Daily's New Journey

Walks in the Park

2010-06-14T01:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the fourth day in a row that I take what I call 'convalescent walks' in the Punggol Park. Before last Friday, I have had no strength (physical, mental or both; though I suspect that lack of physical strength played a predominant role as an inhibiting factor) to venture out of the house, let alone take 2-3km walks in the park. I was thus very glad last friday when I woke up feeling reasonably refreshed instead of experiencing the heavy-bodied lethargy that greeted me every morning I woke up, since the Pox. I have managed to sustain a routine of taking morning walks and I wish I could maintain it in the days to come, at least before I am saddled with work from PLC coming July the 7th. Convalescent walks (actually I had borrowed this phase from the book by German author Schindler's book, "The Reader", a riveting read) are great for rebuilding bodily strength. When one's body is telling the brain that it has partially recovered but still needs recuperation, it is best to resume some measure of activity which is good for the body and soul but is not too physically demanding. Walks in the park is such a perfect activity. That aside, I think we are very fortunate to be living so near to a wonderful park.

For the past 3 days, I have been struck by the regularity of human activities and its relativity to how the world works. Believe it or not, I have met the same person (whom I shall call the Cat Lady because she has been going around the Punggol Park feeding the stray cats from the several plastic bags hung on the bar handles of her orange old-fashioned bicycle) at around the same time and at the same spot of the park. Even the cat that follows her and waits expectantly to be fed by her is visibly the same cat! It was mundane the first time I saw it because I've seen the lady do her rounds in the park before, amusing the second time I ran into her at the same spot and quite intriguing the third time round. Such is the predictability (or lack thereof in most instances?) of human life and routine. It nevetheless set me thinking: for how long could this continue? Will I be at the park at around the same time every morning? For how long will the lady do her rounds in the park in fulfilment of what I reckon is a sense of duty towards the stray cats? Then again, how does it matter that there is no degree of permanence in whatever that we do? A person who is at the same job for 30 years goes to work at the same place for every single working day of the 30 years and there will come for a time for him to retire from the daily drone. The trees, butterflies and cats that I saw today will be at the park tomorrow, but there will come a time when the trees will fall, the butterflies will drop gracefully from its flutter and the cats will stop their wandering in the park. There may eventually come a time when the the park is obliterated and replaced by an entirely different entity. Change is the only constant in life. So there is no need to bemoan the lack of constancy when change is the constant itself. Just that the constant is paradoxically not static- we just have to move with it and to a certain extent, let go of the obstinate clinging to the past.

Post-script: Ah mah from next door is using charcoal to boil some ingredients, one of which I am very sure is Pandan leaves from the smell of it, just outside the lift landing. Smells great. It is the third time I have seen Ah mah preparing the ingredients for making rice dumplings. At the same time that I envy them for having the luxury of tasting home-made dumplings and admire the spirit for carrying on a tradition that is quickly becoming a rarity amongst households here, I reminisce the time that our neighbour has spent with us. The first time that I saw Ah mah use the charcoal and clay pot stand to boil ingredients was barely a few months after they moved in. So my witnessing it for the third time means they have stayed next door for at least 2 years. As if to illustrate my musings above about the impermanence of living phenomenons, their impending move just proves the point that change is a part of life and has to be accepted. Otherwise one can never look forward and receive the future with equanimity.

"Good Luck Always Follows a Bad Streak"?

2010-06-08T23:42:00.000-07:00

9th June. It has been a long time (15days) since I last made an entry. What has happened to me? I came down with a fever on 29th May and chicken pox broke out the day after. The doctor said I was infected but I do not recall going close to anyone with chicken pox at all! Anyway, I was given 35 Lovir pills to combat the virus. I was appalled at the prospect of having to down 35 pills over 8 days but here I am alive and kicking, after the last pill yesterday evening. The spots are still visible on my face and body and I really do hope they go away SOON. Chicken pox is the worst illness that I have had to go through. The first few days were totally unbearable, with poxes surfacing and I could do nothing but lye in bed and feel miserable.

Because of my chicken pox, Taiqi had to go home for a total of 18 days just in case I would pass the virus to her during the probational period. There are 7 days more to go, including today. I'm alone in the house now. It has been a long time since I last spent long hours at home alone. Although it is very peaceful and gives me a true break, I miss the noises and vibrancy. I also miss being energetic. The house has always been filled with noise and voices of Taiqi and Ah gui when I'm at home. This has been the case for the past 2 years (sans the period when I was in Canada for exchange). The deja vu feeling sort of transports me to back to the days many years back when I was in primary/ secondary school-coming back to an empty home and spending the quiet and sleepy afternoon hours alone at home. Or when it was the holidays. Ah gui and Mic were always at work and it had not even crossed my mind that I would expect to see them at home. I think I am so used to their absence that I still find it strange to be at home with them without Taiqi around.

In the one month since my last exam, I have had three bouts of major illnesses. Fever, bronchitis and now chicken pox. Actually the bad streak began even before my first exam. Imagine having fever just one day before the exam and with two other people sick in the house. I had thought it would be over there and then but things just went on a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. And throughout these periods of ordeal, how could I have done without Ah gui? I appreciate having a mother who is always the stronger one when I feel weak. Where does she derive her strength from? The strength to buy and wash each and every mud-covered water chestnut by hand, cook the 4 meals each day for me to eat before taking my medicine, wake up in the middle of the night to feed me nutriact and millennium, and all these on top of cooking for the rest of the family and doing the usual household chores. Her love for her children has far exceeded the limits of her mortal strength and I wonder if I can ever match that high order love if our positions were reversed. At this point 2 sentences from a poem that Taiqi learns resonates in my mind:
“谁言寸草心，报得三春晖".

I am ever so afraid of failing her in any way.

P.S. I hope that what Gwen told me after my fever during the exam period , "good luck always follows a bad streak", will materialise this time around although it didn't one month ago. It is a very comforting thought nonetheless.

25th May

2010-05-25T07:40:00.000-07:00

Dajie left for China on a study trip with her students today. It is going to last for 11 days! I helped her to pack most things and in the end I realised two brains is still better than one. Had Ah Gui not reminded us, I would have forgotten to help her put in a comb and socks! Dajie has had a rough patch the last few weeks as she laboured to get ready for the trip. I wish her trip would be uneventful (in a good way) and that she'd take good care of herself. Seeing her work so hard for tangible benefits that are starkly incommensurate with the effort she puts in awakes me to the reality of working life, and the preciousness of hard-earned money.

I went for a relief class today at learning continuum. The P5 students are so much more manageable than the P2 students! They responded well and paid attention in class. It was quite enjoyable teaching them English. Although the class was small and I might not have earned much for 4 hours spent (including travelling time), it is better than nothing for a day of idleness at home (that is after dajie left for the airport).

Jo just suggested to Ah gui for her and Mike to attend a Hokkien concert by Taiwanese artistes. I'm really excited for them to attend it, since they haven't attended a concert together at all throughout their 30 years of marriage! We are trying very hard to persuade Ah Gui now but she is her usual self, giving all kinds of excuses and putting up a front as if she won't enjoy the performance. Truth be told, she is just concerned about one thing-money! Even though I'm not really earning and therefore have limited persuasive authority, I still wish she'd just give herself a break this once and go and have a nice evening, for once in a long long time.

Family

2010-05-22T20:43:00.000-07:00

No one cares for and understands you more than your own family. I felt it today :).

"but life is what happens while we're waiting for it to be perfect enough to live it"

2010-05-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

A sentence from Marian Keyes' book, "Further Under the Duvet". It is so true, isn't it? This Irish author has a real sense of humour and a knack for occasional pithy sayings. She wrote this sentence after describing how she has always aimed to do something ambitious at the beginning of the year as part of her new year resolution but always ends up feeling guilt-ridden after she fails to meet her targets. Implicit in it is the acknowledgement that life is never perfect but is a process whereby we are continually seeking perfection. The funny thing is that this process does not have an end to it and we can do nothing but live this 'imperfect life' as it happens. Resignedness? Not really. This is one view of life.

Competition- at home?

2010-05-21T21:29:00.000-07:00

I understand that competition abounds everywhere, the strongest of it being felt in workplaces, schools, etc. But competition at home? I really do not think there should be competition at home, the only enclave where one can take a break and just be at ease. Where should there always be an undercurrent brewing when things are being done, in the sense that one is secretly using an invisible barometer to measure how much the other person is doing while one goes about what she does? I believe that if you genuinely want to do something, just go ahead and do it and you should not bear grudges against others whom you think 'should have done what I have just done'. It does not make sense to me.

Is it me being oversensitive, is it that I am really a 'lazy bum', or is it that I have a weird sense of what is right and wrong? I'm really confounded by these matters of human dynamics, curiously, when I'm at home. I do not feel comfortable enough to do what I deem appropriate, that is not right.

What is it that is missing that is making me feeling so unsettled?

Another Uneventful Day

2010-05-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

I feel slightly better today in the sense that I am not feeling as fragile as the day before. The cough is still bothering me. Ah gui brought me to the Wilmer clinic yesterday and I got a shock when I found out that the consultation fee alone is $120 for first-time patients. In the end I ended up paying $357 for consultation, medicine, throat sensitivity test and a jab to clear the phlegm. The huge bundle of medicine given by the doctor will shock anyone. Just the cough syrup alone is twice the volume given by other normal clinics. I do not find this very palatable at all. Maybe that is what is comes with consulting a 'specialist'.

Being sick is the worst thing that can happen to anyone- it drains resources and drains energy. I've fallen sick twice in 4 weeks and I can't help but wonder why I'm so down in luck. Is it a sign that my immunity is deteriorating or is it a sign that my fortune has changed for the worse?That reminds me: at the beginning of the year Ah Gui brought me to the temple to give offerings because my zodiac sign (Tiger) clashes with the 'Taisui' this year, which basically means that many hurdles lie ahead and that my health will suffer. Sometimes I wonder whether I'm taking such fortune-telling things too seriously. Nevertheless I can't help but find some truth in it when these things happen to me.

I wish (again, now fervently) that I will recover soon.

Unsuccessful

2010-05-17T01:25:00.001-07:00

My application for the internship was unsuccessful. I just received the email this morning. To be honest I was quite disappointed as I thought the interview went smoothly and I had thought it was overall a very rewarding conversation with the three gentlemen. Well, I'd just have to admit that either my essay was not as well-written, my cv was not as startling or that I had not impressed the interviewers at all. It could be a combination of all three factors really.

Disappointed though I was, I did not feel a great sense of loss. The feeling was more akin to finding out that I had not performed as well as expected in an examination, even though I know that I had put in all I could for that examination. The feeling was not strong enough to be crushing, because firstly I knew that I had given all I could and secondly, it was a rather 'bonus' thing if I could get it and it is really alright if I can't and thirdly, because I'm rather good at overcoming sad feelings associated with these 'worldly expectations'. I'd often comfort myself by telling myself that just because a few people do not think you are good enough does not mean that all others would think the same way. There are always others who would appreciate you in some other way.

Therefore, I continued with the cleaning up of the house after reading that email and found it, as always, therapeutic to expend my energy on cleaning the house when I'm feeling down, confused or lost. I have to springclean after every semestral exams, as soon as I begin on a long break etc. The physical clearing has an intangible effect of clearing my mind of confusion, disoriented thoughts and restore my sense of balance as a being. Actually before I checked the email, I already had an inexplicable unpleasant feeling- a sense of loss and helplessness almost amounting to abject loneliness. I don't know why. Is it because I have just come to terms with the fact that I am no longer a student and will be uprooted from the comfort and familiarity of the school zone; is it because many if not most of my friends are not in Singapore and are on their grad trips and I felt left-behind (quite unlikely to my mind but I think it has just that slightest effect); is it because I miss a good friend?; is it because I had the nagging feeling that Ah Gui has not totally let go of the incident and is likely to haunt my conscience with her insinuations and pointed censures that she'd bounce off with the rest (this sort of materialised just now and I felt really really terrible.); is it FEAR? I don't know, I was suddenly so afraid and felt so lonely and I could almost feel myself trembling within. That was even before I saw that 'unsuccessful' email. Therefore my conclusion is, that email did not have a major impact on my mood today, it was to do with my fears from the past, the uncertainty of the present and the apprehension of the future that is bothering me.

It is ok if you are unsuccessful in an application or even in your career, I think. But you must not be unsuccessful as a PERSON. And more than once in the last few days I have been made to think I am unsuccessful in the latter sense. How can I redeem myself and stand up with my chin high, with a cheerful disposition again? Why is it that I have found it so difficult to be cheerful ever since last week? Is there really something wrong with me as a person? If so I'm not even sure how I could change.

I hope I could be cheerful again.

Dusting Away the Cobwebs

2010-05-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

I took a look at the date of the last entry for this blog. It was on 31 May 2009, ie almost one year ago. I think this latest entry, or what I shall term the 'resurrection entry', probably makes it seem as if there has been a one-year void in my life. What have I been doing in the course of this one year? This brings me back to last May.

I still remember the night (or early morning) that I arrived in Singapore on a connecting Northwest flight from Tokoyo. It was 16th May 2009, exactly one year ago. Joey and Michael were waiting for me at the airport. The rest didn't come because the car could not carry us all. So I was back in Singapore, feeling quite lost in my own country. (I believe) I collected myself and quickly fell back into the pace of life. I did a few internships in the holidays before school started in Ausgust. Memory of the first semester of Year 4 was quite a blur, except for Prof Loy's IP classes, which are ever so fulfilling and enjoyable. Then came the December holidays where I absolutely could not remember what I did, except for an ugly incidence of face-off with Ah gui at home. Then Adriana arrived with Cathy in late December.

I had been looking forward to Adriana's arrival for one whole semester and in a blink of an eye, she is now back home after having spent 4.5 months here. So much could be said about our friendship, the things we did together, the places we have been and the things we have spoken about. So much, that all couldn't be put down on paper without words running the risk of being understatements. It hardly feels as if we've known each other for only 1.5 years. Now that I recall it, having her here had been quite a surreal experience given that she is meant to be permanently thousands of miles away. However, I am glad to at least say that I had not wasted any opportunities for us to do things and to build memories of us together. It had been a good semester mainly because Adriana was here. I still can't put my finger on what made us get along so well and what contributed to, dare I say, such depth of a friendship. Was it just her personable nature that made things work or is it just my own wishful thinking that she is an extraordinary friend? No matter what I shall miss her, the times we shared and the conversations we have had. What goes on from here? Only time will tell.

So today is 16 May 2010, the 10th day after my last exam (international commercial litigation). It hardly feels like that at all. Why does time seem to fly by so quickly, in fact more quickly nowadays? For example, at this time of the day 7 days ago, I was cycling with Adriana at the East Coast Park and it was also 7 days ago that Adriana first came to our house to have dinner. It feels like it was 3 days ago!

So this is partly the reason why I am resurrecting this blog today. As I read through my entries in the previous year and the thoughts that I managed to capture there and then, I realised it is so valuable to be able to go back in time and revisit your thoughts at a certain point in time. It has the effect of transporting yourself back in time to the point where you encountered a certain incident/entertained that particular thought. It is also a good way to keep oneself at the top of things, to keep track of what one has been doing and hopefully, I'll be able to use this blog as a kind of mirror to reflect on my daily behavior, dealings with people and performance in tasks. It would also be a record of my daily activities.

I hope everyday could be be a fresh one from today onwards, free from encumbrances and baggages of the past, even from the past one day. I want to be able to go on a slightly (not radically) different path where I could appreciate the people around me and even myself and my own life better. I want to minimise negative and inefficient thoughts in my mind. I want to be healthy and strong to meet the tasks and demands of each day. In short, I want to have a refreshed mind and start daily new journeys that would sustain me as a better and happier person in the long term.

Well. At least this sounds like a good start, doesn't it? :)

Postscript:
It is raining cats and dogs now. Jo, Dajie and Taiqi have gone to Parkway Parade for Taiqi's weekly classes. I couldn't go with her today because I have been coughing like nobody's business since Monday. I really wish I could recover quickly and be an energetic person soon. I don't want to be like what Jasmine and YY say, seemingly 'perpetually not feeling well'. Things between me and Ah gui have patched up (I hope) since that chinese physician incident a few days ago and it can just get better! Oh yes, and I probably have to start thinking about what I should do for this holiday if I don't get the Stephenson Harwood internship (I hope their belated reply does not mean that I am one of the rejects whom they would only inform last).

Niamh

2009-05-31T08:31:00.000-07:00

Met up with Niamh, Orla's elder sister this evening! Niamh is on her way to Australia for her travels and has stopped over in Singapore for a few days. It was great that I had a chance to meet up with her. Seeing and talking to her reminds me so much of Orla. They have the same eyes, expressions and mannerisms. The encounter with Niamh reminds me of the time Orla and I spent together in Room 508, London Hall.

It was a lovely evening. We had dinner at Kenny Rogers in Marina Square. Then we walked to the Suntec City Mall and the Fountain of Wealth. Then we walked to Esplanade and the Marina Bay waterfront area before walking still to the Clarke Quay area. Niamh is just like Orla, easy to talk to and connect with. At certain points in time the similarities in their mannerisms are just so striking. We had a great time talking about all sorts of things and I think Niamh is a really smart and elegant lady.

My encounter with Niamh made me realise that I miss my Orla and friends in Western. I haven't had such strong feelings since I came back.

Anyway, it's going to be midnight and I should go to sleep and wake up to another day to go to work. I think I have to polish up myself to be sharper and quicker, somewhat somehow. Go-Go!

Second Day at Home

2009-05-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

Interview Transcript

Yay! I've just finished the transcript for the CJ interview. It took me longer than expected. Although the interview lasted for only 39 minutes, it is very time consuming to type out word for word. It is (one) big load off my shoulders. I feel much less burdened. However, I still have to write out the actual article which is the real gigantic task!

As I typed out the CJ's responses, I developed more and more respect for her and her views on life and values. I was especially impressed by the CJ's succinct articulation of how she manages difficulties in life and the candid recount of an anecdote:

"I remember one point early on, many many years ago, I gave a speech, I was very nervous. It was in my judgment, anyway, a disaster. It was horrible. And when they brought me the flowers later I was so embarrassed because the speech was so bad, I didn’t even finish it and I worried about that for weeks and months and then I gradually realized I better give more speeches and then I did it more, I got better at it and now I do it without any trauma at all and this is what I think you have to do in life. Sure you are going to have problems, you are going to fail but you have to pick yourself up and don’t say “that is not for me”. Try again."

This is the mantra that I would subscribe to in order to sustain a determined attitude in what I would be doing professionally. Practice and just keep going at something that you think you are weak in and you'd find that you will become better at it. Train your mind to confront your weakness and not hide away.

Last Day in Toronto
It is amazing how favours can come back and reward you. Stanley volunteered to fetch me from the TO airport on the night of May 15 to stay for a night at his house and drove me to the airport the next day. Otherwise I would have to spend a miserable night as a 'homeless' person int he airport again. Stanley's mum was very nice and warm-I'm so lucky to have met so many nice moms of my friends. As Jeff, Stan's brother remarked, it is indeed amazing how we have come one round, after one year since we knew each other in Singapore, to meet each other again in Canada. It put a wonderful full stop to my exchange in Canada.

What have I been doing?
First morning back home-brought Taiqi to Punggol Park for a 1.5 hrs stroll. Taiqi has learnt a lot and is alot more expressive than before I left. She sang Baa Baa Black Sheep along with me, to my surprise! Went to the park again this morning and went to the market to buy groceries and cooked a simple lunch for michael, ah gui and myself. Quite fulfilling. Then nap again. I think I'm still trying to adjust to the different time zone because I became very tired at 3pm (TO time 3am) and slept all the way to 8pm. The same thing happened yesterday too. And it's 2.45 am now but I'm not sleeping. I have to pull myself together and really start to get back into the groove of things, mentally!
Will be starting internship at A&G on thurs, but still bothered by my bad tan. Ar. Will run a couple of errands tomorrow-sign up for driving, haircut and go Popular.

Good and Bad News

2009-05-14T23:39:00.000-07:00

I received both good and bad news this morning. As customary, I'll start with the bad news.

Bad News: Exchange Results
Bad results for exchange semester! I did really badly for Corporate Finance (C+), as expected. The concepts just didn't go into my head, or have I not studied hard enough. I studied hard during the last three days leading to the exam but apparently it is not enough for someone as bad in memory as I am. After having three years of open book exam, my memory seems to be failing me. Perhaps I should not have taken this module since it extra credits? But I think it's good that I took this module because at least I did not run away from it and drop it. I'm also sure I was exposed to finance concepts which I would otherwise be ignorant of. But look what result I've got in the end? How difficult to get around this. Or maybe the answer lies in that I should have worked harder and applied my mind to the subject in a more methodical and disciplined way? Even if the subject is not my cup of tea, I think I could still have worked hard enough on it to scrape a better grade. I think that is my critical weakness: lack of discipline and method. These are qualities which I shall aim to develop from now.

Good News: SAL Litigation Internship!
I received the email informing me that I've been selected for the SAL Litigation Internship! Yay! It was a huge stimulant for me when I saw the email this morning. Seeing that only 12 NUS students are selected for this prestigious internship, it's really quite something to be happy about! I've been assigned to Michael Khoo SC for the three days of attachment to an SC! Michael Khoo SC is such a legend for all students of SLS (only who were taught by Micheal Hor I guess).

"With power brings more responsibilities". I think I should start to think about how I can enhance my legal skills to meet the demands of the programme. I certainly can't let myself go through it with regrets thereafter.

Nervousness
JD just told me about robberies that can happen around this area and this makes me nervous about walking to the bus-stop at 5.20am alone tomorrow morning to catch the bus to Best Western. I wasn't that nervous before I was told of robberies that actually happened near here!
I am nervous enough about making the trip back to Toronto as it is without such horror stories that bring my anxiety level to a new high.
I am really nervous now...please pray for me that I arrive safely at the Toronto airport tomorrow!!!!! (I will!!!)

Painting Class

2009-05-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

Second time that I am crashing JD's classes! I'm now sitting beside JD in her in her painting class in the Seattle Community College of Fine Arts. The journey here this evening was arduous as it was rainy and cold.

The theme for the class today is 'fruits'. JD and Huiyi (friend from Taipei University) have painted bananas, oranges and apple! JD complained that her orange looks like a peach now because the texture that she was supposed to create on the orange turned out to appear 'hairy'. I thought it would have been better if the teacher could demonstrate some of the painting techniques and give more attention to the individual student.

I think it is very good to have some leisure activities outside of school/work so that one can maintain an interest and in the process identify an aspect of oneself beyond the one's daily preoccupation. It is good to cultivate a hobby because I think it is a way to develop a quality you'd like to have eg patience, artistic sense.

Lesson ended. Going back now :)

Third day in Seattle

2009-05-13T00:46:00.000-07:00

Today is my third day in Seattle. Time really flies. It feels as if I just arrived yesterday.

Cooked dinner at JD's place yesterday and tonight. Now I appreciate Ah gui's troubles in trying to put together the menu from day to day, night to night.

I just booked my flight from Vancouver back to Toronto a few hours ago. My bad habit of procrastination and naiveness/self-delusion nearly got me into trouble again. This is my second flight booking disaster which has made me want to kill myself for being such an incorrigible person when it comes to correcting bad habits. But all in all I think it was a fortunate thing that I did not manage to book my flight with American Airlines (which does not accept international credit cards and only accepts that at the airport counters-can you believe it?). It is quite a disastrous airline company, JD told me, and I'm just glad that divine forces have helped me to avoid a flight with such an airline. All turns out well that I'll be travelling on westjet from vancouver to Toronto. But the transport cost is really expensive for my seattle trip. But I guess I have no choice. I'm still disappointed with myself for not getting everything done neatly and properly.

Been to North Gate Mall and Pike Place Market today. Going to Greenlake Park tomorrow morning. Very tired now, going to sleep.

In UW IBT Lesson

2009-05-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Sitting beside JD in her IBT lesson now :)

Dinner at International District
JD finally made it back to Seattle from Victoria this morning at 2am. As she did not manage to return to Seattle yesterday night due to a bridge closure, I had to spend the night at Darius, Sarah Efrem and Stan's place yesterday night.

It is quite wonderful how things worked out yesterday night. As JD could not make it back in time to bring me home, I went for dinner with the Singaporeans in the house. Stan, a business consultant working in Seattle, is a mature and measured guy who is sort of like a big brother. Sarah, a phd student in geno science, is very cheerful and warm, also like a big sister. Really grateful to her for making me feel at home. Efrem is a phd student in microbiology (I think)- very gentlemanly and tactful. He helped me to lay the futon and tried to get a sleeping bag for me. Darius was my 'main host'- applied math student in UW and a Canadian citizen (we had a little chat about his SG/Canadian citizenship status).

We went to a chinese restaurant in the International District (which, as Darius pointed out, should be more appropriately named 'Chinatown') with two other Singaporeans- Dan and Jacqueline. Dan is in College and is waiting to transfer to UW. He did his poly course in Temasek Poly. Jac is a second year student at UW, one year my junior and a pleasant young lady.
Although the food was not especially nice, it was a good feeling to be around fellow Singaporeans at the dinner table to have hot Chinese food!

JD came to bring me home!
JD came to 'claim' me from the house this morning! hahaha....she kept apologising for letting me spend the night elsewhere but she really doesn't have to cos she has warned me about that she didn't know what time she'd be back on Sunday night. But the ticket on Sunday is US$70 cheaper thant that on Monday- it was just irresistable. Anyway I think I had a good time at Darius' and the others' house and it was an enjoyable night out with them. So I think it worked out really well for me last night.

I'm now sitting in an International Business Transactions class with JD now. The Prof is a Korean who has been educated in SG in his youth. But I'm not listening to him, although I was trying very hard to 10min ago. He is now on "Repudiation or breach of contract by state". I don't think many others are paying 100% attention anyway, cos many are on their emails or other websites from what I can see here. :)

I'm looking forward the rest of my time in Seattle!!

Arrived in Seattle

2009-05-10T11:34:00.000-07:00

Seatttle
Arrived in Seattle at Darius' house. Darius shares a house with 5 other Singaporeans. JD will be picking me up once she returns from Victoria tonight.

I left HI Fisherman's Wharf at 4.30am in the cold morning of May 10th to go to the SF airport to catch a plane to Seattle. I only slept for about 1.5 hours and was so tired I think I was in a rather stoned state of mind as I drifted from the check-in counter to the boarding gate and finally onto the plane. It was just a 2 hours plane ride but a whopping $37 shuttle ride from the airport to Darius' house!

I just met Stanley and Sarah, who just came back and rushed out again to catch a football game downtown. I can tell that all of them, Darius Erfem Sarah and Stanley, are very nice Singaporeans. Sarah told me to help myself to anything in the kitchen, as long as they are 'safe', haha.

I guess I will hang around and R&R here until it's time for lunch.

Backlog: Days 2 and 3 of San Fran
Backlog from all the tiring days in San Fran!

Day three (last day) was a fun one as Mica, Liam and I teamed up as a trio to go and take a walk around the Japan Centre area, Mission district and downtown area. We walked alot (almost 7 hours) and had a great day with each other's company talking on the way. Liam is a well-travelled Dutch guy who has a lot of interest and knowledge in geo-political and environmental stuff. He is the second person, after Carlet, that I know who is from Netherlands. He had backpacked Europe and is now travelling West coast N America, NZ and later on Southeast Asia, including Singappore! I've told him to look me up when he is in Singapore. Liam is also easy-going guy who is so easy to befriend and strike up a conversation with. I like this kind of person because despite being a stranger from a different background, there is a no palpable barrier in his attitude.

Day 2 of San Fran was an adventurous outdoor one. As we rented bikes for 24hours, we still had half a day to use the bike on Friday. Mica and I decided to take up the "medium" rated route to the Golden Gate Park. It was a good 32km journey. Halfway through there, I thought I was going to die going up all those slopes. On hindsight, it seems dangerous that I was cycling in the cyclists' lane right next to the vehicle lanes when I am a cyclist who has not cycled for about 10 years and was still nursing bruises from a bad fall the day before. In the end I realized that it's all about control and braking. We had a picnic lunch at the Hippies Hill where groups of 'hippies' looking unkempt and dressed in a rather gypsy-ish way go about their normal routine of making music, dancing in a relaxed and trance-like manner, playing with 'fire-ball' chains and according to Mica, get high on drugs. The last part wasn't quite visible in the daytime but it was an experience sitting at a slight distance and observing these people whom Mica would call, the 'alternative people'.
On our way back, we passed by the downhill Golden Gate Bridge again. I told myself that I must conquer the slope where I fell and of course I did!
We returned the bike at 5.30pm in the evening, 24.5 hours after we rented it from the same shop. Although it was just one day, we felt like we've been through alot already-golden gate bridge, the not-so-well-trodden paths in the golden gate park, the difficult hills and everything. There was so much mutual support and care on the way, well, maybe more from Mica then from me. When the chains on the bicycle gears came loose I was in a loss and didn't know what to do. Mica took control of the situation, casually and matter-of-factly mumbled that it is a very common problem, flipped the bike upside down in a jiffy and fixed it up with her bare hands. Her hands were dirtied by the grease but she non-chalantly rubbed her hands against her tights, smiled at me and told me reassuringly that "don't worry, it is just grease". I felt like giving her a hug that instant.

Mica is a wonderful person. She has such a compelling personality- she is cheerful, fun-loving, sensitive, caring, candid and lucid in her thoughts, articulate, opinionated and maverick in certain ways. It still surprises me how providence and destiny brought us together to meet in HI Chicago and later on to be in San Francisco at about the same time (if I had not had to cancel my San Diego trip, I would not have had three days to spend in San Fran). I can still remember the day when I entered the HI Chicago hostel room and a voice emerged from the sheets in a lower bed bunk to say 'hi' to me- it was Mica on the first day we met and it just went on from there. She said that she'd keep me posted about her San Fran trip and she really did. I shall also remember the dinner she offered me on my first day in San Fran (instant noodles which was so comforting for my empty stomach), the dinner we made together on our second day, the walk back from Safeway in the dark, cold and eerie front yard before the hostel and the secret hide-out places she invited me to go with her.

Recounting all the events in my encounter with Mica since three weeks ago makes me feel that I am a character in a movie- where a slightly paranoid and sheltered 22-year old student from a backwaters state (almost, by geographical standards) met a 28-year-old hippy, free-spirited and streetwise Australian girl in a foreign land, who then let the innocent and ignorant student into snippets of her slightly more choatic life and opened up the student's eyes to fresh perspectives which the student has never been exposed in her neater and monotonous lifestyle back home.

Contemplative Mood
I am still amazed at how destiny could bring people to cross paths at confluences in life and how such a brief and fortuitous encounters could make an impact on one's overall experience as a human being. This sentiment is not confined to just the San Fran trip, but also to the exchangein Western- Cynthia and her family, Adriana and her family, fellow exchange students and people from all over the world whom I met while on my travels: Jessica and Zoe (in NY), Mica, Sabine, Karen (in UBC), Erin and Clemence, Michael and Liam. For people like Erin and Clemence, I've only met and talked to them a few hours before I left Ottawa and I already feel that I have developed a bond with them such that if I ever visit Taiwan and France, I would surely remember their invitation for me to visit them. And for Michael, the geologist whom I talked to over breakfast yesterday morning-I would really like to look him up in New Mexico City so that he would bring me to go caving as promised.

I guess such is one of the beauty of venturing out and knowing more people. I don't know if I would ever get the chance to do this again because an exchange programme is once in a lifetime and any prospect of doing this kind of carefree and free-roaming travels in the near future is so remote that it is almost non-imaginable. It is not that I think I would particularly relish travelling alone to new places again, but just that I think this way of meeting new friends from all walks of life is an incredibly valuable and enriching experience. I am not even sure whether I would be this lucky if I do this again in the future. The mindset of a being a young, impetuous and experimental novice traveller is an essential pre-requisite for such an appreciation of the experience, I think. I'm really not sure if I can ever return to this state of mind ever again.

Biked the Golden Gate Bridge

2009-05-08T07:02:00.001-07:00

I fell asleep while writing this blog on thursday night. Was absolutely exhausted after a long day out with Mica. Had wanted to finish writing this blog but fell asleep on the couch in the hostel lounge at 11.45pm.

Thursday, May 7.
In the morning, we went out, walked along the waterfront and went to Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf was such a disappointment though. It was so touristy- just two stretches of shops and restaurants and pretty much nothing else. There wasn't a strong 'flavour' of Fisherman's Wharf as I had expected- which is maybe some old town feel or a even a 'wharf' ambience. We then walked to the world's crookedest street and had a hard time walking up the slopes. Took many pictures. Then Mica, as she is the way she is, got attracted to a vintage collection store and went inside to look at the eclectic collection by the shopowner. It was an interesting store with such a wide of things on display, spanning from Qing chinese paintings to random exquisite pen knives.

Then we walked to the Marketplace at Pier 1. Just like the Granville Island Marketplace, it was a whole array of shops selling different exotic foodstuff. We bought a $3.50 vegan wrap each and sat on the ground outside the marketplace facing the wharf to have our lunch. It was an experience. Two people actually came up to us and asked us where we got the wraps from because they look so good.

In the evening we decided that we want to bike the city and so went to hire the bike for $18 for 24 hours. It was not a bad deal at all. I was surprised that I still remember how to cycle! It's been at least 12 years since I last properly cycled. We cycled along the coastline, past Alcatraz and the park to the golden gate bridge. Biking the Golden Gate bridge was such a terrific experience. It was exhilarating to see the hills and sea below as we cruised across the bridge on the awe-inspiring piece of architecture. It got really chilly as we were coming back though.

My most memorable experience of biking golden gate bridge would be the embarrassing incident of falling off my bike on the slope! The wheels were too close to the kerbs and I just got thrown off my bike when the wheels brushed agains the kerb. Mica later told me had I see what happened from her view behind me, I would be terrified too. I wasn't shaken after the fall but felt lousy for being such a lousy biker.

Note: To be continued. Very sleepy now and going to leave the hostel on an airport shuttle to SFO tomorrow morning (in about 3 hours' time). I will continue with day 2 and 3 of San Fran tomorrow when my eyes can actually remain open.

Supreme Court of Canada

2009-05-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

Follow-up
I had said that I wanted to follow-up on my third day in Montreal. The third day was eventful. Cynthia's parents drove us to Chinatown to buy some breakfast. Auntie then bought one whole loaf of bread and a packet of muffin for me to bring to Ottawa the day after. I had to insist that that I didn't need two loaves of bread so that Auntie won't push two loaves to me! Then we went to Uncle and Auntie's factory outfit to have breakfast and after that I helped to do something very meaningful: to help fold the clothes and pack them into boxes. How often and how likely is it for one to get a chance to go so close to the lives of a friend and her family? I am a fortunate person.
After that Uncle drove us to the Mont Royale Parc. It is a nice park- not nearly as beautiful as Stanley Park in Vancouver but it's nice to have take a walk inside. We then walked to Mcgill, where we chanced upon a rugby practice match at a stadium. We then met up with Emma at the Mcgill campus and went to visit the campus museum (don't know the name) together. We then took a metro to the chinatown area to see the old town. On the way we passed by the Notre Dame Cathedral, which is an impressive piece of architecture. I found that there is nothing very old about old town montreal. Cynthia noticed an out-of-use railway track, which we exploited to the fullest to take photos. Also saw people use the special and fun vehicle, "segway" in the area. We then went for dinner with Cynthia's parents, Weiye andd Derek at 'Kum Feng'. I felt so bad that Auntie prepared a whole bag of biscuits and food for me to bring with me on my journey. I had a very insightful last chat with Auntie that night. I feel that Auntie really has a heart of gold and is so enlightened in her thinking. She is a typical 伟大的母亲。No wonder Cynthia and her siblings love their mum so much.

That was the last day in Montreal/Brossard.

Supreme Court of Canada and CJ
The much anticipated day for the interview with the CJ arrived. To think that I first requested for the interview about 7 months ago! It has finally materialised. It was so stressful just thinking of the interview yesterday night. I felt so stressed up this morning as well. Met Adriana for breakfast and I think I was so nervous that I accidentally threw the plastic bag containing my earrings away.
The Supreme Court is just minutes from the Parliament Hill and has a neat and gothic feel. We sat outside the CJ's office for about 15 min before she suddenly swept out from her office and apologised for having kept us waiting. She walked off briskly and came back to show us into her office again. It was a good conversation, although at times I was expecting her to talk more about some things. In all, it is just amazing that she had 40 min to talk to us and plus photo time, 45 min. Adriana and I both agreed that it was not as bad and that the whole thing went through well!
We then went to the Parliament house and surrounding areas to take photos. It was a beautiful day in Ottawa today. What an experience! I think it is beyond words to describe how fortunate I am to be able to do so many things with Adriana. The Hicks moot, this interview etc. We are more than the regular exchange buddies who just go out for dinners. I'm glad that we built up a strong and valuable friendship!

Leaving
Anyways, this is my last day in Ottawa. Leaving for the airport at 10.55pm tonight. I'll have to hang around in the aiport until about 4am. I found Ottawa not bad a city at all! Byward market is a nice chill out area and the general feel is good-organic food shops, many restaurants, some character. Will arrrive at San Fran to meet Mica tmr :)

Goodbye Brossard, Hi Ottawa

2009-05-04T21:46:00.001-07:00

It was a sad goodbye to Cynthia and her family this morning. Before I came, I had not expected myself to cry when I said goodbye to people other than family. But I did that twice in Montreal-after saying goodbye to orla on friday and today to Cynthia and family . But I did not shed tears until after I'm alone. Well a little retarded in reaction.

Arrived in Ottawa and staying in the backpackers inn. Sitting in the lounge area now, accompanied by guitar and drum music outside. Backpackers are entertaining themselves with improvised music and alcohol. Alex, one of the staff, is among them. Such a laid back lifestyle.

Met Adriana for dinner in the evening at Byward Market. We went to Tucker's Marketplace. Discussed the interview questions tmr and pretty much settled it. I'm very tired now but nervous about the "converation" with the CJ tomorrow morning. I really hope it'd go through smoothly!

I really should sleep now, therefore I am writing this in a rush. Shall update (retrospectively) on my third day in montreal and the interview with CJ McLachlin tmr.

Montreal: Best Memories

2009-05-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

TO Airport

After a hectic move-out from London Hall and a hectic journey to the Toronto airport, I bid a last farewell to Stefy and Elian and boarded the plane to Montreal. I think I was too tired to feel too emotional about saying goodbye to the girls- perhaps it was also because at the back of my mind I just knew that I would see them again and that it would just be a temporary goodbye. It would be ridiculous if we do not make the effort to see one another again given that HK and SG are just a few hours away.

Cynthia

Arrived at the Montreal airport to the extremely pleasant greeting by Cynthia. Cynthia is such a wonderful friend that the word "thanks" is just woefully inadequate to encapsulate my gratitude to her thoughtfullness and generosity. Cynthia's dad also came to pick me up from the airport. Cynthia hasn't changed much since we last went for the legal clinic last semester but now I feel that I know her so much better. Cynthia and her family live in Brossard, a town just 20 min from Montreal which reminds me of the relativity of Richmond Hill and Toronto. Brossard is a quiet and serene residential neighbourhood. Cynthia lives in a nice and cosy three storey house with everything necessary in it. It is home to a total of 6 children and 2 parents. The plush sofas, piano, neat living aeas, the general atmosphere and the family member photos on the fridge TV radiate warmth once I set foot in the home. Mrs Chen and Cynthia made me feel so welcome and at home. Until now, I am still overwhelmed by the kindness that this family has showered me in these two days.

First Day

Talked for a couple of hours with Cynthia at home, Cynthia is just like an old friend whom I have so much in common with although we have been so far and apart in the past few months. She is a rare gem with such a lovely personality, characterised by all the good qualities one can possibly think of.
I then took a shower and went to take a nap on the comfortable bed I had beside Cynthia's in her sister's room. Ghosh I was so tired I slept from 3.30-6.30pm, waking up to the dinner time bustle and friendly family talk upstairs. I had a wonderful dinner with Cynthia's family- heart-warming home cooked food! I had dinner even though I had to meet Orla and Carlet at their hostel for dinner at 7pm because it was just irresistable to have dinner with Cynthia's family!

The Jonna's boyfriend Tony was kind enough to drop me at the HI hostel to meet Orla and Carlet, before driving Cynthia Jonna and Lois to shop elsewhere. Orla and Carlet cooked curry and rice - yummy! It was so nice to have dinner with them- our first dinner together and the last that we'd have together in Canada. After dinner, we sat together in a couch and just talked...reminiscing starting from our arrival, how we met, what we did, our common memories and what we thought of our semester here. It was such a close talk. Reminds me of the 成语“促膝谈心”。It was the perfect farewell setting- sitting idle, talking about our genuine feelings and putting together our pieces of memories, one by one. There was so much reminisicing and although all of us did not say it out loud, I knew that all of us were reluctant to let these memories slip through our hands as much as we know time will dilute all memories. We want to grasp and hold these memories tight while we can. We just can't let go just yet.

It was a teary farewell at the front of the hostel before I left. Hugs and best wishes. So much memories came surging back as Orla and I gave each other hugs. I will forever remember the sihouette of Orla and Carlet as they waved goodbye to me in the distance. I was still crying when I was in the car. It was a beautifully sad night.

Second Day
Woke up late, settled the interview stuff, wrote an email home and booked ottawa hostel. After that went out with Cynthia to the neighbourhood mall, which reminds me of Masonville except that it has more and better brands.

Then Mr and Mrs Chen picked us up to go to an Asian market, after which we went for a dinner at a chinese restaurant. There were 7 dishes and I was totally stuffed after that. Mrs Chen kept apologising to me for not treating me to a better dinner last night and I was incredulous- here I was having difficulty expressing my enormous gratitiude for such kind treatment that I do not really deserve and Mrs Chen is apologising to me for not treating me well enough!

After dinner I had a great chat with Mrs Chen as she worked on her T-shirt embroidery. Mrs Chen exudes the impeccable motherly aura and reminds me of Ah gui. I also had great talk with Derek- Cynthia's precocious little brother. He is so confident, articulate and innocent; so sure that he wants to be a doctor. His assertiveness, expressiveness and confidence made me think that I actually have something to learn from this little boy who is 12 years my junior.

Goodnight.
Tmr Cythia is bringing me around Montreal. Cheers to Cynthia!!

Last 2.5 hours in London Hall

2009-04-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

It's going to be 1am now and I'm just 2.5 hours from bidding a permanent goodbye to London and London Hall-most probably for good. It is a strange feeling which entails a sense of loss, a tinge of sadness and a large dose of self-denial. Is this real? Have I spent 4 months, 16 weeks and 112 days in this suite? It seemed just last month that I first arrived in this suite and met Orla. Now almost everyone has left and we are leaving in just a few hours' time. Will I miss this place? I definitely will. What would be my memories of London Hall? Orla, Elian, Carlet, Stefy, Hina and Anne-Sofie. This place has been my home for the past 4 months and how can leave such a place without fighting back some surging emotions? It is difficult to pinpoint my feelings now. I still think self-denial and delusion forms a large part of it now.

Written four cards and feel so much better after expressing my feelings for the people I know. It also has a settling effect on my departure.

Going over to Elian's and Stefy's now for a last brooding cosy talk. Be right back!

The Straits Times: "S'pore readies for swine flu"

2009-04-27T22:54:00.000-07:00

"Temperature screening at hospitals; all SGH staff wearing N95 masks.
...Added Dr Asok Kurup, an infectious diseases consultant at SGH: 'That means it is spread without any symptoms, making it 10 times worse than Sars. Can you imagine the global implications if it should be transmitted?' Another big question mark is the level of potency of the virus. While more than 100 people have died in Mexico, the victims in the US have recovered. 'We are only beginning to understand the situation in Mexico and the US, so we don't really know the impact on the individual or in the clinical context,' said Dr Asok."

Oh my, it is amazing how a quick turn of events could have such widespread impact. JD and I had just booked our tickets to San Diego two weeks ago and here comes the swine flu, which is "10 times worse then SARS"!!! To think that we were also on the verge of booking a day trip to Mexico! It is fortuitous that we had not rushed into booking the mexico trip. We have to keep our fingers crossed that the situation does not go down the slope, otherwise I have no idea what to do with our SD trip!

I was also talking to Joey about whether I would get into trouble with the health authorities when I return to SG because I have been in both US and Canada during this period. I don't want to be quarantined! Looking at how the Changi Airport has set up its machinery of thermal scanner and what not, it is very likely that I would be let off that easily. Thermometers stuck into my ears for countless times and all...I just hope my body temperature is normal when I touch down.

N95 mask will be my best friend in the next week. And now where should I get one from here? Hmm.

Back to UWO

2009-04-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

Back to UWO for the last 4 days of my stint in London. Sounds like I'd leave very soon but it doesn't feel that soon, probably because I do not have much time to appreciate this fact, given that I still have to study for corp finance in these last few days!

Routine
After an eventful and unexpectedly prolonged journey back to London, I feel at home once more: settled and eager to go back to my routine here- study, talk to friends here and exercise. Going back to a routine lifestyle can have a very good orientating effect on the mind.

I decided that library is a more conducive place for more focused studying (but I may have to swallow these words because I'm blogging now, ha!) so I left for the library with Elian this morning. After lunch, I went to do groceries at Valuemart as I have close to no groceries at home now. Even though it's only a few days more, it is still more cost effective to buy groceries that would last me this number of days than eating out. Valuemart started charging 5 cents for every plastic bag!!! Luckily I planned ahead and brought my big recycling bag along!

Then went for a swim- such a nice feeling to be back to the pool again. What a fantastic swim after all the travelling, waiting, exhausting walks and sitting on buses/planes. It also weighed on my mind that it would be one of the last times that I would use the indoor pool in the Thompson Recreation and Athletic Centre.

And now I'm back in the library! I think at the bottom, all I need is determination to finish what I should and get a good grasp of the subject (which I have yet to) as far as possible.

Vancouver

2009-04-21T01:41:00.000-07:00

After a long day, finally in vancouver 3 hours ago, Yay! Paula is making me feel sooo at home :) Nick is as expected an excellent plan-everything host.

Tired now, going to sleep. I will start my first day in vancouver tmr :D

"Trainee lawyer bags $8,500 monthly pay"

2009-04-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

2009 18th April BT:
"Firms may be trimming costs and easing up on new hires, but a freshly minted young lawyer has just snared a record starting salary. She starts her working life on a pay of $8,500 a month.
Ince & Co, an English firm which has been in Singapore since 1992, has hired its first trainee, a 23-year-old woman who is in the process of completing her pupillage in a leading local law firm. The firm specialises in marine casualty practice and the energy sector."

WHO IS THIS PERSON????????

Chicago Day 3- Rain!

2009-04-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

Sabine was right- it's a rainy day today! Been raining non-stop since morning and it's still raining now. I'm sitting in the dining area, beside the celing-to-floor window and the rail track just about less than 100 m away from where I'm sitting. I really like watching the train pass why and it feels kind of strange that the train is running so close to the buildings. I was just thinking...if the MRT in Singapore were to run so close to the residential buildings, the residents sure will complain to the authorities. But it's just simply special here to have trains running above ground in between buildings. It gives me the feeling of like being in a giant roller coaster theme park (something to that extent).

Today is the last full day that I'll be in Chicago. It lived up to its name to be a "windy city" today. The rain and the wind made walking on the streets so unpleasant. I had to run into buildings once in a while to get a break.

Went to Navy Pier, Millennium Park and the Green Mill club for Jazz on Friday. Went to the Art Insititute of Chicago, Millennium (again) and Grant Park with Mica yesteday. I decided that there will be no more museums for me for the rest of my time here today (after visiting art museums in DC, NY and Chicago, I'm pretty sure that there is only so many things that they can display in museums). Since I have the day pass, I thought I'd make good use of it by taking the bus and rail to explore the city a little more. Took the green line to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Should have taken bus 151 instead of the subway because it was such a long walk from Sedgwick station! (But one good thing was that I got to see how a regular neighbouhodd in Sedgwick looks like. Found it surprising that the neighbourhood is so quiet on a Sunday though)
I finally found the park, after a miserable time struggling in the rain with a limp and almost totally destroyed umbrella. It was just so inconvenient that the umbrella finally chose to give up on me on the day that I needed it badly!! In the end I decided that I'd be a laughing stock carrying that limp umbrella around so I popped into a CVS store to buy a new umbrella and chucked mine into a rubbish bin outside the store. R.I.P my dear blue umbrella- after at least 2 years of hard work it has finally succumbed in a foreign land.

Lincoln Park Zoo wasn't bad. Saw leopards, lions, monkeys and gibbons in their indoor enclosures. It's good that it's free too :) I realised that not having visited the zoo in at least 12 years, I'm not used at all to looking at animals and observing their activities. They are such different creatures...they look at you with that look in their eyes, as if they totally comprehend what's happening in your world but you on the other hand, have no idea what they are thinking nor how they function. Anyways, the zoo was quite deserted today, probably because of the poor weather and also I guess because the zoo is rather derelict from age and is not exactly an 'attraction; here.

After the zoo, I went to Chicago Chinatown!! I was looking for a small chinese cafe to rest my feet and have some affordable hot chinese fare for lunch. I found the perfect fit in a hong-kong style-cafe. They even have bo luo bao and all. I immediately thought of Elian and Stefy (I made a mental note to ask the two of them whether 'die tou fan' is common in HK)! ahaha...it was getting a taste of what their 'territory', albeit transplanted. There was a plastered wall with a collage of pictures depicting scenes from quintessential Hongkong -neon lights, people, traffic...and hawker glistening with sweat in front of a cooing wok. They even had a TV running HK drama serials from cable TV. The people running the small cafe were cordial and I felt good after the meal :)

After that, took the subway and wanted to go to see the U of Chicago and the Garfield Park Conversatory, none of which I managed to see though, cos I decided not to see the uni and the conservatory was closed. Taking the train to area outide the 'Loop' really opens the eye to the suburbs- away from the tall magificent densely populated buildings (what i call the concrete jungles). There is so much more space everywhere and of course, everything is so spread out. But that doesn't necessarily mean the area is nicer. There is so little sign of the presence of people that it gets kind of depressing.

Tmr
I'm toying with the idea of going to Grant Park to catch the sunrise tomorrow morning at Lake Michigan.
Anyways, leaving for Vancouver tmr-- Woohoo~~. Look forward to catching up with Nick, Paula and Vince!!!

Post-script
Noticed that my entries are alot longer (and long-winded)? That's because I have, or I think I have, lots of time now as compared to before April 16. Corp Finance on 30 April had seemed a piece of cake at the beginning of the term, but now it is a huge piece of cake which I think I'd have huge trouble shoving down my throat. I brought notes to study! But hasn't touched anything today. It's okie. I will be fine (I hope).

Chicago- HI, Navy Pier, Green Mill, Bean....

2009-04-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

It's 12.55am now, exactly 48 hours after I wrote my last entry! And about 48 hours since I left London Hall to hop onto the Abouttown taxi to the Abouttown station. I'm sitting in the HI library now- really glad that the hostel has a working spot like this.
It's been a rather thrilling-and-strange-and-surreal experience so far. Again, as in any other travels, I know I am going to leave this place 36 hours later and find myself wondering if everything had happened after all.

London to Detroit: Sonia
Where should I start? To recount my the whole journey fully, I'd have to start Abouttown. Met a Chinese girl xinyue at the station who came into the station 10 minutes after me. We struck a conversation and I learnt that she is doing her second degree with King's College in some sort of alliance programme between Western and her home university in Liaoning. She was going to go back to Liaoning just three days to attend an interview as part of her applications for a post-grad research position. I couldn't believe how competitive it is- flying all the way back just to attend an interview? I asked her why a phone interview would not suffice and she told me because there's a strong competition for the positions. Huh?! But I still find it hard to justify requiring someone who is in canada to fly all the way back for just for a 30min interview...

Anyway, it was not the most bizarre thing that night. There was another lady, by the name of Sonia, who travelled with me on the same bus to Detroit. She was going to Phoenix (I later found that it is in Arizona) to join her husband who is there golfing. She is a nice but kind of strange lady. She began telling me about London, the fact that she has stayed in London for the past 26 years, asked me about Singapore, asked me for my telephone number and email address and gave me the same of hers and even invited me to her house party on 16th May if I could make it. We began talking about the places I'd like to travel to and seems like she'd been to those places too. The first strange thing about her surfaced when she put pressure on the driver (who is a very nice man) to drive faster because she though her flight was at 5.40am and if the journey were to take three hours, she would reach the airport at 5.15am. It turned out that her flight was at 6.40am. She implied that she would have been on time had the bus not left the station 15 late, which did not make sense because even then she'd reach the airport only 15 minutes earlier and she may still not make it in time. The second strange thing was that one moment, she was talking to me in very friendly terms and when it came for us to get down the bus for me to do the security checkpoint paper work (which took only about 10min), she was palpably unhappy with the 'delay'. Well whatever. Strange encounter. I don't even know whether I'd send her an email from her info she has given me.

Arrived Chicago: BARBARA!
I met Barbara and Lucie at the O'Hare Airport!!!! Can anyone believe was a coincidence it was?! I was walking to the baggage claim area when I heard my name being called and there she was, the sweet sweet Barbara! Haha, she was in transit at ORD with Lucie for three hours and they were heading towards San Diego. Both of us were simply exhilarated at seeing each other :) A story to tell when I go back!! We finally parted ways after chattig and I took the subway to Laselle.

Mica
The first thing when I emerged from the subway station was the Chicago Stock Exchange...Not exactly a most magnifcent building and doesn't really look like a stock exchange to me with its re-brick weathered facade. Found HI Chicago after going past it the first time (it was named differently on the sign, except for the triangle symbol). I was pretty pleased with the room because it has high ceilings and adequate space and ventilation. Then and there I met Mica, my walking buddy today. She is from Canberra and such a rare breed- strong, seasoned, seems to be someone -who-has been-through-it-all and yet there is an incredibly soft-hearted and sentient side of her that makes her guilty-conscious when she doesn't have loose change to give to beggars on the street. We told each other a great deal about where we come from and our lives so far-or rather she told me more than I told her because she has experienced much more than me. Grew up in a farm near Canberra, has taken her time to finish her degree in 5 years instead of three, travelled widely, works with disabled children and adults and was involved in a playing card scam where she had to make a dramatic harrowing emergency esacape...
Anyway we got along really well, probably because she is such an easy person to connect with-open, cheery and chatty. She was saying we may have a chance to meet in SF and she'd ask me to join in her dance workshop if I happen to be there. Not sure if it'd happen, but wonder if we'd ever meet again. I have a feeling that we may, as Canberra is really not far from Singapore. But anyways, one more friend it is.

Sabine, Green Mill
Sabine is an Austrian girl whom we met on the trip to the Jazz club. Talking about the Jazz Club, watched the first Jazz performance in my life but wasn't impressed because I was feeling absolutely exhausted. The lead singer has lots of 'jazz flair' though. I think I was the only one who did not enjoy the music totally- probably due to reasons to do with cultural gap ba...I was so tired that Mica felt sorry for me and told me to put my head on her shoulders and sleep and I did!
Sabine also has an interesting background: did tourism studies, worked and travelled in US for 8 months (part of the time working for a wealthy family) and is now studying microbiology. I had to tell her I am sorry that the only thing I know about Austria is the Austrian 'monster father' incest case and the kidnapping and dungeon imprisonment bad press (of course she wasn't by that...) Sabine is a nice lady too...very sensitive and serious about friendship. Perhaps just one thing is that she seems so intense when she doesn't smile that I feel kinda of intimidated.
We also met three other guys at the Green Mill Jazz, Marco, Daniel and Jason who are so different.
Anyways, 6 of us took a photo otuside Green Mill, took the subway back together at 12.3oam and they left again for drinks!!! I couldn't believe their stamina. I asked Sabine (after having her stand beside me for about 1hr to listen to the performance) whether she was tired after a long day and still standing at that hour and she said very resolutely, 'no'. I almost fainted.

Goodnight
It's really late now and I'm super sleepy. Thinking of going on a rail and bus trail tmr to explore other parts, like chinatown and lincoln park zoo (so that I can sort of get my rail and bus day pass's money's worth) Tmr will be the last day in Chicago and it should be good!

12.55am

2009-04-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

Finally finished all assignments today.

I'm going to leave for the bus depot in about 1/2 an hour! Taking a bus to detroit and from detroit to Chicago. Not so excited about the trip now though....perhaps it's the usual pre-departure syndrome: reluctance to leave the present conditions.

Looking forward to Vancouver- Big THANKS to Nick- for planning an itinerary for me (though I did not expect it) :D Big THANKS to Paula- for putting me up in her room! :D

Okie, be back here soon!

Dinner at 满江红and In-house KTV

2009-04-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

Made a new friend today at dinner- Jane! Jane is a graduate student in Biology from Beijing and is a really nice, down-to-earth and genuine girl.
After having dinner, we wanted to got to to Bubble King for KTV but it was full-house, so we had an in-house KTV session in London Hall instead :). We played all the old songs on Youtube, like huan zhu ge ge, bao qing tian....haha, realised we all shared the favourite childhood dramas! Such good quality time spent together with people who shared the same sentiments and even had the same childhood memories shaped by the same entertainment culture.
Today was a good day.

Sunset and the Road

2009-04-04T16:50:00.001-07:00

I am sitting on the sofa in the living area and watching the sun set now. The orange and yellow hues in sky makes me think of the evening sunset at home- viewed from the open kitchen window towards the direction of punggol park. The sun has set really quickly. To think that it is 7.55pm now! It feels like 6.30pm on a normal evening back home.

From this view, there is also a road, flanked by a bush of trees one one side and a sloping grass patch on the other. I think this view is getting more and more beautiful as the spring approaches.
The flow of traffic on this stretch of road is fairly constant, which is quite surprising to me because the road seems to be branch from the main road and seemingly leads to nowhere. It is also for this reason that I am remotely fascinated by this stretch of road. Staring aimlessly at this road is strangely therapeutic, probably because of the motion and the feeling that there is going to be a destination for the cars, wherever that is. Where does it lead to and where are the cars in the opposite direction going? Could this road bring me home? Haha...

Anyways, I really hope to finish my PLT paper before the deadline (which is in 11 days' time). Court date on Tues and meeting on wed. I 'm wondering how I should prep for Tues.

The sun has completely disappeared behind the foliage now and what is left is a faint orange and turquoise colour in the sky. Another night has fallen.

So Bad at following Rules

2009-04-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

I hate myself for being so bad at following rules. I just breached one of the CLS email policies. It is so destructive to one's self-esteem to realise that you are really bad at something so simple.

I think I still have a long way to go to kick the habit of assuming too much. I had thought before that I am close to defeating that bad habit but apparently I haven't.

Looking forward to change to a fresh new me, with all the infelicities ironed out and overcome.

Side Note
Went for a haircut yesterday at UCC, the fraying ends and drooping fringe was getting on my nerves. spent $16, but nobody could notice the difference! Haiz, but at least I could feel the difference myself.
Went for an Indian Dinner at Massey's yesterday night with the other exchange friends plus a few others. It was a nice dinner, although I had hoped the fish was a little less salty and a little more flavourful. Then we went to marble slab for ice-cream but I didn't get one cos I didn't want to feel bloated and sick again, just like the previous time that I had hotpot.
We are starting to appreciate how little time we have together before the end of this month, when everyone would be parting ways, perhaps for good.

"The cock-bird can feather his nest...

2009-03-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

...precisely because he is not required to spend most of his time sitting on it." (Lord Simmonds)

Came across this quote as I was reading McLachlin's J's judgment in Peter v Beblow. This is meant to illustrate that there is no logical reason to distinguish domestic services from other contributions. The services and contributions by a spouse in the house is not only of great value to the family, but to the other spouse.

Think it is interesting how unjust enrichment can interact with family law in constructive trust cases. But as is conceded, such a conclusion is invariably based on "value judgments" and not pure reasoning. I think this is a sound value judgment, which L Simmonds was apparently enlightened enough to make more than 40 years ago

Side Note:
I am in the library now, with Orla and Carlet, trying to prepare for my motions assessment tomorrow. Don't really know how to prepare for it since the factums are already given to us and it seems the best thing is to reproduce the whole factum, haha.
Anyways, my cold symptoms have reincarnated into runny rose and a slight cough. Boo. It must be because of the fluctuating weather. (btw the snow returned today!)
After an emotional low point yesterday and the day before cos of the booking disaster, I am feeling better and at least am in the right frame of mind. I think I'll be a free (wo)man after tomorrow, as then I would be only left with LP casework, PLT paper and 2 more MAW assignments before term ends on April 16!

Cold

2009-03-28T10:28:00.000-07:00

Had a cold the last two days. I think it was because of the swim I had on Wednesday combined with the mild trauma from losing my favourite pair of gloves (haha..). I'm still harbouring glimmering hopes of finding it at the london transit office.

I was glad that I woke up feeling good this morning. Had a nice talk with Orla last night, who noticed that I looked sad-not much because of anything else but because of the cold I had. I was probably a little sad too because of Mf's promotion problem. Anyways, it's a blessing to have a good roommate who shows care and concern and talks to you.

Mid-April Plans

Yay, I've settled my mid-april plans- Chicago> Vancouver. Nick offered me a room to stay in UBC! So nice of him. Excited now!

Next week
It's another busy tuesday next week: Motions assessment and IPIP assignment due. Talking about IPIP, I think the episode with MAW is the most unpleasant and unneccessary thing that happened so far in my exchange. We all knew when we talked to her that it's not going to change anything. This shouldn't have gone so far anyway- it was due to an unfortunate twist that the feedback did not go through the right channel. I hope MAW will take it in her stride and that this has not generated a big storm at the adminstrative level.

Pilates
Went for pilates just now. It's been some time since my last pilates class!
I like the instructor. She has such flair and enthusiasm in her trade. Yoga and Pilates always end with something that creates internal peace and inspiration. I like one of the lines, "Exhale the stress that you brought into the room...be like a lion, fearless and true".
At that moment I wish I were a lioness-fearless and true! Fearless of all difficulties and own shortcomings, and true to myself and others.

Hmm. Got to go back to work. It's another clueless IPIP assignment and endless preparation for motions assessment!

Postcards, 'Money' biscuits and Gran Torino

2009-03-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Postcards
I received two messages from Yvonne and Gwen today thanking me for the (belated) birthday cards I sent them :D They really sounded like they appreciated the cards alot! It makes me happy to read their messages telling me the cards have made them happy :) Especially for Gwen, who is facing quite a bit of pressure at work. It's so good to be able to able to make a little difference to another's life, even momentarily.
Funnily, I also received a postcard from Lioness Jas today! Haha, today is a postcard day for me.

'Money' biscuits
I bought a pack of Marie biscuits from Zellers on Sunday. I'm munching on them now. I knew I had to buy the pack when I saw it. The familiar taste of milk and butter..mmmm...somehow reminds me of those foregone, hazy afternoons at home when there was nothing to eat and we'd find comfort in the 'money biscuits as afternoon snacks. It's always complemented by coffee or tea. And it's Dajie's favourite biscuit, I remember. I don't know why tasting the biscuit in my mouth reminds me of my childhood days in the house and evokes memory of it as Dajie's favourite biscuit. I forgot how we come to call it 'money' biscuits...probably a mixed result of mis-pronounciation and its round shape resembling that of an enlarged coin.

Gran Torino
Met Barbara and her two other French friends at Weldon Starbucks this evening and ended up going to the movies with them. Shauna and Lucy are really pleasant French girls.
It was a rather spontaneous decision on the spot! I don't regret it though, because it was a movie worth watching. It was about how an apparently weird-tempered but innately good-natured old man in a remote US suburb overcame his prejudices to befriend his Asian (Vietnamese) immigrant neighbours. He was even willing to sacrifice his life, which was at a terminal stage as he was suffering from lung cancer (I suppose), to deliver them from the attacks and humiliation by a bunch of gangsters.
"What does a 27 year old overeducated virgin know about life and death?", he said condescendingly to the young priest who was trying to counsel him back into the way of god.

What is life really? What is life besides breathing, thinking and working? It's also about love, happiness and fulfillment. Fulfillment of what? Fulfillment of unattained goals, dreams, unsatiable desires and emotional voids. Being able to 'feel' for the present, make sense of everyday work and rejoice in the love and concern of loved ones are about the best that we can do as human beings to appreciate mortality, I think.
To me death just means the end of life. It does not seem to have any meaning and even if it has, it has no significance to the living who will never know what happens after death nor will be comforted by any knowledge of such because the fact is that they remain bereaved.

This discussion is getting a little morbid, especially at this hour. On a lighter note, just want to mention one last thing about yesterday night's party at Rebecca's. It was great! Got to know Shu Fang whom I clicked with immediately. She's having so much fun with the company of so many other Singaporeans in Waterloo and the extent that they went to to plan for their travels (excel sheets, daily programmes, driving schedules...etc) is so amazing to me. Quite jealous of the company, I would admit!

Anyways very tired now, going to sleep. Agenda tmr: IPIP comment, PLT weekly comment, PLT research, CLS followup and Corp Finance Readings. Phew.....

Get Well Soon, YY!

2009-03-21T19:16:00.001-07:00

Heard from Von today that Yiyun has been checked into A&E for food poisoning. They were supposed to celebrate Von and YY's birthday together today!
Luckily Von said YY seems fine. Hope all will be well.

Sugar Bush (Maple syrup) Trip

2009-03-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sugar Bush
Glad that I signed up for this trip! At least I could tell people that I've done something really 'Canadian'. Come on, even the maple leaf is on the country's national flag!
I learnt quite alot about the history, extraction and health benefits of maple syrup. The maple sap is only extracted only between the end of february and end of march period every year, when the trees' leaves are gone, because the taste of the sap changes to bitter when the leaves come back. The preparation is just basically evaporation to slightly above melting point. And one serving of maple syrup actually has more antioxidant benefits than 2 servings of broccoli (according to the guide)!
The pancake breakfast with sausage was fine- though could have been better I thought. Everyone at the table thought that having sausage with pancake and maple syrup is very strange. Then it made me recall that there is actually such a combination in McDonald's breakfast in Singapore!

Mandy
Really happy to make friend with Mandy at Suagar Bush! We've met twice before actually-at the ISC potluck and the ethnic dinner-but we never really got to speak to each other much. So I'm glad we got the chance to talk more today!She was very nice to reply to my fb status yesterday night about Chicago. And I didn't know that Jonna stays in London Hall or that she is from Sweden. Jonna and Mandy are going to Chicago in April.
Mandy is such a gem of a friend - genuine, bubbly, natural, always cheerful and has an impeccable sense of humour. She is from Germany and speaks Spanish, Latin and another language (I have forgotten which) on top of German! She actually went to a Spanish summer school to learn the language. I think the good thing about living in Europe that you'd normally know more than 2 languages. I was so excited after speaking to her that I considered signing up for the Munich summer programme! But I came back, checked and was quite disappointed that the applications have closed. (Footnote: I said "quite" because at the same time I was struggling to come to terms with the idea that I'd be away from home again shortly after returning to SG).
We were so funny- we went back to get a second round of maple syrup souvenirs and became the last 2 'sheep' to board the bus. Ar...so embarrassing. But Mandy took it quite easy and so did I, ha!

Why no more 93.8 fm internet streaming?
Mediacorp has stopped all internet streaming for its fm radios!! Hmmph. So mean. I thought I could tune in to 93.8 fm and 'hear' Singapore news but not anymore. It'd be so much better to listent to news from back home rather than listen to mp3 all the time.
Well, what to do.

I didn't realise how tired the maple syrup trip made me. I came back, made lunch, fell asleep at 4pm and woke up at 7pm! Now I'm trying very hard to recall what I'm supposed to do...PLT paper? I'll take a shower first, I guess ;)

2.05am

2009-03-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

It's 2.05am now. Ah gui would send me a howler if she could had she known that I'm still awake at this hour!

I've just finished (minus citation) the 2 memos and opinion letters-Yay! Experiencing a wave of triumphant feeling derived from a sense of accomplishment now. Small accomplishments can have a big impact my mood :)

I'll be able to play with a relative ease of mind tomorrow. Going to the Sugar Bush maple syrup farm tomorrow! and planning my vancouver trip with Hina in the evening :) I'm still figuring out how I can squeeze in Chicago-before or after April 16th?

Benjamin Button

2009-03-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

Went to watch Benjamin Button alone at the UCC tonight. I think I prefer Marley & Me, which I think was overall more genuine and closer to life (although it had a simpler storyline and wasn't really the calibre for a multi-million box office result or multiple Academy Awards nominations.)

I liked only one scene, that was when the old Benjamin's elderly friend was helping him cut his hair and casually made him realise the meaning of deaths. She comforted him by saying (to the extent of) "well, u'd never know how important these people are to you otherwise". Hmmm, but it's such a painful way to realise and unlike other pains which would perhaps fortify you for future problems, this kind of pain would do no good to a person at all, I think. It's so inevitable and yet so futile.

The last part is nice too..."Everyone does different things: some swim, some are mothers..." So everyone has a role to play in life and perhaps the key to happiness lies in the old adage, "be content" and be happy for who you are.

The Barking Frog

2009-03-18T21:50:00.001-07:00

Barking Frog
Just got back from the Barking Frog, a club downtown. Rashmi had asked me to go earlier and I thought that since it'd be probably the only time that I would meet her in person, I'll go even though I don't really like clubs. Apparently people don't show up on time in clubs too. The 'bash' was supposed to start at 10 but I got a shock when I reached at 10.20pm and found the bar/club virtually empty except for some people dining. I then went for a walk-realised The Keg, Dmetre's and TJ's are actually just a stone's throw away. But the streets are so deserted it felt quite pathetic. The cabdriver told me that tonight is quiet because everyone partied very hard last night on St Patrick's day. Well...But I still think Canada is such a thinly populated and quiet place. Sometimes I almost feel sorry for the shops and businesses that seem to struggle to run on economy of scale.
Rashmi is quite a different person from what I imagine her to be-a lot more body language and twist to her personality. I can't believe she is leaving for Singapore again in a few hours.
The 'bash' wasn't as exciting as it sounded in the email though, but anyway it was good that I managed to meet and know more about Melissa, who is in my IPIP class. Melissa is such a nice lady- genuine and kind. I was being upfront when I told her I could not understand why she chose to do an independent research paper with MAW. And she said wistfully, "I know"...haha.

St Patrick's Day
We celebrated St Patrick's Day for Orla on Sunday by springing a surprise on her. It was a nice cosy pizza party with some semblance of the St patty spirit here and there, mostly due to the green. Btw honestly I've never heard of this festival before I came. I wish that there is a big parade here that I could watch.
This reminds me that Orla will be in NY until Sunday...so it'll be home alone for the next few days :)

CLS
More work from CLS! I have to do fee waiver for Mr L, apply for a garnishment hearing, write memos and letters for two files. And I just received one more file today! I have to check out the small claims court rules for Mr L's case...ar, so many things that I'm not familiar with!
*cool down. It'll be fine. It's late now and I just need a rest and wake up refreshed to put everything in place tomorrow.

A Beautiful Day

2009-03-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

It is a beautiful day today-sunny, warm, with light breeze. The space along the way to school looks especially beautiful today against the azure blue sky.

Video Call home
I video called home twice within a span of 12 hours, haha. When I called last night at 10pm (10am in SG), Taiqi and Ah gui were still in the park. After they came back, Ah gui fed Taiqi and praised her for improvising a bucket and a spade as cooking utensils and crockery (she even put mini toy fish into the 'wok'). It was quite amazing that when I video called again at 9am today, a toy cooking stove complete with an oven had appeared in the home! Dajie, indulging Taiqi as usual, had bought it for her earlier in the day. It was sponsored by Ah gong with his lottery money. Taiqi is so adorable, calling me 'jeh jeh' over the video and had wanted to feed me with her 'cooking'! Of course, Joey would say that I would be in a totally different frame of mind once I go back, haha! Joey was mopping the floor and erjie just came back. It was another ordinarily happy saturday at home.

CLS client
I met up with my client for the first time. I have called her the 'vacuum cleaner' client in my mind to distinguish her from the other client, which also has a consumer protection problem. VC client is a neat, nice-mannered and very polite lady. And for some reason I think she reminds me of Mrs morrison, probably because I guess she was from Spain.
She was roped in by her friend in a pyramid selling or a similar scheme. It is really unfortunate that people run into legal problems out of encounters with friends who do not have their best interest at heart. And the worst thing is that it is so easy to fall into this trap under the persuasive power of a hardcore salesman. I felt for VC client because all she had wanted to do was to sell those machines to make some money to supplement her dwindling income during a certain down period of the year. It is quite despicable for those people not to let her pull out after she realised the insensible way the whole thing operates.
I hope to get down to doing the memo next week soon.

Groceries and good samaritans
Did groceries for the second time at Value Mart at Richmond Oxford. On the way back, met Gustav who was on his way to the recreation centre. He was so funny when he said that he need to go to the gym to feel that he is 'still alive' from all the work...haha...He helped me carry half of the bulging bags that I was carrying. Apparently I looked quite overwhelmed with all the bags (I was trying very hard not to) because one of three girls I met at the London Hall door offered to help me hold the doors and subsequently her friends offered to help me carry some of the bags to the lift. Such good-spirited people! They stay on the 4th floor. I wish they stay on the 5th so that we can know each other more, haha!

Last Thoughts
Went for a relaxing swim just now and feeling good now! Anways, I should try to finish up my remoteness presentation real soon so that I have time for everything else. But since I'm going for dinner with the SaW members later, I figure that I'd not do much later today. Yay, hotpot!

Incredible MAW

2009-03-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

It is incredible that MAW has set a question that is so unrelated to international IP!!! It looks more like an international trade law question.

I take my hat off to MAW in salutation of her ability to go off-tangent. At the same time I'll try to console myself for having to figure out NAFTA provisons that I have not a single clue about.

Thanks, MAW.

The snow is back!

2009-03-12T12:52:00.001-07:00

I am such a contradictory person. Just yesterday night, as we were walking back from the movie (we watched Marley & Me), I was telling Elian that I hate the snow when it snowed but now that the snow is gone, I'm missing it. And this morning, Orla pointed out at the window and told me that the snow has come back! I was so excited as I walked to the windows that I found myself clasping my cheeks when I saw the snow-covered carpark, walkway and rooftops. Everything seems to look more romantic in again in a way.

Just had another nonsensical IPIP lesson. Stefy hit the nail on the head when she said to me: 每个星期听她说四小时的废话,好难受啊！Haha...and the second module question is out! I guess I should try to get it done by tomorrow latest, so that I have time for LP casework and Private Law Theory presentation. Okie, I think everything should be a breeze after 16th.

The day I've been looking forward to (but...)

2009-03-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

A Short Note

I just passed up 3 assignments (1 is a small one, 250 words) and feeling a little relieved, but not quite as relieved as I thought I would be. I still have LP case file work, another IPIP assignment today and a presentation next week. This always happens.

Went for a swim just now. It was quite scary cos it was the first time that I swam the full long course in the swimming pool. I think I swam too fast and experienced chest pain for a few minutes after I came back.

Oh yes, I have to got to UCC tomorrow to post cards!! *reminder.

Jessup and Hicks Morley

2009-03-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

This week has been a week of some mooting experience, both as a volunteer and as a participant!

Jessup Volunteer
We had to go for a compulosry briefing session on last tuesday and the session was kind of lame, as we just went through general instructions and checked out how the timer works. We had a free 'goodie bag', individually tagged with our names! I did not expect them to go to this extent of preparation. It is the first time that Western is hosting the competition and it was held at the Lamplighter Inn Convention Centre. It wasn't a bad place, with the covered shelter pool area which was pretty cool.
Volunteering on Friday was tiring, but we were quite well-fed! We had to be there by 8am. The first session that I volunteered for was better than the first, I thought. One of the speakers, whom I think is from Calgary, was excellent. I think to a large extent it was due to his poise, style and disposition. He just commanded a dignified presence and had good articulation and a good pace. One of the judges reflected my sentiment when she said that he looked 'trustworthy' overall. I guess advocates, besides being strong in the law and having good oralist skills, also have to have a trustworthy and dignified presence, so that people will want to listen to you.

The final banquet was quite okie, with good food. We were there a little bit too early and I felt a little awkward standing around and not knowing who to talk to. Most of the people at the cocktail were participants and coaches...but I was pleasantly surprised when one of the speakers in the round I volunteered for recognised me and actually spoke to me :) I also saw Justice Binnie from the Supreme Court of Canada. I also had a good talk with Carey, who is part of what I would call a rare breed that likes legal research! She has been a research assistance for 2 summers and will be clerking for a federal court judge next year.
After the banquet, as Carlet, Anne-Sofie and I were walking back to London Hall from Delaware Hall, Carlet lamented that she was surprised that Jamie the organiser did not thank the volunteers at the final banquet in her thank you speech. Indeed, it has never crossed my mind that I should be thanked as a volunteer! I guess this is the kind of the 'cultural gap' between western and asian mindsets. We are always sort of hesitant to accept praise, do not expect something in return for contribution, and to some degree not as quite cognizant of our rights to deserve something.

Hicks Morley Arbitration Moot
I said 'yes' to this competition 3 weeks ago and it took a fair bit of courage for me to do so. Although I did not go to the finals and did not win anything, it was a good chance for me to overcome my fear of moots and public speaking. I think I'd give myself a 80 marks for my performance today as I think I managed to answer questions quite ok, and generally maintained some composure and clarity.
I got some good feedback from Paul, one of the judges- but none from the other judge, Barry!!! Did he find my performance unworthy of comments or is it because there was nothing wrong about that he felt he should point out?
At dinner, I met James, one of the opponents from the other side and he said to me, "you were good...I'm surprised". I didn't know whether I should feel happy or insulted.

Anyway, I feel that I've done a reasonably good job and things should get on better from here.

Work!!
I still havent touched my IPIP comments and I still have my memo and opinion letter to clean up. Ar...But my head is swirling and my eyes shutting already. ..

A Day of (trivial) Firsts

2009-03-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

First Call Home
Today is the first time that I called home since I got here slightly more than 2 months ago! I have some credit left over on my monthly account which would expire tomorrow. Being smarter from the last experience where my credit got swallowed up, I decided to call home. I had thought that msn video call home once every week should be sufficient, but I guess it still can't beat talking and listening closely to a voice on the other end (sans the poor quality video and other distractions). All ah gui talked about was the vitamins, haha expected! I'm contemplating getting an international calling card now so that I can call home more regularly.

First Swim at Recreation Centre
I had my first swim at recreation centre this evening! Everything at the RC operates at clockwork precision and adheres strictly to a schedule. The lanes are not open all the time to people who just want to do laps, as they have other aquatic activities going on as well. So although I reached at 6.30pm today, I had to wait till 7.30pm before I could use the pool. This was not necessarily a bad thing though, cos interestingly, I was very productive during the one hour and finished a main part of the opinion letter. The swim was so relaxing, but it was soo cold once I got into the toilet. The swim was supposed to help with my sore shoulders, but unfortunately I still have a medical plaster slapped over them now.
Joey just reminded that I should go swim everyday (quoting me in my own words)...erhem...

Lastly
I have started to think that my blog is quite shallow and superficial in content. Does anyone think so too? Cos comparing with those people who write blogs about recent legal issues, reflections on readings or insights about certain topical subjects, my blog seems like a dull chronology of events in my little world written in crude and unimpressive language. Oh well...maybe I should start to write more "substantive" content to hone my literary ability to express opinions?

Ok, whatever. I know I'm still going to be myself and write the way I like.

An Entry During a Break

2009-03-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

10 min Break
I'm writing this during the IPIP break. IPIP classes are soooo....my head just became heavier as the hour went by. Why is it that I even have difficulty understanding MAW's sentences?! This whole 'conversation' (her favourite word) is not a conversation at all! And the word 'conversation' is still getting on my nerves.

All-Singaporeans Dinner!
I had a dinner with fellow Singaporeans at Western (SaW) (yes, Justin set up a facebook group) last Sunday at Moxie's. It really cheered me up just to be able to speak to Singaporeans! And speaking to JW felt like I am back in Singapore again- speaking singlish is so fun. JW is a maths/econs student from NTU, really nice to meet up with someone on exchange from Singapore too! He's such a foodie, telling us all about the places with great food-XO mifen, dou jiang you tiao... Tessa and Liying are so typical Singaporeans too, down-to-earth and on the same 'frequency' as me :) Justin gave up his Singapore PR status-what a shame-but he went to Maris Stellar in SG and surprisingly, I found that he still keeps abreast with many of the current issues in SG.
Becky is as usual, bubbly, chatty, funny and a live-wire in the group. We have officially appointed her the 'dear leader' in our cosy little "SaW" group. She even brought a bus schedule to refer to and did a 50metres sprint in her high-heel boots to make sure that we did not miss the 1030 bus, haha!
It was a very relaxed dinner...where everyone was totally at ease in the presence of everyone else. Interestingly but not surprisingly, all of them look forward to going back to Singapore for the summer.
We've fixed our next outing --Hong Ping for hotpot! Looking forward to it.

Parcel
I received the parcel that Joey sent me! YAY, so happy!
I had wanted to go swim this evening, but I guess I won't have time as I need to go for the jessup volunteer briefing at 8pm and my lesson ends somewhere 5.30-6pm.

Lesson has started 5 min ago.
Shall be back.

Target Reached

2009-02-28T21:41:00.000-08:00

Assignment
Yay, I'm done with the (disastrous) IPIP assignment. There was an 800 word limit but at one point I was at 1400 words. I think this module is going to be the worse module I am going to have this semester. Not only is MAW incomprehensible, convoluted and disorganised, her readings are equally unhelpful for the purpose of doing her assignment. I'm glad I have this done by today, though technically I have reached into Sunday March 1st.

It's already March 1st!! I can't believe the month of march has just started. I just checked the calendar, I only have 7 more weeks to go before the spring term ends. Ar. It'll go by real fast...I can't believe I have so much more to do for the 7 weeks ahead- LP memo, opinion letters, motion; PLT 70% paper; 3 more IPIP assignments. Woohoo~it's either going to be an adrenaline packed peak period ahead, or otherwise a dreadful drag. I hope it's the former!

Taiqi
I was looking through the video recordings of Taiqi just now, month by month. I reached the 'March 08' folder and it suddenly struck me that Taiqi has been with us for 1 year! Time really flies. It seems just not too long ago that she miraculously entered into our lives and we were still struggling to cope with the presence of a child in our home. And now it's been one year. While watching the videos and noticing the positive change in taiqi's apparent constitution in the course of the year, I marvelled at the noble efforts of ah gui to devote her time and energy to nourish and strengthen Taiqi.
Haha...Joey was complaining about what a handful she was just the day before. I guess I won't miss the bubbly taiqi girl once I'm back to join in the grind of being one of her slaves/maid/personal attendant. :)

Relationship Counsellor?
Can someone tell me how to be a good relationship counsellor? Orla seems to be going through a rough patch in her budding relationship...but I do not really know how I should approach her. Anyway I have zero experience and is ill-equiped to advise/console...Hmmm...I hope it'd work out well for her.
If a guy promised to come find you, changes his mind at the last minute well knowing that you'd be upset, and worse still, let you go to his house to get back your cellphone at 10.30pm at night- I think this guy is a jerk. I don't know, maybe the magic of romance can heal anything? But how to forgive and forget?

Haiz. My conclusion is that romancing is just too tiring. I'm going to turn in now, as a happy and carefree single lady.

Yingling, You made my day!

2009-02-27T17:33:00.000-08:00

Present!

I received my present from Yingling today! Today is 27th Feb, exactly one month from my birthday, but the present is as good as it can be. I feel so compelled to show the photo. This is the first photo I'm uploading here since ages ago.

Going forward

Went for the yoga class just now and I'm feeling a lot less tensed and more balanced now. The instructor didn't seem as bad as I thought she was yesterday.

I have to get my IPIP assignment done by tomorrow, Ganbatte!

Back from hiatus

2009-02-26T16:38:00.000-08:00

I took a brief hiatus from my blog for the last few days. It was not a conscious choice. Somehow I just did not have the energy and mood to write entries.

Feelings
I am feeling a little homesick again. I haven't talked to ah gui and dajie for a while. I missed the feeling of being surrounded by people in the house who take you simply for who you are. I was talking to Orla yesterday night (over some cookies and green tea), and I found out that she is feeling a little homesick too. We then agreed that it must be because we are feeling a bit down from school work. In a way it is true. The feeling is most acute when you are feeling a little shaky emotionally, when I guess that is when you are most in need of support. Who else can give you unconditional support other than your family? Even if you don't confide in them, their presence somehow gives you faith to go forward. Anyway, I felt better after talking to Orla. I had just gotten back from the bad weather outside, cold with bloodshot eyes. Hot tea, cookies and a conversation was the best available remedy.

I was quite surprised at myself when I found myself happy to hear two chinese nationals girls chatting in mandarin as I walked past them this morning. Have I missed mandarin or my chinese identity to the extent that I will find it inexplicably soothing to hear people chat in mandarin on the road? Maybe.

Work!
IPIP assignment and Hicks moot at the top of my agenda. Next week is going to be hectic-IPIP due on tuesday, jessup volunteer meeting Tuesday night, jessup volunteer friday and preparation for Hicks. I just completed my LP interview assessment this afternoon. It was more fun than scary. The role playing client acted so well, haha...at one point he was even about to burst into tears with a flushed face. The Hicks moot problem is interesting. I had not expected it to relate to a constitutional issue! The good/bad thing is that they have done the research for us. I really hope it'd go well! Oh and yes, talking about moot, adriana fun the fox cup! Wow, she is amazing. Both yy and roger told me that I could learn from her, guess it's true.

Jasmine
Jasmine told me that she is considering coming to Alberta for her summer programme! While happy for her, I had to warn her that canada is not exactly a very exciting place and that travelling within the country is expensive. She thought I meant that I am bored here. Actually no lah, not bored because occupied by several fun things.just that I felt the need to be honest about the description of a place. Life is not boring at Western though. I really appreciate the free fitness classes and the indoor pool (which I hope I can start using in a day or two) in the recreation centre.

Meanwhile, wish me luck for my IPIP assignment, which I am quite unmotivated to do~

Some Things to Say

2009-02-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

There are a couple of things I want to write about in this post. Somehow I could not give a summary of the content in the title, as I usually do because of the randomness. So this post is just titled "something to say".

Tomorrow
I'm going to Toronto to watch adriana moot tomorrow. I'm quite excited about it as it'd be the first national moot competition that I would be watching and of course, I get to see adriana in action and give her my minimal support.
Somehow being some sort of privy to this competition has renewed my interest in moot. I have the urge to pick up mooting again. Being able to present an argument in a limited time, being able to master relevant authorities, being able to respond directly and accurately to questions, and above all being articulate are essential skills. I don't think I realised the importance of moot in first year and was so sloppy in my work. Stupid me.

Anyway, when she heard that I'll be going to Toronto tomorrow, Anne-sofie asked me to help her return her boots and get a refund. She started off by saying that I should not feel bad about saying no. Well, of course I'll feel bad if it is within my ability to help but I refuse to help because of the inherent trouble and inconvenience. I decided to help anyway as it means she can get back CAD 70 if I am willing to carry the boots and help her to return it. Since she has the courage to ask, I'll pick up the request. I don't think I'll be able to bring myself to do that if I were in her shoes.

CLS
Duty at the cls went fine. The life of the potential lady client is so dysfunctional that it is quite incredible. She was so candid and apparently non-chalant about the dysfunctionality of her children that at the back of my mind I was wondering if it bothers her at all.
Anyway, the interview and the discussion with deanna went fine and I'm starting to feel abit more confident about handling the file on my own. I felt much better about cls today.

Onset of Stress and Obiter Dicta

2009-02-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

Obiter Dicta

I just got back from Obiter Dicta, the Western Talent Show. There were about 20 performances, most of them vocals and guitars, one violinist and one talkshow. All of them were volunteers and apparently this 20th Obiter Dicta is part of a long-running effort by Western students in support of a hospice in London. So $10 for a good cause and a night of entertainment, not bad. Most of the performances were not bad at all. The finale band medley item was the best, as the lead singer was spontaneous, had a very good stage presence and in our words, 'groovy'. I almost thought she is a professional.

Onset of Stress

Some stress from work has started to set in. IPIP classes are disastrous as I can't follow what the prof is trying to say most of the time (and I'm not alone), I'm lagging a little behind Private Law Theory readings, considerable readings for corporate finance and casework from litigation practice. Somehow cls seems to be a stressful place, though I've not even officially started work there. I don't know, it's about a certain substratum of the place.

I have to meet up with Margaret tomorrow morning for an entrance interview, do duty hour and see Deanna regarding my case file. I read through the file and has an idea of the background. Hope everything goes well tomorrow.

And lastly, I'm entering the labour law arbitration moot with Adriana! Honestly, felt quite honoured that Adriana proposed it :) I had my reserves at first firstly I've not mooted for a long time and I'm not necessarily very confident of my moot skills after first year LAWR. But I guess I should rebuild my skills from somewhere. Anyway, I guess it'd be less formal since a factum is not required and we'd be competing with internal teams first. I really hope I won't let my partner down and that we WOULD be the team to present Western at the competition. It'd be the greatest miracle of my life that could keep me happy for the longest time!

Valentine's Day Movie Night

2009-02-14T21:54:00.000-08:00

I just came back from a valentine's day movie night at Ruth and Toni's. The girls are so sweet, they baked cookies and had chips and drinks ready for us when we reached.

All the single ladies snuggled up in the TV room and watched two movies together: Sabrina and Under the Tuscan Sun. Sabrina was ok - it was a retro movie (in black and white) telling a story about a chauffeur's daughter who has been in love with the young master of the house all her life until she accidentally fell in love with the more boring but gentlemanly older brother.

Under the Tuscan Sun was great- typical hollywood movie. It was adapted from a book and has a meticulous and well-rounded plot peppered with good humour. I've never seen a movie casting Diane Lane. It was about an american writer who, being devastated after a divorce, decided to go to Tuscany in Italy for a tour. She ended up captivated by an ancient villa and decided to buy and restore it. She fell in love again, got heart-broken again but made some good friends, one of whom got married in her villa. In the end she settled down in the villa with a fellow american and it was happily ever after (as usual). The cobbled streets, architecture and great scenery formed the backdrop of the movie. I had the urge to visit Tuscany and Europe in general while watching this movie :)

Well, what a way to spend Valentine's day! Sitting back, munching chips and watching movies with a bunch of friends can be quite relaxing, I realised.
Anyway, to all friends who are missing their loved ones- Happy V day :)

Snow is Back, IPIP and Pilates

2009-02-13T11:24:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start to be a good student and use headings to organise my writing from now.

Snow
The snow has come back today! It hasn't snowed since I returned from the reading week. The huge piles of snow has started to melt and the roads were slippery and wet instead of being covered in snow. However, this morning, I woke up and was surprised by the sight of snow-covered carpark outside the window. The snow has come back but i'm not really excited. I guess my romantic conception of the snow was totally annihilated on the second day of my stay in London, when I walked for 20 min to Masonville in the snow and was trapped there for a further 2 hrs as I was too intimidated by the snow to walk out of the mall.

Classes
Today is the last day for add/drop. I've settled all my courses: Litigation Practice, Corporate Finance, Private Law Theory and Intl Protection of IP. I think taking up LP required a kind of huge leap in faith in myself because it is alot of work (rumours abound) and it requires advocacy skills. But I do not think I am going to regret this choice because the practical skills would be so useful to have as a pupil. I guess it is never too early to start to learn how to manage and organise a case file and do docketing etc. One other issue was that I may be overloading a little for this semester as I am taking the max of the required credit hours. But I think it'd be fine cos I'm quite used to juggling 4 modules in a semester, just that this semester is short so everything would be a little congested in the course of the term. Hope it'd work out anyway.

I just completed a special permission form and gotten Prof Wilkinson's signature so that I could take IP IP despite not having fulfilled the pre-requisite IP course. Although it feels quite scary as I am effectively waiving my right to appeal of the basis that I have not completed the pre-requisite course, I guess the waiver is inconsequential as I could not imagine myself sending an appeal by saying "I do not deserve this grade because I have not taken this course before". This does not make sense to me. Anyway, the course is about international conventions which I think it should not require a great amount of background knowledge on IP law. I've borrowed an IP text so that I can have a quick read-up, although I do not foresee myself going through it in detail, of course.

Fitness
I went for my first pilates class at the Recreation Centre! It was good, the 50 min passed by so quickly so I guess the lesson was enjoyable that's why it felt like a short session. As quite a few of us were first-timers, we did mostly simple stretches and I think the pace was just right. I cannot tolerate slow classes because I'm impatient by nature. I wonder how the yoga class this evening will go.

I'm looking forward to more fitnesses classes this term! Haha...actually I guess it's good that London is quite boring except for dining, cos then I will spend more of my free time in the fitness centre. I hope the swimsuit and cap that Joey is helping me buy would reach me soon- everytime I look down at the pool from the pool gallery I just feel like jumping right in and do the laps. But Joey was highly sceptical that I would swim everyday once the swim suit reaches me...haha I think then I should have at least 3-4 times a week as a target?

News
And one exciting news this week: Adriana is coming to NUS for exchange in Jan 2010! Woohoo~ I didn't expect that at all. I'm already thinking of what we'd do when she comes over :)

"If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce

2009-02-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

This song has quickly become my favourite song, ever. I heard this song in New York somewhere that I can't remember, but I think it etched on my mind sub-consciously. On my last day, while I was packing at ISC, William played it on the computer and I just swivelled around instantaneously and asked for the name of the song. That was it.

I think I will be replaying it over and over again for a long time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVTyLqkez6A

Reading Week

2009-02-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

I'm back!! If you have been following my blog and realised that it had stagnated one week ago, it's because I was really away.

After a gruelling IO paper, I thought I deserved a nice break. The one week break came just in time. It was such an incredibly eventful week that looking back now, I wonder if it has even happened at all.

I'd really like to write a long post but I'm so tired now that my eyes can hardly open. So I shall make a quick broad brush of the reading week activities.

NYC was fun. Three fully packed days with lots to see and do everyday. The very nice people, especially Joanna, at ISC makes me want to go back to stay there again. Visits include Columbia Uni campus, Times Square, NY public library, Bryant Park Herald square, Liberty Island, Chinatown, Little Italy and the museums. I think Times Square left a lasting impression simply because of the loudness of everything. Gawdy buildings, neon lights, billboards and digital screens. Taking the subway was a little depressing though, when homeless beggars approach people in the train for money, food and water. It's quite ironic to encounter this in a city brimming with money and power. At the same time I was thinking that the culture is really different. No matter how poor or destitute someone is in Singapore, I don't think he would ever stand in the middle of a train and publicly ask for help-that's also why we never see such people on the mrt trains. It's to do with the asian reticence in contrast to the western openness. Overall I would say NYC is a must go, although 3 or 4 days are enough for the whole city.

Returned to Toronto on Wednesday for STINT at Cassels &Brock (which was a nice and neat session meeting with lawyers from different practice groups) and Women Connecting Seminar on Friday (an eye-opener and quite inspiring discussion with different panels. Cocktail was good as well as there were more people to talk to).

Went to stay with Adriana's family on Thursday evening. I think it is and will be the best part of my exchange experience. The friendship, the warmth and the hospitality is compelling. I must say I can't be more fortunate to have had met Adriana and her family. Even now as I am recalling the last 3 days, it feels nostalgic and kind of surreal. I will miss Richmond Hill.

Anways, school is starting again tommorow and it marks the beginning of the Spring term. I have 4 modules to juggle next term. Let's hope I wake up tomorrow renewed and refreshed, ready to start a new term!

End of Jan Term and Zellers

2009-01-30T21:21:00.000-08:00

Yee mun! Thanks for being the first person to leave a comment! Haha...yes, as you have noticed, my blog is rather dull without pictures. I stopped because I was too lazy to upload, wait and align the photos. I would upload photos here once I have the time and mood k. For the time being I would continue with my monlogue.

The last four days was a blank in my exchange days, in terms of activities. I had spent all of the last four days working intensively on my IO intensive paper. I did not leave the home until last night, when I went to UCC to buy my greyhound tickets! Orla was quite amazed that I could stay in all day, while I am amazed at her being able to walk to the gym in the snow, come back and then go back to the school library to study for her take-home. I felt quite bad that I was occupying the whole of the kitchen table for those days, scattering it with loose paper and books.

So well, end of IO! It was really a crash course. I have never done anything like that before, doing the research in 3 days and writing the paper in 4 days. I think maybe I am too slow a worker, that's why I took all the time until 3pm today to finish the paper. All the other girls taking other subjects finished theirs before I did! Anway, rushed to school, rushed the print-out and rushed to pass up. I was just 10min from the deadline and Prof Carmody together with Tigger at the counter was "ah...another [last minute] one". Haha.

Anw after that met Orla and Carlet at UCC. I realised only during lunch today that Carlet did not have to speak a single English word in Netherlands! She was told to write "English is not my first language" on the front page of her paper, haha!

I went to masonville in the evning, in search of sports wear and luggage. I managed to get a 25 inch luggage at Zellers for CAD$70 (it was a 60% off!). Fortuitously, I ran into other sales going on too and the items were exactly what I needed- boots and sports shoes! The boots were 50% off, so effectively I paid a CAD$30 for it and sports shoes was about $20. These were not the things that made my day though. I was really impressed by the counter staff at Zellers. It was not the first time that I had received kindness and helpfulness from a Zellers staff. On my second day here, it was one of them who directed and helped me to finally locate the adaptor at Access.
This counter stafff (I shall call her A) was so friendly and I would say 'professional' in all sense of the word. I had bought 2 pairs of pants which were tagged wrongly I think, therefore in order for me enjoy the lower price she had to void the items and go through another round of checking and processes. She did it cheerfully and even thanked me for being patient! I should be the one thanking her for helping me save $10! After that I went back again to pay for a pair of gloves and while chatting she said that she was actually very tired. I was even more impressed- tired but still being about to be prompt, cheerful and helpful -this kind of workers are a rare gem in Singapore. I wish A and the staff -who- helped -me-on-my-second -day well. Zellers is a good plac! It became my favourite place in London tonight.

I am now very very tired as I only had 4 hours of sleep last night! But can't gp sleep yet, must go collect my laundry first.

Bday Surprise and First Present from Orla!

2009-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow (following Ontario time) is my birthday and I've already gotten a surprise birthday celebration and a present! 22nd birthday and 1st time spending it away from home. I do not usually care alot about my birthdays but this will be a special one for me. Well, it could have have been better though, if the IO paper is not getting in the way...Haha.

Orla told me the girls would come for "some tea" at 7pm tonight. Well being naive as I am, I believed it totally since it is so normal to have guests in our room to have some tea. They were actually incubating a birthday surprise, which I happily embraced as I opened a door to a bunch of familiar faces and a big choc fudge cake. It was heart warming to have friends remember your birthday. I'm not a big fan of birthday celebrations but having experienced a few times the pleasant feeling of being remembered and coupled with the knowledge that people have made efforts to make you happy, I think birthday celebrations are not farcical after all (but still, subject to the context). So a big slice of choc fudge cake made my dinner :)

Then I got my first birthday gift from Orla! A maroon UWO T-shirt and a card! So sweet of her. 我被摸了。I think we've been getting closer and I'm confident that we click now. I'm sooo glad to have her as a roomie.

I video called home this morning and jiu jiu family and zhou yian family and Daphne were at our house. They had had dinner-guo tie and mi fen!! My stomach growls now at the thought of these foods. Although I had lots of dumplings last night, I still crave for the lovely home made guo tie :( Maybe I should start making some dumplings myself as Zhou Yian suggested, or easier, buy them from Far East.

Tonight has been good. Now I'm very tired and is at 3/25 pages. Boo. I shall wake up energised tomorrow morning and speed race through it! Target-Thurs!

CNY Eve Hotpot

2009-01-25T18:59:00.000-08:00

I found out that at least three of my friends have been keeping up with my blog. It's a funny feeling, both pleased and a little queasy as it's the first time I'm publishing online. But more importantly feeling happy out of sharing.

I went with a hotpot CNY eve dinner with Elian, Stefy, Kanica (I need to find out how to spell 'Kanica''s name!), Mike, Kanica's friend Andrea and her room mate. All of us are Chinese except for Kanica. I can't believe that Kanica only stays 2 doors away and this is the first time I talked to her proper. We had a great chat on the bus and her bubbly and cheerful personality is very likeable! Andrea and her room mate are Canadian-HK chinese. Andrea is pretty, looks quite typical HK-chinese and is very nice; glad to have met her.

It was a good dinner because there was hot soup! We had what would be called a "yuan yang guo" with half a pot of 'mala' broth. Kanica surrendered when we could go on for another 45 min and she was labelled the 'weakest link'...haha. It's good that she enjoyed the dinner so much when she didn't even know what hotpot is about before she went into the restaurant!

First CNY eve dinner away from home. There is not even a tiny festive sign here, except for an obscure poster with some CNY chinese food menu at the Hall lobby. This will be one of the more memorable CNY dinner yet, for good or bad reasons. I realise that the environment that one is in determines one's feelings about an occasion. Every year's new year back in Singapore feels like a real start of a fresh year- I would make some effort to make some resolutions (which I don't usually follow up), clean up my table and clear my things, and talk about new year plans with sisters. There is a real count-down and a feeling of having crossed on to the other side to a new year. But it's just another day here.

Anw, got to start working on my paper first thing tomorrow morning, by hook or crook!

London Knights and 2nd Cooking

2009-01-24T17:49:00.000-08:00

I've just had a home-cooked dinner with Orla. It was a very nice dinner- rice, vegetables and fish. I think I exceeded my own expectations. I was quite dis-oriented at first because it was the first time I cooked rice in a pot. And also because I wasn't exactly sure how to operate the oven (!! but now I know). Luckily, the rice turned out fine and the fish (which took a longer time to bake in the oven than expected) was nice (arh yes, they are frozen marinated ones). It's so much better to cook for and eat with someone else, that is if I have the time!

Now I understand why Ah gui always shouts and rushes us to go and eat whenever she finishes cooking a dish. It is because she wants all of us to taste the dish when it is at its best-piping hot and tasting fresh. I only understood that when I started cooking for myself here. After frying the vegetables, I was worried that it would not taste good if I leaving it on the table for too long while waiting for the fish to cook. I was worried that Orla would not find it tasty enough...blah...Being the chef is really not easy. It's actually quite stressful to cook for someone else and especially for Ah Gui I think, who has to tolerate our nonsensical criticisms sometimes!

Last night's London Knights v Niagra Icedogs was a cool game. We had a reception before that, ie. free food and feeling happy after eating. The John Labatt Indoor Stadium is quite spectacular. The ice skating rink is huge, the lighting was elaborate and the seats were three levels high. We sat on the third level and had a rather good view of the game. We were really excited when the game started. We actually cheered very hard when the London Knights scored the first goal-I felt like I belonged to London at that moment! I guess competitive sports has that magic touch of bringing out the 'nationalism' or 'sense of belonging' for audience supporting either side. However, it seemed that supporting audience of the Niagara Icedogs was woefully lacking. There was such a contrast in the amplitude of cheers.

However, after the first break, we got sorta bored and I ended up chatting with Elian and joking around with Ruth, both of whom were great company!! Ruth laughed out heartily whenever a player gets squashed against the wall or when there's a fight between incensed played...haha...and together we were 'hey hey look there's a fight!' Haha....and I learnt alot about the education system of HK after the chat with Elian :) It was so nice to have good company after one gets bored in watching a game.

In the end London Knight lost 4-6. Well, kind of embarrassing when London is the host city and especially when the audience cheered so hard for them. Whatever lah.

Tomorrow is CNY eve!

End of IO and Hockey Game Later!

2009-01-23T13:26:00.001-08:00

IO course came to an unofficial end this morning after our presentations. We have no more lessons and the last thing we have to do next week is to hand up our 25/36 page paper.

The presentation went pretty alright, although I think I could have been more confident in my delivery. I think I answered one of the questions only partially well and I floundered for the second part. Anyway, there is always chance for improvement.

I'm going for a ice hockey game later! Ice hockey is really big here, apparently. One of the Canadian-Chinese roomie of Bec told me because "it is the only thing that Canada is good at", haha. It's London Knights v (something) Icedogs. The latter team's name is kind of comical. Caitlin told me today that London Knights has a new player who is quite good. I expect the game to be exciting!

Not Feeling Well

2009-01-21T14:56:00.000-08:00

Dry throat, cold and a little feverish. I am not feeling well. I guess this is the culmination of 2 days of 5-6 hours research stints in the library and braving of the cold to walk in -10 degrees celsius weather.

I took a nap just now (after having pita bread, potatoes, egg and vegtables for lunch) after a wave of overwhelming fatigue set in. I woke up with the dreadful feeling again- lost, wondering where I am, and overall homesick. I thought I had settled into the rhythm of life here already. I guess this is due to the stress of the presentation on friday coupled with the mild sickness. No lah, the presentation on Friday should not be stressful at all. It's only 10 mins.

Anyway, talked to gwen this afternoon and am rather sad to find that internship at SPH has been a dread for her, mainly because they are expected to contribute fresh news ideas in the weekly team lunch. The stress of the newsroom! And her ideas got shot down by who else but Susan Long! One really needs to be resilient, creative and brimming with ideas to thrive in the newsroom.

The girls are going for Indian food at a restaurant later. I want to go but 心有余而力不足. I'm afraid that I would be even more sick after going out in the cold cold night. I wonder when this winter will end! Hope it would end exceptionally early this year, if not for anything else but just for me!

I was listening to Ah gui's favourite song just now and I wonder what she is doing now. She has probably woken up and going about her usual da chang jing routine :)

Presentation, Research paper and Sports Gear

2009-01-19T19:31:00.000-08:00

We had to finalise the paper topic today and elect the mode of examination- either 65% paper, 15% presentation or 80% paper in lieu of presentation. I elected the format with the presentation partly because 35 pages for the latter is rather daunting, and also in large part because I thought a presentation would be a good way to hone my public speaking skills and train myself to manage stage fright. I hope it would turn out to be a good choice ;)

So having settled the topic for my paper and with a presentation on my schedule, I was motivated enough to spend 7 hours in the library doing my research! It was not very difficult to find all the relevant books, but sifting through them to find the relevant parts was very time-consuming. I had quite a few books on the table. I borrowed about 1/2 of the books I pulled out from the shelf and it a subtantial load in my bag! The kind and friendly librarian at the desk was so cheerful. As I was talking to her, at the back of my mind I was wondering: how does she manage to stay so cheerful while on duty at 8.3opm in a cold dreary night? This level of hospitality and cheerfulness at work I haven't encountered in Singapore. The librarians at the CJ Koh library, although not grumpy, do not exude this kind of cheery warmth. And this reminds of the service at the restaurants too. The service is really good and the waiters and waitresses are helpful, cheerful and very pro-active. I take my hat off in salutation to their professionalism- no matter which profession they are in. 真是行行出状元. I guess an excellent work attitude helps alot.

I passed by the new recreation and athletic centre on the way back and popped in to take a look. The inside of the building is cool, and the open concept gym on the second floor looks somewhat like a carve-out from a high-end country club. Stefy and Elian told me a few days ago that there is a whole array of free aerobics/yoga/pilates lesson to go to! And I think they have an indoor swimming pool! I'm going to try and buy a pair of sports shoes and other sports gear to take part in all these. Anyway I've paid for the school fees so should make good use of the facilities and classes (Singaporean mentality)! I hope I can find reasonably priced ones in masonville this weekend.

Back to London and Back to Work for the next 2 weeks!

2009-01-17T20:28:00.000-08:00

I reached London at around 8.30pm this morning. The return trip feels so much faster than the trip to there, although it was just a difference of 1 hour. This wraps up my trip to DC and brings me back to London! All that happened there seems like an imagery now.

After video call with family, I was surprised that I did not have to sleep and in fact managed to go on a grocery shopping trip to Loblaw. The weather was too severe for me to get there on my own (today is -15 degrees celsius) and so I took the 1pm bus there and 3pm bus back. Although I did not manage to get all the things I may have needed, I had to go and catch the bus. Oh yes, and I haven't got a pair of boots! The pair that I saw today costs $150, and I was not ready to spend such money on a commodity which I would probably only use for 4 mths. I'll see how.

Tonight was dinner with all the exchange students. Got to know 2 more new faces: Annika (swedish) and Barbara (French). I had a talk with Barbara and her roommate Lucy after dinner and realised they are from Lyons (and they pronounced 'Lyons' in a unique french accent).

It has been a long day for me AND I haven't got any work done!!!! I have a presentation next week...I must really start working on my paper tomorrow.

A Chinese Dinner, Finally!

2009-01-15T19:38:00.001-08:00

Today is considered the best day in D.C. so far, because I met up with NUS friends! Audrey came to find me at the EU delegation (it was so nice of her to walk in the cold to come find me!) and Gabriel caught up with us later. We ordered chinese fried rice, tom yam beehoon, gong bao chicken, vegetables and tofu and dumplings! It is my best dinner in 2 weeks. Sniff* Audrey was rather incredulous that I am already craving so much for home food when it's only my second week away from home, haha! But I think the good dinner and familiar company really lifted my moods quite a bit for tonight!

Before we went for dinner, Audrey brought me to walk around Georgetown and I learnt abit more about DC. Owing to historical legacy, DC is not considered a state but rather a 'neutral' district. That is why their representative in the Congress does not have a vote and according to one cab driver, could only "make a lot of noise" in the Congress. Audrey also mentioned that this explains the omnipresent posters shouting "DC Statehood, Yes we can!" that we see around almost every corner. Then we went to this famous Georgetown cupcake shop, from where I bought a small US$3.03 cupcake, a whopping price for its size! I didn't check out the price before ordering partly because the prices were blocked behind the counter and partly because I thought since I was there, I might as well get one for a tasting experience.

Then we walked over to the Georgetown Uni main campus. The campus is beautiful, with its clock tower and stony rustic feel. We went inside and sat outside a lecture theatre where I was supposed to eat my muffin, but I didn't really feel like eating it because I had eaten a double choc cookie just 1 hr before that. So we talked for a while, then took a bus to the restaurant.

Taking a bus in DC is not any different from London. One ticket one price, but no transfer slip! haha, Audrey told me that they just stopped giving transfer slips a few weeks before I came. But overall the ride is affordable, US$1.35. It costs CAD$2.45 in London!

Well I guess today is the most eventful and enjoyable day for me in DC because I was able to visit 3 museums in the morning: Air and Space, National Gallery, and Natural History (the ones I really want to visit). I was most impressed by the art pieces in the Art Gallery. I realised that I am a quite a paintings person. It is rather therapeutic to just peer into the painting and try to observe and absorb every detail and interpret their meaning/subject's expression. One of the paintings depicting a cheeky looking younfg girl reminds me of Taiqi! Haha....I was glad I visited the National Gallery. And it was housed in a very majestic building too! And above all I managed to meet up with friends from nus! That is really a bonus.

I'll try to find out where the post office is tomorrow. I shall send my first postcard home!

Third Day in D.C.

2009-01-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today started off a little bit dry with a talk at the CIEL. We had a couple of speakers but I don't think we discussed anything really very memorable. Then we had lunch at a sandwich place called Cosi. The meal I had (grilled chicken melt and hot chocolate) cost me US$10.25! I think I will become a pauper if I do not leave DC soon. So far I've been spending on nothing but food! Yesterday we had dinner at Sequoia restaurant in Georgetown and it cost me US$40. Woo~

The restaurant was very under-patronised yesterday night and we gathered that it was because of the recession getting into everyone's consciousness. It leads me to think: and I am spending so much in a time like this! But guess I have no choice since food is a necessity. I have to eat to live.

After lunch we moved on to the US Institute of Peace. The session was good as we had a good discussion with the lawyers from the "rule of law" department. One of them is slightly more intimidating than the other. The less intimidating one, however, is more knowledgeable and answered our questions more directly I think. I was just thinking, if I were to pick up mooting again, I would like to come across like he did-direct and sincere in answers.

Morgan, Peter, Gustav, Alex and I found some time to visit the Lincoln memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial before we headed to the law firm reception. The marble slabs, pillars and statute of Abraham Lincoln make up a very impressive piece of architecture. The view of the monument from the steps of Lincoln memorial was quite breath-taking as well! I bought some postcards from the bookshop in the memorial...I will send one home and for the remaining two, I have no idea who to send to yet.

The last event for today was a reception with Ian Laird from the firm Crowell and Moring LLP, apparently a very big firm in DC with a few hundred lawyers. The lawyers are from the international law practice group and specifically, international investment arbitration. All of them are very well-qualified; Ian has an LLM from Cambridge and the other 2 have LLMs from Georgetown University, which is a very good university for international law studies I've learnt. Their head of department is very experienced and spoke to us at considerable length on his professional background and advice for us. I wish I could acquire his air of erudition and eloquence.

All the lawyers were very sincere in offering us advice on our careers and surprisingly, had no airs at all. It was a fruitful session for me as I went away contemplative on my approach to choosing my career path. I also left with a sanguine feeling that being a top-notch lawyer is not outside anyone's reach., including mine. Dilligence, acuity, business sense and eloquence in communication can be cultivated, and don't think it's too late for me to start now.

"Your English is Perfect"

2009-01-13T15:01:00.000-08:00

A fellow classmate told me that my English is 'perfect'! Well I've never expected such a compliment because I have always thought there is lots of room for improvement in the fluency of my spoken English. She told me that after I asked a question during the talk by the IMF rep and she is the second person, after Orla, to tell me that.

I think I can rationalise it as the "Sarah Palin expectation -phenomenon". After she had her vice-presidential debate with Biden, it was apparently quite evident that she had lost to Biden when it comes to the degree of grasp on national issues. However, some have said that she had scored a victory in her own right because public expectation was so low in the first place that it was quite easy to cross the threshold of expectation. I have a nagging feeling that this was the effect in my case. As I am a Chinese from a remote island called Singapore, perhaps most people would not expect me to speak relatively good English. And perhaps because I speak relatively good English, I have crossed the threshold of expectation and therefore considered to speak well! This is not necessarily a bad thing; at least I've managed to get compliments for my spoken English, well done! I have to continue to polish up my spoken English and this is my new resolution! Thanks to the fellow classmate who let me know what she thinks about my English, it was a considerable encouragement!

Today we went to the well known institutions: IMF and World Bank. The IMF talk by the legal counsel (he is from Canada) was quite dry but not bad for knowing what the legal faculty of the IMF thinks and their roles in the Fund. Then we had lunch at Corner bakery. The meal, which serves quite a small portion according to American standards, was US$8 ie abt S$12! It was just a sandwich and a bowl of soup. Woo~

Then we had a talk at one of the organs of the WB, the centre for settlement of Investment Disputes. Its principal function is to oversee the settlement of disputes between an investor and a state. The speaker is from Chile and it was not bad. The last speaker was Serge from the Inspection Panel of the World Bank The IP is supposed to be an independent fact finding body which looks into the complainants by people/state harmed by World Bank Projects. Serge is a nice, pleasant guy with a very gentlemanly disposition. I liked his talk, although I was feeling sleepy. I looked at the clock at one point in time and realised that it was 2am SG time. I guess my biological clock has not really attuned itself to N Amerian time zone.

Anw, going for a dinner with Prof Carmody in 15min time. But I feel tired now! My roommate has gone down to the lobby to use the internet I guess. So I'm alone in the room now. I'll now take this last 15 min to rest.

Washington D.C.

2009-01-12T19:52:00.000-08:00

Washington D.C. city, the repository of political power! Haha, whatever the case, this city is beautiful and some of its renowned architecture naturally inspired awe in me. Roman pillars, the Capitol Building, museums...all speak volumes about the rich and dignified history of the United States of America.

I guess USA is the only world superpower not without good reasons. All its major institutions are well-organised in an orderly fashion and there is a palpable pride of the people in their shared history. This comes with the maturing of the state over time and does not come naturally to young nations with colonial memories that cannot be shaken off easily. I think political struggles in the past also serves to make a triumphant nation more resilient and united in the face of adversity. This is my sense of the substratum of the american society. I think heritage and the associated pride define who the americans are, and how they assertively juxtapose themselves vis-a-vis the rest of the world.

But of course, America is far from flawless. I have yet to visit the seedier parts of the country, nor will I stay here long enough to find out more about this country.

In any case, over-consumption is a real problem in USA. The food portions are so big (and the price is equally huge)! Like for dinner tonight at the Union Station, Michelle and almost all of us could not finish our food. So wasteful.

I went around looking for noodles with soup at the Union Station and I was so surprised that there was not a single chinese food stall! In the end I had to settle for oily tepanyaki style noodles. I miss hot and soupy chinese food!

Meetings with people at the Tillar House was good. We had 3 speakers, Rafael, someone from WB and Scott Lyons. Rafael is such a charismatic speaker such that it hardly felt like a 'lesson' on the EU at all. With his lead, the discussions were so spontaneously rigorous. Really admirable and smart guy. WB person was regular and Scott was very helpful.

Walk around capitol building was fun and time well spent. We took some photos and it struck me that Canadians, despite being fellow North Americans in close proximity, generally do not identity with anything in the US. US is in a sense in a little capsule of its own.

I'm feeling very tired now from a long day!! I need to go to bed now as tmr I have to wake up at 8am for another day that is set to be more tiring!

Pensive

2009-01-09T23:43:00.000-08:00

My biological clock seems haywire now. I was very sleepy at about 9pm, so I took a nap and woke up at 2am just now. I so sleepy that I couldn't drag myself up to go for dinner with Orla, Carlet and Sofie. Now I'm very awake!

I went to see Andrea about a problem I may have regarding the travel to Washington. The I-94 visa waiver departure card in my passport was supposed to be turned in before I leave US, I just realised yesterday night. Nobody at Detriot and the airport here took it from me though. According to the card I may experience some delay at the border next time that I cross. Andrea promptly called up the people who may provide information on this matter to seek advice. The crucial person who did the pre clearance could not be reached...so. I really hope everthing would go through smoothly on Sun...otherwise, not only money would be lost but it would also stir up quite a lot of hassle.

Then I went to see Prof Carmody in his office regarding my research topic in the afternoon. He was very busy as students were looking him up before and after I went into his office. He was very nice and helped me looked up some relevant books on the library catalogue. Hmm, but the book which I saw available yesterday on the shelf (but did not borrow) is now on loan. I wonder if someone is else is doing the same topic as me?

First week in London and everything is fine. However, it seems that a long time has passed since I left SG. I still miss SG and family. There is a resolution that I am going to make now: resume my daily prayers! No more excuses for me.

Cooking and Denning

2009-01-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

I cooked my first dinner here last night: whole wheat macaroni with veggies and mashed potatoes with eggs. I did not have the potato though. I gave one portion to Orla, then the rest to Stephy, Elian and Hini. I brought the food over to the girls and had a nice chat with them. At about 7.30pm, Stephy and Elian were still cooking their dinner. I've never enjoyed cooking but cooking (or in my case not really cooking) for others is a little less dreadful because there is a purpose and there is normally a desire to do it better. Cooking for oneself is tiring and it takes such a long time I was doubtful whether it was worth all the trouble halfway into it! I was sooo tired after cooking, probably because I was already feeling a quite tired before that. But talking to the girls perked me up a bit. The macaroni I made was quite badly cooked but I attribute most of the disaster to the bad taste of the pasta itself, probably because it was whole wheat and in a very dehydrated form before cooking. I should look up one-person-meal recipes online soon.

I didn't feel like going for drinks at Denning, but after getting the fb message from Adriana and some goading by Orla, I decided to go anyway. Since it was the first denning, it should be quite a fresh session. We also met up with Anne-Sofie's friend at a restaurant prior to that. Her friend treated us to shots which tasted like the awful cherry red cough syrup I hated. 4 of us cheered and after the other girls downed theirs, mine was still intact, ahaha! Well I eventually gulped it down anyway. The girls also ordered other drinks, which didn't taste good at all. Anyway, welcome to Canadian drinking culture! I felt quite incongruent with the culture here in this respect as I don't see what's so enjoyable about drinking...but it was fun participating in something that I do not usually do.

TJ's became so crowded and noisy I was literally shouting into the ears of anyone whom I was talking to. Got stuck at the counter on my way back from the restroom, and talked to a few people who happened to come by to get drinks. Haha. What a way to meet people. I met Joel (who happened to know Adriana quite well!), Erica (girl planning to go NUS for exchange next sem!), Dan (first year) and Vanessa (who took IO last year!).

We left at about 1am in a taxi. Anyway glad that I went. Although it was not exactly a lot of fun, it was a different way to spend a night with different people.

Oh dear, it's snowing!

2009-01-07T04:37:00.000-08:00

It's 7.38am London time. It's snowing rather heavily! I bet it hasn't stopped since last night. I had hoped that it would stop. How am I to walk to school later? I haven't got any snow boots! Oh dear this is the worse morning yet since I came. As usual, I'll take things in my stride. I had been worried about my journey here but I arrived and settled in all the same. This shouldn't be too much of a problem for me (fingers crossed).

2009-01-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

First Day

2009-01-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

First day of IO was normal and overall quite good. Went away quite satisfied with how the lesson was run. I didn't expect that the paper would be due in 2 weeks after I come back from Washington though. What a crash course. Prof Carmody is a neat and by-the- books guy and I could see a bit of him in me, I think.

I gotta a bit unnerved tonight when a denmark exchange student told me that she did not sign up for IO because she would not be able to travel to US in April then. I didn't know of such rules. So I emailed the Singapore Consulate to check with them. I hope this is inaccurate hearsay. But if it happens to be true, too bad I can't travel to US after the exchange. A little disappointing but no big deal I guess.

I paid CAD $140 for the Reznet service and the denmark exchange student could use it for free! Orla helped her with it. I wonder how they managed to do it. I feel a little cheated now. Anyway, it's money spent and no use being bitter about it! Cheer up and I should not let something that cannot be helped bother me too much.

I've hardly done any readings for IOs and I should really buck up now! In SG, I'd not have gone out for dinner just now given the very time-pressed situation I am in. However, I thought to myself since I am here, perhaps I should heed Louis's advice and not 'coop' myself up! It would be foolish to do so and then regret not having let go of certain short term inconsequential targets for some experience that I would still recall with fondness later on, after I've forgotten all of what I've studied. Anyway, although it was a cosy dinner with so many people around the table, I guess I was too tired to really enjoy. But I'm glad I met Rebecca and her canadian-chinese roomies.

Adriana is really sweet, dropped me a message to ask how my first day was. I never thought I'd meet such a worthy friend like her here. I hope our friendship would blossom :)

School is Starting Tomorrow

2009-01-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

Finally, January 6th- the day that I've been looking forward to since my arrival in London. However, now that it is arriving I have a mix of excitement and slight apprenhensiveness going on in me. Excitement because I am able to experience classes in Canada; apprehensive because I am not sure what are the expectations of the Professors here. In NUS it is easy as we've either been taught by the professors before, or we's have heard about their teaching styles/expectations from students/workload from classes from people and seniors. Anyway, some uncertainty is part and parcel of exchange!

The last two days have been eventful. JC brought me around on my second day and on my third day, helped me to move into London Hall. He has really been a great help to me! He even offered to drive us to the Wal Mart supercentre so that we could pick up things like groceries and bed linens. I felt fortunate to have met such a nice fellow countryman. Who says Singaporeans are aloof?

Today was a great day too. I went to tour the campus with Orla, my Irish housemate. We found the law faculty building without much of a hassle and went around looking at almost every building in UWO. It's not as big as NUS Kent Ridge Campus but the architecture is much more awe-inspiring. We then had lunch at the UCC. I had a veggie Subway sandwich which is almost the same numerical price as Singapore, sans the exchange rate differential.

I then met up with my exchange buddy, Adriana. Adriana has a great personality which made her glow. We had great conversations both on the bus and over dinner. I was actually surprised that we seemed to have no barriers between us at all, linguistically or frequency wise. We clicked almost immediately and I found her to be a really sincere and genuine friend.

I think I'm just blessed to have met with such kindred souls within just a few days. I think it can only get better :)

Thinking about home, Joey told me that Ah gui is still tired from taking care of Taiqi on her own. I have to resist the thought that I shouldn't have come for exchange at all, because it'd not justify the lengths that Ah gui has gone to put me on this exchange.

Ok, time to sleep. 8.30am class tomorrow!

New Friend and A day around London, ON

2009-01-03T19:42:00.000-08:00

I'm grateful to Kelvin, who introduced me to Jen Chyang, one of the few Singaporeans living permanently here. JC volunteered to show me around and he kindly drove me to a number of places. We went to Masonville Place (where I had gone yesterday to buy my adaptor), Loblaw (a groceries place where I bought apples, carrots and tomatoes), Chapters (a bookstore with an adjunct Starbucks), Best Buy (like Best Denki, is an electronics store. I bought a mouse there).

Shopping is expensive here! Not only is there a 5% GST, there is a 8% or thereabout provincial tax! The government taxes off goods is appalling. Now I see some sense in the Singapore Government policy against a welfare state. Though I must say that healthcare can be better subsidised in SG. JC told me that healthcare in CA is totally free! That's incredible to a Singaporean's ears who lives in country where people 'would rather die than fall sick'.

JC also drove me to see the UWO campus and the law faculty builiding/London Hall. We passed by the Thames River, covered in snow and liveless but I could tell that it had seen better times. I think the scenery on the riverside should be rather magnificent in the fall/autumn period. Following that we went to south London and visited another mall, then we headed for dinner at a vietnamese restaurant. I had shrimp dumpling with egg noodles. Portions were small and overall rather expensive though the price is considered mid-range. If standard of living correlates directly with the price of food and goods, then the standard here is very high. I didn't expect the prices of goods to be so high such that it's comparable to prices in other major western posh cities. Oh well...

Still feeling a little bit depressed about living alone. I'm still not used to the way of living for myself only-there seems to be something missing. Anyway, saw a book on philosophy in Chapters today and it says Aristotle thinks the telos (the "end"/"purpose") of man is happiness! Some other philosophers did not agree because happiness seems too superficial. But I agree with Aristotle. Man is constantly-consciously or not-seeking satisfaction in life which necessarily translates to happiness. I think to be able to show love your loved ones is one great source of happiness.

I'm moving into the residence tomorrow. I hope everything goes well.

In Transit and Settling Down

2009-01-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

I met Jon Kao at during transit at Tokyo Narita! I didn't know that we were at the same plane until I saw him in a parallel queue for luggage check. What a coincidence. I had not expected to meet anyone I know on the journey here, so it was a pleasant surprise. He's going to Queen's, but before that to join Ben and his Aunt in Toronto. At least we could take turns to look after the belongings while the other goes to the toilet.

Detriot Airport is a fairly big one given that it mainly services Northwest Airline only. There was a stretch of travellator connecting concourse A to B and Cans there it was an interesting tunnel with galaxy-like swirling lights and music. I was quite impressed

Taking a cab to my hostel was so expensive! CAD$29 for a 20min ride. I can't understand that. However the driver was quite nice and helped me with my luggages.
The Guesthouse is really as described, tranquil and prim. It had been snowing so the view outside my balcony is a snowy one. Why did I ever think that seeing snow is fun? As I trudged along the snow covered grounds I wonder: why am I here walking on snow when I could be walking on the clean and easy walkways in SG? It just felt somehow surreal when it occurred to me that I have been transported to a different world. No more warm weather and easy life.

I went to Masonville Place today and what I was told to be a 7 min walk turned out to be at least 12min. But I pressed on because I had to get a laptop charger adapter! My 'universal adaptor' got burnt when I inserted it into the socket here. Having a goal in mind can really keep one going. And looking around for the adaptor was not easy. Luckily I met a very helpful staff at Zellers (their equivalent of our Giant) who said 'hello' to me first. She directed me to go to the Access store instead and that's where I got the right one. 'Gui ren' in a foreign land is a blessing. I took a bus back as it became too cold to walk back to the hostel. I've been done a shopping that is more tiring and depressing. Even as I was about to leave, I didn't even know where to look for a bus stop. I had to ask around and was lucky to have been guided by a Jap man who was with his family.

Departure

2009-01-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

I hadn't want the departure to be a teary one. However, emotions are hard to control and I guess I'm too soft at this. Jas and Gwen the good pals were there-thanks for staying up! I used to think that being seen off by the family is enough. However, the feeling of having your friends there with you is one of a totally different kind. While with family there is overwhelming sadness and reluctance surging inside everyone during the lead time before boarding, friends give you a sense of warmth and security. And Jas even made me a tub of pineapple tarts!

Thank you, family and friends, for the love and concern.

Flu and Vacillation

2008-12-21T07:29:00.000-08:00

I sneezed and slept away the whole of today. What a wasted day. The bout of 'sensitive nose syndrome' is back again. I have the feeling that I fell sick because I walked in the hot sun and into the taxi and out again for 3 times yesterday. According to Chinese medical philosophy this would cause a person with a weak constitution to fall sick easily.

My nose has stopped its dual function as a 'tap' now. But as I was lying in bed, it struck me: what if I fall sick in Canada due to the drastic waether changes...why did I choose to go for SEP in the winter and of all places Canada one of the coldest countries in the world...would I have been better off going to the UK, after all it seems to be an orthodox place to study the law. Well, although all is too late now, I still think I would not have chosen UK universities if I were given another chance because I still believe that English law, being steeped in tradition and arguably fossilised in pedagogy, is not exactly the best place to go for an EXCHANGE. An exchange in my opinion should breathe new life into my present academic outlook and enable me to meet a more diverse humanity. Canada/US are better choices for exchange, while England would have been have ideal place to get a reputable degree/masters.

Yea. So no regrets. I'm going ahead with this with the utmost faith. I have paid for the tickets and field trip to Washington. I need to book a hostel for three nights' stay. My packing is 1/2 done. Wish me luck.

My Younger Cousin's Getting Married?!

2008-12-18T02:07:00.000-08:00

Omg, my cousin who is 1 year my junior is getting married! And guess how I came to know about it- on Facebook status updates!

My mum was in a state of disbelief when I related the news to her. She even wagered $100 with me that Wei was having me on (seeing that I'm gullible, she added). So the news from the horse's mouth was confirmed by a phonecall. All of us thought it was too sudden. She still has a year and a half's studies to go through and after all, why the hurry? In the end all us came to accept it as the result of the magic of passion.

I won't be able to attend Wei's wedding as it's supposed to be on 31st Jan 09. I'll be in London Ontario by then. Ah well, the closest cousin I had when I was young...who stuck around me on the few occasions that I went on holiday with her family...who called me anqi-jie affectionately...whom I thought has always been a younger bubbly cousin...is getting married! I still can't quite believe it. Am I still juvenile or has Wei gone ahead of time?

In any case, my mum now owes me $100.

The First Post

2008-12-18T01:31:00.000-08:00

When was the last time I wrote a diary? I think that was in primary school. I still remember the book: slightly smaller than A4 with floral patterns, complete with perfumed pages that were so fashionable back then. Unfortunately it was not exactly the best choice for secure confidential diary-keeping because it was without a lock. I still remember how I nursed a grudge towards Erjie for peeping into it. I was sure of that even though I've never really caught her red-handed, ahaha. The realisation that my thoughts are not secure on pages prematurely derooted the nascent habit that I was trying to cultivate- or did it? Maybe I was just lazy to keep a journal.

I set up this blog, with part credits to Gwen! Her gwenintaipei kept me on the high on what's happening during her exchange in Taipei. At first, inertia kept me back from maintaining a blog because I didn't even have time to write my tutorial answers, I thought. But it's quite refreshing to know what your family/friends are doing miles away on a daily basis and I bet my family and friends would feel the same. Looks like having a blog is the best way to document my life away from home. 4.5 months. Not really long but quite a substantial period of time for someone like me who hasn't been away from home for more than 1 week.

Keeping a diary would also help me to practise my writing perhaps, but of course not in the best style. I think it would also help me kill time in the numerous dark nights that I would spend most probably alone in my hostel room. It's like another way to talk and express.

So on the whole, I'm happy that I started this blog. Friends (who can be bothered, haha) stay tuned.