Today came an e-mail containing text that everyone was expecting, and dreading. It is not a surprise, yet most appear dumbfounded. An official confirmation of something that was obviously going to happen has almost changed the thinking of majority. Here is an excerpt from the e-mail:

The examination period for all 3 MSc courses will start on Mon 27 April, and will likely last for 4 weeks.

Best Wishes

Many departments had their exams at the end of first term. At that time we were given courseworks, as heavy as exams themselves, and hence this is going to be the curtain raiser for many of us.

The target is clear: two months and 7/8/9 (depending on choices) subjects to prepare for. Oh, and did I say we will be given more courseworks this term? How cruel is that!

Any wishes in advance are more than welcome!

The last time I posted here was when I was having a great time, feeling relieved and looking forward to having a wonderful week. It turned out to be my imagination, and that too a wild one. The next few days shaped out in an extremely unpredictable manner. The days (and nights) were awfully tough but I must admit that I had a wonderful time. The cause is, yet again, a coursework and another deadline.

As usual, the most amazing, unpredictable and unfortunate things can happen near a deadline. If having delays on tube is usual, then you may end up in a train that stops after every two minutes if you need to meet at imminent deadline. If having to queue for printers, or the machine running out of ink is normal, then an abnormal print with mysteriously missing images is a possibility minutes before submission deadline (yeah, it DID happen!!!).

Such were the state of affairs in the last couple of days. Not only that, I (and most others) were spending nights upto 11pm in the lab and getting back early in the morning. Thankfully, the ordeal is over. Those of you aspiring to get in this or related courses, beware that analogue electronics is tough. Not only tough, but a pain!!

Looking back at the past few days when most of us were stuck in that lab, I admit that it wasn’t all that bad. This little period also cultivated good friendships and working relationships among the members of this course, since most of us were always flocked together for many hours. The pictures below are some of the memoirs from the penultimate night (before deadline). Thanks to my coursemate PF for the images.

Welcome to the Torture Cell!

That's 10p.m. but no one cares about time!

this one is self-explanatory!

That’s all for now folks. I need at least a day off and as usual I hope to be regular (which I’m sure I won’t be).

Note: I’ve finallllyyyy updated my About page, in case someone wants to know more about me.

Cheers!

Deadlines are cruel and yet important. Some and most people don’t like it. But it is true that without deadlines work will never finish. Working on a project one wishes for the time to pass as slow as possible so as to be far away from the deadline but there comes a stage when you just want that D-Day to come (and go) so as to liberate yourself from that project. This post is somewhat about that feeling.

Never in my life before did I wait for Monday so desperately as I did last week (for today). The past week has been an epitome of extreme stress, torment and sleeplessness. I had to submit two heavy courseworks today and I feel so relieved at the moment as if a boulder has been taken off my back. I had been stretched well beyond my regular thresholds of work and stress during this time. So when they say on the prospectus that it is hard to find time for other activities when the term commences, believe it!

I actually wanted this post to be about the new term which officially began last week (but effectively this week), but I think it is a good idea to give a feel of how hectic things can get here.

Imagine spending 12 out of the daily 24 hours in the lab working on the same thing trying to figure out new ways of doing the same thing and then going back home and spending another 5-6 hours doing the same before falling asleep. And then waking up the next morning and doing the same. This wouldn’t have been so bad if the thoughts were restricted to one project. I had to think about three courseworks in parallel switching from one code to another without having the luxury of break. On top of that nothing seemed to work or produce the desired results without sucking the brain out. And when the desired outcome was actually achieved the next stage was writing reports for all courseworks - something that all engineering students dread.

But the misery is over - for now at least. I have successfully met the deadlines and I should be thankful for having very supportive project mates. I feel so relieved right now that I can’t even think straight.

I can say with certainty that I’ve never been pushed so hard in my entire lifetime and the stress leves experienced in this duration are probably the highest. The gradient of this learning curve has been extremely steep. Having started only three months ago I already feel like I’ve learnt so much. I was dumbfounded when the courseworks were handed out but having been able to do them is a personal achievement.

I am now looking forward to having an enjoyable second term with less subjects (And trying to forget about the miserable week by sleeping as much as I can).

Note: I highly doubt that I have readers for this blog but if somehow you do follow this space please accept my apologies for not updating it in the past couple of weeks. The reasons are obvious and I will now make an effort to have this blog up-to-date.

Its time to get out of the festive mood. The new year is here and has brought with itself the calendar dates which are now everyone’s focus. Yes, I’m talking about the deadlines. Until 31st December they seemed to be at some distance, but with the single digital change from 08 to 09, they are imminent.

December has been a season of festivals, celebrations and extreme fun coupled with intense cold and blustering (and unforgiving) winds. First it was Eid-ul-Adha, another novelty for me away from home and then my first ever Christmas which I profoundly enjoyed. The lights, trees, gifts, fairs, chocolates, music, and the go-crazy parties have been a memorable and phenomenal experience while Boxing Day shopping served as a cherry on top. Boxing Day sale stories are quite famous back home so I was curious to find out if indeed the prices drop so low. No wonder people start queuing even before 4 am!!

The new year was also celebrated here in some exceptional style. Unfortunately, I had to skip the display of fireworks, or any other event for that matter, which I saw on television later. I had no choice, it was just too cold for me. It still is. The winds can be unforgiving at times, that too when the temperature is hanging loosely close to 0C, tilting to either side at will. So, here is some lesson for someone coming from a warm country, especially Middle East where temperatures can go as high as 45 or even 50 degrees Celcius - gear yourself for cold, physically and mentally.

Now that we have entered the new year, leaving the festive season behind, looking ahead at deadlines (the word deadline is horrifying!) all focus and concentration needs to be on the courseworks. I have remained in touch with them since the vacations began, trying to do as much as possible so as not to be forced to cram in the end. When the term ended I had only one thought - courseworks. Surprisingly, they have been manageable and gratifying so far. The feeling of doing something myself under such pressure conditions (with December distractions) is just nonpareil. I should not feel overly confident at this point since I haven’t completed any one of the six courseworks that I’m due to submit early next term. I do need some luck, prayers and good wishes to complete all of them. Most of all, I need to work

So, I am concluding this post with a picture of the Christmas tree at my department building, which will always remind me of the great time I’m having here.