A new milestone

Yesterday marks a new milestone.
It wasn't a smooth-sailing 5 yrs. But the various events made it even more memorable.
The beginning's the toughest, and it's a miracle my sanity is still with me at that time.
There were times when I felt lost. Even though I may not seem so.
I lost count of hours, days, weeks, months and years. It seems as if all of these happened only yesterday.
I always think I am the lucky soul. It's as if everything's well-planned out for me.
I have many to thank. But words cannot describe my gratitude.

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His words served as stern reminders that stayed with me till now.

"You are not thinking for yourself. It's as if I am thinking for you. And that should NOT be the way for a PhD." -- Boss in 2005, a few days before my OQE.
"Don't keep mentioning about Dr Wu. You are too reliant on him." -- Boss in 2006, before I left Singapore for a 4 months stint in Taiwan.

Those were the words that I so badly wanted to prove wrong.

Many people hate him. At times, I hated him too. But sometimes, he can be a nice soul.

A 2h chat at the airport to go through my slides. That cup of caffe latte. And his deep belief that it will be a good oral presentation in the end.

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There are also others who gave me useful reminders.

"Publish as early as you can. You don't want to scramble around desperately during your last year." --Dr Wu
"I've seen you talk to people in Cairns. I know what you can deliver. You should bring out that standard for your oral presentation. "--Prof Saunders

Of course, not forgetting the lab friends I have befriended during these 5 yrs. Thank you to all my dearest lab friends who believe that I can definitely make it.

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On the day of my oral defense, I wrote on my palm: Be yourself. Enjoy it.
I did.