Maria I can only hope that as someone has said, he is projecting his own insecurities. How dare he criticise your weight?! The fact that he was stroppy about it suggests there might be something going on for him, otherwise he really is a t****r!

My husband is a less fit and toned than when we first met, but I resolutely refuse to acknowledge he's changed because he wouldn't be able to delineate between that admission and my thinking he's less attractive (he's still fitter than most and very handsome!). But he, in a fit of what I can only imagine to be some sort of death wish, told me at christmas that my arse had gotten bigger! He's been paying for that slip ever since....... sometimes I really wonder what goes through their heads.

Hmm, quite a bit of faffing today (but I did finally get those pancakes :-) ) Today I want to finish the first draft of my introduction and lit review, ready to hit those experimental chapters next week. With a bit of luck and a following wind that could see me submitting my drafted first three chapters a good few weeks ahead of schedule! Time to grab those tomatoes.

Oh Sue, I'm so sorry to hear you're feeling like that :-( It's a special kind of depressing when job applications feel like giving in.
But honestly, keep your eye on the prize. If you have to take another job then just see it as a temporary post to finance your road to academia, keep your contacts warm (naf term but you get my drift) in research and make sure people know you're available should anything come up. I take it this job has a firm start date and you couldn't delay it until the thesis is done?

Hehe, taxi drivers are always the broadest. Glasgow is indeed a fun city, are you down there for long?
Hope the research goes well (tip: avoid anyone carrying buckfast) ;-)

I've got a few months to go but I was planning on some sort of alcoholic contribution to each of my team (sup no1 has a handy penchant for whisky and red wine).

Thinking of you today Moomin, hope it goes well.

Hmm, it certainly sounds as if a few of them are taking it rather personally. If your department have allowed the change then they should support you, how important/relevant are the people making these remarks?
Is there someone senior on your team who you feel you could go to for an honest discussion about this? I think you need to talk it over quite bluntly with someone who has the facts and can put them in context. While we could speculate on here, it would be no help at all if we got it wrong!

Well done for having such a calm and collected attitude to it Bilbo, I hope I'm like that when the time comes :-)

Be brave moomin, you'll be ok :-)

Oh the jealousy. I went running at lunchtime so had to leave lunch until half three (grah). By which point I couldn't wait for pancakes and schnarfed a tuna salad because it was ready made. Tonight though, tonight I SHALL have my pancakes!

Afraid I can't help JM but hopefully someone else on here will have a closer link. Good luck anyway!

I need a little sunshine in my lonely day of writing, so I kindly request an influx of jokes or humorous anecdotes from the assembled company. I shall start.
*Ahem*
Did you hear about the magic tractor?

.......................It turned into a field.
Boom Boom.
Who's next?

Hmm, if my memories of psychology lectures are at all correct (they were somewhat beer-hazed) then there are significant effects for impact of both the first thing encountered and the last - which doesn't help us at all! My gut feeling would be to start strong with a clear pattern of work, and put the odd chapter last as a kind of pilot study. You'll be putting in a load of caveats and future work suggestions at the end anyway so you can use it as a talking point rather than firm conclusion.

Hope that helps a smidge :-)

That's a great target catnap! And a great name, oh how I could do with a little nap now....

Hmmm, if in doubt I always take the formal approach and then wait for them to reply with a sign-off of "Bob". Then my next reply uses that address. Being bottom of the ladder myself I find it hard to imagine how profs feel about this, so I always err on the side of cautious courtesy.