"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among those are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

~Thomas Jefferson~

Ever wondered how wealthy in wealthy? Well, here's an interesting bit of information on how New Zealanders are considered wealthy.

Under the Securities Act 1978, 'wealthy' is defined in s5(2CD) as this:

if an independant chartered accountant certifies that the person has net assets of at least $2,000,000 or had an annual gross income of at least $200,000 for each of the last 2 financial years.

There you go, a quantification of wealthy. So don't ask me how wealthy is wealthy. It's in statute! So stressed out trying to cram everything before I head off on Monday to Taranaki. I have an essay due on the first day back, 2 tests the following day, another test the following week and another essay the week after.

Going for a dinner now. Charlotte's making me her Charlie dish... and I need to steal her colour bleach for my coat. Don't even get me started on my laundry woes!

Sunrise from our deck... sometimes I stand there and watch the world go by, immersed in thoughts...

My mornings - capital revenue distinctions, tax, realisation of shares enabling it to be assessable income instead of capital etc.

My afternoons - Kafka, Camus, Dickens, Shakespeare, James Boyd White, Ian Ward, Bruce Rockwood, Richard Posner, feminist legal theory, critical race theory, Derrick Bell.

My evenings - Fight-Do! (need activity after hours of being cooped up in the library.)

My nights - Securities, derivatives, interest rate and currency swaps, TEA, listings, Bills of Exchange Act 1908, Cheques Act 1960, disclosure statements, knowing receipts, knowing assistance, zzzzzz....... should I be focusing so much on Ward for my essay? zzzzzz.... need to finish essay by this week, time is running out! zzzzzzz.... stress, stress, stress zzzzzzz......

NEXT MORNING - Rush for class!

Just a short summary of my day.

I just finished some readings on the European debt capital market (bonds, Euroclear, Clearstream, MTN, ratings, listings, negative pledges, commercial papers, Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poors Corporation, global notes.... ) when I went online to find out that my class in the morning is cancelled!  I could have slept in but in a flash of hardworking brilliance today, I booked some jurisprudence material on close reserve for tomorrow morning. Grumble, grumble, grumble.  Richard Posner had better love me for getting myself to law school in the early hours of the morning just to read him! 

Wednesday, Micheal has asked if I would like to go to a book launch at Rutherford House. Apparently, they're launching the "Baubles of Politics" and Winston Peters is speaking. Should be interesting, but maybe I will stay home and cook and be the domesticated little kitten that I am. Will see.

Thursday, I was asked to go to the Law Students' International party at the Occidental. Heimun has also asked if I would like to have a cosy get-together at her home in Khandallah for a hot cross bun party in commemoration of Easter. Home-cooked food vs drunken law students, home-cooked food vs drunken law students... is there even a contest? Missing out on Lizzie's birthday do though because I promised Heimun I'd go to her place beforehand. They're watching 300 after, which I have been dying to see. I will watch it eventually. According to Times magazine, which I was reading prior to this, the movie is "a movie about a graphic novel about a movie about a battle". lol. They're just whining about the whole digital-ness of 300. Being a bit of a classics buff, I don't really mind the graphics as long as they portray the battle of Thermopylae in accurate enough detail.

Going to put out the rubbish now.... and then maybe sleep?  

p/s: Am not getting enough of the Buena Vista Social Club!

Yes, you got it right. Last evening, the flat indulged in the nation's national religion, RUGBY. I spent the entire afternoon at the public library with Patrick on a frustrating hunt for jurisprudence textbooks so the break was welcome. We caught the Super 14 at the Westpac Stadium where the Wellington Hurricanes played the South African Bulls. Of course, the Hurricanes defeated the Bulls 17 to 9.

Well, as usual, we TRIED to be early. This time, it was Michael F who held the flat up, not me!!! Huzzah! Here's a picture of the exodus. This is called the Fran Wilde Walk, apparently. Oh, and for those not in the know, the Hurricane colours are black and yellow.

Well, exodus was fine... until we reached the ticket booth. Micheal W was grumbling about missing the buildup and things didn't improve when a woman turned around and said all the tickets for uncovered seats were sold out! We still managed to wing some seats though, so it was alright. The queue was long as!   

So here is a wide view of the Westpac Stadium taken from aisle 20.

The mascot walking out into the field. He's one ugly mascot! He was funny though, especially when he imitated the Bulls reserve during his warmup. Everyone was laughing, but the reserve was so caught up in the game that he was oblivious. Well, ignorance is bliss right?

Micheal W and Michael F paying full attention to the game. Makes you wonder if they pay the same attention at lectures....? They were yelling themselves hoarse at the referee. He was a really biased Aussie! (Ok, I was yelling too, but that's not the point! At least I wasn't calling him a wanker like the girls behind us  The boys said I was squealing more than anything else.)

Janice and I, slightly over half time. You can see the scoreboard behind us. We all had pies, fries, beer (I had coke, so there), fish and chips etc at the game. To quote Micheal W, it was a dietician's nightmare. Essie was also working that night, but we didn't manage to see her.

This is what we call a lineout. Ok, let's practice my atrocious knowledge on the finer points of rugby. When the ball goes out, the teams will form 2 straight lines and hoist someone up to catch the ball in their possession as it is thrown at them. I was just thinking that it would've been funny if the ball hit the players square in the face. Anyway... excuse my limited repertoire of sporting vocab. U get the picture. 'Nuff said.

The cheerleaders during half-time. Notice the one in the middle. She's got such a tanned midriff but the rest of her body is lily white. Which cheap back-alley watering hole gave her that fake tan, I wonder?

Overall, it was a good night. The atmosphere at the stadium was awesome and we were such biased spectators! I was just relieved that Michael F and I weren't subjected to the obligatory kiss during half-time!  We just retaliated by giving Micheal W and Janice shit about what they'd do if the spotlight was on them. Now, that would have been a spectacle!

The flat later adjourned to Simply Paris to wind down from all the excitement of defeating the Bulls. The cafe was quite packed and we could hear the soothing strains of someone playing the guitar at the corner. We managed to secure a table while trying to avoid talk of politics since it is what we always talk about whenever we sit together! Of course, boys being boys, they kept extinguishing the candle at our table!

I was just contented. It was a Saturday well spent. It'd rather do this than go out clubbing rip-roaring mad. The flat is evil, I tell you. It makes one want to stay at home all the time and never go out. We've got such an awesome view from the deck! Did I mention that I've got a closed-in fireplace in my room?

"We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance, if we, changing, continue to love a changed person."

~William Somerset Maugham~

One of his more profound quotes to date. People inevitably change due to life. Some for the better, some for the worse. Unfortunately, not many of us have the opportunity to catch that "happy chance" before the ship sails.... and that is when one is left standing at the pier watching it sail into the sunset, hoping to hell and back that one did not just let something good sail away.

However, not catching that ship is sometimes a matter of choice. It is when a poet must feed his family instead of chasing his muse. It is when a soldier is embittered with the glory of God and country. It is when a father realises that he has missed his children growing up. 

Ultimately, life is about sacrifice. There are always opportunities and temptations awaiting just around the corner, always... and that is when one contemplates whether to turn one's back on the parting crowd or to run to the pier before the whistle blows.

The start of classes were interesting. It's slightly more low-key for me this year, being in my third year and all... no more excitement and pizzazz. Sad, but such are the dues of life. Novelty wears off eventually, but it was awesome while it lasted.

As usual, the people from the Law Society are trying to make law school the hip and happening place by having orientation events. They set up a sausage sizzle in the lawn today so students were seen with free lunch and heaps of free beer. Some were even drunk in the middle of the day! Of course, silly old me cursed because as fate would have it, the day I deign to take lunch to uni, they give out free lunch. Well, no point partaking in something you don't need now, right kids? Greed is never a good trait to have.

Jurisprudence is by far, my favourite class. It's been taken by Professor Grant Morris, the famous lecturer from first year. Yes, he has his personal fan club! We started the first class with a clip from the Gladiator and got into the natural law vs positive law debate.

Lex iniusta non est lex. Should that be your motto? Certainly, an unjust law is no law at all should one be a naturalist like Lon Fuller, who thinks that the motto is justified by the fairness of procedure. However, positivists like H L A Hart disagree in that there would be no organisation in society should people begin to disregard laws on the basis of injustice because injustice is a subjective standard. What is unjust to one might be seen as just to another. It would depend on a myriad of factors, like whether one is exacting justice or metting justice, whether one was born in a Catholic family or brainwashed by Scientology, whether one lived in an Asian society or a Western one...

Take Nazi Germany for example. We would all agree that what happened was detestable, and certainly regrettable but when the commands were issued, they were laws, were they not? They were passed through legitimate procedure and possess all the legality one could ask for... and yet, they were thoroughly unjust and will continue to be seen as unjust in this modern day.

On the other hand, one cannot disregard the Civil Union Act as not being law merely because one's personal values are incongruent to the principals of the matter. This would encourage mutiny and disorganisation. However, worlds are turned on such thoughts. The desire for revenge, the exacting of justice, the outbreak against tyranny are what marked history and moulded the world into what it is today. Without natural law, there would not have been revolutions. Jefferson would never have written with such passion, Cromwell would not have alerted the English monarch from its bloated complacency and France would still have remained a monarchy instead of the republic she is today.

I still am unsure as to where I stand on this issue, but my natural instincts tell me that an unjust law should not be law. If laws were created to regulate human nature, shouldn't they therefore be based on a set of morals? Hence, if these laws were unjust then blind acquiescence would equate to indirect oppression in terms of freedom from injustice. Ignorance would bind society from advancing as surely as blind faith would lead an evangelist astray. If so, democracy would be moot and everyone might as well be living in a dictatorship.

Penny for your thoughts?

WARNING: if you are a guy, or if you HATE reality TV, this entry is not for you.

I'm a reality tv junkie. Bash me all you want, but it's a compulsion! Just finished my law readings on literary property (did you know that ideas are not property?) when I remembered that I missed the finale of What Women Want! I'm back in NZ now with no access to Malaysian tv, namely 8TV.  

Someone please put me out of my misery and tell me if it is Charles of Hafiz? =) You know, I actually thought Sham would have been a more interesting competitor (and not just because he's so Kiwi!).

So, hosted by our lovely Hannah T (Full name: Hannah Sarah Tan. Yes, she's from Penang of Chinese and Kelabit mix descent. According to reports, her new album "Crossing Bridges" is atrocious. Of course, her gracing the album cover in a white bikini helped)...

The finalists came down to... Charles Brunold (did you know that he came to our shores only to be ditched by the girl only 3 weeks before his flight? ouch! Oh well, at least he's learning Mandarin and Bahasa Melayu. He sings terribly.)

and Hafiz Adnan (the gentle and sensitive one... although I think he overdoes it sometimes. His English could be improved but I approve of his taste in clothes and jewellery).

I think I can hear my friends go "are you seriously blogging about a reality show?" =) Well, what can I say? Reality TV was a very good friend when I was home! Also, I just hate watching anything halfway through.

Right. Bedtime. Good night, world.

I officially hate doing administrative things. They get on my nerves when they are as inefficient as they are at the university. Nevertheless, everything has been dealt with and I am trying to get into a more settled routine.

Summer in Malaysia was interesting, to say the least. My friends and I figured that since we were rotting away at home, we might as well explore the island. First off, we went to the snake temple.

Well, let's just say that I thought there were going to be more snakes. They are not caged in the temple but I doubt they are very dangerous. Of course, I did not bother to ask the monks if the snakes were poisonous =)

Big painting on big rock with tiny girl. Don't ask me what the painting means. It's outside the Footprint Temple. I thought it was cool.

Ever seen a real starflsh? We took this at the Aquarium. Disappointed that it's not bright orange or even pale pink like Patrick from Spongebob? I was too.

View from the top of Bukit Genting. There's a Thai restaurant there. We did not sample the food because we weren't feeling like Thai. The flowers behind me are called Morning Glory.

Now this is what I call a proper beach. It's not uncommon in Penang. The problem is that most of them are private beaches owned by the beachside hotels.

Ever seen a monkey? We've got heaps of them running wild in our Botanical Gardens. They're not very friendly creatures. Wait. You haven't seen the worst of it yet.

Now these are what I call monkeys. Two grown-up monkeys; Edwin and KarFung. We were at Titi Terawang, on the way to the waterfalls. 

Should I have pushed him in?

Right. Enough with the monkey business. Voila. The waterfalls. I assure it's much bigger than this, but to those who have never seen tropical waterfalls, there you go.

Next, we went to the Butterfly Farm.

There were so many butterflies around. They were so pretty.. I managed to take a photo of one particularly still one. The white ones kept sticking to me!

And then there was the live scorpion pit. Well, if you live in a tropical country, you shouldn't be freaked out by all these now should you? I have heaps of other photos of exotic animals; namely turtles, iguanas, monitor lizards, geckos etc. but they will only be up whenever I feel like writing a post on endangered animals =)

See? They're so harmless. Of course, they're harmless so long as you don't touch them.

Then we went to the Toy Museum. The first thing I spotted were Corpse Bride figurines. Being a Tim Burton fan, I immediately gushed. The photos did not turn out so well though so this is one of me admiring Darth Vader. Look at the sexy red face and spiky durian-like hair. How hot is that?!?

So many photos, so few words. Pictures tell a thousand words, or haven't you heard?

Till another time. Adieu!

Am back in NZ and immediately upon my return, I caught the flu. I think it's probably the weather change and the stress of trying to get everything sorted before classes begin. Enrolments screwed me over during the summer so I had to see them personally. I also had to attend tutoring training - a tiny little asian girl tutoring big, burly policemen in criminal law and problem solving. aha! Trust me, I can be intimidating when I want to, don't be betrayed by my size! Although, I think the intimidating factor has been significantly reduced by my congested voice.

Well, I did quite a number of interesting things when I was back home. For one, Edwin, KarFung and I decided to have a crazy day exploring the whole island from corner to corner. We went to the Snake Temple, the Footprint Temple, the Aquarium, Bukit Genting, the Butterfly Farm and the Toy Museum. We also went in search for untouched beaches and waterfalls. At the end of the day, we were not even knackered enough to go home. We ended up watching Epic Movie at Gurney. Okay, so sue me for watching B Grade films, but one is allowed airheadedness during the holidays =) 

Am pretty sick now so I will not post photos up yet although rest assured, you will have a nice running commentary not too long in the near future. I have been sleeping all day (thanks to my medication) and I will hopefully improve by tomorrow.

So there. Now you have no excuse to say that I have been neglecting my blog.

Muaks!!!