Where have all the flowers gone?

The law is far from accessible to the layman. I am up to my eyeballs in procedural requirements alone. You have no idea the amount of red tape and technical details that need to be done even before an action even glimpses the court doors.

I am so impatient for things to fall into place and finally make sense but it is difficult to see the woods as the trees are bloody massive.

I had to look through a corporate loan agreement and it could have been the Dead Sea scrolls as far as I am concerned as I could not make head or tale of it.

And I will be following my master to court tomorrow. I wonder if I will find it fascinating or will I just die.

I should have taken up ikebana and opened up a flower shop.

Significant nothings

It is always the smallest things, inconsequential everyday things that have the uncanny capability to stretch my heart to bursting point.

In the book Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, the protagonist was out shopping and finding a perfect red tomato, was so overcome with love.

The passage struck me not because it was weird but because I can totally relate (which may perhaps be even more unnerving). Although for the record I am not into green produce typically.

But my point is that sometimes it is the smallest things that have the largest impact.

For instance, K who in despite of all his admirable qualities, has me tingling with absolute facination with his ability to touch type at the speed of light.

Second example, I used to be so enthralled by a young man due to his superb driving skills. I remember sitting in his car just GLOWING.

Then there is Jessica whom I adore to bits because she use to have a bright window with yellow daffodils on the sill and checkered blue curtains.

Fruits in the mirror

Working at a mall involves looking at reflections of myself against the shop windows and gheez, I look like a watermelon standing on its head i.e. small ends and large middle section. How did I let myself go.. sob sob sob.
And most asian girls are all skinny.
Whuahahahaaha (loud soppy cry as oppose to similarly spelt evil scientist laugh)

Self pity self pity self pity self pity.
I need a chocolate bar.

And the race begins

Oh first day at work.
Ironing my shirt in the early morning felt like shit.
Going to work felt like shit.

Generally people in the industry are one unfriendly lot. But I am glad I went back to the firm I once worked. Not so apprehensive and people there already have a reasonably good opinion of me. God I hope.

I finally found out (Nobody would tell me before) that the firm is one that deals in mostly civil matters i.e. banking, bankruptcy, land and on the rare occasion, probate and family law.
In other words, everything I wanted to learn. With one catch. My master (yes, they are officially called that, big lawyer - MASTER, small kuchi rat - PUPIL) where was I.. yes, my master wants me to do litigation while I wanted the safe protection conveyancing provides.

Well, it is all within one's learning curve. ( I have been trying for weeks to psych myself up). Most of the lawyers who come back from court look terribly dishevelled. That would be me soon.

Today, I spent the good part of the morning looking through the correspondences. I need to work both in Malay and in English - I am so screwed. The terminology does scare me. The subject matter and procedural matters - elements that I gleefully forgotten are coming back to haunt me. Boo.

So today, I spent the day getting loss at masjid jamek looking for the bar council to purchase my petition forms. And looks like I need to get my birth cert certified as part of the documents I need to file. And it is all at my hometown. And mom is already on her way to genting for a holiday. Phooey. Looks like I would need to make a trip back next week. At least I will get to be fed well.

And to think before this I had all the time in the world.

I wonder how Jo survived her first day?

Weekend trip

Day after tomorrow I start work. Phooey.
In anticipation I have been brushing up on land law. I had as much fun as a turkey on Thanksgiving. So I won't bore you with details.

I had a lovely weekend where K and I traveled to his hometown of Malacca for him to renew his ID. The registration department there was practically empty and everything was done in less time than it takes to buy a latte. Nice.

Of course the main reason I tagged along was to have lunch and officially meet his family. Was I nervous? I bring your attention to the turkey on Thankgiving analogy again.

Before checking into the hotel we nipped into a ancient looking coffeeshop. Quite full of character. And as we were leaving the shop who did we bump into but K's aunty and grandma!

Dust encrusted, sweat layered and smelling charmingly of diesal courtesy of our bus, and compounded by my charismatic 10-word mumbled greeting - I am positive I created an impression. I just can't tell you what.

And after that close encounter, we bumped into them again while we were walking to our hotel. K's aunt has an uncanny ability to recognise the back of our heads. We waved as they drove past.

So we settled in our room at Hotel Puri - one of the better boutique hotels in Malacca. Very comfortable. So after much face scrubing and mouth muscles aching from too much smiling practice, no point delaying the inevitable, off I went with K.

And guess who we met? (again) We bumped into the same aunty and grandma on the same road. We were beginning to suspect conspiracy or at least very bad spying.

Eventually we caught a cab to K's place, almost certain we would bump into the dynamic duo again somewhere along the way.

Lunch was lovely. Again I am not sure who felt more embarrased and awkward. I did not get an opportunity to speak to his dad although I had a chance of exchanging small talk with his mom. And I did get a rousing welcome by the resident mosquitoes. Covered in bumpy kisses I was. And oh, the aunty did phoned his mom telling her that they have seen me. I wonder if they mentioned FOR THREE TIMES.

We didn't stay long at all. Less time given to me to screw up the better. I bet I will have more opportunities to meet them again in the future. I am still analyzing the trip to death. You know, things like whether should have I washed my plate like a good potential daughter-in-law should, or should I have not gone at the food like a pig. You know, life and death stuff.

It was a pleasant break. Only gripe was how unreasonable cab fees are in Malacca. It is daylight robbery.

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Mind, Body and Soul

The one thing I am grateful for in my three week work-free break is the luxury of just being still. I was literally fraying at the edges. Not doing anything sounds awfully slothful but it is really far from it. And I am always happy to spend time alone.

I am an anti-social git.

This break has given me time to contemplate, reassess and just heal from the daily grind. Revisiting thoughts that have been shoved on the backburner, getting odds and ends organized, doing a little soul searching and spending time with those important to me.

I am starting to sound like Oprah, aren't I?

Of course I am still confused like hell as to what I want in life and conflicting wants and needs make future trajectories less easy to plot. I suppose trying to achieve order in this chaotic world is akin to making a tuna sandwich while riding a rollercoaster.

I can't help it. I like to keep things in little neat compartments. Yeah, as Jo correctly pointed out, I am a Monica. (from Friends. Gosh that was long ago, innit?)

However being alone does have its challenges. I now find it a bit intimidating stepping out of my home alone. The unpleasant cacophony and uninvited gazes rudely imposed upon me, I feel violated! Strange sensation that. When cold hard reality embraces me again, I feel the serenity I worked so hard for, shatter into a million icy shards.

I suppose it is easy to find peace in the quiet refuge of home but the main quest is to find sanity in the outside world and not get swept by the maddening tide.

Great read!

I have just completed Jonathan Stroud's third instalment of the Bartemaeus series. It is set in an alternate reality where the ruling class consist of magicians who summon demons to assist them in their official and everyday undertakings. This trilogy follows the life and adventures of a proud and ambitious young magician whose lust for fame and power acquaints him with the djinni Bartemaeus who is scathing, sarcastic and so full of wicked humour that I instantly took a fancy to him on first reading.

Ptolemy's Gate is the brilliant conclusion. Brilliant story telling and great humour. So enthralled I am by Bartemaeus that I regard myself as one of the earliest in the country to have read this last instalment. Well, kiasu as I am, I booked, paid and read the book on the very day the shipment arrived at Kinokuniya. All the other bookstores have not got theirs in yet. I know. I called all the major bookstore chains.

So it was Potter on Monday and Djinni on Tuesday, so do forgive me if I am dreaming of having an Ollivander wand, a spotted owl and a best friend who is a 5000-year old demon who wouldn't shut up.

My favourite things

Simple pleasures that totally make my day.
So what's yours?


The smell of fresh linen


A tight squeeze


A backrub after a long day


Neck nuzzled by warm nose


Sleeping dogs


Nursing a cup of tea when it is raining outside

Hear my blood vessels go pop

I really cannot stand two types of people

1. dumbass front line staff who possesses zero customer relations
2. asshole taxi drivers

I don't care how deprived their lives are but how can anyone be rude to a customer? I think I have kicked up enough fuss in enough restaurants to know that here, good customer service is as common as snow in Bukit Bintang.

Another breed which deserves absolutely NO sympathy is cab drivers. There is now a trend among these half wits to not give you back change, taking it like it is due to them! They will insist on you paying them to the exact 10 cents but they won't bat an eye lid when it comes to fleecing you. Once I took a cab where upon stopping the cabbie quickly reset the meter and demanded 4 bucks when it was clearly $3.40. Like Hell I was going to give him that.

And another time when the two of us took a cab in the morning and my companion only had a tenner. The ride cost about 3 bucks. The cabbie just shrugged and said "no change!" and waited, expecting us to pay him the tenner. My companion wanted to just hand over the money but yeah, over my dead body. I dug out my wallet and paid the exact fee... in coins.

Also if you are ever caught at a mall where the cabs go by the coupon system, for the love of God, let the cabbie know which route exactly you want to use. The up-front price paid does NOT include toll fees and if you don't tell him which way, you can bet your bottom dollar he will use all the tolls he can find on route.

Oh I have enough stories to want you to swear off public transport forever. I have heard of sob stories and cabbies being murdered for fee disputes and I know I sound mean but sometimes they SO deserve it.

They will moan of how difficult it is to earn a living but when asked to drive to a destination they feel out of THEIR way, they will shoo you away. If it wasn't for the fact that I have no car, I would like to blow them all to smithereens.

Snake

As K and I were walking down the road along SS25 and there crawling from under a van was a black snake! Easily 1 1/2 feet long, it was slithering across the road when a car passed and it did a U turn back under the van. This was in a fully populated neighbourhood hence this snake was a surprised.

Wonder who was more scared, the snake or us.