Stranger On The Train

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

I was on the train yesterday afternoon. I picked up these three pre-ordered books I've been waiting for from Kino at KayElCC. Earlier I decided against driving into KL and too the train instead.



Anyhow.

On the journey from KLCC to Abdullah Hukum, I sat and hugged my 3 heavy books and planning on a myriad of things to bake and decorate. I hardly noticed this rather old-y person sitting next to me, about 60 or so, I think.

I fidgeted and he moved, giving me more space to which I smiled warmly at him.

Then he asked me what I bought from Kino.

"Just books."

"Mahal ke ?"

"Boleh la jugak. Saya dah order buku ni lama dah."

"Buku pasal apa?" ...

And then he asked.

"Boleh tanya sikit? You ni mesti belajar kat UK ke US ke ?"

"Errkk. Hmm betul la tu."

"Dah ada Masters ke?" Eh pakcik ni, bila masa pulak dia baca blog aku ni.

"Lepas ni taknak buat PhD ke ?"

Hah! Then all the way from Masjid Jamek to Abdullah Hukum, he elaborated explained why one look and he could guess my education level and that I'm a great candidate for PhD. But I was intrigued. He mentioned that it's not about reconition. It's not about being celebrated, and not even for the title.

There's just not a lot of orang kita perempuan pulak tu yang ada PhD, particularly in technical engineering area. And more interestingly, he said that think about the pahala yang akan dapat bila dapat PhD. Evertime you write a paper or a book, as long as someone is using the book for his/her benefits, you get the pahala. Teaching someone a skill is one of the best ways to share your knowledge.

I never think of it that way. Truthfully, I never imagine myself pursuing my doctorate. Myabe I will, maybe I won't but at this juncture of my life, right now. I just want to take a step up my career and focus on the family and my baking. A long-drawn thesis is not on the agenda just yet.

Anyway. It's cool to think that I could strike a conversation and learn something new everday.

When I left the train, we said our goodbyes and I never knew his name. Nor did he.


13 growls by fellow growlers ...:

Unknown said...

i dah penat and malas nak kerjalah. sangat demotivated. the hubs mintak tempoh sampai year end for him to decide, nak tengok if boleh cover ke tidak. TAPI.. nanti if i tergedik-gedik nak kerja balik camana eh?

butterflutter said...

Gart: Terujanya tengok buku-buku tu dan gambar biskut kat bawah tu....You go Gart go for Phd...

Lana: If u can go unpaid leave try that first. Let him know your concern about tergedik-gedik nak back to work tu. If it really happen senang nanti. Buat some sort of agreement lah.

Gartblue said...

lana .. me too, babe. me too. tapi itula the prospect of "tergedik-gedik nak kerja balik" tu and the financials are a bit daunting .. but butterflutter's right too .. try it first .. if it fits, then by all means.

butterflutter .. mmg I teruja .. the cookies yang kat bawah tu were for mamachak .. she just picked them up off me tadi .. she gave birth 3 days ago. for cukur jambul .. PhD? hmmm .. that one kena pikir paaaanjang lebaaaar la .. yikes! the pain of the last thesis is still raw. ha ha ha

BeeLOVE said...

if u wish to pursue ur PhD, u go girl! tp kalau tak pon u're still a great wife and mom.

milk tester??!! hihihi alamak bulan pose.....

Gartblue said...

beelove .. hey .. milk tester is meant for a newborn baby la babe .. what were u thinking ? ha ha ha .. chances are maybe I'm just happy the way I am .. enuff letters and love handles on me already. now if only I could leave the job and do what I love, that'll be great.

BeeLOVE said...

saje nakal2 hihihi. orang tgh gersang la katakan kui kui kui

ramai entrepreneur ni dah menunjukkan bakat dan skill masing2. saya sungguh kagum sekali

kalau kita order ada discount tak?

mosh said...

could it be the fact that you've been stuffing your face with a lot of butter and cheese? ehehehe.

ClipperSeep said...

KALAU KAU BUAT PHD, SAPA NAK BUAT KERJA KAU SKANG YE? mati aku...!!!

kekekeeh

anyway, a good tot. Go pursue. but it's tough and it is a known fact.

I always believe that the certs won't tell ppl how smart we can be. you are smart, with or without a DR.

my li'l brother is now at perth pursuing his phD in Mechatronic. Tough! Sebab dia ada dua anak and juggling around them is not easy.

Gartblue said...

beelove .. untuk awak yang gersang, sentiasa ada discount .. compassionate discount. ha ha ha ..

mosh .. i hope you threw that to beelove and not me. ha ha

clipperseep .. i completely agree with you, especially on the smart part. hic! ka ka ka .. very unlikely la babe, I would wanna jump in that direction. I might as well bake myself green.

Unknown said...

Salam Rina, happy raya dan maaf zahir batin. bestnye buku tu !

Gartblue said...

k.min .. oh wow! thanks for visiting .. you're now very famous eh ?

famyGirl said...

in case tak sempat check blog lepas ni...
Salam Aidilfitri dan Maaf Zahir Batin dari famyFamily :)

elisataufik said...

sorry terlambat komen.
Syiok lah borak dengan pakcik2 tua.. i think they are a wealth of wisdom :)

p/s Selamat HAri Raya, Maaf Zahir Batin