It was a long journey which was difficult and lonely. The forum has helped me to remain sane at times and provided entertainment at others. Now that it's all over I do not feel like celebrating but empty and in need of a new balance in my life. I need to leave this behind, including this forum. I would appreciate if my forum membership is terminated by the administrators.

All the best to everyone on here who travelled with me through the virtual spheres of our common challenge. I hope you all get a PhD in the end, and if not, remember, there are so many much more important things in life.

Jouri

P.S.: special wishes to H, ChrisRolinski, Juno, jojo, 404, Golfpro, thecoastman, sylvester, smilodon, insomnia, athina and all the others who were there so many years ago when I joined the forum.

======= Date Modified 16 Nov 2008 13:19:40 =======

I have to admit my reply was a bit rude. That's what happens if painkillers stop working and the viva is looming on top- but no excuses so I hereby apologise for the tone of my earlier reply.

What I originally intended to express was nothing but "life is tough". Hierarchies seem to be very rigid in academia and PhD students are, after all, students and should not expect better treatment than Undergraduate Students from admins and faculty. However, the issue with the payment is pretty annoying - I hope it will be sorted out quickly.

Stop moaning - listen to yourself. We've all been going through the same shit. Try to live with it - it's part of the test a PhD constitutes. Some give up because they are too weak. Even if you are working in a normal company you have to earn respect for more than 1.5 years and work your way up the ranks before important people remember your name. I understand the problem but it's just the way it is.

I will have a complicated emergency wisdom tooth extraction on Monday and my viva on Tuesday - now that is life kicking your arse. I could throw it all in and start crying but I won't. Probably won't be able to speak without pain in the viva but that's life.

I do understand your frustration.

However, I strongly advise that you conduct all the revisions your supervisor wants. If you feel they are inappropriate, try to get an independent opinion of an expert in your field and discuss the outcome with your supervisor. But don't try to submit without supervisor's approval. You would most likely fail.

Doesn't make any sense. Do you mean someone who is interested in a discussion about theology? If that is the case, why would that only be possible with people who are doing a PhD?

OR

Do you mean you want to find out more about PhD studies in this discipline? If that is the case, be more specific as you will otherwise be ignored.

Flakey, how could you possibly advise someone who cannot cope very well with stress to do a Part-Time PhD (i.e. DOUBLE the stress)????

It might help to do a Masters degree first. That extra year or two could potentially narrow down your research interests. Apart from that it is important to remember that a PhD has nothing in common with studies at Undergraduate or even Masters level, so think hard if you really want to be miserable, lonely and working long hours for the next three to four years. You say you are not good at handling stress. In this case be warned that a PhD does mean stress, a lot of it, by its very nature.

======= Date Modified 16 Oct 2008 19:15:36 =======
As a general advise, stay away from round emails, unless they have something to do with your PhD. I usually press delete before I even read them, hasn't done me any harm so far (Post-submission/Pre-Viva stage).

Two problems: book summaries carry no prestige, i.e. they are not regarded as "proper" publications by your colleagues, hence doing little to improve your reputation. even the opposite.

Secondly, sounds like donkey work, nobody wants to do it, takes a long time, rewards are little. Given that you are a new PhD student you obviously don't know this and might get exploited for more donkey tasks in the future.

Do yourself a favour and focus on your PhD. There are too many distractions and side paths which lead into misery, only.

Sorry, Alice - I simply regarded your "problem" as so ridiculous that I replied to you in private. Didn't want to bore the rest of the world with it. But if you feel offended by receiving PM's - please go ahead and ask the forum administrators to disable the function (or block me).

For the general public: I told her that the archives are not lost with a new username and that this is only a bloody forum anyway. May I just add to that: get a life.

======= Date Modified 14 Oct 2008 19:52:04 =======
What's the fuss all about? Just register with a new username...takes a minute.

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