NYC

Economy. People are still spending. Considering how I always have to queue at the female changing room and the cash registers, I can't think of another explanation.

New Yorkers. On my previous visit, I remember blogging about how I got scolded trice by New Yorkers on my first day there. Nothing of that sort happened this time. In fact, TR and I observed that we're becoming more polite with our "thank you-s", "you're welcome" and "hi-s" to reciprocate the greetings we receive. They're rather friendly. Several random people on the street volunteered to help us take pics when they see us trying taking the "da tou" pics. One gruff looking man lent me his member's card at the supermarket checkout counter. It's the small gestures that make our trip extra memorable.

Service staff in shops. (TR has alot to say about this.) They're sincerely willing to serve and extremely polite which TR thinks is the most crucial part. I notice that they call their customers "guests". Caveat: H&M salespeople are all unfriendly and rude. Same for the European ones.

Parks. One of the nicest thing about wandering around NYC is stumbling upon one of its many city parks. Some are handkerchiefs of green space while others are more spacious and complete with fountains and carousels. What I like best is that they have tons of benches and table for people to chill and we always manage to find a seat to rest!

Battery Park (at the very tip of Manhattan facing Liberty Island. Swamped with tourists.)

Byant Park (highly recommended by Cui. The NY Public library is located there. Very chillable.)

City Hall Park (tiny corridor of trees and benches. Nicer than it sounds.)

Washington Square Park (heart of NYU. One of the prettiest parks in my opinion.)

touring NYC part 2

Swine flu. Have been receiving messages from concerned people so thanks everyone. It's kinda hard to be vigilant cos it's really impossible to see/sense/hear/feel the swine virus. We have been religiously sanitizing our hands if that helps.

Weather. Nice and cool 16-18 degrees. I'm frozen but TR likes it and cannot understand why I keep complaining.

Statue of Liberty. We didn't go to Liberty Island cos the queue for the ferry is absurdly long and tickets are not free. The budget traveller's tip to free views of Lady Liberty is from Battery Park but expect a "bite sized" view. A better picture opportunity is from the FREE Staten Island Ferry - a 20 minute ride from Manhattan to Staten Island.

No zoom.

12x optical zoom.

The mass of people chionging to enter the ferry. Not as scary as it looks.

Views of the different NYC boroughs.

The closest view of Lady Liberty we can get.

View of Manhattan.

Brooklyn Bridge. Flagged as a tourist must-see in every guidebook. I think Macculey Culkin crossed the bridge in the iconic yellow taxi in Home Alone 2! We did the touristy walk across the bridge (a hot and rather tiring 30 mins) to Brooklyn. Brooklyn was not what I expected. It's a more spacious version of Manhattan and quieter. Not as hip as what Gossip Girl portrayed!

touring NYC

Crazy weather. The heat and humidity yesterday was replaced by a 12 degrees weather and chilly wind today. Was totally unprepared hence have to splurge on a cab home to change into warmer clothing (sounds like Venice huh?).

Permanent stink. There's a kind of stench hanging over the city. A mixture of exhaust and human activities. It's usually unnoticeable but gets worse in Times Square as a result of tourists and road side BBQ stalls. I get paranoid about respiratory diseases wherever I find myself gasping for air in that area.

Financial district on a public holiday. Forgot it was Memorial Day holiday on Monday. The quiet surroundings was a pleasant experience from the usual bustle. It was lovely to stroll down the empty streets and admire the stone and brick buildings which lends NYC's financial district its uniqueness.

The pleasantly empty streets.


Wall Street - always teeming with tourists.

Resting on the steps of a building (???) in front of Federal Hall.

The lovely stone facade of the Federal Bank of America.

September 11 memorial in St Paul's Cathedral which was transformed into a relief centre. Quite a moving exhibition.


Famous bronze bull which, contrary to popular belief, is not found on Wall St but in Bowling Green Park.

City of many names

Big Apple, City that Never Sleeps, Land of All Possibilities, Gotham City... This little city has so much to live up to but I have to say, the energy I sense here is amazing. We're safely here in Cui's apartment which is full house at the moment so there's a lot of avoiding stepping on people's toes to be done.

NYC is friggin hot and humid and no difference from Singapore. What a shock! The last time I checked the weather, it was 12 degrees over there. Arrgh. To escape from one humid place to another -_-

The only people spotted wearing masks were Japs and Asians.

Jap cold noodles with mushroom and sauce. Yum!

Pretty snowflakes!

Times Square.

Gay buddies how cute!

Outside Port Authority.

Lunch at the all-American Dave & Busters.

Lovely sugar coated vanilla and chocolate doughballs!

Empire State Building which Cui and TR failed to identify -_-

Spent the day at Macy's and strolling the various shops around Herald Square before jet-lag set in.

half more day

I'm grateful for these extra hours before I fly tonight. Have dribs and drabs of things to settle. Somehow I cannot go on a holiday without feeling a little anxious. Mostly it's the "did I forget to bring something" feeling? Which in reality is not a big deal as I'm sure America - the land of plenty (and waste) - will fulfil my material needs.

My family and friends have not failed to constantly remind me of the swine flu situation in NYC. Like duh, I'm probably more up to date than them! Admittedly, it's a concern. But I'm more worried about having to be quarantined in a room with absolutely nothing to do and having my plans screwed up. Am stocking up on books and magazines for the worse case scenario. Is Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell a sufficiently long read (all the reviews cautioned that it is longer than it looks and requires patience)?

One of the little pleasures I have before a trip is selecting my travel journal. This time, it's a gift from my mom who bought it from HK.


I find it useful stick an envelope at the front/back cover to store the little mementos collected along the way.

Mass Call

Mass call is a strange event - part court hearing part ceremony. Nevertheless, the significance is that we are admitted to the bar as advocates and solicitors i.e. we can start speaking in court, signing off things in our name, giving legal advice... and earning our full pay!

I was very glad that that the ceremony did not last long as the seat in Victoria Concert Hall was uncomfortably small and the hall seemed filled with (invisible) dust. I had to struggle with a robe, a clip board and a handbag while surreptitiously blowing my nose with a tissue. Not very glam!

Looking back, I think the main problem is the weak air-con. Imagine packed rows of pupils in the full court attire - white shirt, black coat - plus the MASSIVE robe with extra padding on the shoulders (contrary to what many people, including TR, think, no we do not have to wear wigs so too bad you've lost your chance to laugh -_-) It was humid, stuffy and soporific. The inevitable result is that many people (me included) dozed off.

Pre-call photo taking. It's convocation all over again.

Thought I'll never get to see YY carrying a handbag! As for E, erm, it suits him :P

Queuing up to take the official photo which we later found out that costs $80-$200!

Post-ceremony photo taking at the outside. Ominous weather.

Most of the Rodyk pupils.

Laughing out of embarrassment of having to pose in the middle of nowhere with people streaming past.

reminder to self: time is short

It's exactly a week before I fly yet I have not finalized a travel plan. It's definitely not because I'm not hyped about this trip (though I keep getting distracted by my Europe guidebook - nothing beats the European cities!) The inertia stems from having too many ideas and places on my must-see-must-visit list. I'm overwhelmed with all the info and put off with the thought of wading through them and selecting the best. This process seems no different from tedious legal research but I'm too kiasu to ignore any potential source of travel tips.

Gala premier

Saturday was a night of many firsts. The first time I attended a movie's gala premier and the first time Angels and Demons is shown to the public, worldwide! Which probably explains the tight security measures - all guests have to deposit their handphones/cameras at a counter before entering the cinema.

Now the fun part - TR and I were flummoxed by the last ambigram but the rest were easy peasy.

the 2nd Sunday of May

happy call break

If the filing of my call papers go well, this is the first day after many months where I'm officially off work!

And the laughable thing is that I am up at 7.10am (which is the time before I'm usually conscious) despite a hangover last night after the dept decided to celebrate our call break at a nearby Boat Quay pub. The amount of alcohol consumed last night is enough to drown several cats- I caught a glance of the receipt which was looooong (frightfully long actually since we have to reciprocate their treat in 2 months). All in good fun (and good faith).

I had a free lunch too. The partner I was helping out with treated us to a Japanese buffet at the Fullerton Courtyard - the empty space in the middle of groundfloor beneath a skylight. It's a cosy and intimate place for tete-a-tete and offers a very different experience from the eat-all-you-can buffets in the main restaurant. Only sushi, salad, cakes, chasoba and miso soup were on the buffet platter. We were served tempura prawns and beef separately. I suspect it's a place for quality rather than quality dining. Not for penny pinchers!

Cheers to two months of doing only what I want :)