Sights from Oxford

Serene parks.

Sights from Oxford

Amazing cathedrals.

Sights from Oxford

Beautiful arcane architecture.

Finally…I’m here.

This has been an utterly frantic 1 week for me. But, finally, I’m a student at Oxford Brookes University. I have to tell you guys this place is an absolute charm. But, you don’t have to take my word for it just look at the photos.

Since this is enrollment week for me, I have been busy alternating my presence between the Gypsy Lane Site and the Headington Hill Site (although both are part of the same campus). I have chosen EU Law, Criminal Evidence, Advanced Legal Method, Commercial Law (I) and Employment Law for my first semester while Environmental Law, Civil Liberties and Human Rights, Administration Law and Commercial Law (II) will keep me company for my 2nd semester.

Thus far, I have also managed to visit Blenheim Palace which is the residence of the Churchills (does the name Winston Churchill ring a bell?). The palace is just massive. It’s no wonder that it is a world heritage site.

Currently, I’m trying to find a job for my weekends. Maybe a part-time job at the city centre would be nice. As a result, I think my schedule would refrain me from blogging as frequent as I would like. However, you can always email me and I will try my best to reply as soon as I can.

Cheers mate!

Adventure Beckons!!

For if love is the ocean, on which sail the brave,
We should welcome the storm winds,
And the wind driven waves.

This Thursday, 15th September 2005, I will be leaving the hot tropical Malaysian shores for the English city of culture and education, Oxford. This will be my 2nd stint at a university after my short spell at UKM. I have to admit my stint at UKM had thought me a thing or 2 on what to expect upon arrival at OBU or Oxford Brookes University. Even now, I’m being muddled with many questions from different quarters. Am I ready with my packing? Am I finally ready to leave home? Am I ready for the adventure of a life time?

The answer I have to say is a resounding ‘Yes’! I do not know yet what Oxford holds for me, but, I dare say I go with renewed enthusiasm and a much needed boost of courage and determination, albeit all these feelings were not foreseeable a just a mere few weeks ago. I go to Oxford to complete my degree. And yet, despite many people believing that a law degree is probably a path to ultimate boredom and monotony, I challenge myself to be different from the ‘norm’ (although the ‘norm’ is hardly accusable of being boring). Adventure beckons for the brave!

Will I miss my nasi lemak? Will I cry for my mee rebus? Maybe I will. But, in the mean time, I’m all set to go.

Yes! Yes!

Arriverdici! Bon Voyage! Au revoir! Selamat tinggal and finally, farewell to all who cares to know me and to others who put so much effort to do the contrary.

To those who wish to be there in KLIA, I will be checking in around 9p.m. You may come around 8.30 p.m. But, I have to warn you that I may not have any time to chat as time is at a premium. Thus, I shall not fret if you do not make it. However, your presence will be duly appreciated. Please attend with only smiles and laughter. If you must bring tears, then let it be tears of joy and hope for a better future.

Homesickness

2.30 a.m. the phone rings waking me up from my brief unsatisfying stupor.

I pick up the cellular to the sound of a voice of a familiar person so long not heard of. She was sobbing. For obvious reasons, the name of the caller shall be withheld. However, the reason she was crying is the topic of this post.

Today was her last day in Malaysia, well at least until she completes her degree. All of a sudden she was overcome by a feeling of confusion and she felt lost, just hours before her flight to London. I have to admit, I do not share her fear or doubts, and thus, I found it excruciatingly arduous to comfort her with words. My friend is stricken with fear. A fear that she will be alone for the first time in her life (albeit, technically, she wouldn’t be since she would have her boyfriend and her friends by her side in UWE) completely broke her literally down to tears. She wanted a good and sound education without being away from the safe comfort zone provided by her family. I knew she is very attached to her family and perhaps this had a lot to do with this sudden bout of panic within herself.

I tried my best to soothe her worries with the most assuring expletives I could find, and yet, I did not presume to have done a very good job at it. I tried to shift the responsibility by suggesting that she called her boyfriend or at least talk to her family about her fears. Alas, she did not heed this advice. She continued to scrape me bare for words of comfort which she presumably hoped that I could churn out from deep within.

Consequently, I had to endure a very nervous 1 ½ hour trying my best to console my weeping friend. At the end of the conversation, she seemed assured somehow. Miraculously, I did not think I had anything to do with it. I was wondering, if any people out there have ever suffered or are suffering from such symptoms?

4.a.m. I lie in my bed, tossing and turning, forcing myself to sleep with the knowledge that I’m troubled and beset by the fact that I may be facing this dilemma myself very soon.

The 'oomph' factor

I just had a chat with Justine on MSN. It has been a long time since we have had any decent chat together. Thus, the experience was reinvigorating. I have to say that I always had a canny bond with her whenever we spoke online. This bond was almost telepathic in nature that it was utterly freaky! Therefore, what I’m going to say next can be quite disheartening.

As we were chatting, suddenly our subject matter focused on the issues that I have posted here on my blog. According to Justine, I have lacked ‘feeling’ when I’m expressing myself in my last few articles (I sure hope this criticism doesn’t extend to the entire blog itself). If anyone reading this is confused, I reckon, what she means to say is that my article lack the necessary character or the ‘oomph’ factor. She highlighted a few points, which she felt may have handicapped the emotional side of my page. Perhaps, she opined that my legal training had contributed to the lack of individual colour and has subsequently impaired my page with a deficiency in emotional strokes, unnecessarily substituted by linguistic flair and arcane wordings. She contended that:

1.I have a tendency to use old or arcane words to romanticize my page. As a result, she equates such a tendency with being a ‘sucker’. While she appreciates my effort at trying my utmost best to be articulate, she wonders why I put myself in such trouble in the first place.

2.I do not invest enough of my emotional side into my articles.

3.The language tends to be too formal like the wordings of a contract.

Well, in my defence, I have to argue that I don’t even realise that I use old or arcane words at all, thus, there cannot possibly be any intent on my part to use such words to confuse my readers or to romanticize the page. In mitigation, I do not deny I could have used such words frequently in my blogs but only because I have become so used to them. I try to be articulate not because I have any such duty set upon me. Such effort is only pursued with the hope that my feelings are expressed in the most correct manner. As a matter of fact, my attempt to be as articulate as possible in my blog is my way of ensuring that enough of my emotional side is being conveyed sufficiently and efficiently to the readers of this blog. The 3rd allegation is presumably the most difficult to refute. I have to admit that my legal training may influence the way I write, speak and think. Therefore, I’m most probably guilty as charged! But, isn’t this a ‘crime’ committed by all? I’ve heard of friends in different courses such as accounting also using their jargons without discrimination. Thus, my only hope is my readers bear with such inadequacies and remind me from time to time if I exceed the boundaries where my article becomes to0 legalized and utterly mundane.

Anyway, I would duly appreciate if anyone else will comment on what Justine has already highlighted. Justine, if you’re wondering whether I’m posing this article in agitation, if I have to say that the only reason I’m writing on this is to discover if others share your sentiments. Your views are still taken with high regards on my part.