======= Date Modified 16 Nov 2010 14:30:52 =======
Hi all........

its good to finally say am preparing for my viva... even though i don't have the date yet.

i got given the names of my examiners..... which am really happy with because they are exactly what i wanted. the internal is the leading scholar in the general field and they take a practical approach to the field which is great. the external is also a leading scholar in the specific area of my thesis, but is more keen on theory than internal. they're both old with no points to prove and i've heard they are quite nice from students they've supervised and one they've examined. therefore i have no excuse not to pass this if i can hold my nerve... :$

my current concern is i spoke to the student they examined and although they told me the viva was easy going because they were told they'd passed even before it began... and therefore it ended up being a discussion, they got minor corrections for not including a particular branch of literature in the thesis. my problem is that the external is quite interested in this literature and i had read it but cut it out of the thesis because of word count! can i talk my way out of this and show them that i know it and therefore don't have to go off and redo it?

otherwise am ok..... and have decided to start this diary to keep everyone posted on how am preparing and for you to give me tips on how to prepare as well. i will also announce the final outcome on here..... sigh ( so nervous saying that. including a list of questions i will have been asked. :p)

oh i almost forgot, another thing am really scared of is i have never talked about my thesis to anyone. never. now i have to articulate it for 2 hours.:$ but i plan to address this before the viva. and no i can't have a mock viva with my unavailable supervisor before you suggest and i work away from uni and have no pet to repeat my answers to. maybe the mirror or maybe i'll find a few people. we'll see.. sigh.

am told that the viva will be sooner rather than later. so am taking it that it could be any time between two weeks from now to a month. will let you know the date when i know it.

am also working part-time - two days a week, taking a professional course part-time - (which never happens in reality) but have a number of assignments to hand in by mid december on this other course, to ease my transition into industry and preparing for my viva and trying to publish at the same time. am not the best at organisation and therefore am only able to make it to work because i need to to survive and the other stuff gets neglected! so this diary is to help me to see how am doing and to give you the opportunity to keep me on my toes regarding the viva.

ps: i need all the luck i can get!

J.

am so sorry Rory. i can understand how this can happen.

am so afraid of this happening to me. am currently completing a program which i started part time while on my phd and ended up deferring to concentrate on writing up. and i can't be bothered. i just want to recover from my phd which was a traumatic experience. concentrating is soooooooooooooooooooooo hard. all i wanted was my phd. not this thing. i just enrolled because i got the funding..... sigh..


i would go quiet on what i did for two terms.. and say i took time off to recharge my batteries before taking my next step in life. there really is nothing wrong with that? lol. :p

hi guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks for your tips. i finally got to know my examiners!!!!!!! and they are exactly who i'd have wished for. one is a professor and the other a reader..... both old and established in the field, therefore they have nothing to prove. they also agree with my methodology. am glad! yipee! can now familiarise myself with their work.

the admin route of chasing things up eventually paid off!

am definitely buying that book... and trying it out. hope its easier than the dvds lol.

i've recently started this job doing stock refilling to help me get by til i get a decent phd job. apart from the fact that i feel a little bad that i should be doing such a silly job when i've done a phd - which no one at work knows about because they all think am in college, which i've played along to - this job is really working my stomach and back muscles..... hopefully that with the book is a perfect combination. am spending today recovering from a yesterday's shift. its not so much the lifting at the job that's an issue. its the number of times i bend to take records of stock on lower shelves and stand up..... sigh. but am not complaining for being to work out. lol.

my advice is keep it simple.... don't get too theoretical. a purely theoretical thesis is VERY hard..... if you can make it data related so that some words get used up reporting findings... its far much better than following a theoretical argument from beginning to end. in the end, you all get phds.

that's my take anyway. trying to be Albert Einstein is not worth it when things are at stake. you can do that in your post doc. try to keep this phd in your comfort zone. its not the time to try to be clever... learning new techniques of analysis and that. play it to your strengths. it will not only save you time, but also agony... and also place you in a position where you can look at your work and tell whether its good or not.

just to assure you, this is VERY normal. i changed my topic almost 4 times before i came up with my final phd topic. what you come in with is not necessarily the topic you submit the thesis in esp if you're in the humanities. the more you read, the more you'll be able to refine your topic sometimes discovering that what sounded like a novel idea is actually not it.

all the best.(up)

maybe the examiner was dyslexic.. have you angry guys considered that? i think content not spelling is what should pass a phd.

i agree with Starshine. a phd does not necessarily mean academia. i for one am not and have never been interested in being 'just' a lecturer. in other countries where titles matter - a phd would get you any job. in these countries, people value qualifications and it would be a very well paying job. 4matt - maybe you should cast your net wider and see if you won't get your phd valued. in my case, the fact that am working towards one has resulted in being offered jobs post phd even before applying and consultancies. try to keep an open mind to where you start. you can always come back home when you've made it elsewhere. like someone said, pack your stuff into a suitcase and go. the world is truly your oyster! that was the same advice a friend of mine got at his viva.

Sneaks - which Davina DVD do you use?

nice.. am so inspired. we can do this together Sneaks. am gonna be writing on here how much exercise am doing..... how i've changed my diet and any changes am seeing.... i'll start again this evening.

hope we can get rid of this phd fat together.

well done Sneaks (up)

bread is such a hard sacrifice............. but it will have to go.......... off to have my last slice..........

you just hit the nail in the head there on bloating.... sometimes its not so much the weight, but the bloating just makes it all worse.

bread is such a hard sacrifice............. but it will have to go.......... off to have my last slice..........

you just hit the nail in the head there on bloating.... sometimes its not so much the weight, but the bloating just makes it all worse.

satchi - i've tried that........ interesting......... what is it supposed to do for me beyond awareness?

wow Sneaks... that is so brave.... 3 stone! well done.....

so afraid of the headaches tho!

thanks all... am considering a diet... but haven't got a job yet. so i can't properly fund one. i'm also considering going vegetarian for most of the week and seeing if it makes any difference. currently am on one main meal a day and drinking lots of water. before i just ate too much - stress maybe. i was nibbling all the time. i seem to be putting on weight... because clothes that once fell off are now tight. that said am trying to strike a balance between being a little girl and being an all rounded woman and proud of it. i have no problem with weight as long as it is evenly distributed. when it camps on my stomach.... it makes me feel really down.

i also try to work out but have not been able to keep up with this. i usually do two weeks and then give up.

any tips from disciplined people on how to juggle diet and stick to exercise?