Running

Running
Running

Monday, December 31, 2012

Many Serious Contenders (MSC) 2012 run

Many Serious Contenders (MSC) 2012 run

In January 2012 I joined a new running team – the Many Serious Contenders Informing the Society (MSCIS).  This was a running group trying out the course in the 15th edition of the run.  The two year run was bound to be interesting and different.  I have previously had only one serious running group – the ilrithoners and this group has taught me most of my running skills, running through the hills and valleys of Kabete and its environs.  A new group and a new course were to be a new experience with new lessons.   By some coincidence, I find myself as captain of both teams.  One year has ended and another one is about to start.  I however look back at the run and it has not been easy…

First lap
“You shall soon be talking a lot,” The Deputy Director said with a pause, then continued, “Believe me, it shall not be long”

I knew what he was talking about.  It was quite accidental that I was joining this particular forum on a late Monday evening.  If fate had had it otherwise, I would be doing my evening run back at the hilly and dusty Kapenguria road in Uthiru.  Three days prior, I was at this same faculty, making an enquiry on what had become of my application for studies.  The journey to join these studies however started three years before.  In 2009, I had paid a course application fee of KShs.3,000 and started waiting for a formal admission letter.  Many sent emails later, I was still at home, the year had ended and I had not been admitted.  When 2009 ended, the Director’s Secretary had told me that, “I missed the September intake” because “I did not follow up”.  I was in Christmas spirit at that time, so I let it slip.

Three year wait
In 2010, after many visits to the School of Computing and Informatics, SCI, of the University of Nairobi, UON, I was still at the same place as 2009 – no admission, no communication.  Towards end of 2010, the Secretary told me that I had failed to be admitted because I did not do some two prerequisite courses.  “Just try next year,” she had said with some triumph in her voice.

Taking no more chances, I had started my 2011 journey early.  On the first week of January, I forced my way to the SCI and asked for details of the prerequisite courses and when they would be held.  I was informed that they were scheduled for May 2011.  I was asked to be checking the newspapers for the advert, though I should continue following up.  Subsequently thereafter, I made it a point of visiting the SCI offices monthly to get an update.

“Be ready, the courses start next month.  You can go and pay,” the Secretary informed me during a visit in early-April.
“How many courses do I pay for?”
“Let me see…”, she looked at some documents behind the high barrier that makes the counter that separates her from the visitors.  She failed to get what she was looking for and therefore said, “Let me find out, call me later today”

I just left the office with the slip bearing the UNES bank details at Barclays Westlands and awaited the details of how many multiples of 20k I would have to part with.

On that afternoon, I called the Secretary who confirmed to me that I shall do one course called ‘Programming Methodologies’.
I had already protested this issue of prerequisite courses.  It was partially the reason for the two year delay already.
“You are lucky to be doing only one (course).  Most of the others are doing two, including Data Structures,” she volunteered on phone, to reassure me that I was sailing in better waters.

Prerequisite
Our prerequisite courses began in early May 2011.  Even before the second class, we were advised to countercheck our courses with the Coordinator of MSc courses.  When I visited the coordinator one evening before the evening classes, he asked me to provide my undergraduate transcripts for confirmation.  The next day I was back to his office with the transcripts.

“Let me see,” he started, as he went through the transcripts.  He evidently had gone through many such, since he went straight to some particular entries.
“I see you got Bs and As in the second and third year IT courses,” he commented, partly looking up from his gaze on the papers.
“Sure, I did”
“However, I can see this ‘C’ here,” he pointed out, “in your first year, eh, ‘FEE132 Computer Science II’ course”
“Yes…,” I started.
“You got a C,” he repeated, while completely abandoning the papers.
I started to mutter something like, “I was still young and restless….”
 “That is the C that shall cause you to do a course in Programming Methodologies,” he handed back my five sheets of paper.
As if to console me, he continued, “Be happy that you are only doing one course.  Most are doing two”

The ICS600 PM prerequisite course sessions were quite eventful.  Am tempted to reveal the ‘secrets’ of what went on during the 6-week course that run from May 2 and culminated to the final exam on June 16, but am not saying much now.  Just imagine congregating students of different backgrounds, for evening classes, at Chiromo, for computer programming, with 20k at stake and a lecturer who did not believe that it is possible ‘not to know such simple things’.

Speak out
My thoughts were brought back to the present, when the DD continued with his encouragement of the comrades to speak out.
“I do not know most of you.  In fact I only seem to know this guy with long hair”, he gestured.
“He seems to have been here before”
There were some giggles.
“And I also know this other guy seated in front,” he pointed to where I seated, in front of the classroom dubbed ‘Seminar Room’.  I was on the front row, just next to the table holding the computer and projector, next to the white board.  Opposite us, alighted to the wall, were some faculty members.  He continued, “I know this one because he was in my office today morning,” he informed the rest, as attention focused on me.

After a pause, “But I will get to know all of you with time, starting now,” he momentarily unearthed a list and started calling out names, “This is the list of fifty-five members of this class.  Please lift up your hand if you hear your name”

The visit to his office on the morning of that Monday, January 9, 2012 had been presided by a similar visit to SCI the Friday before, when I visited the Director’s office to find out why I had not got an admission letter, despite having cleared the prerequisite course in June (and getting quite impressive results as per the results confirmed by letter July 4, 2011).  During a previous visit to SCI in August, while expecting the course to start in September 2011, the faculty had confirmed the postponement of the session to January.  By my last visit in early December, the admission letters were not yet out.  My current worry was the failure to receive an admission even when I was aware that the UON would open the next week, as per newspaper ads.

Friday
The Friday visit went something like this – on arrival at the Director’s office, I had asked to speak to the Director, not knowing who else to talk to, so that I could get information on the status of my admission.  The secretary intercepted me, informing me that such verifications could be done at her desk.  She started by some questioning:
“Did you apply?”
“Yes, I even did the prerequisite course as per this…” I extracted the folded A4 paper with the notification of results, “… this was my result”

She scrutinized it, a brief beam on the face at the score, then “You are sure you did not pick your letter?”
“No, this is my first trip since last December, when you said the letters were not yet ready”
“Let me check,” she went through a list of names, against which I could see some signatures.  For sure my name was not on the list of those who were supposed to sign for letters.  My heart skipped the first beat.  What was going on!?

“Are you sure you applied?,” she asked again.
“What the h*** have I just shown you?  Was it not my confirmation of results?,” I did not say that, though that is what my system prompted me to say.  Instead my mouth uttered, “I sure did.  You just saw my results.  Here it is again,” I unfolded the letter and extended it to her direction once again.
She ignored it, “Let me confirm the committee report, just a moment”

After some scrutiny, “Yes,” she said and looked at me, then back to the papers, “You did not do all the prerequisite courses,” she paused, “That is why,” she finalized and gazed in my direction – some sense of accomplishment evident.

To address my perplexed state, she added, “You were supposed to do two courses,” she let that phrase sink in first, then continued, “But you did only one”

Shock
That did it.  It took willpower and lots of strength to match from Director’s office and travel back to Uthiru.  In fact I spent the first ten minutes of my walk toward Riverside Drive stage not even aware of my surroundings.  I think I suffered shock but that did not last long.  Soon I was on denial that maybe I was dreaming.  Nonetheless, by the time I was in the starbus matatu traveling back to Uthiru, I was bargaining of a better outcome.  By noon when I matched to my work place at Uthiru, I was in complete acceptance and was starting to plan for how I would do the missed prerequisite course during the May 2012 session.  The current situation would definitely be a setback, but there was nothing that I could do to change it.  A five month delay was not that bad, I reasoned out.  Worse could have happened, I consoled myself.  Maybe I was not even ready to pay the 100k fee for the first semester – “That could be the reason,” I told myself.

Monday

The reason why I was at the office of the Deputy Director of SCI on that Monday morning was to at least voice my concern over the improper communication by the faculty.

“Happy New Year to you.  What brings you to my office on this first day of work?,” the DD had greeted me.
“Happy New Year also,” I started, “I had applied for the MSc course and did one prerequisite course that I was told to do.  When I came to look for an admission letter, I was told that I was supposed to do two,” I cut a long story short.

“Do you have your results?”
That is something I had learnt before – always carry your papers if they are likely to become the subject matter.  I handed him the confirmation of results and five transcripts.

“There must be a mistake.  You are properly supposed to be admitted,” he said after flipping through, then added, “We have had few such cases, especially Engineering students, whom we tell to do only one course depending on their undergraduate results.  I was on leave during the committee meeting hence this omission”

I had mixed emotions.  I had already resigned to waiting for May and joining the programme in 2013.  I had even switched off plans for securing the 100k fee.  To get me out of my daydream, he instructed me to get my file from the Secretary.

The file
The Secretary glanced at me only briefly, she already knew me from my numerous visits to this office.  I cannot remember her acknowledging my greetings, “What do you want?,” she must have asked.

“The DD has sent me for my file,” I said.
“I told you that you have not been admitted,” she resisted, then went ahead and made a phone call.  From the conversation, she was summoning someone to come over for an errand.  Within five minutes a lady in white dust coat matched into the office.  She was given a name written on a small piece of paper and instructed to get a file.

“Please get the file for this… eh…”, she hesitated, “… student.”
In her hesitation, she was probably ready to chip in a big adjective.

The person sent came back about thirty minutes later, “Nimetafuta, hakuna.  Hiyo file hakuna kabisa,” she confessed her inability to trace the file.

“Are you sure you applied?,” the secretary asked me.
I have always learnt to keep my cool, but I tend to think that the Sec was deliberately trying to make me loose it.  I therefore counted ten to one and said, “Yes, I delivered it here personally two years ago.”

“Go back and check the archives for stroke zero nine,” she instructed her colleague, who momentarily left, evidently with some protest, for another thirty minutes, only to come back with the same verdict, “Haki yenyewe nimetafuta everywhere.  Hiyo file hakuna,” she said resignedly.

I knew that the Sec was about to panic, because of the implications of loosing a file in an ISO9001 certified institution.  The panic probably restored her memory, “Let me check these other files that you were supposed to file.”

A simple flip of the first four files from the pile behind her seat unearthed the lost file.

Today
Back to the DD about one hour later – he was not impressed with the one hour search.  He did not mince, “Had you gone to the high court registry?”

He signed a few sheets of papers in the file and handed it back, “Take it back to the Secretary.  Tell her to hand it over to the Director.”

As I stood to leave, he added, “You shall need to wait for about one week to get your letter.  However, make sure that you attend today’s evening class, where we shall be welcoming members of the new class.”

That is how I found myself amongst the thirty or so students who attended the first session of the class, though I was probably the only one without an admission letter.  The journey that started three year prior was now just about to start properly.  It had previously been a rehearsal.

Christmas

It is December, the year is ending and am looking back wondering how I survived the journey.  I have had runs before, including the 2009 42km marathon where I collapsed at the finish line, but the SCI course was different. 

Take the first three courses in semester 1, when we were all green and just getting acquainted.  It did not take long before we were bundled into groups for groupwork by random selection, thanks to the DD’s own initiative.

“You see, I gave you people a chance to form groups but you failed.  For that reason, these are the groups,” he introduced the topic during one of his evening classes.  Thereafter we were on our own as we tackled the ICS612 DB design course.  Most comrades would like to forget two events in this course – the group presentations, where he had given a marking scheme before, but the scores were still quite mean.  The second event was the final exam, which we shall just call, ‘the exam with the case’.  The two other courses in Computer Architecture and Foundations of Artificial Intelligence had their share of challenges, but we had a sigh of relief when the results came out week 7 of semester 2.

Mean
The next dose of three courses for semester two were manageable, mainly because we had already learnt that the UON is as mean as it has always been and nothing is a ride in the park.  That is how we managed the courses in OS, Networking and System Analysis.

Strike
Just when we thought all shall be smooth to the end, the lecturers and staff of universities in Kenya, including the UON went on strike, just when the third semester was to start.  The semester had the precision of clockwork and was to end just before Christmas.  The two week strike and hence two week delay in starting the term threw spanners to the clockworks and caused a full month extension of the semester.  When the session started, we were faced with four courses which were quite a challenge to manage, in terms of time and workload.  While ICT project management and ICT and society seem to have been comfortable courses, memories of ICS600 were brought back in full swing with the ICS618 Object oriented technologies course that took us back to the deep end of C++ programming.  But the feather on the cap belongs to Research Methodologies class. 

The second Prof. to teach the class in the year had warned us from day one that, “Woe unto you for deciding to take this course.  You shall regret that decision since we shall put you under the highest pressure ever,” he said repeatedly.  Being a physicist, he actually meant ‘pressure’ by definition involving force.  “After all, what is the meaning of masters if not to master?,” he would always declare.  His assignments proved it.  For the first time ever, people were getting zero out of ten.

He would add, “But because am generous, whenever I give you a ‘repeat the assignment’, am sugarcoating a mark of zero to three”

Is it not a relief that we now end the year and just await the four semester exams in mid-January?  After that we shall be four courses short of getting out of SCI.

Happy New Year 2013 – the run continues.



Wanjawa, W. B. - Nairobi, Kenya, December 31, 2012