I've just graduated...

It was a very happy occasion, commencement. We wore these funny looking black gowns, with a hood with red lining with orange velvet trimming (or the other way around, because I mix up between trimming and lining). Anyway, I may post a picture of the gown soon so u can see.

It was not very comfortable, commencement. The sun was really scorching - my girlfriend and her roommate, and definitely many others, suffered severe sunburns. And you can imagine the discomfort of all wearing black. Well, at least we escaped without sunburns. Anyway, my advice to people in California attending commencement: wear sunblock or long sleeves.

There were actually 2 ceremonies. We started off with a main, whole campus commencement. Wasn't much la, just all the graduates marching into the field, taking seats in the field, under the full glory of the sun. The "President" - I think I heard that - of the university started declaring us to have graduated and he entrusts us the full "rights, responsibilities and privileges". Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO told us three of his personal stories, which were really engaging and very powerful anecdotes.

His first story was how his background and his interest and his passion eventually helped him to found his successful company, Apple. He told of how it was impossible to "connect the dots looking forward, but the dots always connect looking backward". I think what he meant to say is that nobody knows what he/she will be doing in the future. Nobody can plan so well, and end up doing what one has always wanted to do. But somehow, you will end up doing something that would not have happened if you didn't go to college or learnt some special skill or possess some passion for something. His conclusion was "Don't settle, keep looking". Wow, kinda applies to everything in general!

His second story was about how he got kicked out of Apple a couple of years after the first Macintosh was built. He told us of how terrible he felt, and what he failure he thought he was. He told us how he felt he let down a lot of people. But apparently he didn't give up and founded another two companies. One later became the core technology behind Apple, the other Pixar Animation Studio, became the world's largest and most successful animation studio. His conclusion was

"Stay hungry, stay foolish".

Didn't really absorb much of his speech - was zoning out because of the scorching sun. But my girlfriend explained later, "Stay hungry means stay ambitions, keep striving for more. Stay foolish means continue to challenge the norm". Ahh.. wisdom.

His final story was about his close encounter with death. 6 months ago, he got diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Apparently, with pancreatic cancer, most of the time it is maglinant and cannot be cured. Or so the doc said. He told Steve that he had only about 3-6 months to live, and he better go home and start tying up loose ends and bidding his family goodbye. Naturally he was devastated. But then he later underwent some procedure where a tube was shoved down his throat, oesophagus etc to his pancreas and a little bit of the tumour was taken out for analysis. Turns out - that lucky guy - that it was after all a curable cancer. And I think - because by now I was really really cooking - that he said,

everyday, ask yourself if you're doing something that you should be doing if this is your last day in the world. If the answer is "no" too many days in a row, then its time to change something.

ahh, kinda complicated. I think what he meant to say is that, try as best to live life as best as you can. put everything in perspective of death - for only with the prospect of death does the most important things to you become revealed, which were originally clouded by all the trivial concerns. oh no, that sounds complicated too, but i think u get the gist, no?

Anyway, after the main ceremony, there was the departmental one. This time was better, our names got called individually, and we were presented with certificates. The event was pretty nice, though the sun was still beating down on us.

After that and lunch, we took a short rest, and then a couple of us took a "photoshoot" around campus, moving from fountain to fountain. It was quite fun. Might post some pictures here when I have them.

And then came the super sian part... moving. Packing and moving. I really hate all that. I could whine here forever, but I wont.

yup, thats it for today...