Start of study break

Work, work

I've had a record 8+ hours of sleep last night but it has made me even more dozy this morning. Am now typing this in a semi-conscious state, hoping this exercise will wake me up so that I can get back to reading those neverending cases. Discussion partner JL was saying something about someone falling behind the schedule yesterday; I told him to hold the sarcasm, but really what he says is true, I am too b****y slow in preparing notes.

I have decided to take different approach: instead of plowing through the cases at the very beginning, I shall just breeze through them by reading the available summaries/ headnotes to make my notes. I shall later read those cases if I still feel like it, which is most unlikely.

Birthday updates

Dear YX baked me a cake to celebrate my birthday at Campus Ministry (CM) last night. Two birthday celebrations this year. Well, it's the 21st after all. Heard from my mom that she almost wanted to get my uncle to get me a cake, but thought it might inconvenience him too much to leave his work and come all the way to my hostel. To think I almost had three celebrations.

On greater emotional sensitivity

Now that I see how some people in PGP Gang can reach out and express concern for other people if they feel something is wrong with in their lives, I have come to expect higher standards of people around me, expecially those people in leadership positions. I would expect such people to display greater sensitivity towards the distress or any anomalies in others. I feel that this is what a good leader should do, especially a good spiritual leader.

End of legal writing, relief or regret?

Going for a potluck today, wrap-up session with legal writing TG,shortly after my RA interview. Cannot really be bothered with the food, but aiyah, will have to cook it later.

Happy Birthday Me

21 today, and legally an adult. A milestone? maybe, though I don't find it particularly significant with no immediate changes taking place around me.

Thank you dear PGP gang for the party. Actually I kinda thought that it might be tonight instead of last night, what with so many things happening only just recently. And I was bushed and a bit low key, so went back to sleep prematurely, I mean like way ahead of my bedtime. Woke to a knock on my door and was persuaded by my cluster mate to take a peek into the kitchen -- which was suspiciously dark and silent behind a closed door. Somewhat disoriented and spectacle-less, I was rather reluctant, since she made it sound so mysterious. But well, I stuck my head in, and saw

Turned around back into my room again to get dressed, then came out to a birthday cake and song. Although just roused from bed, I got into a party mood easily, I mean how difficult is it to scream and laugh if someone is chasing you with an egg? Was later caught on camera with a simply hilarious expression on my face, shortly after being egged.

Yep, fun, flour, cake and egg marked the highlights of the night. Basically it was just a major sabo session, disguised as a birthday party. I'm sure the guys had the most fun. The girls were just trying to stay clean. I gave that up as a lost cause after that egg. And I had washed my hair just earlier. 2 shampoos in a day! I hope that egg has had some moisturizing effect...

Oh, and my menagerie has just expanded to 4 with the addition of a large gingerbread-coloured teddy bear. It's slightly larger than a pillow, with large dark eyes and floppy arms and legs, and very soft fur (I like!). I am still wondering if Gingerbread is an appropriate name for a teddy bear. Or maybe Ginger? Brownie? Gingerbeer? Nah, not quite. Still thinking.

Ok I'm really going overboard blogging today, but hey, I'm only just rediscovering my blogging self! Also, I find that there are times when I write diligently in my diary, then I leave off for a period. If this pattern were to hold true in my blog as well, then I'd better make the most of my blogging 'xin qing' while I have it. No, I am not making excuses for myself.

Actually my heart is rather heavy in contrast to the upbeat paragraph before. I just looked at a friend's blog today and realised that something is quite wrong with her Christian walk. I have yet to know what it was that put her off Christianity so badly, but I know that this is denial and escapism. I don't think I am very strong in faith myself, but it still disturbs me when someone is so totally put off her faith like that. I wish I knew why and how I might help.

*muacks* I love you!

Got a doggie handphone accessory from YX yesterday that says just that when you press its back. Thanks YX for the delightful birthday present. Yep,my birthday is just around the corner, although only my closer friends know about it.

Now I am in a quandary. What do I do with 'I love you' doggie? I'm sure it gets dirty easily, and how much more if I were to tote it around with my handphone. Right now doggie is sitting on my toy dolphin Curly and smiling at me. Maybe it will be a good idea to leave it there.

This afternoon is hot. Getting a headache. Maybe I should make a move down to the study room. At least it is air-conditioned.

Inspired

Decided to make a new attempt at this blog. I've been reading around other people's blogs recently and I am starting to get a clearer picture of how I want my blog to be like. Plus the input from KN last night was quite helpful: a blog is to showcase the side of you that you want the world to see.

I am treading a fine line here: how to make my blog personal enough to call my own, and how to be selective about the material I post so that I don't end up a) hurting feelings nor b) divulging something I shouldn't.

In case I haven't said it already, I am giving this blog one month to see how it develops. I shan't bother about the HTML and the layout and stuff just yet, but concentrate on getting the material just so. What flavour shall my blog have? And oh, I think to project only the side of myself that is in law school leaves very little room for expression. So much more happens out of law school! Especially at this time of the term with lectures ending and study break beginning. I shall try to be more well-rounded in expressing my life. I think that this calls for a change in the title at least. 'Still a Layman' is too restricted a title, even though it is so true.

Well now, lunch break over. Back to work

Exchanging study notes with someone give you the impetus to complete them I think. I would be much less bothered to make them if there was no one to require them from me. There are so many notes to make that one does not feel like starting. But very soon the exams will be upon me.

Other people's notes

My senior D gave me a stack of her old notes after I grouched to her on how difficult it was to grasp the issues. I thought the Professors always say that it si no use looking at other people's notes because it is the process of making your own notes that you digest what you learn. Still I am grateful for the thought. It does also take me a rather long time to compile any notes that I need.

Edited first blog entry

My first blog entry. This is actually an edited version of the original blog entry on this date since the direction of this blog have changed since then. This is actually a re-entry on April 21, almost a month after this entry. I had hoped to sort of 'launch my blog' after a month and ask people to look at it after it has had some time to grow.

I'm not doing any fancy blogskin stuff yet for a simple reason -- I don't know how to. BUT, the holidays are coming and I have big plans... =).