It was a quiet start to the new semester, with many students still trickling in from various parts of the world. At the beginning of each subject's lecture, we devoted about one minute to silence, remembering our head of department who passed away more than three weeks ago. I personally went to his funeral mass (never knew he was a Catholic) and found it rather heartwarming than sad. Maybe it was the songs - till now I still have a short melody in my head that pops up when I least expect it. A memorial and some activities will be held some time soon to remember the deceased, but I think attending his funeral was enough of a closure for me, now it's time to move on.
I couldn't sleep well last night due to the dry coughs I would have every few minutes. I was also rather excited, obviously not from us losing the Thomas Cup to Japan, but from the small progress I made in my thesis proposal yesterday. For three weeks (my term break) I've tried to develop the proposal but I kept encountering difficulties. The ideas were there, just that they were all disjointed and didn't flow well. Didn't feel right. I just decided to start from scratch using a new concept that I found serendipitously. Within yesterday itself I was already able to see a few gaps in research and have a rough idea of the research design. Right now I'm racing against time to put the whole thing together.
Speaking of which, the electives that are offered this semester demand much time and effort. I don't know which to pick, honestly. It's a seven-week short semester, and still the assessments are so heavy. Add to that the thesis proposal that's due in less than four weeks and the oral defense for my proposal that immediately follows it.
It's only the first day, but I'm already stressed up. Strangely though, I didn't fall asleep in class despite my sleep-deprived state. A small consolation, I think.
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| Note to self: "When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place." |
