======= 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

I didn't think of that... sorry :$

No sticky Caz, please :-)

Hi Lara and Rubyw,

It is good to hear that you are doing OK and that you are making progress. I put as much time on it as I could over the weekend, but I'm not happy with my progress. I did get a couple of things out of the way, like a couple of paragraphs to link up sections and a table that needed to be done from scratch. However, motivation doesn't seem to be there lately and obviously that adds up to the stress. Anyway... The other thing is that I haven't heard from my supervisor, so I do not know if he's read what I handed in last week, or if he's got confirmation for my extension. Today I'm stuck in work, and lecturing this evening, so not much I can do about it, but tomorrow I'll go work in the university. It'll give me a change of scenery that may help with the motivation, and perhaps I could talk to my supervisor and make sure that there are not surprises with the dates I'm working towards.

Today though, I have loads of things to do in terms of organising to make sure that I can get the most time off work for the thesis. So, no more feeling sorry for myself. I'll clear my to do list at work today, so nothing to worry about that for the rest of the week, and tomorrow :-s will go to the university to work on the thesis and finish those chapters that just need closing. If that is done during this week, then I'll be alright with the time I've got left *puts on battle face* :-s

Lara, let us know how you are doing with reading the thesis and fixing it here and there. I hope it is a much less stressing process that the one you have already been through. As Ruby said, do not worry too much about what your supervisor will come up with. I'm sure you'll do a much better job fixing it than he can, after all, you know it like the back of your hand.

Ruby, good luck with that chapter, and the progress report you need to hand in to your supervisor. I'm sure you'll be grand, just stay focused today and tomorrow and it will come around; these things always come around. Especially if you've already put all that effort.

Caz, thanks for looking after our thread. Would you consider making it a sticky one, since it is the longest and most popular ;-)

So, best of luck girls, I'll come back later to check in and get an update 8-)

Hi Ruby,

I know the feeling just too well. I can't waste today either. I worked until late last night, but didn't make that much progress. So, the only thing I can do, is to get at it again and just keep going. For the moment it is getting a little bit easier, since this chapter is all restructured and annotated, so it is like paining by numbers, but still very slow.

Anyway, Best of luck with your chapter

;-)

Hi Rubyw,

It's probably just you and me today, I hope that chapter is coming along and that soon you'll be able to tick it off the list. I was also very busy with work this week, and only now coming back to PhD work. A programme I'm the director off started last night and I had to be there to make sure that everything went as planned, also another class I'm teaching from next week started on the same day, still working on some final details. That means I'll be lecturing Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays evening, so I'll need to adjust my writing hours around that now.

Lara,

I was so happy to hear your news. You and I now have the same deadline, but as opposed to myself, you have already finished the thesis. So basically the only thing you now need to do is to read it and correct anything that you think could be perfected. You can even do it on the document that you have already put together, so no more formatting hassle. You can even have the luxury of normal working hours. And, you have to do it as a preparation for you viva anyway, so you are already working towards that as well. As I said, fantastic news, congratulations!

Hi TG, is good to hear from you. How are things these days?

Pari, I hope you are having a good weekend... you do not have to work everyday, you know?

Talk to you girls later

8-)

Hi Girls,

Sorry for being away for some time, but have been stuck with work. Also I haven't been able to make much progress, I'm probably in some sort of post-crisis slump, but at least I haven't stopped. Tomorrow I have to go to work again, but will catch up during the weekend.

Pari and Rubyw, thanks so much for your messages and for keeping us moving forward, it's greatly appreciated.

Lara, you did it! you are my hero, just one more sleepless night and you'll be showing your supervisor what you are capable of. We all know it, but now it's his(her?) time to find out. Just go there with you thesis (which, by the way I'm expecting a copy of to stick on my fridge door ;-)) in your hands and demand that signature for your paperwork. You did a terrific job, you deserve it.

Talk again tomorrow 8-)

Well, today has been a day of organising and finding papers that were lost, putting away those that were not lost but don't need right now, and sort of fixing my working environment so I can keep on going with out worrying too much about things that I haven't done and to concentrate on things that I can do. Jays! I'm babbling now :p

Anyway, I've got to have some lunch now and then head to run some errands (including the car thing); I'm even going to indulge myself into going back to football tonight... ah, I'm feeling guilty already :-s But I need my exercise.

Lara, it is just a tiny little push and then you'll be feeling sorry for us poor souls that can not yet finish. Go on lass, put on your war make up and your battle face and finish the thing :-s

Lara, you did it, you did it!!!! I'm so happy and proud. Good girl!!!

Rubyw, good luck with you chapter four... you have to get it done, if not by lunch time, at least before DM ;-)

Enjoy your second lab day Pari.

And as for me, I just realised that I have to take the car for a retest (MOT sort of thing) and the only day, before it's due, I can do that is today. So, only have the morning to work.

I'll come back soon with a progress update.... :-s

======= Date Modified 22 Sep 2008 20:29:10 =======
Hi Girls,

Last thing I read from Anthropologa was that her computer was dead, so probably she hasn't got a new one and probably she is in some remote rural area with poor access to internet. Hopefully some day we'll hear back from our foremother and founder of the thread *raises his glass*.

I've just finished lecturing and am wrecked. I'll go home now and collapse in front of the telly while having dinner.

Lara, congratulations on finishing the chapter. I knew you'd pull it out in time ;-)

Rubyw, did you go shopping? I hope you get a better night sleep tonight.

Pari, how did it go, your lab day?

So, I'm off now... I'll be back tomorrow for more torture :-s:-s:-s

======= Date Modified 22 Sep 2008 13:15:31 =======
Hi girls,

So last might I emailed my supervisor everything that I've done so far and met him this morning. He still hasn't read what I handed in, and is concerned that even if he and/or somebody else reads it, there won't be time for corrections before submitting. But we agreed that there isn't another option really, and that the thesis does look like it's coming together. So just now I've got an email from him saying that he requested the extension and that he'll get to my chapters tomorrow and will email me again to set up a meeting. All in all, it didn't go too badly.

Today I can't do much since I'm stuck in work until at least 8pm, but tomorrow I will be giving it another go.

Rubyw, I know the feeling, although I don't usually dream like that, or remember if I did, for what it matters; but what does happen to me is that my mind is so busy with such thoughts that I find it difficult going to sleep sometimes and keep just turning around in bed... outcome: I'm wrecked the following morning. I hate it! :-s I hope you are feeling more relaxed now. How is it going today for you?

Lara, I also got that image of you slowly fading away with your fingers still on the keyboard and the computer on your lap. I hope that you've got some well deserved rest and that you are a bit less stressed about that chapter. If I wasn't following your progress, I think I would have already thrown in the towel myself; that, and the fact that I can't roll it over to the next year anymore ;-) But still, you are a great inspiration... Keep on going :-s

Pari, How did the lab meeting go?

So, now I should get some lunch and then clear my to do list before my lecture at 6pm.

Back later 8-)

Hi girls,

Final report of the day:

Between what I cut, wrote, edited and rewrote, I must have added some 2000 words to the chapter for a total word count of 9000. It is not fully completed, but is in a readable format with brief explanations of what is meant to go where there are gaps, including citations and bibliography. So I'm hoping it will be good enough for discussion tomorrow (fingers crossed). After that, it shouldn't take too long to finish it since there is no more conceptualisation or analysis to be done, just to fill in the gaps. It could go over the 12000 word count.

I could not possibly work any more tonight and I need to go to bed at a decent hour if I want to be in Uni early enough to deal with this and then go to work. I'm teaching tomorrow evening. So now I'll take a shower, have some dinner and then, go to bed.

Wish me luck (I'm going to need all the luck in the world :$). I'll talk to you girls tomorrow.

Lara, I'm so glad to hear that the chapter is practically finished. It is a relief to be able to move on to something else.

Pari, thanks for all the encouragement and cheering up.

Rubyw, have a good night sleep, you too have to work tomorrow :-)

======= Date Modified 21 Sep 2008 18:29:21 =======
Hi girls,

Thanks for your post Rubyw! I'm actually not doing too badly. I think today has been the most productive day of all in recent history. I've come to a definite structure for the chapter, I'm completing section by section, the argument is actually starting to sound interesting and I'm sure it can make a good theoretical framework for my case study. It's not quite finished yet, but even at the stage it is now, you can see how it contributes to the whole thesis. So, in that respect I'm happy (enough) and I'll try to finish it tonight and email to my supervisor. Whether all of that is going to be good enough to plea my case if I can meet him tomorrow, is yet to be seen. Anyway, I can only try.

I hope Lara's chapter one is taking shape.

Back to work :-s

Good morning Rubyw,

Thanks for staying home and keeping us company. I'm still quite behind with this chapter so I should get at it as soon as possible. I'm already in front of the computer worrying about it... If it at least was "working on it" ;-) That is a great length for you chapter. In qualitative research you have to justify, explain and over analyse so much, that arguments are usually very long... and the thing is that you can never tell when you are done. By the way, I'd love to know how you go about doing your analysis and what kind of software (if any) you use; but that'll have to be after submitting, when we can have a proper academic conversation.

I just realised that last night went to bed in such a state that I forgot to switch off the iPod and left it playing all night.

Lara, I hope you finished, but if you didn't, I'm sure there is very little left to be done now, so no harm in having a proper rest and then continue. You are doing great, I tell you, you are there. (up)

So, on to chapter 3 (yet) again :-s

======= Date Modified 21 Sep 2008 03:17:53 =======
======= Date Modified 21 Sep 2008 03:17:14 =======
I think that's it for me... I'll just try to finish this paragraph to wrap up this section and link with the next, which I'll pick up again tomorrow. Good luck with your 6am deadline, it's just one more small push... Come on Lara, you are already there.

(up):-s(up)

I'm up... but I do not know for how long. Still going very slow and since I've run out of ideas to link sections I'm re-reading some literature. Not thoroughly though, just to pick up the discussion. I've had my coffee, but unlike yourself, I think it only relaxes me... must be because it is a hot drink... who knows :p

I'm sort of focus anyway, so I'll keep going as long as I can handle it. Can't see me going any later that 3am, so I'll try to make the most of it.

more work :-s