Hello!

Lara, you'd make a great salesperson for those trampolines, you convinced me with all that blurb! Though I am a non-scientist and probably quite susceptible to a bit of jargon occasionally... however, I am going to ask you about it in a few weeks, to check how you think your cells are doing! Is it from one of those companies where you can send it back if you're not satisfied within 30 days?

Pari, it's really good that your prof was so pleased with your experiments, how nice to be making such a good impression so early on! Great that you're so into it too, that's a brilliant feeling, you really know you're doing the right thing when you feel like that!!

Armendaf, hope your work's going ok.

Not sure what Verypoor is getting at either, anyone that completes a PhD has self discipline, you can't do it otherwise. No one does it for you, but we all just have different ways of working even though the end product is the same. For me at the moment, this is like being at work/college on days I'm not at work/college. Sometimes you discuss your work, sometimes it's completely mundane, but it doesn't really matter, does it! Finishing a doctorate is heavy going at times, so whatever helps get through it.

Anyway, I'm going to bed now, I'm glad I don't have to go in to work tomorrow and can get over this cold. Maybe all this fruit Ive been eating will have helped. That exhibition thing was just a poster one, I didn't tell anyone about it outside college as I wasn't particularly proud of my bit, though it was nice to get good feedback and I suppose the next one might be more flexible for those contributing. They've got an official webcam set up now at college, so we can watch the building site we're supposed to be moving to eventually for our new premises, fascinating eh! Not sure how many years you'll have to watch it to see anything actually change, maybe if it's recorded and played back at a very high speed or something. I liked the way they launched it in the mailshot though, the graphics reminded me of those 1960s Batman comics, Zap! Pow! Bam! sort of style, except it's for a derelict building on the internet, so not as exciting as Batman!!!

See you tomorrow :-)

lol Ruby! :-)

yah, I will definately let you know how i am getting on with the mini trampoline!! :-) i did loads of research on it, read loads of articles about it. one in the daily telegraph helped me with which one to get, apparently there are lot of low standard bad ones on the market. but this is one exercise i am definately going to stick to, i have a tendency to get excited about things and then eventually drop it and get distracted with something new. but not this time!!

lol at the batman building comment, that was funny. :-)

hope you get over your cold today, and have a good ol rest today! what have you got planned for today?
and i am sure your poster was great! that's good you got it in an exhibition (up)
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well update from yesterday. i corrected chapter 3 on the word file. i then printed chapter 4 and forced myself to proof read it before i went to sleep, fell asleep at 1am.

so aims for today:

correct chapter 4 on word file.
print chapter 5, 6, and 7.
proof read chapter 5, 6, and 7
correct chapters 5, 6, 7 on word file.

Hi Girls,

It's been crazy busy lately and I haven't been able to post any updates, sorry about that :$

TG, it is fantastic to have you back! I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your new job. You have to tell us all about it some day.

Pari, I know sometimes working in a lab can be very frustrating, but you are getting on just fine. You'll end up with a brilliant PhD ;-)

Ruby, I'm so sorry to hear that you were not feeling well, I hope you are better today. Pick something light to work on so you do not stop, but you do not tax yourself either. And if you feel like taking a nap now and then... go ahead, that's the only way to get better. Please take care of yourself *hands a cuppa*

Lara, That's great that you got a minitramp. They are great fun. Although I use them in a different way than you will. I used to do gymnastics and now I'm in the trampoline club in my uni. That's like in the Olympic sport, but I haven't turn up for training in like 6 moths; nevertheless bouncing up and down is always great fun, no mater the scale of it, so enjoy :-)

As for me, I owe you a bit of an update. It turns out that my supervisor wrote back to me with comments about what I handed in last. Apparently it is not absolute rubbish... his words were: "it's taking shape". He pointed out things that are missing that I'm already working on, so I knew that; and gave me a couple of very good points on how to make my case narrative better, which I missed, so all in all I felt relieved because I felt I'm on the right path. Still there is loads of things to do and very little time.

Now besides the days I work only on the thesis, I'm trying to clear my to-do list at work before lunch, and work on the thesis in the afternoons while I wait for the time for my lectures, which are always after 6pm. That means that I'm slipping behind in a lot of other things I'm expected to do, but all of that is just going to have to wait. There is only so much little me can do :-(

So, today is critical and I have to push it really hard so I can make good progress and then come up with a plan for the weekend to see if I can start putting together the final document, even if the last two chapters are still in draft -10 form.

So... Best of luck to you and... to work :-s

Hello!

I feel loads better today, thanks! Spent all morning in bed reading one of my chapters and doing amendments, which was surprisingly enjoyable to do! It's really old work, mainly stuff I did in 2005/06 but I still like some of the ideas and the actual data (if you want to call it that) is interesting. It needs a lot of restructuring and extra reading, but I got some great articles yesterday so will read them next. My proposed examiners have done a lot of work in this area, so I'd better re-read their stuff in immense detail, but not today. I must say it's been very nice to focus on a different section of work after the last mammoth chapter, a very welcome change.

Hope you had a productive day, whether working or bouncing on trampolines! See you soon. (up)

Hey Armendaf! great to hear from you and your update. sounds like you're thesis is just fine, if your supervisor said that, so well done you! i know there is still loads to do, but you can do it!! just do the best you can!! i cant believe you have to give lectures ontop of writing, i dont know how you do it!
i will keep you company this weekend, as i am so behind on my own schedule, i've spent 2 weeks proof reading! instead of just one week. i'm such a slow coach and a procrastinator.

but good on ya mate for putting on that battle face.

and that is so cool you're on the trampoline team!! wow awesome! :-)
--

Hey Ruby! good to hear that you're feeling better, and aww bless you working from bed, you're so good. glad to hear that you were enjoying it, that's a sign that you're motivated(up)
===

Pari, hope your lab work is going well. And TG hope the viva prep is coming along nicely.
----

Well i am calling it a night. update on what i achieved today:
i corrected chapter 4 on word file; and i proof read and then corrected chapter 5 on the word file.

i wanted to finish all proof reading and correcting (chapters 6 and 7 are remaining) but i am a lazy so and so. no really, i am!

but tommorow, i will get it done for sure! i have 2 chapters left to proof read/correct. chapter 6, and chapter 7 - conclusions! then i can start making notes on what my sups might tell me to write, plus on sunday i wont get anything done, as i am going to a wedding.

i am dead nervous about what my sup will say next week about my thesis, i keep thinking he's going to say, it's all rubbish, it's not even a thesis, it's crap! but i am preparing myself for the worst critisisms he can throw at me, so that way i wont be too upset, or shocked. so i'm expecting him to say its all wrong and all rubbish. i have 3 days left of living in denial and being happy lol, before he critisises my thesis. then its going to be nightmare from monday onwards!!!

well i am off to bed now, see you folks tommorow :-)

Hi Lara,

You're definitely not lazy, honestly!!! Lazy would *never* have got you this far in the first place! Do you have a definite date when your sup is going to get back to you? Will you get comments by email or have to speak to them too? I know what you mean about preparing for the worst, I get like that sometimes when I've handed something in I'm not sure about, but am usually pleasantly surprised by the feedback. You can't tell at this point as you're just too close to it, but all the corrections you've done in the past week will count. Maybe you will have to restructure or rewrite bits following the feedback, but at least all the basic errors will be out of the way by then, and they are so tediously time consuming to do that you'll have already saved lots of time.

I'm just about to have some lunch and get stuck in again to my chapter 5. Had to go to some plumbers merchants this morning to get some new kitchen taps, as I think one of the knobs would have spun right off and left water gushing everywhere if I'd left it any longer. The plumber's gone now, so I'd better get down to some academic business. It would be good to finish this chapter and make some decent progress with rewriting chapter 1 by Tuesday lunchtime. Then I can go to some lectures at college by a couple of the textile research fellows late afternoon, which should be interesting.

So my aims for today: read new articles for chapter 5 and start restructuring it.

Armendaf hope you manage to get some work done on yours before your evening lecture.
Lara good luck with yours too!

See you later! (up)

Hey Everyone,
Im backkkkkkk....I have been reading a few posts and its great that everyone is still working hard and  plodding on!! that is fantastic..well done!!
As for me my field trip was quite a disaster and to top it off i got food poisoning, missed my flight and had to extend my stay by 15 days. Well...im back on my feet now and back to Uk ..

I look forward to joining the discussions again ....

take care everyone and its good to be back !!!! :-)

======= Date Modified 13 Oct 2008 12:17:32 =======
Hi everyone,

It looks like it's been very slow in this forum over the weekend. I hope everyone made good progress. I've made some myself, and I've got a plan for the rest of the month, although it could be a bit too ambitious. I'd like to have all my chapters finished by the end of next weekend, and then take the following one (which is a bank holiday weekend here) to put together the final document and work on some corrections I've been given. If that works out OK, I could submit a couple of days before the 31st (fingers crossed).

Lara and Ruby, how are you doing? I hope everything is working out.

Mira, welcome back! sorry to hear that the trip didn't go that well. It's great to have you back though.

Today I'm staying home to keep on working on this chapter and I'm only going to work in the evening for my lecture. So have to make the most of it :-s

Talk soon,

Hi Armendaf,

It's great that you've been making progress with your work. Nothing wrong with making ambitious plans and deadlines, I guess it'll all have to get done in the end anyway. So the end is in sight for you, excellent!

I've just been plodding on with all my rewrites this weekend, it's going ok, just slow and tedious, but ho hum, that's the way it goes sometimes. There didn't seem much point in talking to myself on this thread, so I didn't, but apologies if you've been around too! Have to get this chapter out of the way by tonight really, then the other one the following week. It's all officially on schedule at present, but I'm horribly aware of how much there is to do and how long even little things take, like fiddling with the figures and chasing up odd references from really old field notes. Ah well, one day it will be done!

Good luck with your work this week.

Lara, I was wondering how you were doing....? Ok I hope.

Mira, sorry your field trip wasn't great, hopefully you got something out of it apart from illness.

See you later anyway.

Thanks so much Ruby, I really really appreciate you saying i am not lazy. you're so kind :-)

well, no we had not agreed on the medium of the feedback, when i spoke to him, i hadnt slept for days and i was very emotional, and it took all the strength not to burst into tears crying. but he did tell me it would take at least a couple of weeks, since it was 250 pages long. (totally understandable!).

It's been exactly two weeks and 3 days since i last spoke to him, so i am thinking of dropping him an email. i dont want to be obnoxious and pushy , but at the same time, i am concerned because i now only have 2 weeks left for my deadline, as i need the last week for printing and binding.

so basically i have this week and next week to make the corrections that he will undoubtly have:

i have composed this email. i have emailed it to my brother asking for his advice as to what he thinks.

what do you think does it sound okay? please feel free to comment on anything that sounds off.

Dear *SUP*,

Thank you for taking the time to review my thesis, I appreciate how much time and effort it must be taking. I wanted to find out how the progress of reviewing my thesis is going, and if it is possible to give an approximate date by which I will have recieved your feedback, so I can make the appropriate amendments to my thesis. My new deadline by which I must submit my thesis is 31st of October (because 1st of November - the date XXXX (graduate officer) said my new deadline is actually a saturday).

Kind Regards,

Lara.

Hi Lara,

The email looks fine, to the point, and almost certainly required as a reminder to keep things moving given your time scale.

Good luck!

okay i sent the email! eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek i am going to be VERY VERY VERY VERY nervous all day tommorow waiting for his reply and what my sup will say. but i am preparing myself for the worst. i did my best, if he says its all a pile of poo, and he wont let me submit and i have failed - then i will deal with that.

Armendaf, sounds like you are doing so well!! well done for working so hard. sounds like you have everything under control


Mira welcome back!!


Ruby, you are working so hard! thanks for your messages. sorry i wasnt around this weekend.

update from me:

i finally finished proof reading chapter 6 on friday night, and then i proof read chapter 7 on saturday morning. i started to then correct chapter 6 on the word file and my best friend called me to meet up. i then ended up spending the whole weekend with her and her 2 sisters. it was a really nice weekend and i had so much fun.
so i did no work on saturday evening ,sunday or today!

i was thinking of working tonight , but for some reason my eyes are hurting, and i dont know why, so i am going to rest my eyes and start afresh tommorow morning and do my corrections for chapter 6 and 7 tommorow and wait very nervously for a reply from my sup. i think so i dont get upset from an horrible email i might recieve from him, i will first correct chapter 6 and 7 on my word file. and THEN check my email tommorow. i dont want to lose a day of productivity, because i got upset from an email from him.

this is the email i am expecting him to write

Dear Lara,

I have not had time to read your 250+ page thesis, it has only been two weeks since you sent it to me, I am very busy. I will get back to you when i have read your thesis.

or he might write:

Dear Lara, I have reviewed your thesis, I am sorry to say, but your thesis would be failed by examiners. There is no argument in your thesis, it is very genearlised and it is not detailed enough. It is clear you have no understanding or grasp of scientific content of your subject. You have failed your Phd. I suggest you find a different career. good luck.

===

i am switching off for tonight. going to get something to eat and heat the sack. see you guys tommorow.

Hey Lara, I've been off the site for a while (having my own PhD peaks and troughs!) and just popping in to read occasional threads...I'm so impressed at how hard you have been working :-) Best of luck with the sup email tomorrow.
x

Thanks BilboBaggins! i appreciate that. (up)

Aww thanks Cakegirl, thats so sweet :-)