======= Date Modified 09 Jul 2011 00:00:52 =======
Following on from the shortest and longest viva thing (sorry, didn't mean to hijack), a question.

What did you do once your viva finished?

If you passed, did you celebrate, how did you celebrate?  Honesty time, did you have too much to drink and do you have a tale to tell?  Or did you just spend the evening after quietly?

If you failed or were told you had to resubmit or go to second viva, how did you handle that?  Did you just want to hide away or did you just get back to work?

I ended up at the footy straight after (my beloved Sunderland - tale elsewhere).  My immediate colleagues who'd have plied me with drinks weren't there on the day of the viva.  The following day, I got straight down to the minor corrections and got the thing out of the way as quickly as possible.

I don't think I really got a proper celebration.  The reaction of my home-based mates was along the lines of "Thank god that's over!!!"

I spent the evening quietly with my husband. I'm not generally supposed to drink alcohol because of the many chemo drugs I take daily. But I had a small bottle of champagne, and treated myself. Well if I hadn't earned the right then I didn't know when I would.

And I totally failed to sleep the night after my viva, just as I'd failed to sleep the night before my viva. My mind was still racing far too much. I spent most of the next day asleep though.

I also spent quite a lot of time emailing people to let them know the result, such as supervisors (old and current), friends, and my former colleagues/supervisors for my previous go at a PhD which I had to leave after the neurological disease struck.

Oh and I passed mine, with just ridiculously minor typo corrections. So I had very big cause to celebrate.

After my corrections were approved hubby and I went for a meal out to my favourite restaurant. That's probably as close as we came to any conventional sort of celebration :p

I don't like counting my chickens as I still have a good year left on my PhD but I find myself thinking about what will I do IF I pass.

It generally ranges from a big family meal to screaming from the top of a hill lol

Also looking forward to ever so slightly rubbing it into anyone who ever doubted me. I will reply back in 12 months (up)

I've been thinking a bit recently about how tO celebrate submission and viva. I was originally hoping for two weeks in the carribean, but budget is unlikely to stretch to going anywhere now. Other plans are to get really drunk :$ get a tattoo (was planning one for last birthday) and read lots of fiction as I've pretty much been banned for the last year as I can't trust myself not to sit up til 4 am!

Is difficult to plan celebration post viva in case it doesn't go well. Post submission I'm going out all weekend!

I've been thinking a bit recently about how tO celebrate submission and viva. I was originally hoping for two weeks in the carribean, but budget is unlikely to stretch to going anywhere now. Other plans are to get really drunk :$ get a tattoo (was planning one for last birthday) and read lots of fiction as I've pretty much been banned for the last year as I can't trust myself not to sit up til 4 am!

Is difficult to plan celebration post viva in case it doesn't go well. Post submission I'm going out all weekend!

He he it sounds like a good idea though shame about the Caribbean holiday - that'd have been great!  I stopped reading fiction too as I would've have done the same so I'm reading (opps freudian slip;-)) forward to getting stuck in again! I've also just been given a pile of books that I can't wait to get started on! 

I went out and had all drinks paid for all night which was a really nice surprise. I thought I would get a few but my friends refused to let me pay for anything!  It was so surreal as it hadn't sunk in yet and it felt like it wasn't really happening to me! It was the weirdest experience I've ever had!  I didn't get much sleep that night either so I was absolutely knackered the next day as I had an awful night's sleep before the viva! I also had a meal or two out with other friends so it was well and truly celebrated!
(turkey)(sprout)(mince)(up)(gift)

Eeek, I've been thinking about what to do straight after my viva. I won't have time to celebrate my submission since the viva is so soon afterwards. I will have one free day after my viva then the next day (if all goes well with the viva) I'm off to a friend's wedding abroad for a few days with my boyf. It will be fantastic to get a few days away if the viva goes well but if it doesn't go well then I don't know what I'll do. Either way, I think straight after the viva I'll be downing lots of vodka! KB

======= Date Modified 09 Jul 2011 20:20:06 =======
Bilbo,

I know exactly what you mean by your mind still racing.  I stayed in that state but slowly coming down from it for 8 days after viva.  I suddenly realised I'd been in that state for about two years (stress of write-up) and it had really peaked on the last few days before the viva.

I'd gone for a long walk one lunchtime I think 8 days later (final corrections done, hardbound copies in and documentation signed off the previous day) and suddenly realised I had nothing more to do.  I found myself thinking "Now what?"  I'd throttled down to normal for the first time in two years and realised I needed a quiet period to get my life back in perspective.  A holiday to South Africa followed a couple of months later.

(I admit the comical moments I mentioned on the shortest and longest viva thread did make things less stressful mind. That could all only happen to me!!! :-) )

As an aside, the wisdom of needing a quiet period was made clear to me when I started a second post-doc at another University and the girl who was my (de-)mentor was clearly in some sort of hyper mode.  She'd gone through 5 years before, but had never taken a breather following her own PhD launching herself with apparently the same energy into her post-doc work.  I found her Prof in one of his more civil moments towards me was worried about her fragility and looking back, I can see why.  You have to throttle down for the sake of your own health.

A old computing lecturer of mine said you need a quiet two years to follow (women seem to recover more quickly than men, though).

Even now back in the real world, I feel I need to be of some sort of help to others in the post-grad marketplace. Bar 'Delta' (I really repsect his / her point of view), the stresses and frustrations that many face during the process have to be shared. You cannot keep that level of stress bottled up inside you.

Ian (Mackem_Beefy)

I have only just passed (on Wednesday) and can totally relate to these posts.  My mind is still replaying the viva and disseminating the whole process and yes I have been so tired after all of the write-up phase and associated stress. It hasn't fully sunk in yet but I am sure it will once my head has dealt with this weeks experience!  I didn't celebrate, had a buffet lunch with the examiners, chair person and supervisor before driving 3 1/2 hours home to my family. Hubby and I had a glass of wine to celebrate but have not managed an evening out together yet (got to sort babysitters, blah, blah etc).  It would be lovely to go out and have a small celebration or better still a trip away but reality of a very young family restricts spontaneity. Oh well, just a few corrections to do and then maybe I will get a chance to celebrate properly.

Erm, I rang my parents and then drove home and we had a meal out (was living there at the time). Bit of a letdown as had to go to work the next morning but had cakes and lunch out there, which was nice. Then at the weekend saw friends and let my hair down 8-)

Hmm, nothing too dramatic. It conveys most on here are older, many with families and possibly returnees after some time in the real world before PhD, that there's seemingly no major celebration (or comiseration) drink on the evening after. This is actually in line with what I expected.

My predecessor got carted off to the nearest pub to where he was in digs (i.e. crawling distance)and basically got plied with drink all night. It was basicaly planned to get him mortal. However, he came straight from degree onto his PhD, was single at the time and thus had a slightly younger social circle to mix with.

I would have loved to have gone out for the evening for celebrations after 6 long years but reality dictates the quietness of my celebrations. I am hoping to make the graduation a special event with a little bit of prior planning :p