On January 28, 1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen submitted a patent for the interlocking and studded plastic brick that can now be found in almost every child's toy box.
Seven boxes of Lego are sold every second around the world, and 19 billion components are produced each year -- enough to wrap around the Earth's circumference five times.
Thank you for all the years of feeding my imagination. I built houses, bridges, skyscrapers. I made animals and boats. I was a pirate, a homemaker, a chef of a restaurant. I ran a hospital, a school, a police station.
Funny though how I never built a law office. I guess Lego didn't make mini photocopiers and dictaphones :)
I bonded (and sometimes fought) with my younger siblings over Lego. Every time I walk past the newest Lego set in shops, I feel a pang of nostalgia.
I <3 Lego.
Monday, 28 January 2008
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
When will I stop talking about food?
My diet is appalling. APPALLING I tell you. I am on my lunch break now so going online very quickly is acceptable. I just had to write this down:
Breakfast
Leftover churros-like things (deep fried dough sticks) and tea
Meeting with client
Tea and two cookies. (Calories burnt from talking and scribbling notes - negligible)
Lunch
Shepherd's pie and tea.
It's only lunch time and I have had 3 cups of tea - disgraceful. I don't see any fruits and veg in the above either! Am going to O's for dinner today. She very kindly invited us over to hers - will definitely load up on vegetables then!
Breakfast
Leftover churros-like things (deep fried dough sticks) and tea
Meeting with client
Tea and two cookies. (Calories burnt from talking and scribbling notes - negligible)
Lunch
Shepherd's pie and tea.
It's only lunch time and I have had 3 cups of tea - disgraceful. I don't see any fruits and veg in the above either! Am going to O's for dinner today. She very kindly invited us over to hers - will definitely load up on vegetables then!
Monday, 21 January 2008
Put your face on
I was putting my make-up on and felt I had to just jot down a thing or two. It has been very difficult for me to look forward to going to work every morning. I think to myself surely when work is such a huge part of one's life, it should be something one looks forward to?
Thank you God for being the great I AM, and thank you that even when I forget to acknowledge your presence, you are there, watching over me. Please help me do my work well, find favour in my employer's eyes, and see with eyes of faith rather than my natural eyes.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Thank you God for being the great I AM, and thank you that even when I forget to acknowledge your presence, you are there, watching over me. Please help me do my work well, find favour in my employer's eyes, and see with eyes of faith rather than my natural eyes.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Fitting in the mould
Last night was a BLAST. Ok you can add lamb curry and naan to yesterday's list now. And two glasses of wine. Seriously, does shisha help you lose weight?
Last night also got me thinking about the kind of life I wanted, and the type of career I am going for. I felt slightly inadequate - J's now working in the finance department of a big international bank in the City and R's working for one of the big four, training to be a Chartered Accountant. J is paid loads but after calculating the number of hours she put in, she is working for less than what a McDonalds employee will get per hour. It's not so much that I feel underpaid (I am getting paid more than R and am not even in a trainee position yet) but the fact that they are in a position that has some promise. They are going somewhere in life wherelse I am, well, I am a legal assistant.
It also made me wonder whether I am cut out for the long hours and lifestyle. Granted, I've lived in various big cities but my roots are in a small town in Malaysia. I love taking time off for myself, I want a family, I love cooking and playing the piano, and I want to have time to climb mountains/ go swimming/ have breakfast with my husband and kids. I guess it's like what H said - bite the bullet now, while you're young with no family of your own. London's turnover rate (for the multinational law firms and banks) is insanely high. Give it all you got for the next 5 years or so and then see what you feel like then. You may completely embrace the lifestyle and continue to work your way up to partner. Alternatively, you may think, ok this is enough for me, I'll move on to a more balanced way of life.
Sure, we weren't put on this earth to be in the office / see a client / travel to the office or to see a client 99% of your waking life (which is a lot considering you'll get an average of 3 hours of sleep per day) but the reality is that if you're not going to do it, someone else will take your place.
But people who succeed at junior positions are willing to put in the hours because of the promise of what is to come. And I want that too! I want to achieve my full potential.
The question is, as a Christian, do I take the same attitude towards God and His promises yet unseen?
Last night also got me thinking about the kind of life I wanted, and the type of career I am going for. I felt slightly inadequate - J's now working in the finance department of a big international bank in the City and R's working for one of the big four, training to be a Chartered Accountant. J is paid loads but after calculating the number of hours she put in, she is working for less than what a McDonalds employee will get per hour. It's not so much that I feel underpaid (I am getting paid more than R and am not even in a trainee position yet) but the fact that they are in a position that has some promise. They are going somewhere in life wherelse I am, well, I am a legal assistant.
It also made me wonder whether I am cut out for the long hours and lifestyle. Granted, I've lived in various big cities but my roots are in a small town in Malaysia. I love taking time off for myself, I want a family, I love cooking and playing the piano, and I want to have time to climb mountains/ go swimming/ have breakfast with my husband and kids. I guess it's like what H said - bite the bullet now, while you're young with no family of your own. London's turnover rate (for the multinational law firms and banks) is insanely high. Give it all you got for the next 5 years or so and then see what you feel like then. You may completely embrace the lifestyle and continue to work your way up to partner. Alternatively, you may think, ok this is enough for me, I'll move on to a more balanced way of life.
Sure, we weren't put on this earth to be in the office / see a client / travel to the office or to see a client 99% of your waking life (which is a lot considering you'll get an average of 3 hours of sleep per day) but the reality is that if you're not going to do it, someone else will take your place.
But people who succeed at junior positions are willing to put in the hours because of the promise of what is to come. And I want that too! I want to achieve my full potential.
The question is, as a Christian, do I take the same attitude towards God and His promises yet unseen?
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Obviously I have little self-control
Ok, lets be realistic, that 1000kcal diet is never going to happen. I guess I very much am motivated by my environment rather than from within. When I went on that 2-muesli-bar-a-day diet, I was surrounded by skinny, waif high school girls and my gym teacher told me I was too fat. I was a size 12 and lost weight to a size 8 in about 3 weeks in total.
Now I am in England where bits are pretty much celebrated! I know that unless my BMI is 19 and I am a size 8, I will always think I'm fat. Nothing can change that. My BMI is now an appalling 24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kill me. 24 back home is obese. But oooh I love cooking :)
I'm not going to do a food diary for yesterday because it was horrendous. We had free flow champagne at the office to celebrate the promotions so the kcals in alcohol consumption alone would exceed my recommended daily intake (i.e. recommended by self). Ooh what the heck, I'll do it anyway just so I know.
Yesterday's food diary:
Breakfast
Hot chocolate and McCoy's Steak flavoured crisps (what kind of breakfast was that??) 600kcal
Lunch
Grilled Salmon, new potatoes and vegetables in a creamy cheese sauce (should have replaced the cheesy veg with a fresh salad but I love creamy cheese sauces!) Prolly 600kcal
Dinner
Hmm where do I start
4 glasses of champagne.
One too many canapes and nibbles - mini chicken mushroom pies, mini steak pies, pate and steak slices, battered king prawn skewers, bruchettas with cream cheese, cajun wedges, chicken satay, hash brown, lamb kofta ok I should stop now this is really painful haha omg I can't believe I ate all that. They were really good though. (1000000000kcal +++)
THERE WAS HARDLY ANY FRUIT AND VEG IN THAT!!
Today
Breakfast
Two small boiled eggs and three slices of thick wholemeal toast with soya based spread. One clementine (300kcal)
Small bowl of cereal. (200kcal)
Two slices of Ryvita with low fat cream cheese. (200kcal)
Lunch
Prawn and spinach curry I made with onions and peppers. I steamed some rice to go with it as well. (700kcal?)
Dinner
I'm eating out tonight with the girls so will jot this down later :) We're going for drinks and shisha after too. I wonder if smoking shisha helps you lose weight... (?)
Now I am in England where bits are pretty much celebrated! I know that unless my BMI is 19 and I am a size 8, I will always think I'm fat. Nothing can change that. My BMI is now an appalling 24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kill me. 24 back home is obese. But oooh I love cooking :)
I'm not going to do a food diary for yesterday because it was horrendous. We had free flow champagne at the office to celebrate the promotions so the kcals in alcohol consumption alone would exceed my recommended daily intake (i.e. recommended by self). Ooh what the heck, I'll do it anyway just so I know.
Yesterday's food diary:
Breakfast
Hot chocolate and McCoy's Steak flavoured crisps (what kind of breakfast was that??) 600kcal
Lunch
Grilled Salmon, new potatoes and vegetables in a creamy cheese sauce (should have replaced the cheesy veg with a fresh salad but I love creamy cheese sauces!) Prolly 600kcal
Dinner
Hmm where do I start
4 glasses of champagne.
One too many canapes and nibbles - mini chicken mushroom pies, mini steak pies, pate and steak slices, battered king prawn skewers, bruchettas with cream cheese, cajun wedges, chicken satay, hash brown, lamb kofta ok I should stop now this is really painful haha omg I can't believe I ate all that. They were really good though. (1000000000kcal +++)
THERE WAS HARDLY ANY FRUIT AND VEG IN THAT!!
Today
Breakfast
Two small boiled eggs and three slices of thick wholemeal toast with soya based spread. One clementine (300kcal)
Small bowl of cereal. (200kcal)
Two slices of Ryvita with low fat cream cheese. (200kcal)
Lunch
Prawn and spinach curry I made with onions and peppers. I steamed some rice to go with it as well. (700kcal?)
Dinner
I'm eating out tonight with the girls so will jot this down later :) We're going for drinks and shisha after too. I wonder if smoking shisha helps you lose weight... (?)
Thursday, 17 January 2008
Ouch
My legs are ACHING! Oh maaaaaan they're sore. I was just talking to V yesterday about how I have not exercised since time immemorial... well not really, just since I started work *which to me seems like a looooooooong time ago. She made me skip rope. Yes, I fell into one of ASDA's many post-christmas health product traps. At least I bought the skipping rope for less than two quid rather than the friggin trampoline or protein shakes! I skipped rope for a grand total of four minutes and my legs were burning and screaming for me to go veg-out on the couch, watch "Diet Doctors - Inside and Out" on TV and feel good that I am not obese like the participants of the tv show. (Can I just say here that I am not prejudiced against obese people - I was fat in my teenage years - but I do think being obese is horrible, it's unhealthy and it's difficult to live with and losing weight is very challenging). I will NOT let myself get that fat, gosh having bits hanging out is just so unsightly! I want to be a hot mama until I am 60 at least... and get slimmer after each baby I've had. I want to be a trendy, lovely, slim, fit mother and my kids would look at me as an good example of how you should stay healthy. I want to be able to look gorgeous in clothes with three kids in tow and never want to hide under baggy jumpers and tracksuits.
So yes, four minutes of "intensive" workout. She then made me do sit ups and crunches. V is hardcore - she gyms 5 days a week. I used to be really good with my fitness, particularly in Singapore where everyone's a fitness freak (NAPFA? NAFTA? NAFPA?) I could run pretty well, do pull ups, press ups, I was flexible... the works. Nowadays I just walk a lot but to be honest, my cardio fitness could be much better. Upper body strength too - I probably couldn't even do one pull up and I used to be able to do quite a lot!
My legs are burning but I like the burn - I need to do more more more! Maybe I should keep a food diary here too. But wait that reminds me of a certain someone. It reminds me of Bridget Jones - the fictional woman who noted the number of alcohol units, calories and fags she's had everyday. That's original EZ, way to go...
I'll do it anyway heh heh. Here we go
Breakfast:
Yoghurt with fruit compote.
Toast with spread and slice of mature cheddar. (how well behaved!)
Mid-morning:
Cappuccino (one hundred caffeine units)
Lunch:
Lamb Rogan Josh, fragrant rice and fresh salad (one billion calories)
Dinner:
Don't even get me started I ate so much oh man what was I thinking
(Very) Large bowl of prawn and vege fried rice
2 hash browns
Two slices Ryvita with cream cheese and honey, one slice of seeded bread with the same.
Bowl of oatmeal
(infinity calories)
Did I even come close to my five a day target? Not really. And my calorie intake was completely bumped up at the very end of the day, which is idiotic since I fall asleep a little while after dinner!
Ok I will have a little deal with myself - two resolutions until the end of January:
Skip rope and do crunches every night
To shrink my stomach, a drastic diet of 1000 kcal a day until the end of this month.
Simple enough I should think! EZ's change two things programme heh heh. Will report back tomorrow! Did you know I have actually managed to achieve weight loss of 4 kg within the span of a week just because I was consuming like 2 muesli bars per day and nothing else? This was back in high school. I wouldn't recommend it though.
So yes, four minutes of "intensive" workout. She then made me do sit ups and crunches. V is hardcore - she gyms 5 days a week. I used to be really good with my fitness, particularly in Singapore where everyone's a fitness freak (NAPFA? NAFTA? NAFPA?) I could run pretty well, do pull ups, press ups, I was flexible... the works. Nowadays I just walk a lot but to be honest, my cardio fitness could be much better. Upper body strength too - I probably couldn't even do one pull up and I used to be able to do quite a lot!
My legs are burning but I like the burn - I need to do more more more! Maybe I should keep a food diary here too. But wait that reminds me of a certain someone. It reminds me of Bridget Jones - the fictional woman who noted the number of alcohol units, calories and fags she's had everyday. That's original EZ, way to go...
I'll do it anyway heh heh. Here we go
Breakfast:
Yoghurt with fruit compote.
Toast with spread and slice of mature cheddar. (how well behaved!)
Mid-morning:
Cappuccino (one hundred caffeine units)
Lunch:
Lamb Rogan Josh, fragrant rice and fresh salad (one billion calories)
Dinner:
Don't even get me started I ate so much oh man what was I thinking
(Very) Large bowl of prawn and vege fried rice
2 hash browns
Two slices Ryvita with cream cheese and honey, one slice of seeded bread with the same.
Bowl of oatmeal
(infinity calories)
Did I even come close to my five a day target? Not really. And my calorie intake was completely bumped up at the very end of the day, which is idiotic since I fall asleep a little while after dinner!
Ok I will have a little deal with myself - two resolutions until the end of January:
Skip rope and do crunches every night
To shrink my stomach, a drastic diet of 1000 kcal a day until the end of this month.
Simple enough I should think! EZ's change two things programme heh heh. Will report back tomorrow! Did you know I have actually managed to achieve weight loss of 4 kg within the span of a week just because I was consuming like 2 muesli bars per day and nothing else? This was back in high school. I wouldn't recommend it though.
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Sounds expensive...
California
Foreign law school graduates must request individual evaluation to determine pre-legal and legal education equivalency. Graduates from common law foreign law schools may qualify to take the California bar exam if they satisfy the First-Year Law Students’ Exam requirement and if they complete additional law study for a total of 4 years at a law school registered in California. Graduates from non-common-law schools are not eligible to take the exam and are required to either graduate with a J.D. degree at an ABA-approved law school or complete 4 years of law study at a law school registered in California. Foreign law school graduates who are admitted to practice in any jurisdiction do not have to complete any additional law study to qualify to take the bar exam.
Foreign law school graduates must request individual evaluation to determine pre-legal and legal education equivalency. Graduates from common law foreign law schools may qualify to take the California bar exam if they satisfy the First-Year Law Students’ Exam requirement and if they complete additional law study for a total of 4 years at a law school registered in California. Graduates from non-common-law schools are not eligible to take the exam and are required to either graduate with a J.D. degree at an ABA-approved law school or complete 4 years of law study at a law school registered in California. Foreign law school graduates who are admitted to practice in any jurisdiction do not have to complete any additional law study to qualify to take the bar exam.
Appraisal
Gosh I seem to have a so much to talk about in terms of work - I have no life! I had my appraisal today and even though I was trying really hard not to think about it the night before, I couldn't help worrying.
It. Went. Well :)
I don't normally type with a smileyface but this really deserved one. When you're so caught up with work you never stop to think about what others think of your work! The feedback that I got was just so, well, unexpectedly good!
:) :) :) :)
It. Went. Well :)
I don't normally type with a smileyface but this really deserved one. When you're so caught up with work you never stop to think about what others think of your work! The feedback that I got was just so, well, unexpectedly good!
:) :) :) :)
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Found - same boat!
I found someone who is in the same situation as I am, English law degree, Malaysian, wanting to qualify in California. Naturally I Facebooked her!
"Hi CH
I'm EZ- B's friend. We went to uni together in OX, UK and she recently mentioned you because (apparently! correct me if I am wrong) we are in kinda sorta the same boat. I've got an LLB from OX and am now working for Global Heavyweight LLP here. The problem is my boyfriend is American and the long term plan is to move to California to live with him. As we are all well aware, I am in the wrong jurisdiction! Bea told me that you are trying to qualify in Cali as well. Now what I was told by my American professor here when I was studying in OX is that the best thing to do is do an LLM in one of the big three unis in the California region - Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA etc and then proceed to do the Cali bar. He has been teaching and practising in California for quite awhile so I suppose his experience is wholly reliable albeit not the most up to date. Just wondering if you could share what your plans are? The whole LLM plan is EXPENSIVE OMG!
B said that she mentioned me to you and that I should contact you directly. I hope everything's going well on your end! Lookin forward to hearing from you.
:)
Thanks and best wishes,
EZ"
"Hi CH
I'm EZ- B's friend. We went to uni together in OX, UK and she recently mentioned you because (apparently! correct me if I am wrong) we are in kinda sorta the same boat. I've got an LLB from OX and am now working for Global Heavyweight LLP here. The problem is my boyfriend is American and the long term plan is to move to California to live with him. As we are all well aware, I am in the wrong jurisdiction! Bea told me that you are trying to qualify in Cali as well. Now what I was told by my American professor here when I was studying in OX is that the best thing to do is do an LLM in one of the big three unis in the California region - Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA etc and then proceed to do the Cali bar. He has been teaching and practising in California for quite awhile so I suppose his experience is wholly reliable albeit not the most up to date. Just wondering if you could share what your plans are? The whole LLM plan is EXPENSIVE OMG!
B said that she mentioned me to you and that I should contact you directly. I hope everything's going well on your end! Lookin forward to hearing from you.
:)
Thanks and best wishes,
EZ"
Sunday, 6 January 2008
Praise before manifestation
Give praise to God in any circumstance and see that He will do great things.
Saturday, 5 January 2008
Jem is excitement!
I really wonder how many of us remember Jem and the Holograms. I used to watch every single episode without fail as a little girl (giving away my age here!) and thought being a member of the Holograms was the coolest thing in the entire universe.
"Jem is the leader of the Holograms and the most popular singer of her day. She is the alter-ego of Jerrica Benton, owner of Starlight Music. Jerrica also runs Starlight House, a home for foster girls. Using the power of Synergy, an incredibly powerful holographic/audio synthesizer, Jerrica can become Jem by touching her special star-shaped earrings (the "Jemstar earrings") while saying "Showtime, Synergy" (Jem changes back to Jerrica by saying "show's over, Synergy"). A primary storyline of the series involves her hiding her identity from others, especially Rio Pacheco, who loves both Jem and Jerrica. The character was voiced by Samantha Newark and her singing voice was recorded by Britta Phillips."
Then there were the Misfits who I did like the look of but they were always scowling and frowning. The Misfits had, in my opinion, cooler hair, cooler music and cooler outfits but the scowwwlllsss.
"Phyllis 'Pizzazz' Gabor (Lead Vocals and Guitarist) — Pizzazz is an archetypal spoiled rich girl. Abandoned by her mother when she was a child, Pizzazz was raised by her tycoon father and given almost anything her heart desired. She is the primary antagonist on the show, constantly trying to upstage Jem and the Holograms. She has been shown to be attracted to Rio (Jem/Jerrica's paramour), Sean Harrison (British teen idol and Kimber's on-and-off boyfriend), and Riot (of The Stingers). She despises her real name "Phyllis" and is prone to fits of rage if things don't go her way."
Relationships in the cartoon were dead simple. The Holograms were good and Misfits evil. The Holograms always triumphed at the end. The Holograms would sing a song and the Misfits would sing a song. The crowd would prefer the Holograms despite the Misfits' efforts to sabotage their concerts. I suppose there was a lot of underlying tension even within the groups, for instance, Kimber being jealous of Jerrica for always being in the limelight - but at the tender age of 5 or 6 such nuances didn't really impress upon me.
My favourite character was (naturally!) Aja Leith. Aja was COOL. She was capable and independent. She was the calm one, the one who drove, loved sports. Aja was free of all that superficial emo nonsense that the other girls would grapple with. I revisited Aja on the Wikipedia site on Jem.
"Aja Leith (Lead Guitarist and Backup Vocals) — Aja is a Chinese-American foster girl who grew up with the other Holograms at Starlight House. She was the first one adopted by Jacqui and Emmett Benton, Jerrica & Kimber's parents. Naturally handy and a sports fan, Aja is cool and level headed. She is the girlfriend of Craig Phillips, the brother of the Misfit's keytarist, Stormer. Aja is almost always the driver of the Rockin' Roadster."
When I described Aja to a couple of friends, they were annoyed. How STEREOTYPICAL, they exclaimed. Just because she's a Chinese girl you naturally assume, due to China's one child policy at that time, she HAD to be the poor orphan who Jem's rich parents graciously adopted.
Well not really, Shana the bassist was also adopted by Jem's parents. It still sounds a bit dodgy because Shana is African-American... who plays bass... ok.
I suppose it was good that they tried to ensure that minorities were represented. To be honest, I never thought Jem and the Holograms was stereotypical in any way. I loved it. I loved Aja. I loved Jem and Shana. In fact I tried painting my face with the two pink stars so I would look like Jem. My mother wasn't impressed when she saw what I did with her fresh tube of lipstick.
Friday, 4 January 2008
Motivations for starting this blog
I want to qualify and work as a law attorney in California. The only problem I currently have is this: I graduated very recently with an English law degree. I am currently paralegaling in an English law firm.
I know, whoops, wrong jurisdiction!
What I know so far:
One lecturer, Dr M who taught one of my final year courses in law school here practiced and taught in the US. I asked him for his thoughts on what I could do to pursue a career as an attorney in the US, specifically California. His advice was to do an LLM in a reputable university in CA and then prepare for the Bar. From what I've gathered from my research so far, it is extremely difficult for a person without a J.D. (an American law degree) to find employment in a US law firm.
What I believe:
God will provide and he knows the desires of my heart.
My most current prayer is for my boyfriend, AW who was on his flight back to California yesterday. I have not heard from him since and his phone is off. Dear Lord, please protect him and keep him safe. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
// Update: AW is safe and back in LA!
I know, whoops, wrong jurisdiction!
What I know so far:
One lecturer, Dr M who taught one of my final year courses in law school here practiced and taught in the US. I asked him for his thoughts on what I could do to pursue a career as an attorney in the US, specifically California. His advice was to do an LLM in a reputable university in CA and then prepare for the Bar. From what I've gathered from my research so far, it is extremely difficult for a person without a J.D. (an American law degree) to find employment in a US law firm.
What I believe:
God will provide and he knows the desires of my heart.
My most current prayer is for my boyfriend, AW who was on his flight back to California yesterday. I have not heard from him since and his phone is off. Dear Lord, please protect him and keep him safe. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
// Update: AW is safe and back in LA!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)