counting!

:)

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.

moutai moments 2

so i posted about one of the best friday nights in awhile last week but the professional photos just came in. without a doubt, they blew my far from professional shots out of the water. which is just fine because i am continuously bowled over by dr. koo chiehshen's photos. he takes the best photos and i shamelessly rip them off because he's sucha sweetie. it's no coincidence that my reserve of photos (i.e. the good stuff that never makes it to facebook or the blog) predominantly originates from him. somehow he manages to make everything look so perfect, so styled, and so put together when in fact it's just me and my supreme chapalang-ness. 

case in point: dusting me 'misu, and the table, with cocoa....

and he's pretty dishy, isn't he!

teehee.

it takes so little

 but means so much.

thrifty sydney

to risk sounding more maudlin than age-appropriate, the best things in life are free. like glorious sunsets and a rainbow or two. collected our wheels from the thrifty rental at darlinghurst and were quick to milk our newfound mobility with a drive right up to the coast where we were very lucky to catch the sunset, and rainbows on display.

then when it got dark, we looped back to bondi for some cool chasing at icebergs.

happy birthday E

and thank you for the most fantabulous meal ever.

eskimo, my newfound love

My ears aren’t very long so I hadn’t heard of Eskimo till I saw @plongin’s tweet. However, one look at Paul and beautiful lady on his arm and you’d know he’s a man of impeccable taste. So when he raved about the assam black tea with pudding and coffee jelly, I knew I had to try. As luck would have it, a different P who happens to be interning and seated next to me, texted the next day to ask if I’d like some Eskimo. My usual polite self-restraint was cast to the wind and I semi-demanded two cups, one for me and one for cubby buddy.

One sip and I started grinning so wide that cubby commented she’d never seen me that happy, not even after the S$9.3million ruling.

It’s been awhile since I had a brand new drinking experience. I liked that the tea wasn’t too sweet and how well the contrast of textures in each sip worked. The mildly bitter coffee jelly and smooth as silk pudding has me thinking about it even now. And hipster as this choice of tea sounds, it was well and truly a winner.

precious little bundles

can't believe they're already one month old and OHSOBIG now.

 

(photo credits to ju and her friend's powerful camera)

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.

organic

food and local produce as far as possible is very important to me. and i'm proud to say that we went green at the resort by sipping our drinks out of lemongrass stalks (no plastic!) and eating local and organic as much as possible. the burst of freshness and sheer dedication to preserving the natural flavour went a long way and i'm so glad the place was picked for its extensive and excellent cuisine.

belly to belly

love the tiny steps she takes as she wriggles across my belly on hers.

presley's puppies

was all ready to post about malacca when i was interrupted by the extremely punctual arrival of this bundle of joy. so far, it's been an all boy affair with the colour count standing two black and two yellow. we await the birth of the remaining three with bated breath. will they be boy puppies or girl puppies? what colour will they be? stay tuned!

p.s. in case you can't tell, they're labradors!
p.p.s i'm trying so very hard not to be superficial but i really really really hope we score at least one chocolate pup >.<

persistance pays

foie gras X 6 having a party in my tumtum

green pea risotto

white asparagus with poached egg and truffle sauce

all washed down with early grey and mysterious blue leaves

had a hankering for lunch with a view and called the one restaurant with free flow foie gras but alas, they were fully booked. this, of course, only served to make me want to eat there more. so most embarrassingly, i called at 10 minute intervals asking if any space had opened up. no such luck. finally conceded defeat and dragged my feet to my "back up", a cute french creperie around the corner.

of course, the moment i sat down at the creperie and was mere seconds from placing an order for 3 massive crepes to drown my sorrow at foie gras deprivation, said restaurant rang and indeed, there had been a last minute cancellation.

in pidgin french (wanted to +brownie points for effort!) i feigned remorse to the proprietress and somehow promised i'd be back with an army of friends in tow the next time. and then a hop skip and jump across the street, whizzed up to the 68th floor where the spoils of persistence awaited.

most times, my sheer gluttony and inclination to excess is cause for deep shame. however, this time, i was pleased as punch to stuff my face to my heart's content :) didn't help that after lunch i naturally succumbed to food coma, only to wake for cardiac arrest on a plate a.k.a korean bbq dinner at sean's.

what's not to like about long weekends :)

pig party

this celebration was some time coming but what better way to commemorate the biggest deal in my life so far than breaking out the suckling pig :) i suppose biblically, they would slaughter the fattened calf but i don't know any cow farmers. however, on D's recommendation i've been introduced to the bestest suckling pig seller ever and am fast gaining 'regular' status at his stall. at the expense of my expanse, of course. but sleep is for the weak, and diets begin tomorrow because there was a pig to triple-handedly demolish at this partyyy. 

and, i'm almost not wanting to share this particularly juicy secret but this was suckling pig like never before. gracious host D lovingly hand carried century eggs back from yung kee in hong kong and introduced me to the most gourmet combination ever. a sliver of these babies oozing their molten yolk goodness on the perfectly crisped roasted pig with a corner of preserved ginger and ohmyword, what a Moment. the hipsta colour is a bit off but i was convulsing in gastronomical glee. 

we'd kailan blanced in spiced water and drizzled with macadamia oil and a good white wine to round things up. 

such a simple pleasure, easily replicable and a truly memorable meal.

fried mee sua kuala lumpur

reason enough to make the hike.

bestie an ocean away

so i'm going to KL to meet one of my favouritest people on earth.

we first met when we were fifteen, were inseparable until we were 18 and then she left for canada, never to be seen again. 

ok, so that sounds a wee bit more dramatic than it really was.

butbutbut for the first time in MANY MANY YEARS (you didn't think i was going to give a way my age, did you!) we're going to be at the same place at the same time.

she's going home (to petaling jaya) for a wedding and i'm free as a bird until my wings are clipped come 31 jan. what other way to celebrate freedom than to hop across the causeway for some quality time with someone i don't foresee myself meeting up with again until either of us gets married!

can't wait for stayovers and pig outs and plenty of heart-to-heart deep meaningful conversation.

whee :)

vivenda majorda goa

after a week in the family friend's apartment in baga, my travel buddies and i were itchy for a change of air. chanced upon this gem in majorda and headed south with sunil at the wheel. best decision ever. it was a lovingly restored portugese house with charming wraparound balustrade and all the fittings of an english country manner. unsurprisingly, it was the labour of love of british expat siblings and the guests were an eclectic mix. felt like a house party with cool hosts and interesting guests!

 

 

also, i had the coolest bathroom which left me pleased as punch :)

2011 has

the makings of being the best year yet.

while there is a "limited range of possibilities"*, to borrow a line from a dear mathematically-inclined friend, these possibilities are each mutually exclusive and fantastic. the control freak in me is sort of freaking out at not knowing exactly what's going to happen. but the non-control freak part of me (probably the bath tub of sake i had for lunch speaking...) is delirious with delicious anticipation. 

have a sneaky suspicion that things are going to turn out just the way i dreamt** (see? control freak) and how life is about to change forever but am cautious not to get ahead of myself. but let me just sayyy big big BIG transition ahead and i am psyched. 

so with a little more bravado than i actually feel, bring it on!

after all, it's not over till the fat lady sings.

*edit as of 13 june 2011: 
possibility #1 get into medsch and go
possibility #2 get into medsch but realise i'm headoverheels in <3 with being a lawyer and not go
possibility #3 not get into medsch

** possibility #1

peace on earth and goodwill to men

merry christmas everyone! 

what a wet christmas it has been. suppose that's the closest singapore is getting to snow.  but it's nice and warm inside. thankful i've comfy digs and plenty of wonderful people to surround myself with. christmas eve, christmas day and boxing day have been marathon feasting sessions with each party seamlessly merging into the next. double booked for lunch and dinner and was starting to feel a little worse for wear. but tis the season to be jolly and at the moment there are what feels like 100 army boys running around downstairs. shudder. the prude in me smells smokes too :/ and does not quite fancy having to pick through the debris on my way to church tomorrow. ah well. gotta live and let live.

perfectly happy in my room blasting christmas carols and relishing the downtime after much socialising. life is simple and sweet. in a good place, have been for most of the year, and i'm treasuring every moment of being young, footloose and responsibility free. it's a pretty darn amazing state to be in.

party face off, and good night!

p/s let me leave you with this awesome sign i chanced upon at lunch.

:)

on the cusp

one of my favourite feelings is delicious anticipation and i'm enjoying it in spades this morning. having written six exams since last monday, you cannot imagine my sheer delight at being left with one last MCQ paper tomorrow. so this pre-conclusion is way yummier than the actual conclusion, because it goes downhill from there and it's crystallisation means there is one less thing to look forward to. 

i don't mind studying, it's something i've been accustomed to for the past decade. yet it borders on surreal that this might, quite possibly, be my last exam ever. and i just want to linger here, in this amiable place of knowing it's the home stretch and i'm almost done. methinks i'm more in love with the idea of being finished with this final exam than with being done itself. isn't that funny? to be more enthralled by the idea of something than that something itself. which is why i always get so annoyed after a good meal because i know it's over and the experience is unlikely to replicate itself; for you can only discover something once. rediscovery is overrated.

then again i'm loathe to be one of those empty people living from experience to experience. because there is so much good in the everyday that you miss by living in expectation of the next big thing. that said, this blog is largely about the big things, the backpacking i'm trying to squeeze under my belt in this final frontier of pre-work freedom. been very fortunate to have had so many shots at this 'pre-work freedom' i think my friends are tiring of hearing me use it to justify the escapades i've made these past eighteen months.

first there was south america ("last time travel so far and for so long before final year") but then i went on exchange ("last time to party before final semester" and "if i don't explore europe now, it'll be too far to return to in the future." machiam 21st century continental drift...) followed in quick succession by a few short jaunts during final semester ("last time to relax before final exams" come to think of it, i might've hazarded a take-home exam in hoi ann because hey, if i could take it home then i could also very well take it to vietnam!),  then there was the great grad trip ("last time i've a long holiday. done with school! taking off for two months. will be somewhere in europe! bye!") and then i was a shameless parental parasite whilst on full-time course ("if i don't explore the region before i start work, when will i get the chance again?") and now i'm almost done with my professional exam, i realise that recently effected changes herald a two month break compared to two weeks in previous years (but i didn't know this when i used my "last time i've a long holiday" excuse for grad trip) between my last paper and the start of work. so hellooooo wanderlust, my old friend, perhaps this is really the last time i can use my "last time" excuse. but i sure hope not ;)

so this morning has been a good one and after tomorrow i will be footloose and fancy free till february 2011, at the very least. there are things to do, places to be and people to see but it's really quite delicious being able to relish the thought of TWO WHOLE MONTHS of sheer freedom. i could do anything! being young and being free is pretty darn amazing. peter pan syndrome ftw!