On reflection, I'm not too sure why I said that. But if that DID happen, then at least you wouldn't have had to worry about it being identifiable! Tee hee!
:-)

Good job there weren't any naughty pictures on it. That would have been more terrifying!:-)

Ooh - the other thing - swap your desk chair for a gym ball. Sounds daft, but your body automatically adjusts itself to keeping you in a really good posture, and while it does this it tones up all your back and tummy muscles - without the need to do sit ups and all that boring stuff.

======= Date Modified 06 Mar 2010 23:12:38 =======
I bought myself a little trampoline and it's awesome! It cost me around £25 about a year and a half ago.

I tend to leave it out in the middle of the room right near my desk, and every time I get stressed or bored I go and have a bounce on it. It's great fun! You can jump on it while you're thinking about your work, you can jump on it to music, while you watch something on BBC iplayer, or just go and act like a plonker on it. Either way, it gets rid of all my shoulder and neck tensions, gives me a lovely rosy glow, AND with all that jumping I'm probably burning a few cals too.
Oh yeah, also, if like me you're worried about what all this sitting around is doing for your circulation, it totally sorts that out too.

WARNING: just don't jump on it after downing a cup of tea or after eating. I learnt this one the hard way.
:-)

If you're worried about getting the body lotion on the bra, start with those areas first, and by the time you have finished applying it on your arms, legs, etc, it should be dry. If not, what I tend to do is put some comfortable (cotton) clothes on straight away (like PJ's - clothes that I won't wear outside), and it will either dry underneath the clothes or absorb better into the skin. You can then potter about putting make-up on, deciding what to wear, sorting out bag, etc, while it dries. Either way, you won't have to stand around naked getting cold. Or better still, put it on before bed.

Thanks for all of the replies. You've given me a lot to think about.

I'm a little disappointed that I haven't had that feeling yet Eska. Saying that, I haven't really allowed myself the opportunity to fully immerse into the water - probably for fear that I'll drown. But how selfish is that? I mean, not only am I letting myself down here, but I'm also letting down the people who have supported and encouraged me through all this, namely, my mum and dad. They've never been able to financially support me thru uni, but they've always cared and had the time to give me advice, no matter what. Keenbean, putting a photo of the people you care about near your writing desk is such a lovely thing to do. It shows that a part of your motivation comes from wanting others to feel happy and proud, and not just from a sense of personal gain.

I think that I've got a little too wrapped up in myself lately. Drowning in my dreams, rather than keeping my head above and in reality.
Need to keep focused now.
Thanks for your advice Sue. The one thing that had occurred to me when reading your post was that I don't have any concrete deadlines. My supervisor seems far too relaxed about the dates that my work needs to be in by. And even though I should be the one etching the deadlines in stone and sticking to them, I seem to be thinking more about the total word count, rather than breaking it down into little bits. Pants. What a mistake that was.
Apparently, there's nothing to fear but fear itself. So, if all else fails, I'll definitely keep your advice in mind, Chris, about freeing up some head space. I don't want to be consumed by panic anymore.
And as for the graduation ceremony - I completely forgot about that. I didn't go to my undergrad one because I stupidly believed that although, in the end, I managed to scrape the grade I needed to do my masters, I didn't work hard enough to deserve to go to the graduation ceremony. I know that sounds like I was being a bit harsh on myself, but I compensated it with the idea of going to the one at the end of this course, which sounded better anyway.

I definitely need to mix things up a bit, and going part-time is probably the most sensible thing to do right now. I need to wake up to the real world. Getting a job where I will be mingling with people who have completely different interests will help a lot, I think.
I love my subject - but not 24/7.

For now, though, I'm off to clear up some head room. I'm going to try and get on with it. Do a bit of reading, type up some notes, and who knows, maybe I'll be able to make a start on a draft. One step at a time.

Thanks again for the advice. Seeing as I can't get you guys a round of drinks, will stars suffice?

======= Date Modified 20 56 2010 16:56:28 =======
I've been having a few motivational problems recently, and even got myself to the level where I can't even remember why on earth I am still at university. I'm planning on going part-time so that I can mix my life up a little, and do all the other things that I've been wanting to do. Earning a bit of extra cash would be quite nice too.

Just wanted to know, what motivates you, or, what motivated you when you first started your course?
Sometimes I can motivate myself, but the good feeling will only last for a day or two. How do you keep it up?

Everyone's tips, ideas, and stories would be really appreciated! :-)

HERE I AM!! *Flutter Flutter*

This Cobweb ain't made outa no spider juice! I've got WINGS!!! And I'm gonna fly back up to top position!

(robin) "tweet tweet"

YAWN! What a lovely sleep... ooh, and I just happened to have woken up here...wow. That can only mean one thing...I WON!

:$ oops. morning wind. (turkey) what the hell was the robin doing there?!?

I've got until the end of the month to get it all done, but I've only done about 50% of the research and haven't really got down to the nitty gritty of what I'm going to put in the essay yet. I'm pretty sure that more ideas will evolve over the next few days though, but I so wish that I was there with all the ideas now as I just want to get writing now.
When I was an undergraduate, I used to be able to get pretty good essays out in a day or two (from beginning to end), and they were 2,500 words, so I'm really hoping that these last two weeks will be enough.
If it didn't turn out as good as I wanted it, would the sup give me time to improve, or is it generally expected that I hand in a near perfect chapter? (Bearing in mind that this is the very first chapter)

There hasn't really been any mention of how the phd will be funded yet, or about when and how I will go about applying, so... I'm (perhaps stupidly) assuming that there may be some funding there for me if I get that distinction, if so, I want to do the best that I can possibly do so that I don't lose out on it. The sup has mentioned to me that when I upgrade to a phd I will be sent abroad to do some research. If he wasn't intending to fund it then how else would I be making that trip?
Am I barking up the wrong tree here do you think?

One thing that puts the wind up me a bit with all this sitting around and studying lark, is that I'm starting to get dull aches in my legs and backside, and to my absolute horror I've noticed loads of little spider veins appearing!
(I've titled this a girly topic, but I'm pretty sure that some men may get this problem too, so guys, feel free to comment.)

The thing is, it scares the bloody hell out of me because some people say that they will disappear on their own after some time, but others say that once they appear they will never go away! Which is it?! Will they stay or will they go?

(Don't really wanna say it... but a thin blue one has started to appear on my face, so I'm really hoping they do disappear coz although it isn't that noticeable at the moment, I'm scared that it might get a lot worse.)

Is there anyone out there who also gets this (apparently only cosmetic problem), and if so, what do you do about them?

Well, basically I'm doing a research masters in a humanities subject with the hope of upgrading to a phd at the end. I've been advised not to bother with doing a whole chapter just on a lit. review, but rather to bring in secondary literature as and when it is needed throughout my chapters (not sure if this is the norm, but it is what I've been told to do).
The fear was put into me a bit though when my sup said that if I want to progress onto a phd then I HAVE to get a distinction.

I just realised that the title sounds so dodgy: 'How long does it take you' :-) Tee Hee!