tribute-
(7.20) drinks at the north canteen are ready. coffee with sugar, coffee with milk, tea with sugar, tea with milk. the drinks aunty packs cakes into clear plastic bags.
(7.30) sipping tea. the cleaner uncle uses 3 different cloths for different rows of tables, for the whole canteen. another canteen aunty uses a broom reach the blades of the fan on the wall. even the fan needs something to kick start their day. main doors unlock, the fountains add noise to the quiet morning.
(7.55) the engineering lift up to lvl 4 and the slow walk to the stairs to SIT lvl 5. the TOs unlock the doors to the labs at about 7.55 on most days. sometimes earlier.

and lessons fill the day.
labs. students filling the lab over the hour. students occasionally asking tutors if there are extra systems they could use. tutors walk about the lab. students raise their hands and ask for help. or advice. students leaving the lab early for lunch/break (or as long as their attendance is taken).
tutorials. the tutor will either pass the attendance sheet about or call out names. some will check for completed/uncompleted tutorials, for something called Class Participation, which makes up 5% to 10% of overall grades. means, sometimes, u can get full marks for participating in class (Class Participation) when u do not contribute constructively to the overall learning of the students in the class; u just have to do your tutorials. jokes. learning.
lectures. arriving late. sleeping. playing games. talking. students leaving early. lecturers trying to get their students to be quiet n considerate. half filled lecture theatres. lecture theatres filled with about 10 people. life goes on. food and drinks. night lectures.

breaks. the north, the south. fast food or food junction. the bubble tea. the latte. the walks outside campus. naps at the library. project discussion over meals. or any other small talk.

the printing shops. the long queue. the broken down computers. the stack of notes. the wad of cash.

fyp/tep/ipp/opp. the games. the music. breakfast breaks. tea breaks. lunch breaks. or just... breaks. leaving early to make the 5pm train cause 6pm trains are crowded. the last minute projects. HK trip.

the exams. the anxiety. all the worrying. the few days of cramming. of mugging. all over in that 2 hours. or less. or less. students walking out on the half hour mark. you against your paper. against time. you with your paper. in the bubble. the confident walk down the column. and rows. the joy. the regret. the discussion. the nap before burning another gallon of midnight oil. all the theories that did not appear in the exam papers. all the million theories.

the projects. the search for empty labs. the 2 hours waits. or 5 hours. or more. the dinner break. the 9.30pm warning. the backup. the missing backup. the stress. the tears.
project presentations. arriving early. last minute work. last minute debugging. the worried faces. the but-it-worked-on-another-system faces. the sorry faces. the i-will-roll-my-eyes-when-you-turn faces. the i-don't-give-a-____ faces. the million other faces. tones. the incorrect logics. errors. unexpected errors that has to surface only during presentation. or right before. tutors and independant markers seemingly unanswerable questions. that never seem to end. the 15 mins for a semester worth of work. all or nothing. do or die. the joy. the worried faces. the what-grade-will-i-get faces.
distinction presentations. earned. another presentation. panel of judges. 4, 5 project supervisors. managers. directors. 1 against 5. 1 to 5, here's mine. show what you did. show only what you did. the questions. suggestions. 'why do you deserve the distinction?' 100 points killer question. that most people crap through.

the last paper. the two hour paper all over in an hour. on valentines day. the interrupted 1 hour of sleep in the cold and unforgiving arena. 'time is up. pens down. happy valentines day.' the sigh. the slow walk out of the hall. the last stroll out of the exam centre. the stroll into the unknown. the post examination celebration that seemed to mean less than it should. consumed by itself. by the impending canvas of the next day. all white. the train back. and the last goodbyes. like all goodbyes over the years.
i said a goodbye that seemed like forever.
the day seemingly put a fullstop to a phase. a phase?

it shouldnt end. now how do i end this?

how do you put 3 years into words?
how do you answer this question 'how was poly?'? how will you do it? in 3 words?

for what was left unwritten, it was felt.

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For you.

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