Nothing here for me today either - a stay of execution...

He he, love the thankyou card!!!

I've not heard anything from panel 4 yet - as soon as I see some I'll start doing major panic fits (more than normal - should be televised!!) Panel 3 seems to be the panel of the moment. IF they are going in order then there have been panel 2s a couple of days back, panel 3s yesterday - does that possibily mean panel 4 today??? I hope not - I still have my conclusion to write!!

Oooh, another for the songs of doom!

Life is a Lemon - Meatloaf

for those who haven't heard it, it is a must if the worst happens!!

I will have to have a think about letterbox vigil songs (there are plenty I'm sure), but for the follow up - Songs of Doom

Bad Day
I will survive
Why does it always rain on me?

More to follow

The process is far more brutal this year than on previous years and damned good applicants will be rejected - that upsets me!

Dervish, is there any way that you could begin your Phd, for the first year whilst still working to keep the roof over your head, then reapply through your uni next year with the hope of getting the final years funded? If you do a good MA and you then have the results to show next year, and work with your supervisor in the first year, then I think you'd have a far better chance of funding. This year would be very tough, but I'm not sure that in the first year the workload is significantly more than an MA (although I may be wrong there!) Speak to your dept Dervish, you have worked so hard, and put yourself through so much to get where you are now, that it would be awful to see you have to step away

And Dervish don't you DARE hold back - churn out a fantastic dissertation, then reapply next year when the system will be different! You've worked to damned hard the last year to let something like this lower your grade!

MsKoncept, last year my dept sent back my acceptance by special delivery! I trust them lol - and when I went in to wave the letter around a bit the secretary grabbed it and send she would send it for me thus cutting down on the anxiety levels I also rang a few days later to make sure that they had received it!

Yes Dervish, this is NOTHING to do with your academic ability or your suitability for academia in general. It is a simply a reflection of the extreme rate of competition for these awards. We are all, to have got this far, and through the first round, of similar academic ability - we have to be or we would not be considered in the first place! It comes down to whether your proposed topic was something that the AHRC was particularly interested in funding over the 3K other applications, and other matters such as the dept you would be studying in and the resources available.
Don't see this as a rejection of you, simply that there are not enough funds to go around and the AHRC have to decide which particular proposals they wish to fund the study of this year - and that changes every single year!

really sorry dervish I'm gutted for you. At least the wait is over, but so disappointing to hear that it ended this way. Panel 3.... it was panel 2 I think yesterday - might this mean panel 4 tomorrow??????? who knows, but damn this is hell

Everything crossed for you! Last year the FLoJ arrived on the one morning that week that I was out and working all day - I was only working pt and mostly afternoons. My husband showed up at lunchtime saying he had decided to come into town for a coffee - he presented me with the FLoJ (that he had steamed open!!! grrrr - just to check) in the middle of Costa Coffee! I wonder if people were concerned by my scream and then collapse into floods of tears lol - he could have picked somewhere more private lol lol

a drum kit???? - I bribed mine with a nintendo Wii!! So far it is working nicely We brought it at the beginning of the holidays and the appeal hasn't dropped so far - result!

I take the opposite approach - my caravan converted into a pink palace of an office is down the garden as far from the house as possible. That way I'm not sitting listening - however the gate from the house is infront of me and I find myself staring in terror everytime someone comes out to see if they are waving an envelope lol.

Nothing yet.....

The letterbox vigil is also beginning again this am - but with the added twist of will the TL be a TLoD or a TLoJ - how high can a human heart rate rise and how much stress can be inflicted before spontaneous combustion takes place - that could be an interesting study.... Had to lol at the idea of the FLoD and the alternative occupations booklet
Sigh, so much work to do - I'm having to carefully proofread the drafts before sending them to my supervisor to check for accidental inclusion of 'AHRC' 'was that the post' 'omg!!!!!!!!!!!'

Maybe today is the day for that particular category then.... I'm feeling plunged into the depths of depression atm. I think I'm just knackered and I have a man-cold, (been working since 9am) and now know that I have the agony of opening the hateful envelope with no idea of what its contents will say

lol, well, best to know, one might be brown and A4 and the other yellow with flowers and birthday card sized!!! you never know

Thanks for that and enjoy your celebrations

Now I must go and take some medication of some kind, my postman obsession is rapidly deteriorating into an envelope one too - this is so not good. I'm wondering if I can sue the AHRC for the deterioration of my mental faculties? This could take YEARS to get over

oh oh, tell me though before you go and get 'celebrating'!! Is it an A4 size thin letter, or one of those little thin letters?? Must know - and what does a TLoD look like - does anyone know - one of the foldy type letters or a nice flat A4?? (and yes, I'm obsessed, I admit it!)