Photo Macam Ketagih Kan courtesy of MO who is currently pursuing her PhD in Belfast. May the hot black coffee make her dreamy eyes (@^@) wide awake to continue her write up!!! Way to Go, my Dear Ja aka MO :)
Looking at Ja's picture brought back bitter sweet memories to me during my days when I was in Ja's shoes in mid I990s. Close to four years of not only 'sweating' in blistering cold winter fully covered with white snow @Richardson Road but feeling cold and shivering when the sun was bold and bright during summer season flipping through pages and pages of conventions in The Robinson Library. When the library closed, though my eyes yearned for some squeezed eyes shut and my body craved for warm duvets to wrap and duck feather pillows to cuddle, yet my head and mind prayed not to be corrupted by those desires. They instructed my feet to follow the path to my little cubicle @LawFac to write down what I have read and discovered in the conventions for next day's analysis and what noughts! It was gruesome and demanding but the end result was truly sweet beyond descriptions.
If the general working hours was from 9 to 5, during those 'punishing' days it was heavenly feeling if one started at 5am and ended up at 2am with just three hours sleep. Even then the mind did not sleep! The mixed feelings of fear, anxiety and turmoil were intertwined with happiness in every new found research gathering or data analysis were updated. The tedious work of compiling and doing and re-doing the critical analysis with manual foot noting processes were killing yet when they were done and received a bar of Mars chocolate from Professor (Ms) C, one could smile widely :D but only at that moment because the routine of anxiety and what nought would recur and recycle for the whole three to four years! > LOL but when the mind soared to those grueling days, it wasn't a joke. It was a reality where all doctorate holders faced and weaved through and finally graduated with flying colours.
When I was pursuing my postgraduate courses, my dear Ja was doing her LL.B. We used to say "Hi" at the stairs of the faculty while holding a pile of drafts written work in one hand and cold sandwich with just a banana on the other for lunch. But we had great time together when we prayed at the university mosque and having hearty Iftar during Ramadan time and celebrated Eid the Malaysian style in our flats with the other undergraduates. It was enchanting and truly memorable sweet moment which I could not forget spending precious time with Ja and other wonderful sisters and forever helpful brothers.
Now, for me it was more than a decade past ... But, for Ja it is just a beginning. But Ja must not worry for the feelings of All in One - fear, anxiety and turmoil intertwined with delightful happiness and excitement are normal for those pursuing doctoral degrees. Get your cuppa and continue to refill it till dawn to ooze the yawn! My sisterly prayer that Ja will succeed in her endeavor and in no time I shall refer her as Dr MO aka Ja!
Dearie Ja, a Blast from the Past - tempat jatuh lagi di kenang, ini kan pula tempat bersama menangguk ilmu di River Tyne yang kini kekal bersemadi dalam ingatan. Warm Supplications with Lots of Love and Best Wishes to You and the Heroes in Belfast!
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