it was 10 years ago today that i walked through the hallowed arches of king’s hall for my congregation. the faculty of medicine in those days always had its congregation on the 2nd wednesday in the month of july at 5 pm.
i remembered that it rained a little in the morning but came 4 pm, it was gloriously sunny. as it was day one of a four-day convocation, the newly-mowed grass on the quadrangle of what was king’s college of the university of durham was ours to enjoy. not to makan lah. i donned my black suit together with a crisp white shirt and the faculty tie to boot. my arwah mom wore her best kebaya and songket selendang whilst my dad looked (and felt) really good for the occasion (he postponed a CABG and opted for a coronary artery stent only weeks before!). our biggest disappointment was that my brother couldn’t be with us due to his classes at university. there were only four malaysian families that afternoon and we spent the entire one hour post-ceremony taking photos. one thing i liked about our university congregation attire – no frickin’ mortar boards!
it was the shortest congregation ceremony i’ve experienced (i’ve not been to any other actually!). we were ushered into the hall whilst someone played a classical organ piece. the graduands each had their hood with the colours of the faculty (lavender, scarlet and white) slung over their right forearms and are called by name (it was great to hear the long malaysian names being pronounced rather accurately) after being ‘hooded’ by the hooding marshall. the applause we received was non-stop from A to W (we had no X, Y or Z in our year). the VC gave a real heart-warming speech about the medical profession and then there was more organ music whilst we were ushered out of the hall. all that in less than one hour.
my emotions were mixed on that day. there was relief, as i have finally finished a long 5-year haul slogging my ass off. there was joy, as i was with my family (minus one, unfortunately) to commemorate the occasion. there was also apprehension, as in about two weeks after that day i was to be let loose on the wards together with those from my year.
there was a handful of us whom i’d probably refer to as ‘casualties of war’, who weren’t there with us to share this joyful occasion. as painful as it must be, they marched on and proved their worth, albeit six months later. ten years on today, i’m sure these guys are doing what they do best (and most likely better than the ones who survived that summer) and nobody would probably even remember whether or not they were there that sunny july afternoon.
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Scire usum medendi [latin: To know the art of healing] was the original motto of the Durham University College of Medicine, founded in 1834.
holey cow who’s the skinny bloke on the left????
yeup, very fit 10 years ago… >)
Did your hair bump into doors when you walk through one?
fuck you. 😆
Kena tinggal… couldn’t go because it was registration week at UUM… sial la.
Saya pun ada cogankata: Pontori du appar unem
Regarding the hair… apa? ingat fox mulder ka? kha kha kha!
i knew there’d be problems posting this pic up. damn you, 1995!!!
hensem apa… 😀
koo-semangat…
… rambut tinggi sial! terperanjat aku…
lagi sekor. anonymous pulak tu. 😆
itu aku la, lupa type nick! hehehe…
Kena static ke? 😀
Which NKOTB member did you wanna be?
The 😆 icon doesnt do justice to the laugh I let rip when I read Nads NKOTB comment. (gelak sambil terguling guling)
u do look bit kurus..n yeah like fox mulder laa
its ok. i asked for it. i better start writing 5 articles so as to hilangkan the pic. 😆
nads: YOU know which nkotb hairstyle that is, kan. hehe.
anuarF: fuck you. again. 😆
wahahaha..gamba time muda.. sorry beb was away for quite a while, istanbul cornwall..making the most out of my 2 week holiday. gig dah confirm ke nih??
jon or jordan knight?
uiks, your hairdresser had a bad day? but the guy in the middle…gila handsome.
Actually kan, being a biiit younger than you I kinda jumped onto the NKOTB bandwagon a bit too late. Plus I was a girl teenybopper. We’re allowed our periods of musical insanity. 😀
So no, I really don’t know which one you were trying desperately to emulate, via the gravity-defying hair. 😀
But your Dad is dashing. A waist-coat, no less!
nads: you reaally thought i was emulating NKOTB? in 1995? the age grunge came and went? the years i regretted not going to see nirvana for a mere 8 squids?
tolooong sikit. 😆
not my fault la that a spiky hairstyle converted to a friggin’ bouffant! zaman when gel ruled the salons (i don’t think they had wax then). hehe.
YOU DIDN’T SEE NIRVANA FOR 8 SQUIDS???!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When the exchange rate was what it was back then?
Oh. Oh. I think I’ll stop ragging you about your hair- you’ve enough regrets to be getting on with.