hi wowzers
I don't know Lyx. I was introduced to latex by a colleague. He said once you started using it, you would never go back to Word.

I decided to try LaTex, and he sent me a phd thesis template to work on. The early stage of using latex is difficult, I was struggling for some 3-4 weeks. Initially you struggle because there are new command lines to learn, and small things like fonts that will not show up in the output.

I have also received help from people on this forum (thanks Maxipat and Ailicec!).

If your thesis is mainly qualitative, it will be even smoother.

Less worry about building tables, longtables, figures, maths formulas etc.

If you can put a few weeks of time, latex is very well worth using. I would start with a phd template because everything is already mapped out for you. You don't have to build your own document from scratch!

Another reason latex works for me is that I don't see the Apple wheel of death every time I open my thesis on Latex, which I often get with Word because for some unknown reason Word on a Mac cannot handle large sized files as well as Word on a PC.

I use TeXShop. I don't know downloads for latex on windows, but there should be reliable ones on the CTAN website.

love satchi

hi ailicec
congratulations!!!
better late than never :-))))

I have also received invaluable advice from you in the past, thank you so much :-)

love satchi

congratulations button
wishing you every success

love satchi

thank you starlight222 :-)
When I was carting my thesis for binding, the whole chunk was so heavy---and I got paper cuts as well!!!! Yes you are right---it was a big relief handing it in.

Wishing you well in your phd!!!

love satchi

hi Swetchha
It's nice to hear from you! thanks for posting and sharing your experience. It looks like we get better at handling rejection letters :-)
I have not heard back from another 2 job applications I sent, and that was almost 4 weeks ago--so I think I am not shortlisted. Never mind!

Yes at the moment my phd is not helpful for securing a job---I think the most useful point in securing a job is work experience...

and yes again at some point I did think my phd was useless.

For example---if there is a vacancy for ....say junior lecturer position in health and social care, they look for someone who is a registered nurse--who does NOT have a phd, or even masters degree (although a postgrad qualification would be advantageous).
So the phd is not helpful.

another example---say junior lecturer in social work/social studies. Even if you have a phd in a social work topic, they look for social workers---people with social work qualification (certificate) WITHOUT a postgrad degree, they prefer social workers who want to teach (in a university!) so again the phd is not useful.


HOWEVER ---

on the other hand, I did learn and gain positive stuff from the phd....

So I like to remind myself---hey satchi your phd is not useless, not useless, not useless.... :-)

oh yes, I do have some good news--

it is that I will be working for about 18 hrs (per week) in a chip shop!
not my dream job---but this was the first to say "please come and work here" so I'll be taking it on.
It's also a friend of a friend's shop so I didn't use a cv to apply etc.

I start in 2 weeks :-)

please do keep in touch

love satchi

hi newlease36

welcome to the forum! Firstly, you are so lucky that your parents are happy to support you. Yes, although they are not paying a huge amount for your expenses--it would be nice for you not to take anything from them (as you indicated---feeling a bit guilty). But never mind.

btw my father was always unwilling to contribute to my education. He was like this not only to me but for my other siblings! See the difference?!

First of all, don't feel guilty if you need your parents' help--and since they are more than willing to help you, accept their kind help, thank them with all your heart and continue being nice to them -- and concentrate on your phd (they will be so proud of you when you finish!).

If I have to choose between the Spider Room and the Tiny Room in a Shared House, I'll pick the Spider Room for privacy and space -- HOWEVER, given the fact that I have some monetary support (and so much love) from my parents, I'll continue my Room Hunt and search for other alternatives!

Look for another room without spiders :-)

love satchi

hi rndtransform
welcome to the forum! I have not heard of a collaborative phd --- but I think it is possible -- you first have different aspects in each other's phd -- and then combine them. Phds are supposed to be unique and contributory to knowledge :-) I think its a great idea! Have you identified any potential supervisors, as you'll need some guidance as well.

good luck!
love satchi

Hi nophdman
I'm not familiar with Urdu :-) but if Satchi means Truthful, I'm all for it!!!
I picked this name short from Sat-chit-ananda which means Full of Bliss in Sanskrit!
So I suppose using Satchi alone will mean I'm always FULL :-)

I was crazy about Sanskrit for a long time.
I loved the language so much.
Words like Karuna for Compassion.
Sahana for Forbearance.

so you have a job now? WOW! I'm so glad for you. I am still looking...looking at job adverts etc. :-)

and you still want to do a phd... I remember seeing your other thread about wanting to apply. But you have a job :-) if it were me--and I had a job of which I was happy doing--I would forget about doing the phd. It took me a long time to realise that I really shouldn't have started my phd--but at that time (when I started the phd!) I wasn't aware of this. But of course I can't change what has happened--and here I am, phd almost done (have to do viva) and still not found any paid work. Yet.

never mind :-)

be happy

love satchi

hi BRyanUsrey! congratulations on your new adventure :-)
Don't worry about it, you'll do just fine. I started posting in this forum when I was doing my masters---my confidence has grown too--along the way, I've also made new friends etc.

We have our ups and downs---for example I was quite down about my job applications--and got loads of advice from people--now I handle myself better :-)

If you feel like you don't know anything---this is a GOOD sign, believe me.
Be happy :-)

You'll be ok

love satchi

Thanks Tanemahuta!!!
love satchi

hi natalie!
for me it was the Project!
At first I didn't even realise where I was going to--until I checked again and again, it said England, UK

love satchi

hi nophdman
Can I just ask which (first) appeal did you do (based on the first part of your quoted response to Ian)? I'm just thinking about the £55K that they want you to pay--how will you go about that? If you don't plan to do anything, then it looks like nothing can be done--how will you move on like this? When did this (the cancellation of your UK visa and you had to go home) happen? Is there any way you can seek legal advice from where you are right now (India for example)?

I haven't heard of any university coming after a "failed" phd student to get the money back--but then again I myself have not been in the phd game long enough to know about this. Can someone else comment on this?

I'm also thinking about your wife and if she is alone in the UK with your child, how is she coping?

You say you want to move on. I think you need to heal yourself first--because you do sound very bitter--and seem to be holding on to all the injustice that has (unfortunately) occurred to you--sorry you may not like what I'm going to say--but here goes--are you able to "let this go", not to be attached to these angry thoughts, let them go--because if you can, your process of moving on will definitely be easier.

Good people, bad people, boiled, fried, steamed, baked, barbequed---they will always be there--
so what?!

never mind!

You are you. Move on as you said.

1. Give your wife the love and emotional support she needs
2. Give yourself time to heal
3. Think of positive things to do for yourself for the Day
4. Look for either a new phd or a job
5. Do not identify yourself with all the injustice and bad experience you had because this will feed the negativity in you
6. Do not think of the past, as it is gone
7. Do not think of the future, for it has yet to come
8. Just think of Now, just BE

love satchi

Today I feel like writing about other good (and cheap) stuff I've been using!
I've tried the Attitude tea tree concealer and the make-up setting spray.
They can be found at Savers. Attitude also has a fragrance stick (perfume/toilette spray I think!) and lip gloss etc. but I've not tried these other products. The reason is because everytime I see them on display, there are only a few sticks left--and the lip gloss somehow does not look appealing to me--packaging, maybe?

Anyway---

ATTITUDE tea tree concealer 3 STARS

PROS: It comes in a small lipstick-like stick and fits in my ittle make-up bag (which sits in my handbag)--it is very good for quick touch-ups, areas around the nose etc. on a day's outing etc. Costs just 89p (and other places do sell them for 99p). Coverage is light to medium depending on how you use it--but I generally use it for touch-ups, and not so much as a concealer.

CONS: Can be hard to blend, I find it a bit dry--so it's better to use a wet sponge and dab around the eye area.


ATTITUDE make-up fixing spray 5 STARS

PROS: It does the job--and is really great for the price (£1.99, £1.79 or sometimes £3 for 2 depending on which shop and when!). I use waterproof mascara, wait for it to dry and spray that with my eyes closed--and I have my mini-fan ready to help after spraying. If you want to use this for spraying the neck areas (so that you don't get foundation on your jacket collar etc.), this is it.

CONS: Can't really think of any.

Have a great day--and thanks for looking :-)

love satchi

hi hsk81
thanks for posting! I have not heard of **reStructuredText** (rST) so thank you for introducing this to me.

I only started using Latex because Word was running very slowly on my mac--and there was some incompatibility when I worked on my Word.doc on the pc--and then on the mac, and problems with referencing also occurred across platforms.

I wrote my thesis using LaTeX and for journal drafts I use Word because my supervisor likes word and doesn't really want to learn anything new.

For people to use rST (or Latex, whatever..and etc.) they need to have trouble-shooting tips and solutions, I think this is the biggest obstacle to using it. People generally want to do things painlessly.

I know about pain (HAHAHAHA) because I went through 2+ difficult weeks learning latex by myself. When I went online to see the issues and solutions on the latex forum, at first I couldn't even understand what users were talking about!!!

will you be using rST all the way then?
love satchi

Thank you Peppa
love satchi