How about a weekend away? (celebrating that you don't have to work?)

Like feminism never happened, Tigger...

Hi Liver,

I would suggest

a) entering writing competitions (try HERO http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/information/frequently_asked_questions/can_i_contribute_an_article_to_the_hero_site.cfm) - they run a monthly essay competition for students, and also the Telegraph has an annual essay competition.

b) pestering editors of newspapers, magazines etc with proposals (100 words or thereabouts) for popular science articles. You'll have to be thick skinned; it took me a year before I got accepted, but once I did it made it much easier to approach other editors.

None of this will get you a job in the short term, but it builds up a portfolio of experience.

Seems uni staff are good at taking holidays without leaving deputys in place - one summer we couldn't order anything for 6 weeks cos of a staff holiday. And us students get moaned at if we take a long weekend

I can best describe it as feeling as if your brain has been put into the body of a robot (bear with me here). You are in control of the body, but it doesn't feel or sound or look like part of you.

The term is "depersonalization", I think: it is very common during anxiety attacks, long-term stress, and apparantly is also common in epilepsy.

Dazed: have you read any Jostein Gaarder books (the author of Sophie's World)? All his stories revolve around people who feel a bit like you, but in his mind that makes them wide awake in the world (as oppsed to the majority of people).

Do you ever have those "3am moments", where you are not quite awake and not quite asleep, and everything seems unreal?

Or is that just me

When this happened in our lab, the supervisor decied to repeat the experiment, using the student's protocol. He got exactly the same results, which convinced him that the student hadn't done anything wrong.

There's often variation: I remember a newspaper article not long ago where a journalist sent a cannabis sample to be analysed (for THC content) to 5 different labs, and each one sent back a different result. There's variation between machines, time of day (bright light), temperature, and sample handling.

So when can we see you on the telly?

Sat on my balcony watching next door's cats sleeping in the sun. Cats have a great life.

Was that a Freudian slip, Sylvester?

That's true. I've never known anyone say
that they were not busy enough.

Is it true the rest of Europe goes home at 4pm every day?

I would like to (and I know it would do me good) but there always seems to be someone wanting some result from you: there never seems to be a free week. Sigh...

I'm with you - only had one day off this year too. I feel like headbutting the next person who stops me in the corridor and says "So where are you off on your holidays then?" Summer holidays? While doing a PhD? If only.

I never had a nickname in the real world - always wanted one though.

Only the cool kids got nicknames