Well Bug, I hope the yellow stars have disappeared and the homesickness is passing and you've recovered a bit from the project now. I think it's an amazing thing to have completed in the time you had over Xmas. (up) I wouldn't worry about your laundry too much either, as long as you haven't got your breakfast caked onto your clothes and you don't smell, you're perfectly acceptable. We are PhD students, after all! :-) Carry on hibernating!

Ruby Ruby I HAVE got cereals caked on to my pink sweater. I HAVE got tomato ketchup on the bottom right corner of my heater. And I HAVE got a meeting with the report people and sup tomorrow, so I will clean up clothes, self, and room as well, today!!!

Lol lol lol - bug, you are a total bug :p he he he - just kidding! I must confess my hoodie is stained a bit and my jeans - let's just not go there - I too must do laundry, but then I have laundry for 5 people to do - sigh - the kids get so excited if they see clean clothes - I do load the machine, then I'll get waylaid with work and forget it again - I am rubbish! and ironing - what's that???? I appreciate even if we are phd students we must wash occasionally, but ironing is just obscene!;-)
At least my hair now resembles hair and not road kill - ahhhh highlights, blondy bits - I feel much better about that and I can see now through my fringe - very exciting - I still haven't ventured in jewellery though - I might on Mon when I get into clean clothes for the conference lol - although my ears have probably healed up now - bug did you ever find the other earring? I was worried that you were just putting one in :p

I agree ironing is an affront to human rights!!!! unless it's for a job interview.

lol Bug, I only said that as I thought you wouldn't have food stuck on your clothes - ooopps!! heheh but I am *absolutely* positive you'd never empty a room with your appearance (and I have seen this happen) ;-)

Eska - can I ask.... do my PMs come up as already read in your inbox when they're not? Someone else said they did so she never saw them, and I wasn't sure whether to tell the tech admins or not.

I have definitley become a bit scruffy through the combination of having a baby and doing a PHD mainly from home (not that I was any smarter when I went in to the dept - but being at home you can sink to new lows.....). My husband, on the other hand, wears a suit and tie every day. When I drop my daughter with her childminder then he picks her up we must seem a very odd couple. I read somewhere that wearing tracksuits make you 'look as though you have really given up'!! They are comfy though;-)

I'd really like some 'real clothes' - and maybe a proper hair cut. I guess I need to get a real job.... :p

Todays ensemble: brown jeans (from a charity shop), ancient white T-shirt under fairly ancient green cotton jumper. Brown socks, purple slippers.

Well I feel a bit over dressed today. sans coat I'm fine, but I am wearing a skirt today so needed a big coat and my warmest one is a bright red bubble shape with a high funnel collar. I have a yuck, yuck cold and don't feel like being conspicuous, but am doomed to be noticed at a thousand paces: complete with my purple nose.

I'm wearing a pair of khaki coloured Crocs today....actually I live in them.

Nuff' said on the scruffy front.

Eska, thanks for the PM info and I have replied!!

Can I ask on Pete's behalf whether you got an email notification saying someone (me!) had sent you a PM? He's looking into it.

Hope your cold goes soon, though a purple nose + red coat sounds fairly well colour coordinated - my winter speciality is matching nose and lipstick, very fetching!! :-)

Miss Spacey you have commited a terrible crime!!!!!!! so it is you who is buying those things.

Lol lol lol, oooh I do love the matching nose and lippy look, luverly :p, and I must also add, not sure what the weather was like whereever you are (I'd be so interested to know what unis everyone is at and wonder if anyone is at mine), but here there was thick fog all day so the coat and lippy combo would be great for visibility - it should be suggested as a safety feature - add the nose a la Rudolph and you'd be seen from space - perfect!
He he at the crocks - they are apparently incredibly comfortable - I have a lovely pair of croc-like things that are red and hard plastic and for the garden (we have chickens etc) - I wanted a pair of kind of shoe like wellie material things in a dark colour and my mum got me these for Xmas last year - I tend to just slip them on to go to the garden - the worst is when I forget to take them off and go out in them - I mean orangey red dayglo things - yeuck lol - has anyone seen the fur-lined ones???8-)

RubyW - I didn't get an email about your PM responses.

Eska, thank you, I told Pete about it. I'd better not send any PMs until it's sorted out, as no-one will know I've sent anything anyway.

I was told when you start to dress like your supervisor to panic...this was followed by a supervisory meeting both of us in jeans, baggy t-shirt and big boots (managed to stay calm and have avoided the same mistake since then). We all dressed up for our department meal, and made the rest of the staff look the scruffy ones!

Hey put it this way, I work from home and I seem to LIVE in my 'loungewear' which are kinda pajamas. And my big fluffy ugg boots. Its got to the point now that I sit at my desk all day and wander round in EXTREME COMFORT putting on normal people clothes is such a chore now.
God how bad is that?

ps, I love my crocs, they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever had, I took them to Rome with me and when my fellow travellers were knackered with sore feet from walking from trevi to the forum and over through the colusseum, I was pleasantly fine. I call it croc smugness. If it makes you feel any less badly of me though I have little sparkly gems for them and mine are tastefully grey.