Love is not a victory march... it's a cold and broken walk in the journey of life. It is neither a war to be won nor a game to be played. It is not justifiable nor predictable. Being strong and yet fragile, it boasts of joy and laughter, sorrow and tears.

Because we know that at the end of it, there is no winner for we are but slaves to a greater passion.

To love someone is simple, really. It only requires a surrender in fearless trust... but yet, it is also the hardest thing a girl can do. The hardest thing I can do, as it embodies the grandest sacrifices of all - the sacrifice of certainty.

For love is not a marionette on strings. I neither have nor deserve such a luxury. No, love is the unpredictable weather - ever changing, ever evolving. It is the unexpected chill in the wind on a sunny day; it is the carefree turtledove...

For one cannot control the glorious unpredictability of the weather or expect the chill, nor can one rob the freedom of flight. It is too brutal a treatment for something which is so inherently independant and free, yet so fragile and precious. You covet treasures like these and yet you know that imposed restrictions would inevitably suffocate them. You crave to confine these priceless gifts to a world you know and yet you know you cannot.

You cannot cage the dove, but when it returns to you of its own volition, you know that the wings you never clipped have always, always belonged to you.  

And that... is the sweetest ambrosia you will ever taste.

 "Now hear the fourfold roots of everything: Enlivining Hera, Hades, shining Zeus. And Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears".

~Empedocles~

Persephone, being kidnapped by Hades...

In an era where people were ruled by the Greek gods, Zeus went to Demeter (the goddess of the Earth and agriculture) and from their union, conceived Persephone (also known as Nestis or Proserpina to the Romans). She grew up to be so beautiful that Demeter had to hide her from Olympus and the attention of the other adoring gods; Apollo and Hermes among them.

One fateful day, as Persephone was picking flowers, Hades, the God of the Underworld, kidnapped her and made her his Queen. Demeter was so grieved that the earth became barren and Hades had no choice but to return Persephone. Before he did so, he made her consume pomegranate seeds; the number of which indicates a forced return to the Underworld each year.  

And so, the earth is dark and barren for winter because Persephone is in the Underworld but flourishes with green and vegetation when she is returned to her mother, Demeter.

Hence, Persephone became the goddess of the changing seasons, the Kore of young maidens and the Queen of the Underworld.

Wellington experienced a day of sun, rain, hail, sleet and snow all at the same time yesterday. It's already mid-October and spring has JUST begun to rear its head.

One wonders if Persephone is still in the Underworld...

On the same day I was told that my uncle is suffering from stage four lung cancer, Anoja tells me she is expecting Tim's baby and that she's already 3 months gone.

For those not in the know, Anoja is my Mauritian friend who has lived in London for a number of years and is pursuing an LLM at Victoria. Tim, her boyfriend, is Irish. She comes from a staunch Hindu family whereas Tim comes from a staunch Irish Catholic family so you can imagine the scandal the pregnancy would cause. Nevertheless, they were going to get married anyway so any controversy on this being a forced union is moot.  

It's been an exhausting day with ISC Elections (I am officially retired from my role as the official scribe of the International Students' Council and have managed to convince Daquan that the secretarial position is as easy as cake) and study in general. I did not get much sleep last night, but then again, that is to be expected with exams round the corner.

You know, it's the weirdest thing... not knowing whether to be happy or sad. I sympathise with my aunt and my cousins as well as my uncle. Having such a burden on the family must be so painful, but I am glad my family (nucleus and extended) is incredibly supportive.

At the same time, I am so happy for Anoja. She was positively beaming with happiness when she told me about the baby. They're probably going to have to rush the wedding in London and although she would not have her dream wedding, it would all be good. 

Sort of makes you stop to think about life... the coming of a new life and the suffering of another.... where does it begin and where does it end? 

Yesterday was Charlotte's REAL birthday. We went to be with her, had dinner, had chocolate fondue (it was yummy, but one can only have a certain number of fondue before one tires of it) and just hung out. It was cool.

Happy Birthday, girl! You have reached the big 2-OH!

We're throwing her a surprise birthday party on Saturday so... SHHH! 

This morning was just horrible! I got caught in the hail on my way home and it was raining profusely as I was getting to class. Interestingly though, I met a German law post graduate student at the bus stop. She was in crutches and was frustrated that there were no buses. Apparently, the trolley buses were not in working order and she had been waiting for 45 minutes while worrying about a due paper.

The bus came anyway (Stagecoach dispatched normal buses to replace the trolley ones) and we spent the whole journey to the law school talking about mutual acquaintances (Juho) and the differences between the common law legal system and the civil code. She is a tax lawyer back in Germany and I have never seen anyone so passionate about tax law before! I always thought people got into it for the moolah, but apparently not. Or maybe she's just beaming with secret joy at the thought of the gazzillions of dollars she has sitting in her Swiss bank account...?

Ah... tax law... It's an option anyway if I don't get a position in one of the law firms. Corporate companies are always in need of tax lawyers.

Guess who is dominating my thoughts at this moment? His face is posted everywhere at law school. He would be Carlotta of Hannibal if he were a woman. He oozes charisma and eccentricity and he would pulverise Bob Jones if he was here.

Give up? It's none other than DENNY CRANE!!! 

*pauses*

Now, for something completely different.

I will repeat the same rant I had this time last year. MUMS AND DADS, I am exasperated at your inability to control your sexual appetites during the festive seasons!

The world is overpopulated with October babies!!!

Yes, you guessed it, it's Ball season! Last Saturday, we went for the Viccom Ball at the Overseas Terminal. The location was beautiful as it was situated just by the waterfront. During that afternoon, our flat had a "flat cooling" (as opposed to a flat warming) since we have been wanting to do it but have not been able to host such an event till this time of the year. After a few hiccups, the event went better than I expected. We had quite an amount of leftovers. REAL beneficial for the flat. Tip: Throw a potluck event if you want more food for your flat. The returns are usually higher than the investment =) Thanks guys for bringing all the yummy baking and food! I love you all!

But I digress.

Allow me to take you through a visual journey through the Ball. It began with us getting ready at Ollie's flat. I spent ages trawling through the photos to find ones of me taken at a decent angle so as not to emphasise my gianormous boobs :P 

From the left: Eduard, Charlotte (half blocked), Duncan (trying to be a comic superhero), Baptiste and I. For once, I had curls! Okay, I am going to have a girly rant now. If you're not interested, discontinue reading.

I have always tried to curl my boringly straight hair to no avail but I finally managed to achieve that with a certain high powered curler. It took a whole hour, lots of patience and a bucketful of hairspray but I was happy with the result =)

Just me in a black backless gown, an asiatic lily in my hair, a pearl and coral necklace, bronze bangles adorning my wrists, bronze nails, bronze hoop earrings, dark lipstick and CURLY hair!

And another one of me... I am SO vain!

I also acquired a tatoo for the occasion.

Charlotte and Eduard (her current Finnish date). They look so lovely together... but that's because I introduced them, of course!

And so, we went to the ball at a fashionably late hour (as can be expected). The place was well decorated. Better than what I was expecting, actually. I loved everything apart from the blue lighting at some parts of the hall. It reminded me of some dodgy back lane club a la the Eastern European club in Eurotrip.  

Anyway, joy of joys, Daniel won the lucky draw. His prize? An awesome figurine of Homer Simpson in full Hawaiian mode! D'uh! He spent some time gettin jiggy with the band singer after receiving his gift. Good ol' Daniel.

Remember all those salsa lessons I've been talking about? Here's a spontaneous photo taken by Ollie of Baptiste and I putting some of those steps to beautiful use on the dance floor... None of those lacklustre moves displayed by Gong Li and Collin Farrel in Miami Vice. This is the real deal, people... and yes, I am still ignorant of what YouTube is.

Towards the end of the ball. From left: Aidan (notice the cool headgear), Angela (Daniel's girlfriend), Baptiste and I.

We all went home suitably exhausted. Most of the photos were taken rather spontaneously by Ollie, who was our official photographer of the night. You're fantastic, my friend!

The official photos are not out yet. I wonder how they will look like...? Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?  

Overall, it was another awesome night worth remembering.

Oh God, the timetable is out... I am SO going to hate October, I really am! Why? Look at this!

Law of Torts       : 26th Oct

Public Law          : 27th Oct

Criminal Law       : 30th Oct

Law of Contract  : 3rd Nov

If you see me walking around law school like a zombie, you know why.

Disclaimer: The above information does not reflect the date of return of the writer.

*Heaves a HUGE sigh of relief.*

I have FINALLY handed in my Bill of Rights Opinion! Huzzah! It was amazing, I stood in front of the law office with my 15 page opinion in my hands and I was so reluctant to hand it in... 3 weeks worth of hard work and research and stress... but when I handed it over to the receptionist, it was as though a huge boulder was lifted off my (comparatively tiny) shoulders! The relief I felt was undescribable!

Unfortunately, this relief is only partial as exams are nearing... sobs.

Last Saturday, we organised an Amazing Welly Race for the International Students' Council. It was a smashing success. We had a significant amount of competitors and it was fun facilitating a station. I had to give clues regarding the whereabouts of 11 stone plaques inscribed with quotes on the Writers' Walkway by the waterfront. It was a beautiful sunny day and I managed to rope Micheal and Baptiste into coming with me. As we were sitting there waiting for competitors to show up, Gabriella materialised and joined our merry party. We also saw Kaspar who managed to spot 8 stone plaques. The sausage sizzle at the Warehouse also went very well so overall, the Council was pleased. I also managed to meet Anoja's boyfriend, Tim. He seemed a nice bloke.

That evening, we had a prize giving/chillout session at the Southern Cross Bar. Team Fried Rice won, followed by the Coalition of the Willing and the German-Dutch connection. I bought All Black shotglasses as a gift for some of the winners. They were pretty cool. Team Fried Rice received printed t-shirts of their craziest photo: one of them paying their respect to Castro at Fidel's, and a nice bottle of pinot gris. 

Later that evening, team Coalition of the Willing threw an after party at Everton and quite a number of us were present. It's been a while since I have had a decent party but this was quite good. There was a comfortable familiarity in being in a whole room of international students again. Reminds me of the beginning of my first year in New Zealand when we hung out with the Germans and Scandinavians. There was Zeynep, our Turkish/German host who taught us how to belly dance, Magna from Norway who was VERY friendly, Kai from Japan and Dai from China, Katie the Indian Swede, some French and German girls (whose names I struggle to remember), Edward the unconventional Finnish guy and Jason from Sarawak. Sandra and Letitia were there too, much to my surprise. I also managed to get Charlotte and Heather to join Baptiste and I for the party. We had fun. Mid-way through the party, Jonathan materialised with some friends. I haven't seen him for ages! Ever since we left Weir! Gave a squeal and a hug =)

We painted the town red (ended up at the Red Square) till 6 in the morning but I managed to get up in time the next morning to go marketing and host my little group study for public law so all was good. As fun as it was, I would never be able to do this too often! I tire easily these days... but Saturday night was an exception. Made many new friends which was awesome! Charlotte benefitted as well because she managed to get Edward to take her to the commerce ball we are attending on Saturday.

The general consensus is that he is hot although I personally prefer darker guys =)  

JASMINE IS...

1. Over-stressing on the Bill of Rights opinion due on Friday (Can't wait for this to be over!)

2. Snowed in with readings (40 pages on the Treaty of Waitangi!) and the realisation that exams are only 5 weeks away!

3. Realising that she has minutes and agendas to type as well as another event to organise for the ISC for this half of the trimester.

4. Conspiring, plotting and scheming various nefarious plans (yes, SEVERAL nefarious plans involving surprises; some nasty and some not-so-nasty)... "I have a cunning plan!"

5. Missing that special someone.

6. Thinking. Have been thinking a lot about the future...

7. Sick that she is in the Salient... again. However, she managed to publicise her all-time favourite Audrey Hepburn quote, which is pleasing.

8. Catching up with her friends who are mostly now in Newcastle. Good job with getting past customs in Heathrow without a hitch, girls! Enjoy Europe! Muaks!

9. Suffering from self-imposed insomnia.

10. Enjoying spring.

The tulips in the Botanical Gardens are budding and they are absolutely breathtaking. What the mind cannot perceive is what nature so freely provides. Sometimes, all you need to do is step out of your self-imposed confinement to find peace and beauty. The shackles in your imprisoned mind is nothing but a delusion... a strong one, as Faust may illustrate, but a delusion nonetheless. 

Quote of the day:

 "Justice, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder."

~ Prof. David McLauchlan~

To all you mature students/ self-loving, arrogant students/ think-too-highly-of-themselves students/ thinking-you're-contributing-but-you're-actually-not students/ trying-to-confuse-the-whole-class-with-all-your-unnecessary-knowledge students, I have only this to say:

I JUST WANT A DECENT LECTURE SANS ALL THE RHETORICAL, PHILOSOPHICAL, AIRY-FAIRY BULLSHIT.

Is this too much to ask?

Yes, it is a Thursday again. 5 hours of law, law and more law. Crimes is getting way more philosophical than I would have liked (thanks to a certain smug student whom I won't name. You know who you are. Wait. I shouldn't use the singular form. Thanks to A COUPLE of smug students, I meant.)

We were talking about the subjective and objective limb of section 48 of the Crimes Act for a good 20 minutes! Reasonableness was dissected to the extent that it was seen as merely a mental element. Wtf?

I was just talking to the guy sitting beside me in lectures and he said the whole problem with the west is that they get too caught up with Enlightenment that reason becomes the sole purpose of their thought process. Too much importance is placed on reason that sometimes, the reality escapes the rationality of reason. I agree... to an extent.

As any good law student would do, I have come to a stand on what I think reasonableness is... and it is BRILLIANTLY encapsulated in this quote. Eat your heart out, oh REASONABLE MAN!

SO we were having our supposed group study this afternoon. It resulted in some profound revelations and "memorable quotes".

"Only the people whom we trust can betray us." ~Ollie~

"Steve Irwin must have forgotten to put on sunscreen so as to ward off all the rays!" ~Charlotte's random text~

"Mum, I just want to get back in..." ~Oedipus~