Good call Wally, my choice this evening is a liqueur coffee, no work done yet but it does taste nice.
I have a video somewhere of almost my entire extended family (about 25 people aged 10 to 80) singing and miming along to that Kate Bush song - it's terrifying yet hilarious viewing. Includes a particularly touching duet between my sister and uncle, and some awesome "drawing windows in the air" work by my mother.

Oh dear Bug, sounds just like mine. Have you tried asking for a second opinion? Usually there's at least one half-competent GP per practice, you just have to track them down. The first time I went my current practice with this stuff (bearing in mind I have a history of poor mental health including long term hospitalizations) I was basically told "yeah, you just need more to do, then you won't have time to be anxious" - Eh?! In fairness, they're not just sh*t at mental health, they also like to ignore blatant physical illness as well, I keep wanting to add a post-it note to consultants letters saying "I told you so" :p

Still, I'll just have to picket the guys desk again and tell him what to prescribe - any recommendations welcome!

They've all been there Wally. Behind every illustrious professor in his ivory tower there lies a wealth of dodgy small-time hustling, how else did they get so good at grant applications? In fact that's rather an amusing idea, if only there were footage of our supervisors in their past work incarnations. How much easier would it be to face your external having seen him or her greasy-haired, poorly-attired, and wiping tables in Maccy-Ds?

My goal is to make an appointment to see my doctor and discuss going back on some kind of anti-anxiety medication. And tomorrow i will try to go for a run as it's been over a week! Hopefully if I can get even a little more balance back mentally I'll be able to be healthy in other ways too. So, back to brave my painfully ignorant GP practice again...

The DFS crew are properly ODD wally! You're well out of that one.
But Betterware, hmm, you could get some useful freebies and you'd be famous amongst the OAP community for years to come - think of the opportunities for high tea and inheritance?

Thanks alpaca! But at the same time, oh dear, what have I just done..... think I might have to ration in in return for actually getting some work done :s Mmmm, 60p coffee, that would totally ruin me. Our lovely espresso machine broke last week, just after I started working from home (link?) so I may be saved from death by caffeine.

I would ask for more details, absolutely. You want to know what the research is really about before making a decision anyway, so maybe compile a brief list of questions and send them to the potential supervisor.

Other than that, you can talk about what motivates you to do a phd (career aspirations, love of research process), why you want to work with that department/supervisor (reference their recent publications, etc) and generally why you're interested in the topic - if you can tie this into undergrad studies or work you've already done, it's especially convincing. Five minutes is very short so a few sentences of each would do I imagine.

As for what the interview will be like, it really can vary a great deal. But expect general questions about your ambitions and motivations regarding academia. Be prepared to give examples of how you've structured and carried out work in the past, any dissertation research is usually good for this. Make sure you're background knowledge is up to scratch and that you know a bit about the group you'll be joining. Aside from that, be yourself and good luck!

Ooh, Alpaca, where are you streaming ugly betty from? I've not had it for a few months now and I miss Ms Suarez terribly.

I am addicted to all caffeinated beverages, as well as several brands of instant hot chocolate (periodically the current brand will make me feel ill so I rotate them). I am also utterly addicted to the internet - this forum included - and incurably hooked on procrastination. My radio 4 obsession I don't regret a bit, although once I actually start to enjoy The Archers I may worry.

Angel, I'm so sorry you've had to go through this. But well done on making a courageous decision, from how you're feeling now it sounds as if it was the right one. Look after yourself and enjoy the extra freedom this has given you, I'm really glad you have that weight off your shoulders at last.

I'd like to nominate Sneaks for "most creative sleeping arrangements" (she assures me no animals were harmed in the stealing of that dog basket) and also for "best marriage management techniques" (ie - distracting her hubby with the lure of video games so she can actually work).

Sue gets one for "crisis-line support", on account of always being up when one of us is having a 3am meltdown, and giving utterly wise advice to boot.

Wally's posts have been acknowledged but I think he also deserves an award for "new man of academia" as he's always bashing his own gender and being nice to the girls.

Natassia for "most glamorous academic" as her recent posts have had me looking at my dishevelled countenance in shame!

Mathkitty for "most delightful number-cruncher", she really must be the loveliest mathematician I've almost met.

Ev for "just when you needed her” as she often pops up to support people on quieter threads.

R_U_4_REAL_NICK for “most time-consuming name to type”, and perhaps a sideline in being utterly blunt in an amusing way.

Maria1 for “making everyone think about babies” – congrats on the triplets again!

Ah so many, but I think I should stop lest I get the coveted “ultimate procrastinator”.

Ah, congratulations! And what gorgeous names, good job Maria1 :-)

Congratulations wally, you've clearly been making your mark :-) As for the workload, I think it depends very much on the individual. A student I work with tidied one section, sorted the references and got first author, others have done a lot of donkey work for considerably less recognition. Could you have a chat with him and ask how he wants to divide the work, writing, etc?

Well done Liminalplace! That's fantastic news.

I think sometimes it takes time for these things to sink in. And with so much gone into it, it's hard not to feel a bit dazed in the end, try to enjoy your success!

The pics idea is great Ev, thanks! I may make her a little photoshopped card tmw. I did see her last week as I went down following the death of my great aunt, I'm pretty far away though so i won't be popping back for Sunday itself. My original plan was to make her a box of gluten-free muffins (she's wheat intolerant) and post them down nicely wrapped, I was worried about them getting trashed but I think I'll go for it after all and hope special delivery does its stuff.