Finally!

And so it begins...

[Note: I tend to make long-winding sentences. I hope you will bear with me : )]

Hi All!

Since a couple of months, I have been dreaming of this very moment: blogging about the new adventure that is my post-graduation in the UK. I remember wondering whether it would ever come to pass, what with the seemingly endless list of things that needed to fall into place. As with all such situations, the journey was hardly smooth sailing. It was however immensely fulfilling. Hey! Wait... I'm talking as if the journey is over! Not quite... I would say the prelude to the journey is over, yes... but the journey itself has only just begun!

Let me take you back in time... The day was 7th October, 1984... the wonderful day when I was born... whoa, I think I've gone way back... OK, fast-forward to earlier this year. Someone (who I do not wish to name in this blog) gave me the idea of doing post-graduation in the UK. Studying abroad is something to which I had already given considerable thought and some action. This time, although I dismissed the idea at first, certain changes in my life motivated me to give it another, more concrete shot. After considerable deliberation, my parents and I came to the conclusion that it was the right time for this to happen. A couple of sessions with Anita, my wonderful UK counsellor at Edwise International (Consultants for Studies Abroad), were enough for me to work out what I wanted to do. So, from then on, I put all my energy into turning this idea into reality.

A quick time-line of how it all happened:
End-June: I submitted my application to the University of Essex through Edwise
End-July: I was accepted at the University of Essex [soon after, I confirmed my admission]
Mid-August: I confirmed my accommodation at the University of Essex campus
End-August: I submitted my loan application [My goodness, how fussy they were about the docs! and worse, it all came to nothing!]
Early Sept: My loan was rejected [That big blow was somewhat blunted by the fact that my parents and I had already worked out that we could self-fund this project of ours]
5th Sept: I submitted my Visa application [One of the most challenging things I have ever done; submitting all my originals was rather nerve-wracking]
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A week long super-nervous wait...
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12th Sept: I received all my docs back with my passport stamped with a glorious student visa!!!!

While I was waiting for all of this to come together, I was pretty much bleeding time. With an end-Sept deadline hanging over my head, I see-sawed between images of me having made it in time and me facing the horror of having all my hard work come crashing down with no backup plan in sight.

I believe in Providence. I believe that there is a God-force in the universe that connects everything in subtle and obvious ways. There is sometimes a domino effect, positive or negative, wherein there is a cascade of events, one leading to another. For example, once my visa came, my confirmed ticket followed, as did my international cost-effective mobile connection... all in a few hours from each other! It has been a pretty remarkable turnaround for me to say the least!

Having poured my sweat and blood (metaphorically, of course!) into making this happen, the relief I now feel is heavenly. Tremendously excited, I've gone from "Oh no! Only 2 weeks left!!!" to "Oh no! 2 weeks STILL left!!!" : ) And such is life...

I'm sorry if I've left you thinking you could have used the time you spent reading this blog doing something not so pointless. But, I would only like to say three things to wind up:

1) My parents have demonstrated time and time again, just how brilliant they are as parents and as human beings. I owe EVERYTHING to them and I am beyond grateful.

2) Since you are reading this blog, you must either be someone I care about, or someone who cares about me, or both : ) In any case, your good wishes have definitely contributed in bringing me this far and for that I would like to say "Thanks" : )

3) The whole point of this blog is for me to post bits and pieces about my life at Essex. To just start out, I found some pics of Essex online... just so that you know where I'm going...

FYI, the Department of Computing and Electronic Systems is located in Square Two and I'll be staying at Tawney Tower (second bldg from right). I, of course, plan to put in my own pics as and when I get there.

OK then, this is me signing off...

Love,
Kay [i.e. Kshitija Rane]

PS: In case you'd rather be spared of reading this blog, please let me know... I promise I wont hold it against you [and even if I do, I promise you wont know about it ;-)]