Two Weeks To Homecoming

So many things. So little time.

Pejam celik pejam celik, the time is almost up. Two weeks, and I'll be home. 

Wow.

It didn't actually really feel like pejam celik though. I guess doing so many things could stretch time. That's my theory of relativity.

Unlike what many people would love to announce, I wouldn't say this one year stint abroad have totally changed me. But my sense of perspective and maturity in life have definitely improved tremendously. That's what happens when you are well traveled, and the reason why I am so passionate about promoting friends to travel. You learn more about yourself, and about the world. 

I enjoyed my learning period just as much as I enjoyed the travels made in between reading and writing. I touched many of the places and did so many things I have always dreamed of, many with specific personal mission such as:

"Eating Norwegian salmon in a small Norwegian fishing town, overlooking the Norwegian Sea"

"Sleeping in a boat-house in Sweden"

"Trip into the Sahara Desert, and sleeping under the stars on the dunes"

"Travelling by the coast of Dalmatia Sea"

"Cycling around a Greek island"

And many more.

I have covered 12 countries in 12 months, without neglecting my postgraduate life. Which is why with all the travelling made, the place I will miss most is still this lovely British land - their green and welcoming parks, the brisk walking from our home in Rochester to Chatham High Street, Russell Square and Holborn, the underground travelling, Oyster card, the weather (trust me, the Brits have no idea how lovely their weather is!), the summer carnivals, and the excitement of the Olympic Games.

Such a heart opening experience this year, and will be treasured and missed for eternity. Two weeks, and back to the working world. Crossing my fingers for more great year's ahead...

A Degree Above

All journeys are not without destination.

After months of sailing this academic yacht, the land is finally a short distance away. Yes, this journey is reaching its end, and thankfully, the sail has been nothing short of smooth - the sea was calm, the wind generous, and the yacht intact. Of course, there were challenges along the way, but for a journey well planned, most challenges are not difficulties; they are simply anticipated obstacles, and anticipated obstacles make journeys meaningful, not difficult.

It's been a pleasant ride in the sea of knowledge. Contrary to what the society like to perceive, postgraduate study is not about how smart or bright you are. The qualification is simply a recognition that you have more knowledge of a more specific subject matter. I guess that is why it focuses less on grading the way they do at undergraduate level. It is the process of acquiring that knowledge that is more important, because at this level you start to question and argue established knowledge and practices,and that raises your overall intellectual capacity to a degree above. Unlike the almost biblical textbooks in the previous studies where everything seems to be carved in stones, references for postgraduates are full of scholarly disputes and antagonistic theories, and one is forced to make his own careful judgement based on this wobbly premise.

While the journey is only a short one year, a part of me cannot wait to get a hold on that scroll. Master of Science in Management of Intellectual Property. A degree above, in more ways than one :)

Wintry December

It is two degrees Celsius outside as I'm writing this. 

As soon as December replaced November from the digital calendar on my computer screen, the temperature no longer seems to go up any higher than 8 degrees Celsius. Leaves no longer cover the pavements and parks, as most trees have shed theirs, leaving naked branches clawing into the sky, ready to embrace the new season. 

As if they all just woke up from a deep sleep - given how warm the autumn season this year was - and decided that December should be, as it is always supposed to be, a wintry one. 

I'm starting to feel more optimistic that London will be able to see those magical white powder coming down from the sky this year. White Christmas probably? 

In the mean time, Happy Holiday, and Merry Christmas in advance to those celebrating!

The Dream For UK Education

Almost two months have lapsed since I first arrived in this beautiful, bustling city of London. And I couldn't be more grateful at the fact that this whole 'back to school' so far turns out to be waaay more interesting and fun than I expected it to be (and mind you I had a very high expectation that it's going to be good; read my previous post). Everything that I hoped for in this 'long break' are there, and then there's more.

Of course, I am not really on a year-long 'holiday'. I'm studying. There are lectures to attend, tonnes of reading lists to go through, study projects to complete and the inevitable, dreaded examinations to undertake. But being a post-grad, or more accurately, a working adult going back to 'studentry' (since there are also many people who go to postgraduate studies soon after completing their basic degrees), things are seen and felt at quite a different angle. 

Of most significant is how we could really appreciate the sudden ample time that we have. I can't stress this enough. It is one of the most basic needs we know is limited there in the working planet, the thing we occasionally desperately cry for, and as such, it just can't be taken for granted. It's harder for freshers to comprehend this in its ultimate sense. When I was an undergrad, I thought I knew how time-draining working will be like after what the adults at the time aggressively warned me about prior to me entering it; I had no idea. I guess things like this need to be experienced in order for us to really 'get it'.

But other than that, I also just love my course. I can feel the niche Intellectual Property has, the powerful position it's placed in the modern economy. I am, and will always continue to see myself, as a man of science, an advocate of invention, so the idea that Intellectual Property sorts to bridge the gap between R&D and C&E in the R -> D -> C -> E chain (to the uninitiated, it's Research to Development to Commercialization to Entrepreneurship), excites me. It's great that I can feel a bond, an attachment to the course; it makes learning it a passion, rather than strictly 'studying'.

And finally, I'm blessed to be given the opportunity to study here in the UK, and making London my temporary home. It's a great place to base for education, and at the same time enjoy the little little things life has to offer. It's been a dream, a dream that comes true.

Changing Tide

There's a saying that goes - 'You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back'.

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I was 12 years old when my parents took me and my twin brother to UK for the first time. That was in December after we underwent the first major school examination, the UPSR. Being children, it goes without saying that we found the experience 'magical', believing that, among other things; the archery test (a game) at Nottingham Castle was indeed intended to seek the lost generation of Robin Hood and, had we took up the bow, the seeking would have come to an end as we would be the one they were looking for; while driving beside the Loch Ness, we silently gazed outside the window, hoping, believing, that we would catch a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster (which, by the way, was why I enjoyed The Water Horse movie at a personal level); we were delighted to find that winter actually listened to our prayer when the snow 'followed' us all the way from Scotland as we rode at the backseat of the rented car back to London.

One inside joke in our family was about the promise my eldest brother made to my parents when he was little, that he would not marry before he takes them on the Love Boat cruise in the States. After telling the joke, my mom would then ask us where we would bring them before we get married. While 'getting married' didn't make sense to us at the time, we still promised that one day, after such a lovely experience in UK, we would bring them back there.

There are changing tides in every passage of our lives, whether it be a cataclysmic tide like that of an oncoming tsunami, or a smooth ripple like that of a silently lapping alpine lake. But more often than not, the tide would be subtle enough that only after a while did you notice that it has actually occurred. You wouldn't know at the first instance when obtaining your driving license, that the tide has taken place; you only notice it when you realise that you no longer slip into the backseat, and your parents have stopped taking the wheel. Or when you received your first paycheck, you thought you have simply entered a new world, but you wouldn't realise the changing tide until it becomes apparent that you find pleasure in paying the meal for your parents, compared to the previous years when all you cared was to eat like a pig on the dishes presented to you. 

This year's Raya was especially meaningful not simply because we celebrated it in the UK, but more importantly because we were able to bring our parents as well, a promised 16 years ago made to hold. It's a fulfilling moment: flying them here, driving them around, buying them dinners; there's no way to describe the joy of seeing the smiles on their faces, for the joy they had from us. It's beautiful.

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I was at a zakat collector table a few days before I flew to UK to pay zakat for my parents, who flew a few days earlier but had forgotten to pay the due. It was my first time to pay zakat for other than myself, and I asked the zakat collector which 'lafaz' should I use on behalf of my parents. Just when I thought it would be the line that started with "Sebagai wakil", he pointed to the other option, the one that read - "Untuk tanggungan".

That was the only point that I knew at an instance, there and then, that  the subtle, almost silent, tide, is here again. 

Like the lapping alpine lake.

Gotta Be A Good Life

That is actually the title of a new release by OneRepublic, a positive-mood-trigger song that I find calming even at some of the lower points in everyday routines.

Ever since it tops my favourite list, the song keeps popping into my mind like an Ipod on loop mode, and then hangs around it maybe a little too long - In the car when I make the daily travel back and forth the 90 miles Greater KL roads to office. In the toilet when I hum the rhythm between the toothbrush and my teeth. That instant moment when I am half awake, trying to figure out what day it is. More or less like how it would be when you put a girl on top of your mind; as wide a smile, maybe less dreamy, but highly addictive.

Perhaps I enjoy the lyrics as much as the tune, a perfect lines of words that somehow befit the current situation I am in, and which I keep telling myself couldn't have come out at a better time - Very soon, I may just 'wake up in London yesterday' :)

My mind once went adrift to the quickness of this whole thing, the quickness as if time warp has actually taken place. How did it go so fast? I can vividly remember the day I first managed to read an entire sentence of a book. I was in the bedroom, book on the floor, me on my fours, over the book and casting a shadow on it. I made it first before my twin followed through. Since then, we outsmarted each other, never openly challenging, but silently privy at the performance of the other half.

I was a late-bloomer. It took a long three school years before I manage to get commendable exam grades and make it to the performing marks in class - and in the meanwhile, ample of parental worries and frustrations. In the first year when I produced my result, I didn't quite understand why my parents frowned and became upset. In the second year, I heard her cry behind closed bedroom door. And when I finished my third, she wailed a painful, frustrated wail, the kind that stings right into your young chest, the one that trembles your heart, the one that actually ignites your young, white-cloth brain into asking the whys and the hows to yourself, seeking the answers from within instead of the usual queries from your ever all-knowing parents.

The kind that matures you.

I am now pretty sure that was also the precise moment I found clarity in the meaning of responsibility unto self.

When I eventually took the pace and caught up, I remember the excitement of being on track. On track with how the society at large expects out of their children. That we would excel in our studies, taking extra classes and then balance it out with some good outdoor activities. Learn some life's lesson from the people we interact with around us, be it the kids in the neighbourhood, or the adults who's taking care of them. But most importantly, to grow up using the time-tested method of reaching the gate of the ivory tower, that grand institution which was so symbolical to a secured future, a door that would open up great many opportunities for prosperity. And even then, to pursue further, becoming one of the very few 'certified' intellectuals in the world.

With the days to further education looming just right ahead, I welcome the break from the working world, the 'real' world I had been for a good six years... and back into being 'on track', into tasting the joy of chasing the old, childhood dream, and into the world where examination is the biggest cause of worries, assignment deadlines are the weekly irritations, and punch card is nonexistent.

A world where one thing deemed scarce in the working world, time - for self, for friends, and for knowledge - is abundant.

This has gotta be a good life.