前へ進もう

Tonight, the moon rises upon a new leg of my journey. Aye, I know that I have yet to finish my degree but still, to me, it is a new leg - I've just received an offer letter to do Honours in Biological Sciences. I am elated, excited and ecstatic. But when I read the instructions, a warning bell sounds in my head.

Don't you feel that the world at times conspire to prevent your next grand step into the future that is of your own making? I do. Take this honours thing for instance. The letter was sent on the 13th of December, arriving at my doorstep just this evening, the 21st of December. 8 days in the postal system. And it was by air (by sea it would take 3 months. Been there done there. Painfully) It does raises an eyebrow or two, but it is expected of the Australian postal system. Now, I am supposed to send in my reply so that the faculty office gets my signature within a week of me getting the letter. Fair enough, it does not say a week after the letter was sent but a week after I get the letter. Cool. But it having spent 8 days getting to me would automatically imply that it will take 8 days from me to them. Perfect. Switch to plan B. DHL delivery express. You can always count on the guys in Yellow. DHL has a wonderful service that sees the document/parcel/palette/goods delivered to the recipient by mid-day the very next day. Awesome. Thing is that, they work 9 - 5, so me calling them up at 10pm here will not see my document going to the faculty office by mid-day tomorrow. Situation still looks a little dull. Let's spice things up. Let's close the university tomorrow and let it re-open on the 2nd of January, 2007. So now, the trusty men in yellow can deliver the document but there will be no one to receive them until January. Wonderful! 2 weeks have pass since our dear man has received his offer letter and still it has not reached the office. I wonder what they will say hmmm? Enough of that. Just thinking it throbs my head.

Many don't even bat an eye when I say I intend to do honours. Perhaps it is a commonplace nowadays for affluent folk like Singaporeans to aim for more than just a 'common' degree. But after chatting with my course mates back in Australia, I realised that not everyone thinks so. Some are denied the chances for it; they want it, but financially and academically, the degree is stretching them too tight. To others, the honours is not a mean to an end, that is to say, it does not serve their purpose to do it. I have a couple of friends who would love to do honours but in the end, decline to do it simply because of job commitments or just that it simply would not be practical to do so - the former is a teacher, the latter aspires to be a park ranger. As the former Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro was reputed saying, "人生いろいろ". Life is diverse; Humans are diverse.

I began the year thinking that it is only natural that everyone continues into Honours, but after going through all that paperwork and interviews and chats with the various people I met, supervisors, course mates, coordinators etc, I began to cherish the degree even more than I ever thought I would. Things as such do not come easy and if you were on the opposite side of the table victimised by my sudden respect and hunger for the Honours, I hereby apologise though I have to say, it is not really out of my character to do just that. It might be only now that I am thankful for the chance and the opportunity opened to me. Perhaps later in the next year when you ask me of my feelings, I might be cursing and swearing at my folly to so eagerly drown myself in an abyss of self mutilation. But now, I am just thankful and I am happy. That's all there needs to be.

Ok, it is time for this long-winded bastard to shut up. Just take it that I am running practices for my Honours Year Thesis. :p

::Reading:: Chronicle of Narnia by C.S.Lewis
::Listening:: 千綿偉功 - カサブタ