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
---

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.
----
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.
----
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 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 ?
---

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.

======= Date Modified 04 Oct 2008 11:26:58 =======
Hello! lol thanks for finding my monologues entertaining hehe. don't worry i am going to be around here for a longgggg time! IF i ever submit, i will be here all the time, trying to coax myself to prepare for my viva and then i will be here when i have to do major corrections. so i reckon another 6 months at least! maybe even another year. so im glad i got you as company.


i just finished proof reading and correcting 5 pages. i first proof read and made corrections on the paper with my pink pen, and after 5 pages, i then corrected my word document on the laptop, found it to be quicker. so that's what i am going to do, instead of doing it alongside.


i am hungry now, so going to have some french toast. yap i will try to be healthy. hehehe well maybe next week lol

good luck with your writing!! i find having to regularly declare what i have done, helps me. sometimes when i was really stuck i would come on here and update how many words i had written on an hourly basis, until i got back into the zone.

Hey Ruby!! nice to hear from you :-) i was beginning to feel like i was talking to myself. hehe
that is such a good point about corrections that i am doing now that the sup would have pointed out, didnt think of it like that. thanks for that boost!

don't feel bad about your productivity. it is very hard to find motivation and energy to write. and it isnt easy for you when you have work aswell. and sometimes you just want to blow off time, just for the hell of it, trust me, i know about that!! as long as you do as much as you can everyday that's what matters. dont worry so much *how much* you are doing everyday, as long as you do a little bit, it will all add up in the end. and you do have plenty of time, you will get it done. just gotta take it one day at a time.

good luck with the chapter! i admire your determination to get it done today.

i woke up at 9.30am. and haven't started yet, always take a long time to *warm up*. i'm feeling hungry though, feel like french toast. so i'm going to proof read 5 pages, and then treat myself to breakfast. yum yum.

lately all i do is think about food lol. im like a food monster.

i have 30 pages to proof read and correct today. must must get it done! (battle face). :-s
i'll keep you company whilst you work aswell.

======= Date Modified 03 Oct 2008 23:01:40 =======
okay i think i am calling it a day now, i read a further 5 pages, i got distracted by supernanny lol and didnt end up going to dinner, love how Jo Frost controls those unruly kids! so i proof read/corrected a further 5 pages. so i have done 10 pages in total today. :-) just another 30 to go, which i will do tommorow.


my dad just sent me this link, to this amazing woman, who has no arms and does all this incredible work with her feet. really really made me feel so grateful for my arms and hands. and made me feel so shameful for all the times i have moaned or complained. really puts things into perspective. if i ever start to feel ungrateful, stressed, or moan about anything- i will watch this video, and tell myself off. just goes to show how much we have to be thankful for, but take for granted.

http://www.elegantbay.com/main/amazingwoman.htm

======= Date Modified 03 Oct 2008 21:06:41 =======
hehe i've escaped from the "matron" finally finished proof reading 5 pages and made corrections. its amazing how long proof reading/corrections actually takes! took me about 2 hours i think. just another 35 pages to go!


going to take a break now and have some dinner and watch a dvd. and try to do another 5 pages before i go to bed. and then the rest tommorow. i've rewritten ALOT of sentences. JB is right, even in your final version , sentences can be improved. now that i am not in a panic/half asleep stupor, i'm able to make corrections properly and have corrected a few errors already, that i had missed.

i haven't been very productive compared to last week. but i'm not going to be too hard on myself and just get through the proof reading within the next few days or so.

Ruby, how was your day?
Pari you looking forward to having the weekend off?
Armendaf, how are you doing?

Celesmai enjoy the weekend with the baby.

and a hello to the admin people! have a good weekend, although if we're here, you're here also ;-) and hello to anyone else venturing on this thread. good luck with your work, if you're working this weekend.

======= Date Modified 03 Oct 2008 18:11:06 =======
*Matron's report on Lara's productivity*

"Lara is behaving like a spoilt brat, she has been whining all day long that she does not want to proof read chapter 1 and has been procrastinating all day long. she has only managed to rewrite her abstract. granted that is at least *something* She has been told that she *must* proof read chapter 1 today, for which she has read only a few lines. she appears to only want to eat, watch dvds, and sleep, preferably in that order.

i have now glued her to the chair and she is not allowed to get up, until she has read at least 5 pages. i have given her a pink pen to correct any mistakes she finds. i am also timing her, how long it takes for her to read one page, and how many *mistakes* she finds per page. after she has done 5 pages, she can have her dinner. and watch a dvd.

she has 40 pages to proof read for chapter 1, i have split it up, so she reads it in 5 page chunks. I will continue my close supervision on her"

**end of report**

---------------

sounds good to me! :-)(up) we can be all supportive and share with each other, what we have eaten for the day, the exercise we did and weight lost etc. and any diet tips/healthy eating plans we know of. (up)

lol Juno, glad to know i am not the only one that feels like that! well i ruined my "healthy diet" for today! i had fried egg and toast. and then later on had 4 oreo cookies! but *boys look away - female talk approaching*....


******female issues*****

its nearing that time of the month and apparently women feel hungrier before that time, and something to do with an increased metabolish. so i'm totally blaming that! hah!

so yah my plan is to slowly start making healthier choices, like today i didnt put magarine on my toast. and i only had one bite of toast with abit of butter, just to taste it, but the rest of the toast were dry. although i did have one toast with melted cheese!

maybe we should have a diet thread and support each other to lose our thesis weight!

Hi Ruby! nice to hear from you! good luck with your writing today! and i totally sympathesise with not knowing where you were. it does take time to get back into the zone again!
sounds like a very good plan you got there. (up) and glad of the company today :)
-----

update from me so far: i rewrote my abstract. and im hungry so going to have some lunch and take a break for abit. and then when i come back i am going to proof read chapter 1. i am taking your advice Ruby! :-) I am going to proof read all my chapters, before i start to do any more new writing.

you're right, i need to make sure everything i have written is checked - before i add new writing and make new notes in preperation for the corrections i think i might get. no point in doing *new writing* if the writing for my thesis that i've already have done is not checked properly.

so i've given myself a deadline of monday, to proof read all my chapters, and then from monday onwards, start new writing and making notes.

so my aim this weekend is to read through all my chapters.

friday: chapter 1
saturday: chapter 2 + chapter 3 + chapter 4
sunday: chapter 5 + chapter 6 + chapter 7

whilst i proof read each chapter i will make notes of places - where i should add extra information.

i am underestimating how long the proof reading will take, so i will see how i get on. i have my pink pen ready for corrections! chapters 4 onwards, i will have to proof read on my laptop, because my ink ran out. but thats okay.

i am bored bored bored of my thesis!! ahhh so want to just chuck it all in. and i am very hungry also! i am trying to diet to lose all the thesis weight i have put on. but trying to diet and correct/proof read my thesis is NOT a good combination. i'm so hungry. so going to ruin my diet of 1 day lol. and have some breakfast/lunch. have a craving for fried egg and toast.
i think i will try to have regular meals but healthy choices. i will forgo the warrior diet for now.

so i think after i submit my thesis, will go on a healthy eating and exercise plan while i prepare for the viva. besides i read that you should gradually introduce change in diet and exercise.

CONGRATULATIONS Celesmai! That is such good news!! So happy for you, glad baby and you are doing well. Definately spend as much time as you can with Sofia, and dont even think about the phd until next year when you're ready, phds will always be there, but this precious time with your baby is priceless.
Glad to hear your so happy being a mummy. :-) that is really great! I really admire you, bring a new life into this world and looking after her, that is such an incredible thing to do.

=======
Thanks for your words of encouragement regarding my thesis.

Hey Ruby, how are you doing?
Pari, how's lab work?
Armendaf, did your extension get officially approved, you must be busy working/writing away.

my aims for today:
1. make notes on methylation methods
2. read through chapter 6 and add extra information

======= Date Modified 02 Oct 2008 16:42:25 =======
Thanks Ruby! :-) no i am glad you did! you saved me from wasting time on things that arent important right now..

i only managed to print 3 chapters, and my ink ran out, so have to wait for it to come in the post in the next couple of days. no biggy though.

i am going to go for a quick bike ride. i havent left the house in a month. so need abit of fresh air and then will shower and have a nice healthy dinner. am starving! and then watch a dvd film in the evening. and if i feel up to it, will do some work later on tonight.
---

Well done on impressing the head, sounds like you've made a very good impression!! and definately have made yourself some good job prospects, well done you!! you clever girl you

(up) have a good evening!

Hi Ruby, you're absolutely right!! because of your advice, i drastically cut down the amount of "sorting out" and just spent a few hours putting the papers into collections, but have not bothered with any other sorting. thanks for your advice i needed that, otherwise I would have wasted alot of time sorting out papers, folders etc etc, which i can do later once i submit my thesis.
i've just finished with all of that now.

i am now going to print my thesis. and like you said, my first aim should be to go through each chapter looking for errors.
thanks for the advice Ruby (up) and where appropriate I make a note of extra information i can/should add.

so my aim for the rest of the day:
1. print entire thesis. (pdf version)

2. make notes on different methods on methylation (i know my 2nd sup will tell me to do this when she gives me back feedback, so will prepare for it, by making the notes before hand - i briefly mentioned a couple, but now i have time to do it in more detail)

3. proof read chapter 1 - make a note of extra information i can/should add.
=====
how is everyone else doing?