Thanks RubyW.

It really does help to have some reassurance that I haven't completely lost my marbles down the back of the sofa!

FWIW, I've just rewritten two pages of my chapter. Long way to go but it's good just to move forward a teeny bit.:-)

Angelofthenorth, 2 pages is absolutely fine - anything is better than nothing on this strange PhD trail, it is such a slow process.

So what have I done since the the last time I logged in 4 hours ago...? I've rewritten one page - ulp. I think it took ages as I realised it was an important bit and needed to be well thought out and explained, though whether I've managed that or not is another thing entirely! I suppose it leads quite nicely into the next chapter I'll have to do, so maybe all that thinking is not totally wasted. It's annoying it's not finished yet, as I have actually been working productively all day, which is not always the case :$ but ho hum, I suppose if it takes a bit longer than that's the way it is right now. Oh yes and I ordered a cd too, heheh I wondered what else I'd been doing.... is that PhD related? It could be by a long stretch of the imagination, providing me with future aural entertainment. hehe!!

Anyway, as I'm now staring blankly at the whole chapter and it's stopped making any sense, it seems a good time to have a *proper* break.... Ok then, I'll have dinner and listen to a bit of music and watch the X Factor and then get back to it later.

Hope it's going well for anyone else working today! (up)
Lara, did the toast help with the brainwork?

Hellllo Dear PhDmates!!!
Kudos to all u hard workers!!! In the past two days that I havent posted u all seem to have crried ur work waaay forward!!! Greaat!!! And the number of posts, I felt that I have been away for a week or so... Only if we had the same motivation and interest to write our thesis!!!
Congrats on being a mom!!! I hope Sophie is a healthy and happy baby !!
Lara, the matron thing was tooo funnie... I almost fell out of my bed laughing!!! Ruby u have been doing well as well... Gud luck!! Amenderf!! U must be exhauseted poor you....I know how annyoing it can be when u dont know if u have got an extension or not properly!! But I am sure u will soon...Dont worry too much , sometimes we tend to concentrate on what might happen instad of concentrating on what we can make happen!!Gud things will come to u.....
Been busy with the lab work... on Thursday I won the battle between me and the chemicals... So I had to read a bit on that ... which is what I was doing this morning.... But it just takes sooo much time to read a page (and properly understand it!!) .....
Was thinking on Thursday just before I posted on this forum that I know u guys better than I know my PhD mates at work!! The world works in such mysterious ways dosent it!!!
Anyways everyone have a fab sunday!!! Dont overstress urselfs!!!
Tadaaaa!!

Hello everyone! just a quickie message, to say hi :-)

Armendaf, nice to hear from you!! missed you!! and you can SO DO IT!! i have faith in you!
and in the voice of the drill sergeant *get to it soldier!* thanks for finding the matron report amusing btw lol.
I am sure you would have gotten the extension, so no worries there. but yah when you're ready maybe it would be good reassurance like Ruby said, to just get definate confirmation, just to ease your mind. glad to hear your lecturing went well, you're a star! seems like you have found something you are really good at , and that is excellent.

Ruby, that was my motto! it takes as long as it takes! so dont worry about how long it is taking you, just think that every bit you do is towards your thesis! dont reprimand yourself for not getting it finished, it will get finished when it gets finished, you just concentrate on getting through it one page at a time! you go girl!!

Angel of north, welcome welcome! nice to have you on board!! good luck with your corrections! i admire you jumping right back into it. that's great!

Pari, always a pleasure to hear from you , you're like the cheerleader of our forum, :-) hehe glad you found the matron report funny. and glad to hear you're battling well with the chemicals, what is your phd on ?
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well update. after my yummy lunch (thanks Ruby, it was nice but i ended up taking a very long break!) ...i felt very tired. i thought i was being a lazy sod!! but then realised that i was actually feeling under the weather, and took a nap, i was feeling feverish and had a slight sore throat, so took some tylenol, and feeling much better now :-)
i did an hours of work from 7pm -8pm. and proof read/corrected 10 pages.
i'm feeling hungry now (what's new!) so i'm going to have some dinner. and then do some more pages later on tonight.

i keep reminding myself to do as much as i can. for awhile i was getting REALLY bored of proof reading and thinking, how many pages i have to read, but then i have to do it. and once i've done it, i can start making notes on new information. i was stressing earlier on, that my sup will come back and say "what the hell is this, you call this a thesis? its rubbish, rewrite the whole thing". i dont know, sometimes i just get really bored and fed up of this whole phd malarky. it just seems never ending!! but i just gotta push through it i suppose.

anyways dinner time. i promised myself that if i sat for an hour and proof read 10 pages, i could have dinner and a break.

hope you all are doing well.

Hey night birds!!!
How are u all doing??? Lara... take care girl... Take a break if u think that u r not feeling well.... Take care of ur health first everything else is secondary.....I am glad that u had a nice lunch and are planning to have a gud dinner...Hope u feel much better after ur break....
talk to u in the morning!!
gud nite everyone!!

....Oh Lara, I am working or 'Estimation of protein synthesis in the human gut'....Its Biochemistry!!

Hi Pari, your PhD topic sounds completely mindboggling to me! I think it would be really interesting to see everyone's topics as they're all so varied on here. In fact, I can't think of the last time I mingled with such a diverse bunch!

Lara, Pari's right, take care of yourself, your health comes first - if you feel crap then just leave the PhD stuff and get an early night. You won't really be wasting time, as you'll be more productive if you feel better. I've never thought you were a lazy sod either, probably the least so around these parts! :-)

Well, I've had my dinner and my weekly dose of the X Factor and I don't really think I'll get anymore work done now, if I'm completely honest.... sooo... see you tomorrow then!

Have a good night!

If you need a break then you need a break. You'll probably not achieve a great deal if you are jiggered (mentally or physically - or both!)

I watched x-factor, slobbed for a while, ate some chocolate and have now been back at the thesis for the last half hour. I need to strike while the iron's hot!!

Havent we all been naughty and watched X Factor!!!!;-)

I see it as a tragic symptom of the phd journey. ;-)

I think watching TV is an integral part of my PhD 'off' time these days, so I never feel guilty, it just gives me a break. It makes me switch off mentally very quickly, and that's absolutely not intended as a criticism or judgement on the nature of the TV progs I watch either! There doesn't seem to be anyone really interesting on the X Factor this year at the moment, or maybe they'll grow on me. I liked Rhydian last year as I found him quite fascinating, especially after that Phantom of the Opera song. He could easily have done a guest slot at a Damned gig in their gothy Phantasmagoria phase and not been too out of place.

Anyway, it's work on here, isn't it! I'm back in the hot seat for another day, slaving away over *that* chapter. I can't believe I'm still at it, but hopefully that mild annoyance will make me get it done this time. It's only about 9.30 now so it should be done by lunchtime.... I know I've said that before a few times on here, but it's nearer the end than yesterday, so I'll do it this time and then move on! Oooh, what a lovely thought!!!!

See you later. Hope you all have a good day if you're working too!
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Hi Ruby,

I'm here too, working. I did make a bit of progress yesterday and last night, but nowhere near what I need. Although I'm very close to, at least, finishing this section I'm stuck in; it's driving me crazy! :-s. I went to bed somehow late last night, and this morning before starting, did some well overdue housekeeping; nothing major, just enough to keep the flat (barely) within living standards... you know yourself.

You are right about the telly, it is such a nice thing to be able to just sit down for lunch or dinner in front of the box, especially when one works in such isolation as we do. So, nothing to feel guilty about that *So I keep saying to myself* :p

Anyway... good luck with finishing that chapter, and I'm going to put the best of my efforts into it as well. Hopefully I'll give you an update at the end of the day saying that I could finish the chapter *So I keep dreaming* ;-)

Lara, I hope you are feeling better now and that you are taking a well deserved rest. Please get well first and then you can come back to work with renewed strength.

Pari, I hope you are having a nice weekend before going back to battling the chemicals tomorrow.

Angel, welcome to the thread; it is good to have you around and best of luck with your corrections. Can I take it (from the user name) that you are in Newcastle? No need to answer that if you rather remain incognito. I'm just curious because I have friends there working in the biochemistry/immunology field.

So back to work :-s

Go Ruby and Armendaf. I too am working, only for about the last hour but this morning I sorted out some household shizzle that needed doing too. Going to keep going for another couple of hours, really want this chapter completely revised in the next couple of days but am back to work tomorrow(down)

Hi Pari, protein synthesis in the human gut, that sounds interesting! if i ever need help with my biochem, i will have to ask you :)
Thanks for the kind message regarding me looking after my health, you are so right! i did have a nice break :) thanks
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Hi Ruby! well done for working hard this weekend! and i COMPLETELY agree with you, about telly being the perfect escape route, i also watch tv (mainly dvds of detective or medical dramas) i am a happy bunny when i can just relax and veg out infront of the box, its nice to just engross yourself in something and get your mind of your phd. lately i have been watching House dvds, love how he solves the medical mystery in the end! thanks for the advice and well wishes Ruby, i did take an easy relaxing evening, and feel much better for it! and thanks for saying i am not a lazy sod hehe.
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Angelof north, you have really impressed me with your determination of rewriting your chapters, i can imagine how hard it must be to rewrite chapters, so well done for you for working on that.
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Hey Armendaf, thanks for the nice message , you're so right, when you're well rested, you are more alert and able to battle with the thesis better. thanks for that. I admire your vigor in working on that chapter. i hope its going okay.
--

well i am calling it a day and signing out. i have only done a couple of hours of work today, naughty me, most of the day i spent relaxing, but as they say, every bit of work you accomplish everyday counts towards the end. but on the plus side, i have finally finished proof reading and correcting chapter 1. hurrah!

i did 15 pages today. so all in all, it took me 3 days to proof read/correct chapter 1. but it is my longest chapter.

tommorow i will proof read chapter 2, 3 and 4 (ha ha how over optimistic i am!)

i am feeling tired now, so not going to do anymore work, i am going to watch abit of telly and then go to bed.

i am just happy i dont have to stay up all night proof reading and i have time to work "normal daytime hours".

see you folks in the morning!!

Hello!

Lara, it's great that you've finished correcting chapter 1 - well done, especially as you weren't feeling well!!(up) If that's the longest one then the others should be fine! I hope you got a good night's sleep after that too.

Angelofthenorth, I hope your work on your chapter rewrite went well last night, it's a real pain to have to juggle it with work but at least you got some done this weekend, it all gets you nearer the end, thank goodness.

Armendaf, hope you managed to finish that chapter before it drove you mad. It does though, doesn't it, when it drags on! I finally finished writing that chapter 4 this morning and am SO glad to moving onto the next one now.

Pari, I guess you're in the lab again so have fun with the chemicals!

I only finished writing my chapter this morning actually, couldn't think properly last night but today it was fine!! *phew* It's 15,000 words now, so my longest one, but I'm REALLY glad to be moving onto something else today. I was getting a bit sick of it dragging on, to be brutally frank. Haven't redone the figs yet but can do that when I'm tired, as fiddling in photoshop doesn't need much brainpower does it. The writing is the thing right now.

I decided last night that the X Factor is quite cruel really, it's quite voyeuristic watching all those people crying and having their dreams dashed in public, horrible really. It's not like they're the deluded tone deaf ones from the auditions, and I do wonder what it does to their confidence later in life, especially the really young ones. They might end up totally traumatised, so it's not very nice entertainment when you think about it.

I liked the programme about guitars though, good vintage footage. My brother used to test me on guitars when we were young, I had to guess what guitar the pop stars on the telly were playing from the design of their guitars, like oooh that's a Gibson or a fender precision bass or a strat etc, quite difficult you know and a bit nerdy really I suppose. I think these things must stay with you, as I still remember a rare guitar that a man in a rockabilly band had that we used to go and see. A Gretsch white falcon. Why do these things stay in your head???? I can't play and have never wanted to. If we were like usb memory sticks or something with limited memory capacity I suppose it would matter, but we're not little gadgets so maybe it doesn't matter at all.

Today, I have to get on with editing another chapter as I'm seeing my supervisor tomorrow and want to be able to report good progress. I know she'll have jetlag anyway from globetrotting for her Leverhulme project, but that's not the point. It's all got to be done. By me. So I'd better get on with it, I suppose...

Right then, I will now log out and physically pick up chapter 5 and start reading it, once I've got another coffee though.....

See you later Lara, and anyone else around here.
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