I SAID AUSTRALIA WON THE ASHES FAIR AND SQUARE!!!!!

...but Australia won the Ashes 5-0. Yay!

I have zero motivation too. As of today, my thesis is 2 weeks overdue for submission. You would think I would be motivated at this point. Uh huh - not one bit. Help!

pea, if you are a former catwalk model, does that mean you can eat anything you want and not put on weight...or is that a gross generalisation and common misconception about skinny models?

I am guessing about 4kg in 3 weeks. Gosh, it was heavenly though!

Time to hit the treadmill methinks.

I have to disagree, juno. I have seen/had two very different responses from reviewers for a number of papers. Some journals resolve the issue by simply getting a 3rd opinion - in my experience, this has resolved the situation nicely. Flat out rejection based on one bad review and one good review is just unfair.

I dropped my mobile in a bucket of water and it wouldn't turn on afterwards. I opened it up and put it in the lab dessicator overnight. Fixed it perfectly. Do you have a friend who works in a lab with a dessicator?

Merry Christmas, H. Merry Christmas, everyone else.

Thank you so much, pea - that makes me feel very special.

I have been back in Adelaide (750km away and where I did my PhD) to do some last minute work and meet with my supervisors about my thesis...missed reading the forum every day, but was too busy. My thesis deadline of Friday Dec 22nd (today!) will not be met (sob) but I am not far off now.

Hope you have a great Christmas and I will think of you as I cook prawns on the barbie on Monday...and when the 4th Test match gets underway here on Boxing Day! Happy Christmas, pea! Happy Christmas, Coastman!

Happy Christmas to everyone!

Good for you, paulasbrito.

But for me, I would take my looks of my late-teens/early 20s any day. I am not claiming I was a supermodel (like pea was!) but I definitely would prefer the body, firmness, ability to eat anything and absence of wrinkles of my youth than what is happening to me today...and I am only 30!

I guess for me it is all about how you look on the outside giving you confidence on the inside. I don't think it is vanity, it is just when I feel good about how I look, I have confidence.

SixKitten is right - so long as it is legal, age shouldn't matter.

I had a friend who when she was 19 went out with a 14 year old - that was wrong. He was underage and what she did was against the law and kinda creepy, but they broke up after 6 months. But she is now 30 and he would be 25 - nothing wrong with that in my book.

Good friend from my lab, started last January and has decided it is not for him. He wants to earn more money and he has had some problems with his project - microoganisms are frustrating to work with. He told me a couple of weeks ago he was thinking about it, but in all honesty, I never thought he would actually do it. Yesterday he did - and I understand our supervisor took it very well, considering.

I envy him so much. Wish I had the guts to do it years ago, but never did because I knew I would regret it in the long-term. Just wondering if anyone else wanted to quit and what stopped you?

I am 30, but I started my PhD when I was 26.

Donut, from my experience, it all starts to go bad at 25. Things that were once pert, start to sag. Things that were once elastic, start to wrinkle. Things that were once blonde, start to grey (in truth, my first grey hair was spotted on my 30th birthday - no joke - on the morning of my 30th, I had a huge spot on my chin and spotted my first grey hair - arrrghhh!!!). Things you once popped in your mouth and forgot about, now seem to stick to your thighs and no amount of effort on the treadmill removes them. After 25 you start to loathe Newton and his horrible gravity. So depressing.

Oooh, please be careful. That Mr Muscle is very nasty stuff.

If you are having a bad week, I think you could be forgiven for having a dirty oven - just close the door and nobody will know it is dirty unless you tell them.