are there social activities in the department? it helps to talk with other fellow students to see how they are dealing with it.. I am in an engineering lab with projects and teams, so academic bonding is not a big issue.

i think some people are like that. I am not really sure how to deal with them. It kinds of depends on how your biggest supervisor is like. One of my friends had such a pain-of-ass person is her thesis evaluation committee( I don't know how to say it properly), who complains about her work very negatively and rudely. later her biggest supervisor fired that person in the committee .. but not all biggest supervisors are nice people, in that case, either you become very smart to deal with them, or in my case, leave for a better place..

being a single PhD does make me feel lonely sometimes.. that's probably why I miss my time as a (master) student in a big class. luckily I like my work.

sympathy.. well, if anyone of us faced this kind of disappointment, the only thing we can do is to move on and try to do the best we can. MPhil is not such a bad thing after all. Be strong!

hehe, I was just talking about qualification for a job in industry. No selling for any companies. I want to stay in academia, I like teaching..

hehe, sometimes, we use "boring" words just to hide our true feelings. like "this work is interesting"( hmm, how do I comment on this work without lying but not offensive as well..)

well, as I found out, a lot of top companies (only) hire PhD in their research team, like IBM, Intel, at least for some positions.

don't understand why some people cannot directly give comments. especially in academia.. collins dictionary doesnot seem to think Feisty as a compliment though, well he may have used it in another way though:
quote."
If you describe someone as feisty, you mean that they are tough, independent, and spirited, often when you would not expect them to be, for example because they are old or ill.
At 66, she was as feisty as ever.
= spunky "

working can be a pleasure; in that case, it is a blessing..

i think you are free to contact other supervisor(s) or colleagues when your main supervisor cannot be reached. so just go ahead, don't worry too much.

well, if she is on holiday, there is nothing you can do.. most people don't respond to work emails during holidays. Is there any other people you can turn for help?

email, definitely. the report, it depends on how long you have worked; if you have been working for a while, sure you should write something down as a reference for future elaboration or discussion

it happened to me as well.. sometimes ,the writing can be quite ambiguous. so for some key points, now I learnt I need to confirm in person..

yeah.. wait until you have a thread no one replies
anyway, welcome!

Economic Left/Right: -3.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -4.36

as I perceive myself. the questionnaire is quite long though.. sometime difficult to understand..