Pieces of VIVA presentation

I've been spending nearly a year for my final year project, staying back at the laboratory from day to night, skipping holidays to work on the project. Yes, nearly a year! This is how my final year for undergraduate studies goes. 

Finally the day has came - the VIVA presentation for the project. I've worked on this project to the extent that it was an inseparable part of my life. I hate theories but the hand-on practices grabbed me the invaluable experience and knowledge. I valued it so much and wanted to give the best shot for the presentation. Despite that I'm a last-minute-practitioner, to my surprise, I prepared the presentation slides wholeheartedly earlier on.

I laid back comfortably during that day. The memories of the hardship played gracefully in my head. There was nothing else but gratitude in the deeper inner me. Later, I emailed my supervisor my slides. Alright alright, I failed to defense the devil soul of slackness in me eventually and I did not do any preparation for the presenting part. It was a last-minute work again though.

I was told for the rescheduling of my presentation on the day before. I wasn't panicked. I wasn't nervous. I wasn't scared. I had the faith on myself that I knew my project the best and I could do it even without a proper preparation (so much confidence huh?). My slides were ready and so was my mood. I was glad that I spent the last three-hours preparation with a course-mate. She patiently listened to my presentation and gave me supportive suggestions, and I was warmed up to do better. I did my final correction on the slides and had a good sleep.

My presentation was at 3pm. On the day, I went to the presentation room before noon. I watched how the examiners and the other lecturers 'boomed' the presenters with tons of questions. It was no surprise. The Q&A section went along with what I expected. Honestly the questions were quite easy to be tackled. I gained my confidence. 

I checked into another presentation room after receiving a text message from my supervisor. I was told to notify him again before my turn for presentation. Hmm, probably this was because the presentations have been delayed and he did not want to spend his time waiting. I was at the right moment to enter the other presentation room as he was there as the examiner. The questions he asked were very match to his style - thorough and critical, but he would definitely help the student if the questions couldn't be answered. Yes, his style. I've been asked in this way from time to time. He wants the answers in less than few seconds. You are not given time to think all over. You have to be fast and responsive. I was slow. I was panicked to look into his eyes. It was SCARY. I felt like I would be eaten up if I did not able to answer. He asked a lot of questions every time I met him! I COULD NOT ANSWER ANY. 

He would tell you the answers if you could not. This, instead, challenged me. I got rid of my idleness and did some readings. Guess what? With some essential knowledge in your head, you would be equipped with confidence. I'm not scared of not able to answering anymore. I could talk to him in the same way as how I talk to my co-supervisor, who is a truly joker. The loneliness on working for the project has been slowly replenished.

And here I go. I texted him before my presentation. No reply. I sent another message telling him that I was about to start. No reply. The uncertainty triggered my nerves. The coordinator called my name. I hardly stepped on the presentation spot. He wasn't here yet. My examiner asked me if my supervisor was coming. I answered without a second thought, YES, he is on his way. She smiled, sarcastically. I started my presentation. The presentation was delivered smoothly according to the flow I set earlier on. I had no idea of what I was doing. I couldn't keep my eyes off from the glass door. A few people passed by and I truly hoped one of them was him. 

"That's all for my presentation, thank you."

He did not show up.

"You went really fast." My examiner said. Yes, I knew. I skipped some important explanations for some points I highlighted. I believed that other than my examiner, who has my dissertation copy on her table, all the other lecturers had no idea of what I did. I regretted. During the delivery of the presentation, I couldn't focus and I just wanted it to be ended as fast as possible.

The Q&A section lasted for about 30 minutes. My examiner did not asked any question but the other lecturers did. The first few questions were in my expectation and I think I answered them well. It took me some time to give explanations. I tried to confuse one of the lecturer. This was totally WRONG! He noticed my intention and started to 'attack'. He was smart. I think I challenged them. I felt so much offense and I started to become defensive. I got mad. Apart from my examiner, I did not want to entertain them. This was even WORSE. Once I became defensive, they asked more questions. I explained from basics to detailed. Then, I started to become ignorant. I felt tired. I felt reluctant. I did not want to answer those questions anymore. They were meaningless! I couldn't remember what I was asked and what I answered during the session afterwards. At last, I forcefully made an end for the nerve-wracking session. I told them those things are written in my dissertations. My examiner, kind enough, helped me for the proof. One of the lecturers still did not give up and kept asking. I did not listen to the question. Ignorantly, I said these haven't been studied yet. And they denied. It was killing me. Finally, he let me go and I returned back to my seat. 

The next presenter started her session. I listened. I couldn't focus but overwhelmed with sense of disappointment. I felt some warmness on my cheeks. I was not going to be emotional but.. Shit~ It couldn't be helped. The scenes of I standing alone to present, of I having no support while being questioned, and of I having no one to be laid on when I needed, uncontrollably reflected how foolish I was. I was left alone. HE JUST DISAPPEARED. 

Nobody would have an idea of how I feel that time. I couldn't find anyone to understand me, neither I, myself. Treating someone wholeheartedly and never expect the same goes back to you, maybe?

My presentation, a broken memory for unknown reason.

Oh ya, not to forget the happy part of the day. I wore my baju kurung for the first time. It was the only clothes my dad chose for me few years back. Thanks to that, I felt cheered up with the blessings. =)

The first slide of presentation

With another poor course-mate delivering presentation

Colour match with Vianne. So lovely =)

A favorite lecturer of mine :)

Other friends. They still can recognize me =P

It's about the time to wave this chapter of life a warm goodbye. To whom who I cherish, I'm always glad that you appeared in this chapter of my life. 

White Water Rafting @ Kiulu River, Sabah

I would say that the water rafting at Kiulu River is a tame and joyful one. It is great for beginners. If you're on a family trip, this would be the best as both elderly and kids may join and share the fun. It is not so extreme as that in Padas River with its grade I-II rapids along the river.

Kiulu River is rather near to Kota Kinabalu. An hour-ride on car could get you there. The pricing is around RM70. You may get a lower rate if you're in a bigger group.

We were in a big group though - another fun outing of a group of coursemates. For me, it was not very thrilling but it was truly fun time spent with the awesome people out there!

After a safety briefing, we suited up our life jacket and helmets, and then get set!

I love the clear white water. Due to this reason, I was willing to be capsized as frequent as we could. The first time was kind of unexpected. The whole raft just got inverted after we knocked on a large rock. Everyone were falling down from the 'seats'. I was sitting at the behind and unfortunately, someone fell down on me. Arghh~ Okay, it was fun though, especially when you know that it was really safe in the water. The water level was not deep and you actually can swim down all the way. After which, I urged the falls and it was getting more exciting! This compensated some sort of disappointment on the not-so-extreme rapids =D

The very last part of the rafting activity was body-rafting! Wow! The moment when you comfortably floating on the clear water, you looked into the blue sky, and the moment when you got rushed by the small rapids, IT WAS SO FUN!!! 

Too many photos captured during the rafting. Here's just few of them.

Bersungguh-sungguh kayak series..

Happy posing series..

Water-splashing series..

Epic facial expressions series..

Body-rafting series..

As updated Feb 19, 2014

White Water Rafting @ Padas River, Sabah

If you're an adventurer, make sure you don't miss rafting when you're at Sabah! Believe me, it would definitely thrill you as you rush down the wild rapids! 

Situating in the interior of southwestern part of Kota Kinabalu, Padas River is only accessible by train. Yes, a 2-hours ride in an antique train. A truly antique train! I'm not sure if it is fully operated with a steam engine, but I did see steam bubble out from the train head. And, I was extremely excited when I heard the whistles and horns from the train! Heh, it was my first time to take a ride in an antique train. The feel was, sooooo good~ 

The ride through the countryside gives you a breathtaking scenic view of nature - the Kinabatangan river embraced by the luxuriant forest. While surrounded with the sounds of railroad, I was sophisticated with the calming and refreshing wind blown on my face. SOooo relaxing~

You wouldn't want to miss this. You could notice the train actually stopped by from time to time. Apparently, this train is the only transportation the villagers have to connect themselves with the world outside. I was told that the village across the railway is habituated by the Murut, an indigenous ethnic group in Borneo. At each stop, you could see a 'train stop' and people get into and out of the train.

I met a mak cik carrying her shopping basket with her. Later, I got to know that it was a handicraft from the Bajau people. As far as I concern, the multipurpose basket is handwoven using Serdang leaves. I know the image is blur but I just want to show here. I remembered my mum once asked me to get something like this from Sabah. She is a keen collector of those stuffs though. 

Before you get there, you have to make your journey to Beaufort train station. To make it there, you can either take the Sabah State Railway from Jesselton, which would be a really slow journey, OR simply get a cab from Kota Kinabalu.

We were in a group of 12 people and thus we took up the package from Riverbug. It costed us ~RM120 covering the transport to and forth from Kota Kinabalu, the train fare, the rafting activity and a lunch.  

It was my first ever experience water rafting experience though. We were first briefed on the safety measures and some basic techniques. Now, here we go for the adrenaline-stimulating adventure!

Interestingly, the 7 rapids are named with amusing titles. Along the 9-km excursion of class III-IV river, they were introduced by the rafting guide one by one before we reach the points. The names are imaginative and you can relate them with the extremeness of the rapids. Of course I couldn't remember all of them and I googled them afterwards: Merry-Go-Round Rapid, Break Point Rapid, Scooby Doo Rapid, Cobra Rapid, Washing Machine Rapid, Lambada Rapid and Head Hunter Rapid.

Still in steady mode before we encountered any rapid. Kayak, kayak, kayak~

The water is muddy yellow in colour!

Spinning spinning and sank!

Going through the first few rapids, it got more and more interesting!

 Hah! I got you. The trick to get us sank. =D

And here we sank again~

It wouldn't disappoint you if you love extreme water sports. Even someone like me who don't do extreme water sports are addicted to it! The only hesitation I have is the long long journey required to get there. :( Or else, I think I would do it really frequently (and if I'm rich enough =P).

As updated June 19, 2013