2007

Zam v PP
The criminal appeal is finally over. I think it's left a bad taste in my mouth. But I don't regret ever taking it up. It was very scary, especially when you know a life is in your hands. Plus you are on the side with all the disadvantages. The prosecution will always have the upper hand, no matter what they say about "Innocent until proven guilty". I don't believe in that anymore. My client was a dead man from the start.

I don't believe that all is fair and that my client would have received due process of the law. @#$%^ I like to think that I came out of it having learnt a bit more about what justice in the courts is like. And 'nuff said.

When it came out in the papers, I didn't read it at first. I just heard that my name was mentioned, and not in a good way. This made me freak out quite a bit, until I read the article and heaved a sigh of relief. Yes, my name was mentioned. But thankfully, not in a bad light. I was honestly frightened of being implicated.


Others things
This has been a pretty slow week at the office. I don't have very much to do. It's making a bit concerned, because everywhere I turn, people are busy. Even the intern is busier than me! Many people are involved in NKF, so I don't see the NKF team at all. They are just rushing from place to place. Brings back fond memories of my time during the BGC trial=)

I felt like shit then. Even though I complain about having too much capacity now, it feels really good to be able to walk out of the office at 615. I stil feel guilty walking out so early with my bag. But I'm determined to seize this free time for ME time. It's good that Sanctification week at church is falling in my office lull period.

Time to do the following in my Lull period:
1. Planning for 2007
- This is my year of thinking through my future. I'm not going to waste my youth and then realise I have so many dreams that just remained dreams. I'm lazy and I have inertia, but I'm determined to overcome that to fulfil some of the wishes I have. I just hope God and I have the same dream.

- I want to plan for my personal life, my career and my ministry. What does God have in store for me? I need to find out, and to do this, I need more time by myself to go through this.

- This is also a year of trying to improve in the skills I have now. I'm really a jack of all trades and master of none. My interests are fleeting. But I know that if I stick to something, I can really become good at it. But nothing has caught my eye for more than a short period of time.

2. Salsa
- I kickstarted 2007 with salsa. I just went to Union Square on Saturday, and it was really great. It made me realise I have so much to improve. I hadn't touched salsa for about 7 months, so now I feel like the worst one in my class. But I won't stay last for long!!!

- I can't see how some guys can go to Union Square every single day though. There are so many other things to do. How does one find the time and the dedication to go every single day? Hats off to them.

3. Lasik!!!
- I'm feeling a bit nervous about this. It's scheduled to fall on the days right before CNY Eve. Hope it goes well...

4. ... ... ...
- I don't know what 2007 has in store for me, but I'm curious to find out how God brings me through this year. I'll be 25. That's the year my skin officially starts aging!!! I am getting physically old, although mentally and emotionally, I don't feel that grounded yet. There are so many things to think through, so many plans to make for the future. Nothing is certain. I look at my married friends and wonder if marriage is what makes the difference. Those who are getting married or who have already taken that step are already in the next phase of their lives. I don't know where I am going. But should it be dependent on whether I get married? I don't think so. I think this maturity should arrive regardless of whether there is a partner to share these things with. And I guess this is something I have to learn.

For the past few years, the area of relationships have just hit a wall. I don't know what my journey will be in this area. It had been either fleeting or it had boiled down to nothing. Eventually. My girlfriends and my er, 'privileged guy friends' would be privy to all the little incidents here and there that have happened the past few years. Thanks for being my confidantes.

My sister's professor died and was buried last Saturday. As a professor of sociology for many years, he has managed to touch many lives. Many apparently came to mourn over his death, and to bid him a final farewell. The eulogies were touching, students were reminescing about what a great mentor and friend he had been...

Of course, all these were not witnessed first hand, but through a source - my sister.

And yet, I couldn't help wondering, as a litigation lawyer, what my funeral would be like. This job comes with a trade-off. Who would attend my funeral? Clients wouldn't be queueing up to say goodbye to lawyers. What would they say? "She was efficient" or "She was a good drafter"?

Future Sex/Love Sounds

I really like Justin Timberlake's new album Future Sex/Love Sounds. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit it. It's a teenage girl's dream. He has managed to maintain his Mickey Mouse Club cheeky persona while being able to break the ranks into quasi adulthood by dating Cameron Diaz. Not bad. And the contrast with the ever-fading Britney Spears really helps.

His sound is much more mature now, as is his image. I have almost forgotten that messy head of curls, those of N'Sync. Almost.

But you know what, there's an insousiance about him that is very charming. Not everyone can pull it off. It must be his Mickey Mouse Club street cred=p

His new album is great. I really really like some of the songs on the album, especially MyLove. Time to download the rest of the album!!!

My very own December holidays

Just back from the holidays and sort of well-rested. "Sort of" only because my version of being well-rested and refreshed usually involves urban trekking in some great European city or some exotic highway in the US. THAT is the ideal.

Contrary to the norm I once knew, staying in Singapore and hanging out in places I haven't been to in a while is exciting and refreshing too. I didn't appreciate ECP so much until I got to savour it during office hours! Running along east coast park was great. Thank God for the beautiful weather, the clouds, the wind, the waves, even the dragonflies. I'm a naturalist. The beach appeals to my senses. And I can see the Divine in His handiwork.

I also savoured the passive moments - sitting at Caffebar drinking a coffee and penning down my thoughts, watching people at Level one of Parkway Parade stroll past towards the sale at Marks&Sparks... Thinking, planning, making resolutions, crafting my ideas for the year ahead... Thank God for this hiatus for me to rest and just be myself. Without having to be someone's employee, someone's colleague, someone's legal slave!

And now the loneliness sets in a tad, but in a calm and passive way. There is no manic depression, no pessimistic thoughts. Rather, it is a sanguine awareness of how God's plans fall into place. I have ideas about how I want 2007 to start. I just need to start executing them.

This rest period was also catch up time to do mundane things like catching the latest movies. I got to catch Night at the Museum, Borat, Blood Diamonds and The Holiday. I also got to watch two seasons worth of Prison Break at one go on one stormy rainy day and a few other quiet nights. That makes it almost 24 hours worth of Wentworth Miller.