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!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Incredible MAW
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.
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!
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The day I've been looking forward to (but...)
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.
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.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Jessup and Hicks Morley
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. ..
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. ..
Thursday, March 5, 2009
A Day of (trivial) Firsts
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
An Entry During a Break
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.
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.
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