Looks like I won't be locked out next year

I have blamed being locked out of grad school for my thoughtless climbing accident last winter. It led to being in the hospital for four months and probably the most boring time of my life this year. However, this year to ensure I wouldn't be locked out I applied to more than a half dozen terminal master's programs in economics, albeit also largely out of a desire to use one of these programs as a proctor to see if I'm fit to move onto a doctoral program. Strangely enough, as I was on the web checking to see if civil war erupted in North Korea over Kim Jong Il's much anticipated death, I received the strangest offer from Barcelona Graduate School Of Economics at Universidad Pompeu Fabra. While this is a terminal master's program not too different from LSE's MSc. Economics(Research) program in that it is possible to move onto the doctoral program at Universidad Pompeu Fabra after completing the MSc. with distinction, I was surprised by being offered both a partial fee waiver and a TA-ship. As I'm on blogger still trying to see if I can gather anything from Kim Jong Il's death, my mind keeps giving way to thoughts about when a decision from LSE will come. No, I don't think I'll be going to Barcelona without an unfavorable decision from LSE, but I sure do prefer Barcelona over another climbing accident. Any thoughts or suggestions?

How I view Graduate School in 2011

Last year, applications to doctoral programs in economics spread into my celebration of New Year's Day. I wanted to see how sure I wanted to apply to terminal masters programs.

Me: Jan. 1st, a year go (2010): Of Malibu, 2010, and the puzzling dearth of Korean Nobel Laureates

It's 2010 and it's been twenty-two years since the Dodgers won the pennant, one hundred years since Japan annexed Korea (Joseon/Chosun/朝選), and ten years that I've had the right to vote. And, probably a a little more time than that since I've been to the Rose Parade in Pasadena (the Rose Parade's on TV right now). And, on a side note, it's interesting how there are probably as many floats from Chinese companies as there were from Japanese companies back when I went to the Rose Parades. My younger brother graduated from La Canada High School in La Canada-Flintridge, which would make a float for the parade each year. I attended the school for a semester as well and, well, it's a pretty big thing in that city.  

 Me in 2011: My attitude has changed considerably. I will not  apply to doctoral programs out of both the questionable likelihood of being able to pursue research interests life long in academia and due to the attractive feature of terminal masters program in economics being able to function as a  prognosis to measure how suitable I am to pursue my research interests within academia. I would like to return to London and attend the MSc in Economics program beginning in October of this great new year. I guess you see the first paragraph of my statement of purpose first draft. But, that's also what this blog does - share thoughts

 I view these programs as prognostic programs that see whether I am suited to continue studies within Academia.