IT'S NOT CHASING A MOVIE STAR

Lately, I’ve heard so much news (from my friends, cousins, relatives, etc.) about their struggle to make the final assignments. You know, they are already in the last stage of their study, and the university instructed them to make final assignments (mini thesis, thesis, or whatever you want to call it). Of course, the university provided the students with one or two lecturers to give a guidance for them in makin such final assignments..

And here the story goes..

It’s about.. chasing the lecturers! Yeah, they told me stories about that. Maybe they just wanted to have a shoulder to cry on. But, I felt that it was likely to be complain that should be addressed to the lecturers themselves instead to myself. They said that it was so hard for them to meet the lecturer, to have their time in giving them the guidance of how to make a proper final assigments. Sometimes they have to wait the lecturers so long, or everytime they phoned the lecturers there were no answer or failed in connection (the phone was in off-mode perhaps), or the lecturers was flying here, there and everywhere. Sometimes they given the chance to students to contact them through the e-mail, but, in returns, the lecturer didn’t reply the e-mail.. ‘sigh’.. The lecturers still demanded to meet the students directly to discuss about their final assignment, but it was hard for the students to chase and meet the lecturers!

They said, the final assignment is more stressfull than facing the global economy crisis.. ;P

I remember the time when I made such final assignments. It was the time of my study to get the B.A. degree in Bandung. First of all, you had to propose the title and explanative proposal of your mini thesis to the secretary of department, and waiting for her approval that such proposal could be developed into one particular mini thesis. OK, it was really.. a.. BIG EFFORT! You had to get up so early in the morning, arrived in Campus at 7.00! And, looked happy if you were the 1st student who came there to meet the secretary, and looked sad if you were the 2nd, 3rd, and….th student. Not to mention, the secretay was just arrived in her office (after done so many business) at.. 11.00! So, you have to wait for 4 hours or more! You weren’t allowed in making any appointment at all before that (in order to make sure the exact time and turn of your appointment)! You had to understand if she had just for.. 1 hour to accept us in one session of consultancy! I mean, 1 hour to be divided with so many students who have queued for 3-4 hours. I often noticed that after 1 hour (available consultancy time), she just went off, and ignoring the rest of the students who didn’t came earlier to queue and couldn’t meet her in having the consultancy at all.

For 4 hours in waiting for the secretary to come, usually I chatted with my friends that I know. If I didn’t know any of students who queued with me at that time, I spent the time to read newspaper, novels, or.. sleep! I really didn’t want to re-read along my proposal to be argumentative prepared during my waiting hour, since it was so exhausting and could raise my bad mood as well!

Once, my senior who had worked (but not graduated yet, since he hadn’t done his mini thesis) came very early in the morning. He said, he took a leave for one day in order to meet the secretary for his mini thesis proposal. You know what happened? Sadly, the secretary had another business to do. She just accepted 1-2 students, and my senior hasn’t got the chance. My senior was furious, and said to the secretary, “I took a leave from my office today, just for this! This university really was not professional!” Of course, the secretary was so furious too, “Hey! I always spare a time for you all! It should be you who have to adjust your business with us!” I don’t know what happened in a details with my senior, but I’ve heard that he graduated 1 year after me.. hahahahah..

It was just a proposal.. and for the mini thesis itself, I had to face the same problem! The lecturer didn’t want to give the exact time to meet me, therefore I couldn’t make any appointment with him before that. He just said, “The working time starts from 7.00.” I always came to his office at 7.00, in result I met him around 10.00-11.00, and sometimes I couldn’t meet him since he had another business to do without any notification. But, luckily, he really had a great intention to help me, and he was humble and kind, and I forgave him for all the f**cking waiting problem! ;P

But.. too bad.. to bad.. I continued my Master Degree in Jakarta.. And, I repeated that thing again! I had to wait the lecturer for so many hours. Also, I couldn’t make any appointment with him, since he was so busy, and couldn’t give the exact time to meet me. I came to his office at 10.00 (he said, he usually was in his office around that time), but in result I met him mostly at 12.00. For two hours of waiting, the novels really could be my good endearment.. ;)

Sometimes it will be a problem for those who have a steady job (while taking a study in university) that requires the exact time to meet the lecturer. They really couldn’t spend so many hours waiting in vain like that, or else they have to sacrifice their job. I really have no idea, perhaps it just happened to me and some of my friends or perhaps it just happens mostly in my country, since I don’t know about the experience of completing the final assignment when you are studying abroad.

One day my friend asked me, “When are you gonna pursue your PhD (Doctoral) Degree?” Well, that question raised a kind of horror feeling for waiting and chasing the lecturer in the past time! It was not a movie star that I chased about! It was a lecturer! So, I think, I will vote Sandra Dewi or Dian Sastro to be my lecturer for my PhD dissertation then!

Therefore, chasing the lecturer and the movie star is not different after all.. ;)