hemp

dwarf

bump

Ooh yes, I'd like another one too! :-x

grumpy

Hi there,

Lara, glad you're up, I wondered whether you'd overdone it last night. One more little bit and the thing will be done and how magnificently, brilliantly, wonderful that will feel! :-s Yep, I agree with Armendaf, you are an inspiration!

Armendaf, that sounds like a good outcome for you, you'll get it done by the end of October. I was in that situation about not having ages for corrections, that's why I'm bringing my second draft forward to November so it gives me more time to incorporate all their feedback before submission. I'm probably taking too long over slightly pedantic citations etc now, but I'd rather treat this draft like the final one as much as possible.

I'm knackered now, it's that crappy night's sleep i had - refreshing it most definitely was NOT. I've got a fair bit done and am now debating whether to go for a bus ride to get a bit of shopping I need and for a change of scenery. I'll have a coffee and then decide - if my brain goes into pertinent thoughts mode, I'll carry on working. If not, Selfridges here I come.

See you later - good luck Lara :-s (up)

lump

I usually feel like that after a break, but after the first week back I'm reminded of why I'm doing the PhD and my motivation returns. It's usually a mixture of seeing my colleagues again and settling back into a routine for the new academic year.  Teaching undergrads reminds me why I like my subject - as you said, it's the interaction with others. The students are usually so enthusiastic and interested in anything new, and it's quite infectious, so my research becomes vaguely relevant again, not just to me but to others too.

You could apply for that job you saw, and see what happens - you've got nothing to lose. If you got shortlisted for interview, it might help you to decide what you really want to do. If you were offered the job, maybe you could finish your PhD part-time if you want to do both. Alternatively, you might plump for one or the other choice, when you have to make a decision - maybe the PhD will turn out to be what you really want to be doing after all.

Also, don't panic about how much work you haven't done, but use that horror to get stuck in and start writing or researching. It would also be a good idea to speak to your supervisor about it, so you can decide on a plan of work for the rest of the year. That should keep you on track and stave off the panic, and it may actually reassure you that the work you've done to date is perfectly acceptable or normal. My whole thesis only started coming together properly in the last year when I started writing up, I was surprised how actually getting on with my writing helped to crystallise my ideas.

Hope you get your motivation back soon anyway.

wimp

Yep, I've used that dictionary before too, Olivia.

I think we had that one a couple of words back... it's quite difficult to find unique words the longer it goes on

Lara, I can almost imagine you falling asleep under your laptop in your last post, I hope you're ok today. Great that it's nearly done though - you can squeeze those last bits out today and that will be it :-s then you can sleep all day and watch as many DVDS as you like - it will be paradise after all this lol! Oh yes!!!

Armendaf, thank goodness you pulled it out of the bag in time, so to speak - a great night's work! Let us know what happens with your supervisor, though it sounds like you've got a clear, eminently do-able plan for submission and hopefully will have no problems with your target date.

Pari, hope you have a good day in the lab! The whole lab thing is a complete mystery to me, but it sounds exciting if it's your first set of experiments! Equivalent to me visiting a new archive or talking to a new designer about their work, I guess.

Anyway.... it's sad but true, I am already in front of the computer as had nightmares last night about not completing in time, and thought it was best to get stuck in asap. :-s It annoys me when I dream about that stuff and the only way to stop it is to get on with the work.

See you later.

Rubyw is drinking tea and eating toast, contemplating last night's dreams about her unfinished thesis, and desperately hoping that the anxiety will miraculously produce a series of perfectly finished chapters today. Perhaps she is still dreaming...

Lara, good, I'm glad things are going well! I agree with Pari, the introduction is important, as is the end, so sounds like you're practically there, filling the gaps of the other chapters should be fine later. (up)

Armendaf, sounds like you've cracked it then! Yep, I agree, sounds a good basis for discussing the situation with your supervisor.

Pari, I'm surprised to hear that drive yourself to work faster through guilt, you didn't sound that sort! I thought you were the cool calm and collected always on time type!

Must go now and watch the rest of that art program, the presenter is being very rude about Damian Hirst!

Good luck with the rest of the night shift, will pop back later if I'm still at it.(up)

Hello there,

So how's it going Lara...? Armendaf...? I hope you're both ok. You've done lots of work already, it's not like you've done nothing for the past xxx years, and anything you do today will knock the thesis into a better shape than it already is. I have faith in you, you know - I think you can do it! (up)

Mustn't distract you any longer, but let us know how it's going if you get a minute - no long posts btw, save that for tomorrow. I am thinking of you! :-s

I've been plodding on all day, believe it or not!!! Not finished yet though, so am going to have a food break now, am starving. See you later.

I'm Drownin' Prunella Dawkins with my real name. Hehe... or you can just call me Pru.