A series of events between June and Oct

It has been a while since I update my blog. I have just checked. My last blog was published on the 27th August. So many things or events have happened since that date.

Completion of my PhD. On the 26th June, I submitted my PhD. But, you never guess how and where I submitted my PhD. I submitted it in Lausanne, Switzerland while I was attending a teaching workshop at IMD. I submitted it through email. The night before my submission, I hardly got any sleep. I finished my training at the workshop at around 5, I had a quick bite with my parents, and then I continued working my PhD until 3am the next day. I had, technically, two to three hours sleep. Then, I emailed my thesis to the Office of Research and Higher Degree at USQ. Off I went to attend the teaching workshop. I was dead tired, but I still managed to concentrate at the workshop.

Mum and dad visiting in June/July. While I was striving to complete my PhD in June, mum and dad visited me in June and they stayed for a month. Having mum and dad here gave me extra motivation and moral support to complete my PhD. We travelled to many places such as Brussels (Belgium), Lausanne and Geneva (Switzerland), Rome (Italy), and Paris (France). They were very relieved that I finally completed and submitted my thesis as they had been waiting for a long time. It was a great experience to travel with my parents. Of course, there were times I wished I were travelling alone as I could dictate what I would like to do and where I would like to go. Travelling with your parents, you need to put them first. Hence, I tended to plan the travel plan around their interests. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the experience of travelling with my parents as it was a great opportunity to bond with my parents and to get to know my parents better. Our travelling plan was hampered by an unpleasant incident in Rome. Dad's wallet was stolen and this had left a 'bad taste' in our travelling experience. This incident had also taught us a great lesson. That is, you should never take the train in Rome during peak hours, especially from the airport to the city, and especially when you have huge luggage. These are tell-tale signs that you are a tourist and, thus, you will become an easy target for the 'pick-pocketing' gang. Mum and dad left on the 16th July, and I missed their presence once they had gone.

Sisters visiting in Oct. This year must be the year of visiting Jason. Sam and Nat visited me in October. Unlike mum and dad, they stayed for two weeks only. They arrived on the 1st October and left on the 15th October. The next day after their departure, I flew to Spain, San Sebastian to be more specific, for a guest lecture at the University of Deusto. Since the teaching semester at Surrey started in early October, as compared to mum and dad, I had lesser free time to travel with Sam and Nat. Nevertheless, I still managed to travel to Amsterdam and Paris with them. They also travelled to Brussels, but on their own. It was an interesting and novel experience to travel with my sisters as we never did that when we were younger. I guess it was because we did not have the disposable income. Besides Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris, Sam and Nat also visited London, Bath, and Portsmouth Harbour. They were very keen to explore the shopping outlets in these cities.

Guest lecture in Spain. As I mentioned earlier, I flew to San Sebastian for a guest lecture at the University of Deusto. Since there is no direct flight from London to San Sebastian, I stopped over in Madrid for two nights. I love both Madrid and San Sebastian as both cities are unique in their own ways. Madrid is very vibrant and dynamic, whereas San Sebastian is very relaxing and coastal. This guest lecture was a great learning experience for me as, before this guest lecture, I had never taught at a Spanish university. I was told by a Spanish colleague at Surrey that Spanish students are quite passive in class. Having this pre-conception, I was worried that the guest lecture was going to be very boring as I would be doing all the talking. Surprisingly, the students attending my guest lecture were not as passive as I had imagined them to be. On the contrary, they were quite participative and chatty. I had chosen experiential marketing as the focus of my lecture and Starbucks as the case study. The attendance was quite satisfactory as there were around 40 students attended the lecture. The coordinator at Deusto with the attendance rate.

Passed my PhD with minor revision. 1st November is a big day for me as this was the day I received the result of my PhD via email. To my greatest relief, I have passed my PhD with minor revisions. Out of the three examiners, two recommended minor revisions and one (an author I have quoted frequently in my dissertation) recommended major revisions. Based on these results, the independent reviewer at USQ, Professor Ronel Erwee, recommended minor revisions for my dissertation. Thanks, Buddha. I have passed my PhD finally. I never thought this day would ever come as I had spent a long time on my PhD. While mum and dad were extremely pleased and excited with the result, I felt mostly relieved than anything else. I am glad that the PhD journey is nearly over. Once I have completed and submitted the revisions and the Associate Dean of Research has approved the revisions, I should receive my PhD degree. I cannot wait to end this PhD journey so that I can start a new journey.