forgot to add....I try to keep my professional persona and my 'mummy' one quite separate. I do not talk kids at work they know me as a phd student and that is how I want it to stay. Although the other day a pic of the twins fell out of my book and my sup saw it and said they were beautiful and she admired how I managed all my responsibilities...oh and there is never a right time to have kids so don't wait for it to arrive

Interesting thoughts. I have 5 kids already and planned my last pregnancy to coincide with finishing MA/ starting PhD with an EDD of 6th Sept...perfect we thought until we found it was twins. As it happens I didnt get the funding that time round for phd (I am convinced it was coz of being pregnant. After 4 month home with the bubs I was ready to get back out there and got my funding. I am delaying anymore children until after PhD now but do not see any issues with combining it all. Age also does not worry me too much, I will be late thirties when I finish so looking at 40ish pregnancy. As long as you plan to the extreme and time manage well you can have it all. x

exactly...I can't even spell it let alone write it
(this is eaxcatly why I have ordered dragon software!!!)

wayyyyyy ahead of you hehehehe !!!!!

Hey Sourapple, my studentship is with a proposel someone else wrote and got funding with and then passed it on to me...theres no way I could blag a proposel on anything other than my original area of research I have the imagination of a small kiwi fruit

Juno, what specifically is wrong with nuneaton train station?? How is it any crappier than any of the other manky stations in the uk?
(does it still have a scout hut in its car park?)

You can't go far wrong with a chocolate labrador you know.....it drawls, farts, piddles when excited....probably akin to many supervisors
Alternatively you could get a cat that will pee on the article you took three weeks to obtain, vomit on your laptop and spread hair and dander over the shirt you put out for a conference....decisions decisions!!!

Ok sitting here in state of near arousal thinking about the new software I ordered last night, nuance dragon naturally speaking, with bluetooth headset and dictaphone....I can't wait to get my hands on its lucious wrapping and caress its user guide.........this could be the futre of transcription you know...this could save me thousands...or it could be a really damp squib...ohhh the tension is killing me.....

Hi ya Lu!!!!
Well I'm just coming into my second year and LOVING it!!!!
Well done on taking the leap...officially yes you may get a dog but it must be old baggy smelly and you must make it wear a spotty bandana round its neck (this is academia you know!!!)
you'll have a blast and my DH is still putting up with me so it can't turn us into complete freaks! lol Dazed

Hey Pink, DON'T give up on your dream. I am also a mum to millions and that makes us both versatile and patient! I didnt get my first application for MA funding then someone dropped out over the summer and I got it. I then got rejected x2 for funding fro my own research (very low point didnt know what to do with myself) then someone at my old uni sent me an application for a studentship, I applied and got it!!! Don't give up keep knocking on doors and keep an eye on studentships even if they are not in your primary area of research. xxxxxx

Congratulations!!! I am just waiting to hear if I have been accepted to present at a conference...I swing between wanting to do it and not wanting to do it. I also worry about the amount of time it will take from my thesis..I am waiting for my transfer viva and if it goes badly I will need all the time I can get to sort that out! Also have fear of flying and I shall have to fly (or have a tedious coach trip)......let me know how it goes for you!!!

your all wrong the summer is actually locked in a trunk in my loft and I refuse to let it our until I know I have passed the transfer interview.....

Hi there,
I'm approaching the end of my first year and have not even started working on what i am going to ask respondents. In fact I have only just pinned down what my broad research topic is. This has come about after months of reading aorund the subject, seeing what others are asking, whats already been done. Unless you have done significant connected work at MA it may well be worth putting the practical on one side and going back to the books to isolate the crux of your research, otherwise you may find yourself wasteing valuable time and resources. hth x

My Mother was/still is mortally dissappointed I ever went to university..she prefered it when I was a teenage mum getting the cr*p kicked out of me by my husband. She won't even call me by the name I choose when I had to change it so chances of her ever calling me Dr is slim to nil...but my lovelu husband now is soooo proud and my kids I'm sure they will massage my ego when the time comes!!!!

Maybe Neo-Rave would have been more grammatically correct whilst still retaining some mystique?
Did anyone else see Erasure on the news this morning...goodness they look old and I can't believ they have been around 20 years...I saw them in concert as ateenager...scary!!!!!!