Today's Episode: Push Here, Dummy, or PhD

I was about to write a DVD review when I realised that there was a whole slew of things I need to be doing instead. Regretfully, this will mean that the review of Onmyoji I've been so excited about sharing with you guys will have to wait. Bah. Anyway, most of those things include necessary items if I'm ever to take off for my PhD. Whoever thought those three little letters would strike so much fear into the heart of a grown man (well as grown as I can get anyway).

Reading about people who've already left and are doing their own doctorates (Idlan's a perfect example here) makes me nervous. Do I have what it takes to do this, especially in the short time frame I've got to make sure everything goes through? Okay, so people say the first thing you do is outline the steps you have to take to get there. Right. So here they are:

1) Come up with proposal/fish around for topics and supervisors in other unis.
2) Get into some sort of agreement with supervisor candidate, leading to offer of admission from university of choice.
3) Get the letter to my uni, and get in line to be interviewed for uni scholarship.
4) Pass interview, and get name listed to be sent to the BTN for Kenegaraan training and exam.
5) Pass that, and maybe you have a shot at leaving.

Right. So it seems okay, with only five steps. So let's see the potential bogholes along the way:

1) As per step 1 above, usually candidates take up to a year to prepare their proposals, involving lots of readings, blah blah. This is because in the normal flow of work, once a person is appointed lecturer, he/she must complete several requirements (taking up to three years) before being able to make the list for overseas doctorates. I have a couple months, since my status as temp lecturer does not accord me certain benefits (that's another longg story) and senior colleagues have a a habit of throwing a lot of stuff my way (also long story). Plus, I DO procrastinate (ARGHH!).

2) The next interview for scholarship is in late March, and requires an offer letter from uni of choice. Trouble is, they're getting stingier and stingier, forcing candidates to seek other methods of financing (external scholarships, etc). SInce I was only appointed temp lecturer recently, this means I've missed several scholarship deadlines. Right.

3) Name list for the BTN has already been sent last week. And because of the National Service, this means less people/facilities are available for BTN training. And they only include you in the list if the uni agrees to sponsor you.

So there, in a not-so-small nutshell is my dilemma. I really would like to know how I'm gonna get myself out of this one. Gah.