UP UP UP and not away!
for the past few weeks i’ve started to regret my decision of ditching that job opportunity in dubai. i turned to a lot of interim diversions to console that pang of guilt… oh well, that’s life… i probably am not for the gulf.
one morning while having an early lunch with my officemate, carol, out of the blue i opened up about the employment procedure for dietitians in canada that i’ve browsed on the net since i have encountered a fraud Canadian employer whom we both want to counter-fraud but don’t know how… and then in passing, i’ve mentioned about the masteral degree requirement for foreign applicants for that country. she suddenly remembered my application for the UP Grad School and asked me how it was… oh boy! i totally forgot about it! since i thought i’ll never gonna make it because of some demanding undergrad grade requirement etc. etc. — i forgot everything about it after passing my academic requirements to them.
the afternoon of the same day, i received a txt message from my mom telling me that UP called and i am scheduled for interview 4th of May. My GOd!!! is this for real?! then it was postponed and was rescheduled on the 11th… thank goodness!!! good thing it was moved because i have no idea or whatsoever on what they’ll be asking in there—would it be a 1 1/2 hour revalida or a plain tete-a-tete with the panel. i was getting frantic about it and have slept for only a few hours days before the interview.
11th was a friday. wednesday of that week i had a severe dysmenorrhea followed by diarrhea (sorry, i had to put it this way –can’t find a better medical term for this)…i went to the office late, stayed there for roughly 3 hours then i had to ask permission from our country manager to go home since i really can’t tolerate the pain. the next day, i was ok, came in for work, but i can’t concentrate on what i’m doing….i was a total wreck! when i came home from work it dawn unto me that it’s the night before the interview ——-huhu!!! i stayed in my room for half an hour to weep my nerves out —-coz nobody can seem to help! at that point i had no idea if these were good or bad omens.
8:30AM, 11-May-2007, UP-CHE
My hands were moist with perspiration, my temperature’s rising, i can feel perspirations setting on my occipital region - dropping down to my temporals. my heartbeat’s rising probably above the normal bps. i had butterflies and dragonflies in my stomach! we were 6 applicants to be interviewed. for almost an hour of waiting, we’ve all became friends. there’s cath, a good friend/batchmate of mine from ust who was also our dorm mate during the time we had our internship at ust hospital. the other one was julie ann, a UP batch ‘98 alumna whom i’ve worked with in nestle wellness program — she was actually the one who taught me how to get to where i was assigned in marikina. the early bird, glenda, an accounting graduate who really really would like to take up MSN instead of MBA. and there’s juvi, a UP batch ‘06 alumna who works in an NGO called "abot kamay foundation" whom i think is serious but fun. then marilyn, a mother of 2 and is currently working with nesvita. there….i felt quite relieved conversing with these people and we were already hoping that we’ll all get in —–the more the merrier, we thought! :Þ
and so, the interview started…. first in line was glenda, then me, cath, julie ann, juvie, and marilyn. the supposedly panel interview became a one on one interview with Dr. Veritas Luna, chair of food science and nutrition. what i expected as a revalida interview became a highly conversational dialogue —almost informal. i was asked about myself, my work, the field of study i’d like to pursue. she was looking for my teaching experience (which i don’t have yet) and then she asked me if i’d like to teach –teach in st. scho and i said "very much! i look forward to it!" i chuckled when she answered "yes, you teach. you could help ms. esteng (my clinical nutrition professor) and ms. tanchoco (our dept. head in st. scho)" i told her that it’s one of the reasons why i applied for MSN –to teach. after almost an hour of conversation, these are the sweetest words i think i would never ever forget: "Ok Tiffany, we’re accepting you as our regular MSN student. Congratulations. Just wait for your letter…it will be ready by next week. Please come by to pick it up….. I believe you’d like to sports nutrition to be your major — i’ll be assigning an academic adviser for you. You will discuss your curriculum with her and you’ll tell her whether you’ll be coming in as a part-time or full-time student…. — she’ll be the one to suggest which courses would be helpful for your major and then you may also be getting units from the College of Human Kinetics (which i’d really love to!!!). But you have to maintain a grade of 2 (oh boy! kakayanin po!) Alright, congratulations!" Waaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! WHEHW!!!!!
from 6, we were trimmed down to three… and i am the only non-UP graduate…….both an advantage and disadvantage—- scary……
it’s already been 2 days since the interview and i still feel like i’m in cloud 9!!! :Þ this is the best! ever!!! now i’ll start to fly UP UP UP and not away but i’ll always stay grounded. now i know i’m here to serve — with this big option given (that i’ve dreamed of), i opt not add up to our country’s "brain-drain" crisis! :Þ besides, here, other than grad school, i have koine… it’s more than enough.
i guess i’ll be one with Lean in singing UP Naming Mahal now! hehe! :Þ
God is good!!! :Þ i can’t stop smiling! :Þ
