(no subject)

[bluflamingo]

Ugh, can we just skip the final two weeks of this year and move straight on to 2011 already? My cold has turned into some kind of flu thing, and I feel crap and the insides of my ears itch, the rat appears to have moved back into my flat and is now chewing all the Christmas chocolate I bought for presents, my fridge is going nuts and keeps freezing my cans of soft drink which then explode, my grandmother is coming to stay with my parents (and me) for Christmas and... Yeah, I'm ready for next year already.

Although next year includes PhD application, potentially losing my job when all the cuts happen, study leave for half a day a week with just as much work to do in the remaining time, potentially coming off my anti-depressants and stopping seeing my counsellor... But on the bright side, my sister is getting married, and I've got a week off in February which I plan to spend by the sea, even if it has to be in the UK and it'll be cold. Plus, I think I'm going to move into a nicer place (to which the rat will not be coming) and hopefully get a cat. So it could be worse. And who knows, they might not cut the funding and I might keep my job, and they might not cut education funding so I might even get my PhD place.

Comments

[scrollgirl]

*hugs* I will keep good thoughts for you for all those things! Exploding pop cans, never fun. I hope your cold/flu goes away very soon and that the rat buggers off to warmer climes.

[bluflamingo]

Thank you! I hope the rat buggers off soon as well - maybe I can persuade to go downstairs? they have a cat it could play with :)

[scrollgirl]

Could you borrow their cat? Maybe it'd scare the rat away!

[skieswideopen]

Awww! I hope you get something good out of Christmas somewhere, and that the rat moves on while you're gone, and that the last weeks of 2010 are generally better than you're expecting. Good luck with the PhD applications! Those really aren't so bad. (I still find it odd that the UK schools I applied to wanted a photo with the application, but but that's not a difficult requirement to meet. The hardest part is coming up with a convincing description of what you want to do, but that's not terrible either.)

I'll think positive thoughts for you.

[bluflamingo]

I'm kind of dreading the PhD application thing - I got rejected last year, but I have a better proposal and better relations with the staff this year, who knows. But yeah, I was writing the proposal and realised I no longer have any clue how to do academic referencing. I used to be able to do that in my sleep!

[skieswideopen]

How many schools are you applying to? Do you definitely want to stay in the same city, or would you consider moving?

Admission committees are always tricky beasts...being rejected last year doesn't necessarily mean anything. But it does often help (or so I'm told) if you have connections to the person you want to work with, so that they can put in a good word for you.

[bluflamingo]

At the moment, I'm only applying to one place. It has a really good gender studies department, and some of the big names in my field work there (and know my boss socially, so weird!) so I want to go there, and I don't want to move. Too settled here. if I get rejected again, we'll see. I think it's likely to be mroe about funding than anything else though - one of the old admissions committee people has been helping me with the application, it's just if there's going to be any money, cos I can't self-fund.

[skieswideopen]

Yeah, funding is definitely important. Hopefully the university will be able to find some money for incoming graduate students despite the current political climate...

[rubygirl29]

I'm sure not feeling well contributes to pre-holiday malaise, as does the rat. Ugh. Here's to 2011 and PhDs, new digs, and good health for you, dearie!

[bluflamingo]

Thanks! I started looking for a new place today, which has definitely made me feel a bit better.