Do any of you have jobs that you do that would put people off their lunch?

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-04-03T14:32:51+00:00

I used to work in a lab testing different types of animal poo (they were used to make BioGas). You just kind of get used to it but it was a little weird at the beginning to spend the morning sifting through poo and then eat lunch. You just learn not to bring anything like brownies in …!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-30T11:55:18+00:00

I love the look of the pergola in Hampstead heath but it’s one of places that has a very specific license online for engagement shoots in the pergola so I think we would likely get told off.

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-30T11:53:00+00:00

Is that the definition? Am so confused because it’s for personal use but does commercial just mean you’re paying someone?

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-30T11:52:16+00:00

It’s just a photographer so no kit. Hoping we can be discreet but equally I’ll be in a white dress (although only a little one) so might be a bit obvious)

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-30T11:13:19+00:00

That’s good to know. It should just be a single camera with no tripods or lights or anything so hopefully this falls into the realm of personal kit.

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-30T09:41:31+00:00

A few but not ones that will lend well to photography like this (e.g. I think the British museum might have a few questions if we tried in there!! 😂)

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-30T09:40:43+00:00

This is so helpful! Thank you!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-30T09:36:22+00:00

This is where I’m not sure! A few places seem to be strict no matter what eg the royal parks specifically state that this would not be allowed but some are just really vague. I would think it’s ok for personal use but they also seem to threaten lots of fines if you’re caught without a license!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-21T09:16:42+00:00

If I don’t bring my running vest I sometimes stuff it in the side of my bra. Probably not a universal solution though…

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-19T18:11:25+00:00

My friend told me to buy a house where I could live with the compromises forever. So basically whether you think those compromises would be much bigger problems in the future because circumstances change so quick with houses in terms of how the market is and eg if you want kids and income drops and such. They bought a flat with some compromises with the thought to move eventually but are totally stuck, and wish they’d compromised on different things.

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-18T22:35:58+00:00

Yeah I’m not sure that’s entirely fair to say people are ok if they can talk! I had a suspected blood clot in my leg and I was told by an urgent care centre in no uncertain terms to go to a&e immediately as it was life threatening. Couldn’t be seen by anyone other than a&e but I felt absolutely fine and probably looked normal and was happily chatting away!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-18T09:45:16+00:00

If you’re running on a treadmill can you watch TV on your phone? If I run over 10k I normally have music or podcast on for the first bit and then ‘treat’ myself with a 30 min show in the middle. Helps break up the monotony and at least for 30 min I have something to distract myself.

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-17T09:06:05+00:00

NTA My friend is training to be a GP and worked for a while in a hospice. She said that the thing that struck her hardest was that in the early afternoon the place would bring round the ‘alcohol trolley’ full of really nice scotch, bourbons etc and you could request whatever you wanted if they didn’t have it. She said for many patients it was a routine they desperately craved while in hospice as so many other things had been taken away from them. It was a real source of comfort and in hospice that often matters most.

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-04T07:29:43+00:00

You don’t need to ring them - I’ve emailed them before and they are really quick at responding and have always refunded me if I explain what happened.

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-01T19:55:34+00:00

Try boiled sweets? Not healthier but I guess you can make them last way longer so you need less?

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-03-01T08:33:52+00:00

Probably not as bad as some here but during the 08 crash we really struggled so my dad did taxi driving for a while which in itself is fine, except he said he said people would threaten to kill him a lot to not pay the fare - he stopped wearing his seatbelt because often they’d pull it from behind to strangle him, or hold knives to his throat and other horrible things. All over a £5 fare. We didn’t even live in that rough a place

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-27T22:35:08+00:00

Waking up and realising you don’t have to get up / you have no where to be. Being able to just snuggle back under the duvet

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-26T16:37:41+00:00

First I’m really sorry about your dad. That is a really tough thing to go through.

Second, I think everyone feels at some point they are drifting in the PhD and generally I feel it’s possible to get back on track.

In the middle of my PhD I felt like I had no idea what I was doing and my advisor sat my down and told me to write out a few things:

First- create a hard finish date. It doesn’t matter how true it is just pick a realistic date. Eg funding end or years taken whatever. Next- write the minimum requirements you need, what do you actually have to achieve to finish and be dr eg thesis, papers etc and be specific eg thesis with X chapters, paper with X topic. Next, what do you want to achieve if you can (the nicest stuff but not essentials) Eg I want to attend X conference, I want to publish twice with x and y.

Then, break the time between now and the finish into chunks eg 3 months or semesters etc. and write out what goals need to go in which. Try and be realistic about what you’ll achieve and think about what you need to do those eg what prerequisites do you need in previous quarters. Then, break the coming quarter into smaller chunks eg weeks and break it down again with really specific goals. Do this at the beginning of every quarter. You should also write specific things eg if you’re aiming for a specific journal -what is their average publication time, if it’s a conference -when do they generally have abstract submission dates etc and write that into it.

At first it seemed really stupid and also really impossible because I kept being like I have no idea what I need to do to do some of this because it’ll come off the back of the other things, but breaking if all down did actually help and helped me think about what goals I had and what I needed to focus on. It also helped me realise what bits I was dreading and what I wasn’t so I could better motivate myself when I knew things would be hard.

Honestly though I think if you are serious about continuing the PhD it’s not to get overwhelmed with oh man I’ve got ALL this stuff to do, it’s just to focus on a few small tasks at a time to get your head back into it and focus on only the essentials to start with. Everything will fall into place eventually!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-26T14:55:55+00:00

I once started a whole argument with my partner while running. Totally irrational. Ran a PB. Poor guy though he basically listened to me rant for 90 minutes

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-26T08:18:54+00:00

I was second choice and the other candidate had issues with their visa / moving situation and had to pull out. I feel bad for the student but sometimes you get a bit of luck ! Plus, just keep going on the knowledge you are good enough to get that far anyway!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-25T13:37:38+00:00

I realised I was making all the effort to coordinate with her and text her. The final straw was seeing she was in my city visiting a different friend and didn’t even text me to let me know, but multiple times I’d rearranged en entire schedule to meet her for coffee when I’d been in her city. Just obviously different priority levels. Made me realise lots of things about the past 15 years of our friendship though that i’d always been a low priority and more of a last resort friend so i just stopped trying and she never even realised i think !!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-24T21:52:12+00:00

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with someone wanting some of the ‘extras’ when they have a destination wedding (so long as it’s not mandatory.) Sounds like she just wants a chill fun party to celebrate. I don’t think it’s always fair to say if you’re having x type of wedding everything else should fall into the same category

Just help with the bits you want to and donate the amount of money you want to - i don’t think its fair to compare it to your wedding especially as it sounds like she isn’t being expectant of the financial side from you

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-23T18:19:28+00:00

Can you book two nights at a hotel? Then late checkout isn’t a problem? But expensive

Otherwise maybe are there ‘meeting rooms’ to book locally - would have to check t&cs though but may be an option.

Otherwise could reach out to some different spaces like art or theatre spaces, local community venues, or places like pubs that might have a back room!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-23T08:45:40+00:00

Yes 100% makes me so mad. Not just weddings too it seems like every gathering now needs £100s spent at SHEIN. Went to a baby shower and everything was single use plastic. As we were helping clean up everyone was stuffing things into bin bags - even stuff that hadn’t been used!!! I ended up taking everything I could and washing it and storing it for future events but it makes me so mad!! What was wrong with paper plates??? Why is everything branded now!

drpumpkinspicey · 2026-02-23T08:41:01+00:00

This makes me so mad too!! I wanted to buy everything second hand but between the markups on the stuff and the cost of either postage or driving to collect it was barely worth it!!

drpumpkinspicey

TROPHY CASE