First of all congratulations!
Second: Is the Ph.D. science/lab based? I'm only saying as my supervisor just got back from maternity leave herself and had her lab work severely scaled back due to some of the nasty chemicals we work with. If this is the case it's best to tell your supervisor ASAP or if you aren't comfortable telling him then at least the department safety advisor.
If this doesn't apply then wait until you are comfortable to tell him and the shock has worn off.

Thank you pinneapple!
Things are slowly improving but its very much one step forward several back. It's just nice to know i'm not alone.

:-)

Thank you for the comments. I have taken to doing the minimum amount of work this week and not really going into the department and trying to sort out catching up with friends I haven't seen in a long time. Has made me feel a lot better, though its looking like this split with my boyfriend is not going to be straight-forward or simple (when are they?).Least I'm starting to feel a bit better, might even do some writing later. Though I wouldn't put money on that. :p

Hi guys, I'm feeling so down at the moment, I have no motivation to feel like I can carry on with PhD-ing or anything in general right now. I've just had the worst week and a half possible. Work is stagnating after slogging hard for two weeks. I managed to achieve nothing last week practically wise, which is worrying when I'm due to finish in September. A close family member of mine is in hospital with heart failure which is likely to be either surgery or the whole how long is a piece of string to the next event, then the medical profession may not be able to save her next time. On top of that I've just split up with my boyfriend of 3 years, I feel very hurt and adrift, its worse as its me who called it a day and he's now started turning to emotional blackmail. He was complaining he could only put up with my phd. I have no idea why he resents my studies so much he's always been so supportive in the past! :-( . To make matters worse my supervisor is back tomorrow from maternity leave, has no idea about my project and doesn't like me. why does it always rain all the rubbish at once!!!

Pineapple,
I think we must have had similar experiences. I've spent the last few months going through the rollercoaster as well. Last week was a particular brand of new hell for me - nothing hugely bad went wrong i just think I've had enough. Even burst into tears when one of the 1st year phd's thought he was being helpful pointing out weaknesses in my characterisation work. The spin coater broke and my postdoc failed to look after my cells so destroyed a whole experiment which was very costly to set up, then had my lit review ripped to shreds by my co-sup who I hardly see. I also have to point out that my co-sup is in a scottish uni after moving there last year and my main sup is away on maternity leave so I have no idea what kind of hell i'm to expect when she gets back, as i've been kinda supervising myself and get left out of meetings frequently. Maybe point out to your supervisor you were suprised you weren't included in the meetings esp if the new projects are going to be based on your work!
All I can think of is take a few days off and not touch any work to try and buck your mood up. Its what i'm doing at the end of the week. Otherwise i'm go totally mad. Maybe you could try going out and doing a hobby you've not touched in ages or see some friends who won't mention the PhD and just go have some fun. Hope that helps. ;-)

Hello people. I'm due a massive venting session as I've had the worst week possible and by that I include both days of the weekend. I've been stuck in the lab solid. Had to prep up over 100 samples, wait for cells to grow and seed them up and run assays. nothing new there only the cells grew on the non fouling surfaces (i.e. should stick to them and curl up and die) and died on stuff they should grow on i.e. glass of all things. Means the work has to be done again. Add to that I didn't put enough of another type of cell on the samples going for PCR analysis which meant no cell pellet. I've worked about 6-8 hours both days of the weekend to have a slap in the face, and I'll be just expected to get up and do it all again next week. I'm about ready to cry. Not to mention I haven't got any supervisors to go talk to as they are both AWOL (maternity leave and new chair at different uni). I just want to curl up and cry. I've promised myself I'll never quit as it'll just bring too much pleasure to my former supervisor who would love to see me fail not to mention is the head of my research area in the department. I keep telling myself its only another few months to get all my practical work done then I can write up but I have no idea if I have the mental toughness anymore to cope with the C**P anymore. The uni owes me loads of cash none of it is forthcoming despite me kicking the finance dept loads. I'd really love a weekend off (I haven't had one since I started back after Xmas) but the likelihood is I'll be facing more weekends like this one.
Rant over. :-s

LOL. thanks at least that made me smile when I read that. Perhaps I should procrastinate more on here and less on the evils of facebook. ;-)

Hello All, I'm also about 3 months into my final year. I'm still in the lab at the moment and occasionally writing when I feel like it or another experiment fails and I can't face doing it again in the same week. I have managed to draft a lit review chapter so things are looking up. Though my list of practical work is still very large - i'm hoping to be out the lab by may (end of)... though knowing my luck it will be july. I'm also in the unfortunate position of not having any supervision at present. My main supervisor is on maternity leave til May - so not looking forward to her coming back and sending me back in the lab simply because she hasn't been here or in touch., my co-supervisor moved to a new uni to take up a chair so is busy setting up his new group there, i see him about once a month if i'm lucky. so if I do get finished by september it will be some kind of miracle! Any motivational words will be welcome.
:p

I've left water bath on over night before and its been fine, though at lower temperatures of 37C. Obviously if the lid is on you have nothing to worry about if there is no lid I'd make sure its topped up with a lot of water to counteract the evapouration overnight. as long as it doesn't run dry you should be ok. Is there anyone in Uni that you can text who can nip in and check on it quickly and top it up if needbe?

Hi guys,
I just need to blow off some steam right now. I'm having a day that just seems to yo-yo up and down, but it feels like its been going on for months. As some of you may know from my previous posts I'm on supervisors 2&3 due to a dispute with my first supervisor. when my new supervisors they were here in my second year things went a lot better. I won't say smoothly but better, now I'm faced with my main supervisor on maternity leave and the co-sup just been promoted to chair at another Uni (he is try his best to keep in touch but its hard).The post docs left behind are very knowledgeable but not my area of research and aren't being very encouraging in the slightest, the meeting this morning was just a do it again cos they can't think of any decent constructive input. I've had a fight with my finance department to ship something DHL and when I put the chemicals together to be shipped I discovered one of them that was un-opened has gone "missing" in another does of departmental "borrowing" despite all the other chemicals that came in the shipment being there.I need the chemicals for Weds to run synthesis work. On the plus side the uni have finally paid me my expenses and teaching work I did back in September!!!If I was on the staff this wouldn't have happened. I'm sick of being treated like I don't matter. I had some time off the other week, but it just wasn't enough. Its not likely I'm going to get any more off with my final 9 months looming large- to make matters worse my office mates already seem to have the bones of their thesis done when in reality what they've done won't even count as a chapter in the eyes of my new supervisors. I'm totally depressed and I still don't have an optimized system. makes me wonder why I'm doing all of this!! Sorry to rant guys but I feel like I'm at the end of my patience.

Sorry for what will be a major rant. My wonderful finance office has done it again. Obviously being in an engineering department the likelihood for things going tits up is great, but this takes the biscuit. I've spent the last two weeks manufacturing surfaces to be used on a TOFSIMS microscope at another university. Gave the samples to finance office with completed DHL form and dept requisition explaining that the samples had to be at the other university by today to be put under vacuum conditions for tomorrow. I gave them the samples on monday for next day delivery or same day depending on what they wanted to do. In the event neither event has happened mostly because the head of finance can only sign off the DHL forms and was "unavailable" and i've been lied to about whats been going on.
I've since had to phone the other university to explain the f*** up and re-arrange the work. On top of that the still haven't processed 3 order i put in back in june!Why are university finance offices just penny pinching idiots that can't manage to help the PhD students get their work done.
Add to that I won't see the money from demonstrating last week til the december paycheck.
grrrrrrrrrrrr
Rant over!

one of the buildings I work in has just put the olympic coverage by the BBC on the TV in the canteen, thats my afternoon gone!

I had to change my supervisor at the end of my first year. I found that they weren't being helpful at all, frequently cancelling meetings and when I did see her I got fobbed off elsewhere with little interest in my work unless it was suddenly going to produce a paper or patent. Since I've changed supervisor I've had a much better time in terms of supervison, meetings are constructive and I feel like my work actually has some meaning. If you really are unhappy I'd change now rather leaving it until your writing up. Its good you have a co-supervisor they frequently help things along and may be able to get your main supervisor to take more of an interest. Hope everything sorts itself out.

More likely to be a Costa or Starbucks.

Very Simpsons.

Hi guys,
Am having a serious amount of trouble to keep motivated at the minute. Everything goes against me. How hard does this sound to you: grow cells for two weeks without antibiotic, harvest , send to company to be tested so I can move to a clean uninfected lab. Only my cell lab is a playground for infection with an ineffective cell tech who should have been replaced years ago. On the other hand my chemicals go missing - I've had this rant before despite multiple Do NOT borrow notices on them and locking them away. Plus the last of the monomer I use is running out and the company we order from says it could be a few months til we get anymore- so after my last 3g have gone , I'll be sat with nothing to do! This is a typical life for the last few months- am at the end of my patience. HELP!