Eternal Studentdom

Gadgets. I love them. Especially the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the all-new iWhatever rival: the Nokia N810. Feel free to buy/lend/contribute to/gift me such shinies :P *eyes up liceas's iPod Touch* :D

So, yes, supervisor has decided she would like to see the finished discussion and/or lit review before I finish writing the results. Evidently having common sense and working things through logically is not part of being a supervisor. Discussion comes from the results, no? And you should be revising lit review in tandem with discussion because that just makes life a whole lot easier, no? Or have I got this completely screwed up in my sawdust filled cavity that passes for a brain?

Have done no work today so far, having been busy collecting Japanese Yen for my forthcoming trip, chatting online to my friend in Japan planning our little outing to Kyoto (oh such hard work) and meeting brother-person for afternoon tea (and cake) in a very nice new place by St. Paul's Cathedral, called the rather strikingly original 'Tea'. Slightly irritated they had no crumpets left though. This particular find was interesting for two reasons 1) my brother found it and his culinary finds are usually fairly suspect to say the least (£3 full English breakfast type establishments) and 2) it's not often you find a decent independent place in London anymore - it's usually Starbucks, Costa, Starbucks with the occasional Caffe Nero thrown in...although am a huge fan of Starbucks chocolate caramel shortbread, it has to be said. In my defence, it's near uni, I need sugar to get me through. End of. Today I settled for sponge cake though. And very fattening nice it was too.

I have a mountain of translation work to do as well as PhD at the moment. It's great we're getting so much work, long may it continue. I think I need to build up my translation work once the PhD is finished (hear that, finished? finished, moi? There's a word I never thought I'd use in relation to the PhD) as I may spend a few months having a break from academia and maybe from London. We shall see.

Very, very excited about trip to Japan. Very. Haven't seen my friend for about four years now so will be fantastic to meet up again. Weirdly, we will be meeting on board the bullet train to Kyoto. How very Brief Encounter for the 21st Century. Minus the coal and romance. Plus the efficiency and super speed.

I'm just beginning to realise how much I've travelled this year, and it won't be the last trip abroad before Christmas either. There are plans afoot to try out the new Eurostar service from St. Pancras with a friend (because it is dirt cheap if you book in advance...cheaper than GNER. That's not really saying much, though), and then Germany in early December to see second supervisor because that will be the only way to pin him down and hit him repeatedly for being so useless for the past four years and abandoning me at the most important stage of my PhD, fully intending to leave me without a supervisor at all actually talk to him (reasonably) sensibly about some theoretical aspects of the PhD. Ironically, the trip to Japan will pay for my flight to Germany because I'm getting thousands (yes, thousands) of BA air miles. Might actually remain in the UK over Christmas and New Year but not in one place...then of course when ninathedentist goes off on her extended sojourn to Canada, I have been ordered want to visit her. Need monies though. Which is why upping translation is a very good idea.

I submitted my exam entry forms for the PhD today, meaning I have nominated my examiners and set a final date by which to submit. There's a finite end to this now...hooray!