Hi Strider,

I'm sorry that you are so anxious about going back. It may be worth looking for at what study support is offered to students at your institution - most places offer study skills workshops etc. They may be a good way to pick up some new techniques/gain in confidence re: exams.

If you're staying at the same uni and already know the lecturers/tutors on your new course then perhaps you could contact them to discuss things. The other thing I'd suggest is contacting the course secretary as he/she should be able to tell you where to locate copies of past exams and may even send you preliminary reading lists to give you a head start. Things may feel more manageable if you feel as though you are starting the term 'on top of things'.

It's worth remembering that the two topics are completely different and so your experience the first time round will not necessarily repeat itself on your new venture. I hope you enjoy the course - Good luck!

Coffeebreak

Huge congratulations Dr Heidi! :-) Fabulous news. I look forward to reading about you saving the world with Bea on your back - be happy ladies (up)

Article safely received. Big thank you to Ady :-)

I think it's on 18th as well. If you're reading these without time to post anything, Heidi, then all the best for Wednesday!

Hello all,

I just wondered whether anyone had access to this:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14616700600680922

I think it could prove the point I've been mulling over the last 3 days .... If not then I'll shell out for it, I just thought that I'd ask you lovely people before doing so.

Thanks for reading :-)

Congratulations (up)

Just a few more days and you will be able to catch up on sleep YAY :-) I hope that you have a wonderful time catching up with your family after the hand-in - you deserve to have some fun after all the things you have had to fight through over the last few months.

I also hope you can come to some agreement re: moving to Bath for the new job. Please don't panic and sign any paperwork with which you are unhappy - your lawyer should be fighting for you on that one, so stay strong (easy to say, I know).

Good luck between now and Monday (up)

WELL DONE for all your hard work - you are within touching distance of the finish :-). I hope you have something nice planned for when you hand in - whether it be a glass of wine, a chocolate cake or a day out and ice cream with Bea. I shall certainly be congratulating you from afar come next weekend.

I realise that from a stranger it means little but thought it important to point out how immensely proud of yourself you should be. From the sound of it, things have been worse than awful and you have faced it all, dug your heels in and got on with what needed to be done. I wish you and your little one all the best and look forward to reading the post that is signed 'Dr Heidi' :-)

That means that you are an awful lot closer to completion than you were a few short weeks ago - well done! You've tackled it head on and written over 15,000 words (by my calcs reading back). You've also found a job, started looking for a house in a new place and made contact with new friends there for you and your daughter.

In the meantime, Bea has taken her first steps, grown some teeth and picked up a crayon to draw you a picture.

Go you and go Bea!

I don't mean to sound trite, things are obviously going to be tough for quite some time - try not to lose sight of how much you have achieved when you are worrying about the things you have still to do. Hang on in there, it will be worth it in the end :-)

Oh - and keep that first picture. You can frame it and hang it alongside your Doctoral certificate in your new house as testament to how strong you girls really are ;-)

There is not much I (or anyone else) can say to help but I felt it important to remind you that you are NOT a failure. You are, however, faced with a lot at the moment: you're trying to complete a piece of work under incredibly stressful circumstances, you have horrific pressure on the family front, are looking to move house and playing mummy to a lovely little one (who almost certainly needs lots of attention too). It's ok to be overwhelmed by all of that and you really should try not to beat yourself up about it (ok, so it is maybe not so easy as it sounds...).

You're probably also exhausted with writing up, being a mother and (I'd guess) worrying about everything until the early hours. Nothing gets any easier when you are shattered - try to take some time off to sleep (even just 24hrs). It won't make everything ok but hopefully it will give you a little more strength to face what is happening at the minute. Think about asking for more time to write up - you have some fairly extreme circumstances and a really good reason to delay things (or even take a year off?).

I'm sorry not to be any real help! Hugs and a

(snowman) (because they don't have any ice cream...)

Heidi,

I've been following your posts and just wanted to add to the encouragement already offered by the other posters. It is terrific news about the job offers and I hope that you and Bea will have a very happy future in your new city, whichever job choose to take. It must be scary to be branching out on your own but it is also exciting to be making a new start on your own terms.

I've two little girls of my own and wanted to say that you are setting an amazing example to your little one. In spite of what sound to be horrendous circumstances, you show amazing strength of character in working to complete the PhD, secure a post-doc and create a future for you and your daughter. You even manage to come across as having compassion for her father, which I am not so sure I would be able to do in such circumstances. Your daughter is immensely lucky to have you as her mummy and I'm sure she will grow up in an extremely loving household :-)

Good luck with the rest of the write up (up)

Hi,

I did other people's transcriptions to fund my MA - a tedious task which I wouldn't care to repeat but it served its purpose ...

The software I used was Express Scribe. It's used by most audio typists and accepts nearly all file formats (or, if not, you can download format converters on 30 day trials for nothing). There are shortcut keyboard buttons for rewind, pause etc and it is also compatible with a foot pedal if you have one (I never bothered as I found them quite expensive). Best of all - it's FREE :-) Google it and you'll get a link to their site.