SEASON 2 EPISODE 4: 1 week in Singapore

Greetings from warm, humid (and occasionally wet) Singapore. I want to thank God for a safe journey back home.

It has been a week since I arrived home and it will be another week before I return to London for the next leg of the LPC and final stage of my legal training. How time flies.

My first week here in Singapore has been packed with catching up with people. These range from friends to former bosses and colleagues. The first gathering was on Monday (approx. 24 hours after I returned to Singapore) with my polytechnic Choir friends for our annual Christmas gathering/gift exchange.

You can view the photos at this hyperlink:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=77635&l=15b21&id=796305385

It took me a great deal of time to adjust to Singapore's time and especially weather. But, I am slowly getting used to being here - though I will have to adjust (again) when I fly off in 1 week's time, sigh!

But, I do miss London and would actually love to be back there amidst the cold weather and soaking in the life there. I have thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 months away in a foreign country and I thank the Lord for His faithfulness and mercy during those times. He has proven Himself to be faithful and providing me "angels" to direct me, guide me and protect me. All thanks be to God!

I also thank the Lord for providing wonderful classmates. These are the people I come to contact each day in school and they never cease to make me look forward to school! Many thanks to all, especially Sachie, Abdul, Anita and Sumiera... To round off the term, we had a great time at the Green Man after our Solicitors' Accounts on 13rd December. The photos of that event (and more) can be found in http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76809&l=f16f7&id=796305385

In the week ahead, I will be inter alia meeting more friends, giving away presents I bought from London, submitting an application for a training contract and getting some revision done before I fly off just before midnight on 31st December 2007.

I want to wish all who read this blog entry A BLESSED CHRISTMAS 2007 AND A PEACEFUL 2008!

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

SEASON 2 EPISODE 3: At this time next week...

At this time next week, I will be at Heathrow Airport Terminal 4 waiting to check in for my 12.5 hr flight back to Singapore. Just can't wait.

But, in the counting down to that day, there are many things to give thanks for, pray for and plan for. This ranges from giving thanks for my service in Christian ministry at All Souls and LCF to planning for my training contract hunt. This is all in addition to school work. Indeed, there's alot on my plate!

This week has been eventful as I sat through 2 enlightening careers talk on interviews and training contracts on Tuesday and Wednesday, lead a Bible study [which sounded more like a sermon] on Exodus 11-13 at All Souls' SWOT session on Wednesday night and received further advice on potential employers from my lecturers.

I also give thanks to the Lord for enabling me to make the grade for a legal research assessment.

I pray that I will be able to end the coming week on a good note as I take my Solicitors' Accounts examination on Thursday morning.

More in the week to come!

SEASON 2 EPISODE 2: Thinking of home and giving thanks

It has been 2 weeks of assessments and assignments, with one more to go before flying home (ie Solicitors' Accounts). I will have a mock assessment for that this Friday and Part 1 of the real assessment 2 weeks later.

In the midst of all this, I want to take some time out to reflect on what has happened these past 3 months in London.

Time has really flown by since I came over in September 2007. In a blink of an eye, we are now at the tail-end of 2007. For me, the next big thing is to come back home (even if it is only 2 weeks!).

At my recent SKYPE conversation with my parents yesterday, I was very touched to hear that my parents have both taken leave off work from 24th Dec to 31st Dec to be with the family. [Heartiest thanks Mummy and Daddy! :)]

This is because it will be the ONLY time where the WHOLE family will be together. Therefore, it is this that will make Christmas 2007 extra special and memorable! This will also be contained in the subsequent episodes of Season 2.

Most importantly, I believe I have grown more aware and conscious of my own faith in Jesus Christ. I give thanks to the LORD for keeping me safe and sound, providing a clean bill of health thus far and seeing me through each day here.

I also thank the LORD for providing opportunities for me to serve and grow (ie SWOT @ All Souls and Lawyers' Christian Fellowship) and people to catch up with. These "extra-curricular activities" have just made my weeks here more exciting.

So, in the run-up to 15th December 2007 (the date I am flying back), I will be going through the final weeks of school and I will go through it with excitement and anticipation. Stay tuned for the next episode.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Season 2 Episode 1:In the thick of things

The previous season saw my journey from Singapore to London, settling into school and ended with a weekend away with the Weis.

The opening episode for this season begins with assignments and mock assessments. Yes, it is that time of the year! At time of writing, I have already submitted 2 assignments, gone through 1 mock assessment and will be doing the real assessment tomorrow. I still have another mock to go and a real assessment before flying home for Christmas.

However, this is not all that I am doing at the moment. In the background, I also have to decide the electives to take, steer a Student Fellowship Group @ Westminster [ie a Christian Fellowship] under the banner of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship (of which I have just taken up leadership) and begin my hunt for training contracts, not to mention having time for myself.

So, there's alot of things to do and this reminds me of my time back home... Juggling studies with extra-curricular activities. The other thing that comes up once in a while is meeting up with friends and this will conclude this episode.

The BRMC-London group had its second gathering at Strada's near St Paul's Cathedral. The reason? Well, Edmund Bek and Hannah Wong (2 BRMC visiting London. Organised by my doctor-in-training contemporary Melvin and his girlfriend (also a doctor) Amanda. we had a great time and here are the photos of the gathering:




The gang (clockwise): Guan Sin, Edward, Lishan, Hannah, Edmund, Amanda and Melvin


The desserts we had (from top to bottom): Chocolate pudding with Vanilla Ice-cream, a Strawberry Crumble, Tiramisu and (another) Chocolate pudding with Vanilla Ice-cream

[Did not take photos of our main courses because all of us were having it at different times. Anyway, the dessert was what I was going for]


We cleared everything and felt satisfied thereafter. Yummy!!

The following 2 photos are from Edmund's camera (thanks Edmund for them):


Edmund, Amanda, Melvin and myself


Melvin and myself (I was having my main course, a pizza)

I look forward to our next gathering.. :)

Stay tuned.

Episode 10: Weekend with the Weis (3rd to 5th November 2007)

This week is the "non-teaching week" which really means catching up week. I do not need to go to school but I have lots of catching up to do (and today is already Wednesday!!)

Anyway, just want to update my adventures here in England. In view of this non-teaching week, I decided to have a weekend away from the city and go up to visit Uncle Tonni, Auntie Jennifer and Jemima Wei ("the Weis") in Basingstoke, which is about 1 1/2 hour or so out of London.

My links with the Weis go back a long way. Jordan Wei [whom I caught up with in Episode 5] was my classmate back in secondary school, while Uncle Tonni and my parents were classmates back in their years in school!

My journey began on Saturday morning at ten past 9am where I had to take the National Rail train from Waterloo station to Basingstoke. However, due to weekend engineering works, I had to drop off at Woking (2 train stops from Basingstoke) and take a - what was a long and winding - rail replacement bus service to Basingstoke. The photo below was taken from the bus at Woking station.

Throughout the journey, I was greeted by greenery, fields and farms, a refreshing change from the urban jungle in the city. [My apologies for not taking any photos of this]

I eventually got to Basingstoke and was greeted by Uncle Tonni. He then drove me back to the house, which is about 25 minutes away by car from the station. After settling in and catching up with the Weis, we then made a trip to Winchester, the former capital of England before London.

Winchester is largely a historical town, and the archtecture is just marvelous. There was the Great Hall, the town centre and the great Winchester Cathedral. Photos below:

A replica (so they say) of King's Arthur's Round Table

Auntie Jennifer, me and Uncle Tonni beneath the Round Table

The interior of the Great Hall

Winchester Cathedral - Admission fee of GBP3 (students) and GBP 5 (adult)

[If I had more time, I will definitely make a visit]

The road for pedestrians only

An example of a tree in autumn

We left Winchester and headed to See Woo's (a mega Chinese wholesaler) at Reading to get some food for dinner. The Weis also invited 2 of their friends, Yau Wee and his wife Ronnie over.

We had laksa (with [what was left of their] air-flown sambal belachan from Singapore... :)) and chicken rice that night.

Dinner with the Weis and friends

(from left: myself, Yau Wee, Ronnie, Uncle Tonni, Jemima and Auntie Jennifer)

Good things come in pairs!

I spent the "intervals" (and the rest of the night) catching up on my reading and looking through my 2 Timothy 4 notes [which I will be leading the study this evening at All Souls SWOT].

I woke up to a misty Sunday morning. This is the view from where I was holding up and it faces the back of the house.

I followed the Weis to their church. It is a community church located at the town centre. It was mainly worship and the preaching of the Word. But, it was there that my thoughts for 2 Timothy 4 somewhat crystalised and I revamped my approach to the study. Service finished at midday and we walked over to Yau Wee and Ronnie's place for lunch [see below].

Fried rice, chicken rice and salad for lunch

In the afternoon, we had a badminton game at a club where Yau Wee and Ronnie were members. The day ended with dinner at the Weis of meat loaf and pastry pies. For the rest of the evening, I spent it relooking at my notes.

I left the Weis on Monday at around ten to 10am and returned to Old Street just a quarter to 12pm. All in all, it was a great getway, a first for me since I arrived in London. But, it will definitely not be the last. I am somewhat refreshed to face the challenges that lie ahead of me.

Thanks be to God for the Weis, their friends and the hospitality! May the Lord bless them in their individual lives and in their ministry as they continue to serve the Lord wherever they are.

On this note, that concludes Season 1 of the Adventures of Josiah. In this short 2 but exciting 2 months, we saw Josiah's entry into London, finding his feet and establishing himself in both school and church.

In Season 2, we will see Josiah moving through assessment after assessment as the school terms draws to a close for Christmas. Josiah looks forward to coming back to Singapore and be reunited with his family for Christmas!

Episode 9: BRMC London Get-together

I was invited to a lunch gathering of BRMC members who are studying here in London after church yesterday. The venue was Hare & Tortoise - a Chinese/Japanese restaurant @ the Brunswick, near Russell Square Tube Station.

There were about 10 of us in all and we had an enjoyable lunch altogether. I enjoyed my "Laksa" which tasted more like curry noodles. But, it was so good that I perspired for a while after eating it.. It shows how long since I last ate something like that... haha. The only thing that was missing in there was a hard-boiled egg and I think it would have tasted better with yellow noodles [like the laksa yong tau foo back home].

The others ordered "Chow Mein" [ie fried noodles], some sushi and Katsu Curry... Here are the photos:




The Laksa - with sotong (squid in Malay),
Japanese fish cake, beancurd and cucumber

The BRMC -London gang and their food

[Clockwise (Left to Right): Melvin Heng, Jerald Foo, Debra Lam, Teoh Mae Yen, Jamie Chang, Lynette Tan, Yeo Guan Sin and Edward]

Later in the evening, it was round 2 @ 4 Seasons, Bayswater with Jordan, his girlfriend (Hui Nee) and a friend of hers for dinner.

Indeed, a day of feasting... :)

Episode 8(2): Reflections on 1st Month of School

The setting of this episode is a rather chilly Sunday evening where I am wearing jumpers and thermals in my hostel room – a first, but not the last for me as the year closes with increasingly colder weather.

In order to brace myself for it, I went to Primark @ Oxford Street on Saturday afternoon with Charing and Elva after our second round of yum cha. I came out with GBP52 worth of warm clothes and a pair of simple brown loafers. It was retail therapy when I needed it.. :)

I crossed the first month of my time at the University this week. I started school on 17th September 2007. Here are my thoughts and reflections:

(1) Support in school: I must say that I am beginning to feel the pressures of the course. Each week whizzes by quite quickly with preparation for the next day and soon, I am at the end of the week. But, the preparation still needs to carry on for the coming week. There is hardly time to consolidate and revise what was taught. Indeed, it is akin to a fast-moving steam train on a long journey without any break points.

I believe my other colleagues on the course are feeling it as well. Hence, there is a need for support from other colleagues because I believe that only LPC students can understand fellow LPC students – like a lawyer or a doctor would understand how another lawyer or doctor feels in his/her practice of the profession. I am glad to say that I have found some form of support within the course and it is always something to look forward to each day in school. I thank the LORD for providing these wonderful people – people who make school forthcoming.

(2) The need for Christian support: However, as a Christian, support from fellow colleagues in school is not enough. I also need a group/place to address my spiritual needs. This brings me to my first session at SWOT (Study the Word Of Truth) on Wednesday evening. This is a Bible-study session under the umbrella of All Souls Church for students whose English is their first language and it was held at All Souls’ “sister” church, St Paul’s at Robert Adam Street, about 10 minutes walk from Bond Street Station. I decided to attend SWOT after 2 weeks of deliberation and an internal conviction that I needed some form of Christian support.

The session opened with a short 10-minute worship session (which had a piano that I really wanted to run my fingers over). This was followed by a short 5-minute talk that was somewhat evangelical in nature. We then had dinner at GBP2 and Bible study thereafter. I was put in SWOT 3 – which was for final-year university students and postgraduates (like myself). In SWOT 3, one is also been trained to lead Bible Study Sessions.

Now, I must say that I felt at home throughout the whole session and provided some constructive insights into the study of 2 Timothy 2:1-13. I cannot explain what got over me that night, but these insights simply flowed – something that only the Holy Spirit can do. Hallelujah, thanks be to God!

I went away from the session feeling less burdened and refreshed. I am pleased with the positive outcome and will definitely make this a regular affair each week, whenever and wherever possible. I also believe this is a place where I can contribute in both my skills as a pianist and experiences as I contribute to the Bible-study sessions and to take up some sessions as well.

(3) The need to consolidate: With the feelings in (1), I am convinced that there is a need to have break points and sit back to reflect on what had been taught. So, I will dedicate a certain amount of time during the week, maybe a Friday (where I have no school) to revise the material of the past weeks.

But, how do I go about the revision? Well, it is no longer the substantive law that I am studying now, but rather the application of the law. Therefore, my approach has to be different from my undergraduate days. One idea that was impressed on me was to put yourself in the shoes of the client who is coming to his/her solicitor for inter alia, advice as to a purchase/sale of a piece of property, to file a claim in court or to start a business. If I revise with that in mind, I think studying or learning will be more enjoyable. Indeed, the law comes alive when it is applied by those seeking to rely on it.

(4) Uncertainties: I do accept that there are uncertainties as to what will happen after my LPC next July. Questions of whether I – like many of my colleagues in the course – will be able to secure a training contract and what if I am unable to. Does that mean I am not cut out to be a lawyer? As a Christian, I believe I am at peace, the peace of Christ.

I trust that as the LORD – as He has provided the unusual and ways of getting me here and equipping me (e.g. this laptop I update this blog from) – I am certain He will provide – at the opportune moment. But, that does not mean I rest on my laurels and be laissez-faire about it. I still have do to my part (ie craft my CV, attend classes and perhaps, also decide what kind of lawyer I want to be). The peace of Christ that surpasses all understanding will keep me going on the steam-train journey.

All in all, I pray for creative inspirations for fresh perspectives on all that I going to do here in London, from the crafting of my CV to leading Bible study sessions to the revision of my law studies.

Lastly, I feel renewed to go through the coming weeks after today’s Communion Service at All Souls – the “icing on the cake” for all that has happened this week.

To all my friends back home (and others) who are reading this blog, my prayer is that you will be encouraged by the contents and that amidst the storms of life and whatever the world tells you, hold on to Christ and take heart. Indeed, the Lord Jesus, in Matthew 11:28-30 said:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Praise to the LORD, the Almighty, the King of creation!