OK, it has been really, really long since my last post in this blog, which was on 19th September 2013. For more than 5 months, I was busy in all kinds of other stuff:
- My semester 7 and 8 final exams (yeah, I took TWO semesters' exams... again, actually. For overall score improvement. :P)
- Then studying for the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering 2014, which for me was on 16th February 2014 (mechanical engineering test for me). GATE score is used for post-graduate admissions in Indian engineering colleges, and also recently: engineering job recruitment in government companies. It is not an easy test, so I had to invest a serious amount of time and effort in its preparation.
- And finally, the medical check-ups that I had to get done, before the round 2 interview of Mars One can happen. (Submission deadline of the check-up results was 8th March 2014, and I could get them done only after GATE.)
I agree, it is my fault, for not posting anything on this blog for so long. I should have made time for it. (But honestly, I don't thing anyone was waiting for my next entry, anyway. The abysmal page view statistics can tell... LOL!!)
So, I will cut to the chase... Round 1 ended on 2nd September 2013, and Mars One had announced that results (of candidates selected for Round 2) would be released in end-December. The new year came and went (nothing too special of celebrations for me - I was supposed to be studying... :P). I had checked the Mars One website and my email account quite a few times in December, but there was nothing. I was prepared for the worst (i.e. not getting selected), but I hoped they would let even non-selected candidates at least know about it (instead of not replying at all... some organisations have that irritating habit).
But I did not get to know about the results via the Mars One website, or an email from them. On 3rd January 2014, I saw at the bottom of the newspaper's front page, an article about Mars One. It stated that Round 1 results were declared on 31st December, and then it highlighted a few Indian candidates that had been selected. My name was not there in that article. (Of course, if I myself did not know about my own result, how could they know?) But I was excited... the results were finally out! After a long wait of more than 4 months, I would finally get to know...
I rushed to my laptop. I was trying to keep that ideal state of mind (hoping for the best, but also being prepared for the worst), but anticipation always gets the better of a human being.
First, I went to the Mars one website. The "Press Releases" section had a new entry titled "Mars One announces Round 2 Astronaut Selection Results". Only 1,058 of over 200,000 hopefuls had been selected, thus giving a selection rate of only about 0.5%. They explained how some applicants were serious about the mission (some of them submitting application videos in the nude, etc., etc.) But I wanted to know my result now. So I quickly logged into my email account. It finally opened, and there I saw: an email from Mars One. The subject line read: "Mars One Round 2 candidate Selection Results". With anticipation and a nervous smile, I clicked the email open. This is what I got to see:
For the first few seconds, nothing happened. Finally, it started sinking in... I WAS ACTUALLY SELECTED!!!
I read the first few sentences again and again, to make sure I had got it right... "Congratulations. You have made it to the next round."
YAAAAYYY!! I AM SELECTED FOR ROUND 2 OF MARS ONE!!!
Happiness. After all the apprehension, anticipation and even a little bit of tension, there was relief and positive happiness. Finally, something good happened. Finally, all that hard work and time invested, had paid off.
:)
