This time around, I write

I know I should have written more. Share more stuffs in here. This is, after all, my blog. The purpose of having a blog (at least to me) is to document significant happenings in my life, be it the good ones, or the not-so-good stories.

But somehow.. I've turned into a very secretive person, not willing to share my thoughts, my feelings with others. My blog posts usually consist of pictures & short captions. No lengthy stories about things. And I'm not liking the idea at all. It has to stop.

Okay then, now I'm giving myself a chance to write.

I'll start with my career progress.

The last 6 months or so I was not in a very good state of motivation. I lived my days not having anything to look forward to. You know what I mean? It was just going to work, deciding what to have for breakfast, lunch & dinner, being at home and spending time with my other half. The best parts of my many dull days were the meal times & spending time with my husband (being whales in front of the TV or going out for movies, etc).

I was hoping to get a place to do my PhD. Anywhere in the world, except USA. Please.

But...... I happen to be unlucky enough to have a dictator boss. And so, I had to go through all the trouble applying for a PhD position at Cornell university. Having a manipulative visiting professor (let's name him Prof. Looney) from that institution at my faculty is definitely not helping, as he was so persistent in making sure that I & a few others make it to Cornell, so that we can be his students, carrying out his researches, publishing papers with his name written all over. It's just weird when he told me not to contact my potential supervisor, but to discuss matters with him & him only. He's just my potential co-supervisor. Why can't I communicate with the supervisor himself? This is just not right. Something must be wrong somewhere. Nevertheless, I had no choice but to do what the boss asked for - "apply for a PhD position at Cornell. Prof. Looney will help you". Yeah right.

Just for the record, while I was busy with the super demanding Cornell application, I also applied to various universities in Australia, Europe & USA. It's so hard to get a PhD position being offered in laboratory animal medicine field. Most vet schools replied saying they could offer an internship or a diplomate program, but no PhD position. Sorry. 

Luckily, after months of drama with the applications, (applying to Cornell was the most taxing - sitting for Graduate Record Examination (GRE), paying for application fees, sending the application, application directed to the wrong research group, application redirected to the right research group, the right research group held a selection meeting but my application was not there, contacting the officer, asking for help to search for my application form, redirect my application to another research group, did not make it on time for that research group meeting, etc), I received an offer letter for a PhD position starting on 1 May 2011. Nope, not from Cornell, but from Royal Veterinary College. I dream of going there. I just couldn't believe this is actually happening. Thank you Allah. 

Bye bye Cornell, bye bye Prof. Looney.

Anyway, things are not yet final, as I'm waiting for the decision on my study leave & scholarship applications. I'm praying hard that everything will turn out well. From the way things are progressing in Malaysia (super slow), I may not be able to start my PhD on May 1st, but to arrive a little later is always an acceptable option.

And now my heart is saying "I can't wait to set my foot in London!!" : )

 The last time I was in London - Buckingham Palace, June 2009 : )