Freedom....no not yet

I still remember years ago, as a student whenever we finished our exam, we'll shouted out freedom...yeah a much needed freedom from all the books.....I have just completed my IELTS exam, so can I shout freedom?....no not yet, probably not for a long time. I still have to prepare a research proposal for CLA and complete the online generic module...all these need to be completed before the 8th of November.....Gone are the days when my weekends are free! Apart from the on calls, this is especially true for me for the past 3 and 1/2 years.....
How's my IELTS? I think I'm quite confident enough in the listening and writing parts, insyaAllah. I think all the practices really help. Writing....not sure, I managed to write enough words and with good points for the 2 essays. However since my previous essays were not assessed, I am really not sure how I fare in that band. Speaking? There were lots and lots of questions....it seems like an interrogation rather than communication. The examiner was monotonous, asking all the prepared questions and very schematic. I am not that comfortable with it, however I did talk...a lot. So I need to wait 13 days for the result. However, apparently I do not really need the result for my application. I have already received an offer of place for the PhD program from the University of Otago. They have accepted my English Language Proficiency statement.
So whats next?.....need to go for an interview with the top guns at Gombak next week. They told me verbally my scholarship application from MOHE has been approved. However, there is a small hiccup...they approve the scholarship based on 2009 budget. Since my letter of offer states 2nd January 2010 as the date of intake, they might not approve it. The dateline for the 2009 budget is on the 31st December 2009. To make things worse, scholarship under 2010 budget will only be opened in late December. Taking into account all the process involved, and all the bureaucracy involved, it may only be approved in February onwards. That's already too late, since my supervisors need me to be there in Dec or Jan for me to be involved in the early part of the research. There goes my chance....I just couldn't believe that they could not make an exception. So, my next plan of action is to request an earlier date for the intake from Otago. If this fail, I need to melangkah kaki ke Putrajayalah nampaknya. I have gone this far, I need to fight this lousy system.....