisely, whatever you end up doing !!!!

Hi Ruby, you're absolutely right!! because of your advice, i drastically cut down the amount of "sorting out" and just spent a few hours putting the papers into collections, but have not bothered with any other sorting. thanks for your advice i needed that, otherwise I would have wasted alot of time sorting out papers, folders etc etc, which i can do later once i submit my thesis.
i've just finished with all of that now.

i am now going to print my thesis. and like you said, my first aim should be to go through each chapter looking for errors.
thanks for the advice Ruby (up) and where appropriate I make a note of extra information i can/should add.

so my aim for the rest of the day:
1. print entire thesis. (pdf version)

2. make notes on different methods on methylation (i know my 2nd sup will tell me to do this when she gives me back feedback, so will prepare for it, by making the notes before hand - i briefly mentioned a couple, but now i have time to do it in more detail)

3. proof read chapter 1 - make a note of extra information i can/should add.
=====
how is everyone else doing?

Ooh Lara, I didn't mean to completely change your day's plans, I was just worried about you! Nice of you to agree though hehe!! 8-)

I ended up getting the same bus as the Head of College last night on the way home, so had quite a long chat with her. She knows who we all are and was asking about my PhD, completion dates etc, and noted that I was in a very strong position in the college in relation to this that and the other, so a bit of extra pressure there for me. Eek. I think I sounded suitably keen about everything I talked about, so don't think I've put my foot metaphorically in my mouth in relation to future jobs, funding etc. Time will tell, though!!

Good luck with your reading, it sounds very impressive! Am back on the slow and lonely PhD writing-up trail tomorrow, so see you again soon. (up)

======= Date Modified 02 Oct 2008 16:42:25 =======
Thanks Ruby! :-) no i am glad you did! you saved me from wasting time on things that arent important right now..

i only managed to print 3 chapters, and my ink ran out, so have to wait for it to come in the post in the next couple of days. no biggy though.

i am going to go for a quick bike ride. i havent left the house in a month. so need abit of fresh air and then will shower and have a nice healthy dinner. am starving! and then watch a dvd film in the evening. and if i feel up to it, will do some work later on tonight.
---

Well done on impressing the head, sounds like you've made a very good impression!! and definately have made yourself some good job prospects, well done you!! you clever girl you

(up) have a good evening!