I think the logic behind separate things was that the idea that less people at a definite meet is better than no people at a meet that never happens because no-one can agree anything.

No-one has ever tried to make anyone go anywhere they hate either, to my knowledge... Anyway, I'm sure if anyone wants to meet up with anyone else, then it will happen somewhere with those who are interested. It just seems to be turning into a big deal. It's only an internet forum, after all. (no offence intended there to you Admins btw!)

Sleepyhead, I didn't get the impression that anyone was saying there shouldn't be a Sheffield meet, and there's absolutely nothing snobby or elitist about having a London one - it was just to get something definite sorted out for anyone who could make it, before the idea drifted off into the ether again. It's just to see how it goes... I'm sure it won't be the first or the last of these events, and if it is, well that doesn't matter either in the grand scheme of things, does it?

And if I remember rightly, most of the rudeness on this thread has been from people saying horrible things about London...

One of our schools has just had a 50% cut in the teaching budget for this academic year, though that would have been used mostly for visiting lecturers rather than permanent posts. You get used to squeezes in teaching budgets, but never one that big. Not sure what the economic impact on recruitment of new students has been though, and the knock-on effect on college budgets. We're also undergoing an internal research review that will produce recommendations alongside the RAE results, so presumably things will change one way or another after that....

Hello there, just to point out that there is a poll/thread on here somewhere called 'when is best?' done by our very own decisive 404, to see what days are preferred by those who have already decided on a London meet....

Hi Lara,

Nice to hear from you :-)

It's great you've had a break, I can't see how anyone could just get on with it again after that stint you've just been through! I usually do that after handing one chapter let, alone a whole thesis.

I don't want to sound cheeky (well, there's a surprise...!!) but obviously I think I'm going to be, as I've just said that.... ;-) Do you reckon it might be a good idea to start reading through your thesis for possible glaring typos, corrections etc rather than doing 100% tidying up? Is that something that you could do after submission when you're preparing for the viva maybe? I'm only saying that as I use tidying up and sorting things out as a form of procrastination myself, when there's something even more boring to do. I know it has to be done as I live in complete chaos after I've handed something in, paper everywhere and I haven't got a clue where things are, but I have actually done that instead of getting on with the next important thing....:$ I've never been as bad as a friend though, he was so messy at home for a while that all horizontal surfaces in his flat were covered in stuff, so he got out his ironing board to use as an extra table, lazy man! When I feel messy, I think of him lol!!

Anyway, what I was trying to say was that I'm sure you must still be really drained physically and mentally, and the idea of reading through your thesis *again* might not be a very appealing prospect, but I'm worried that your extension period will drift by without you getting enough out of it. But you know best how you feel and what's necessary, obviously!

Anyway I'm off to a meeting so better get my act together - good luck with whatever you end up doing today, I'm sure you will use your time wisely, whatever you end up doing !!!!

I was thinking, maybe when this poll has been up for a bit longer, we could do another (if you're not sick of them by then!) with a selection of definite dates that covers the preferred days for different people? Maybe spread over a month from late Oct through November, eg a different day on different consecutive weeks, a Thursday, a Friday and a couple of Saturdays so there's a bit of choice, depending on what the results of this one are.

Any thoughts 404, as you're the current pollster...? I don't want to tread on your virtual toes though! Or any other suggestions, anybody? :-)

======= Date Modified 01 Oct 2008 17:31:36 =======
Have you thought about investigating possible job options before you make the final decision of chucking it in? Might be good to have something else lined up before you embark on that 10 year partying spree. Best of luck with whatever you decide though, I could never have even got to this point in my PhD if I hadn't worked fulltime for years in between my various stints in academia - it feels a bit like having a foot in the 'real world' even working part-time, but I was never really cut out to be a fulltime student. Whatever suits you, I guess.

Hi Pari,

All of my panels and pics have come out well, finally! I think it gives a reasonable introduction to my topic, though I've left out some of the new bits I want to pursue post-doc. And someone said my submission was one of the best! :-) 8-)

I'm at work now for a few days, so will try to pop over when there's a moment to see if there's anything going on around here!

btw if it's a battle between you and the chemicals, I have a feeling that you would win ;-)

Hello, I just did a post but it got stuck and disappeared so I won't do it again as I'm tired now.
Hope you got lots done today though - I nearly did, I mean my chapter's done-ish, just needs two more tiny bits included and all the pics renumbered ... there's 20 now... so not too flaky today hehe! Off to bed now so see you soon!

If you got a definite offer from the AHRC and you accepted it, then it sounds more likely that there's an administrative mix up between your uni and the AHRC. Have you tried first ringing the AHRC to check that they're done whatever they have to do to transfer the money to your college, and then chase up your uni admin people when you've got definite details about money being transferred, what dates it went off or whatever? Then you would know where the problem lies.

Enrolment and funding is a bureaucratic process, and sometimes we have problems with students funded externally who take a few weeks longer than self-funded ones to get fully enrolled on the uni system, because of all the stages that have to be completed in the whole process. This frequently means that they get some computer glitch when trying to login or get a library card, as there's something flagged up on their computer record that says they're not properly enrolled. In these cases, it's nothing critical, apart from the money being slow to come through to our uni admin. It just slows things down and creates stress!

Try not to worry until you know more - you might be imagining dreadful things that really aren't the case. If you got funding, then your work is obviously well thought of by a number of people, regardless of whether your offer was 'close' or not - you got it, so well done!

======= Date Modified 30 Sep 2008 12:56:09 =======
How can you tell whether it's 100% of one person, or 100% of several people who've voted?

404 - very decisive, that sounds fine! Nov's ok too.

I've no particular preference for any specific days either, it's not the sort of place you're likely to get caught up in riotous weekend binge drinkers.

Sorry Adam, there's a difference in the size of the guilt factor attached to faffing about on here in bits and bobs throughout the day, compared to spending a whole day gallivanting about the country for fun. It's a PhD submission deadline thing 8-):-s:p