I’m freeeee!!! (free enough for an update…)

So a semester has come to an end and my essay churning months are over…for now.Work is done as well; exam papers were marked over the week and marks have already been submitted as of yesterday.

To round up the first few months of the year in one word: exhausting! Work in particular was not my cup of tea. Too many things were conveyed to me at the last minute, resulting in me being terribly bad tempered and angry…not a good frame of mind for a person who needed to write constantly. I’m just relieved work is over; I was offered a teaching position for the following semester but I decided to be a little poorer and declined the post for now. I need to get my sanity back on track first; no more last minute details and deadlines. It borders on being unprofessional and I abhor it.

Work aside, the uni semester has been a great learning experience. Taking all 4 subjects under my supervisor was the best decision I made in my academic life. Sure, I was drowning in all that writing but at the end of the day I’ve come to recognise that within this short span of 4 months, writing and critical thinking are things that are slowly (but surely) starting to come naturally. As a person who struggles to string a written sentence together, this has been a major achievement. Haha!

I’m also relieved to report that my supervisor and I get along like a house on fire. It’s a nice healthy balance of work and laughter, and it’s refreshing to be supervised by someone who’s realistic and intelligent. He’s tough on me and the work I produce; he questions loads but I personally like that because I’ve always felt that I needed someone who would be able push me and be critical at the same time. I’m very blessed.

Gamelan rehearsals have been hectic as well, given that our Singapore show is in a months’ time. It’s such a joy to play though…Ah, I’m starting to get all mushy already. I just love those girls <3

Noel and I have turned into true blue nerds this year – him with his archaeology and me with my ethnomusicology. Couple time even consists yakking on an on about nerdy research, methodologies, critical questions etc. But it works and this month we turn 4 years old. Damn, time is flying by!

Deadlines…

Tuesday 10 March: Critical reading on Said’s Orientalism

Monday 16 March: Critical reading on Anderson’s Imagined Communities

Monday 23 March: Critical reading on Bharucha’s Theatre and the World

Thursday 26 March: Submission of final examination and supplementary papers for my lectured subjects

Monday 30 March: Critical reading on Wong’s Sounding the Center

Monday 6 April: Review of the Kite Runner

Tuesday 7 April: Critical reading on Sarkissian’s D’ Albuquerque’s Children

Wednesday 8 April: Working paper on gender due

Monday 13 April: Take home examination for Performance Theory

Tuesday 14 April: Take home examination for Ethnomusicology

Wednesday 15 April: Take home examination for Gender

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I’m facing reality here. That’s a lot of work due in less than a month.

I’m brimming with intensity, I’m stressed, I’m shaken…

I’m guessing this is my “Welcome to academic life!” party.

I love it!

1st Week

So it’s the end of the week and perhaps I might be jumping the gun by saying this, but I have never felt so happy.

Part time lecturing started on a Tuesday and thus far, after 6 hours of lecturing (and a sore throat), I dare say it’s going to be a good semester. The students are pretty responsive and I have yet to come across any problematic cases. But the best part is I have a clearer idea of how to get things done, both teaching-wise and administratively.

Postgraduate studies also kicked off this week, marking the start of my 2 semester coursework. To say I’m enjoying myself is an understatement. Sure, critical thinking is tough and the readings are challenging but it is such a joy to finally feel challenged again to do more and to mature in my thought and writing processes. Having my supervisor as my lecturer for all 4 subjects that I’m undertaking is second to none. Although there is a tendency for overkill (and we’d probably end up killing each other I reckon), I know that right now, at this very moment, I’m under the guidance of the very best.

Next week I have a presentation paper due. It’s terrifying and exciting and I’m turning into a full fledged nerd. I’ll be dreaming ethnomusicology in no time.

I’m free…

….as a bird!

It’s still sinking in that full time work is well and truly over. Last night was my last day of work. As we had an event, I had to drag myself to work almost immediately after gamelan rehearsal. I was tired to say the least but at 11pm I was home and thankful.

The past 2 years of full time work have been a real mixture of ups and downs. While the ups left me on an all time high, I hit rock bottom during the lows. I must say, however, that I am truly thankful for the opportunities to travel (to Paris, Kelantan and Perlis), to organise and to collaborate with some of the most distinguished figures in music and research. I have tried not to focus too much on the lows but I am honest and I will say that very unfortunately, the lows outweighed the highs.

It was time for me to move on. I know my leaving was not well accepted and the end of my employment was marred by emotions of unhappiness, disappointment and ungratefulness…on my employer’s end. For me, it was sad to leave on such a note; I had no expectations of anyone and ultimately, I chose to leave without saying a goodbye. I think it was the best way, seeing how things had turned out.

So this is it. My independence. My leap of faith.

I’ll be celebrating my freedom by doing what I truly love. Tomorrow I head off to Terengganu with the girls for the International Gamelan Festival. Mum will be joining me towards the end and we’ll be spending a much needed girl’s holiday over the long weekend where we’ll be lazing and reading books by the beach. In early September, I’ll be in Penang with Noel – both to spend time and to meet Sooi Beng, an ethnomusicologist there with whom I’ll be discussing some projects we could work on together. To cap off my month long travel, I’ll be heading to Melbourne to stay with my twinny for 2 weeks.

It’s going to work out great…

Shadowlands

Sarah, who was with us in Kelantan a few months ago, has painstakingly put together a wonderful podcast on Islam, Wayang Kulit and politics.

Do take some time off to listen to this podcast:

Shadowlands

Islam and the art of wayang kulit, or shadow puppetry, have co-existed in Malaysia for centuries but in 1990 a new generation of political Islamists, influenced by the theology of Wahhabism, outlawed the tradition in its home state of Kelantan. Encounter travels to Kelantan to watch an illegal ritual performance of wayang kulit and to explore how the pluralist history of Islam in the region, embodied in this art form, has been challenged by global developments. But do the results of Malysia’s recent elections suggest the influence of Wahhabism is now on the wane? And, paradoxically, could the successes of the Islamic Party, PAS, be a good sign for democracy and religious freedom in the country?

You will be able to listen to interesting insights and interviews, as well as some background wayang music. Do spend some time listening to it. You can also opt to read the transcript of the program from the same link.