And so ends 3.5 weeks of internships.

I actually ended up qt liking Nameless Firm #2. I think I'll be applying there for pupillage. :)

In other news, the subject allocation screw up has been most annoying. The first time, I had a pretty good mix of subjects and a great three-day timetable. Now, I have two kind of useless subjects and a five day week, three days of which end at 9.30pm. It's because of an intensive module, but still. -_- And I have no idea how I'm gonna give tuition like that. Hee hee math tuition is qt fun! I feel v smug that I still remember stuff after 2.5 years of not touching math.

What a tiring week it's been. Had work 9-6 everyday, tuition four times a week after work, and met up with christine twice, with different groups of people, to say goodbye. Heh.

Nameless Firm #2 is getting better. I went to court twice this week. The trial that we were supposed to be watching was qt boring, so when the court adjourned for lunch we went to see a murder trial. Which was really ten times more exciting. The expert witness for the defence was really, really good. Very clear and articulate, and yet very good at slipping out of tight spots with things like 'it's entirely possible...' and 'I wouldn't be surprised if...' Hai. Must learn. And I have to say, the DPPs qt disappointed me. They got told off by the judge a number of times and, really, I think it was qt warranted.

I'm feeling a bit disillusioned right now.

My internships have not really turned out the way I hoped.

Nameless Firm #1 was okay. I was in the corporate dept, with gary, and everyday we got a bit of work to keep us occupied. Although there were a lot of things we weren't privy to, because of confidentiality issues, we did learn some stuff and the lawyers were friendly and went out of their way to solicit our opinions. Jq, attached to the liti dept, seems to have learnt much more. He went to court 4 out of 5 days in the first week, and some of his research formed the basis of a submission to the court. Which is like, wow. I spent my days mostly googling stuff.

I had higher hopes attached to my internship in Nameless Firm #2, but I have to say I'm qt bored out of my mind. On the first day of work, my mentor (who is nice, but not really attentive) gave me a research memorandum with a one-week deadline. Since then, I've spoken to her about twice, for not more than 5 min each time, and each time it was about some point of the research that I wasn't too clear about. On my second day, she told me that it was unlikely we'd be going to court at all cos it just wasn't on her books. So everyday, I spend eight hours in front of the computer not talking to a single physical person (not counting a continuing email conversation with the other interns, who are on another floor). Everyday, I meet the other interns for a half-hour teabreak, during which we mostly talk about how sian we are.

Am talking to jy now, and she says that her internship is emotionally draining and, hearing about it, I feel a bit scared for her, knowing how much she has to cope with. But at the same time, I feel qt envious because, you know, it's exhilarating and I can see she loves it. I like law, but actually being in the firms has qt disappointed me. I don't mind working hard if it's for something I enjoy, but right now I'm not feeling it. Maybe it's that I'm not in the thick of things. Maybe it's that I'm too impatient, too eager to do something of use (when, really, all I know is that I don't know much). Interning has made jq raring to go; he's gonna be studying much harder now that he's motivated. But for me, I'm gonna be studying much harder cos, really, compared to working, studying the law is pretty damn fun.

I started work at Nameless Firm #2 today. Compared to NF #1, NF #2 is a lot bigger, and so a lot more organised. There was a briefing for interns (13 of us), technology training, a tour of the premises, and all this was timetabled. And there are access cards and passwords for everything, even using the photocopier. Today I got stuck outside the office cos I forgot how to use the card to get in, and I had to wave at someone to help me open the door. So embarrassing. :(

I am one of the only two interns in the litigation dept, which sucks greatly. And interns don't sit together, they sit miles apart. I think on purpose, so we can't talk. And we couldn't email properly either cos apparently our emails can be accessed by the secretaries. Heh. So our conversation was qt stilted. Luckily I had work to do today. In fact, I've got research that's meant to keep me occupied for a week. Usually I'd hate to work but really, if I'm spending 9 hours a day in the office I'd better at least learn something. And my mentor is v nice. :) Hopefully I get to go to court! (Which I think doubtful, but still.)

I have the most annoying neighbours on earth. Seriously. Haiii.

Yesterday at work gary and I had to give a presentation to three lawyers and a partner. And let me tell you, those ten minutes were the most mortifying ten minutes of my life. (Okay, not quite that bad. But still. Mortifying.) Certain extenuating circumstances had made it such that our research wasn't as comprehensive as we'd like it to be and, at the end of it, I felt like crawling under the table. Hrmph. In other news, I am getting used to heels! Maybe it's that my feet are dead and can't feel pain anymore.


Haha this is jq and I trying to take a photo discreetly in the middle of raffles place at 6pm, when everyone was rushing past to get home. Heh. Hope none of our bosses saw.

Second day of internship at Nameless Firm and my feet are slowly (but surely) dying. The dresscode is more casual than I thought though, so soon I will be able to incorporate some colour into my wardrobe, and perhaps more comfortable heels.

I am not enjoying working. Or at least, interning. Some of the research has been qt interesting but mostly we don't have much to do. I spent a good part of this morning deciding what modules to take this coming sem. Proofreading is the worst; if anything's going to turn me off going into corporate, it'd be the thought of doing that endlessly (which is what I heard corp lawyers actually do during their first couple of years).

And Raffles Place at lunchtime is madness. One hour seems like qt a lot of time, considering no real travelling's involved, but after you're done choping a table and queuing for food and what not, there's only half an hour left to eat. Lunchtime just flies by, and before you know it you're back in your little cubicle.

Thank goodness I've got friends with me, and more at lunch! Haha I shall appreciate law school much more after this.

Tomorrow, I'm going to join the throngs of people squeezing onto buses and trains in the mornings, bleary-eyed, black-and-white and very, very grumpy.

Hello!

Went back to SN today with ade and jacs. Of course, we only went there to pig out, and ran (or at least walked very hurriedly) away from any teacher we recognised.

We happily indulged our nostalgia by walking everywhere and noting the similarities and differences. The food, as always, was a comfort. I ate orange bowl noodles and chicken and taupok and drank iced milk tea, all for $1.90. :) But the school is different. There are no more hopscotch markings in the fam lounge and upper and lower concourses. There are science projects on display in the fam lounge. The posters are ugly and the open house is called, plainly, 'open house'. A couple of the food stalls have been changed, and they all have names that begin with Auntie something-or-another. The general office and pri staffroom have been moved too! Some nametags are now sewn on. And it's only been... 5 years?

We were talking about SN's reconstruction project and how it's now been delayed, and we decided that we don't really want SN to go ahead with the project. It's massive, and it'd mean tearing down the whole school, and all our memories with it. There's also really nothing wrong with the buildings - they could do with a new coat of paint, but in my opinion that's about it. And things like air-conditioning the hall can probably be done without pulling down the whole building. Okay, this is probably just the ignorant view of an outsider who doesn't have to live with the buildings as they are, but still.

the school as it is now / mirror!! / heee us swakus bought sn foolscap and exercise books

view of the fam lounge / classrooms / the garden where i used to catch butterflies! / red synthetic field