I met my OH ceilidh dancing. I'm 25, he's 29 and a computer geek so intelligent and doesn't like football at all (or know about Biochemistry so I can appear an expert)
I would say avoid socks and sandals (unless you like that :-o)
Are there postgrad socials? Ceilidhsoc here has a high proportion of people that are in "the real world" :-0 and stayed in the area, so maybe something like that would be ideal?

Sue, I think 3 months is reasonable for a draft of a thesis. If you have done a lot of papers and/or have written a lot already I'm sure that is do-able. My head of dept brags about how he wrote up in about 12 weeks(I think), but he got money to write up within a time limit.
I've heard there is a tendency to try and perfect the thesis and you have to just give in, say "this is good enough" and hand in or you can spend ages nit-picking. It depends on the person and situation.

It is a joint student-supervisor decision so your supervisor should be able to help

....you can also quote someone's message in your reply which is useful.
Aviator is to do with planes, I found it quite funny actually

I've been quite spoilt on another forum I spend all my time on. We have more emoticons that you just click on rather than typing, you have an avatar, and a signature with emoticons. You can post photos and links into your posts, preview your post, and edit afterwards.
It doesn't have nice PhD students though and has many more members.
It is run off http://www.phpbb.com/

Poor littleme it sounds like it really hasn't been going well. I hope it gets better soon. My supervisor has said it is common for 2/3rd years to go through this really difficult stage, and it sounds that you've been in a particularly aukward position-that is NOT your fault.
We have someone in our lab in their FIFTH year on extensions (with my supervisor) and most people are there in their 4th year unpaid. I found out today 5 people in my lab are on/have been on antidepressants within the last 6 months (myself included).

Is there any way to get an extension, further funding, or another supervisor as the maternity leave has affected your PhD? Potential papers may encourage funding, although personally I have zero so far and probably only a second author one to look forward to.

It went bizarrely Supervisor was really nice and supportive :-O Said I SHOULD include the stuff and I just didn't defend it well to my advisors (it is like a mini viva), but could work on that. He said lots of students wouldn't know stuff before writing up even though they in theory should know it.
Even better he said he would "beat up" my advisors for me.

Thanks for your replies I am planning to go in for the "big" talk with my supervisor today.

I agree with what has been said above, hope it works out

Had 3rd year advisors meeting and they suggest I don't write up my 1st project of 2 years as I have no real results. This was going to form 2/3 of my thesis according to my supervisor. They want me to work the next 6 months in the lab to get more results.
Neither project was what I wanted to do and I was relishing the thought of writing up and no more lab work in about July.
I am thoroughly miserable and went off home as couldn't face discussing with supervisor and advisor and was quite tearful. They are not people who are sympathetic on a personal level.
My supervisor has been useless, he leaves students to it, and my advisors seemed to think I'm not on top of my subject at all. I have also no interest or motivation and just want to give up.
I can't see a way out apart from sticking it out for up to another year probably unpaid. I don't feel I've got an aptitude for doing a PhD and have known for ages I will get a different job at the end of it.