History lesson

Finally! I caught The Other Boleyn Girl with Yivon today. It's such a treat to watch a satisfying movie which makes me go "sighhhh, it has ended" when the credits roll. Most of the movies I watch these days are rather forgettable, except Teeth and Juno perhaps.

I'm a sucker for period dramas! TOBG is intriguing and goosebumpily thrilling. The unfolding of betrayals, Anne's desperation, the bedroom scenes, Mary's sisterly love, the scheming, the bitching, the beheading - Yivon and I were moved to tears! But that's also partly cos we're ignorant about English history or I'm sure tears will not be shed so freely at the last part.

The gorgeous costumes and setting aside, there are three reasons to watch TOBG:

1. 1) Eric Bana is so yummy as King Henry. I can see why every girl is dying to bed him.
2. 2) Any show with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman is usually worth watching. I can't decide who's hotter (I think Natalie acts a tad better than Scarlett though. But Scarlett is perfect in period dramas. She just has that look. Or maybe I'm influenced by The Girl with a Pearl Earring which aired on tv last Sunday).
3. 3) You'll learn how the Church of England came about and why England chose to separate from the Catholic Church. The power of women. Another case of "the face that launched a thousand ships". Yivon and I were picking up tips dished out by the sisters' mother on how to seduce men. Hilarious.
   

Hmmm, I seriously wonder how accurate the movie is. They can't possible lead such exciting lives last time can they?

mumbo jumbo

It took me 4 years to look up the word "ubi" (Latin) in the law dictionary. Not that I have a sudden curiosity but it's cos I'm amused (more irritated actually) by a judge who ignored all precedent and decided that awarding damages for non-disclosure in an insurance contract would be the fairest thing to do (stop offering new explanations! I don't have the energy nor time to analyze them =( Thankfully he was overruled by the HL) . So quoting Steyn J in Banque Financiere v. Skandia: "ubi jus ibi remedium" - where there is a right, there is a remedy. Right. Like it makes alot of sense.

Other "ubi"s I found in the dictionary:
"ubi remedium ibi jus" - where there is a remedy, there is a right
"ubi easem ratio ibi idem jus" - like reasons make like law
"ubi aliquid, conceditur et id sine quo res ipsa esse non potest" - where anything is granted, that is also granted without which the thing itself is not able to exist

Latin phrases either sound very proverb-ish or turn the simplest concept into a riddle. There must be some kind of jurisprudential reason why the law favours the use of befuddling Latin (I remember reading in Abraham's Promise that Latin is one of the hardest language to master which explains its demise).

I guess "ubi" in Latin stands for "where" in English.

There's another more pedestrian meaning of "ubi" and much closer to heart. Unfortunately, my neighbourhood is named after a vegetable - tapioca. I always thought that "Kampong Ubi" sounds a tad too ungalm for this rather nice neighbourhood.

I'm thinking of the literature we did in TK again (somehow my undisciplined mind chooses to wander at all the wrong times!) "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet..." If Juliet does not have her head in the clouds, she will agree with me that names are extremely important. While a name does not make the man, it does affect first impressions. I can still remember the embarrassingly CRINGING incidents involving my name which probably explains why I have a habit of thinking of names for my future would-be children.

Return

Yay! I'm so glad to hear that Mag is coming back on the 4th. Fantastic timing cos it's after my exams and just before I leave for Europe.

I would have burst out singing the Beatles "You're coming home..you're coming home!!" if it didn't sound so les haha.

I haven't seen her for more than a year so I'm a bit apprehensive. Does she have long hair now? Contacts? Wear dresses? Speak in a undecipherable Aussie accent? Somehow I want Mag to remain Mag and it's true for all my friends. But I guess we have those comfortable friendships where we can pick up where we left off.

Dreaming of the lazy days ahead... Skating. Night cycling. Chilling at her house. Playing with her dogs. Quarreling. Talking. Being mean.

A-cappella on the roof

Omg. It was a surreally beautiful night, utterly unforgettable and completely soul refreshing. I have to thank Eleta the gazillionth time for inviting me to Budak Pantai's insanely popular (they play once every few months only) performance on the roof top of YMCA.

Under the stars, on top of a building, oreo shake in hand, munching Cheezels, a middle-age a-cappella quartet with a wicked humour, a divorce lawyer who made digs on every topic possible - global warming, shortage of rice, Charlton Heston, A380, Mark Wahlburg etc etc, fusion songs, distorted songs, romantic songs, Chinese songs, GREAT singing.

The band

Oreo shake with Al

You're the lunatic one on this full moon night!

Zhan who gave me exasperated looks the whole night hahaha

Whyyyy that pained look guys?

Budak started off with one of my fav love duet from Phantom - All I Ask of You. I nearly melted. Wished for a moment that it was somebody else beside me, not Mal (don't get me wrong. Mal is one of the nicest "get it" get it guy on earth and I can see why the girls crush on him last time haha).

Fishy business..

Cute couple. HX actually brought her mask cos Mal told her it's a fart-cappella -_-

Everybody around me were photographers by profession or photography fanatics. And I received many bemused looks when I didn't know what a Lomo camera was. Mal was trying to explain lighting and all to me and surprisingly I managed to catch some of it. I wanted him to show me what photo drawing with light (using a long exposure) meant so here are his admirable attempts:

"Light-hearted" drawings

Experiments with light - the wonder of photons

Of course no night will be complete without supper! Ben&Jerry's was packed so Zhan drove us to Geylang while we had an Easties' discussion on good sup places.

If sad hours seems long to Romeo than happy times are whizzing by way too quickly..

Frustrated

What's common between catching raindrops with my tongue and watching Definitely, Maybe? They both leave me feeling frustrated.

Raindrops first. Lying on my back facing the heavens, I love the gentle tickle of raindrops on my face. Then I imagined I was Pi, dying of thirst (he at sea, me at the pool). Mouth open, I caught raindrops and tried not to think of pollution. Minutes later, I concluded I'd died if I was Pi cos the pathetic few drops of rain melted on my tongue almost imperceptibly and left me thirstier than ever when I was not even thirsty at first.

Now the movie. Why I enjoyed it: gorgeous views of NYC especially Brooklyn Bridge at night. Since I can't be there, looking at it for 2 hours is the next best thing. Also, it's romantically teary enough for a softie at heart. Why I was frustrated: the ending was awful (happy endings are usually ok but this happy ending was way too off) and as KM noted, none of the characters are particularly likable or cute.

Btw, Uniqlo is coming to town which means I'll see my tee shirt on everybody's back =/ Haven't they learn from Gap and Banana Republic that the value diminishes when it's easily obtainable?

Query

If you don't have faith in yourself for a certain course of action, how do you expect people to have faith in you?

Alpine Paths

TR was telling me how impressed he was with Gill and her work and travel project. I didn't know she initiated the WAT programme at her dad's company from scratch when she discovered that the WAT schemes provided by other companies were too expensive for her to sign up. Yet I was not exactly very surprised cos I guess I've high expectations of Gill and her resourcefulness.

I realised that I'm surrounded by ambitious and entrepreneurial friends. Gill for one. QF who turned her father's provision shop into a lucrative tuition centre. Cui with her Ivy League education, UN internships and attractive job offers. TR with his challenging yet concrete career plans though his LSE clouds his judgment of his own capabilities.

Arrgh. Everybody is climbing their Alpine paths (Emily of New Moon) yet I'm not sure I've even found mine! I have no lofty ambitions (unless having a Martha Stewart-ish house and being a "four seasons girl" as Gill puts it count as ambitions) and even as I'm writing this, I don't feel extremely worried or anxious about my slackness. Maybe it's cos my career is more or less settled for the next 1 year at least.

I do get distressed at moments over my apparent lack of drive. For isn't having no expectations for the future similar to how Beth in Little Women felt because she knew instinctively she will not live long? No, I don't think I'm going to die anytime soon. The problem is that I'm not motivated enough to do anything about my sky-high expectations.

Fixations

Recently, I've taken to reading under my portable clip on light before I sleep. It helps with insomnia and to ease turbulent thoughts. I realise I can't sleep if I don't read, no matter how tired I am. I realise that reading about depressed characters at night makes you empathise with them more deeply (Sylvia Plath - "The Bell Jar"). I realise I think more clearly at night and I think more.

Another sudden fixation: I can't stop hankering for the fluffy wholemeal prune buns from Five Loaves. Messily torn apart and sandwiched with cheese, it's strangely comforting and satisfying for both breakfast and lunch.

Sunday afternoons

My family has a penchant for Jap food. We seem to only visit Jap restaurants each time we dine out. I can't figure out why either.

If my grandparents are treating, we'll head for Ichiban Boshi at Great World City - their fav place where they receive "VIP treatment", reserved for the most loyal customers I suppose. If we want a relatively cheap and varied buffet spread, we'll head to Sakura conveniently located at Safra (swim then binge). If we're in the mood for splurging, Hanabi@Odeon Towers is a good place for quality Jap picks (I never seem to be able eat through the whole menu!) Occasionally, we lunch at Honjin, a quaint little eatery in Raffles Place. My bro loves their unagi and soft shell crab. Ok, I still prefer Hanabi for their choices.

Nice rustic decor at Honjin

The bill-footers

The leeches

"Guilty-of-gluttony" smile

Bleak

Arrgh. I feel extremely depressed suddenly. Lessons have non-officially ended. I miss BTC - it's white walls and green patches - already.

Received an email confirming the commencement of pupillage. Goodbye slack life. Hello late nights. Tell me how can I give up my lazy afternoons and non-peak hour shopping? =( =(

Law Collegiate Dinner 08

Only 60 of Yr 4s turned up for Law Ball but more than three quarters of us attended the Collegiate Dinner. Why? Cos it's FREE!! Thanks to the generosity of the deanery (I'm really quite fond of our Dean. He's funny and totally kindred!)

Pre-dinner: lots of preening and posing. Decided to wear my not-so-low-cut-after-all dress held up by the liberal use of the godsend Hollywood tape!


Really grateful to my ever supportive aunt who allowed us to trample around her house and loaned me her jewelery again (the last time was Law Ball 05 - see the trend?).


Some memorable/ interesting moments of the otherwise pretty mediocre buffet dinner:

Other than seeing Yixian in a dress, we did lots of photo-taking. I'm definitely not the only camera whore that night!

With the only person who can wear jeans and still look classy

Bing who patiently listened to my wardrobe woes

I don't know why we are both leaning right!

Pals from year 1 to year 4 and many more years to come!

ZQ looking uber spiffy that night

Why can't JH ever act normally?? (NB: Yixan and Fav not fighting for once!)

Fav who has proven to be an oxymoron by winning the "most buaya " award and the "most likely to be a house husband " award. Cheryl beware!

ZY who refuses to pose nicely. Again.

Repented!

the person who thinks my bro is nicer than me -_-

The 3 musketeers!

A toast to the 4 eventful years

Law school did for a few moments feel like "one big family" - the familiarity, the squabbles, the bitchiness, the fun, the tears, the grumbles, the solidarity. Common characteristics of families, no?