I think it interesting that someone from my past has announced that she wished to make life difficult for me if our paths so cross again.

I take it extremely offensively that she reckons she has the ability to do so.

I take it as a matter of empirical fact that she doesn’t possess that ability.

I take it as a resolution that under no circumstances would I allow her to do so, even if she has the ability.

Let’s do this N. Lets see who wins this race in life.

last night was a good night. but somehow it wasnt. a few got high. and caused some furore. so what? who gives a shit? singapore is a weird place. one of the few entitlements the government allows us when we turn 18 is to get so fuckin drunk that you cant recognise who you are. and yet this ultra conservative, puritanical society still frowns upon it. sure, we shouldnt do it all the time, sure, we shouldnt perpetually cause a nuisance to others, i grant you all that. but once in awhile, people in the group get smashed, and we just gotta bear with that liability dont we. ive got smashed many times over, and i always hated in when i woke up in the morning afraid whether i had offended any of my friends by being a dick. thats just wrong. whoever gets drunk, we should just take care of him. and forgive what he/she had done the night before. lyk how we do it back in langton close.

and today, some will go "i will never drink again", "i shouldnt have gone out last night", "sorry for the trouble". fuck. i love everyone that was there last night, but i hate this fuckin country. good thing im going on vacation. and gettin out of here soon afterward. but really, it was great to see most of you again.

Im gonna give this one last chance.

If I can.

If you can.

Cuz we once respected each other.

Once upon a time, and it was a very good time

on Laws

No, not Lord Justice Laws who sits in the Court of Appeal, but the degree im doing.

Studying Laws has advantages - the most obvious being that it trains you to be a barrister or solicitor. It’s vocational and utilitarian (in the common English, not philosophical sense of the word.) some reckon that it trains you analytically, allowing you to strip off all the red herring and focus on the crunch issues.

I’m not sure if I agree, but I think that at the very least, it enables the Reader to extend the elasticity of his grammar to a point where his words and thought have become a larger receptacle and sharper dichtomiser, to allow words to have (that much) more margin of appreciation to reach their metaphysical barrier, to better fulfil their normative function before the boundaries of grammar is reached.

For example, legal language often permeates into many lawyers writing “extra-legally” if you will. A friend of mine recently spoke of presumptions and rebuttals.

As an American judge once stated (rather picturesquely) “presumptions are bats of the law, and flitter away when the true lights of fact arrive”

To adopt his example— (i hope you dont mind dude, tell me if you do)

Presumption: Hates loud flash[y] showboats who run their mouths cos they love the sound of their own voice.

Exception: presumption can be rebutted by evidence of a contrary intention.

This is in substance two statements, the first setting out a stereotype and the second providing for those who transcend the stereotype, but it sounds far more erudite and less controversial, if I might suggest.

And legal training trains one to identify flaws in the language which require elucidation. For example, I might suggest that “contrary intention” is rather ambiguous – it is usually the courts’ task to flesh out these provisions, just as the interpretation of what falls into this category falls into the responsibility of the critique.

Latinate, whilst considered obscure by most, often allows one to express his thoughts more concisely, such as

A fortiori
A priori

There are lots more, but I find these two particularly useful.

And with that ends my attempt to inject some integrity into the LLB course.

im posting so often today because

.... i dont wanna do WLO

Baby I hate it when you say you don’t wanna go out cuz you don’t wanna spend money

I hate it when you say you pack lunch from home cuz you don’t wanna waste money eating food

I told you umpteen times, ill pay for it.

Its not good to save on such things, especially since you re already so thrifty

I know you ve always cut your coat according to your cloth, I know you get a measly allowance and live within your means. I also know you try to save your pay.

But im your bf now.

And I wish you’d let me provide better for you.

Its what I wish for.

I am so fucked for WLO tomorrow it aint even funny

Try as I may, I just cant find that motivation and concentrate. Legal transplants, roman law, Islamic law, who the fuck gives a rat’s ass.

My social calendar is all planned out.

Once I put the pen down at 115pm tomorrow I will be a free man

Id love to say all hell’s gonna break loose, but I don’t think ill do that – yet. not till gareth's out.

Well after my paper, its drinks wit tk and jem. Gonna be a after-dinner-drinks-and-just-talk session. Probably gonna get pretty pissed, which is always a good thing, especially when you open your eyes the next day, relieved that you have nothing to do, no expectations to keep up with.

On Friday its off to Selfridges to look (again) at that pair of crocodile skin Prada shoes. They are really expensive (and I wont reveal the price here) so im still thinking whether I should get them.
After that its off to the poetry slam with angela and whoever else wants to come. I might even read at the open mic, who knows.

Saturday – simplicity is key. Just gonna sit down with a six pack, inhale tons of nicotine and read those to Maguerite Duras books that ive been waiting to sink my teeth into. Incidentally, I felt a sense of triumph last night when I finally finished Ulysses. Although I don’t think I really got some of its nuances and will probably take a second read over the summer and i was meant to be doing WLO

Sunday – sucky day. Gotta go fix my fucking handphone, pack my shit into boxes so they can be transported to james’ house, dismantle my table, do laundry etcetera. Im dreading this day

Monday – dinner at Hakkassan. i think it deserves more than 1 michellin star. Ive been dying to go back there. Might watch Phantom cuz shing wants to see it. Not sure though. Ive already seen it twice.

Tuesday – off to Alton Towers with shing jiejie! Apparently it’s the best theme park in UK. Well, id rather not get my expectations too high, but yea. Shez driving, id be smoking and drinking. Nothing like sitting on a rollercoaster pissed and watching the world twirl around you.

Wednesday – lunch wit nessa at Nobu. Japanese food at a 2star michellin resturant. how can that be bad?. And of course, to express my gratitude for her help throughout the year.
Evening – heading over to James’, in his nifty lil Ford Fiesta =) dropping my pila shit on his backyard (literally) and probably just drinking. We’d do weed, but jiajia has a problem with it. =(

Thursday –gareth is released from uni. and im sure we’d bring the house down to celebrate

No plans for the few days after that.

21st– head back home, meet jiajiaz parents, pack my luggage, then it’s a seafood dinner at some place lewis wants to go to. Kbox with the boys follows; of course, with hongy and jiajia as well.

22nd – 4th – off to Melbourne and perth with jiajia. Time to do things I never did as a student while I was there, to meet up wit acquaintances, to back to GGS and see my name imprinted on the list of scholars wall, and the chair which has my name on it. Damn im making myself sound good. Oh – wait – I am.

4th – touch down Singapore, pack bags, off again to Bangkok with jon, emil, jiajia n shing. Gonna have a ball! Too bad so aint there, but ill see him in melby, so I guess it aint all that bad

so yea boys, back on the 10th for summer.

My mind is already in post-exam-celebratory mood.

p.s. I think it is time for one of the “trademark” (as someone dear to me has called it) recondite entries soon, no?

property law and the language game

I had the worst paper of my exams today. property. and i worked the hardest for it, even though i have never been known for assiduity.

I was fuming after the exam but I just tried to keep it within me.

The thing is I knew my stuff. I could have done 4 questions easy

Here was the situation. conundrum. whatever you wanna call it.

1. Problem question on adverse possession and title to chattels found attached to the land.
Simple. Easy.
Problem – I was lazy to read the whole question

2. Enter simple one line essay question
Restrictive covenants, nuisance and planning system.
Easy. The problem is the question wanted us to explore the RELATIONSHIP between the three.

I only realised halfway how hard a question it was and I just gave up

Mind blank

Fucked

Dead.

----------------------------------

so when i got home, i decided to put law on hold and continue my study on Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations.

again, as ive always maintained and have written elsewhere, a reason why examples can work better than definitions is that a definition must be able to define what the thing in question is not - it must be able to say what is excluded from the ambit of the definition.

here is another example of my asseveration which just occurred to me:

Wittgenstein defines “language game” by giving examples of language games. He lays out examples of language games and uses the term in context to convey its meaning. What is interesting about this is that it seems to be a language-game itself. That is, Wittgenstein is using a language-game, a variant on the sort of thing he speaks of in passage 7, to elucidate what a language game is.

The explanation is recursive, as is the definition. Perhaps Wittgenstein does this to avoid the problems of definition. As aforementioned, to define something, you must be able to say what it is not. This is impossible with language.

I was reading through my former posts and I chanced across this one regarding the positive impact on my psyche when the magical transition from night to day takes place.

And one sentence from hongy completely eviscerated, or rather, obliterated any semblance of dignity in my post. it was pretty funny.

“God goes crazy with His Paintbrush”. what a beautiful line.

All I need is three decent questions tomorrow. Lets do this.

And the day is about to arrive.

The culmination of one years teaching, tutoring, preparation and studies. Blood, sweat and tears.

No, not really.

At least the culmination of GBP10000 in school fees, 10000 for rent and other miscellaneous provisions, and 9000 in allowance.

And I will post the “Students’ Prayer” that Archbishop Deacon gave to us when he visited Guildford Grammar School.

Lord I pray that you will bless me tomorrow with clarity of mind, protect me from the relentless hand of fatigue and ennui, allow be to retain all I have learnt and stay my nerves.

Ask not for promises, but for acceptance and understanding. I know this.

Ohwell. We’d see what happens.

God bless all who are in the midst of exams. Let's just get this shit over with.

hi people!

i've decided to take my baby jiajia on holiday since shez been such a great great gf!

tentatively, the plans are as such

22nd leave Singapore for Perth
26th leave Perth for Melby
4th june leave Melby for home

so yea, you guys might as well take it that im coming back on 4th

but we still kboxing on 21st =)

fuck off

excerpts from the song that actually really represent my views in life, to a certain extent at least.

boy i do like to talk tough.

Kidrock:

I get all the money- Pussy falls like rain
Been gettin' laid and paid that's why I never complain
If I ain't in it for the money I'm in it for the P
It's 2005 yo and you still can't fuck with me

Twisted Brown gets down with no assistance
We won't quit until we're banned from existence
Persistence pays if that holds true
Then I'm gonna buy this fuckin' planet by the time I'm through

I ride like Setta in the Indy 5
And get live with that which get's me high
Strive for perfection this much is true
You do what we say; we do what we wanna do

cue from Kidrock:
Yo Slim Shady come break these mother fuckers off

Eminem (i just love the first two lines)
Yo
tell the world to hold their breath - they're breathing the wrong air
This planet belongs to me and this hippy with long hair
Two white boys who spike punch and like noise
Hang around drugs loud music and like toyz

This is for children who break rules
People that straight fool
And ever single teenager that hates school

Fuck Off

i really should get back to work. but im lazy. and rap is good. better than law.