Thesis diary part IV

Day 26

I catch a Ryanair flight to Bremen, Germany to attend a dear friend’s 30^thbirthday bash. I arrive feeling sick because I’m so tired. Luckily I manage to get a good 2h of sleep in the hotel room before finishing the famous figure while watching a makeover show. Shortly after 6pm I arrive at the party. Hugging my friend, whom I hadn’t seen in 3 years actually brings tears of joy to my eyes. The joy continues with delicious food, plentiful drinks and lots and lots of dancing. It really is a blast. Just before 4 am I drop dead into my ibis budget bed.

Day 27

I am hung over. Severely hung over. I spend the whole day wrapped up in a blanked on a deckchair in my friend’s garden feeling sorry for myself. We all do, in fact. Conversation (when we are awake) evolves around the fun party and also more specifically around an indecent picture that made its way onto her phone. After a bit of analysis of surrounding clothing the culprit is identified. More discussion follows. The highlight of my conversation is being asked what the most painful cancer was. God I always end up in the scientist box…The day ends with a take-away pizza and bed at 9 pm.

Day 28

I get a morning flight back, feeling in great spirits after the wonderful weekend. Another grounding experience that enabled me to see the whole thesis thing in a bit of perspective. However, that philosophical state of mind does not last long. After 90 min of gardening I rush over to my laptop to work on that thesis chapter. Working solidly I manage to produce a lot of decent text and give myself the evening off to watch telly with my fiancé. We start watching a period drama about the Tudors and I realise I should really brush up on my history….

Day 29

I go for an intense 3k swim in the morning and then work all day. By the end of it the chapter is basically ready for re-inspection yay. 

Day 30

My friend joins me for home office. We’re very productive. In a break we nip into town to buy shoes for her for the May Ball we are attending in 3 weeks. In the evening we enjoy a formal at my college with two other friends and a bottle of white (!) Rioja. Fascinating.

Day 31 

Today our collaborators from Oxford and Leeds are visiting. It’s a busy, interesting and intense day of discussions. I get fairly depressed when I’m told my data is “interesting observations” but not really a story for a paper. In the evening we have a meal at one of my favourite Cambridge restaurants. Unfortunately I don’t enjoy it very much because I am sad about my lack of paperability. I get home and go to bed pretty much straight away, feeling rubbish.

Day 32

I wake up feeling ill. I dose up on Paracetamol and drag myself to the institute for more discussion. It’s good but I feel very dizzy so I go home at noon to sleep. I can’t sleep because I’m nervous about my lack of data. I work and produce some text but it’s not great. My throat is killing me. Why. 

Day 33

I still feel crap. I try to work but my head is spinning. I go back to bed for most of the day. I find it difficult to sleep because I panic about my writing. A good hour on the phone with my friend helps to calm me down. Tomorrow's another day I suppose.