The turmoil

So a couple of weeks before flying out for Sameer's shadi, I started quickly finishing up the final papers. Finished 1, completed research on the 2nd paper and was about to begin writing it, when I decided to drop out to avoid charges.

Now the school and I are exchanging emails on the best way to make payment and resume program enrollment. There is a good chance I might have to repeat everything but I might be able to submit finals and move on from there…

Some day, I will have my LLM. I learned a lot during this perusal. Before, I left for Karachi, I had applied for PhD at Schulich  School of Management. It also turns out, that despite amazing references and all transcripts submitted, the mandatory GRE/GMAT missing might force the application to be deferred to next year  - that is, 2015 fall intake. I have not heard back from the committee on this yet, so I am hopeful that perhaps given the overall strong application, they might decide to wave the requirement, or at least conditionally accept the application for 2014 fall intake.

If I live long enough, I should be able to accomplish my academic dreams. Insha-Allah. He has control over all things!

Finals Week

The 10th week is over. Overall my personal assessment of my post-mid-term contribution to online discussion is very good. It is definitely an improvement over pre-midterm in all 3 subjects. I was reviewing some of my posts today and was rather impressed.

The funny thing is, I don't remember the things I have posted and hardly recalled them as I read. Thats probably a natural outcome of juggling 3 courses sprinting week to week to complete relevant assigned readings and moving on. Luckily I do have some notes for most weeks I could use to plan my final essays.

Even though I have till January, 06, 2014 to submit my final essays for all 3 classes, I need to finish them before leaving for Karachi. So I have till early morning of December 19, 2013 before catching the 12:45pm flight that day. The plan is to use 4-days per essay. Today being the first day, I have decided to take on the easiest subject - Corporate Compliance. I have the topic selected, decided a rough sketch of issues to cover, preliminary readings to read and use, strategy to building the essay. Today, before I sleep, I will have to revise all the notes on this class to have a mental framework of the content and discussions I can use. Tomorrow, I have to finish all the readings and begin with the essay and take 2 more days to finish and polish the essay of 4000 words.

It seems doable easily if I don't get distracted by the ghost of loneliness. Then, I will pace around the house between the kitchen, the balcony, and the front patio. Smoke cigarettes, clean dishes, think of who I can call, prepare food, take a long walk outside, or jump online on Facebook. Then my mind wanders into things that cause me anxieties, such as my weight, last few years with mamma and papa, and the general uncertainty of the outlook on life from where I stand.

So, no doubt, this LLM semester has been an incredible blessing, and it phases right into my travel which will last till morning of January 18, 2014 when I return to Toronto - Insha-Allah. Among my anxieties is the lingering sense that I might not return to Toronto or even see 2014. But if I do, I will anxiously wait for a response from Schulich Business School, York University on my PhD application. Perhaps they will call me for an interview in March, 2014? Will I be able to take the next semester of LLM without settling my fees? Yet another year ahead full of uncertainties, but whatever it turns out to be, I pray it is with Allah's merciful provisions - Amiin.

Week 8

I am in the middle of Week 8 now. The feedback I received regarding my discussion participation greatly helped in improving my reading strategy and responses - overall participation. It is challenging. I have plenty of time, but i oscillate between other thoughts and reflection and those required by the courses.

There are days when I want to give up and feel discouraged and overwhelmed. The only thing that keeps me going is I have nothing else more compelling or demanding. On the flip side, I am learning a lot about the world we live in and what governs it. No doubt the courses are extremely demanding, but when its all over it will be worth it.

Two professors at Edinburgh have agreed to submit a reference to my PhD application at Schulich Business School. I am still unable to get a response from my UOWD professor despite repeated and persistent attempt on phone and email. I leave it upto Allah to decide this for me.

A Low Grade

So i finally received a grade for one of the mid-terms. I did not comply with the format requirement and suffered a low grade. I didn't think it was going to be a big deal, and I didn't know if it was a strict requirement.

Its my fault, and I took the instructions lightly. its a 20% worth assignment, but I will have to do whatever it takes to get through the classes and degree. This is tough! and i acted stupid.
why am I still careless!?

Next Semester Courses?

Here is a quick record of what I'd like to take in the next semester - the final semester:

Information: Control and Power

Managing Intellectual Property

International Commercial Arbitration

Details of these courses contents can be found here: http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/teaching/online_distance_learning/llm_degrees/innovation_technology_and_the_law/modules

Post Midterm. Semester 1

This is week 6 of the  12week semester. I have turned in papers for 2 classes, and almost done with final argument for the IIP class. 4 more sessions left.

This has so far been a great blessing and experience intellectually and emotionally. Emotionally because it keeps my mind off of negative depressing thoughts.

The greatest challenge in this program has been Reading. I am a slow reader. I started reading full words as early as 2 years of age. But somewhere I became a word reader. My mind loses concentration on the meaning of a sentence and I just try hard to focus and begin to read words alone. This has helped me improve my note-taking. The amount of intense sheer readings per class takes up a lot of time.

There was no way I could have taken a fulltime load with a regular life and a regular full time job. I like to be in a frame of mind when I study. I am learning how to improve my reading and concentration and how to keep both in synch over long periods of time. I underestimate time. Suddenly I need breaks every hour.

Some days its hard to get in the mood to study. Sometimes I want to think about other things, other subjects of interest. Sometimes I am completely unmotivated to make the efforts to begin study and lose interest. But I push myself because I have no good excuse to not to do so. What keeps me going is the confidence that I am smart enough to do it, that I have the opportunity to pursue this , and that time will pass anyways and if I keep doing what I'm doing I will one day have successfully completed the program and achieved an LLM. One year already passed since mamma, another year will pass quickly too. This program is 24weeks long with 2midterm break weeks. 6weeks have already passed. I'm 1/4th across this journey, and planning to apply for the next PhD lap 2014.

Cloud Governance - 20% Assignment

For the 'Information Technology Law' class, I have chose the option of writing a 2,000 word essay on :
"Cloudy with a chance of regulation: the governance of cloud computing" , Due in October, 2013.

I need to delineate the topic and cover 1 subtopic in detail with much examples. 

Cloud Computing Governance:

• Cloud Architecture: Applications Code, Hardware Infrastructure, and Security Layer
• Service Model: Licensing models, Legitimacy of licensing models, SLAs, SLM
• Compliance: Policy Management, Risk Assessment, Compliance Resource Management

upon conducting a skimming overview of a few related articles, the following appear to be relevant:

1. Data Privacy Issues
2. Data Control, Custody, and Possession definitions
3. Export Control Issues
4. Compliance Issues and Penalty

I will be addressing these 3 legal perspective in the EU, UK, and Canada and US context.

• Expound on definitions of each, administering bodies (state and non-state)
• Highlight specific precedent examples
• Surface contending laws and legislation based on jurisdictional interpretation.
• Introduce other relevant areas: Compliance, SLM, Organizational governance and framework development