Dress nice and be relaxed but confident in your motivation to do the damn thing.

I am not sure for your field but in Engineering sciences your initial topic is always different to what you end up doing... normally. Though it is not as different as apples and oranges. The first year is for you to figure it out so as long as you get the area correct, the actual topic is not set in stone. Maybe I am wrong for the case of neurosciences though.

I would have waited I think but I got my first choice. I did accept my second choice and then did not continue once I got my first choice though. It was all about having options for me. This is 3-4 years full time or 5-8 years part time of your life. I would not have been able to cope with the demands of a PhD if I were not passionate about the topic, people or university. You need to have the right mix. This includes the perceived prestige you associate to a university/lab as well.

I did a literature review before my thesis was completed. It was very good experience, was well-received and ended up shaping a couple of my chapters really well: the ones on background and methodology. There is nothing like having peers review your chapter for you. If you don't write about your thesis in the review then you are not openning yourself up to problems. Do make sure it is a critical review though, with insights into existing gaps in the research and differences between existing work. A collection of abstracts will not be well-received. It is also a lot more work than you would think.

I don't think she meant to be rude or hurt your feelings. She probably did not realise how much of a problem she had with the age thing until after and felt guilty making you pay so decided to do what she did. Just go with the flow.

I am going for a long weekend to Cornwall. I have given up trying to work in this kind of conditions... It is inhumane to ask an academic to work in the summer.

I ate mine and it was oddly satisfying... But then I don't have to keep turning it in the grill now and then anymore. It is done and there are some leftover which I might smear with some papers and have for breakfast!

Hmm...

Tom & Jerry
X-men
Transformers
Bugs Bunny
Spiderman
Scooby Doo
Mickey Mouse
Superman

Soooooooooooooooo many but these are the ones I can remember.

And the politics involved in giving female employees a promotion... did she get one because she is female or did she not get one because she is female.

Nope you are not normal... first year is the only time you can take it easy... Do that.

I kissed my boyfriend several times today

But then I do it everyday so I am not certain it counts.

Congratz A2D!!!

I had a talk with this about others before I submitted. In the end I did not use the services because it felt weird somehow. There is nothing in the rules against it.

Ah well... I am sure you will find your niche elsewhere

As long as the pissing is happening on top of something/one else