Overview of Lara

Recent Posts

The nocturnal workers' thread
L

Quote From MicroGeek:

Do those of you who work night-time hours find that you suffer your sup's wrath for not being at your desk in the daylight hours? I ask because I find I too worked evening hours, using the daytime to shop and go to lectures (during my undergrad). Many of my fellow undergrads used to use their free time in the day to work but I would usual save work for later and do other things in the day. Since this was my active choice, I'm wondering whether I'll end up being a nocturnal PhDer too.

yeh my sup used to tell me off all the time and get pissed off at me, for missing morning meetings, i found them boring and a waste of time! i was abit of a rebel when it came to stuff like that. especially during the last couple of years, i just focused on my experiments and wanted to get all my lab work done. i used to work till late in the evening, around 9pm, go home and was so tired i used to end up coming back the next day around 11am and then stay until late. yah they didnt like it, but i didnt care, i did the work. i refused to comply with the 9-5 concept.
as long as you get the work done who cares when you do it , i say!

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

You're very welcome Ruby, and that is brilliant that you have finished a chapter tonight! you deserve a good night sleep! well done you.

--

Armendaf, well done you working away!! sounds like you're making great progress!
---

well i am joining you guys on monday, so see you tommorow morning, for the battle!!:-s
---

even though had the weekend "off" couldnt really switch my brain off, its still there niggling in the back the stress of getting the thesis done. i dont think you can ever switch off until its done and dusted.
--

i just found out my favourite actor is in a play in london! I am going to book a ticket to see it after nov 1st - after my deadline, as a treat hehe :-)
right now, i am still in incarceration. literally feel like i am in jail haha., just another month of time i have to serve, then i am free !! lol

--

see you tommorow folks. i'm glad of the company :-)

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

Quote From rubyw:

======= Date Modified 27 Sep 2008 11:41:00 =======
Lara, that's a brilliant outcome for you!! Well done, that is a HUGE achievement getting the thing finished and handed in to your supervisor! (up)

Sounds an ideal situation - a bit of an extension so you can edit and tweak what you've already done, plus actually get a bit of sleep and have a mental break from it. You'll look at it with fresh eyes after that and will be able to submit a thesis that you're sure is as good as you can produce! Plus you'll have the reassurance of your sup's feedback so it won't be that weird situation when you're the only one in the whole world who's read your work and you don't know any more whether it's any good or not - could either be complete genius or absolute crap. Yours obviously isn't the latter because you've done so much work on it, but other informed opinions are so useful to reduce the anxiety as much as possible!

See you when you're back after the weekend- take it easy, you really deserve it!

.

Thanks so much Ruby! :-) you're so right, it is good that i got an extension. now im feeling anxious and nervous as to what my supervisors will say and i hope i get enough time to get the corrections done. but tommorow i am planning on printing out my thesis using my poor little printer and then organise all my files and papers and organise everything. and try to predict what my corrections might be!

my brother has offered to print my final thesis at his work. so thats one less thing i need to worry about. so ive given myself a deadline of one week before i have to hand it in, to send him the pdf, so he has a week to print it at work. and one week before that, i will spend proof reading.
so basically i worked out i only have 1 week to do their corrections. if they take 2 weeks to get back to me. so the next two weeks i just gotta improve on the thesis and do all the research and writing of possible things they will tell me to include and correct.
=============
Thanks Ruby for saying i really deserve having the
weekdend off, that makes me feel better :) look at me, i cant stay away from this forum! lol im addicted to this thread
So glad to hear you're gonna keep us company with the deadline! hurrah!! it always helps knowing someone else is on the same train! that's great you got a mid november deadline, as i have given myself a mid november deadline also. so we're together on this!!!

Aww Ruby you're so good, working on phd stuff today at the weekend.
good luck! i know you can do it :-)

Ruby - It is very hard to start work on phd stuff when you had such a stressful time at work.

It must be so hard to switch off from work stuff back to phd stuff. as i know anything that is troubling you, part of that
brain that likes to remind you of it, perks up and says *hey ruby, sorry to disturb you, i know you're working on your thesis, but i just wanted to REMIND you of such and such and then such and such happened, anyways thats all -carry
on* lol i watched russel brand last night and he had this skit of how the manevelent evil side of you likes to wake you up in the middle of the night and remind you of embarrassing things you have done.

and CONGRATULATIONS Ruby - on the amazing praise you got about writing. that is absolutely brilliant!! what a lovely compliment. you shoud be very happy . as writing is VERY hard, and for them to say you're a natural. well that's just fantastic! see you can do it! yap its always good to draw a line and say, thats it , its *done* so good you got the pictures done! as Armendaf once said, nothing is 100% perfect just gotta make it, as good as is. everything in this world can be improved on. but that would take an infinite amount of time. and then nothing would actually be achieved and finalised and concluded from .

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

Admin my message aint showing up. granted it was hella long! no worries, i saved a copy of it. and upload it again but split it up into smaller chunks (up)

Admin, do you really read every single message that we post? do you ever get bored of reading all the hundreds of messages we all post daily. or do you just do a quick search for key words such as *admin* and *swear words* teehee

Upgrade
L

CONGRATULATIONS! wow 80,000 , forget upgrade, you should have passed the phd!

80,000 words is very very impressive for an upgrade report. considering 100,000 is the maximum limit, you pretty much have your thesis done!

although 80,000 is meant to be a good number to aim for and not above.

my thesis is only 59,000 words. :$

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

Quote From tractorgirl:

Hi Everyone



Just a quick email to say good luck to everyone for the weekend. I am so impressed by reading everyone's posts and the progress made is just amazing. Well done and hope the weekend is also good. Lara: You are nearly there!!!! Brilliant news, just need to get it printed now so good luck with that and let us know when you have handed in your thesis!!!!!!!! We definitely need to celebrate once everyone has finished!! Armendaf and rubyw: Hope you are both well and good luck with your work. You have both done so much since i last checked in so should be really proud. Hope you both have a great weekend. Pari: the same also to you! Well done for getting so much done and keep going, you are doing really well.

Anyway, hope everyone is ok.

Lara: I have a feeling that when i next check you will have submitted your thesis!! How exciting!!!!!!!!! All your hard work will have paid off. Hope all the printing goes well and good luck with your last busy weekend!!!!

xx


Thanks TG :-) I was just thinking of you the other day, how you really really inspired me to get my thesis done!! as i really wanted to be in the stage one day to just be proof reading. but alas i have been given a month extention so more work for me!! but then i think its a good thing as it delays my eventual viva and i can have more time to prepare for it!

how are you doing? nice to hear from you :-)

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

hi pari thanks :)

well cut a long story short, i've been given an extention (i didnt ask for one!) i finally finished my thesis at 1pm today and sent it to my sup and my uni graduate officer, and asked my sup to sign my entry forms. but he refuses because he hasnt read my thesis.
uni graduate then arranged for me to get an extention, so now my ultimate deadline is 1st of nov, by which i have to submit no matter what! part of me is relieved because i can now relax and not worry about last minute printing and binding and missing the dealine, the other part of me is thinking, oh no what if i screw up and miss the nov deadline.and i got another month of this??!?!?!! lol

but im going for the positive and thinking its a good thing. so i can add more stuff to my thesis and have more time to prepare for my viva.

also thinking of getting a new printer as my own one is kaput. thinking of a laser printer.

im so sleepy, not slept for 2 days ! i know i cant even believe it myself. although i tell a lie, i did sleep for 2 and half hours yesterday morning, and for 10minutes this morning.

but ive learnt my lesson, im never doing that again. i feel sick and my body feels like its been put threw a torture contraption.

so this is my plan. taking the weekend off. and then start afresh on monday. and work regularly and consistently. and set myself an articicial deadline of one week before the actual deadline.

i wont wait for the feedback from my sup, as they are going to take 2 weeks, and that will only leave me 2 weeks for their corrections, so i will print out my thesis and go through it myself and seeing where i can improve on things and where i can add more stuff.

my final thesis was 238 pages, thank god i chose 1 and half space!! i couldnt decide yesterday so finally just asked my dad who made the decision for me. its ridiculous how much time you can spend on silly things like formatting!! and then for some really annoying reason, the spaces between headings and paragraphs were all unequal.

yah so my words of wisdom, whatever your official deadline. forget about that date and burn into your head a date one week before that. and dont just pretend, really believe that is your deadline. trust me. i've been trying to get my full thesis completed for 2 weeks now, so i went over my own deadline by 2 weeks!!

So Armendaf, its me and you kiddo!! your deadline is 1st of november right? or is it end of nov? you got two months?

well either way, you got me as company!!

i am feeling abit annoyed at my supervisor - but i will just let it pass. i really did try to get my thesis to final complete version a month ago, i just couldnt do it. and because he was always saying hes so busy. i took the responsibility and made sure of my thesis myself. anyways going to put that all behind me, and now focus on what i need to do. continue working on my thesis

see you monday folks! although i might miss this place and come back. its addictive!

have a good weekend everyone. and thanks for listening
i cant believe i can actually sleep , it feels like such an indulgence haha and i can take the evening off and watch dvds and relax after dinner.

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

Quote From armendaf:

Hi Girls,

Sorry for being away for some time, but have been stuck with work. Also I haven't been able to make much progress, I'm probably in some sort of post-crisis slump, but at least I haven't stopped. Tomorrow I have to go to work again, but will catch up during the weekend.

Pari and Rubyw, thanks so much for your messages and for keeping us moving forward, it's greatly appreciated.

Lara, you did it! you are my hero, just one more sleepless night and you'll be showing your supervisor what you are capable of. We all know it, but now it's his(her?) time to find out. Just go there with you thesis (which, by the way I'm expecting a copy of to stick on my fridge door ;-)) in your hands and demand that signature for your paperwork. You did a terrific job, you deserve it.

Talk again tomorrow 8-)


awwwwwwww Thanks so much for your message, that really put a smile on my face , and woke me up!!
yah just one more night of this. i just gotta proof read my last chapter now, chapter 7, conclusions!!
and then references and table of contents.

thanks again for your lovely message :-)

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L


thanks Bov, that is EXCELLENT advice, as i was really nervous about sending them the file and for them to print and bind it all in one go, without me first looking over the printed sheets. cause u have to tell them exactly which page you want in color.and i just know sods law i will miss one page out and it will be printed in bw.

great stuff, i will find out about printing services. thanks so much. since im heading into town tommorow will find out :)
well im not an official student of my old department so they wont let me use their printer or ink cartridge unfortunately. but might try to find out if local shops do printing. thanks for the idea. i feel better about that.

you're a star!

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

======= Date Modified 25 Sep 2008 23:47:26 =======
hi everyone! thanks for the well wishes. just a quick update. not finished putting together my thesis. i totally underestimated how long it would take to proof read! i literally was reading all day and night , right up until 9am , when my eye lids kept dropping and i fell asleep.

but ive proof read and checked 5 chapters now. and have 2 chapters left. then i gotta do references, and table of contents and figures and stuff. i wanted to write this nice acknowledgement section, but dont think i will have time for that!

im planning on emailing it to my sup as soon as i am done and then going in to see him tommorow morning, ive not seen him for a year! i hope he just signs my forms and lets me just submit. if all goes well. then i might go straight to the printing place and get it printed, feel abit nervous sending it over the net for some reason!!

so its an all nighter for me again.

i slept for 3 hours this morning. and that was me being generous to myself lol

but yah word of warning, proof reading takes a hell of a long time! im so stupid, i dont know why i thought i could read my entire thesis in one day , which is about 50-60,000 words, i am not sure yet, not done the final word count yet.

anyways just needed a quick break.

thanks everyone for your support during these past few weeks especially. i really dont know how i would have done it without you all. i was just thinking ,i dont know how i did it all. the only thing i think it was , was just doing something everyday and not worrying about the future but doing as much as i could each day. and hoping one day it will all come together.

im nervous though meeting my sup, as i know he will say its all crap!! and im gonna fail. but i dont care. ive done it to the best of my ability. if its a fail. then i accept that. my goal was to complete my thesis. fingers crossed nothing goes wrong tonight! end note for some reason doesnt want to format one of my chapters, so going to have to do one page at time , dont know why, all the other chapters are fine.

its funny though , i was planning on having everything done last week! just goes to show artificial deadlines are so important!!

i think the turning point for me, was when TG said she was at the stage of proof reading and i thought to myself, i really want to be at that stage! that was the trigger.
and then you all supporting and encouragin me every day.

thank you so much :-)

okay aims for tonight, deadline 8am.

proof read and check chapter 6
proof read and check chapter 7.
references
table of contents
table of figures
table of tables lol
abbreviations, been writing them in one file as i came across them, and during writing up aswell (handy tip)

then gotta print out the abstract on the form
and fill in my exam forms

and erm. what else
title page is done.
oh i was going to add my published paper to the back of my thesis, but i dont know how to do that, how would you paste a pdf page onto a word document. cause of the margins and stuff . ah cant be arsed. i will just write, part of chapter 3 has been published in blah blah journal.

what else, am i missing something?
acknowledge will just write one sentence to thank my supervisors and my family and friends. will leave the nice version for when i have to do corrections.

er, what else...

okay bet get cracking and hope that pdf file converter works okay!

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

Thanks Walminskipeas... I appreciate that!
yah he is! lol gotta face the dragon tommorow but hopefully will have my sword (pdf version of my thesis) to fight him with lol

how come you're in a bad mood? what's wrong?

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

======= Date Modified 24 Sep 2008 14:59:43 =======
Hi Ruby! nice to hear from you.

wow i am so sorry to hear that. that must be sooo frustrating!! i dont blame you for feeling so p***sed off, anyone in your position would feel the same way. i hope you manage to get it sorted out. you've been working so hard.
==

i missed the forum last night! i kept checking if it came back online but never did. i actually had a good night sleep last night. probably fell asleep around 2am and didnt get up till 12pm! i was out cold!
but i am glad i did, cause today i am refreshed.

well i just have one more topic left to write about... then i am drawing a line and saying the thesis is written, and if i have missed something then tough cookies! because i really gotta start proof reading and do the final formatting, and sorting out figures and appendix and all other little things that take a ridiculous amount of time!

my deadline to get my thesis in final final final version!! in pdf with everything completed is midnight tonight. it's a very long list of final corrections and things to do still! i'm so nervous!! time is ticking by so fast.

and then tommorow morning i will email my supervisor the final pdf version and then go into college myself to try to track him down and talk to him about submission. he can ignore my emails but he might have a hard time ignoring me if im standing infront of him. this time its war! :-s

i really just gotta get my thesis done now in final version, am very nervous as still theres lots to do!
but i found this website that if you send them the pdf by 10pm, you can collect it from them the next day at 3pm. and they print it out for you and everything. so tuesday is my final deadline, so i must email it to them by friday 10pm. to pick it up on monday at 3pm. and then can hand it in on the monday. i dont even know where to hand it in lol but will figure it out tommorow. need to prioritise!

but because i slept last night, i might be able to stay awake all night to get it done. i just hope it wont come to that.
okay i need to calm down otherwise wont be able to concentrate.

okay immediate aim: deadline 4pm:
1. write about different methylation methods and arrays and future work. (to chapter 5)

and then im drawing a line about writing any more new stuff.

okay i'm gonna start my egg timer. thanks for listening, i just had to talk about it to organise it in my head.

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

======= Date Modified 23 Sep 2008 18:26:14 =======
======= Date Modified 23 Sep 2008 18:11:14 =======
excellent progress Ruby, you're doing so well with the writing!! i am also hungry. i am going to have dinner at 7pm.

i still have the results and discussion sections left for chapter 6. just going to quickly see what i can add to it. and then have a nice dinner break!

tonight i am going to be up all night again, finishing chapter 6. and sorting out appendix files. i must must get it done by tommorow morning, so i can be in a position to truthfully tell my sup tommorow - i've completed my thesis so sign my entry forms biatch!!!! :-s obviously will omit the last word lol

i think i am starting to lose it slightly lol. but if he even thinks about telling me to add anything to it, i am seriously going to lose it.

i just want to proof read check for formatting etc, and get it printed and bound so i can submit before the deadline. i dont want to risk missing the dealine and failing. and then the examiners can get bored silly reading it muwahahahaha

Accountability Partners - Write your Dissertation in 15 Minutes a Day
L

lol Thanks Ruby and Armendaf! i needed that push and encouragement (Ruby love the lara croft comment, that made me laugh)
And Armendaf you're so right, just gotta put on the war paint and battle face agogo.

i've been procrastinating, but i'm going to seriously just start on chapter 6 now and get that done, then worry about the other bits and bobs that are still remaining. gotta get over this last hurdle now. psychologically.

thanks you guys!

The nocturnal workers' thread
L

Thanks Procrastipro. although right now, i feel like my entire thesis is shite. lol and the examiners are gonna be like, wth is this, its rubbish! FAIL. anyways will carry on.
i ended up taking a nap so slept 9am - 11.40.

good luck with your stuff today! and well done on staying up till 5am, that is very good!!