Day 4 - Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I'll Miss Now I'm Finished With My PhD
1). Brilliant Internet Connection - need I say more?
2). My friend Rachel - I started my PhD at the same time as her; she's already left for a job in Canada, and I miss her terribly already.
3). My office - it's noisy at times, cold in the summer, boiling in the winter, but it's been where I've worked every workday for four years.
4). Having the time to sit down, take an idea and just run with it.
5). Conferences - "What's that? You want to pay for me to go to the south of France for two weeks? Oh, OK, I suppose. That week in Newcastle when I went to the bar with the dancing cowgirls almost finished me off, but I suppose, if you insist..."
6). An abundance of people willing to explore interesting ideas at the drop of a hat.
7). My desk - it's in my office, but it's great to have a workspace, right next to the window, well lit, big space... I look up and there's the wall with my posters and postcards... I've already had to take them down to make things easier for going.
8). Teabreak at 11am - I can always make myself a cuppa, but it's not the same if it's not made by Joan, the department's tealady...
9). An abundance of people willing to talk rubbish at the drop of a hat.
10). Teabreak at 11am redux - four years of sitting down for half an hour to chat about all kinds of things; a necessary break from research.
11). Two words: stationery cupboard.
12). Eleven minute walk to the comic shop!
13). Memories associated with the department... Too many to list.

All good things come to an end, and that's not a bad thing... New beginnings are always around the corner.