PhDiaries, #8
In which I'm in the Pitt
This week’s email is too long for some email clients - if you get cut off you can finish reading on the Substack website or app.
Monday:
I listen to Liz Bonnin being interviewed on the Connect to Nature podcast, and then, later, Daniel Radcliffe on the New York Times’s The Daily podcast, talking about his performance in Every Brilliant Thing and, more broadly, how wonderful it is to see the world as a list of brilliant things.
After my run, I sit down at my desk with a scribbled-on giant sticky note, and windows open in PowerPoint and Word. I’ve got a slot to present about my PhD progress at my department’s Postgraduate Researcher (PGR) showcase tomorrow, and although I’ve known vaguely what I want to talk about for a while, I really need to figure out what story I’m telling and how. After many hours spent in those documents, it’s a relief to take a break and look at a book for a while.
On inter-library loan, I’ve got hold of a copy of a massive edited book, Companion to Environmental Studies (ad - affiliate link). One particular chapter in it was cited in something else I was reading, but I’ve gone through and marked out a whole bunch of sections as relevant to my work. It’s made up of over 100 4-6 page chapters, each from an expert in a particular aspect of environmental academia. They’re great introductions to aspects of the subject, and the references on each chapter give me way more articles and books to add to my own reading list. It’s nearly a decade old (2018) but worth getting hold of a library copy if you’re at all interested in environmental issues.
After an afternoon at my desk, I cycle up to uni to pick up some library books, and join friends for a couple of hours of board games - then it’s back home and in the chair for a few more hours of PowerPoint-wrangling.
Tuesday:
After a late night at my desk, I start the day with a short pilates session. I try to do this video from Audrey Koomar at least once a week - doing the same video every time means that I can concentrate on actually doing the exercises rather than figuring out what I’m supposed to be doing, and it’s satisfying to feel them getting slightly easier over time.
After putting the finishing touches to my presentation notes for the afternoon, I print them off and walk up to uni, with a banging soundtrack - Spotify’s really not pulling any punches with my Daylist this morning:
The PGR Showcase is like a small internal conference, organised by some PhD students in the Law School, to give us an opportunity to share our work with each other and with academics in the department. It’s the first time I’ve presented about my PhD research project, so I’m a bit nervous, but it goes really well! I get fantastic feedback from our PGR Director (effectively the boss of all the PhD students in the department) and one of the academics who I really respect asks some fantastic questions that both make me realise how much about my chosen area I know and give me more things to look into - ideal, really.
As a presenter at the showcase, I get treated to a wonderful pizza dinner at a restaurant around the corner. Going through my photos, I see that I didn’t take any pictures of the actual food… but I did take one of this very The Life of a Showgirl-esque entrance to the ladies’ loos?
Wednesday:
After a Big Day on Tuesday I’m pretty exhausted, so while I know I have a lot of work to do ahead of next week’s deadline (which at time of writing this newsletter is approximately 24 hours away, eek), I spend a chunk of the day recovering. Part of that is texting a friend and discovering that we both share a huge crush on Dr Frank Langdon in The Pitt (played by Patrick Ball).
In particular, I find out that there’s a huge contingent of people shipping him with Dr Mel King, and I immediately fall headlong into AO3. As a sometimes-quiet, neurodivergent woman, Mel’s character (played by Taylor Dearden) really resonates with me. The way that Frank sees her and pays attention to her has me in a tailspin (let’s just note that I’m subscribing to the version of fandom that sees him and his wife having split up due to his Season 1 story arc, I’m not here for cheating).
I mean, just try and spot the difference between the official HBO video above, and this fan edit.
Thursday:
Other than a run in the sun in the morning, I spend the whole day at my desk - there’s absolutely nothing to report. The Companion to Environmental Studies I mentioned above is on a relatively short loan, and it’s a massive book, so I’m splitting my time between preparing for next week’s deadline and working my way through it.
Friday:
Back in the gym, and I do a nice easy treadmill session, followed by my favourite pilates video. Doing it post-run makes it more obvious which movements are working the muscles I need for running (in short: I find them much more difficult today than I usually do), which makes it tough in the moment, but also makes me feel confident it’s doing what I need a running strength workout to be doing.
In the afternoon, I listen to the Patreon early-release of Monday’s Book Riot podcast: it’s the first part of their annual Moms, Dads and Grads recommendation bonanza. One writer has said “I want to underline shit and feel things” in their recommendation request, and man, is that a great quote.
I was on a low-key low-buy month for April (let’s ignore the bookshop damage from last weekend), so I spend some time today browsing Azazie and Monsoon to find a dress to wear to my friend’s wedding next month. There’s a few options on Azazie, but they have a long lead time and a returns fee, so I order the dress I like from Monsoon first, to try on. Somehow I’ve ended up with free lifetime next-day delivery at Monsoon, and it’s incredibly useful.
Before bed, I watch the new episode of The Pitt (having finally become available in the UK, we’re now on a delayed release schedule compared to the US - and although I’ve already seen loads of clips from the second half of the season in Mel/Frank fan edits, I am waiting for each episode to come out properly to actually watch it). It’s an emotional one (no spoilers here, don’t worry).
Saturday:
I head up to uni for Saturday quiz practice, and we pick a set of questions from a past tournament that are full of incredibly obscure content. Between us, seven or eight starter questions go completely unanswered, and we’re normally pretty good quizzers. We move on to some easier question sets and by the end of our session I think we’re all feeling better about ourselves. After that, I hole up in the PGR lounge and finish working my way through the Companion to Environmental Studies, so I can return it to the library.
The dress arrives, and it’s almost perfect! The almost is that it’s a faux-wrap neckline and needs a stitch put in the overlap to raise/ fix the neckline - but that’s easily fixed. As usual with Monsoon, I put it in my wardrobe with the tags still on, just in case they have any ridiculous sales between now and the wedding, when it’s still eligible for returns. This happened with the dress I wore for graduation in February; I managed to get it for £40 less than I had initially paid!
Sunday:
It might be a bank holiday weekend for everyone else, but I’m a PhD student with a fast-approaching deadline, so I spend a big chunk of the day in my desk chair. I take breaks for an easy treadmill run and an afternoon nap (I rarely sleep during the day, so if I feel I need a nap, I usually let my body have it), and then end the day with a girl dinner of ham, cheese, crackers, a cut-up apple, and a little bit of chocolate.
Before bed, I read another big chunk of Wideacre (ad - affiliate link) by Philippa Gregory. This book remains absolutely insane, and I’m genuinely unsure if it would have been published today, or if I’m actually enjoying it. Nevertheless, I’m too transfixed to stop, and I’m only 40 or so pages from the end when I have to call it a night.
Always AI-free.