PhD begins this week!

Friday, 24th August begins a new era. I called the Prof. almost two weeks ago (yes I have been too busy to come here and write about this), to explain why my master's certificate was late and to see if there was any chance of being able to extend my PhD application instead of having it rejected for being late.

In all honesty, I did think it would be rejected. I mean I had one extension when my supervisor was too busy to mark my work so I could finish for my original June deadline. So, I called the Prof. and he said that they had been discussing me a lot in their meetings, somehow this made me think "OH well, this isn't going well", then before I could complete the sentence in my mind, he said "congratulations, welcome to the team"... that was it, I was shaking and I lost for words... shocking for anyone that knows me as losing words is not something that happens to me!

He repeated a few times, and I said my thanks for the opportunity. Then was the next shocking turn of events, when could I start? I thought it would be October as time is getting so late and my master's certificate still isn't here, but alas I start on the 24th August, with or without the certificate. It will be there soon, at least!

Then, the chaos begins, booking a hair cut and colour as I currently resemble a sheep dog crossed with a poodle. My mom says your hair can't get curlier as you get older, I have to disagree based on the evidence my hair is getting curlier!! straightners all the time is coming soon! Along with the continuing shock of Finnish hairdressing prices, 130€ to get my hair cut by a stylist and coloured.... oh my days... Eero jokes that along with my 100€ dentist cost last week he will soon have to replace me with a cheaper model... in his dreams! Wednesday afternoon, is my hair luxury time.

Then tomorrow I am going to meet my new friend Marika, in the city who wants to speak mostly Finnish so this is a dream! finally someone who wants to help me get the hang of this language all the time! Whoohoo though I know it will be slow to begin with as I am used to speaking English with random Finnish inserts at home =)

I was shocked at the rate of pay for the PhD, I am earning almost twice as much as I did working full time in the UK and I am only a research scientist! I have designed my normal business cards for this new position for conferences, but not ordering them until I get my works email sorted out! =)

So what am I a research scientist and PhD candidate in, you ask? Well, I am hoping to finish in 3 years and I will be researching in the field of industrial energy efficiency =)

Yesterday, we painted half of the living room ceiling and this morning it looks awesome, I am having problems finding any bits we missed so that is really good!

So, that's one of the things now Facebook official, for the others I am afraid you just have to wait and see!

No doubt I will be posting about my first day on the train home from Espoo on Friday =)

Time sure flies when life is choatic!

We are here in August and I don't know where the summer has gone, well I do. Most of it was spent stressed and writing my thesis, trying to get feedback and left waiting for almost 7 weeks, trying to second guess what he wanted and try to make my own corrections but finally on the brinck on insanity and a few angry emails, I got some feedback, not as complete as I think it should of been but time will tell if it was enough as my supervisor wouldn't even predict a grade. The most annoying thing was after my Phd interview, successful completion of my application and the set up of a thesis completion deadline. The first deadline was extended as I was still awaiting feedback from my supervisor, then I had to submit within a week of having those corrections. Terrible way to conduct a thesis, poor communication. I am just glad it's over now. Though there is a high chance my phd application will get rejected as my certificate now won't reach there in time. Not a happy summer. time will tell what will happen. On the plus side, I know my Prof. is backing my application.

The house renovation however, is going well, we have ceiling paint, wall paint, wallpaper (some of it) other is ordered but awaiting stock and dispatch. Now, I am free from school work I can spend all day stripping the wallpaper off the walls upstairs!!!

The raccoon dog and the hedgehog are still regular visitors to the garden, both gardens are now finished (almost) back on we get the new barbeque tonight, need to remove the old deking and dispose of it properly, trim the trees and put up the post for my bird feeders! =)

Still have not received the mosquito nets, that is annoying and now I have to wait another week and a bit to complain again!!!

I have found a Finnish course, water aerobics, russian course and a zumba course I need to sign up for next week!

A lot of secret stuff going down but I am not allowed to post any of it yet!! keep posted though! i don't think it's far away from becoming public!! <3 br="br">

Moving South

So, it's finally time we move! yay! tonight E comes home with the moving van and we spend our last night here in Jyväskylä.

This month has gone so quickly, finishing off my thesis, even the little things seemed to take forever! Then planning what work to do to the house, where to buy things from, how much things cost and the order in which the work should go!

So, I must continue getting things ready to leave this city, which will always have a place in my heart =)

UK and master's completion (almost)

Well, the holiday in the UK was a wash out, my supervisor changed my deadline to the end of May so the one week I had planned to have off, with dad on his chemotherapy and the first week's holiday since Christmas, failed epically. As I was forced to sit and write my thesis all the time, the only day I took off was the Saturday for Laura's and Jason's Wedding.

 Black swans at Dumbleton Hall

 Geese who wanted to be fed and to chase you at the same time.

Dumbleton Hall

Wedding was lovely. Red hot day and an awesome day!! 

Then all I did was go to Tesco to get some new jeans and to Merry Hill once... Some secret squirrel things were discussed and purchased, but nothing I am allowed to discuss or nothing you would guess anyway, even if you knew... but looking for house decorating stuff was super fun, just wish I had more time to do stuff with mom and dad. 

Dad on the plus side has had the all clear and no longer needs chemo, just his isolation treatment and it is all done =)

I am now waiting for my thesis corrections so as I can get this thing marked and move on with my life, deadlines are pretty close and I am pretty stressed... impatiently waiting o.0 Jusy want it finished and in, while I am focused on it... and I so badly just want a break, 6 months now of constant long days and nights, and it will start again in September/August... All I wanted was a few weeks off, doesn't look promising now anyway... 2 weeks more to finish the thesis and get it marked and certificate received... then we move house so more chaos begins...

Excited?!?!?!

Where do I begin? 3 weeks ago, I saw a house I loved it, I emailed it to Eero after checking it's location, he liked it and we went to see it, week after we went for the second viewing... 2 days later we made an offer that was accepted. The second viewing was the most fun as we took Eero's parents. It felt more real and that we were more grown up lol

There is our new house, we move in June... ECK!!!! We have lake views! =)

Today is the day my Ph.D. application went to the board, as I sit here typing this I know my fate has already been sealed but yet obviously I sit here waiting. I think somehow, there is a high chance of the rejecting my first application as a motivation checker, and they did say there was a chance they would reject the first time as I didn't have a completed master's degree until the end of this month. We shall see, I think I may get the results while we are in the UK. I think, I would rather be surprised than disappointed so if I think it will be rejected it's realistic it's highly competitive, not at my home university. I would however, love to be surprised! This year is bringing some excellent news as yet would be a shame to break it!

We are going to the UK Wednesday, for a week for Laura and Jason's wedding!

I have done all my exams, finished all my courses, wrote 18 page essay in two days. Now, I just have to complete my thesis as soon as possible and life is good. Master's is almost complete. I have to write results, discussion and evaluation. But I have a page restriction for the bulk of the thesis for 50 pages and if I remember correctly I am on page 37 now. So not far to go and the last push. Need to write a page or two or sort the results or SOMETHING today. Just finishing getting my things together to go for the train tomorrow night. When I submit my thesis I will have completed 86ECT this semester, they recommend 30 a semester.

All my gifts are packed and I know my parents and grandparents don't require such grand gestures, but for us, I think it was a nicest thing to do. They are all so proud of what we have done this year, what we have planned that I am not free to discuss here freely yet. But this year and the next will be two to remember! =)

I also went to see Ratih, a few weeks ago, who has now had their new baby =) it was such a hot day then, we ate cake and talked for 4 hours =) happy times! I can't wait to come back from UK and go take them all a cake or something nice

As,  I go on I am remember things, so now this isn't in chronological order. Note to self, write blog more frequently

I went to the nutritionist doctor, who told me my diet was balance and I only needed to take folic  acid vitamins, eat less fat, avoid fructose, drink less milk, and my exercise or planned exercise as I am not doing much this month, the side effect of doing so much this semester is time is a luxury I don't have much of. Can't wait to start running by the lake at the new house though!

Also we had the end of course party, Annika, Teemu, Eero and myself at our apartment, grill and cooking and eating profiteroles... good times. Awesome night full of laughs and jokes, of course hockey too!

Studying

I have 4 weeks left of university now, if all goes well! which there is no reason it shouldn't really.

Today, I finally submitted my PhD application, 40 pages long. Now, I have to wait until the end of June to see if I am one of the lucky few who get in on the first application. time while tell!

I have to go to Siwa, Ristonmaa to pick up a parcel at some point this week. This week is my last week of classes. I have my last finnish class today, last presentation on Ambiotica on Thursday and my last Finnish exams on Friday. Then it's pure thesis writing, all the way home baby!

I am really happy we are going to a sports activity centre after I am done for the weekend, and we get to go horse riding!! yes!! and some other stuff!! =) hoping secretly, I know my future fate by then.

I will also take a photo of my complete Finnish books collection, it's big now. Progress is slow but progress is progress!

Four weeks, we go to the UK for Laura and Jason's wedding, so exciting!! Then we can come back and arrange moving back south as our time here in Jyväskylä, is almost done! =)

Spring forward

OMG, where should I start? The end of March has been so hetic!!!

So early March, I went to a post grad course at Aalto University for 3 days. The course was actually awesome, the theme was "Energy, Environment and the Community". Something's didn't go as planned with the hotel, broken toilet in one room, broken toilet door in the room I was moved too but after complaining I had a voucher for a free night. Little did, I know then that I would be asked to go back to Espoo in April.

The end of March work ended, this is good as now I am writing my thesis full time and I have time studying again so I can graduate in June. 186ECT completed in two years, something to be proud of!

Then the last week in March, I had a really bad cold, walking to work was horrible trying to think was  not at all possible. I was so ill that I had to cancel registration for an exam! Also the last 3 weeks of March has the lab work task, 3 hours in the lab everyday and then 2 hours calculations every day. Very interesting but hard work.

The 22nd March, there was an international gathering at the job centre, for foreigners who plan to work in Finland. So off Aigi and me went for some information on working on Finland and the best ways to get a job. I had heard that Kela do some great courses for Finnish learning. When I asked it turns out the level is only intermediate Finnish which is where I am now. Though should I be unemployed, I will take the course, practice is always a good thing!

On the same week, I had an email from a Prof saying to call to discuss some issues. Then I was asked to go to an interview 2 weeks later. I had not expected to search for a PhD placement when I went to Espoo, it was just the second time, to check the lay of the land. Alas, an offer I couldn't refuse.

So, I returned the call, and was invited to an interview 3rd of April, scared and excited stuck me after the call. The Prof asked me to prepare my application already, so on top of a heavy workload, I set about the hardest and most complicated application I have ever been through yet. So, as soon as I got back to the office after the call, I made some emails asking a few people to write a recommendation.

Two weeks later, I left for Helsinki, 8 hours on a train in 24 hours, one night in Helsinki. New chances are always exciting. The interview itself lasted one and a half hours with two Professors. It went very quickly and well. They told me I could now submit the official application and all being well there were 2 or 3 projects, I could be involed in. Now the applciation is almost complete, I am just waiting for the project list so as I can finish off my proposal. I don't have long left to finish my application, I also had the warning it is common to be rejected the first time especially as I haven't completed my master's degree before completion. Time will tell and with luck, first time lucky!