In the middle, somewhat elevated

2009-10-12T09:40:00.000-07:00

Exciting times ahead friends, exciting times! Watch this space!

2008-10-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Testing testing.

2007-07-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

So the detritus of my life in the past year sits in the doorway of my empty apartment, squished, crammed, and stuffed into two big black suitcases. Two large overweight, overwrought monoliths bearing the bits and pieces of me, the memories scarcely contained, threatening to spew forth the minutiae of my life at the slightest provocation.

Cristo Redentor and the favelas of Rio De Janeiro overlook, with telling eyes and a knowing smile, my silent wardens of the year past. A cursory glance across the room reveals pockets of this and that, bits and pieces, kniks and knacks, a half used notebook, a ticket stub, a boarding pass. Pieces of me I have no space to accommodate but no heart to throw away. It's a peculiar vertiginous sensation, looking around this now empty room with too few windows and too many dust bunnies. John F Kennedy looks back, spewing his tired wisdom exhorting us to question authority and push for change and yet here I am full circle, in an empty room and too many bags.

This is all your fault Ms. Yap!

2007-07-22T15:35:00.001-07:00

That on my penultimate weekend in Chicago, I am sitting in my apartment eating chinese takeout while maniacally watching Ugly Betty.

That said, it's really a pretty good series. A bit heavy handed at times (oh who am I kidding, this is camp that Cher would be hard pressed to top) but it is very brave in terms of some of the rather complex issues the show's chosen to tackle.

Growing up

2007-07-14T14:25:00.000-07:00

Reading past entries of old blogs and reliving old memories, old pictures, old sights has induced a serious sense of vertigo.

Friends, can you believe that it's been three years since we ourselves were rolled in barrels and covered in flour and made to wear ridiculous costumes? I sure can't.

So I was asking cx what year 4 was going to bring when it struck me that this is the cusp, the true edge, the precipice beyond which we become true adults, responsible for our own keep. Are you ready for that?

I mean I'm unspeakably excited for actually start working but being a real grown up, now that's a whole different ball game. For starters, does anyone know how to file taxes?

Public Service Announcement!

2007-07-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

www.embowood.com for all your furnishing needs!

:)

The gift that doesn't stop giving.

2007-07-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

As you guys know, one of the main reasons why my year abroad has been so phenomenal is the Jessup Competition. I haven't written about it much in detail in part because I haven't had the chance to organise my thoughts, photos documenting the arduous, enriching and altogether one of a kind experience are in cameras of friends flung across the continent and a deep seated apprehension that words simply won't do it justice. (Plus I'm a procrastinator in the greatest degree but you guys already knew that).

Recent events however, have reignited my ambition and so here I am, attempting to give you guys a semblance of what Jessup 06/07 was like. (Fear not, said recent event will be made clear in the course of this entry. :) )

First though, the Brady Bunch:

These are the people who I have come to know and love as some of the most warm spirited, dedicated, hardworking and loyal people around. As the army has shown me, adversity, a shared experience, a common goal and long hours in confined areas tend generally to bond a group of people like no other, subject to the caveat and very real possibility that you don't end up killing each other first of course, and this has been no exception to that rule. For a period of close to 6 months, we spent at least 4 intensive hours twice to three times a week and in the months closer to the competition, 12 to 14 hours, 7 days a week in each other's company, picking brains, editing sentences, poking holes, arguing incessantly, coming close to fighting all in pursuit of a single goal.

We truly were a special team. The synergy and cohesion was palpable everytime we were together. At the risk of utmost corniness, we were honestly different pieces that made up a functioning, performing whole. Luke was the brain, brilliant beyond words, he always found a weak spot in my arguments. Marguerite was an administrator extraodinaire, keeping us on our toes making sure we had some place to moot and some professor to moot against. She was also the mother figure, bringing in cinnamon rolls, muffins and sweet treats which I suspect were more than a little responsible for my vastly expanding waistline. Rachel was the passionate firesparker, always ready on the get go, always pushing us on, always keeping the buzz in the room when the nights dragged on and when taking a break meant catching a cat nap in the student lounger at 5 am only to have to return in an hour. Ashley was full of ideas, innovative, creative and always armed with an unexpected comeback, she was responsible for more than a number of arguments that no one else at either the regional or international level put forth.

You see friends, what I really can't replicate here is the sense of pride and accomplishment I get every time I think back on the hours we spent arguing with each other, mercilessly editing sentences over and over again and the resulting end product. What makes the experience all the more priceless and honestly unbelievable is that we were a self made team. While we had fantastic coaches, they will be the first to admit that our memorials, our arguments, our awards are one hundred percent ours, honed from seemingly interminable brainstorming sessions and research sprees. We developed our case theory from scratch and because we were all involved in the research process, any of the five of us could have argued any position on any point. That, I am proudest of. Friends, I do not say it lightly when I say that this has been the experience of my life. Being involved from its infancy to the very end where till this date, we are still receiving pleasant surprises has been nothing short of an exhilirating and enriching journey and most importantly, an honour.

So, what brought forth this spiel you ask. Before that, some background information. The Jessup competition has 3 memorial prizes. The Evans award, given to the best memorial in the international rounds, the Dillard award, given to the best memorial amongst the best memorials in each region around the world (because a team can win best memorial but not advance out of the regionals) and the Baxter, which is the best of the top 10 Evans and Dillard memorials.

This evening, I received an email telling me that our team's respondent memorial was the recipient of the Baxter award, essentially making it the best single memorial in the world. I cannot say how happy and proud I am. This accomplishment, more than the 4th place ranking I got represents the fruit of our combined effort and that is probably the best vindication one could ever ask for.

This has honestly made me question if I want to take ILP next semester. After all, by any measure, this success is phenomenal and I wonder if I can or want to replicate or surpass it. At the end of the day however, I know in my heart of hearts that I will, but not because I want the fame or the glory but because of the opportunity to challenge myself, because I cherish the chance to take apart a complex factual and legal problem and find the best solution and most importantly because this will probably be the last chance for me, for us to work together, as law students tackling a problem free from the realities of billing hours, political correctness and advancing up the career ladder and concentrate on the law, the policy and the strength of the argument.

The experience of a lifetime:

2007-07-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

If nothing else, I daresay that I am probably better than anyone else at ironing now.

The joys of domesticity.

Start with the collar, next the yoke, then the sleeves followed by the back, and last, the front panels.

2007-07-04T14:52:00.000-07:00

So this firms makes an appearance in court and I had to bite my lip to stop from sniggering:

"Plaintiffs are represented by Payne and Fears."

Talk about intimidation

A thousand words.

2007-07-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Where the river meets the lake:

Riverside property:

Skyline from the lake:

Bits and pieces:

You see, the thing that I love about this city is that there is always an element of community and civic-mindedness. The pictures of the white tents of a farmer's market is in the courtyard of the Daley Civic Center which houses the courts. Where the kids are playing in the fountain is 1 block away from the main business district. I love how the severity of the business district is mitigated and grounded by the sound of children playing and farmers hawking their wares. It isn't uncommon to see high flying lawyers sitting by the park eating out of a take out box, something I'd pay good money to see in Singapore. It's almost as if once one leaves an office building, work is left behind too and live moves on anyways.

The Second City

2007-07-01T23:03:00.001-07:00

So it's been a quiet few months and I am terribly sorry for those who have been waiting with bated breath. It isn't that I've forgotten everyone at home (heaven forbid!) but it's just that it's been such a wonderfully exhilarating and unbelievable few months that collecting memories and detailing history just seems so tedious and banal compared to actually living in the present and anticipating the future.

Before anything else though, just a note to anon hater: It's terribly flattering that you've been coming back to my blog these past few months to check on how I've been doing. You might just be my one most loyal reader! Mayhaps a prize is in order!

When we last spoke, I had just returned from Spring break. Since then, I have ended 10 glorious month in St Louis, moved west to Los Angeles for 3 weeks and am now in the midst of a 2 month stint in the Windy City, the Second City, this fairest of cities, Chicago.

Truth of the matter is, I am dreadfully homesick but I believe that certain opportunities cross one's path seldom enough that when they do turning away would be nothing short of folly.

It does help of course that Chicago has quite literally taken my breath away. I've written about this city before but visiting the city is nothing like living in it and everyday makes me fall in love with it a little bit more. My morning commute takes me down lake shore drive which is bordered on the west by a tributary from Lake Michigan and on the east by Lake Michigan itself. A gleaming blue-green expanse of shining water stretching mile after glorious mile to the horizon as far as the eye can see. It's hard to believe that it's a lake when the other shore is not visible and countless pristine white sails dot its sparkling surface. I am always seized by a sense of peace, even if for a moment, when I stare out the window and to the distance imagining the distant shore. The moment passes however and an urge of wanderlust arises, sometimes almost irresistable, to sail far beyond the horizon into lands unknown. These are romanticised daydreamings of course, the far shore is Michigan and in the north, Lake Huron. Prosaic realities of course make for far less engaging writing material so allow the indulgence.

In any event, more shall be forthcoming soon enough. Pictures too!

2007-04-30T22:03:00.000-07:00

Haiya.

First time I talk to my mother in 2 weeks and she says to me: Wah, you put on weight hor. Chubby.

HOW NOT TO BECOME OBSESSIVE YOU TELL ME???

Short term memory.

2007-04-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, I received a letter in the mail from my building's management company (no not Helix ying, Quadrangle bought Castlereagh. CAN YOU IMAGINE? I ALSO SAY. SO GROSS!) tell us tenants for they would begin installation of the permanent window a/c units FOR FREE AND AT NOT EXTRA CHARGE!(IN BOLD! WITH MANY MANY EXCLAMATION POINTS! WAH!!!!)

Today, I received another letter from said management company telling me that rent has gone up.

...

...

Honestly, how stupid and/or forgetful do they think we are?

Puerto Rico

2007-04-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Because I have just wasted 5 hours of my life on internet service providers whose only goal seems to frustrate to death their customers, I went through my pictures from spring break to channel abit of that by the beach laidbackedness in an attempt to calm my spirits.

So here goes. Puerto Rico. (I'll write more about the place and how I liked it very very very much at a shortly following later date. no time now. Seminar paper due. I die. I really really die.)

In a picture, Puerto Rico:

Isn't this a picture right out of Singapore's cityscape?

You never know what you have till it's gone. In St Louis, in addition to family, friends, a sense of safety, security, good food, material comforts, respectable nightlife, a beach and the ocean. Fortunately, Puerto Rico had no shortage of that:

(YEAH LAH I KNOW LAH FAT LAH FAT LAH FAT LAH)

Puerto Rico also actually has a lot of other things but I have no time to put it up all now because I need to go meet someone who is going to buy my car (I HOPE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE WHY NO ONE WANT TO BUY WHY WHY WHY?????) so I will be back later.

lOVE YOU ALL BYEBYEBYE

I heart New York Part II

2007-04-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

More pics!

This is for Lerky (YEAH LAH I KNOW WHAT YOU ALL ARE THINKING LAH. FAT STILL EAT! RIGHT?) (Oh, not for the fat part. But I think OBL knows what I'm talking about)

This just made me think of the three billy goats gruff walking over the bridge. (Fantastic travelling buddies!!!)

Oh, these funny americans!

Random New Yorkie things

I especially like this picture because of the juxtaposition between the old historic building in the middle of the picture and the huge skyscrapers all around:

US!

2007-04-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

So today when I called Seagate to get some service support for an external harddrive, I get this automated message:

We are sorry that our technical support line is facing technical difficulties. Please try again later.

Hilarious.

2007-04-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

Wah! So Cool!

I got myself a hater!!!

Hullo Anon Hater! Do you mind if I call you A.H. for short? I'm sure you don't right? Welcome! Enjoy your stay! Make yourself at home!

I heart New York Part I

2007-04-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

I realise that my last post was rather humanless so at Zhu's exhortation I am back with more. Now that you've seen winter in my neck of the woods (hurhurhur isn't that adorable? Neck of the woods? Who uses that?) I suppose now's as good a time as any to write a little about Winter break in New York.

New York. Where does one even begin? This grand dame of cities, this true capital of capitalism, this temple of consumerism, this beating bleeding heart of the most powerful nation in the world. I wrote earlier that Chicago was a city on the way up, a city with her eye on the prize and an unwavering drive to make it to the top of the pile. If that is true, then New York is the city on the top of that pile, the city that holds within her nonchalant grasp, the prize that all others strive for. She sits utterly comfortable in her own skin, unapologetic for her flaws and more than a little intolerant of excuses, failures and mediocrity. I used to think that I'd give anything for an opportunity to live and work in New York. Never anything long term of course, just long enough to get my hands dirty working the legendary hours and living the legendary lifestyle but not long enough for the city to chew me up and spit me out. I have my doubts now, having spent 3 weeks in this metropolitan mayhem where everything while undeniably alive vibrant and throbbing just seems more than a little intrusive. One pigeonhole apartment overlooks into another pigeonhole apartment, buildings stand shoulder to shoulder, and cars are gridlocked bumper to bumper, altogether making for a picture that is just a little too claustrophobic for my tastes.

Don't get me wrong, New York is truly an amazing city. It's streets pulsate with a life that is infectious. It's people stride block after block with a purpose and a goal. It is a metropolitan jewel that has something to offer for every imaginable appetite. But it is not without its price. You see those who have tried but failed in the homeless and the destitute who are perhaps more than a little bountiful. You see the intensity of the rat race and get a keen feel for what is truly meant by the phrase "cutthroat". I do hope you're not now under the impression that I had a terrible time in New York. To the contrary really, it was one of the best vacations I've had and I suppose now's as good a time as any to express my greatest appreciation to my kind kind kind host Shoumin, who not only hosted me, but Mark and Darius as well. I'll admit, I was a little skeptical about spending 3 weeks with 2 guys I barely knew; I didn't even know what Darius looked like and the only thing I'd said to Mark was that his birkenstock monk shoes were ugly in Con Law but rather serendipitously, everything worked out for the best. These 3 were such fantastic travel mates; no one was picky or difficult to get along with. Darius wanted to eat EVERYTHING, Mark wanted to BUY EVERYTHING and Shoumin was just there leading the ride. It was fantastic. What I really loved about New York though, more than the shopping, (yes yes, who knew) was the FOOD. Every which way there was something I wanted to try. We had this fantastic After New Year's day brunch at this charming little bistro near SHoumin's apartment and for some reason, that just stuck in my mind as being especially good. Oh and another thing I really like - BROADWAY. I tell you, I could bankrupt myself going to all the musicals and plays showing. On our last day there (Mark's last day) he and I went to catch Avenue Q, essentially a Muppet's show for adults which was uproariously, rip-roaringly, side-splittingly hilarious. Anyways, enough with the writing. Enjoy!

Welcome back!

2007-04-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

So yes, now that the jessups are over, one might say that my life is back to normal although some may ask what exactly that entails and to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure either. I had originally intended a long discourse on this most memorable of experiences but words fail me. Perhaps at a later date when the words that automatically associate with that memory are more than just "WOOOOAAAHHHH.... ARRRGHHHH... PAAAAIINNNN.... NO WAYYYYYYYY... EHHHHHH?...".

Until then however, I thought it appropriate that I should update the rest of you loyal readers (if there are any left of course) of my life thus far. First up:

Freaky Flash Storms Seize St Louis - Coldest Winter in last 15 (or thereabout) years.

The thing about winter is that while it is at times painfully exquisite that too is precisely its problem. It is PAINFUL. To walk through, to drive through, to exercise in, to shop for groceries in the midst of, and basically to just be alive in. Which is why everytime I see a homeless person (and there are quite literally a tonne here) I always wonder (a bit morbidly I'll admit) if I'll see that same person the next morning. There is no other season that draws the distinction between the haves and the have-nots any more starkly than winter does - when more than just economics, market forces, social and racial stereotyping and just plain bad luck are against them, when even the weather turns hostile and inhospitable, when essentially the world takes their lot and rubs it in their faces. I suppose what I realised then was that even appreciation of the beauty of winter was a privilege that very few of us realise is not an entitlement, that it isn't something that everyone else enjoys and that we should be very thankful we're in a position where we can look out at a snow covered landscape from behind glass and warmth and central heating.

That said, winter does make for some beautiful landscapes, where everything is pristine white and delicate. Where the branches glisten in the sun, bejeweled crowns against a backdrop of white. I'll definitely miss the changing of the seasons, there's something terribly invigorating about renewal and birth after 3 months of dastardly chilling weather and when everything is bleak and grey and the sun is around for approximately 8 hours a day. When there is nary a chirp or a rustle first because everything is hibernating and second because I suppose there really aren't any leaves to rustle on the bushes. But enough of cliched descriptions of the weather. I shall embarrass myself no more. More to come in just a little while more friends. Thank you, and welcome back!

2007-03-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Not too shabby if you ask me, not too shabby at all.

Top 8 out of 96 teams

Best Memorial. IN THE WORLD.

And just as a personal vindication, top 4th individual oralist. Out of 500.

I need a stabiliser shot right about now.

Back!

2007-01-30T22:26:00.000-08:00

Oh my, it's been so long since I last logged in here I had to try three times before I got my userid/password right.

So. Yes, I am sorry I've been most remiss in tending to this little piece of cyberspace heaven of mine but time has not been the most merciful of masters.

Right. Straight to business then. What have I been up to you ask. Nothing much honestly, just ah well, EXAMS, 3 WINTER STORMS, NEW YORK, BOSTON, WASHINGTON D.C., JESSUP, JESSUP, JESSUP and erm have I mentioned JESSUP?????

hurhur. it's been good fun though and I promise to write more and post pictures. Within the next 3 days. I promise. But now, I need to turn to Kono v. Kono and educate myself as to the intricacies of transnational litigation.

Love!!!

2006-12-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

These days, there's an extra bounce in my step.

The sort that comes from one too many cookies.

A Prayer.

2006-12-05T23:10:00.000-08:00

Please dear God, let it be my jeans that have shrunk.

This is me.

2006-12-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Zhu. Nah. (No one say anything about the sphericalness of me. Especially you Susie Anne Smith)

The specific reference to dear Ms Smith arises from the following:

5:35:50 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: wah lau that's not u right?
5:35:51 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: right?
cookie cutter lover disconnected (6:08:30 AM)
cookie cutter lover connected (7:03:03 AM)
cookie cutter lover disconnected (7:03:35 AM)
cookie cutter lover connected (7:32:14 AM)
8:43:11 AM inmyrealm@hotmail.com: hulo
8:43:14 AM inmyrealm@hotmail.com: that'sme lah
8:43:16 AM inmyrealm@hotmail.com: fat lah
8:43:17 AM inmyrealm@hotmail.com: i know lah
8:50:10 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: wha jialat!
9:30:56 AM inmyrealm@hotmail.com: WHY???
9:31:25 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: it's HUGE eh
9:31:27 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: hahahah
9:31:32 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: but it makes u look like a boy
9:31:36 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: u're fat!
9:31:40 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: wong liangwei!
9:31:42 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: u are fat!
9:31:49 AM b_itchfaerie@hotmail.com: reality check

2006-11-30T14:41:00.000-08:00

Not so fun part of snow: Frozen windshield!!

SNOW!

2006-11-30T12:47:00.000-08:00

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW! LIKE FOR REAL!!!

2006-11-28T23:29:00.000-08:00

I've come to the conclusion that going on exchange is a most unhealthy experience. Think about it. You're taken from all that is close, familiar and comfortable and thrown headfirst into the freezing cold wilderness of everything that is distant, faraway and altogether very strange. You make friends, first out of necessity more than anything else, then subsequently form relationships that arise from common suffering and mutual empathy, last minute grocery runs because you need eggs for pancakes, late night adventures through the library and at the end of a year, just when you've ironed out the kinks and rubbed the uncomfortable corners off each other and when you've finally gotten past the awkwardness of being friends to being friends, you're expected to just drop everything and sever all ties. I know I know one can always keep in touch via email and whathaveyounots but you and I and everyone else knows that that simply isn't the same. Words on a screen and a distant voice do not a friendship make. It's cruel inhuman treatment that's what it is. Sigh.

Mistake me not friends, I do miss all you guys back home and all over the globe but I also love love love all my friends here. Gah. Enough of this rubbish, there will be more than a fair share of this angsting come June, I promise.

Oh, and proof I've put on weight:

2006-11-15T23:47:00.001-08:00

I AM SO PASTY PALE WHITE UNDERSIDE OF FISHBELLY DIAMETRIC OPPOSITION OF HEALTHY GLOWING TAN IT IS NOT FUNNY.

2006-11-15T23:47:00.000-08:00

Why oh why did I ever think taking environmental law was a good idea?

Egad. It is 1.43 in the morning and I am on question 3 of 10 for the class later today. I am also on call which means I will be picked on and apart mercilessly for an hour and a half until I throw my arms up in despair and declare shamefully that I am a dunce and a know nothing fraud!

What kind of statute defines a term by referring to another statute? What kind praytell, what kind?!!

“Liability” is defined in §101(32) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation And Liability Act, as the standard of liability which obtains under section 1321 of Title 33 (§311 of CWA).

If any of you think that you've gotten the grasp of statutory interpretation and research, you know nothing of the true horrors that the legislature can wreck upon your miserable uncomplicated, straightforward, lawnet-searching lives.

O woe is me!

Updated!

2006-11-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

Ok yes, it's been a long while. But you know what they say. About time. and being on exchange. and work. and the cow that jumps over the moon.

Oh, you don't?

Well, I'm most certainly not going to tell you if something quite so simple as what they say about time and being on exchange and work and the cow that jumps over the moon is something you are unfamiliar with.

But in any event, whoever said that exchange is a bed of non-work, all play roses is a Big Fat Liar. The Biggest Fattest Liarest Big Fat Liar you will ever set eyes on. Ever. Even if you lived past a million and survived dear ol Harry.

Because between running errands (PHONE BILLS! INTERNET BILLS! TRAFFIC TICKET BILLS! BUYING GROCERIES! PAYING RENT!), reading (oh don't tell me you guys don't read at all and don't care a smidgen about screwing up in class.), writing papers, briefs and memos, COOKING and CLEANING (It didn't strike me until about a month after I arrived that I spend on average, 12 hours a week cooking and at least another 4 cleaning up after cooking), eating what I've cooked in the apartment that I've cleaned, laundry (i've given up ironing. Don't even ask) I manage to take about 2 deep breaths before the week ends.

So. that's really what I've been up to. I guess my philosophy towards exchange isn't so much that I need to spend as much time travelling and having fun and exploring as it is to take advantage, to as great an extent as possible, the plentiful academic resources available and pick as many brilliant minds as possible. With that in mind, I've been running after every seminar bandwagon and brown bag lunch crowd with an almost-embarassing enthusiasm and fervour. It is beginning to wear me down though but well, as long as it lasts I suppose.

Update: brasil is NOT looking good. School withdrew funds so each of us have to cough up 900USD to go and after that nasty piece of news, 9 withdrew leaving 6 of us, myself and 5 girls. Not what I'm looking forward to. Christmas and winter break however is looking good, tickets have been booked and I'll be off to NY from the 18th Dec to 2 Jan (have to be back early for damn Jessup. Ask me about that another time, that's a whole other ball game. involving various sharp implements. And tonnes of self-torture). So, if any of you Americanos are there, give me a holler. My number's 314-583-5616.

2006-10-25T11:38:00.000-07:00

And on Adam's advice, proof that we ARE NOT DATING!

We stayed with Jeremy, a JC friend of mine where we put up in his living room, Shoko taking the sofa bed, I taking the floor.

CAN OR NOT HUHHHHHHHHHHH

CHICAGO! (Nothing smart to add larhhh)

2006-10-24T21:06:00.000-07:00

So, fall break was over the last weekend, from Thursday to Sunday and Shoko and I (WE ARE NOT DATING!) decided the take a short flight up to Chicago, which is an hour's flight and 5 hours' drive away from St Louis. But oh, what a world of difference! In a word, Chicago was alive. Buzzing with excitement, it was city that knew its status in the world (3rd largest city in the States) and the direction it was headed (up!). It has all the trappings of a great metropolis; a fantastically ginormous business district, a flourishing arts scene (Broadway on Chicago, museums all over the place), a well-developed and reliable public transportation system and most importantly, a sense of self; a keen belief in its identity that was shared by its people and on proud display everywhere one turned.

We flew up on thursday and day 1 was spent touring the University of Chicago, an old fabled school right out of the pages of Harry Potter. It's ivy covered brownstone walls evoked images of medieval scholars hurrying down its hallowed hallways carrying scrolls of parchment rich with the collective knowledge of eons and ages past. It was a huge campus, sprawled out across several blocks (Chicago is neatly organised according to a grid system. Even I found it a challenge getting lost there.) It's law school however, left much to be desired. Decrepit looking on the outside with a scarcely maintained pond/puddle/cesspit in its front yard and just a general feel of neglect and lack of maintenance.

On board flight AA2079 to Chicago

Entrance to the U Chicago Quadrangle. I felt scholarly just walking through those gates.

Typical mode of transportation in U Chicago

Cast iron clock in the main library, it reads on its face, Presented by the Class of Nineteen Hundred and Nine.

Main library. Tell me you can't see the sorting hat and the annual feast and floating candles.

Little Chapel in the middle of campus. (It's almost nicer than WashU's. Almost)

Not-so-little Chapel in the middle of campus. (OK FINE! IT'S TAMADE BLARDY HUGE!)This is Rockefeller Chapel and was donated by the founder of U Chicago. It is HUGE. I didn't feel like it was appropriate to take pictures inside so this is all I have of it.

Law School. OURS NICER! HAHAHA!!!

School bookshop. In the basement. Customers are given a map because it is a real possiblity that one might get lost in it. But so cool walking through narrow corridors framed fully by books on either side.

What I loved about the school was that it's students, past and present clearly had a very strong bond with the school. Notably, there was a palpable sense of camaraderie and brother/sisterhood. I also liked that its alumni had a very strong presence in the school and according to Jeremy, our tour guide, a pretty influential say in school policies as well.

I don't suppose I'm going to go into every minute detail about my trip in Chicago so I'm going to just bit more about the more memorable bits of the trip then let the pictures speak for themselves. Ok? Ok. Set.

on the second day Shoko and I made a trip to Sears Tower, the third tallest building in the world (I think) and it was there that I truly fell in love with chicago. From the 103rd floor with the city sprawled at my feet in well organised grids spreading out as far as the eye could see towards the north and east and Lake Michigan framing the west, I fell in love with Chicago for the first time. It was really inspiring, watching from up high, this marvel of man's construct. Gazing down upon the result of countless years and of toil and effort and the eventual growing fruit of ceaseless labour I was (again) seized by a stirring urge that the world truly is our oyster if only we tried.

One other thing I really loved about Chicago was how although it was such large city, I never once felt unsafe walking its streets or taking the subway and buses, even late at night. Something I've not felt since arriving in St Louis 2 months ago.

OK. Enough talking. How do i love Chicago, let me count the ways:

Sears Tower

Breathtaking.

Oh, the lengths to which we go just to bring you the best pictures, including but not limited to standing in the middle of a busy intersection.

Chicago Tribune Building

Street Art. (I refuse to call this graffiti)

Broadway on Chicago. We caught 2 musicals, Wicked and Altar Boyz, both of which were side splittingly good. We were very lucky because 2 hours before every show, a lottery is drawn to give out 20 tickets at 25 bucks each for front row seats. On Friday we decided to try our luck and entered our names. Amazingly, out of over a hundred names, Shoko stuck lottery and we managed to get 2 tickets at 25 bucks when the street price was something like 85 bucks.

Too much good food. Too much.

And that friends, was Chicago. Phew.

I wanna go back!!!

GO CARDINALS GO!!!

2006-10-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Heavens. I am loving this country more and more with each passing day. Not to say of course, that everything's perfect and a-ok but for now, I am truly, madly and deeply in love.

2 momentous events this past week.

1. National League Championship playoffs between the St Louis Cardinals and the New York Mets with Zach (GOOOO CAAARRRDDSSS!!!!!)

2. Chicago with Shoko.

On the first, I must say that while the experience came with a rather hefty price tag, it was worth evey penny. As I'm sure all of you know, I've never been much of a sports fan, but I think that's just about to change with Tuesday's game. Since coming to the states, I've been to 2 baseball games, the first between the St Louis Cards and the Pittsburgh Pirates and the second, the Championship playoffs last tuesday. What a world of difference the playing field makes, the former being one of the preliminary rounds and the latter a championship game. The first game was dull and about as fascinating as CLT, the second was so tension filled and alive with energy, I swear I almost got a gastric ulcer. It was fantastic really, feeling the palpable energy and the air so thick with anticipation you could cut through it with a knife. I've often wondered how people can be so passionate about a game they don't even play but that night I got a taste of that mind-gripping fanatacism and passion.

The Busch Stadium, home to the St Louis Cardinals. (GOOOOOO CAAARRRRDDSSS!!!!)

zach, who studied in NUS for 1 year, learning mandarin (he speaks mandarin very fluently) and got his Masters in Philosophy on Sino-American relations from Hong Kong. He unfortunately had to endure the game with constant questions along the lines of what?! WHAT HAPPENED?!!!

The view of the pitch from our tamade damn good seats.

Big screen, Crazy fans

National League Championship Series (WHICH WE WON!! GOOOOOOO CCCAAARRRRRDDDSSS!!!!!)

ABSOLUTELY EXHILARATING I TELL YOU. Lost my voice even. FANTASTIC. The mad euphoria and the ridiculously high spirits of the crowd, no doubt aided in large portions by copious amount of beer (the stadium is named for the biggest beer manufacturer in the world) (mother, I assure you, I had none of it) no doubt was so infectious we were riding on a high all the way home.

On thursday, Shoko and I (I swear, cross my heart and hope to die, we ARE NOT DATING!!!) made a trip up to Chicago, which is 5 hours drive and 1 hour flight away from St Louis. Not that far but my goodness, what a world of difference it is! Chicago is the third largest city and metropolitan area in TUSOA (The United States Of America) with a population of 9 million.

At this point, you would expect that I would load some pictures, write abit more about Chicago and how I was absolutely and completely swept off my feet in 4 days. You would also, however, be wrong, because I am now rather tired and have a tonne of readings to catch up on. As such dear friends, stay tuned for Liangwei's non-dating adventures in Chicago. Till then, have lots of fibre and stay healthy!

CHICAGO!

2006-10-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

I LOVE CHICAGO DEEP DEEP DEEP!!!!

One time, in band camp.

2006-10-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

Ok. Long time no post, sorry for the absence friends. It's been busy busy busy. In any event, the closing days of summer are here and the leaves are changing. I've taken to bundling myself in at least 3 layers of clothes before leaving the house and dashing helter skelter from home to car to school to car to home. I love the weather here, it's nice and cool and there's still some sun left so my runs through the park are breathtaking affairs of flitting sunlight through red, gold and yellow leaves and the soothing crunch of gravel under feet. The air is crisp, fresh and invigoratingly chilly and it quickly, gently kisses away any trace of prespiration or fatigue. It's a good reprieve from school and work; the mind is clear and the body is moving, primed to push itself to exhaustion, one leg after another, over and over, again and again, repeated until the protests of strained joints and fatigued muscles grow too loud to ignore. I love the endorphine rush at the end of a vigorous, hard run. Your skin burns from the cold and your breath is misting in the chilly air and the world is spinning slightly and your muscles are screaming their protests in none too subtle terms but oh, such a beautiful ache.

In any event, the past 2 weeks in pictures:

Nuremberg Conference. YOu've heard enough about it from me, these are the 3 prosecutors - Whitney Harris, Ben Ferencz and Henry King:

Taking advantage of the last days of summer, picnic at forest park. beautiful. We had intended to get some work done at the park but we all ended up falling fast asleep by the water.

Trip down memory lane - Bowling with the Asian Law Students Association. (Memory lane because that's what we used to do when we were younger but because I'd ever gone bowling with the ALSA before. But I'm sure you'd figured that out)

Jessup training - last week we decided that we were sick of school of we adjourned to Maguerite's house for curry and brainstorming. I love this bunch, Luke, Marguerite, Ashley and Rachel - every single one of them brilliant, passionate, friendly and wonderfully warm.

Marguerite worked for 2 years with the peacekeeping force in Kosovo. She speaks french and has a frenchy french boyfriend.

Luke has just gotten a clerkship with a judge on the 6th circuit court of appeals. Aspires to be an academic. Loves teaching.

Ashley. I've mentioned her before, straight talking, totally unlike her appearance. Amazes me with her strenght and tenacity.

Rachel. Went to music school, went to art school, lived on a boat in her early childhood. Parents worked with peacekeeping forces all over the world. Named her female cat Mr. Burns. Runs marathons. Has lost 5 toenails to running said marathons. Trying for an internship at the Hague.

Liangwei the noob.

Phew. So. that was the past two weeks. Next up: law school goes to the symphony! (yes cousin, this was just for you:))

2006-10-12T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hee.

I LUUURRVVVEEEE ZJL.TUSOA.LA.STL.TOWNE.HOUSE.WULAW.WUSTL.OK!!!!

2006-10-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

At the behest of a good friend, I am back with updates, sorta.

I'm sorry I haven't been as good with this whole updating thing as I should have been, it's been a busy busy week. Let's see. Since the Nuremberg Conference, I've had 1 week of school during which I found out that I got selected to go to Brazil. Yay me. I thus now have to raise funds to go to Brazil and for that end, have been assiged to design Halloween Grams and make cookies for sale in school. (sounds familiar? Hint: think CNY).

Problem? I have NO IDEA what Halloween Grams are.

Shoulda asked.

Drat.

In other news, I have to go read about 30 pages worth of stuff for later today so I'll be back again soon. Promise.

Chicago in 1 week!

And the girl in the pictures is Shoko and NO, WE ARE NOT DATING. :)

2006-10-03T11:00:00.000-07:00

At the risk of jinxing myself, this year is working out beautifully.

I'm going to Brazil for spring break! Airfare and hotel all paid for by the school!

I love my life!

(aiyah, it's for comm service lah, got selected to go work in the Brazilian favelas (ghettos) in Rio. But still. Expenses paid leh!!!)

A night like no other.

2006-10-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I attended a 2 day symposium commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials. Before I write anything else, I just want to make clear, from the onset that this post will come nowhere near describing what I actually feel and what I have personally experienced. It will fail to express the sensations and the emotions that ran high the past two days and it will be but a sorry shadow of what I really am dying to write.

The nuremberg trials, for the uninitiated, was where the leaders of Nazi germany were tried for crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is significant for 2 reasons (at least in my opinion):
1. it was the birthplace of the UN Charter and the UDHR, it was the first time, world leaders came forward and together, crafted a common international law that was to be binding on all countries. It was the birthplace of the modern concept of human rights.
2. It was the triumph of the force of law over the law of force.

The first reason is self-explanatory; with the horrors of the Third Reich, and because so much of these atrocities were committed against its own citizens, the world, led largely by the United States, rallied behind that notion that every single human being had certain basic inalienable rights that even its government could not violate under the guise of state sovereignty (recognising that at that time, state sovereignty was paramount). Therefore, where such a violation occurred, and where this violation was so egregious, the states of the world would be empowered to act against the violating state.

The second reason, and the more significant of the two, considering the present context is that the trial was not a form a victor's justice. It was an attempt at, and in many ways, an accomplishment of, admirable restraint where the allies, recognising that they could not trumpet the cause of human rights if they denied the nazi leader's the same, tried their best and I think, managed to give these leaders a fair trial, eventually acquitting 3 of them (i forget which 3).

On Thursday, Congress passed the detainee bill which essentially strips the lower federal courts of their power to review the rights of detainees, prohibits the use of international law in domestic courts and authorises the president to interpret the content of international law. it also defines certain international crimes and exempts individuals acting for the state from liability for certain acts which otherwise may qualify as international crimes. (does this sound frighteningly familiar?) And therein lies its significance, that on the 60th anniversary of the day in which the United States led the world towards greater solidarity against inhuman crimes and, more importantly, by leading by example in refusing to simply summarily execute those defendant leaders, the current administration should decide to pass a bill that stands in diametric opposition to everything the Nuremberg Trials stood for.

What was reiterated over and over again and which I fully agree, is that in order for us to judge the horrific acts committed by terrorists against innocents, we need to have the moral highground to justfiy such judgement and this can only arise by treating these people with the justice, fairness and grace they denied us. To play on their playing field is to taint our hands with the same blood that taints theirs. During the opening statement of the trial, the Justice Jackson of the American Supreme Court, in his role as Chief Prosecutor said:

"The record on which we judge these defendants today, is the record on which history judges us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to drink from it ourselves".

These are words of an enlightened generation, a generation that lived through some of the darkest periods of humanity and who saw, through the darkness, that quite rightly, an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind and thus chose, against the thirst for vengeance, justice for even the most heinous of criminals.

It's been an amazingly inspiring 2 days, sitting amongst giants and trying my best to glean as much knowledge and wisdom as I can off them. I've never felt more narrow-minded, stupid and ignorant than I have in the past 48 hours, and yet I've also never felt as if I wanted to learn even more. This my friends, is what law is about. It is about using the power and force of law, to better the lives of the downtrodden, the innocent and the victimised. More than that however, it is about justice, yes, even to the Saddams, Hitlers and Osama's of the world, not vengeance.

Just a taste of who was there:
1. Ben Ferencz, Whitney Harris and Henry King, 3 original Nuremberg Prosecutors, living history, real real real people and completely devoid of pretenses and airs. I asked Ben if he ever had the feeling, while trying the Nazi leaders that they truly believed in the goodness of their cause. Without hesitation he said, beyond a doubt and I asked him how he dealt with what must obviously be a very traumatic 1 year. He said, it channeled itself into a quiet rage, I didn't want to mutilate these people like they had to million others, i didn't want to attack them or fight them, I just wanted to see justice done. And that end was what kept me sane that 1 year. He had tears in his eyes when he said this. 60 years after.

2. Philippe Kirsch, President of the International Criminal Court, who said, with regards to the war on terrorism and the imminent threat of global closure, we have had 1 chance, we will not have another, this must work.

3. David Crane, Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

4. Senator Christopher Dodd, who painted a much better picture of the united states than the current administration is doing, who said, of the detainee bill, we spent 50 years trying to get the world to walk with us [on the path towards an international legal order], why are we walking away from them now. He acknowledged that precisely because the US was the only world power, an enormous burden to lead by example rested squarely on its shoulders and that one should never deal with terrorists the way they dealt with the world.

5. Richard Goldstone, Justice of the Constitutional Court of South africa, Chief Prosecutor of the united Nations International Criminal Tribunal for teh former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

I don't think i've recovered from the stimulus of the last 2 days yet, I most certainly haven't organised my thoughts as well as I would have liked to. I kid you not when I say that throughout most of the dinner last night, there were tears in my eyes.

2006-09-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

This has got to be the best 90 bucks I have ever spent.

And no, it's not something that adorns this swiftly bloating body of mine.

This weekend, I signed up for a conference commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials. Today was the first day and I've just gotten home, my mind awash with so many different thoughts and emotions I'm going to need a while to arrange them in some semblance of coherence.

Basically, this is a 3 day conference that examines the international crimes of 1. Genocide, 2. Crimes against humanity and 3. War crimes. Key note speakers include, the ORIGINAL prosecutors at the Nuremberg trial, which means that they are over 90 years old but still amazingly lucid, the President of the International Criminal Court and various other dignitaries in the field.

I can't write or elucidate anything right now because I'm going to need to review my notes before being able to say anything vaguely intelligible but suffice to say, I am blown away. This is living history. This is what higher level education is all about.

I am inspired and awed and dumbstruck and more than a little frightened.

Some of the issues we talked about today:
1. the parallels between medical trials conducted during Nazi germany and some methods of interrogation and force feeding conducted at Guantanamoa Bay.
2. The passing of the detainee bill barring judicial review of detainees and the ceding of authority to the president to interpret international laws and most damning of all, the prohibition of citing international laws, whether based on treaties or custom in US courts.
3. Just vs Unjust wars.

I cannot wait for tomorrow.

Ducktales

2006-09-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

Overheard today in Environmental Law class: "We need to preserve wetlands because we need a place to shoot ducks."

Words fail me.

Mugachugalug

2006-09-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Short update because I'm on a roll (OK IT's ROLL, not ROLE! slip of the fingers, no fault of the mind. heh):

interesting find in the library:

I mean, I know she writes, but to have a law review named after her, now that's way cool. Heh.

This is my new favourite studying haunt:

Its an attic onthe topmost floor in the library and is a perfect place to mug your afternoons away (again, I'm a mugger). Because it involves climbing 3 flights of stairs I'm usually left well alone and even if people did come up, I've managed to colonise it to such a large extent that most feel uncomfortable staying. :) I liiike. I love the high arched windows and the wood panelling and the panoramic view it has of the school, although there is now a HUGE hole in front of law school because of expansion works.

To end off, I expect I'm going to be updating less frequently because jessup training has started and it is KERAAAAAAAAAAZZZZZZZZZZZYYYYYYYY. My Jessup teammates. (both are crazy too by the way. Ashley the blondie is from texas and she's amazingly hyper. And funny. And terribly determined. And ditzy. Rachel runs marathons regularly and she conned me into joining the running club where they run twice a week, 6 miles and 20 miles. She talks while she runs. Non stop. to both. I try not to suffocate and die.

Central West End. The End.

2006-09-22T23:38:00.000-07:00

I realised that I probably haven't given you as clear a picture of what St Louis is like as I should have since I started this thing so allow me to rectify that oversight.

Before I being though, some essential background geography. Essentially, St Louis can be divided into the North and South segments by Forest Park. (see post entitled SIO AH!!!) The school and where I live is on the South side of forest park. On the other side of Forest Park and slightly to the West is the slightly more upmarket and chi-chi-er Central West End. In this post I'm gonna give you a glimpse of that side of St Louis, the side further away from the nightly sirens and the 2 robberies a month since I arrived statistics.

The area is characterised by lovely historical old brownstone buildings and tall tall condominiums with such pretentious names as Pierre Chateau (you know that the owners just threw 2 of the frenchiest sounding words together to get that name) and the Plaza Park Royale. It is also home to the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis, which is a gorgeous gorgeous piece of architecture.

I didn't manage to get any shots of the inside of the chapel because it was closed by the time we got there but I hear it's got gorgeous stained glass windows so I'm definitely going back there soon.

It is also home to the Angel of Harmony.

Although truth be told, harmony is not the first thing that comes to mind upon casting eyes on his countenance (no offence).

This is what happens when there is no one around and liangwei has no choice but to snap self portraits by himself. We wanted to get at least some part of the statue. We failed.

At this point, my camera died. Alas.

So you see, it's really a pretty nice place and not the horrid slummy shit hole I might have painted in my first few posts. It is also, most certainly, not backward although it is a small city and no, I have not had to milk a cow yet although I have been invited to go cow tipping, which is another story for another time.

Party Popping Party Poopers

2006-09-22T22:45:00.000-07:00

So i was wondering what the best way of updating this blog was because I didn't want to record every single mundane detail about exchange life and I was running out of lead in commentaries discussing one complex moral philosophical metaphysical issue or another. The natural conclusion that then arose was that I would of course blog whatever the hell I wanted without regard for my viewers. We all know however, that it will be a cold day in hell before that happens because as Zhu will be quick to attest, I am a chronic people pleaser. Where that leaves me, I really have no idea. And don't ask me what the point of all this is either. I'm just writing whatever floats to the top of my head because Jessup training is driving me slowly but surely insane.

American kids generally move out of the family home by the time the enter college. No, I'm not going to embark on a lengthy discourse on the benefits and detriments of this physical separation of the nuclear family nor am I going to began a discussion on cultrual relativism and the conflict between confucian values and western morals in Singaporean society. I am however, going to talk about a very important necessary corollary of such early independence. HOUSE PARTIES!!! hehehe. From what I understand, undergrad house parties are really nothing to rave about, bad beer, bad company and too many wet behind the ears youngsters who probably won't see the inside of a club for another 3 years. A grad student's house party however, is quite another story. Wine. Champagne, killer cocktails, bruschetta, pita breads and pate, greek spiinach puff pastries, fantastic company, interesting life experiences, the works really.

I do wish I had taken more pictures but I was terrified of being the absurdly suakuish touristy one so I restrained my trigger happy impulses and thus ended up with pictures of the food. This is us though, sufficiently inebriated:

We were however, due to budgetary constraints unable to avoid the tackiness of dixie cups. Ah well. can't have your cake and eat it.

Zhu, the guy who is not me is BD. Non asian girl is DG's Other Roommate.

2 weekends ago, we went to Sub Zero, a sushi and vodka bar. It seems almost counter intuitive to eat raw fish when the nearest ocean is 5 hours away by plane but this is what being in a land of perpetual steaks, potatoes and ranch dressing does to it. For the record, you probably guessed right. Raw fish in the middle of america is a bad bad bad idea.

Zhu, non asian girl is DG:

Fortunately, this Sushi Vodka Bar wasn't quite as committed to its theme as it should have been because it also served pizza. Which was good. But I suppose you can't go very wrong with pizza.

So there you have it, my partying ways in St Louis. Nothing extreme, just good clean fun. Really. I promise. REALLY LAH! NOW STOP LOOKING AT ME THAT WAY!

SIO AH!!!!

2006-09-19T19:52:00.000-07:00

Last friday a bunch of us went down to Forest Park, which is well, a forest in a park, to watch the annual hot air ballon race.

First, Forest Park is a lovely little (although that is a misnomer because it is anything but) piece of greenery in the middle of St Louis and 1 block from Wash U. It has roiling hills and verdant slopes (in summer at least) meandering brooks and bubbling springs, chirpy squirrels and BIG ASS HUGE MONSTER DOGS WHO VIEW EVERY 2 LEGGED VAGUELY HUMANOID FIGURE AS FOOD, gorgeous oaks (I almost typed acorn trees) and fields of sunflowers.

Second, the annual hot air balloon race, more than its name suggests, is also a stroke of marketing genius. The concept is simple enough - organise a novel competition involving many large, vaguely spherical airborne objects and get companies such as Alpro dogfood, Energizer, Nippon Paint, Lays and Fritos to donate helluva lot of money in return for one of their very own and watch the crowds (and dough) roll in. It's gorgeous really, the evening before the race, the public is invited to view the Balloon Glow where all the balloons are filled whilst in a large field. Because the balloons are filled with hot air created by a huge flame, all the balloons light up the night sky. Very very pretty. More than the balloons though, I really loved the friendly atmosphere that the whole parade exuded with families and kids in tow set up camp on the field and offered us exotic looking far easterners their local delicacies of frito fries and quesadillas. I love how the weather here is so conducive for on the spur of the moment picnics and other such outdoorsy family bonding activities that one simply doesn't find in Singapore either because we love our material comforts too much or because the weather's just too damn humid to do anything that doesn't involve air conditioning. Ok. Enough talk.

Said bubbling brook and sparkling spring and (1 giant pink bunny)

Said roiling hills. (I was walking and trying to avoid said BIG ASS HUGE DOG hence the bad photography) Ok, this picture does not do the park justice at all but I was late and FINE, I"M A BAD PHOTOGRAPHER OK?????

Puuurrrrtttyyyyy baaalllooonnnsss

Aforementioned pink bunny's ass on fire.

Realising, to our horror, we were standing too close to a balloon.

And that is all!

Barnyard education

2006-09-18T20:54:00.000-07:00

So. this is the barn in which we are schooled:

This is where we peruse the paperback repositories of midwestern legal knowledge:

Interesting fact: This library was donated by a Korean immigrant who won the lottery. Shortly after she made the donation, she was cheated of all her winnings and ended up without a penny to her name. (although she did have a library named after her.)

Pastures where the cattle (and students graze) what I really mean to say is we usually have our lunch on these beautifully manicured lawns, picnic style. I love how the weather is cool and not humid and the grass is green but not moist so it is possible to sit without getting soaked right through to the undies. I also love how un-self-concious people are and they really just do whatever they feel like (that of course is not unqualified but that's a story for another time):

This is the aforementioned Chrowder Courtyard where I usually get my readings done. The weather's just about right now, not too hot or too cold, with enough sun to still bask in but without burning. Lovely really:

The Church in the middle of campus. There was a lovely little wedding there just last saturday:

And with that, i leave you. I have tonnes of things I want to say about American education here but that's gonna have to wait till another day (not like you guys are holding your collective breaths anyways. :) )

Be good!

St. Louis - Gateway to the West

2006-09-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

On my second weekend here, I joined the international undergraduate orientation programme for an excursion downtown to the heart of St. Louis. Before the pictures though, abit of general knowledge/history.

St Louis was founded in the late 1600s but the french and was named for the French King at that time King Louis (the dunno how manyeth). It was purchased by the United States President in 1804 in the first of several westward bound expansions and became known as the Gateway to the West (of the USA, not the world because to the Anglocentric cartographers, USA was already as west as you could get). The first large scale exploration past St Louis was, interestingly enough, led by Lewis and Clark. St Louis is sited on the west bank of the Mississippi river and is directly opposite Illonois.

Some interesting facts about St Louis:
Anheuser-Busch, the biggest beer manufacturer in the world and which produces Budweiser beer is from St. Louis.

So is TS Elliot and Tennessee Williams.

The uranium for the A-bomb was refined in St Louis too.

The world's first skyscraper (at a staggering 10 stories) was also built in St Louis.

Other than that, I don't think there's anything else really that interesting about it. OH!

The first black slave who sued his white owners brought his case to trial here and it went all the way to the US Supreme court who unsurprisingly decided against him.

What do I think about St Louis you ask? Well, it honestly isn't that fantastic a city, it's nice, ok maybe that would be a lie too because it has the highest crime rate in ALL OF AMERICA, but seriously, it's not bad, i like the open space, i like the vast number of cafes by the roadside (al fresco dining is big here) and because it's smallish, people are friendlier than one would expect in a big city. What i like the most about it though, is its history, I love how the city has found a way of growing into its history instead of out of it, using its gorgeous old buildings for modern day purposes with cutting edge technology instead of converting every single old building into a museum much unlike a certain island state that rhymes with schmingapore.

One last thought before the pictures (yes yes, I know no one really wants to hear my incessant ramblings) as I mentioned, this downtown fieldtrip thing was with the undergraduates. As most of you know, the law degree, the juris doctor, is a post graduate degree and having spent the past month amongst them whilst at the same time hanging out with some other undergraduates from other schools (they call them schools here, not faculties; faculty refers to the profs et al) I wonder if perhaps we too should make law a postgraduate degree because I've found that the maturity that comes with age and experience generally stands these JD candidates in very good stead (they call them candidates, not students and all their email signatures go so-and-so, 2008 J.D. Candidate. ISNT" THAT SO COOL!!!) and one immediately sees how age and experience and maturity would be greatly beneficial because I believe that more than intelligence, being a lawyer is about the moral person you are and while it might be a cliche, I think it to be much easier to draw your boundaries and mark your no-go areas when you've had more life experience then a wet behind the ears JC graduate. Also, from a practical point of view, having a prior degree will also greatly aid practice because lawyers essentially have to be experts in their chosen field of specialisation so a construction lawyer would definitely need to possess some techinical knowledge of things like engineering and the like whereas Louis, i mean, an FSD lawyer would need to know a little more about things like finance and economics (oh, silly me, he knows that already!) and generally most of the JDs here have had degrees in those fields they would be interested in practising in. And so, in antitrust class, I find myself surround by economists who can discusss this theory and that graph and marginal costs and variable whatever when all I can do is gape and think OH MY FUCKING GOODNESS WHY THE HELL ARE THERE GRAPHS IN A LAW CLASS?!! KNNBCCB!!!! whilst in International Human Rights class you find a vast majority of them being political science majors who can discuss the palestinian israeli conflict at the drop of a hat whilst i'm left repeating to myself, ok, one more time, the jews are in israel and the arabs are in palestine.

Phew. That was one major rant. Anyway, that's over and so here are the pictures:

This is the arch, the tallest American National Monument and it was built in the 60s using what was at the time cutting edge technology. i forget what it was but it was cutting edge. It's really breathtaking looking up from its base.

This is the view from the base.

This is the view from the top of the arch - we had to take this teeny tiny capsule lift up the side of the arch and because it's a curved, the lift basically moved upward through a serious of horizontal and then vertical movements. Vaguely remember faint sensations of nausea.

This is the view from the otherside of the arch, facing the Mississippi river. Across the river is east st Louis which is apparently even more dangerous than Queens and Detroit City. That's where most of the crime comes from. It is filled with strip bars and seedy joints and unfortunately is also where most of the big-name concerts are. the friend who picked me up from the airport told me how he got lost once and found himself in east st louis with 1/8 tank of gas. He declined to tell me details of the fateful night but I gather he's very grateful to still be alive.

This is the inside of the old courthouse where the slave-sue-owner trial was held. The old court house is actually pictured in the pic from the top of the arch. It's the building right in the middle. It is now a museum (yes yes, I know what I said, this is the only exception. I think. heh) and the undergrads were made to act out the trial. people were given scripts and roles and everything and it was generally hilarious watching awkward non-english speaking non-americans act out a very american skit in very american english. But i digress.

The Americans love their flags

SO that's about all from my downtown sojourn. Next up. I PROMISE. PICS OF BARNYARD EDUCATION SO YOU CAN LAUGH OK? OH AND WITH PEOPLE IN IT TO. I PROMISE.

2006-09-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

So yes, I know that the spoiler from my last post promised pictures of barnyard education here in the midwest but I haven't uploaded those pictures yet and my cable seems to have decided to take a tour of my apartment has is no longer where I remember it last being. (and please, no suggestions of otherworldly presences because that would freak me out and we don't want that do we?)

I am currently writing this in the Chrowder Courtyard which is the courtyard adjoining the students lounge or as is known here, the Students Commons. This is the venue for the school's weekly happy hour which easily half the student population turns up for. I was of course, very pleasantly surprised at this, being accustomed to little or no student support for such school functions in NUS and what struck me the most about it was that the students were genuinely enjoying themselves and there wasn't that self-consciousness we see in NUS where it's almost uncool to be at a school function and it isn't uncommon to hear people trying to excuse their presence by saying that they had no choice or that they were there to support their friends who were organising the event. I suppose it also helps that there's always free beer at these events. (Law School here is in Anheuser-Busch Building which is named for the biggest beer manufacturer in the world. They make Budweiser beer. Which tastes foul btw)

And regarding my first entry and in response to some comments, I don't deny that it is a long entry, but it isn't only about my apartment. I suppose the pictures aside, I really wanted to impress upon everyone not on exchange, the difficulty and hardships involved in coming on exchange, that exchange isn't all about cheap alcohol and travelling or even mostly about that, because exchange to me, has been about being turly independent, more than the army, more than going on holidays with your friends, more than moving into hall. It is about finding your own two feet and standing on them and finidng that hey, I can support my own weight. it is about realising the sheer effort and willpower that goes into getting simple, essential tasks and errands done; getting a bank account, knowing how to rout money from singapore, finding a place to stay, negotiating a lease, finding furniture with a small or non-existent budget, drawing up grocery lists, going to the grocers, figuring out how to get around without a cheap, clean, safe and reliable public transportation system, making friends (yes, it doesn't come naturally, and yes, it definitely is a chore at first) slowly but surely devising a standard operation protocol for how to live your life, completely and totally alone for the what will be for many of us, the first time. I was telling some friends that this past month alone has been such an experience because for the first time in my life, every single action or omission is a consequence on my life, directly and with no one else to blame. If I oversleep and don't have time to get to the grocers, then I go without milk or bread for breakfast the next day. If I dawdle about getting my internet connection up, then I deal with not having any form of communication with the rest of the world. I can no longer pick up the phone and call a parent or friend to settle some errand that slipped my mind or expect someone to drive me in the middle of the night to pick up eggs or milk. For the first time, I can honestly say, that this IS my life, because it is whatever I make of it.

So no, the first post was not a vanity post; it was to me, the fruits of a very hard first month's worth of labour and I am certain that anyone who has gone through the process of uprooting and setting up home from scratch will know exactly what I am talking about.

2006-09-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hullo friends!

It's about time I suppose, I set up some sort of repository for my (mis)adventures in the midwest of the US of A. It's been exactly a month since I arrived and school's been going on for the past 4 weeks which really explains my absence thus far - I arrived just in time for school to start, without accomodation, or anything remotely resembling a plan as to how I was going to get through the next 10 or so months here. Suffice to say, I've survived, and despite being thrown into the deep end without so much as a lifebuoy I have managed to avoid drowning or being eaten by sharks.

Washington University, for the uninitiated, is in St Louis, which is in Missouri, which is a state in the midwest. No, it is not in Washington state, nor is it in Washington, Capital of America (And no, capital of America is not New York). The university is a quiet little place in well, University City in St Louis and is really quite a quaint pretty place. It's basically a sort of converted castle with huge arch windows and dark wood floors and the works and is honestly very very breathtaking. Has a terribly academic feel to it and walking through its stone hallways almost makes me feel scholarly.

I arrived here about a month ago, to a warm reception from a secondary school friend who was kind enough to put me up since Wash U DOES NOT HAVE HOUSING FOR GRAD STUDENTS )**&&*&!!!!! and I thought I would be smart and not risk getting misled by online agents and accidentally end up renting myself some barely inhabitable rat hole. So the first week was marked by frantic apartment hunting and to my great pride and pleasure, i found a lovely studio apartment 10 minutes walk from school for a pretty decent price (610USD) a month and uh-hm, even negotiated the lease down from a 12 month lease to a 10 month one (yes yes, I am that good). There was one slight problem though.

IT WAS COMPLETELY UNFURNISHED. empty. devoid of furniture like substances.

So that marked the beginning of a 3 day long mad search for furniture, oh I am such an expert at craig's list and online used-anything-under-the-sun searches now which eventually culminated in me having to rent a HUGE ASS VAN to transport all the bits and pieces of furniture I bought from all over st louis to my new place. (my sofa came from someone's basement. my bed belonged to a highschool girl. WHO USED LEOPARD PRINT SHEETS. the mattress was also stained on oneside with something that looked suspiciously like blood but her mother assured me it was wine. Which of course begs the question of why a HIGH SCHOOL GIRL'S BED WOULD HAVE WINE ON IT!) In the process, I also picked up:

1. a microwave
2. ricecooker
3. kettle
4. toaster
5. 1 huge ass frying pan
6. 1 huge ass soup pot
7. A set of 7 chef's knives (it was on sale, don't ask)
8. 1 chopping board
9. Plates and bowls
10. Cutlery
11. A standing lamp and a bedside lamp (which were both from someone else's basement)
12. Pillows, cushions and various other soft fluffy things
13. A steam iron
14. A teeny tiny ironing board
15. A mop, broom and other cleaning implements.

So. Within a week of my arrival, I had set up my home away from home from scratch. And i'll tell you now, that I'm so proud of myself. It wasn't easy, it was actually very very tough, the first night I slept in my apartment, it was on the floor with a borrowed comforter. I thought I was going to die there alone and I suppose what makes it so hard is that it's so difficult to get around when you know virtually no one or nothing at all about the place. If nothing else, this is one thing that makes the trip all that worthwhile, being completely and totally independent and self-sufficient. So, with further ado, this is my humble abode:

It's a studio apartment with attached bathroom kitchen dining area. Very nice really.

This is my work area/couch-y place where i suppose i hang out. i will have you know i MADE THE WORK DESK AND WORK SHELF FROM SCRATCH. broke my toenail in the process. Note the lack of a tv.

This is the dining area, would you believe I bought the dining table and 4 chairs for 50USD?? Of course, i had to venture into a most unsavoury part of town to get it but I had my big ass van so I suppose I could ahve run over anyone who tried to rob me.

The kitchen, I love the fact that this apartment is about a hundred years old and the cabinets are the original ones. Amazing innit?

The bathroon, the toiletbowl and the FEROCIOUS FLUSH. everytime i flush, i depress the lever then leap away because the bowl spews water ALL OVER THE PLACE. DISGUSTING. but at least, there is never the problem of floaters.

oh, and my favouritest part of the apartment:

WALK IN WARDROBE!!!!!

So, it's a pretty nice place really and this is what it looks like from the outside:

And now friends, I have to leave you because I have a ton of readings to catch up on, yes yes, I am a mugger, so until next time, be good!

UP NEXT: IS IT TRUE THAT THERE IS AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER LEARNING IN THE MIDWEST? AND IF IT IS, WHAT COULD IT POSSIBLY LOOK LIKE? A BARN IN THE WILDERNESS? LESSONS IN A COWSHED? STAY TUNED....