oh and if you would like any info about where to live (and where not to) and places to stay and go to, give me a shout and i'll give you my email address!

tricky!! hi i'm currently at the IFR in Norwich, i'm a first year PhD student, small world eh? who will you be working with?

hello and welcome, it's mad in here!

That's true. But if YOU are happy and your supervisor is too, then things are good! It's still early days, and i'm sure you will get lots of feedback at your meeting, (if not ask for it)and also a detailed plan of what is next. In terms of benchmarks, i feel the same and am in the same boat, but i guess there aren't any general ones, it's all very speicific to your project.

I thought it was fairly normal to be expected to write a literature review in the first year. I did and mine was 10,000 words approx.

I would say generally if your supervisor is happy with your progress everything is fine. I found my first year review meeting to be very positive and encouraging, and i'm sure that's the wayt he supervisors want it to be. Good luck!

I'm 8 months into my PhD and recently got engaged, originally we were planning to get married after finishing my PhD but now were are thinking in about 2 years time. It's all very exciting and i don't forsee any problems in my department they are all very "normal"

oooh haven't had that for years, now i want some!

I also love Root Beer, cold with lots of ice on a sunny day, perfection!

that's shocking! Have you told them that the reason you didn't get offers/ interviews was because of them?!

wow this has been a very long thread!
I win
The end!

Thanks for your replies, and advice. Nevermind the phd being stressful, it's the housemates!!

Will try the more blunt approach i think! hehe

yes talking to her is probably the most sensible option, it's just a bit difficult because she seems to quite enjoy tension and arguments and is really quite difficult to talk to. We have mentioned most of the problems and she just sort of says yeah i'll do that washing up, and i'll talk to him about paying towards bills etc etc! and of course it never happens!

Is anyone else finding living with others a nightmare? There's one girl in particular that lives in our house who is driving me crazy. I find her rather aggressive generally and difficult to talk to, in addition to this she thinks it is perfectly acceptable to have her boyfriend live with us almost all the time (rent free, bill free etc.) and i find myself supplying the toilet rolls for both of them and cleaning up after them! It's really getting to me! Plus my boyfrind and I own the house, and since she WAS a friend she's proving very difficult to get rid of, we asked when she was moving on, she didn't take it well and accused us of kicking her out early (I wish!)

did you ever feel interested or excited about your project? Could this just be a temporary lull? What's your supervisor like? I would imagine you must have been committed to the project at one stage to have got this far, so quitting seems a little rash. How about talking to your supervisor or friend about it. I think it is normal to have phases when things are going slowly and a bit dull. I too started my PhD in Oct and have times when there's not much going on, but a quick chat with my supervisor usually sorts me out! good luck!

"I'll make the journey so sublime, i know you're not a travelling girl" Scissor sisters

Always makes me smile, for some reason.......