give me heart and give me soul

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 03:28:11 GMT

European guys are flaky and unreliable.

i wish

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:03:48 GMT

I'm leaving for Paris, no I don't think that I'll see you
I'm leaving for Paris, no I don't think that I need to
So I'm leaving for Paris, won't you try to take care of yourself
Just you try to take care of yourself, cause I'm leaving
Yes, I'm leaving for Paris

I pray you won't follow through the crooked streets behind me
I pray you won't follow, like so many who I've roamed there
So I'm leaving for Paris, don't you try to find out where I am
Just you try to take care of yourself
Cause I'm leaving, yes I'm leaving
Cause I'm leaving, yes I'm leaving for Paris
Goodbye

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 17:10:28 GMT

I don't understand why the Straits Times pays people to write vapid, self-explanatory nonsense.

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:09:34 GMT

I want to waste my youth away in Europe.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:23:50 GMT

Seems like a lot of the law students I know are either questioning their existence or choice of career, myself included. Comments?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:25:51 GMT

I want to buy a trashy fashion magazine and read it in a left bank cafe, along with a continuous supply of malevolently dark expressos and Pierre Hermé macarons.

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 09:21:23 GMT

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)

                                    i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant 
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:31:49 GMT

I went for some much-needed haute cuisine after class on Thursday. Unfortunately, I probably would have been better off at the rustic French bistro next door.

Looks like Michelin stars aren't worth so much these days.

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:04:18 GMT

If I don't eat foie gras and scallops soon I'm going to scream.

two for joy.

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 08:46:08 GMT

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
And seven for a secret never to be told.
Eight's a kiss,
Nine's a wish,
And ten's an evening ending in bliss.

- Dublin, 5 Oct 2009

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:18:34 GMT

Today, Josh dedicated a song to me and "my new toy".

Bless.

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:38:08 GMT

Am feeling strongly unpatriotic now.

I recall attending compulsory National Day celebrations in school with the Union Jack on my sleeve. And waving the British flag when they made us sing Home. For some reason I just never felt like I remotely belonged here. Like someone ripped me out of my frosty European terra firma and plunged me into Singapore's dusty terra nullius. My ancestors are Chinese, but I have nothing to do with China. My mother tongue is English, and my second language is French.

I don't belong in SMU either. Too invasive, too restrictive, too modern. I want tradition - I want to say Latin prayers before every meal, wear robes to exams and bring in nothing but quills and ink. I want crumbling walls and cold stone and people with the desire to learn.

Of course, no one ever gets what they really want right?

This entry is all about beef.

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:29:53 GMT

I have recently experienced a few revelations about myself.

First, I am probably the only freak who gets wildly excited over finding onglet steak at a butchery. Onglet steak is totally different from ribeye and striploin; it's slightly chewy and has an intensely beefy flavour with a hint of kidney. Sounds gross right? It's probably why no one eats it and why no supermarket sells it.

Second, the only way I will find out if I really like a guy is if I can be bothered to make meat reductions for him. Which is a lot more expensive and time consuming than it really sounds ($14 and 6 hours of work for 100ml).

Am currently in a French bistro food sort of mood; the other day I had a warm roast chicken salad with poached egg and a slice of baguette. I think I shall be brave and try rognons one day.

I took my love down to (Via Montenapoleone)

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:26:54 GMT

So I'm back from Europe. Don't like Singapore much, anymore (never really liked it to begin with). It's hot, overcrowded, not pretty and the people here are inconsiderate and dress badly. Perhaps I'm being a little harsh. But let me elaborate.

Two days ago, when I was walking out to the bus stop (yes, my place is a 15 minute walk from the nearest bus stop), I was fortunate enough to spot a cab dropping someone off along the way. So I hailed it down, but lo and behold, three complete arseholes had the nerve to run to the cab before I could get to it. Clearly, I could have run faster (simply because I was wearing sneakers), but to do so would have been plain puerile. Imagine: three fully-grown adults trying to beat a nineteen year-old a cab. Had it been an old lady I'm sure they'd have done the same. And I am positive they were not in a rush of any sort, for two reasons: a) the lone woman with them did not have a bulging belly; and b) prior to this Incident, they were hanging around in the middle of the kerb gossiping about their fellow coworkers.

Moving on to the badly dressed bit: what's with the translucent leggings and tops that barely cover your ass? And boyfriend shirts without any bottoms underneath?

God, I miss Milan.

Week 15, Day 7: oral "examinations"

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:40:15 GMT

I'm supposed to be working on my moots (law oral examinations) tomorrow but I haven't exactly started. Dull dull dull. Why anyone would practice criminal defence I really do not know (don't even get me started on legal expenses).

So many things to look forward to after tomorrow's exams. Lots of catching up and a whole lot of cooking. And, particularly, my seven-week "honeymoon" to Europe, as David puts it (though it is categorically untrue). Really, it's just backpacking.

In the meantime, I shall continue reading blawgs and panic when I wake up at 11am tomorrow with my speech still undone.

Week 11, Day 7: briefs

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:22:17 GMT

Papers, papers and yet more papers. Whatever it is, you need a pretty good reason to continue ploughing through it all. Everyday, I ask myself why I do it (and I know I will continue to ask myself that question throughout my legal career). Today I took a different tack by sulking and hating criminal law. And reading blawgs.

I still don’t get why lawyers insist on speaking a different language, unless it’s to help justify the fees. Whatever the reason, much of the work can be extremely tedious and you’d need a pretty good reason just to get yourself to concentrate hard enough to raise even a mild interest in the subject matter. So why are we all so fussed about being barristers anyway? Status? Maybe. Intellectual challenge? Maybe, to some limited extent, although quite how the above can improve one’s mind I’ll never know. But don’t kid yourself that it’s not also to do with money. Whether you wrap it in the mystique of the Bar or in the high ideals of legal principles and justice, it still comes out just the same. The fat rewards of mammon.

Edit, the next day: It's funny seeing how different people react in the same situation. There are good lawyers and there are bad lawyers. The bad ones crack under the pressure. The good ones hang on and fight like hell.

You know you've lost it when you start using words like a fortiori in your daily conversation.

Week 5, Day 5: first year anniversary

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 07:46:40 GMT

Today marks the first anniversary of the day my blood, sweat and tears ebbed. Which means: drinks with the NKF team come next week!

Am currently doing a (crim law) case brief now - ugh. I have never understood why people do case briefs. It's expensive and time consuming. I think I'd rather have someone stab me in the thigh seven times.

Week 3, Day 7: liar liar

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:40:08 GMT

I've always wondered why people do things. Like why people say "good morning", even though you know they don't mean it. Things like that.

Bunch of liars.

Sun, 06 Jan 2008 06:51:29 GMT

I've never been one to reflect upon the past, but for pathos and low-rent amusement, I present to you a list of what I've been cooking for the past two weeks.

Canapes
Chicken liver with vin santo
Chickpeas with black pudding, pine nuts and sultanas
Some sort of Italianate stew with cannellini beans, Italian sausage, smoked ham and tomatoes
Sauteed mixed wild mushrooms
Smoked salmon with roasted pepper on a toasted bagel (actually I got my friends to do this one)
Smoked haddock fishcakes
Calamari
Several dips (guacamole, baba ghanoush, taramasalata etc etc)

Starters
Pan-seared duck foie gras with sweet pears and port reduction
Poached egg on mushroom mousse with a confit of wild mushrooms and truffle foam
Roast cod in den miso topped with uni (that's sea urchin roe) and blowtorched
Bellon oysters with vinagrette
Dory fillets and roasted baby vegetables in a summer broth

Real food
Two Christmas dinners (that's turkey, stuffing potato gratin, roasted veg, gravy and so on)
Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup
Fish and chips (as in real chips, not the crappy frozen simplot classic)
Foie gras burgers
Hot dogs
A ton of salads and sides (think coleslaw, mushy peas, tomato confit, caramelised onions etc etc)

Desserts
Sticky date pudding (twice)
Molten chocolate pudding
Christmas pudding (with rum custard and brandy butter)
Fruit cake
Gingerbread cookies
Pavlova
Vanilla custard
Creme brulee
Scones

It looks like I've got the Troisgros brothers chained to my stove, but I haven't. It's just me. Anyway, happy new year, everyone.

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 15:14:05 GMT

Had lunch with the A&G guys at Zam Zam on Thursday. Lots of catching up and gossip over awesome, unhealthy murtabak. All four assured me that there was no need to bother about grades too much, and that I should do both the cafe thing and the blog thing. Where would I be without them...

I've been spending a lot of my hols cooking and thinking about what kind of food goes with Burgundy. Oh, and planning numerous Christmas parties. The cooking is going to be an absolute killer.

I wish people would stop thinking that cooking is all about glamour. It isn't, really. It's mostly a lot of hard work.

Addendum: I scored some truffles from deli guy and I just made a plate of truffle pasta - totally orgas! I'm going to try shaving it over a poached egg for breakfast tomorrow.

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:17:41 GMT

POSNER

Some of the literature says it will pass. I'm not sure I want it to pass.

But I want to get into Oxford, sir. If I do, Dakin might love me.

Or I might stop caring. Do you look at your life, sir?

IRWIN

I thought everybody did.

POSNER

I'm a Jew.

I'm small.

I'm homosexual.

And I live in Sheffield.

I'm fucked.

-

Will take a bit of inductive reasoning, but I'm sure you guys can handle it. :)

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:38:12 GMT

I've no idea how to describe my life right now. Inert would be appropriate, but not allowed. Like many other things. Scarred for life? Perhaps. Whether or not that was the result of a build-up or the result of one momentous occasion (it's not what all of you think it is) I really do not know.

Actually, nothing much happened today. But Choe, if you're reading this, here's a big 'I miss you' shoutout. <3

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 04:51:53 GMT

You know you've lost it when you start keeping a toothbrush in your friend's locker.

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:10:13 GMT

Been absorbed in A Tale of Two Cities again. It's interesting how you find so many new perspectives when you read something multiple times.

I think I'm somewhat like Sydney Carton. I like watching from the public gallery.

In law, there are nearly always simple, elegant solutions to everything. In life, that is simply not the case (though I wish it was).

only remember - we're not in the subjunctive any more either.

Sun, 29 Jul 2007 15:30:48 GMT

My week in paragraphs. I usually hate writing this way but I'm rushing and I've got a million things to settle.

1. SMU CF camp was an absolute blast! It was so relaxed and we just had a lot of fun doing basically whatever we wanted. Good times.

2. I've got a ton of lit essays to mark. Short of rewriting the entire essay, I've no idea how to tell them that the way they write is just plain odd, both stylistically and grammatically. Maybe it's just their age.

3. I've got a new godbro! Love.

4. Had a totally fab Japanese lunch with my dad; we ate whatever the chefs put in front of us. Blowtorched toro cubes with ponzu and shallots, smoked fugu, mizuna salad, a dizzying range of sushi, squeaky-fresh uni etc, etc. Sushi chefs have got to be coolest people around.

5. Catching up with the AC church bunch. Chang wants to buy a baby cause he thinks they're cute, boy do I beg to differ.

I'm trying to do pack for tomorrow's (nasty-sounding) camp, talk to godbro, mark lit essays, order fresh jalapeno peppers and blog, all at once. I need to sleep!

Edit: Aha! I'm going to do a Karen (as in Walker). I've found sleep-inducing prescription drugs which I shall consume tomorrow night in a final bid to get some sleep. Imagine, I shall have to sleep in a tent, outdoors, on concrete. Oh help.