Category: Off Topic

Too many cooks

24th May 2016 / / 0 Comments

Too many cooks

Too many cooks spoil the broth. A well known saying, however take away those cookers and this means things burn.

This has so many connotations, particularly in academia. Too many people’s opinions can lead to a difficultq decision process, less clear vision and lack of good direction. However, less guidance is also a dangerous scenario; too easy to go too far off the beaten track, into unknown and unnecessary territory. Not only that, but in every day life, too many inputs makes things unnecessarily difficult.

Anyway, this post is absolutely not about me personally (in the academic sense at least!), I am very lucky indeed. I have the perfect balance of amazing supervisory guidance, advice, and independence. But i made a chilli this evening and left it on the hob too long without stirring and it’s burnt! Still nice though, just a bit of a smokey flavour too! 😀

Life balance

14th May 2016 / / 0 Comments

A PhD is a big deal. It’s a great big research project spanning three or four years, in which you have to find something novel.. To contribute to knowledge.
It not only takes over your life, it becomes your life. It engulfs you in its enormity, sapping every ounce of strength you have (or think you had)  until your submission, and even then it isn’t finished with you…until the viva.

During this most incredible journey, you do have highs, and lows.. Some very high highs, and certainly some very low lows. But what makes it all bearable, is the acknowledgement that you do, and should rightly so, have a life outside of the PhD.. For some, it may be socialising with friends, down the pub, gaming or whatever. It doesn’t actually really matter what it is, just that you know it exists. Make use of it, let it help those low days become average days, let it help those average days become good days and most importantly, let it tell you that you are still human.

Today I spent some time with my two boys, and sat out the back while I watched my eldest play with his friends – friends that he has established on his own, by engaging with them, playing with them and just being a nice little boh. Trivial so it may seem, but this is such a precious sight and puts everything about life into perspective.
Oh, and I had an oreo ice cream 🙂 #GoodDay
DM

Maths is not my strong point

23rd January 2014 / / 0 Comments

Today, after being here at Cardiff University for about three and a half months doing my PhD project..working with bacteria, enumerating etc which if I’m honest is not the easiest thing to do in your head quickly, and using log values and the such..

Today is not like any other day, today I received my calculator. Woo! Now, this may not seem like such a big deal, but boy does it make me happy!

And what’s the first thing you do when you get a new calculator…calculate of course! Had to be done 🙂

2014-01-23 11.15.01

 

DM