Selamat Hari Merdeka ke-53.

To my fellow Malaysians,
I wish you a very 53rd Happy Merdeka/Independence/National Day.

Keranamu 1Malaysia Menjana Transformasi Truly Asia Boleh Berkhidmat Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara Bersih Cekap Amanah Buat Kerja

Forgive the photo's clichéd-ness but at least I took it myself. On Merdeka Eve. While returning from work. At 11.30pm. Man I love this country.

So Much to Do in One Life Time

The past two weeks has been a mini roller-coaster: I moved from happy revelation to near-depression to elation again. 

Here are the notes to my pupillage, August 9th to 20th.

D144 (August 9th): You call this a Mega Sale? Sale my arse!

D145: Half day Legal Aid and half day Exit Evaluation at KL Bar.

D146: Half Day Internal End Evaluation at Tenaganita. Ramadan and fasting begins for Muslims.

D147: Farewell dinner for Regina and Birthday dinner for Wayne, with special appearances.

D148: Bible class, pizza after.

On Saturday 14th, things started to go downhill. 

At the first meeting for a theatre project I was involved in, I was given a "relaxed" schedule which I had doubts I could fully commit to due to the unpredictable nature of my job.  I had to make a very difficult decision of whether or not to pull out, as I did not want to be the one missing rehearsals, showing up late and making excuses. It would not be fair to everyone else in the team who was fully committed.

After leaving the first meeting with those doubts, my already tiddly heart sank to my feet when I saw my (mum's) car.  The driver's door had been smashed by some twat who left no trace of his identity, and could not be traced since there were no CCTVs in the open air parking lot. Yeah well, it happens. Thankfully neither the side fender nor the window system needed replacing. It still cost a bomb to fix though.

I was not happy. at. all. I couldn't sleep on Saturday and Sunday, and was very moody till Thursday night.

D149 (August 16th): Monday blue-hoo-hoos.

D150: Legal Aid. Not a happy bunny.

D151: I'm running out of distractions.

D152: Last Legal Aid duty day. Touched by an angel. Farewell for Senator Gursky. 

D153: Buka puasa with firm staff and farewell for Ruth.

By Wednesday, I finally decided to pull out of the project. On Thursday I met up with the man in charge. Turns out he was some kind of angel and gave me a lifeline. I'm still in. Thank God. I'm happy again. :)

(But don't get me started on the Bar Council Secretariat and Legal Qualifying Board. The attitudes of some people there is disgusting).

Moo

According to a farmer in the show "Kill It, Cook It, Eat it", most male calves in the UK are killed (by being shot in the head) and then a small portion of that is fed to wildlife reserves. The rest are simply incinerated. Why? Farmers don't need them: they only need a few bulls to impregnate cows, bulls produce no milk and their market value is lower than their rearing costs. There is simply no market for veal in the UK because most people feel it is cruel to eat young animals. Talk about irony. 

I admit that the text above is pretty random so to give you a little context: I wrote it shortly after I watched a documentary when I was studying in Manchester, circa January 2008. I know the date because I wrote it as an email message and saved it as a draft. Why I chose to write it, I can't quite remember (perhaps there was no real reason).

I also can't remember everything about the documentary, but I do remember it was about the ethical issues surrounding eating meat (which was a hot topic when I was there), in particular meat from young animals. I remember members of the audience were offered cooked suckling pig, veal, foie gras, etc, and some people adamantly refused to eat some things. I particularly remember I was shocked to see on screen how a cute little calf was just shot in with a gun by a farmer, then sent to be incinerated. It seemed ridiculous to me! Yeah, I know pretty random stuff to remember. 

There's no real reason I'm posting this, except to get it out of my email drafts and put it here for posterity...but perhaps I'm compelled to do this now because I found out today that two of my friends will be going to Exeter and Imperial to study next month. 

It brings me back to 4 years ago about this time, when I was scurrying to get my student visa, air ticket, uni accommodation and other things all sorted, filed with gut-wrenching excitement, mortifying apprehension, delirious confusion and just flat-out exhaustion before I left for the UK to pursue my degree. 

It's been 2 years since I've returned, and honestly, there are still days when I miss the place, or rather, the people there.

I can't believe it's been so long. How time flies.

Justin and Samuel, I wish you all the best. I do envy you guys. 

Yes Please!

Unfortunately for me, and all other Malaysians who enjoy music not found on the American Top 40, many great albums are not published in "Malaysian Editions" and sell for RM50 and above per CD. And you wonder why piracy flourishes?

As for some of the albums below, heck, I'd be lucky to find any edition in the stores.

Mumford & Sons
Sigh No More


Rufus Wainwright
All the Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu


Ray LaMontange & The Pariah Dogs
God Willing & The Creek Don't Rise


Arcade Fire
The Suburbs


Scissor Sisters
Night Work

Bilalah rakyat Malaysia akan dapat nikmati Amazon.com.my?

Here's to the Future for the Dreams of Youth

Note from my pupillage, July 26th to August 2nd.

D134 (July 26th): The things we do for our firm!

D135: SA>KL>Putrajaya>SA.

D136: Tonight someone told me I had a "happening" life. I wish she knew better.

D137: Favouritism can go both ways.

D138: Hmm...haven't had that in a while!

D139 (August 2nd): Late night bondage.

D140: Today at Legal Aid, I had lunch with someone who was actually detained under Operasi Lalang.

D141: "Typewriter a bit cracko today". LOL!

D142: Civil Litigation Workshop at KLBC.

D143: "Lunch Break" made it to the final showcase. Yay!

Through Every Precious Day

Nota keterangan latihan dalam kamar saya, dari tarikh 12hb Julai hingga 23hb Julai, 2010.

D124 (12th July): I got a feeling it's gonna be a good week.

D125: Legal Aid, then homecoming-cum-birthday celebration for A-S.

D126: Arrrrrrggggggh!!!

D127: Ethics & Professional Standards Exam at LPPKN Building (I hope I pass!), then lunch at the Royal Selangor Club.

D128: Seeking balance.

D129 (19th July): I barely remember the weekend happening.

D130: A mentally stimulating day, in the non-law sense.

D131: I miss authentic pub grub served in authentic pubs.

D132: My story is still in the writing.

D133: Another restless, lonely, pathetic Friday night in an endless stream of restless, lonely, pathetic Friday nights.

This Friday, I shall not be a victim again. This Friday, I'm going to leave the office on time. This Friday, I shall have somewhere to go and something to do. This Friday, I'm gonna paint the town red. And ain't nobody gonna stop me.

Can Barely Stand On My Feet

More notes from the dark side.

D114 (28th June): "Please don't go to Malik Imtiaz and ask him for an autograph. Jatuh standard man."

D115: Legal Aid at Tenaganita. Truly, I am blessed.

D116: Work will never end, but your life may, today.

D117: New love is fleeting, but old hate festers.

D118: Introductory session with Ms. Pushpa at Brickfields.

D119 (5th July): "Well, it looks benign, but if it doesn't go away by next Monday, we'll have to take a sample for tests."

D120: Legal Aid. This country scares me sometimes.

D121: The meds are making me weak.

D122: Very sick. At work. Yeah, hardcore, I know.

D123: Regret is life's best and most useless teacher; you'll always learn the lesson—after it's too late.

***
The past week was one of the most challenging work weeks for me, as the antibiotics I took to combat an ulcer (500mg!) wrecked havoc on my body, leading to coughing, a dry throat, phlegm build up and a very bad fever. I had not been that sick since I came back from the UK. Thankfully, I'm much better now.

I realised that when you're really sick, the world just seems like an awful place to be in, nobody cares and life just seems to suck. It was very hard to remain positive about anything. I thank God that for most of the time, I am blessed with good health.

As for the ulcer itself, it has subsided, but I still need to follow up with the doc about it. I guess we'll see what he says tomorrow?

(On a different note, when I googled "somebody to love lyrics", the first result was Justin Beiber's song, the second Glee Cast's cover, the third Leighton Meester's and the fourth, yes, FOURTH was Queen's. This is say, I sad, sad.)

Quote of the Week

"The way to start writing isn't to start writing at all, but by living. It isn't about creating something from thin air, but about documenting our personal feelings about the things that we see, or to put it crudely, how are you going to be a storyteller if you have no story to tell? Perhaps, in the end, there are not such things as creative people; there are only sharp observers with sensitive hearts."

Yasmin Ahmad (January 7, 1958 - July 25, 2009), Malaysian director, writer, scriptwriter, ad-woman, and sorely missed storyteller.

Blog & Roll: Stuff No One Told Me

I know, it's been a while since the last feature. Work saps away so much of me.

Anyway, I discovered this via another blog. Still in it's early stages, but already showing a lot of promise. Click on the title post to visit the blog.

Sepuluh Haiku untuk Memandu di KL

One of the reasons I think Amir Muhammad is da man. Click on the post title to read his hilarious poetry.

I Wanna Make a Supersonic Man Out of You

I've finished my play for Short+Sweet. It just needs some proof-reading and then I'll send it off, fingers crossed it'll get picked. Next week is going to be really long, 2 days in court, 1 day at legal aid, half a day for an introductory session with a KL Bar Committee member, and for those days when I'm actually in the office: a photoshoot (don't ask), 6 bills to prepare (all overdue), a capital reduction petition, case summary for submissions, research on credit letters...yes, you're right...there's no way I can do all that!

Notes from my pupillage, from 21st to 25th June.

D109 (21st June): Be careful, cause word gets around.

D110: "I won't even donate blood to help them!" (Yes, referring to the KLBar's Blood Donation Drive).

D111: "Don't be so cynical Josh!"

D112: Such a drag.

D113: Sometimes I don't know whether to laugh, cry, or kill.

God help me, I hope I'll survive next week!

Happy Father's & International Refugee's Day!

This weekend was breathless: a Bible class on Friday and today,  song-leading today, a youth meeting yesterday and Adam the Musical at Actor's Studio Lot 10 Rooftop this evening, which was quite an experience. It feels like I've used the weekend well, and there's a sense of satisfaction in that. Yet, there are books waiting to be read, DVDs meant to be watched, and pieces swimming in my head, waiting to be written down. In particular I would like to write a play for Short+Sweet, but finding the time to do so before the deadline may be tricky. Time, we all need more of it.


Anyway, here are notes from my pupillage, 7th to 18th June.

D99 (7th June): It's always good to get out of your box once in a while.

D100: Conspicuously not at Legal Aid today.

D101: Jaya Grocer's at Empire Subang. I am one happy bunny.

D102: Capital Reduction has reduced me to tears.

D103: I don't remember about this being in my employment contract. Oh wait, I don't have a contract.

D104 (14th June): Stamp duty calls!

D105: Legal Aid Duty #3. A bad day that turned out well in the end.

D106: Ethics & Professional Standards Course: what a drag!

D107: Sometimes, all you can expect is apathy.

D108: Q: What, you have no life ah? A: No, I was working for you.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a very (late) Happy Father's Day, and Happy Refugee's Day too! I hope you had a great weekend.