Ni Hao Ma? 幫助我!!

It is a requirement for all undergrads in my uni to undertake at least one foreign language in their syllabus. As the choices were limited, I opted for Mandarin hoping to impress my family and friends with my linguistic capabilities. Anna, my 7 years old niece is very fluent in the language as she had been studying it since her kindergarten days and I plan to do a bit of "showing off" to her, to let her know that her 'old' aunt has still got what it takes.

However, I find myself struggling a bit with the language. Unlike Lea, I am not as proficient as she is. It would take me quite a while to grasp the vocabularies and I find the task of translating sentences very daunting indeed.

We have a test coming soon in two weeks time. This would be my final Mandarin paper. I barely passed my previous 2 exam papers and by god, I will not fail this one either!! In order to 'motivate' myself, I have decided to embrace everything that is Chinese to help me achieve my objective. For the past couple of weeks, I ate halal dim-sum, I drank hot Chinese tea, read the history of People's Republic of China, and religiously watched every game and reruns of Beijing's 2008 Summer Olympics. Taking my efforts to next level, I am currently watching the re-run of Bodyguard from Beijing and listening to songs by famous Hong Kong artist - Leon Lai . I have been a fan ever since my high school days when I first watched him in the TVB Series "The Breaking Point" back in 1991/1992. The series was shown on the local channel for one hour weekdays between 6-7pm. I can still remember how we girls (back then I was in an all girls boarding school) will sit close together and often fight for the best spot in front of the television just so that we could capture all the romance and drama.

video courtesy of KTPhimbo.com

*Sigh, those were the good ol' days when my only concerns in life back then were to make sure that I pass all my exams and whether Leon Lai and Kathy Chow would end up together or not.

Well, I hope my efforts will pay off. Here's crossing my fingers and praying for the best.

*p/s: Lea, as usual, you are my walking Mandarin dictionary. I am "reserving" you until our exams are over, thank you very much , heheheheh ;)

Aiseyman.....

Had a test just now. A problematic question concerning the Law of Torts. Unlike the last time, I am determine to make it through this semester with flying colours!! My goal is to achieve the ultimate score of 4.0. for my final exams and making the dean's list. Well, a person can dream, right ?

What I have discovered from my previous exam is that I have a problem remembering case names. The storyline, remedies and judgement granted, not a problem. But remembering the names is a different story altogether. So this time, I vowed never to repeat the same mistakes again! I have taken preventive measures to ensure optimum result - studying, making extra notes, even having group discussions with my future lawyer friends until we got chased out of the library (apparently the librarian wanted to go home already as it was already late night). I wanted to make sure that this time I am more prepared - physically, emotionally and mentally. I wanted to become a good lawyer, and to be one, I would need to be able to cite the right cases to support my reasonings and my conclusions. Furthermore, who wants to deal with a forgetful lawyer, ehh?

Long story short, when I finally receive the question for the test, I smiled away. A huge 'ear-to-ear' grin, just like a Cheshire cat. I was so relieved because my group and I had just discussed a similar case just last night during our group study. The moment we got the signal from our lecturer, all of us got busy writing down our answers. For the first time, I am able to answer a question with my head full of answers. And the words keep flowing over the pages as I wrote my answer quickly, fearing that if I am not fast enough, the answers would dissipates into thin air. i have got all the answers at my fingertips. The issues, the application of law, citation of the relevant cases, remedies and etc. It was as if god gave my hand a will of its own to write down the answers, and by god, they all made sense!!

By the end of the hour, I had actually written more then 2 pages worth of answers to backup my reasoning for the case. Out of habit, I recheck my work, just to make sure I've got the spelling right, dotted all the 'i's and crossed all the 't's. Somehow, there was a feeling of unsettlement as I quickly scheme over the page as I read my answer. I knew that somehow this is the correct answer, a classic textbook case which I don't have a problem dealing with. But somehow there was that nagging feeling at the back of my mind, just as if I would have the feeling of missing somethin, but I just could not determine what is it that I am missing. Putting aside the feeling for sheer anxiety, I submitted my paper with confidence.

Back home, I was about to go sleep just after a light meal and a hot shower. I felt tired and sleepy as I have been lacking the rest which my body requires for the past week, busy studying and preparing for the tests. I closed my eyes and wait for the sleep to come and enclose me in the blanket of slumber, but somehow, sleep never came. The nagging feeling that I had earlier on kept coming back to haunt me. My heart says that I should just make a quick check on the answer that I have submitted while my head says to just forgo it as it is already over. At the end of the day, my heart prevailed.

Came down to the library and I went online to check my mail and at the same time making a quick search on Wikipedia on the cases that I have cited.

The test was a classic case of negligence of misstatement resulting to economic loss and I knew immediately that one of the relevant cases that needed to be cited here is of Hedley Byrne v Heller. The other, is for the case also on economic loss due to negligence misstatement. However in this case, the judgement differs from Hedley where the court held that the defendant was not liable as he did not know that the statement he made would be relied upon by the plaintif. Oh, let me tell you how proud I am of myself for being able to cite cases such as these as if I was reciting my A,B.Cs . Just as the Malay proverb goes , " Masuk bakul angkat sendiri". But alas, truth to be told, yes, I can be vain sometimes. :D

My happiness did not last for long, though. As I scanned through the article on the monitor screen, I immediately saw the mistake that I have made. I just sat there staring at the monitor, rereading the case again and again, until my eyes start to water. I closed my eyes and took a long deep breath. Then, unable to handle my frustration, I knocked my head on the table a couple of times. Although, not hard enough to fracture the skull, but definitely the pain is enough to act as a reminder for me. I just don't know if I would ever learn from my mistakes. Apparently, it looks like perhaps, I might never will.....

On the case which the Judgement differs from Hedley, when I should be citing the case as Caparo Industries PLC v Dickman, as how the makers of the law demands that it should be, this was the answer that I gave instead, with such confidence and dignity.

Instead, my answer was :


'Cannavaro' Industries PLC v Dickman.


Hiiiyaaaaaaaa, ini buka Forzzaaa Italia 2006 World Cup Champion la kak!! Ini macam punye perempuan aaaa , how to become lawyer like this laaaa.....???

*Sigh......Die laa, die... :(

Phewwwww...

It's been a while since I last sat for an exam and mind you, this is no laughing matter. Since I am no Einstein nor am I a Pulitzer winner, it requires a lot of effort and a rather huge chunk of my personal sacrifice just to pass the exam - no, even to just manage through the scheduled classes.

I have always known that I would want to be involved in science social studies. At one time I even thought of becoming an ambassador, proudly representing my birth country to preferably one of the European countries. But alas, father had already formulated a plan for me, so I was then shipped off to UK after completing my SPM to major in computer studies. God knows how I even manage to make through the course when half the time I don't even know what the lecturers were talking about.

Fast forward to present time, I told myself if I were to decide for a career change, now would be it. The fact that I had to both work and study at the same time, plus manage the family does tend to take a toll on me sometimes. But then again, like I always tell myself, I am not the first one to walk down this path. If others could do it, then so can I. Still, thank god for the ever dependant support system from 'ma familia', especially hubby dearest a.k.a my walking legal dictionary for enduring wifey's late nights from classes while indulging in not-so-healthy dinners all by himself.

I have still a looong way to go, but then after the first exam results, I can now proudly say, optimistically speaking of course - despite the earlier doubts I had of my capabilities to complete my first semester, the future does indeed looks promising now, doesn't it .... :)