Having spent Valentine's Day 2008 apart, with me in Manchester and Jack in London, we decided to have a belated celebration the following Sunday and visited the city of Winchester. Jack's sister, Rose, worked there for a while, so I am sure that these pictures will take her back. Highlight of the visit was seeing King Arthur's Round Table. Felt unreal... Will be sharing a couple more pictures via email. TTFN!
Bring out the champagne! On the 16th of February 2008, I joined P in a ceremony in Ironmonger's Hall in London, capping the last week of classes of his 21-month course. It was a nice evening filled with relieved smiles and excited anticipation of things to come. First, was a ceremony where the dean handed out completion certificates to all graduates. I'm very proud to say that Jack will be finishing with honours. A worthy recognition of the effort he has put into the program. Well done, P! This was followed by a sit-down dinner in the same hall, highlighted by class awards (The Best Cheatsheet award was my idea!!) and a talk by a lady who climbed Mount Everest with her husband. They actually hold the Guiness World Record for most number of ascents to Mt. Everest by a couple. Naturally, the story of an upward struggle such as climbing a mountain is a popular analogy to what Jack and his classmates have been through the past 2 years. However, from everything she said, I'll always remember that it was she who introduced me to this fantastic quote from George Mallory :
The first question which you will ask and which I must try to answer is this, 'What is the use of climbing Mount Everest ?' and my answer must at once be, 'It is no use'. There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. It's no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.
It's resonated through me because I think it speaks well of a part of who we are. Onwards and upwards. Anyway, I'm rambling. There will be a more formal graduation ceremony in Chicago this March so see you there (some of you anyway)!
Update: Added a short clip of the hall we were in.
So I'm here in Manchester (pronounced as "Manchesto", according to the locals) to work on a project for a month or so. I'm quite excited as I haven't had an urban buzz for a long time. Plus, I've never been to Manchester so all the more interesting. As I weave through rush hour traffic, I caught myself smiling, which was weird because, clearly there was nothing to smile about: I was either moving at a snail's pace or had to drive more aggressively than normal. Then it hit me how much I'm being reminded of Manila. Going into the Chester Road Underpass, with its looming concrete walls, felt like going into Cubao Ilalim and the sea of lit up brake lights in front of me transported me back to good old Highway 54. Funny how things get romanticised when you're 13,000 miles away.
