Nature

magnificently glorious, yet unpredictably chaotic.

First it was Christchurch, followed by Yunnan and most recently, Sendai. All within the span of a few months. Mother Nature's surely been throwing her weight around. Alright big shot, it's about time to cut the world some slack huh?

On the 11th, at slightly half past 1 in the afternoon as we all went about our normal routines, be it work, meetings, having lunch, taking a nap or playing with your kids; further up East, the grounds shook and trembled, splitting tarmac and unleashing a tsunami of waves 10 meters high on the unsuspecting Japanese, who received warnings merely 10 seconds before finding themselves in the eye of the quake and waves. The young could run, but for a nation that is also known for the longevity of its people, one can only imagine the struggles the elderly had in seeking help and shelter.

The live coverage of the disaster was gnarly and raised goosebumps every time I came across an update, and the horrors never ceased. Aftershocks (if you can even call magnitudes of 6 an aftershock) followed one after another, exacerbated by threats of radiation as nuclear plants crashed. As the Japanese huddled in solidarity, the nuclear crisis almost seemed like it would overwhelm the land of the rising sun. However, efforts seem to be making some headway as nuclear specialists and relief workers toll round the clock to stop the meltdown and international relief efforts were heartening to watch. Donations poured in and I hope everyone did their part, no matter how small. :)

In these trying times, it gives us pause to take a breather for a minute and be thankful for what we have. While we may bitch and moan about how tiny Singapore is, how boring it can get, how it only takes 90 minutes to get from one end of the country to the other, how we get the sun 365 days of the year and instead of snow, we get it's lame cousin - rain; but let's not forget that being small and being where we are on the equator also has its advantages. We never have to shovel our sidewalks for one (haha.) and while we might be an hour late to meetings, we'll never be a day too late. Most importantly, our risk of natural disasters are slim to none and the worst casualties of our recent flash floods were merely luxury items like cars, coffee and Hermes bags. Hah.

With a natural disaster already claiming over 10,000 lives in Japan on one side of the world, and military forces claiming another few thousands more in Libya, it makes you seriously wonder if the world's coming to implode on itself. Gaddafi, Allied forces, Tomahawk missiles, No-fly zone, Operation 'Odyssey Dawn', doesn't it just make you wish that military weapons never existed to begin with?

On a lighter note, took some time off on Wednesday to meet up with Alexandra and Tina again. They're both leaving Singapore in a couple of months!! Tina back to Sweden and Alexandra is moving to London! So glad to hear that :D I'm definitely gonna be visiting them once I'm in Leeds (: Headed over to Leedon after for dinner with Monica and Steve. Sallad med kyckling, potatis, pumpa, avokado, feta ost och tangerine. Vi hade grilled ost med panini bröd också! Mmmm, jättegott! Det var en jättebra, fantastisk och mycket kul onsdag (:

Söta Victor (: He gets cuter every time I see him. Sighs.

och söta Sebastian (: ♥

Gonna end off with something funny. I don't know what I'd do without Hanssen sometimes... He really finds me the best shit to make me laugh at the most unexpected moments. Lol. (:

Swedish phrase in line with the latest update from Japan:

Farmor och pojke räddades i Japan - Grandma and a boy was rescued in Japan. 

Watch us take on the world.

That's me and my favourite at the airport at 630am (: As she flies back to the States,a place that she might grow to call home, I felt more joy than sadness for her. It's the start of something wonderful (:

The weekend's here again! I'm on the bus on my way to meet Sophie for brunch at Hatched. I know I haven't been blogging much even though there's so much going on in the world and I've been having all these thoughts and contemplations flitting around in my head. My day's filled with work and work, followed by tuition and tuition. Rinse, lather, repeat. I barely have the energy to write once I get home. Haha, I'm not complaining though because I'm lucky enough to be doing what I like, despite the stress that it all brings. (: still, I'm counting down the days to September.

Maybe I'll spend some time blogging later after brunch (: Have a good weekend, wherever you are in the world! xx

Swedish words before I go,
Smeknamn -
which means ... nickname/pet name. Haha.
Beställa -
which means to order. Jag vill beställa en kaffe would mean I would like to order a coffee.

Criminal or Commercial?

As part of MinLaw's media alert:

TODAY (p 10) published a commentary on how Singapore should be seeking “a new generation of David Marshalls” and encouraging young legal eagles to take on criminal law so that they would be better equipped for international challenges. The commentary noted AG’s comments at the Opening of the Legal year on how the dwindling number of criminal lawyers was “worrying”, as well as CJ’s comments on the salary disparity being one of the main reasons lawyers picked commercial over criminal law practice. It noted that the growth in international regulation in the wake of the global financial crisis had blurred the line between criminal and commercial practice and expertise, and that Singaporean lawyers could no longer content themselves with being masters of civil litigation and dispute resolution alone, but must also hone their criminal practice skills as well. TODAY observed that criminal practice need not only be the sole province of our local courts, but could take on an international dimension, with Singapore lawyers joining the international criminal law directorate set up within AGC. It added that increasingly, Singapore lawyers were joining international investigative and enforcement agencies such as Interpol. It also noted that the criminal justice process in Singapore had received a “significantly refreshed lift” with the recent revisions to the Criminal Procedure Code, and that the new disclosure and discovery rules would set new ground rules for the conduct of criminal trials in Singapore. TODAY called for young lawyers to be encouraged from an early stage of their training to take on the rigours of both criminal and commercial work, while emphasis must be placed by Parliament and the courts on the compassionate practice of law, promoting meaningful pro bono legal services, and providing quality legal aid to crime victims and defendants of limited means. It also proposed that the Criminal Bar, together with AGC, should be encouraged to explore cross-border opportunities for growth for young lawyers interested in criminal law, so that our lawyers could provide world-class legal services in new areas of criminal practice.

An encouraging note to return home after my studies in the UK. Criminal Law has always been an area that I'm fairly intrigued by but on the other hand, also an area where I feel one might not have much potential to thrive and grow, especially in an environment like Singapore (where the line between black and white is pretty stringent and leaves little room for manoeuvre.) Perhaps changes are underway.

Kambodja!

Tuk tuk, ladies?

A week in the land of smiles flew by faster than one could imagine. The genial smiles of the local people and the pure unadulterated joy that the kids showed at the simplest of things was both humbling and heartbreaking all at once. Seeing their faces light up just from getting a lollipop stirred up some seriously mixed emotions in me. We also met some cool lil kids who spoke such good  English and who were so crazy high that they just kept talking and laughing. For that half hour, I couldn't stop smiling (: Those were the fortunate ones.

I guess we're all aware of the dire situations that some Cambodians live in but to actually witness first-hand, the sight of homeless children fervently grasping for chicken bones and bread left behind by customers before the cleaners came, was strikingly hard to bear. They couldn't have been more than 7 or 8 years of age. 

Before I went off, I was told by a few, not to give money or to buy things from the street kids because you'll get swarmed and you'd be placing yourself in a situation that could very easily go south. It is true. Some of the children there can get rough when they don't get what they want and I've heard some shouting, ''I don't want food! Give me $1!''. If you don't hand it over, some might kick you, pull your hair or give you the dirtiest look ever for not sparing just a dollar for a homeless kid; I have to grudgingly admit that some of the kids we saw were tremendously skilled in the art of ... guilt-tripping. Hah, it's really a strange dichotomy - how children who are supposedly the epitome of innocence are capable of such emotional manipulation; but doesn't that just make you wonder how long they've been doing it to be able to read their marks so well and pick up on the necessary traits? It's scary to think what survival instincts can drive mere kids to do. Clearly bright kids borned into the wrong circumstances perhaps... Then there's the harsh reality that there are so many of them, and there's only so much you can help at any one point in time.

Yet when kids are grasping your hands so tightly and dragging you to the nearest convenience store, begging you to please buy them some milk, (at 3am, no less.) how does one turn away from that? Well, you don't. So you do what you can, and hope that that bit of respite would get them through another day, another week. I have to say though that situations like these really shows you how genuinely kind (or unkind) some people can be. It gave me great comfort, to see the way he handled all the kids around him and I guess that was one of the reasons why I liked him.

We did not get to visit any orphanages this time as our schedules did not match but going beyond the orphanages, there's so much that can be done to help the homeless kids there.. so I'd really like to go back to Siem Reap again someday soon but before that, I need a plan!

On a lighter note, we did do quite a bit of fun stuff when we were there! The sunrise at Angkor Wat certainly lived up to its reputation. I've always been quite a sucker for sunrises and sunsets, so it was breathtaking to watch as the skies above slowly opened it's gates (: It was also the 2nd time that I saw the moon and the sun simultaneously (besides the summer at Västra Hämnen). The weather was perfect for walking around the temples and exploring the structures that have been standing for centuries. I think my favourite was Ta Keo, a temple mountain built entirely of sandstone in a massive pyramid-like style. After climbing that, our thighs were aching so bad the next day. LOL.

If you're planning on visiting Siem Reap, the Happy Horse Ranch and the ATV rides are also something you should definitely try! I've never rode a horse prior to this so the first time for me was awfully exciting. Heh. My horse was called Gerimino and it was a beautiful brown mare whose first priority was food. It was constantly trying to chomp on the greens along the way and couldn't give two shits about where I was trying to lead it! He was cool though. Heh. There was also a horse called Ron Weasley but my favourites were Gerimino and North Star :] (North Star's the one sniffing me. Haha)

ATV ride to catch the sunset was aweeeeeeeesome! Although my driving skills leave much to be desired but after a few failed attempts, I got the hang of it and it was so fun to drive that massive four-wheeler through the villages! The kids all ran out to say hello :] The sunset was stunning, as expected but it was over so fast! Lol, it went down in like 5 minutes and we were running around like loonies trying to get good jump shots against the sun.
We also went for a cooking class on our last day! Pumpkin soup, Amok fish, Spring Rolls and Mango with sticky rice. Yum yum yum!

All in all, this trip has been pretty awesome (: We did heaps of fun stuff, I've had time to relax, read and sort through some of the messes in my head. It has given me new perspectives on some issues and also made me come to terms with others. I made some mistakes that I wish I could correct but what's done is done and the best we can do is to find the best thing in that train wreck, hold on to it, laugh the rest off and then move on. As the rain pours on here in Singapore, this quote couldn't be more fitting.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

♥

Some swedish phrases before I go,

hur kunde en vecka passera så fört? - how could a week pass so fast?

vänliga ansikten - friendly faces

Also, SO EXCITED FOR SCHOOL IN SEPTEMBER!!!!!!! Heh (:

Dude!

So the first post of 2011 and I'm blogging this from the bus.

Where I have a seat.

A seat that is meant for one.

But a seat that I am currently sharing.

With a lady that is clearly so smitten by my good looks and charm that of alllll the other seats she could choose from, she chose to squeeze in and sit half on my lap.

Well, I guess the words, 'personal space' do not exist in her world.

Anyway, Happy 2011 y'all! (: 2010 has been a bit of bumpy ride but towards the later half, it has been very well and eventful. Hopefully this means the good flow will continue on into this year! 2 weeks in and things are looking positive (:

I've spoken to my parents about school and after looking at the options, I've decided to go with Leeds. It's more viable financially and their merit scholarships are a great incentive for me to push myself. They have a really good pro-bono program too which is awesome since that was where a huge part of my motivation to read law stemmed from.
The last hurdle now would be the Visa issue so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for that. Goddd I'm really really really psychedd to start school!!! (: (:

So in other news, my heart's been going a little stir crazy for the past few weeks. I don't quite understand this obsession but according to Kris, the oh so wise man, it's an unhealthy addiction that needs to kick the bucket. Easier said than done of course.

She is, for lack of a better word, amazing. She is smart and funny (although opinions vary) and has the best laugh that makes you want to laugh too. I guess I came to the realisation that I really really really like her. LOL. However, the past few days have been a bit of a train wreck and it's been making me go completely insane. I've fumbled, stuttered and spazzed out in front of her, losing a million points in the process. But... We live and learn right? And I'm determined to conquer this one. Lol!

I'm also taking a short trip to Cambodia with manda next week. After working through Christmas Eve and NYE, I thought it's a well deserved respite ;) it's gonna be my last trip until I leave for England though. Gotta save up as much as possible. I was telling maine that as long as I lay low for the next 5 months, I'd be on the right track :D
I gave a timeline of 5 months because well...... My partner-in-crime is coming back again this summer!!!!!! We wanted to do Shanghai/Taiwan together but with law school also comes some financial sacrifices so we'll prolly only do a short trip around Thailand/Malaysia in July (: Super psychedd (:

Lastly, was over at Monica's last night and Ulrika was in town (: she gives the most awesome hugs and we all know how I'm a big ass sucker for stora kramarrr! Anyway, I'm so proud of Freja Designs! Things are really starting to take off now and I'm so excited for them with the new stores and coming up with the various new displays. (: It's a bit of a mad house now but I have no doubts that she's gonna do great this year.

To end it off, swedish word of the day from Ulrika, ''Fy fan!'' ;)

--
Sent from my mobile device


"With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are
attainable."
- Thomas Buxton

Tall, Dark and Cool

and she walks, with just the right kind of swagger.

Slightly late, but Merry Christmas everyone! (: I hope y'all had good celebrations and received awesome gifts, I know I did! Got a few charm bracelets, charm necklaces, VS body mist (which smells heavenly, I must say.) books, prettiest stationery, IKEA stuff (you can't really go wrong when you give me IKEA products. Lol), vouchers and cuddly bears (: 

All in all, so much ♥

Still, I have to say that the best gift of all was my law school acceptances! (: I got replies from my first 3 choices now. So the next step would be to discuss it with my parents and decide on a school... If all goes according to plan, I will hopefully be England-bound September next year! I was soooo very very very psyched when I received the acceptances. I feel like it's bar none, the best thing that has ever happened to me this year and what a way to end off 2010 right? (: Now just wish me luck for the discussion with my folks ;)

Christmas celebrations were a bit more mellow this year. Had a julfika at Alexandra's on the 22nd, pot luck dinner on the 23rd at Willie's, family christmas party at my place on 24th and dinner with the swedes on the 25th. Heaps of good food, good gifts, good laughter and just a tinge of alcohol with lovely company = ♥ (:

I got Victor a christmas present too and he was soooooo adorable. Lol. He was really hyper, running around and making truck noises the whole time, yet still so gentle when it came to lil Sebastian (:

Before I go, Swedish phrase: 

Världens alla tomtar med en hel del röda luvor - All the world's gnomes with a lot of red hats.

God Jul och Gott Nytt År

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year (:

‎"I know there's a bit of us that would like me to do a Hugh Grant in Love Actually (2003) and tell America where to get off. But the difference between a good movie and real life in that in real life, there's the next day, the next year, the next lifetime to contemplate the ruinous consequences of easy applause." - Tony Blair

Onus Probandi

the burden of proof

It’s a guilt that I can’t quite comprehend. I felt sorry and sad, as though I could feel the weight of his heavy heart. For just a split second there, my heart clenched, my breath caught and I wished largely for his sake that things could have remained the same.

Yet feelings fade and people change.

It’s a scary thought, that one. It’s as though we've been caught in this whirlwind of emotions and we’re constantly struggling to keep our head above water but we don’t quite know what exactly we are fighting for. Grandeur dreams that we are blindly seeking simply because we believe that there is something better out there. There's no fault in that, of course. Yet, some would say humans are greedy by nature and I’m inclined to agree. Doesn’t it seem ironic how contentment can so easily become such an inadequate sense of satisfaction? The restlessness festers and we start to seek for greener pastures, which is admirable because we should never be contented with mediocrity, right?

But I sometimes question whether mediocrity is really the core issue here; what one has could very well be epic and the whole notion of mediocrity is after all only a standard that we set for ourselves. It’s the ability to find that true sense of contentment that seems to elude us all.

On another note, I have not heard back from the schools yet beyond them asking for my transcript (which can’t possibly bode well?). It’s honestly very very very nerve-wrecking and I find myself eyeing my inbox every five minutes; clearly bordering the edge of obsessive insanity. I’ve never wanted something this bad and hopefully this gets through to the admissions tutor above anything else.

Swedish phrase before I go,

av hjärtans lust – to one’s heart’s content.



Dear December,

Let's make this one to remember.

I'm still feeling a little under the weather. After the fever came the sore throat and the cough. I had a brief respite before the mighty flu landed. Almost everyone in the office is recovered now, it's about time I got on the bandwagon too, no? :( 

So, FRIDAY night and I'm home. Sooooo tired and totally not feeling the awesomeness today. Haha. Was supposed to make a trip to Butter with Drey but my goddd the body was screaming no. It was exceedingly stressful the past week and a half with never-ending case files coming through, phone that was ringing off the hook and careless mistakes that shouldn't have been made. I think I must have lost a million points with my favourite lawyer. But, such is life and we live and learn right? Haha. Today was a good day though. :) I might have redeemed..... 1 point. Lol.

I was at Wilton's en månad celebration last weekend :) Han är så mycket söööttt! I wish Alexandra was there too, but we're gonna be making plans to meet up and I can't wait! :)

 Söta Wilton och mig :)

 Victor och Sebastian :)

I love children :) Although they can be really exasperating to handle sometimes, but their innocence and the things they say can be so refreshing, funny and out of this world. Lol.

We're going to Ikea tomorrow to get a new table, a christmas tree (that's gonna be as tall as me!) and shiny new decorations. Psyched :) I hope we spend above $300 so I can get the Friends of Ikea card. Haha. I remember going there so often when I was going through my 'Sweden withdrawal'... it used to almost be a weekly affair, I kid you not. Haha.

Today's swedish word is, 

forbereda - prepare. 

Det är så mycket att forbereda för Jul - There is so much to prepare for Christmas.

If you could see yourself just for a day,

You would see how everyone else sees you.

And my god, you are fucking beautiful.

Can you believe it is almost December? Time is flying by really fast! So I've just submitted my law school application.. Finally. Heh. I had to spend an insane amount of time cutting it down. My first draft was 4 pages worth of rambling and after 2 weeks (I know, don't judge me. Haha.) I finally managed to whip it into a concise and coherent piece of work. :D So fingers crossed and wish me luck okay? :)

The past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind of events and I was also down with the longest bout of cough/sore throat/headaches which did not help things at all. I was fairly miserable and antisocial to be honest. Haha.. but everything's alright now... sorta. :) Work has been pretty stressful but I love it still.. It's already been 3 1/2 months now :) I'm hoping to do a court sesh this week if my work load permits, this one's quite a tough mediation and I really wanna sit in on it. Hopefully that works out!

Kris and I had a massive skype showdown over the midweek break. Hahaha. It was fun :) It's funny how situations and relationships evolve. More often than not, we always want things to stay the same but feelings fade, and people change.. Sometimes it really is for the better even though in the beginning, it might seem like it fucking hurts. But we learn to deal with it and we move on because with every lesson, we can only get a little bit wiser, a little bit more experienced :) I'm glad how we turn out and I hope we'll always always, be friends..... homs. Hahaha.

Someone had her heart thrown around a bit over the past week too. It's really scary, matters of the heart. But I guess that's why it's so exhilarating in the first place. Haha. It made me realise that being with someone for over a long period of time, does not necessarily mean that the both of you are set for life. All it takes, is one moment, with someone who can show you that he understands and knows you like the back of his hand. That one moment can so easily cast doubts on something that was built on a foundation of many years. One might say then that the foundation must not be that strong to begin with. But how would we ever know how strong something is, until it is truly tested? It also reminded me of something that Ryan once said (God I miss that boy.), that if we start holding hands out of habit, familiarity and not love, that's when we need to question what it is we really have.

But but but, let me make it clear that my stand is, cheating can never ever be justified, but everything else is fair game. Hahaha. And once you're married (or the equivalent)? Then you damn well hold her fucking hand until you drop dead. Lol.

Okay, enough talk about relationships. I was gonna do a piece relating to this,

Well, it is somewhat related to relationships but of a different nature. I guess this will have to wait.

2 swedish phrases before I go,

vägen till framgång - the road to success

tack samma det - appreciate it

Land of The .... Free?

Led by their noses.

I feel like I have been doused with a bit too much of American politics coverage to last me a few months at least. Haha. Can't say the midterm result was very surprising but here's my short take on the recent Republican/Democrats big bang: -

The Americans are a weird bunch. Haha.

It appears that many of them have the delusion of Obama being God, whose touch will heal all crises immediately. (2 years might seem a long time but hasn't their economy been in the reds since.... uh forever?) I've been asked countless number of times whether I liked Obama and my reply had always been, "Compared to the alternative, yes." I am not his biggest fan but I respect his intelligence and genuine desire (I believe.) to want to alleviate the dire state of the economy. 

In his 2 years in office, he might not have lived up to his over-hyped reputation, and he might have made a fair number of wrong moves. His policies and the due processes are slow, painful and harsh. So very harsh. The health care bill was a huge achievement in his book although I'm not so sure with regards to specific details, for example the effectiveness of the individual mandate: Paying an annual $695 penalty or couple of hundreds/month for insurance? Doesn't seem too difficult a choice. It also seems more like a regressive form of taxation on the normal working class, rather than the progressive taxation that it claims to be, with the 2.5% clause. Nevertheless, he has started to lay some sort of foundation for the rebuilding process to begin. Not to mention that he did this against some crazy uncooperative attitude from the Republicans.

To be honest, I doubt there is any man out there who can bring America out of the hole it dug itself into, painlessly. There's no going around the harsh way of fixing their blistering economy. It really is a "No pain no gain" route. So you have to give him credit, he might not have lived up to everyone's expectations, but it does not override the fact that he is, quite a brilliant man and a man better fit as President than Cain or Bush :p 

So will he last beyond 2012? I ..... believe and I hope so. Unless there's a Roosevelt or Clinton in the making? Heh. I'll end this off with something Scotty posted on my wall,

Annnd since it is the Deepavali weekend, 2 Swedish phrases ... en indisk högtid, which means an Indian festival :) and en riktig långhelg means a really long weekend.

A Good Snapshot

Stops A Moment From Running Away.

Because sometimes words just won't suffice ;) I'm giving fair warning for an image-heavy post! :D Some pictures from late September till October.

Digital Nights at Singapore Art Museum

 Adam Lambert's Glamnation Tour (With the very very fetching Tommy Ratliff)

Possibly the best part of October, 

first trip with Manda, diving at Perhentian, 

meeting up with Eric, meeting Paul, Charlotte, Ali and Gregor :)

And here's a last one capping off October, 

we've been trying to keep up the habit of swimming/cycling during the weekend. 

We caught pretty sunsets at the reservoir :) Didn't quite feel like Singapore, 

the calm and stillness of the lake was very much appreciated.

And then there was Halloween. 

Pretty boy in the corset was my highlight of the night. 

Although the picture did him no justice at all. He really was very pretty :p

You can't say that!

Why not?

I have always been fairly intrigued by the topic of freedom of speech. It appears to be such a simple logic. That in this world, people should have the right to speak their minds. A famous quote by Evelyn Hall, summarizing the thoughts of Voltaire, that while 'I disapprove of what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it'. It seems pretty clear cut doesn't it?

But on the other hand, it can be such a dangerous route to go down. Because once you agree that freedom of speech is crucial and of the utmost importance, then we are opening the floodgates to having to defend the indefensible. As Gaiman said, you are going to have to 'defend the right of people to read, or to write or to say, what you don't say, or like, or want said.'

I find it's this double edged that people often find it hard to reconcile with. But is it really as simple as knowing how to balance the scale between freedom of speech, and human sensibility? We should all be allowed to speak freely, but with that power also comes a certain level of responsibility (As spiderman said, right? Haha.) Knowing your limits and utilising the very important skill of tact is often overlooked once people step up on their soapbox. It's much easier said than done, of course. I mean it seems as though to me, the whole idea of freedom of speech started to gain momentum as people seeked to voice their discontent, their arguments, their views on sensitive topics like race, gender and religion. As emotions fire their need to speak out, sensibility often flies out the window.

So what then? An interesting take could be that if you can't stop people from saying what they want, if you have to defend their right to say it, then perhaps it would do us all good, as listeners, to learn how to distinguish between what is true or false, between fact and opinion. After all, freedom of speech gives them the right to speak their minds, but it doesn't give them the right to have others listen. So if you know well and good, that someone is spouting hate about a particular topic, instead of giving him the attention that he so desires, tune him out. It might anger us, it might offend and insult but as the party that is being attacked, if we know that there is no basis for his allegations, then letting go and ignoring it should be as easy as water sliding down our backs. Should be, being the key phrase here. Haha.

I guess at the end of the day, it is difficult to balance the scale between freedom of speech and the extent of censorship. How much leeway should we give, what are the consequences of allowing emotional and potentially damaging messages to be broadcasted across society? Do we trust our people to have the ability to differentiate between truth and false truth?

No real conclusion as of yet, but a good measure? Don't take everything that we read or hear as truth, learn the art of salt pinching (heh.), learn to question our sources, learn to form our own opinions. We could all do with a little less ignorance, and a lot more of critical thinking.

Freedom of speech, in swedish is 'Yttrandefrihet'. Swedes seem to like joining their words together :)

Holiday hangover.

Yup, back in Singapore after approximately 5 days away. I've always had trouble adjusting between the holiday mood and the back to work mood. Not to mention if the holiday was smacked full of fun and laughter. This feeling is awwwwwwful. Haha.

On me way to Jason's place to hang out for a bit, get the pictures and attempt to get out of this holiday funk.

Awesome.

Swedish word today, dykare, which means diver.

Of knights and damsels in distress.

That's never been how we played our roles. 

Yet it's sometimes hard to let go, to forget about those preconceived notions that we once held. It's scary to think that despite how comfortable we've gotten with each other and how deep we've delved into, we're still, not quite there yet. And I'm not even sure if we're ever going to, someday.

Veering off slightly, I've also come to realise how crucial it is for me to learn how to separate myself from these weird twinges that I feel for people, regardless of who they may be. In the 5 weeks that I've been at LAB, I've come across heaps of applicants with the saddest situation that requires our help. Sometimes we can, other times, it's beyond our means. Whatever the case may be, I was told that it's important to draw the line between work and my personal life. ''Don't bring the applicants back with you,'' he said. I've come to see the truth in that. 

Disassociation is so vital here and lucky me, that's not something that I have learned to do yet. 

Starting to slowly get more files and more responsibilities. The stress level is increasing with each day, but I like it (: Facing challenges, learning to suss out the truth, learning to read between the lines, training myself to be a lot more conscientious and a lot more careful with my words are skills that I am picking up bit by bit (:

For the first time, I feel it getting closer, with every step that I take (:

Epic.

That's what.

It's been a good run the past couple of weeks. It's been fairly tiring and I find myself constantly short on time, never finding the extra minute/hour to do something that needs to be done - countless occasions that I have fallen asleep while skyping. Kris gets so annoyed and he says, "I don't know if you had a heart attack, fell off the earth or the worst, fell asleep." Hahah he's all love. Things are never perfect and with the good days also comes the horrid. But on the whole, I've been happy and I think that's what's important (:

So we had the company's Active Day yesterday and I was involved in 3 relay games and 3 rounds of Captain's Ball. Haha, I must say it was a lot more intense than I expected it to be! The other teams were really aggressive and fast. Anyway, it was good fun and felt good to exercise after such a long time.......... My body's aching like it's 80 years old today. Not cool. Just goes to show how out of shape I've become. Haha.

Anyway, here are the girls and me last weekend (:

I've known them for a decade now. God I feel olddd. Lol. We've had our share of fights and annoying moments but I think it's crucial to not lose sight of what's really important in your friendships with people. As we grow older, we learn to take things in our stride, to forgive and forget. I'm still learning how to do that gracefully, but the point here is to at least try doing it. Haha.

Today's swedish phrase is, brukade vara - which means used to be. Hoegaarden brukade vara min favoritöl - would mean Hoegaarden used to be my favourite beer. Heh (:

Thread lightly,

for you thread on my dreams.

The US media has been going stir crazy the past month with their reporting on Park51.  One side of the camp says America is about religious freedom and people should be free to worship where they choose. Then the other says building the mosque so near to Ground Zero is equivalent to a slap in the faces of people that lost their loved ones in 9/11. As in many things in life, it's hard to split everything down the middle between black and white. There is always a grey area... and I think in this instance, the grey area is sensitivity to those affected by 9/11 and survivors that lost people they loved.

Unfortunately, this grey area has been blown (no pun intended) entirely out of it's it's meant proportion by the media and people who are too vocal for their own good. They shifted their argument to focus on the community centre being a headquarters for terrorism, (seriously.) and we allllll know how well that's gonna turn out.

That said, I know that 9/11, although orchestrated by Al Qaeda, doesn't equate Islam and the entire population of Muslims to terrorism. Moreover, the Park51 project is more like a community center than a mosque. 

But on the other hand, I don't think it's hard to just understand why many have reservations towards the Islamic religion after 9/11. Because despite the terrorists being extremist and despite extremists not representing what Islam is really about, essentially to these people, religion was their primary motivation and it was unfortunate that their view of Islam differed from the mainstream. Even more unfortunate, was that their screwed up interpretation of Islam was practically broadcasted across the entire nation. Bearing in mind, that emotions are powerful beyond words.

So yes, them being assholes does not mean it is fair for the Muslims in America to lose their right to worship as they choose. But when some have caused grief to others in the name of that religion, (albeit a very screwed up and extreme interpretation of said religion), I don't think it's unreasonable to not want a center/facility/whatever it may be that has, in some way or another, links to a core motivation for the 9/11 incident, to be built near where it had happened. Not because it is dangerous, but just for the reason that it would be a painful reminder.

You can repeat a billion times over, that Islam religion had nothing to do with the tragedy of 9/11. And you would be right. But as I mentioned, emotions? They're bad ass mofos man. All that made many people see, was not that the terrorists happened to be Muslim but that the terrorists were Muslim.

Emotions cloud judgment, undeniably so. But it's emotions that make us all human.

Religious freedom, to have the right to worship as you choose - I absolutely agree. But on the other hand, I think it wouldn't hurt to thread lightly, be tactful and maybe just show a little understanding and respect, on both sides.

Anyway the whole debate among the politicians is such a farce. They should just shut their freaking pie holes. After all, doesn't their constitution state that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."? So hold their comments. It's a slippery slope and they've lost their bearings far too long ago.

I do think we come across another grey area with regards to when the government should interfere. In my previous post on Prop 8, I spoke of my belief that the government has the duty to make sure that the basic rights of people are not infringed upon by any one religion. In this case, one can argue that the government also has the duty to ensure that the basic rights of people to worship where they choose, is not infringed upon by the misconceptions/biases that some people may hold towards any one religion. But as I mentioned, the other grey area here is that people are not saying you can't have the freedom to worship whomever you choose, but it would be good manners, to not built your place of worship around the grounds that people still hold strong feelings about. A little of give and take would be nice, perhaps.

Anywayyyy, legalities and political motives aside. Everyone else? Show a little tolerance, show a little respect, hug, and let's move on. Hahah. If only it were that easy eh.

On a lighter note, went to catch "Going the Distance" tonight! Was quite a funny movie, it was better than I expected actually! Such familiar situations...... but of course they managed to resolve it with prettier and less angsty 'solutions'. Haha. If only life could imitate film huh ;)

To end off, courtesy of Cassie ♥

Swedish words: sjunga, skratt, ler - sing, laugh, smile (:

Designer shades, just to hide your face.

First post of September and I'm blogging from the cab as I rush to work. I have such an awful sense of timing, it's really annoying! :( Attending more court hearings today, I think it's gonna be the last time in awhile.. subsequently there's gonna be too much in-house work to have the time to do that.

So if you haven't got the memo yet, I do like my new job very very much! (: So far at least! Haha.. Everyone here's really nice and I'm learning heaps everyday. Of course the applicants aren't always sweet and nice, but in that situation I think we're all bound to face some form or another of unreasonable behaviour.

I had lots that I wanted to blog about but I've been so tired and getting home pretty late every night. After checkin my mail and skyping for a bit, I craasshh out. Kris says it's funny how he's been online more than I have for the past weeks. Role reversal, haha. And spent the past weekend at Monica's too, she's moving outttt!! It's tres depressing, one tree hill is a reeallyy nice place. But okay Leedon Heights ain't that bad actually, the pool's huge for one. Haha. I'm rambling, I know. Brain hasn't kickstarted yet. I'm also stuck in a traffic jam. Awesomeeeee.

Not much going on this weekend, I'll probably ramble more then. Happy Friday! Swedish phrase before I go... ''Du är sen.'' which means you're late. ''Tidigt'' would mean early.

Bye!

--
Sent from my mobile device

This fascination of mine,

it's almost legendary.

The grandeur of the evening skies. It's the split second of exhilaration and utter peace that I breathe in,  every single time.

Before they started to burn, a fiery red.

Today's swedish words are those you probably will come across on the internet, a little on the technical side.

Till - To

Från - From

Förnamn - First name

Efternamn - Last name

Anvädarnamn - Username

Lösenord - Password

It takes a minute to say Hello,

and forever to say Goodbye.

I helped out at the IBJ Gala Dinner on Thursday at St Regis and I'm glad I did it! It was good to sort of get a better feel of the organization and some of the speeches were inspiring. I particularly liked the short but succinct speech by Innocent Maja, a Senior Fellow from Zimbabwe. So often people look at a problem and speculate about it's outcome without offering plausible solutions, which is why it is so heartening to see people with such a strong conviction that they can be part of the solution through their services and expertise. And I have to admit that I was really surprised, by the generosity that was displayed during the auctions. It was very encouraging (: Hilary did an awesome job and I hope there will be more opportunities to work with them.

Friday was fairly eventful. Libing came by in the morning and we went for a run. (Finally!) We've been meaning to start our running routine... (we used to run every week without fail before our beds grew to be our biggest downfall!) Haha so it was good that we managed to drag our asses out this time. My muscles are aching today though -_-" Then lunch with Manda, ..... the lift broke... so I was late. Hahah. This girl's amazing, she can listen to me ramble on and on like a trooper. 

Oh look at this, saw it at MinXuan's blog. Quite brilliant eh, the power of putting on that framed accessory ;)

Anyway, hung out at Monica's for a bit after, then went to meet Simon for fika! Good chats, heaps of laughs (: And as a student in film studies, I think he was aghast at the number of awesome/acclaimed movies that I have not watched while we were browsing at Borders. Haha, I am not proud of that fact really, but there's only 24 hours a day and so much to do ;) I must catch 'Remember me' though. Cause Maine said it's great and I.... believe her. Hah. 

Headed back to Monica's again after. From then on, it can pretty much be summed up with, Beer, Italian, Beer, Walk, Beer, Beer. I... love Asahi. That's my new favourite, it even tops my past favourite, Hoegaarden. Heh. Beer makes me giggly and fairly bold. So it was a fun evening, if only laughing really gave you abs. I'd have a six pack today. As do all good things, the evening had to come to an end too. Sent Robban to the airport and it was the longest goodbye at the departure gates ever.  Hugs are awesome, people often underestimate its powers. Haha. Apparently Borlänge is a hellhole but if I could, I would switch places with him! Ha.

Today's swedish word is,"flygplats" which means 'airport'; swedish phrase is "ska vi gå?" which means 'shall we go?'

Going back to my comment on hugs. This video made me cry. Haha. Okay hey if you don't shed a single tear while watching this, you have the coldest heart ever. LOL :p

The patriotism of servicemen, the ugliness of war, the joy of homecoming.

Jag älskar kramar. (:

Jay Brannan

Guys, if y'all are anywhere near the above vicinities, go watch Jay Brannan play okay. He's amazing and awesome and has the cutest face (: He writes his own songs which are sometimes sad but so very beautiful, plus I like his rendition of Lady Gaga's 'Eh eh (Nothing else I can say)'. And he does the most intense version of "Bæ bæ lille lam" I've ever heard. So go catch him live!!Then most importantly, get him to sign something for me. Hahah.

  

This is how you live life.

Tomorrow's an important day, and I'm gonna rock it. Regardless of whether you're there to hold my hand, or not.

Swedish word is soluppgången - the sunrise.
Also, a new one I learnt today - nåt, which means - something. Literally. Heh. So hitta på nåt means find something.