Written between the lines

I told myself before that I won't write anything thesis-related once it's over. After all, I already passed and I'm already contented with that. Nonetheless, one email changed my mind and actually made me look back on my thesis life.

Not surprisingly, "Thesis-ing" is so much more than just Living the Brand: An Exploratory Study on Brand-Supporting Behaviors Among Selected Employees of Organization X. It is so much more than just learning how to decently write an academic paper, and certainly more than just getting your respondents done and over. In fact, I now quite understand why Dr. Sarile, the founder of Organizational Communication in the Philippines, insisted that a research subject like this be kept in the current and future curriculum of OrCom. Just like UP, "thesis-ing" is a very holistic way of learning, inside and outside the classroom. It is a holistic way of learning how and when to adhere and not to adhere with certain protocols of society. But that, you'll have to learn on your own.

Villanueva, AC | Living the Brand: An Exploratory Study on Brand Supporting Behaviors among...

Writing my thesis was mentally, physically, emotionally, socially, and even spiritually taxing that I got really stressed out. There was even a time when literally my whole family was suffering from dengue but I wasn't. Maybe it was my mind telling me that I cannot afford to get sick at that moment. Another time, out of desperation, I wanted to pay people or have them kidnapped just to get an immediate interview, but instead, I went to company X and bluffed my way in. I pretended to know some random person from LinkedIn and had an appointment with her. While waiting for the random person, I interviewed employees who were passing time at the lobby. Good thing, she never really came, and I finished my quota. 

Later that night, respondents also emailed me. You could just imagine how grateful I was (and still am). As most people know, I am a devoted-Catholic-turn-agnostic-turn-i-have-my-own-notion-of-god-and-you-have-your-own-it's-cool kind of person, thus I'm not as "religous" as most people are. I don't "pray" but I say praise where it is due, and that time I honestly felt divine intervention so I was and am really thankful. Whether that was just a random, inevitable circumstance or not, I'm thankful, to the respondents, and to some powerful being that I cannot objectively explain right now.

Oh, yeah, the email! Here it is (kinikilig ako shet) HAHAHA

So yeah, my paper got accepted for presentation at the Lupcon Center for Business Research (LCBR) European Marketing Conference 2012 in Munich, Germany. I want to go but I can't. Why? GYAHAHA, because I'm poor and I don't have the money to fly to Germany just to do some kind of presentation that I haven't even done here in my country yet. Having said that, I haven't replied to the email yet, I don't know how to. 

Oh well. Maybe next time, when I have my own money, and am totally independent already. 

Still, this form of recognition is nice :)