Hi Lara,

Great that you've had a break this weekend, must have taklen your mind off it!!

Dare I ask how it's going with the work, or if you're heard anything yet....?

======= Date Modified 15 Oct 2008 04:29:30 =======
======= Date Modified 15 Oct 2008 04:21:15 =======
Hi Ruby :-) nice to hear from you! yeh it was definately nice to take a break from it all.

i havent done anything today. i was feeling abit under the weather. i took a long nap, and feeling much better. had a bouncing session to perk myself up! just 2 sessions of 2 minutes each.

my plan for today is :

1. correct chapter 6
2. correct chapter 7
===
i've been checking my email nervously. but no my sup has not emailed me. i will give him one more day to get back to me by email. and if i dont hear from him by the end of tommorow. i will call him thursday morning. i hate calling him on the phone, i prefer the detachment of the email medium. but i have to chase him down, as time is ticking by.
===
---------------UPDATE:------------- (4am)

I have FINALLY finished proof reading and correcting all 7 chapters. now i am awaiting anxiously about the critisisms my sups will hurl at me on all the chapters, eeeeeeek, i hope i can correct it - i only have about 9 days to do new corrections that they suggest. then 3 days of proof reading and final checks, 1 day for printing. and 2 days for binding. i am hoping to submit on thursday 30th of october. as i want to go to my best friends halloween party on 31st october.

---
I am going to email the people my sup must have given my chapters to. he told me, he was going to give each person a chapter. and i spoke to my friend today, and she told me she thinks one of them has already read chapter 6. i am nervous though, but i have to chase them now.

this is the email i am thinking of sending them individually.

Dear X,

I hope you are well. Thank you so much for reviewing my thesis chapter(s), I really appreciate you expending the time and effort. I was hoping if you could tell me how it is going and when and how I will recieve your constructive feedback and critisism. I have to submit my thesis by 1st of November (my final deadline set by QMUL) so thanks again for your help. I look forward to hearing from you

Kind Regards,
---
i will change it slightly for the 3 people.
==================

Armendaf, we have two weeks left now! eeek, how are you holding up?

Ruby, how was your day?

Mira- how are you ?

Tractorgirl, how is the job and the viva prep going?

======= Date Modified 15 Oct 2008 11:13:05 =======
Hi Lara,

*** NB I just edited this as all my apostrophes turned into rubbish characters after posting.... I hope they are still apostrophes when I log out again.....***

Maybe it's not worth emailing the readers individually at this point, as I would assume that someone (presumably your main sup?) will have to decide how each chapter contributes to the thesis as a whole and come to a decision based on each reader's assessment of the section they've been given, before giving you feedback on the overall thesis. It's only a guess on my part though, so do what you think's best, obviously. I'm saying that because I know that some of my own chapters are stronger than others, but the overall argument that runs through the thesis as a whole is also very important, so each chapter makes slightly less sense on it's own. Why not ring him anyway? A definite response is better than waiting and wondering, even if he says he needs more time to give you written feedback then at least you'll have an idea of his impression so far.

I'm ok, feel a bit ill still but have to work unfortunately. Yesterday I must have annoyed the admins on here as I started a thread, was mildly insulted by someone and had the whole thing removed all in the same afternoon. I thought that a bit of discussion of the forum 'competition'; would have been ok, but I was obviously far too naive in that respect. Put it down to feeling unwell, or the full moon or something... I believe people go a bit weird at that time of the month according to popular myth, though I have not sprouted a full body of fur yet. Sorry admins :$

Went to a good work-related thing last night, it was interesting to hear from some of the more senior researchers here about how their PhDs led on to their current funded projects. It reminded me that opportunities are out there post-doc and that even established researchers didn't necessarily find the whole doctoral process easy.

Good luck with calling your sup today (up)

======= Date Modified 15 Oct 2008 15:53:54 =======
Hi Ruby, thanks for your advice! yes good thinking, i didnt get the chance to contact the readers, as my sup actually replied to me ! hurrah!

he wrote:

Dear Lara
We have been going through your thesis. We need to meet with you ASAP to go through it. You will need to make corrections, bind it and submit it. and this will take time. Please come in on Monday for 10am so we can take you through what we've done
Thanks

=====

i am nervous as to what they will say in the meeting, its going to be intimidating to say the least! the three of them, but its okay, it has to be done, and then once the meeting is over, i can start correcting it and finally submit my thesis.

===
i did ask if i can meet earlier, but my main sup said no, he needs the weekend to finish reviewing my thesis. but my 3rd and 2nd sup said they can meet me friday afternoon to go through the chapters they had reviewed. so that way i can start working on those chapters over the weekend, get a head start. as i suspect chapter 6 the one that my 3rd sup reviewed, is my weakest chapter and will need the most work.


-----
Ruby what was the thread about that you started? and i am sorry to hear that you got insulted. poor you. sorry to hear you're under the weather. i am too. i have a sore throat and achy body. taken some medicine. i hope i can shake it off today, so i can start working properly tommorow. i hope you feel better, get some rest so you'll be more refreshed to work later on.

i am just going to take it easy for a couple of hours. and then do some work:

===========
my aims:

notes on different methylation methods (i suspect that might be one of the corrections)
notes on phi-29 enzyme
sort out Raw data for chapter 6, that i might have to do.

but for now, i am going to lie down for abit.

Ooh Lara, that all sounds ok doesn't it? If it was really bad, they wouldn't be letting you submit, would they? Good plan to do the other bits that you can actually save time with though. I hope you feel better soon, all this work and stress is rather physically and mentally depleting, I think. I'll be working on my draft until November, so will be around quite a bit on here, I imagine.

That thread was to do with another forum for postgrads that we got told about at college, though it looked a bit dull actually but there you go, mustn't mention it again or they'll strip me of my stars or something drastic! I've got another hour or so then can go home (yay!!!), just some stuff to finish off first. We are all ill here at the moment (down)

Look after yourself!

======= Date Modified 16 Oct 2008 12:50:57 =======
======= Date Modified 16 Oct 2008 12:49:07 =======
Hi Ruby, thanks for the message and for the positive outlook. i am nervous though how many corrections they want me to do. realistically i only have 1 week to do the corrections. then i gotta print and bind it. i am nervous that one week wont be enough to do the corrections they want me to do, but i guess i will just have to try my best and do as much as i can. because i really *have* to submit by 31st october. but i am glad that tommorow i will get feedback for at least one chapter, so i can work on that over the weekend.

i didnt do any work yesterday, i wasnt feeling well, so slept most of the day. i have a cold. not feeling well today either, but i just have to get on with the work, i cant afford to take another sickie day off.

my 3rd sup said he can meet me early afternoon tommorow- so i think i will turn up at 1.30pm and wait until he can see me, i asked him for a specific time, but he hasnt replied, so i will just turn up early afternoon.

i keep worrying about how many corrections they want me to do and whether i will get it done in one week.
i am going to get some lunch. and then try to do some work.

my aims:
1. notes on methylation methods.
2. sort out Raw data for chapter 6
3. sort out entry forms and exam forms

Hi Lara,

I'm really sorry you're not well, I bet the stress isn't helping at all. Why don't you just leave it for today, or at least have an early night? Clock off at teatime and watch some crap TV or something lovely!! I think you'd be best getting over your cold instead of forcing yourself to work today, you'll be far more productive if you feel a bit healthier. Then you'll be ready to tackle the corrections when they come in. It's good that you can get some of the feedback tomorrow, at least that should let you spread your workload a bit more, instead of getting all the corrections back in one go.

I don't blame you for feeling nervous about the whole situation, it is a bit scary *having* to submit - I will be in that position in Feb, and find it makes me panic even now, while there's still time for me, so it's completely understandable for you. Try not to worry, I know it's a cliche, but wait till you've got the feedback and then do what you can up until the last day. As long as you submit when you have to, realistically what is the worst case scenario for possible outcomes? You'll still be alive, you'll still have family and friends that care about you! You might have to do minor corrections, or you might have to do major ones, but that happens to other people too. I'm sure you'll see it through, but look after yourself healthwise, it's really important right now.

======= Date Modified 16 Oct 2008 21:47:59 =======
Thanks so much Ruby. your message really brightened up my day and made me feel so much better!

I took your advice. :-) I had an easy day today. I sorted out all my examination forms, and put them in order, and labelled the bits my sup needs to sign etc. and organised them so i know exactly what forms need to be filled in etc. so that's done. i feel better about that.

then my 2nd sup emailed me and told me she is busy tommorow but can give me hard copies of the corrections of the chapters she has reviewed. and my 3rd sup emailed me and asked if we can have a meeting over the phone about chapter 6 as he would prefer to work from home tommorow, so i've arranged to talk to him tommorow morning at 9am, and he will go through chapter 6 over the phone. i was super nervous as to what the corrections and feedback were about but he sounded quite relaxed about it and said that its nothing major, and its more to do with the style of how i wrote the chapter, and in particular the methods section and how i havent written it like a scientific paper way. he said it will only take 30minutes to go through it.

and then i am going to go into college and pick up the chapters my 2nd sup has reviewed. i think its worth wasting 2 hours on commute, to get the chapters correction and feedback from my 2nd sup, that way at least i can have a look through what corrections she has written, so i am not completely shocked on monday, when i have the big meeting with my 1st and 2nd sup when they will go through my entire thesis in detail.

i am then meeting a collegue for lunch, even though shes working from home, she wanted to see me, which i thought was sweet, it will be nice to talk to her.

and then i will come home and get cracking on chapter 6!! my aim is to get chapter 6 corrected, by saturday night.

i think i will feel better once i get the feedback and corrections back, because the not knowing and imagining the mountain of corrections is really stressing me out.

you are so right Ruby, what is the worst that can happen. and you're right, i just need to do my best and submit, and yes you're right everyone gets minor and major corrections, i just gotta do the best i can in the time i have.

thanks again for your message Ruby, you said all the right things :-) you made me feel better. because ontop of feeling under the weather the stress of not getting any work done was making me feel even worse. but you're right better i am rested so i can get cracking on the corrections and feedback i get tommorow.

well i am going to have an early night tonight. i am going to take a shower right now, so i can save time in the morning. and then have something to eat and go to bed early. and wake up at 8am tommorow, so i am all ready for my phone meeting at 9am! i am still nervous as to what my 3rd sup will say, but it will be good to get it over and done with!

Hi Lara,

I'm currently at the end of a year of working on my resubmit - I had my viva at the end of Oct 2007 and was given a resubmit with viva but fortunately no more research.  It was fairly traumatic to know that I had such a great deal of work still to do but I survived and my thesis is now much better. The one thing I have learnt this year is that exactly as Rubyw said, the world will go on much the same as it was before your viva and you'll still be you with the friends and family you have now.  I am much more relaxed about it this time round even though I have to submit at the end of next week and I still have a quite a bit to finish but that's what weekends and ProPlus tablets are for ;-) .

I know meeting your supervisors is a nerve wracking experience. I got an email from mine on the weekend and it made me feel sick, although it doesn't help that I loathe him yet still have to be pleasant because one my examiners is his mate.  But your supervisors will change your perspective on your work which is what you need because we all get too close to our own work.  

The very best of luck. (up)

======= Date Modified 17 Oct 2008 02:05:12 =======
Hi girls,

Just a quick post 'cause I'm wrecked and I need to go to bed now otherwise I will never make it to work tomorrow (later this morning actually). Sorry I haven't been around much, but I've been following the forum, so I'm still with you. I finally finished that horrible chapter 3 and I just emailed it to my sup. So, next up is the analysis chapter (Chp. 6) which I have to finish over the weekend... that's going to be a tough one :-(

Lara, don't worry too much about your corrections. The good news is that instead of you wondering about what you should write here and there, and if the whole thing makes sense at all, they are going to tell you exactly what you need to do. So, one week should be enough time for you to incorporate the corrections, especially if you have already read the whole thing for mistakes. You'll be grand (up)

Talk tomorrow 8-)

Hi Armendaf,

Hope you did make it to work ok today! Sounds like you're making good progress, at least that problem chapter is out of the way now and all your current amendments are targeted towards incorporating your supervisor's feedback.
Good luck with the next chapter, I'm sure you'll do it in time. (up)

I'm just plodding on with one of my chapters, still feeling a bit manky though with quite a fuzzy mind, it doesn't exactly help with incisive intellectual analysis (!!!) but can't be helped! Officially on schedule so far, but would be best if it could be done a *lot* faster so I can revisit a dodgy chapter...

Hi Sarah, thanks so much for your message, and the encouragement really appreciate it!! good luck with your submission next week , you definately have company around here!!

Armendaf, great to hear from you!! you are so right! that is a good way to look at the nature of the corrections, thanks for that, i feel better.

Ruby, how are you feeling ? i hope you are feeling better. you around at the weekend?
---

update: i had a really good phone meeting with my 3rd sup this morning. i was so stressed could hardly sleep last night!

but he was being really nice and encouraging. he told me how to restructure it and told me that i have written abit too much detail and to make it more consise. most of the stuff involves cutting stuff out and summarising what i have written into shorter sentences instead of paragraphs. i actually recoreded the phone conversation hehe cheeky me, but i know i wouldnt have been able to write down all his advice. so i am now going to transcribe the conversation to make sure i dont miss anything out.

i then went into college and got back chapter 1 from a postdoc - she said the chapter reads well although it is abit long. i was like, really? i was worried it was too short! (its about 40 pages, 13,000 words).... but she said that i will be happy to hear that i only have spelling and grammer mistakes to correct and some sentences that i need to explain better.
so that made me feel better.

and then my 2nd sup gave me back hard copies of chapter 2, 4 and 7 . but said she will go through the corrections with me on monday meeting.

so the plan is to first rewrite chapter 6. which i will work on tommorow. and then sunday - look through the corrections of the other chapters, incase i dont understand anything and need to ask them on monday.

then on monday i get corrections from my 1st sup of chapter 3 and 5.

i am feeling less stressed now.

my aims for tonight:
transcribe the phone conversation.

i am feeling tired, so i dont have the energy to rewrite chapter 6. but i want to transcribe the phone conversation so i know exactly what i need to do tommorow.

hurrah! i just finished transcribing the phone meeting. it took me 2 and half hours and i typed 7 pages worth of advice and corrections. now its all there in black and white, and tommorow i will rewrite chapter 6 methodically based on those 7 pages of corrections.

i am so glad i transribed the phone meeting tonight, and didnt procrastinate and leave it for tommorow, even though i didnt feel like doing anything tonight. but i feel better - now that i know exactly what corrections i need to do. and it was good to listen to the conversation again, i have it all clear in my head now.

i dont know about you guys, but half of the stuff my sups tell me, i forget and the other half that ive written notes about, doesnt make sense to me lol!

i'm going to record my meeting on monday aswell. my phone has a voice recorder that works very well as a dictaphone. i am hoping they wont notice, will try to be discreet, but can only record for an hour and then you have to switch it on again.

i'm way too tired to start work on chapter 6 right now. besides its late, its 1.30am. so best to start afresh tommorow i reckon. so i am going to have a quick snack , watch abit of telly to unwind, and then hit the sack and rewrite chapter 6 tommorow (battle face).

see you folks tommorow :-) its going to be a long day tommorow! going to glue myself to my chair.

Hi Lara,

That feedback all sounds great!!! (up)
Making bits more concise or explaining them more clearly is SO much better at this stage than having not enough data or a really dodgy structure or flaky argument!! *phew*... I was starting to get worried on your behalf! Recording the conversation was a good idea, conversations like that go in one ear and straight out the other sometimes with me, even though I know they're important. Trying to decipher one's own writing and notes is a bit of challenge at times, I have found...

I'm ok, still feeling a bit coldy though. I realised it was a waste of time yesterday trying to do any major restructuring on this pesky old chapter as my thinking was really fuzzy, and I didn't dare send any important emails either, in case it was badly worded rubbish when I re-read them. I tried to do the illustrations for this chapter and spent quite a bit of time trying to get stills from a TV advert I'd been writing about, but it didn't work in the end - the advertising company saved it as a certain type of video file so you can't easily edit it and save stills in the normal way, so I played it in on the computer and kept pausing it, doing screen grabs and pasting them into Photoshop, they all looked ok as a storyboard until I closed the videoplayer and the Photoshop files all went black. SO annoying!! I think you can download some decoder to save it as another file type, so you can edit it properly, but I can't bear the thought of that, so I'll probably try to take photos of the screen freeze frames with a camera today and see how that goes. That should do for the thesis, doesn't have to be great image quality. I suppose it will have to be done properly one day though, so I can use it in a Powerpoint presentation.... it all takes so much time.

So yes, I am around today! Doing that rewrite of chapter 5. It would be very nice to finish it by the end of today, though by the end of tomorrow seems more likely, which is also fine.

See you later! (up)