Hi Fiona,

Hope your writing went well!

You can still ramble on this thread actually (I'm guilty of that, it just happens...) but you get replies, which is nice.

none

Oh yes? Think again, victory isn't that easily won!

Hi,

Armendaf, try not to get despondent about not feeling you've made any progress on that chapter, that's the way it goes sometimes. You've been working hard this week and can't do everything - if only we could switch our brains on and off when we need a bit of inspiration, but we can't. I did virtually nothing yesterday, but sometimes that happens. Would it mess up your flow of thought to start working on one of your other chapters, even though it's in the wrong order? I'm thinking of shelving my chapter 1 for a bit and looking at the other 3 I've got to do, as I think they're more straightforward and it might make me feel like I'm getting somewhere. I know I'll have to revisit the dreaded chapter 1 several times again, but maybe a bit of mental distance between you and your problem section is needed sometimes to get you motivated again.

Good that you can get out of work commitments though, these things take up so much time - I already know what meetings they're got in the diary for me tomorrow!

Pari, thank you for your enthusiasm, it's very cheering! Hope your papers are interesting!

Lara, hope all is going ok with you, take care.

I've done my amendments to my chapter and emailed it to myself for tomorrow, so I'm off to bed in a bit. I know it's still a right old mess, but I'm finding it difficult and I know it'll need loads more work, but that's fair enough as it's an important section.

Oooh, work tomorrow... what's in store for me, I wonder....? It will be nice to see other people again though!

Anyway good luck with the work, but that's me finished for now - night all.

tune

Catchianthe - I know what you mean, it's great to be around people who are mentally stimulating, interested in ideas and have the same values. Academia seems to attract such a diverse mixture of people from such different backgrounds, and I love the way there are truly eccentric or even just slightly non-conformist people who still fit in because their work and their ideas are good, right up to and past retirement age. It doesn't seem to matter how obscure your interests are, it seems to fit some little academic niche somewhere and there are always going to be others who are just as interested in it as you. I know the whole HE sector has its problems, but I never find it a boring environment to be in - there's always something new and strange there to surprise me.

======= Date Modified 17 Sep 2008 07:29:13 =======
Hi everyone,

Tractorgirl, it's really lovely to read your news, it's brilliant to have handed it in on time and the first one to get it bound - I bet the staff were shocked - a student not leaving it to the last second before closing time!! You've worked so hard on your thesis, you really deserve a break and some time with your family. Parents are funny aren't they about the thesis, my mum fingered my first draft very gingerly and was very impressed, so heaven knows what she'll think at the end. Excellent news about the job too - perfect timing, eh!! I wonder if there's an anti-climax after handing in, before you get stuck into the viva business? Thanks for all your support on this thread btw, you've been great and I'll miss you when you're finished.

Lara, I hope section 4 and 5 are going ok, you can still pick up time if they're little sections. Just a bit more to go and then it'll all be done - it's sort of like running the London Marathon, except without the silver foil blankets* at the finishing line (you get a big fat thesis instead!!).

Armendaf, hope you're making progress on your section 3.4, though I'm amazed you've got the energy after working!

I'll just do a few hours tonight. I'll get all my notes and amendments to chapter 1 typed up in some form, to print out tomorrow at work. It's the best I can do for now, but I know it's been a difficult section to restructure so can't be helped. The plumber came and fixed all the leaky bits, so that's done for now. He was called Gary Cooper, the name of the Hollywood film star in 'High Noon', that old 1950s Western clip I was watching on YouTube yesterday - funny coincidence, eh!! Well, I thought so!

See you later, fellow writers!

* I realise I don't really know what they're for, but it's definitely not for repelling harmful alien microwaves from another planet. Or is it....?

Don't agonise about your methodology yet - your research questions, whatever you want to investigate, should help to dictate whatever methodology you adopt. One method might work better than others for producing the results you're after. No point in dipping into whatever's out there until you know what you want them for.

tuba

Hhhmmm, I quite like guessing what sex you lot are, and it often changes from day to day.

Also like guessing about the odder usernames some people have.

I've been funded fees-only all the way through mine by my employer and work part-time. I still love my subject, in fact I'm more interested in it now than at the start. Despite the obvious sacrifices in money, time and social life, plus the stress and horrendously hard work it often entails, I have no regrets about doing it (though I haven't finished yet!). I'm glad I didn't leave doing it any later than I did, as someone else would probably have 'done' my topic by then and I would have missed out on a very satisfying personal project.

I hope you make the right choice for yourself.

cubs

Not crazy at all - if you love doing it then it's a good use of money and time. It's your life.