mog, if you are ever in northern ireland just yell TWANKY IT'S MOG, and i will appear with a pint!!!!! thank you!

Hey folks,

I start teaching undergrads in four weeks, from then til the end of the year.

Any general pointers on do's and or do-not's would be appreciated- GENERAL ones if you please as I'm somewhat confident in the subject area!

Cheers,

Ciarán :p

i am essentially back at home, which should be grand. i'm converting a spare room into a small office and the university (being multi campus) is giving me a room on the belfast campus as my research will take place in belfast even though my research faculty is based sixty miles northwest, at coleraine. so im feelin a bit more like myself. just back in from headlining a massive comedy event in a city wide culture night. brilliant

thanks for the support

sweeeet more newbies like me!! That's right i put 4 e's into sweet, two cuz that's how you spell it an two more for use to share when the dance music kicks in! tasteless? perhaps. lol

I started on monday there, good times. bit mental though with all the extra training and that my uni provides, but im v keen on it, looking forward, though had to deal with a catastrophic housing situation but im back in sweeeeet west belfast where i belong now, thank god!

anyone else doing an arts phd? more specifically, maybe a media or history or media history one like mine!? Ciarán

glad ur supervisor was understanding of your stress. you'll be getting your life back just as i sign mine away :s

PS congratulations!

thanks delta, yeah, i got some great material about the awkward french bloke. god help him, his english was as good as my french, which extends vaguely as far as asking for and giving directions to la ferme (the farm?) and la gare (a station?). he had to deal with my hard west belfast accent and an accent from down south too, pretty funny really. awkward as hell. yeah, i think a lot of my archival research is in belfast anyway. what are you studying mate?

hi natassia, i wouldn't be quick to suggest that this is either a bipolar issue or that your brother is a substance abuser. he may have psychological issues with dealing with stress, depression and being told what to do. it sounds like a form of depression to me. your parents will obviously be proud of you for being at phd level but your brother is clearly struggling to deal with that fact (as he has struggled at undergrad level) and he may be finding it difficult to move out of your shadow, especially if he feels physically trapped within it (by being somewhat forced into staying at home). I'm not suggesting that you are to blame or that you should change, but perhaps this is a possible alternative cause to substance abuse or an unflagged bipolar illness. if your parents share your concerns perhaps suggesting counselling may help

I just started myself there on monday. studying an historical issue within the media in ireland. BAD NEWS THOUGH, i have had to move back to home alreadyto belfast, away from the northwest campus at Coleraine, as the estate agents i used put a french guy (who was extremely rude and awkward) and a mad girl into my humble abode...after our housewarming, the girl brought a couple of lads home who trashed the place and when i walked in on them wrecking the living room at 6am- i was ready for a war and had to exert some aggression- something i haven't done in years and don't wish to have to do at my own house. needless to say these scumbags were dealt with by the remains of my previous alpha-based self! mental. i'm turning 25 on sunday and i realised that i have outgrown much of the student way of life and with all the info given to me in the past two days about extra compulsory training courses and my 100 day viva, i thought it was best to just get out of that environment. a mental start to my phd. LOL- please validate me!!! Ciarán

Hey guys,

I'm interested in bringing people from other universities to mine (and conversely, them bringing me to their universities) for research seminars.

Primarily dealing with Journalism/Media/Irish Journalism/Journalism History/Irish History.

Would be great to chat further about this!

Ciarán:-)

i hear sendmybag.com are very adept at handling this kind of thing and as they are set up with students in mind, it's pretty cheap to send stuff!

also, i have just moved out of my beloved West Belfast (Ireland) to an office in the media research centre at Coleraine about 70 miles up the coast. so i've dealt with the move- albeit a lesser distance and probably different as it's in Ireland- still it's a bit of culture shock as it's so quiet up the coast, but i like it. i think most places near university campuses are dead on about letting students rent places, aren't they? probably a little less competitive (from their perspective) outside of London. so I think you should go there before going to gumtree. I know some good stories about housi9ng coming from gumtree and also a few horrible (worst year of my life) type of stories too. estate agents should see you right really. i think your proof of payment as a funded phd student should sort out their fears.

hope it helps. good luck. we should stay in touch as we are starting about the same time!

i do enjoy the success stories on this forum. i have so many fears about this phd lark and i do genuinely fear a mental/emotional descent so I do love to hear that people are doing well, gives me a bit of inspiration for perspiration! well done star-shaped and sneaks!!

honestly, i dont think it has much use as an academic tool. i use mine for booking gigs as a comedian and not much else other than keeping in touch with travelling friends. so unless you change your mind about running a virtual farm, i wouldnt set it up unless your field is media or it based

many congratulations!!! i hate when people do that kind of thing at meetings and interviews. YOU PASSED though and that's the main thing, even if they were being assholes about it!