Woohoo! I finally graduated today! Graduation... It is the culmination of all that hard work and years of study. It is also a day when graduants, together with friends and family, get together to celebrate their achievements.

A bit of history: The Ph.D. was awarded on 11 January, 2007, and I was assigned to the Winter Degree Congregation of 2007. But I was in Penang at the time and needed my results to return to the UK on the International Graduate Scheme (IGS). So graduation had to be deferred (to gather the necessary documents and apply for the visas). Degree Congregations are held twice each year in February (Winter) and July (Summer). Attendances at Summer Degree Congregations are usually high and so I was assigned to the Winter Degree Congregation of 2008 instead. I was a little bit disappointed at first that I had to wait for another year to graduate, but it worked out perfectly in the end. It took a couple of months to gather all the necessary documents (my supervisor had to send the letter confirming the award three times!) and by that time, Bee Yoong was already too far along (8+ months pregnant with Nathanael) to travel. And because postal applications were no longer accepted (applications had to be made in person to allow biometrics to be taken), we had to wait until after Nathanael was born. Then there was the confinement period. We finally made our application in October, got our visas 2 weeks later, and travelled on 3 December, 2007.

The weather was nice enough (i.e., it didn't rain), but it was really cold. We had a wonderful time, despite the cold weather. We had to leave Nathanael at home because "the ceremonies are formal occassions and are not suitable for young children." A friend from church, Caroline, was kind enough to look after him while we attended the graduation ceremony. After the ceremony, Bee Yoong and Ran went back and brought Nathanael for photos and we attended a graduation tea party in the afternoon. It would have been the perfect day if mum and dad were also there. I bought a video DVD of the ceremony, as well as a graduation photo pack (one of the graduant, i.e., me, and one of the whole family). More photos in the Web Album.

We have been attending Bristol Chinese Christian Church (BCCC) in Clifton. They hold their services in Tyndale Baptist Church. The chinese and english ministries take turns to serve tea and finger food every sunday after service to fellowship and welcome visitors. The church prepared a special meal today to celebrate Chinese New Year. We had roast chicken, duck, roast pork, and even chai-boey! There are a few more photos in the Web Album.

We would like to wish all family and friends a very happy and blessed Chinese New Year!

Had my first face-to-face interview today, for a Core Java Developer role. Bee Yoong and Nathanael went to The Mall at Cribbs Causeway, while I went for my interview at Aztec West Business Park. The interview started at 10am, lasted for about 2 hrs and 25 mins, and included a technical test, a design exercise, and discussion of previous experience. I met up with Bee Yoong and Nathanael at The Mall after the interview. Spent the whole afternoon there.