Gosh AL, off to the printers!!! How exciting!!! Well done, you!!

Sorry I haven't been posting here, and haven't offered support. Life has been madness. Have been working in my job, making corrections and referencing and trying to find someone to redo my diagrams, looking after my dog (who has good days and bad days - and unfortunately is in a bad stage at the moment) and also dealing with my own health issues.

And I've been offered an interview for the dream job!! It's in about 3 weeks, so while that's great, it also adds to the workload and makes life more complicated.

So, hang in there everyone, deep breaths, cope with stupid sups, keep working, and we'll get there.

Thanks Sue, not quite yet tho, but we're ALL so close!!

Congratulations on the interview, like you say, just take deep breaths and be proud of yourself, think about how much you're achieving and what you're managing to cope with.
Don't worry about not being on here. I feel stupid complaining and moaning about sup when you have so much bigger things on your plate. So sorry to hear your dog is having bad days, but enjoy the good ones, and i'm sure he'll get there. I know there's nothing I can say to help make you feel better, but know that you're in my thoughts and i'm wishing you the best of news when it comes. We're here for you, so just remember where we are, and anything I can do to help, I will so just shout!

I better go, think i've just upset partner, just can't keep anyone happy at the moment, home, work, family, friends! I will be so glad when this thing is over! Think i'm gonna collapse in a melted, teary heap!!

Love and hugs, and keep smiling and the stress at bay!

AL xxx

God AL your sup sounds a bit like mine, I nearly dropped the ONE day in my entire PhD when he said one good thing to me! But you are right, we are all so so close and we will get there. I hope the last corrections and proof read are all ok, I think actually handing the thing over will be the most terrifying thing of my life thus far...until the viva of course! My sups have managed to erode my confidence so well that I don't think I'll ever be happy with it. I hope things are ok with your partner too btw..

And Sue, don't worry about not being on, we know things are mad at the moment. I so hope your wee dog is feeling better soon, it's just terrible having to watch them suffer like that. And like AL said, I hope everything turns for the best with your own health and news is good. Just remember the PhD isn't everything, and try not to stress yourself out too much about it. But, congrats on getting the interview for the perfect job! I haven't heard back from anything I've applied for so I'm super jealous! :-) Good luck for the interview, prepare as best as you can/time allows, and remember, if it's for you it won't pass you. Everything will work out ok in the end.

As for me, I sent my chapter off and received some halfway decent feedback tonight from one sup, and an email of things to change from another sup (no chapter attached, just a list of things to change...). I'm not sure if this is his final feedback but I'll do my best anywhoo. I'm currently restructuring 2 chapters, and found some mistakes in my data so I have to repeat some stats again. I have always had a thing for silly mistakes but I'm really starting to drive myself crazy now! I think I should be aiming for submission a few days after my intended date if everything goes ok, if not it will be a while after that and I'll have to postpone my viva, so hopefully it all goes ok :/


Good luck everyone, keep strong!! We can do it, we've come this far dammit!! (up)

Oh my PhD God!!!! I have just put together my full final version into pdf!! I have 258 pages of possible garble ready to take to the printers first thing tomorrow morning!!

I'm hoping to pick it back up after lunch (after trip to docs for blood tests, and hospital for chest x-ray), and take it to the registry for submission!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Very annoyed with sup though, as usual communication is his weakest point! But after all the hassle of waiting for him to get back to me about stuff, the one thing he obviously did manage to do instead of this (shame he didn't tell me), was confirm the date of my viva!!! He decided to organise it for 30th September, which was original date he suggested when we planned to have it submitted mid August. But with him messing me around I assumed this would also be delayed afew weeks! NOPE!!!! He says it'd be tons of hassle to reorganise, although if I was really concerned due to health and work then he would obviously do it, but he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't be late oct/nov before viva, which would mean having it hanging over me for ages!

So I now have the choice of either 3 weeks of hell (working tons of hours and weekend of 18/19th), for viva on 30th. Or poss pissing off examiners and reorganising, with me waiting around and just stressing out for ages thinking about the looming thing! What would you do? 3 weeks of hell and over, (possible bad viva due to less prep time), or delay? I need to obviously tell sup tomorrow, going to see him and discuss it in afternoon when give him his copies!

ARGHHH, why couldn't he just send me a really quick email saying i'm organising it for 30th is this OK with you! You'd think he'd do this anyway as I do have a job etc aswell, so would be nice to be part of the planning!!!

oh well, I should just be happy I guess as I get it all bound tomorrow!

Keep going peeps, it looks awesome seeing it in one big final document! :) Thinking of you all, hope you're ok?

AL xx

Wow AL, almost done!!!! Excellent!!!! I think I'd go with the viva on 30th - get it over and done with. You know your stuff, you've been working on it for years, just do another 3 weeks of lots of work then you'll be Dr AL!!! So, stick with the date I think. AL - are you OK? Have you got health stuff going on?

I'm flat out at the moment - preparing for 2 job interviews, going a grant application which is due next week, still have thesis to do, altho my submission date has been pushed back again, till late October. Also waiting on medical test results. Life is just insane at the moment. But am coping. Keep working, keep going. Phew....

Wow, busy times but you're all so close, well done!!! Hope all the medical stuff works out for you Al and Sue, not to mention the applications, vivas...... I agree with Sue as well, Al, unless there are concrete things you need to do (or health issues that shouldn't be pressured) then I'd get the viva over and done with, the thesis will be as fresh in your mind now as ever.

I'm writing up my last experimental chapter just now, everything's in first draft but at least the pages are starting to accumulate. But then I only have 3 weeks 'til I move across country to start the bloody masters, so I spend most of my time trying to find a home for my cat, chasing the CRB (without who's approval I can't do my required placements next month) and generally getting in a tis.
Hmmmm. Is it me or does anyone else feel the urge to just put their life completely on hold after this and become a bum for a little while?

Hi Sue,
Wow, you sound busy, I hope you're ok, don't push yourself and make yourself unwell though, life is more precious than all these things! I've been thinking of you and hope all is going ok. When are you meant to hear back about your results? I worry about you, hope everything ok?

Thank you, I can't quite believe it, i'm sure its not great, but I got my first ever half decent comment from sup tonight. He wanted to see it as final pdf version just for style etc, and replied saying, looks good - better than alot of the theses I examine! :) Let's just hope the actual content is as good as it looks! :)

I do tend to agree would be better just to stick with 30th, but that means instead of relaxing for a week or two and then getting stuck in, I have tomorrow night (dinner with partner) and the weekend as I already made plans to babysit nephew, and go to our local Flower and Food festival on Sunday! :) and then basically get stuck straight back in on Monday! Have next weekend, then working following one, and then one weekend before viva!

Just haven't done any research, reading etc around best ways to prepare! Wal sent me copy of Tinkler's book which I wanted to read, but would have to zoom through that, or skim read alot of it, and then just get on with it! have pile of papers I wanted to read and had plans for how I wanted to prepare for it, which took time!
And OBVIOUSLY i need to go shopping for a viva outfit too.....! :)

But then if i do just go with it, it will all be over and done with, can have corrections done (if minor...) by end of month and be free in November! Just don't know if I can handle the stress of jumping back in though.

I've not been very well recently, think its just stress running me down, but I lost a stone in less than a month, and bad insomnia, wake up drenched in sweat, sore glands, headaches! doc wants to check for hyperthyroidism and stuff just in case, but most probably just stress!

AL hugs xxx

Hi Teek,

You're mad, I think I missed what's going on with you, but are you jumping from thesis into masters?? What a clever chicken you must be, I would just crumble and give up!!

I really wish I could bum for afew months, a friend of mine finished in April and just went off to South America for 6 months to live it up!! Sounds nice eh! Unfortunately, I have a job and stuff, all the dull things!

I know it makes more sense just to get it out of the way, but i'm really scared to be honest. I read it and think, god, I don't know the full background and mechanisms behind that, and feel i should know it! Especially as my external examiner is quite big in this field and I just feel like I skim the surface! Also, my brain feels so tired, have the time I can't think straight and find the words to say coherently what is in my head so I worry i'd just come off as a blabbering, bumbling idiot! I can hardly form sentences in general life, never mind in technical science speak! :(

I'm going to speak to my sup tomorrow and see if he'll just advice me. maybe sit down for afternoon with me and do a kinda mock viva, or not so formal but just discuss it in depth with me, ask the kind of questions he would ask if he was examining me and just chat around the subject abit, see how I get on!

I don't know, i'm just too tired and it feels like every time I get to the top of the mountain, I look up and there's an even bigger one in front of me! I'm sure we all feel the same, but i don't have the energy to climb up many more of them!

Anyway, enough about me! Well done Teek on getting on to your last chapter, even when they're being tidied up etc, just seeing a draft of all of them really helped keep me pushing forward, that's when you really start to see your progress. so just keep going and you will be there before you know it! :)

AL x

Hey AL, hope you're ok. And why do these things crop up at the end of the PhD process?? As if the thesis isn't stressful enough, all we need are health issues too!! I had some absolutely ghastly tests done yesterday, will get the results back in a few days, will let you know how I get on. Thank you for thinking of me, it means a lot. Fingers crossed for all of us!!

Right, back into it.

I know, it's just what we need eh!!

Well, you know where i am, if you want to PM me and we can chat then go for it! I'm here to listen and vent or whatever. I'm sorry to hear you had ghastly tests, but hopefully they come back negative and you can breath a sigh of relief.

Just try not too stress and just cruise the surface of life! :) Take care of yourself.
AL

Al, that does not sound good :s, I know you have work lined up but could you take a bit of a break between viva and that? Sounds like your poor body really needs some TLC right now and is telling you in no uncertain terms. Glad your GP is looking into it anyway, even if it is "just" stress, it's good to have covered the basics. Feel like I want to send you a care package now!

Poor Sue, it sounds like you're in a similar boat, I'm sorry you had to go through unpleasant tests, really hope they come through ok. I don't know how you work at the rate you do, these days I seem to flake out on fairly average hours. Both of you please take care of yourselves! What jobs are you applying for now, are any of them the kind you were hoping for rather than civil service? I take it you passed on the one that was in a location your partner didn't like?

And yes Al, I am indeed taking the bizarre step of finishing the phd in order to start a masters! Not because I feel I have the will or motivation just now (slightly worrying but deposits are all paid so hey-ho) but just because I want to go into a clinical role and this two year masters is required for me to do that. Even though it's the same discipline (albeit research applied rather than clinical) my PhD was actually a hindrance in getting accepted, so finishing up seems even harder now that I know the doctorate will be basically irrelevant in my future. Still, life does love to wave these little ironies under our noses, doesn't it?

Hey Teek

Yeh, a Masters after a PhD, more studying!! Poor you!! Still, doing course work would be sooo much easier...

Yep, one of the jobs I'm being interviewed for is the dream job, DH would join me in that city eventually, once he found a good job. The other is a civil service job in a fabulous city. So, either of them would be much better than where I am now!! Just have to hope my health is ok and I can take up new challenges...

I have been working a little less lately, and spending some time with my sweet, sick dog (happy dspite the cancer, just not very mobile) and partner. But have also been gearing back up again, for another big push. Just has to be done!

Whoah!!! Seems I missed a bit last night!

ok, first up - AL, absolutely chuffed to bits for you submitting today!! Fingers crossed everything goes ok at the printers and you enjoy that moment when you hand it over! I also hope everything goes ok at the hospital and your tests don't show up anything serious, don't put yourself under too much more stress for now ok? Definitely take this weekend off at least, you simply will not survive if you don't! Your body will never trust you again if you don't give it a break and will rebel against you! So have a big lie in, have a bath, go to the flower show, enjoy the babysitting, watch movies, whatever you want to do. I'd be inclined to agree with getting the viva done on the 30th Sept, simply to get it over with, but you will still be working so I think it is entirely understandable if you push the date. However, I know exactly what you feel about annoying examiners, I'm in the same situation myself. I think the question is, do you think you will do yourself and your thesis justice doing the viva on 30th, or is it worth the risk of potentially annoying examiners to give yourself the best chance of doing well at it? it will be another month or two extra, but in the grand scheme of things it's not 'that' bad...but then there is always the straw that breaks the camels back. I think one is up to you unfortunately.

Sue, I'm glad to hear your wee dog is in good spirits, and that you've stepped down the pace a little. I hope everything goes ok with your tests too, I'm so sorry you had to go through ghastly tests. People truly don't understand what it is to go through a PhD. Good luck with the job interviews and the grant application! Nothing like keeping yourself busy eh?! Just don't go too crazy!

And Teek, I still think you're mad for starting a masters so soon after finishing!! Actually doing one I can understand, even though people think it's silly, no point not doing one if it's what qualifies you for what you want to do, but just take it easy at the start!! Don't go straight into super student mode, take a bit of time and be a student bum as much as you can get away with until you recuperate from the PhD! Good luck with writing the last experimental chapter, I'm starting mine today as well!!

As for me, I'm hanging on in there. Had a massive fight with the boyf last night, and almost booked myself on a flight home today. Got it sorted in the end, although I'm flying home next weekend instead, a week earlier than planned. No idea what's happening with us when I'm done though. As for the work, I'm almost finished my chapter 6, starting chapter 7 today which is the last experimental chapter and hopefully I'll have it done by next week. Which gives me roughly 2 weeks to do all the corrections for 4 chapters, write my general discussion, proof read, do references, print and submit....likely. I may be asking for an extension depending on how the corrections go, if there are loads I'll never get done in time!

Anywhoo folks, keep swimming, and take care of yourselves, I be worrying about you!!

Hi everyone

I'm OK!!! Hooray!!! Test results have come back negative, which I'm sooooo relieved about - the waiting was just horrible, the whole thing has been awful. But I'm ok!! And the dog's doing ok, so things are good, just an insane amount of work to cope with.

Haven't been on here as my internet connection went down for a week, but has magically fixed itself, which is nice. Have been insanely busy - preparing for 2 job interviews - one down, one to go, the dream job interview is this week, and I've done little prep so far. Have written a grant application, which took longer than expected. And working and interstate for a family event...just full-on.

AL, how are you? When are you doing your viva? How's your health?

How is everyone else? How are people going? I'm behind with the thesis (surprise!!) and won't be submitting till end Oct at the earliest - this thing drags on and on, and life gets in the way too. But am optimistic, and working hard, and have also had some fun too. Onwards!!!

Hey Sue

That's so wonderful about the tests! Genuinely delighted for you :-) and the dog too, wonderful news all round.

Full-on seems a more than fair description of your life right now, well done for keeping a handle on it all. Hope the interview for dream job goes fantastically, and good luck with the writing, it drags on insanely, but we'll get there.