Xin Nian Dao!

First off, Happy Chinese New Year all!! As I type this, I’m on the train down to London. Unfortunately, I cant stay long as I’m only going down for a KPUM (www.kpum.org.uk) meeting for the day. Lectures will be starting tomorrow. Tommorow, the next term begins! Ahh.. It’s been long since I’ve posted something coz of exams and all. I’ve learnt lots the past weeks as the novelty of being here in the UK has started to wear off. It really does get depressing during the cold winter months and the exams really amplifies that effect. It’s gotten really cold the past week although it was quite bearable after the short burst of snow over Europe after Christmas. I’ll just go through what’s been going on the past few weeks…

1 day ago – Sat/Chinese New Year Eve – I spent most of the day ‘resting’… and when out for dinner with hall mates and a few other friends. Not just an ordinary dinner but a CHINESE dinner at Mandarin, the best Chinese you can find in Notts. I’ve been there once with Seng after the basketball tournament. One cheesing off thing was I made reservations for 8 in our name and we got there separately and when we arrived, we discovered we still had to wait! They basically didn’t book any tables but just gave it away. Bah.. typical Chinese business men! Worse part was the men there were very rude to me when I asked why. Sigh.. I guess the better the food, the more screwed up the people there are. Well, yeah.. We got our table after 15 minutes of waiting and the food was great… it came up to 10 quid. Me and Seng were looking forward to the Pork Intestines which we had the last time but we somehow ordered the wrong ones. >.<>

Lol. We went back to Rutland and watched this Chinese movie which Stephen Chow in it.. I think the title was something-scholar. It was hilarious.. classic Chow Sing Chi! So that’s how I spent my CNY eve. No ang-paus. No CNY cookies. I guess no matter how hard you try when you’re overseas.. Things will never be the same and it’s a fact you’ll have to live with. You just gotta roll with the times. Don’t get me wrong now. I’m not saying that everything back home should be forgotten but it’s always nice to have some stuff to remind you off back home. As the old saying goes ‘God gave us memories as roses in the winter’ (God Bless Mrs Harding, my old English teacher for this saying)

2-4 days ago – Been busy running around doing stuff for Malaysian Night and KPUM. I’ve been busy trying to get myself in shape. Went for a swim and played some basketball.

5 days ago – Exams are over!!! Freedom! This is day after exams and we, liberated law students had a small Chinese Take-away gathering at Jin’s place in Lincoln Hall. We had Hong Kong House take-away.. it’s was good stuff. Chatted, played abit of Magic TCG and some Cho Tai Di.

6 Days ago(Monday(- My final paper! A paper in Contract Law. I’ll have to admit that I wasn’t well prepared for my exams this term. Maybe it’s got to do with the knowledge that the results here don’t really matter. Overall, I think I did miserably… *sigh* If there’s a reoccurring theme this few months is that mistakes are meant to be learnt. In other words, ‘screw up with the first, ace the rest’. No matter what people can tell you, the best teacher would be experience, For the first year in Law, the first year doesn’t count towards the results in the final degree but matters a lot when trying for summer contracts as that would be the only reference point for the firms. However, the understanding law coursework which I was stressing about in the last post has to be passed to move on to the next year. At the very least, I’ve lowered my expectations to just pass my coursework and scrap through this term and ‘up my game’ this coming term. I really could do with better detailed notes and crisp at my finger tips memory of the relevant cases.

11 days ago (Wednesday) My First paper. Yeap, I had only two, It was a paper in Tort (which I basically a civil wrong ie: I cause an accident and someone makes a claim against me)

Well, yeah.. that’s what been I’ve been up to in my ‘law-full’ life, Alright I can hear the groans back there…!! Well, that’s all for now. I’ll have to say indeed that the novelty of being here has worn off and certain harsh truths and lessons are being learnt along the way. At the end of the day, no matter how bad or good things may be, it’s about who you comes out at the end of it. For better or worse…

Comics and such

Hey peeps. Ever since my parents left, awake has been the new sleep. No, not coz i'm enjoying myself but coz i've got two essays and a case anaylsis to complete by the 10th. One of them is particulary interesting, "Without law, there is no order" A common thing to say, "Law and Order".. seems to go hand in hand. I'm sure i'll enjoy typing this one out. Just the citations and sources are the tricky bit. But first, i've got to finish this pesky consti essay!

The next few days, MSN to me is like a submarine. I'll submerge by going "appear offline" to avoid the social radar to concentrate on my work but when i get bored i re- surface but going " online/away" Heh. Don't mind me.. I've got an imaginative mind. Lack of sleep helps breed more of that.. all those pretty colours... whee. >.< Nah, JK.. i'm not going dillusional, yet...

Yesterday was a horrid day to put it in a non-vulgar way. Ever had a time where things just don't go your way? Well, ever since i left my backpack in the train on the way to the airport.. it hasnt been. The money wasted and effort wasted in retreiving it *sigh* Basically, I got booted of the train yesterday coz I didnt have my rail card on me. If I had followed my parents down to London to wish them off (and also claim my bag from lost and found) and returned to Notts, it would have costed an additional 54 quid!! My existing tickets were invalidated just coz I had left my Railcard at home. Miserable time it was. I had to get off the train a few stops later and take the opposite train back to Notts. It was a horrible farewell to my parents. My dad upset at me for my foolishness (which i admit) and me not able to get my bag back. It all started coz of my forgetfulness in leaving behind my bag and later on, my railcard. *sigh* A low point in my life, this was. Lesson is: Keep your baggage with you at all times. *deeper sigh* To make things worse, my phone charger is in my backpack so.. my phone's dead for the past week and possibly the week to come. Why can't i use another charger you say... Coz the blardy phone's an obscure NEC phone!! ARGGHH!! *deepest sigh* Pardon my melodramaticness but tis was indeed a bad time... A downward spiral. I've got to be more careful in the future dammit... Rant over.. something now about a joy in my life which i'll like to share with the world.. Comics. After that incident, it was comics that uplifted my spirits. The great thing about being over at my brother's place is the comics. The Italian food he cooks is a plus. But i've got to say C-O-M-I-Cs are one of the highlights.. Among the comics I've read over here (some which he got from libraries) are : Sandman: Endless Nights(by the highly acclaimed Neil Gailman) Ghostworld(it was made into a movie) and a biblical related one.. Chosen by Mike Millar. These aren't your typical comics. It isn't about bodily disporportionate super people (talking about the muscles la..) who have a fetish of wearing their tighies undies on the outside stopping evildoers from world domination. These comics actually deals with real world stuff. However, I've got to note here that all 3 comic books are pretty explicit in content. Believe it or not, Ghostworld has nothing on powers. It's just about 2 girls in our era, coming of age. Sandman deals with themes dealing with humanity such as desire, death.. combined with mystery, wonderful art, fantasy and exoticness) Some of the stories are just plain wierd tho.. and takes lots of deep thought. Something I dont seem really good at? Lol.

But the comic i'll really like to point out is CHOSEN. It's a really really cool comic!! It's about.. WHAT IF.. Jesus was born in modern times? The comic is rich with symbolism(The cover of the graphic novel has a boy on a cross and two telephone poles, in the shape of the cross in the horizon..giving the look of Golgotha).. and it doesn't necessary insult Christianity but poses questions. It starts out with a 12 year old boy who goes wandering in the woods with his friend in search of a porn magazine they heard was out in the woods. But then, tragedy strikes! A lorry veers off the bridge and lands on him! Next, we are brought to the hospital where a priest approaches his parents and we discover, there's not a scratch on him!

A nurse approaches him and he questions the nurse, "How is it possible?" Then, she replies, " Ask your mother why your father spends each night in the backroom?"

Zoom a few pages forward and we have a scene where all the teachers are asking him question about math, history, science and he answers them from the top of his head. His mother find him in shock and shouts, " Home!" Drawing an analogy between Jesus and the temple elders in the Temple of Jerusalem.

The comicbook goes on to draw parallels to Jesus. The way the writer deals with this touchy issue is.. just.. Brilliant. It was a great read.. one of the best i've read. I'm not giving away how it ends.. but if u see it, do check it out! Here some links to some reviews on it.

IGN
popmatters

Well.. that's all for now.. Cheers. I'm off to help my bro cook our dinner.. let the house training begin! >.<

P.S I'll post some pics and stories about my trip down to London, Bath and Italy... sometime in the future.

An uplifter...

Feeling down? Try listening to Coldplay's : Everything's not lost. Try singing along... It's really therepeutic. Never fails for me.

Ah well.. back to my research >.< Best wishes, all.

Winter Blues...& Injustice to a fallen hero..

Being away for the new year has enabled me to skip the compulsory post reflecting on the new year and talking about resolutions etc...

So, here I am. I'm spending my 1st winter in the UK. I've been warned it gets depressing. The first few weeks weren't too bad. But now.. It's getting to me. Maybe it's the lack of social interaction with the outside world. Maybe it's the tons of revision I should be plowing thru right now before the exams. Maybe it's coz I've got 2 essays to complete and losing my research and papers in a bag which I left behind in a train while on the way to London to catch our plane to Italy. Maybe it's just the cold, cloudy weather. *sigh*

On the other hand, I've got family to lean on. Parents are down here till the 4th. I'll be staying with my bro till the 8th before i move back into halls.

Expect fewer updates in the coming weeks as I've got datelines to beat.

Back to the homefront, Malaysia... there's an issue about the Islamic Burial of a national hero, Moorthy Maniam who conquered mount Everest in 1995. The issue is this: He was given an Islamic burial as it was claimed that he had converted to Islam. However, this was not to the knowledge of his close friends and relatives. His wife tried to contest this claim (to claim the body and give proper Hindu Burial Rites to her husband) but the Islamic courts (Syariah Courts) are "untouchable". Apparently, the Civic and the High Court are unable to meddle as non-muslims are not allowed to appear in Syariah courts. The Syariah's court ruling in favour of the Islamic Religious Affairs Council goes unchallenged. Basically, non-muslims have no legal remedy against the Syariah Courts. Not even our high courts have the power to challenge their decision! This isn't an issue about religion but about justice. At the very least, her case deserves to be heard.(FYI, Moorthy was interviewed by TV3 on the 31st of October on how he was spending Deepavali and in the affidavit submitted by the wife, it states he has been seen eating pork, drinking wine and has not participated in any Islamic religious course) Doesn't any religion teach that our God is a just, loving one? Doesn't this go against our very constitution? I can see how cynical one can get at the sight of such things going on in our beloved country.

I'm looking forward to the Malaysian Parliament's action/inaction about this issue. Apparently, this has happened frequently but has only been brought to light because of Moorthy's fame.

Hm.