Kevin's Graduation (11th November 2014)
This'll probably be quite a dated entry by the time it goes up, but nevertheless...
He officially completed his undergraduate degree course in electrical engineering back in July 2014, though the convocation only took place recently.
Aunty Teng had flown in from Melbourne just for the ceremony, while my parents flew 8 hours all the way from Changi Airport in Singapore. Fortunately for our dad, he'd managed to get enough locum doctors to fill in for him while he was gone. Even if he couldn't get any at all, he was prepared to leave his clinic empty for nine whole days. Under no circumstances was he going to miss his own son's graduation! This was a huge milestone for my brother, and that is enough reason for the family to celebrate.
I followed Mommy and Aunty Teng to Westfield Eastgardens, one of the local shopping complexes, because guess what? Mommy didn't have an outfit for the graduation - though I was partly to blame for it. Being the style-conscious person I am (for myself and for others), I thought the all-black outfit she'd brought along was more suited for a funeral, so that was HUGE NO-NO for me. Besides, the range of clothing brands and styles available here are much more up-to-date and of a greater variety than the ones back home. They're sometimes even of a better quality for less-than-average price - if you know where to look.
One other thing I like about retail shopping in Australia is the excellent customer service. Retail workers in general are, for the most part, extremely helpful and cordial. For instance, if you inform them that you're looking for an outfit for such and such an event, they'd recommend the apparel from the store accordingly. In Mommy's case, the staff gave her a few dresses for her to try on, and even lent her a pair of nude pumps from the store so she could have a preview of a complete look.
She tried on about three dresses - one in blue, another in orange, and the last in red. After much fussing and contemplating in the fitting room (and asking for opinions from the staff, Aunty Teng and myself), she settled for the blue one for the graduation, and the red for upcoming CNY 2015 celebrations. Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the red dress - it was a true red colour with a white rose all-over print. However, there are pictures of her wearing the blue one, which you will see later on in this post.
I already had an outfit planned out quite nicely, so there wasn't much fussing about what I was going to wear for the ceremony. As for my aunty, she just recycled a dress she last wore to my uncle's wedding nearly 10 years ago...but still looked great!
As night fell, there was a flurry of activity in our Sydney residence - mainly from Mommy. She was fussing over his graduation ensemble - the gown, the mortarboard, the hood...ohmygod the darn hood. We had no idea how the hood was supposed to go on.
A hearty congratulations to my big brother (aka gor), the graduate!
He officially completed his undergraduate degree course in electrical engineering back in July 2014, though the convocation only took place recently.
Aunty Teng had flown in from Melbourne just for the ceremony, while my parents flew 8 hours all the way from Changi Airport in Singapore. Fortunately for our dad, he'd managed to get enough locum doctors to fill in for him while he was gone. Even if he couldn't get any at all, he was prepared to leave his clinic empty for nine whole days. Under no circumstances was he going to miss his own son's graduation! This was a huge milestone for my brother, and that is enough reason for the family to celebrate.
The Day Before
I followed Mommy and Aunty Teng to Westfield Eastgardens, one of the local shopping complexes, because guess what? Mommy didn't have an outfit for the graduation - though I was partly to blame for it. Being the style-conscious person I am (for myself and for others), I thought the all-black outfit she'd brought along was more suited for a funeral, so that was HUGE NO-NO for me. Besides, the range of clothing brands and styles available here are much more up-to-date and of a greater variety than the ones back home. They're sometimes even of a better quality for less-than-average price - if you know where to look.
One other thing I like about retail shopping in Australia is the excellent customer service. Retail workers in general are, for the most part, extremely helpful and cordial. For instance, if you inform them that you're looking for an outfit for such and such an event, they'd recommend the apparel from the store accordingly. In Mommy's case, the staff gave her a few dresses for her to try on, and even lent her a pair of nude pumps from the store so she could have a preview of a complete look.
She tried on about three dresses - one in blue, another in orange, and the last in red. After much fussing and contemplating in the fitting room (and asking for opinions from the staff, Aunty Teng and myself), she settled for the blue one for the graduation, and the red for upcoming CNY 2015 celebrations. Sadly, I didn't take any photos of the red dress - it was a true red colour with a white rose all-over print. However, there are pictures of her wearing the blue one, which you will see later on in this post.
I already had an outfit planned out quite nicely, so there wasn't much fussing about what I was going to wear for the ceremony. As for my aunty, she just recycled a dress she last wore to my uncle's wedding nearly 10 years ago...but still looked great!
As night fell, there was a flurry of activity in our Sydney residence - mainly from Mommy. She was fussing over his graduation ensemble - the gown, the mortarboard, the hood...ohmygod the darn hood. We had no idea how the hood was supposed to go on.
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| Credits: GownTown |
Perhaps the final task for the impending graduates was to test their ability to put on the hood correctly.
LOL UNSW, why?
(That was a joke, if you couldn't already tell.)
Nevermind that we weren't really sure how the hood was supposed to go on, Pa realised he'd forgotten to bring a tie. Pa, really. He remembered to bring a shirt and his suit, but he'd forgotten a tie. He was lucky gor had an extra tie, so Pa got the powder blue one. Directing our attention back to the hood, Mommy just tried her best to straighten it out and pin it in place onto the gown.
Graduation Day
We got up relatively early, especially us girls in the house. We had to get our hair done, put our faces on, etc. After having a quick lunch in one of the Chinese restaurants near our place, we went back up to put our best duds on. I'd describe our outfits, but I'll let the pictures do the talking this time.
Gor had plenty of VIP treatment on the day of the ceremony. I was voluntarily appointed to be his "personal assistant" for the big day. The hood was being a huge bitch - we'd already pinned it in place the night before, and the pins decided to come undone the moment we arrived on campus. It was a pain trying to pin it back in place because no matter how I tried, the pins just didn't level up with each other. That just made the hood look crooked from the front.
The ceremony was to begin at 2pm, so he'd informed his friends that he'd be around campus walkway at around 12:30pm if they wished to take photos with him. Most of them who came took multiple shots with him, and some of them even chipped in to get him a graduation bear. The bear definitely was not cheap at all - it costs $52 (about RM156)!
Rae came to the uni all the way from North Sydney, and I went to get her from the main entrance when she arrived. Mommy and Aunty Teng came a little later, but there was still time before the ceremony for them to take a few photos with gor.
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| With Aunty Teng. |
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| Photo-bombed by the brother lel |
At 15 minutes to 2pm, we decided to head inside the Sir John Clancy Auditorium, the convocation venue. Everyone started shuffling in through the separate entrances for graduates and guests. Each graduate could bring in a maximum of 5 guests, so Rae could join us inside.
I shan't go into details, but the Vice-Chancellor had the honour of giving out the awards to each and every one of the graduates, from Bachelors to Masters to Doctors of Philosophy.
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| The Vice-Chancellor commencing the ceremony with an opening speech. |
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| That's him there; fourth person from the left. |
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| Walking onto the stage as his name is announced. |
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| Receiving his award. |
Overall, the ceremony was a solemn one. The Vice-Chancellor had had conducted several other ceremonies, but each and every one was just as special. He was a lawyer turned banker himself, so it was only natural that he stressed on the importance of learning and broadening one's knowledge. The lesson I gathered from his inspirational speech is that all of us, even long after graduating, can always learn something new. In short, never stop learning!
As I witnessed my brother graduating, I started panicking internally because I knew my results were going to be released the next day. I was praying very hard that I managed to clear all my papers last trimester - this was crucial because if I passed all my subjects, I would have completed my course.
I really didn't want my disappoint my family the day after my brother's convocation, because 1) it'll be such an anti-climax to their trip, 2) I would seem like a complete and utter failure, and 3) failing would mean I have to stay behind for the summer trimester to complete any failed subjects.
One can probably imagine how anxious and stressed out I was that day, though I didn't show it.
Anyway, more pictures were taken after the ceremony:
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| Flanked by a couple of ladies lel |
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| Family photo at Centennial Park. |
I was wearing my black heels, but gave up wearing them after the ceremony ended - hence the orange flats. Yes I know I'm short, but my mother is wearing heels so it's not fair either.
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| A shot with just Mommy. She's so pweedy :3 |
Pa wanted me to take a nice shot with gor...
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| He got this insane person (aka me) pulling on his tassel instead. |
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| He stuffed the bear into the gown sleeve hole though. |
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| ...and posed with all of these black swans. |
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| Gor with his bear at Coogee Beach lel |
Wrapped up the day with sumptuous home-made nasi lemak, together with the family. No pictures because we were too busy eating.
The Morning After
I'd initially planned to stay up till at least midnight - hopefully results would have been out already...but ended up falling asleep before then. I then woke up around 7:30am, and results were the first thing that came to mind. I did not hesitate to log on to my student portal.
Waiting for my credentials to be processed.
Checked my student records.
...specifically results.
I PASSED EVERYTHING.
I almost died.
I was so happy that I went out to the living room where my parents were sleeping, and prodded Mommy on the arm. She stirred in her sleep, and I informed her of the good news, even when she was clearly still very much half-asleep. She processed that bit of information, congratulated me...then promptly went back to sleep.
When she was fully awake later, she had to ask me again - she wanted to make sure she wasn't dreaming. LOL Mommy.
For my family, this was a double celebration! I was just glad I didn't disappoint my family, especially Pa - he's worked so hard and saved up the last several years to put gor and myself through college and uni. I can only hope to one day repay my parents for the blood, sweat and tears shed together with the both us throughout our student life.
Here's to possibly what could be the very end of my student life - until such a time when I may decide to undertake a Masters degree. Having completed my degree has made me realise that it's time for me to join the workforce. Being grown up. Being an actual adult. Being financially independent.
I shall soon begin looking for a job, or a second internship, to further enhance my skills and work experience...but first, home for the holidays! I lasted visited home about a year ago, and even then it was only for two weeks. I'll be there for at least a month this time around. Definitely looking forward to visiting home after so long - I wonder how much has changed.
I really should get some sleep now - I'm supposed to be awake at 8am. I've got a long flight ahead!
Goodnight (or technically, good morning).
Waiting for my credentials to be processed.
Checked my student records.
...specifically results.
I PASSED EVERYTHING.
I almost died.
I was so happy that I went out to the living room where my parents were sleeping, and prodded Mommy on the arm. She stirred in her sleep, and I informed her of the good news, even when she was clearly still very much half-asleep. She processed that bit of information, congratulated me...then promptly went back to sleep.
When she was fully awake later, she had to ask me again - she wanted to make sure she wasn't dreaming. LOL Mommy.
For my family, this was a double celebration! I was just glad I didn't disappoint my family, especially Pa - he's worked so hard and saved up the last several years to put gor and myself through college and uni. I can only hope to one day repay my parents for the blood, sweat and tears shed together with the both us throughout our student life.
Here's to possibly what could be the very end of my student life - until such a time when I may decide to undertake a Masters degree. Having completed my degree has made me realise that it's time for me to join the workforce. Being grown up. Being an actual adult. Being financially independent.
I shall soon begin looking for a job, or a second internship, to further enhance my skills and work experience...but first, home for the holidays! I lasted visited home about a year ago, and even then it was only for two weeks. I'll be there for at least a month this time around. Definitely looking forward to visiting home after so long - I wonder how much has changed.
I really should get some sleep now - I'm supposed to be awake at 8am. I've got a long flight ahead!
Goodnight (or technically, good morning).
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