Run Around

I
The students invited me to attend the closing ceremony of some program they had on Saturday and sent three girls and two letters to get me to come. Er... when was it again, Saturday?

HAHA! HAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHA!

That’s one thing about being academic advisor: you get invited to just about every other student activity you don’t want to have anything to do with. I just don’t get it with these people; if I were the (student) organizer I wouldn’t want to have lecturers come to my event if I can help it.

Of course, it helped too that the invitation letters had a giant loophole that allowed me to skip the whole thing without an ounce of guilt.

HAHA! HAHAHA! MUAHAHAHAHA!

There was no closing ceremony listed in the program itinerary!

I’m so bad. But hey, I’m just the academic advisor, not the babysitter.

II

The program book was actually quite a good read

The 4^th Session of the 23^rd IIUM Convocation was such a bore. The Ministry of Higher Education Sec-Gen missed a huge opportunity when giving his speech – monotonously reading the text at a gazillion words per minute! I suppose he knew that nobody came to hear him speak. The plus side was the whole thing was finished – all diplomas, or should I say diploma folders, were given out – in just about two hours. Oh, and instead of the embarrassingly inappropriate ‘rock band’ last year, an angklung orchestra performed during the intermission.

III
What’s the most important thing in life? Well, people write books on that (or watch Adam Sandler movies, eh?). I sat with the parents of an award winner at the post-ceremony high tea, and the father went on and on about how many thousands his children are earning working with this and that multinationals, and telling me again and again how right he was to tell them to study in the business fields because “That’s where the money is”. I got the point, pop!

His 15 seconds, I guess. He didn’t want his daughters to become doctors, because doctors don’t make much money. I suppose he wouldn’t want them to become teachers too.

Whatever makes you happy, huh?