H - i totally agree with your sentiments. Ann, i see you watched the BB2 grilling . regarding salaries and why am doing my phd:

- why am doing it : to make a difference in the world. i suppose that's why i haven't quit yet.
-salaries : am not planning to be working for people all my life so that doesn't bother me. as long as am able to live and do what i want to do, am happy.

the last thing my mum said when she heard i was having difficulties with my thesis was i'd better stsrt following my sups instructions and stop spending all my days hanging out with friends - mums!!!!!! i forgive her. she doesn't have a clue what she's on how am putting in all the hours i have into this and neither does she know what a PhD is all about. i always try to do what my sups say and because of my slow progress, i've been house-bouund since January. i remember the last time she dished her comments i just said nothing. there was this silence after her comments and i asked to speak to my dad instead. maybe that way she'll know that if she isn't supportive, we can't sustain conversation.

see, i told you..

I wonder if anyone else watches this show. Hope am not that detached from reality when am done with my PhD. I think Sophie is too 'ivory towerish' and am GLAD to see her go. Speaking of Science grads? Why are most Science PhDs 'know it alls?'Treating everyone like trash - at least thats what happens in my uni when we meet at the cafeteria.

if i had 67 publications, i actually wouldn't mind going - i would have lived to achieve what i consider my destiny. what would annoy me is dieing at the age of 46 and dying in a way that you've got no time to say a last word to those you love. at least if you're ill, you know its coming so you've got time, when you're shot, you don't even have time to say goodbye to those you love. i think that is very sad. At that age, life has just began - potentially 24 more years of good health etc. but the good thing is that when you're dead, there isn't a chance that you'll be angry. you'll have moved on. the sadness is left with those who are left.

forget them - the supervisor, and try to improve your work in the line of their comments. my way of dealing with critique is separating myself from the paper am presenting - the critique is about the paper and not me. tho some supervisors can be such idiots - if you have my sup - they make sure they criticise you and not your work. so..... forget them, don't make them so important as to stick in your memory for ages. pick yourself up and address the method you're using. its painful, but you learn as you go along.

have you told them that their continuos comments / enquiries are not helping? i always put my family, parents especially on the right line when they say stuff that is discouraging. i find that most of the time they have no clue about the effect of their comments. so i suggest you tell them - in the kindest way possible whilst being firm enough to make your point. don't simply stop calling them coz they are annoying - i once considered that option and its not worth it.

i think i won't cite it. been warned before - i think am just so afraid of plagiarism.

regarding your being unable to sleep, chose a time that works for you and your situation. its all you can do and avoid the temptation to compare yourself with others. is there a chance you could get up early, say 4ish and work til eight then go to work. i tried that when i worked and my thesis haunted me less during the day. i could enjoy my day at work and work for about two hours after work, making the hours i'd normally put in if i didn't have to work at all.

alicepalace, i think it has little to do with work patterns more to do with guilt. i recently stopped working and took six months off work to rescue my research which has been struggling. i find that when i did 3 days a week at work, i'd do my thesis in the evenings - say 2 or 3 hours and then try to concentrate for say the remaining 2 days and put in some work in the weekend. what i found difficult was keeping up with my line of thought. i'd get a good idea, and then its time to go to work or prepare for teaching. nowadays, even though all i do is study, i find that i struggle to be up early. i normally work on my thesis between 12 pm and 2am and get up at about 11. I guess for me, my work pattern is influenced by motivational issues, having fallen so many times and an ever critical supervisor. so when i wake up i actually feel tired - another day repeating the same chapter. the day i move on from this chapter, no doubt i'll be up at 6am if necessary.

i was feeling so bad having read two papers (skim reading) and written nothing yesterday. good to see am not the only one. i read one in the park yesterday afternoon and then spent the evening watching so many terestrial programmes, election, switch etc. i think i'll be going to the park this afternoon to read one or two papers - that way i get to be out and to work. but before that - i have to try and write something - and also - try to stop looking out of my window. all the best guys.

hey guys, i've come across a really interesting cite on my research, with really good ideas on it. its an international group's cite discussion forum - should i cite its url which is very long or should i just not cite it at all.

Good for you Jewel. Am off to on eon Thursday, however before that this paper needs to be done.

Good to know am not the only one who's working 404.

chrisrolinski - lol - tell me about it.

hope you don't quit Otto - after a break, it won't be as bad as it seems. all the best.