trinity college awards ceremony
Saturday, September 01, 2007
as previously reported, i attended trinity college's awards ceremony on thursday night. thanks to mark's speedy response in relation to my resilient nagging... i now have the pictures from the night to show you ;)
so for those of you who've wondered how it was that i managed to attend such a prestigious event with my pathetic academic performance, i turn your attention to the 4 blessed souls who saw it prudent for me to be there despite what my final certificate said. jacqueline, kevin, ai-lynn and mark were invited by the school to be acknowledged for their achievement of a higher than 95% graduating average.
as the other three had submitted blank guest forms, it was the duty of mark to see that i made it back to trinity's gates. and though he may argue that i was only invited because his mom was detained for the night, i'd like to think the gesture was extended with more noble purposes (but then again... mark noble? hmmmm...).
the dresscode was formal, so i had to literally raid my wardrobe for something decent to wear. a feat never simple for a college student on a basic budget. but thanks to mom's principle that every girl needs atleast one item of girly clothing in her cupboard... i managed to find something in time ;)
but as i made my way to the lobby of jacq's apartment, i was confronted with the prospect of being massively overdressed. kevin was sitting on one of the couches waiting for jacq, dressed in the shirt and pants he'd worn to the clinics during the day. when jacq joined us, she too had donned a shirt and pants. but since they're jacq and kevin - standing ridiculously tall and ridiculously skinny - they could both be wearing pyjamas and the dresscode would be met! thankfully mark showed up a few minutes later... in a suit! (props to aunty doris for making him dress up!)
after rushing our way over to evan burge (and after a rather interesting encouter with a michael buble-wannabe tram conductor), we made our way to trinity's main grounds for the first time in 8 months. and being the overly excited person that i am when it comes to all things trinity, i was the epitomy of elation as my friends navigated melbourne uni's grounds in the dim of night. when we got to evan burge, the procession of teachers in robes had already congregated outside the entrance. as we entered buzzard theatre, i was greeted with a sense of sentimentality. the last time i was in that room, i was performing my final drama perfomance in front of the entire school. the walls had been pushed back, not unlike the evening of our drama exam, and i could remember the nerves and the excitement that me, jason, ai vyn and janice had being the first team of the session to perform. shortly after walking through the doors, i heard my name being called. a group of faces i'd recognised were seated at the far end of the theatre. rhu jae, melissa, andrew and bunch of my other classmates were grouped together as they waited for the ceremony to start.
and soon it did. as i took my seat behind jacq, the procession of teachers entered. the dean of department of land a food resources gave a speech (to which the mention of food made me extremely hungry... much to mark and kevin's amusement). within 20 minutes, the awards were being delegated. i moved to sit behind mark to get a better view, as i was the designated photographer for the night. but as i watched all my friends, who were seated in the row in front of me, stand up to receive their certificates, i could not help but radiate with a sense of being immensely proud.
these kids were like apart of my family. we'd been through so much together within these past 18 months. and i guess seeing them up there, shaking hands with the dean of trinity as he congratulated them on their tremendous achievement, being proud was all i could think about. did i want to be up there with them? absolutely. but did i resent them for doing as well as they did? hell no. so i cheered and whistled as their names were called... ignoring the embarassment of being the only person to do so. because my older brother, younger brother and two younger sisters deserved it ;D
after the procession was over, we moved to the next room for light refreshments. though kevin and jacq took to the invitation as dinner, me and mark made a beeline for the one person we were dying to see. our chemistry lecturer patricia. she'd spotted me whilst leaving the theatre, and greeted me with a big hug when i found her next. she said that she knew i would be there, like as if the experience of being back wouldn't be the same if i wasn't... that she could count on my friends to bring me along. it was so nice having heard that... cause it was like as if i never left. and it was a salute to my friends, who even after 2 semesters apart, have managed to still keep us all together... even if we were one member short ;)
patricia asked how i was doing at deakin, and could already tell how i missed being on melbourne's campus. but as always she invested her faith in me and reminded me that everything was going to be okay ;) me and bill, my chem tutor for the year, got into a talk about how we were both inclined towards organic chemistry now... a talk i NEVER thought we would have considering the struggle i had with the subject last year ;)
we even met our literature teacher claudio, who had left the february intake after the second term. upon discovering that mark was in dentistry and me in psychology, his usual british/italian humour deduced that we needed to open a joint practise... what with the insane dental fees, patients would need a psych consult after! this continued into a good 15 minute conversation about how this new 'psychodental' experience would work ;) hehehe... random, but extremely entertaining.
walking back through melbourne uni's grounds is always a great experience for me. but on this night, my feet were begging for mercy. the heels i was wearing were being brutal and my toes we already cut and bruised. but as we walked jacq home (sorry you couldn't come with us... happy studying for that test on tuesday and don't overdo it! you'll be fine! and i'll see you soon ;p), me and mark went to kevin's place so the boys could indulge in their nerdiness and trade lecture recordings. it was nice just hanging out, the three of us. what with all the awkward stuff that'd existed between us all these months, it had been a very long while since we just chillled in each other's company. and with mark passed out on the bed, kevin on the computer and me playing the turned-off keyboard, feelings of comfort and security that which we possessed in the early days of trinity crept its way back ;)
by close to 9pm, berlin called, prompting me and mark to reluctantly leave our comfort zone (him half asleep on the bed and me without my shoes to plague me) and meet her for dinner at the new rice bar on swanston. now like all my friends who spend enough time with me, berlin was stocked with stories about our present company. and being her first introduction with mark, i was curious as to how he would behave. but amazingly, mark was in full charm mode and managed to elicit a few laughs at the table. unfortunately he was exposed to the full extent of sri aman girly madness, as me and berlin talked about the upcoming prom (and yes... we do have our own language there mark... so shush).
mark was nice enough to help me walk my way back down to arrow as we waited for uncle lawrence to pick us up. capping off a night that could not possibly have been better ;)
because of better days that keep on coming... baby steps is all we have ;)
so for those of you who've wondered how it was that i managed to attend such a prestigious event with my pathetic academic performance, i turn your attention to the 4 blessed souls who saw it prudent for me to be there despite what my final certificate said. jacqueline, kevin, ai-lynn and mark were invited by the school to be acknowledged for their achievement of a higher than 95% graduating average.
as the other three had submitted blank guest forms, it was the duty of mark to see that i made it back to trinity's gates. and though he may argue that i was only invited because his mom was detained for the night, i'd like to think the gesture was extended with more noble purposes (but then again... mark noble? hmmmm...).
the dresscode was formal, so i had to literally raid my wardrobe for something decent to wear. a feat never simple for a college student on a basic budget. but thanks to mom's principle that every girl needs atleast one item of girly clothing in her cupboard... i managed to find something in time ;)
but as i made my way to the lobby of jacq's apartment, i was confronted with the prospect of being massively overdressed. kevin was sitting on one of the couches waiting for jacq, dressed in the shirt and pants he'd worn to the clinics during the day. when jacq joined us, she too had donned a shirt and pants. but since they're jacq and kevin - standing ridiculously tall and ridiculously skinny - they could both be wearing pyjamas and the dresscode would be met! thankfully mark showed up a few minutes later... in a suit! (props to aunty doris for making him dress up!)
after rushing our way over to evan burge (and after a rather interesting encouter with a michael buble-wannabe tram conductor), we made our way to trinity's main grounds for the first time in 8 months. and being the overly excited person that i am when it comes to all things trinity, i was the epitomy of elation as my friends navigated melbourne uni's grounds in the dim of night. when we got to evan burge, the procession of teachers in robes had already congregated outside the entrance. as we entered buzzard theatre, i was greeted with a sense of sentimentality. the last time i was in that room, i was performing my final drama perfomance in front of the entire school. the walls had been pushed back, not unlike the evening of our drama exam, and i could remember the nerves and the excitement that me, jason, ai vyn and janice had being the first team of the session to perform. shortly after walking through the doors, i heard my name being called. a group of faces i'd recognised were seated at the far end of the theatre. rhu jae, melissa, andrew and bunch of my other classmates were grouped together as they waited for the ceremony to start.
and soon it did. as i took my seat behind jacq, the procession of teachers entered. the dean of department of land a food resources gave a speech (to which the mention of food made me extremely hungry... much to mark and kevin's amusement). within 20 minutes, the awards were being delegated. i moved to sit behind mark to get a better view, as i was the designated photographer for the night. but as i watched all my friends, who were seated in the row in front of me, stand up to receive their certificates, i could not help but radiate with a sense of being immensely proud.
these kids were like apart of my family. we'd been through so much together within these past 18 months. and i guess seeing them up there, shaking hands with the dean of trinity as he congratulated them on their tremendous achievement, being proud was all i could think about. did i want to be up there with them? absolutely. but did i resent them for doing as well as they did? hell no. so i cheered and whistled as their names were called... ignoring the embarassment of being the only person to do so. because my older brother, younger brother and two younger sisters deserved it ;D
after the procession was over, we moved to the next room for light refreshments. though kevin and jacq took to the invitation as dinner, me and mark made a beeline for the one person we were dying to see. our chemistry lecturer patricia. she'd spotted me whilst leaving the theatre, and greeted me with a big hug when i found her next. she said that she knew i would be there, like as if the experience of being back wouldn't be the same if i wasn't... that she could count on my friends to bring me along. it was so nice having heard that... cause it was like as if i never left. and it was a salute to my friends, who even after 2 semesters apart, have managed to still keep us all together... even if we were one member short ;)
patricia asked how i was doing at deakin, and could already tell how i missed being on melbourne's campus. but as always she invested her faith in me and reminded me that everything was going to be okay ;) me and bill, my chem tutor for the year, got into a talk about how we were both inclined towards organic chemistry now... a talk i NEVER thought we would have considering the struggle i had with the subject last year ;)
we even met our literature teacher claudio, who had left the february intake after the second term. upon discovering that mark was in dentistry and me in psychology, his usual british/italian humour deduced that we needed to open a joint practise... what with the insane dental fees, patients would need a psych consult after! this continued into a good 15 minute conversation about how this new 'psychodental' experience would work ;) hehehe... random, but extremely entertaining.
walking back through melbourne uni's grounds is always a great experience for me. but on this night, my feet were begging for mercy. the heels i was wearing were being brutal and my toes we already cut and bruised. but as we walked jacq home (sorry you couldn't come with us... happy studying for that test on tuesday and don't overdo it! you'll be fine! and i'll see you soon ;p), me and mark went to kevin's place so the boys could indulge in their nerdiness and trade lecture recordings. it was nice just hanging out, the three of us. what with all the awkward stuff that'd existed between us all these months, it had been a very long while since we just chillled in each other's company. and with mark passed out on the bed, kevin on the computer and me playing the turned-off keyboard, feelings of comfort and security that which we possessed in the early days of trinity crept its way back ;)
by close to 9pm, berlin called, prompting me and mark to reluctantly leave our comfort zone (him half asleep on the bed and me without my shoes to plague me) and meet her for dinner at the new rice bar on swanston. now like all my friends who spend enough time with me, berlin was stocked with stories about our present company. and being her first introduction with mark, i was curious as to how he would behave. but amazingly, mark was in full charm mode and managed to elicit a few laughs at the table. unfortunately he was exposed to the full extent of sri aman girly madness, as me and berlin talked about the upcoming prom (and yes... we do have our own language there mark... so shush).
mark was nice enough to help me walk my way back down to arrow as we waited for uncle lawrence to pick us up. capping off a night that could not possibly have been better ;)
because of better days that keep on coming... baby steps is all we have ;)
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