On the last Day of year 2007... the Firm had a lunch-gether at a nearby restaurant...

Food was nothing to brag about... but we had good company :)

The lunch was also as a farewell to two loyal staff who has been with the Firm for decades... the Firm must have really value people as those who worked with the Firm stayed for such a long time...

Puncak Luyang ~ RM 218,000 - RM 265,000

Hilltop Apartment ~ RM 230,000

The not so new AsiaCity Shopping Complex... erm, the car park area actually!

Had my haircut there today...
erm, more like trimming hair ends only (and which cost me RM25!)

Sigh... life in KK is getting boring!

I should really start reading Children's books... seriously!

Bought this book from Times @ Warisan Square today.
I was looking for another book: "Nutcracker and Mouse King" but the book is not available.

Very sweet and tasty porky soup... with fragrant zhu-yao-zah!
And the pork was very tender and went "syok syok syok" in your mouth!
Thumb's up for the soup!

But the mee taste has a bit weirdy bitter taste to it although the kuey-teow was all right.

Another thing is, they are only serving Sang-Nyuk-Mee and only Sang-Nyuk-Mee,
no tomyam, no beef, no chicken... so if you want to go there with friends or family, it has to be decided that the entire gang or clan will be eating the same thing!

Saw this new Ad on route home every day since couple of months ago...
I'd be really interested to find out more about the Resort...

But the website is not working... cheh! What a dissappointment!

Some one blogged about the place and posted a photo of the view from the resort:

 
Impressive right?

Mmm... the name fits perfect for Ritz!

The other day, one of the partners asked if I'd be interested to join ex TT school mates gathering or function... I told him I've not set my foot back on the school yard since I last visited the school back in early 90's

"Why?"

"Something bad has happened to me back then..."

"May I know what..." another senior asked

"It was a long story... something to do with the school principal"

"Lau?"

"Yes..."

Then I was persuaded to tell the harsh treatment I received when I asked the principal to sign my scholarship application form (how he said he would not recommend a student with such results and refused to sign the form)... and how I still managed to get the scholarship despite his refusal!

"You must read the bible and learn to forgive..."

"That's long time ago, forgive him la, he's not even the school principal anymore" \

"I can forgive but I can't forget!", I exclaimed stubbornly!

May this be a lesson to those in the education... don't ever look down on your own students... because you will never know one day you may need the student's contribute, no matter how lousy her results might be when she left the school.*

PS:
my SPM results that time was not that bad (I passed all subjects with credit)...
although it should have been better... especially my BM and Eng which is a big dissappointment to me then... but if the principal has taken the effort to look at my school results compared to SPM, he would have realised my SPM results did not reflect my true capability at all!

This new mall... the soon to be most "happening place" in Kota Kinabalu is due to be opened March-April 2008.

I had to chance to went in for a look as there is a signing ceremony between 1Borneo and Tune Store today...

The interior reminds me very much of Mid Valley Megamall in KL... (although in a less extravagant, less sophisticated way)

It also has the middle courts just like Mid Valley's... with high ceiling lobby like this:

During the signing ceremony, there were speeches by the Tune Store CEO (Dennis ??) who spoke of Tune's vision in the South East Asia... very enlightening speech (to me, that is, coz I'm a total idiot when it comes to business making)...

Then, by contrast, there was this speech by a state minister... gosh! I don't know what was he babbling there... all nonsense... it's like listening to any ordinary "uncle blow water" at the coffee shop! Sigh...

Equality is unfair...

when I am older and more experienced but paid the same salary as a fresh graduate from law school just because I started working at the same firm at the same time!

when I couldn't get the higher pay I asked for because the firm had to pay me the same salary asked for by the fresh graduate...

Arrgh!

... Can't they see equality is unfair? 

2007...

Greatest achievement is: finally a "lawyer"...

Stretch: managed to take JLPT Level 4

2008...

I want to take up music lesson (piano? flute? singing?)

I want to take JLPT Level 3

I want to save up at least RM10,000

I want to travel to a foreign country...

Shopping for the best home loan that is available to a meagre salary earner like myself is a tedious matter... but as I was so diligently going through the banks' websites one after another... in search of "enlightenment", I "discovered" a very good website for all contemplating property buyers:

Fiscal Wise

One of the most useful tool provided is the Wise Loan Wizard where you only need to key in your property information, loan requirement and minimal personal information, and a list of the best loan packages available will be generated!

This is SO convenient... while I have been cracking my head comparing all the loan packages by browsing various bank websites, keying in the available loan packages and comparing them in MS Excel sheet... this tool does the same, and in more details, within a "click"!

TABIK to Fiscal WISE!

Recently... especially when I'm distraught by the "dark side" of legal practice... I would remember the day I met my Pupil Master in his chambers... what he said to me on that day.

I was asking him to sign my Borang 1 & 2 (or was it Borang 3, nevermind)... as I've filled out the form in handwriting, he had a look at it and said, "..., from your handwriting I know you are a person of integrity." I didn't know what he meant then, but smiled politely and replied, "I hope that's a good thing." My Pupil Master then said, "Well, it is a good thing, but you might find it difficult to cope with legal practice at times...".

I didn't think much of it then... but now, I've come to realised how true my Pupil Master's insight was (or is).

Bill Van Shie defined "a person of integrity" as such:

A person of integrity when he speaks, his yes is yes and his no is no.
He keeps his word even if it hurts him.
A person of integrity is careful about making commitments because he keeps them all.
A person of integrity has private and public standards that are the same everywhere.

Black is black, white is white, I cannot simply accept grey!
And this has proven to be a very difficult principle to keep in legal practice...
even though as keeper of justice, black HAS TO BE black and white HAS TO BE white...

I know I will become a miserable lawyer if I don't snap out of this abyss... ... ...
so I've decided to please the Lord instead of the people.

Integrity pleases God and He honours those with an upright heart.
1 Chron 29:17

I've been having sleepness nights after placing the booking fee...

It's not so much the money that I'm worried about, but whether I have pick the most suitable unit... I don't want to spend so much money only to find out I don't like the way the unit is situated!

The unit with pink line facing North West at Level 6 is the type of unit I booked... but I really like the blue line unit facing South East better... but only left Level 3 and Level 4 available!

It's be perfect if I have that unit on the same floor or one or two floor higher... as long as the price is within RM250k budget.

This "Lau Bak Men Dong" (lit: old man noodle stall) has been in existence since I was in my Primary School... that would be erm, at least 27 years ago. Those days it was the father at the wok... now his son...

 And the taste is still the same!

Of course, now they have more "add ons" to choose from ;p

I don't know if this Apek Men will survive the 3rd generation...

Finally... the day has come for me to sit for the exam at UMS!

 Hey, I've never dreamt I would be taking exam at University of Malaysia Sabah one day....

But, the building is a dissappointment...
aircon not working and look at the so called University "LECTURE HALL"...
I think Brickfields College in KL has better "class room"!

To me, the most dreadful thing in conveyancing practice (bank loan) for the moment is --
handling people.

First, there is the Lending Bank which is forever demanding outrageous discount, up to 60%!
Threatening to not give you any business if you don't succumb to their "approved fee" instead of the lawyer's scale fees which is in accordance with the Advocates Solictiors Remuneration... in a way, they are larger than the LAW!

Second, there is the Land Office which takes forever to do a simple task such as alloting a memorial no to a Caveat... If you want to get things done, there is no avoiding some "courteosy call" (you figure it out). Even if after you made your "call"... and they promised to "hasten the matter"... you can only expect any "news" after a couple of months.

Third, there is the Borrower/Bank's customer who does not understand the amount of work a lawyer has to do before advising drawdown and keep calling your office to pester you until you cannot start to do the work for him/her.

SIGH...