last week in singers

the departure date's really crept up on me, and i can't help but sing along with mr. mayer as he tries to stop that train.

speaking of trains, i love 'em! can't wait to explore the uk by rail. hands down my favourite mode of transport and with the youth pass (because i'm not in my mid 20s yet!) i save 30% on tickets. the only thing better than the prospect of endless train rides is discounted endless train rides. my inner auntie is blissed out :)

unrelated to trains, but while we're on the transport point, here's a photo from the weekend. 

mass call 2011, incidentally post #200!

"I can think of perhaps 2 other occasions in your lives that will rival this day in terms of significance and honour. One would be the day you take your marriage vow and the other, the day you become a parent and hold your baby in your hands for the very first time..." - excerpt from speech by Vice-President of the Law Society Lok Vi Ming, S.C

was called to the singapore bar on saturday 27th august and am very glad leave the profession, ironic as that is, on a high note. having finished what i started, it was fine and fitting closure to a good five years. enjoyed every moment of lawsch and have been incredibly blessed with wonderful people along the way. pupil-ing on the team i pupil-ed on was a privilege, and hand on heart i can say the chances of ever working with an (almost) perfect team like that again are very very slim :(

grateful for the mentorship i've received, and even more grateful for the support and encouragement of those i respect. my lawsch dean was my referee for medsch applications and i am convinced i was accepted because he wrote so nicely. yay to the close of one chapter and the beginning of the next. i leave in exactly two weeks and am excited beyond belief.

"This is a profession that leads you to be involved in the lives, businesses, the hopes and aspirations of people from every level of society; from the weakest to the most powerful among us; because the law is part, and rightly so, of every aspect of our society. This is a profession that allows you to be a teacher, a counselor, a protector, a healer and a friend to people who seek your help and to people you are paid to oppose." also from Lok S.C.'s speech.

 

 so with that, it's goodnight but not goodbye.

p/s on an unrelated note, 27th august was really a day of milestones seeing how i also voted for the first time! 

p/p/s have a soft copy of the law soc veep's speech so if you were at call and are interested, drop me a line and i'm happy to send it over.

au jardin singapore

isn't it pretty in the glow of the setting sun?

a dear family friend invited me to meet some visiting US doctors whom he was entertaining and i jumped at the chance to finally visit au jardin. had heard so much about it over the years but somehow never got down to going. also, opportunities like this don't drop on my lap every so often so all the more i dropped everything to go. 

the food was superlative (augh! forgot to keep the menu) and the service impeccable. but nothing screams "evening well spent" like a date in new york come easter 2012. can't wait to re-meet the lovely guests on their side of the pond!

just one more reason

why i miss stockholm, and so look forward to going back to school.

it takes so little

 but means so much.

carousel singapore

should never have taught this little one to swim, now she won't stop!

in other news, it's been one happy week of meet ups and chill outs. was back in the +65 on thursday and the time back in singers has really flown by. had pre-departure things to see to but will most definitely spare you the banality. went to au jardin for the first time and was suitably impressed. have had the pleasure of lunch out everyday for long overdue catch ups. what a luxury :) and there's much to look forward to this weekend! have absolutely no plans today because i've been running errands almost nonstop too so i wanted some time out. but come friday it's full steam ahead into the weekend. packed packed packed and i wouldn't have it any other way. looking forward to long anticipated girl time on friday, followed by a grown up dinner with a bunch of disgusting overachievers that i adore inspite of myself ;) 

headed to universal studios with the folks on saturday, just so i will never have the same regret as TPL and looks like it's back to tbc on sunday for some sun (augh!) and squeezing with the beautiful people.

sydneyside

just a few days to old friends, bondi and hunter valley :)

there's something really warm and fuzzy about hanging out with old old friends, who were at every birthday party growing up, disappear for a coupla' of years and then reappear at the very same firm you're working at. the world is too small and one of the best things about the bar exam course and pupilage was getting reacquainted with A. 

and because we can't get enough of A, we're headed down unda' to hang out outside the office - the true test of an office bromance ;)

perth in photos

good times, and parting is only a sweet sorrow
if there is a white christmas reunion in the works... :)

Nesting

The word usually conjures up images of rounded bellies ripe with baby but no such nesting in this case!

Not one for feathered flocks but when I saw these decals first in Shoo’s office and later in Azi’s photos, I figured it was time to get my hands on some home improvement.

And while I’m not one for feathered flock, I’m a big fan of living spaces and am looking forward to decorating my newfound home for the year, small as it may be.

On a side note, I loved my room in Stockholm. It was HUGE and even had a tiny “hall” area for my boots and wardrobe. So the fairy lights will make a reappearance, as will these decal babies waiting all rolled up in their cardboard tube.

I live by fairy light, having picked up the strings of golden goodness in Stockholm. Single-handedly installed them in my Stocks room – oh just you try zigzagging ‘invisible” fishing line half a metre below the ceiling, then twirling fairy lights around said line, trying to avoid the huge paper ball in the middle. Dismantled the set-up and brought the fairy lights home, and now they’re following me to my new home :) At times like these, I bemoan my sentimentality.

Having found out where I’ll be staying yesterday, I’m starting to think about the apartment and the layout of my room. Hope there’s enough wall space for my decorette finds!

(What? I only go in September? I can’t fix up my room till then? Nooo…)

Home-to-be

I woke this morning to an email that I’d been eagerly anticipating for some time.

Relieved to know that I got my first choice for accommodation – a single room with en suite bathroom in a flat of 6 rooms. It’s 240m from the library (yes I’ve google mapped it because I’m OCD) and less than five minutes walk from the nearest tube station. Whew!

Now to start applying for my visa.

Oh and I’ve gotten my gym membership too so yay to exercise and all its associated benefits. Snigger.

Peter Pan Syndrome

Phuket (image from jetsetter.com)

As an undergrad, I knew it was exam season when I began feverishly planning my post-exam getaways. Am slightly ashamed to admit that I’d be at the copier frantically Xeroxing the relevant lonely planet, instead of the textbooks I should well and truly have had my nose in. So after consistently spending eight semesters that way, it’s little surprise that the escapist in me has carried this guilty pleasure to the big bad working world. Less than two weeks to go before I’m done with my training contract and I’ve been spending every free moment (outside office hours, I should add) plotting where to go and what to do. Headed to Perth the day after I’m done at the firm, and then to Sydney over the National Day pseudo long weekend. After that, I’m tempted to take up a dear friend’s offer to be his guest at Turi Beach and drag granny along for some gma-gdaughter bonding.  Also currently torn between Phuket and Bali for early September. Being especially masochistic and trawling through every single deal imaginable on www.fascinating.travel in an attempt at creating my own spreadsheet to compare the various specials. Guess short jaunts are the way to go in this pre-departure period. Seeing how I’ll be away for the foreseeable future, I’m all for maxing out my year-long Australian visa and exploring the South East Asian backyard.

Psyched and counting down the days :)

Now if only the pasture I’ve been dreaming of being relegated to would materialize…

Bali (image from jetsetter.com)

less than three weeks to

 

and

and

but sadly not nick who has since had a sea change and moved to melby for his first job!

alex's flying visit to singers left me massively missing my friends down undah and what better way to celebrate the end of pupilage than swinging south for a couple of days.

can't wait to see team australia on their home turf!

MOF

 

one of the things i really like about the firm is the work hard play hard culture. sure, that's how most places like to sell themselves but this one really puts it money where its mouth is. 

another really nice thing is how inclusive they are - everyone's invited from the directors to the interns. in fact, i remember receiving the invites while during the bar course, before i even started pupilling at the firm. this friday's event was no exception. gotta love the firm tab, which translated to the liberty to order "one of everything" for the table. it's such a bonus to work with (for?) people who are genuinely good and people who are more friends than colleagues. needless to say, the view was amazing and i never tire of oggling mbs from across the bay. had heard many good things about kinki and was glad to finally check it out in person.

yay for the ministry of fun!

next up, pupils' bash. DUNDUNDUNNNN. a time-honoured tradition with every pupil going down. defo mixed feelings of anticipation and apprehension! looking forward to finishing pupillage on a high note, although not literally, and just might have to defensive detox this last month in the run up to the bash.

almost home free

TGIF!

one "last day" with the dream team before i start a three week corporate rotation. fingers crossed it won't be too intense. semi-hoping for some down time and have heard positive things about rotation so far :) after that, it's back to the team for one final week then i'm DONE DIDDLY DONE and can kiss the industry goodbye forever and ever :) 

despite not hating my job, the mere thought of july 25th and the sheer freedom that follows sends shivers of glee down my spine.

have been asked many times whether my current job is all that bad and the answer, plain and simple, is no. i like it very much and adore the team i'm on. but at the same time, there's just this other avenue to pursue, independent of what i'm doing now. i think it's a calling, one i've given plenty of thought to. had to check check double check that i was 101% sure of myself, that this was absolutely what i wanted to do and nothing else would suffice, that i wouldn't regret starting career #2 just when my peers are being made junior partners. a second degree had always been on the cards, so it didn't come as a shock to my nearest and dearest when the opportunity presented itself, neither did it surprise me. was going through my 2009 journal last night and randomly chanced upon an entry plotting my way to medsch while still in law3. i remain vaguely envious of the lawyers who were born to be lawyers and eat breathe and sleep law. they figured it out early on, and are now milking their gift for what its worth. awesome!

so hurrah to being young, to having options, and to not settling for something that (sadly) doesn't fulfill me 100%. looking forward to one day being in a place where i wake every day to do best what i like best.

a year ago

i was on the verge of graduation. had just returned from six glorious weeks of eurotripping, celebrated gramp's birthday, took off to ho chi minh city with two couples (or four friends, depending on whether you're the glass is half empty or half full type!) and felt virtually invincible.

fast forward 365 days - gramps slipped away in october, i'm almost done with pupillage and my joy at finally being done with school was ostensibly short-lived.

not that there's much deadweight to shed but yay to the good endings and new beginnings to come. the photo really says it all.

emptied lockers

"...our lockers are cleared out while the undergrads still have theirs sealed shut in the background awaiting the new timetable and reading material."

photo and quote credits to the mighty talented joel cheang whose eye and skillz leave me in slack-jawed wonder.

in anticipation

of the miserable weather i'm voluntarily subjecting myself to, felt it prudent to begin assembling an arsenal of weather-appropriate wear.

funny story: at the interview, i somehow convinced the interviewers that i was the rough and tumble outdoorsy type when this can't be further from the truth. so buying galoshes and entertaining the thought of venturing out in the mud and rain feels somewhat conscience-assuaging now.

gave the plastic a workout, only to have the voice of reason rain on my parade by reminding me that i've already accumulated my weight in textbooks (donated by concerned friends) and have no luggage space to lug galoshes (OF ALL THINGS) with me. plus said galoshes would probably be cheaper at primark. also, since they're already so uggs, i couldn't possibly do any worse by shopping there. 

butbutbut little did he know that i've pre-empted all this and shipped the goods to my topsecret london address. it's so topsecret that the even the current resident will be surprised when my brown paper package lands on the doorstep :)

score!

booked my one way ticket

and...

 

(card and photo credits to the extremely talented kelly of paperexploits)

if you're a regular, you're probably massively annoyed at me right now for constantly alluding to that dream thing or that dream job or that bigg bigg something that's supposed to happen this year. i'm truly sorry for being such a tease. however, so as not to derail my fledging legal career before it even started, i did have to keep this exciting bit of news on the down low for awhile.

so, here goes. i'm going to medical school to do a second degree.

sometimes, i feel like the world's biggest clown and/or the posterchild for confused children. but most other times, i'm besides myself with glee to have been given a second bite of the cherry. i get to be 19 all over again! isn't that absolutely awesome cakes? grateful for the university scholarship, and for amazingly supportive family.

for those who want the gory details - took the medsch entrance and singapore bar exams simultaneously (talk about hedging my bets!), started my training contract in january 2011 and found out two months later that i'd gotten into medsch. funny story: my medsch interview was on the exact same day the bar exam results were released! God sure has a sense of humour :) also, while we're talking about God - i've never been as humbled as i am now by His sheer goodness and grace. WOW.

and oh right, back to that one way ticket. guess i've to come home at some point, but there's this inherent romanticism in buying a one way ticket*, compared to a return. suppose i'll have to cross the how-to-get-myself-home bridge when i come to it!

this is the plan for now on! six weeks of training contract to go (done 25 july!), get called to the singapore bar a month after (27 august) and start term exactly a month after being called to the bar. gotta love the way the timing dovetails ever so beautifully :)

*truth be told, it's hardly as spontaneous as it sounds. just that an open draw return ticket on cattle class was S$3k but i managed to milk my miles and score a one-way ticket on saver for 29k miles.

little slice of paradise

never have i felt more inclined to clone myself and leave the original me in villa 117