Exams thus far

Everytime I read ZY's blog, I'm inclined to blog myself. Part inspiration, part good distraction from studying. For the latter, it really is, it beats facebook, youtube etc which are in some way, endless. You find video after video to watch and next thing you know, an hour has passed and you still have not gotten cracking on the studying.


So exams have been going on for 11/2 weeks now. First week was relatively easy, few questions I know I've done wrongly now but I think overall I can pass and the general disappointment I feel is perhaps more attributed to the fact that I've studied but failed to spot the question/issue when it came about and also the underlying fear that we will be marked very strictly and cannot pass.


Yesterday's conveyancing was the killer though. We were promised ONE  question only but that was as we say  in law, a prima facie promise. It was one ridiculously long problem question with 20 questions contained within. I really wonder whether whoever set the exams actually sat down and attempted the question themselves. 20 minutes in 2 hours means 6 minutes per question. When question included drafting a novation assignment, you must be out of your mind to think that it can be completed in 2 hours. I think in practice, I take about 2 hours to draft just one novation assignment alone!


All things taken, I'm glad I'm pulling through this exams and with Commercial Practice and Professional Responsibilities left, I can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The exams have been rather nerve-wrecking and though I think last year's Part A was worse, this isn't that much better either. I psych myself to say that this is me versus the paper and it is a challenge but truth be told, I whimper out silently if I could. Except that all I've done for the past 7 years culminates in this.. GETTING QUALIFIED and the thought of throwing away 7 years work especially the last 2 years scares the hell out of me.


Exams aside, there's a lot to look forward to after that. First up is the Stanchart Half Marathon. I told Ahmad today that I'm prepared to suffer through Sunday and that's not too far from the truth. I know I'll suffer, I'm not mentally prepared for that. I wish to get a timing of 2 hr 20 minutes (2 hour 15 minutes would be a great big bonus) but I did 12km last week and though I felt good then, my body was aching for the next 2 days. I'll just try to make it through Sunday and live to fight another day, Sundown perhaps.


After that, I got a week to run errands, spend time with Vivien (Ikea trip and movies), play with my new camera, etc. Also, within that week will be Leaders' Prep and AGM where I'll after 14 years, officially dis-associate myself with CYF. It will be sad but I know my time is up and that alone deserves a blog post of its own, one I'll probably do after AGM. Thereafter, it's my trip to Perth to catch U2! Greatly excited about the concert and the wine tours, not so excited about spending 1 week in a sleeping bag on the floor.


And before I can get to all that, it's the exams first.. back to the books!

Disappointment

So Vorsprung Durch Tecnik my ass..

As sudden as her last "announcement", Mum suddenly said "Wah, Audi very expensive hor.. Don't want to buy already"

I was majorly pissed off. So pissed off that it easily fueled at 13km run for me that night. Before setting off on the run, I told her that in future, don't tell me about any more of these things until she's actually bought the house/car. Pointless.

So now she's settled on a Volkswagon Passat. I guess that's better than nothing though I'm still terribly sore about the change in plans. I'm not gonna get involved in this whole decision making process, I'm just quietly driving the Nissan now and as and when she changes, then so be it, no point getting my hopes up for nothing.

In other recent disappointing news, Burma (because I refuse to call it Myanmar) has held their sham of an elections. Truly what motivates people to be so evil? To trap an entire country of people from progress just for your own personal power and gain? It's cliche to say the least but there really really really must be a special place in hell for people like that.

And might I add that I'm sick and tired of this diplomacy game. There was a fair bit of pressure on Burma post-2007 but we (and by we, I mean ASEAN) decided to let matters ease because the Junta announced that they'll hold an election. The reports streaming out of Burma on Sunday really just means that we've been hoodwinked into not just giving them more time to adjust their asses in their seats of power, but also has now allowed them to "legitimise" their reign. And really, "hoodwinked" is just being polite to some of the most weak-willed politicians the world has ever seen, including (and I'm sad to say this, Singapore). We've turned a blind eye to the plight of a nation. We see the suffering and pain the people are going through, we see the political prisoners being wrongfully held captive, we see monks being beaten on the streets and we see the rule of law torn to shred and we instead turn our gaze the other way.

I feel upset for the Burmese people and it pains me even more that there's nothing I can do about it. I wish them well.

Vorsprung durch Technik

Last night, whilst driving my Mum home from Grandma's, she suddenly presented me with 2 options.


Both very good options but it left me severely torn. Not wanting to sound like a spoilt brat, I went for option 1 (though really, option 1 spoils me quite a bit too)


It has left me pondering though whether I made the right choice.


This morning, realisation hits.


Option 1 is her dream. Option 2 is more my dream. Why should I let her spend money on fulfilling my dream? I'm glad I made the right choice, plus in any case, it is not like I'm not going to benefit from her dream.


Vosprung durch Technik..