dining table

 A few weeks ago, my dad brought up the topic of my blog over dinner, and said that I had not updated it for a while. I was taken aback, not expecting that my blog to be the topic of conversation at dinner. I replied that I didn't have the time to update it since I started at my new job and brushed it off as that.

It is close to 5pm on a Sunday evening and I am typing this at the (relatively) new dining table. Long gone is the dining table that my family got when we first moved in and where I spent most of my time studying for some of the most important exams. We replaced the old dining table with a longer wooden table that gives you bruises if you accidentally knock into it. It sure is more sturdy, but I do miss the old dining table sometimes.

Maybe one day, I will make use of the old dining table again.

twenty five

My heart is so full. 

*

My birthday fell on a Wednesday this year and since I am currently not employed, I decided to cook dinner for my family. Pih Guo brought me out for breakfast and we ran some errands together (buying ingredients for dinner and collecting the cake). Then, I prepped and cooked dinner with my brother; house chores are more exciting when you have a good and capable companion. My brother and I chopped the garlic, onion, carrots, mushrooms and cleaned the insides of the shrimps, and we whipped up two different types of spaghetti for dinner: vegetarian bolognese and creamy tomato sauce with shrimp. I also assembled a cheese platter on the side. Once everyone got home from work, we sat down and had a lovely meal together (the food was palatable but the companion was great). We reminisced about the good/funny times growing up, played cards and ate the birthday cake. 

With the familia :D

It was a great celebration and I would not have it any other way.

:)

Signing off, 

older and (hopefully) wiser Wei Ying.

new beginnings

Hello!

It's been more than half a year since I wrote. If my blog were a room, the surface of the furniture in the room would now be covered with dust and I can imagine myself doing some major spring cleaning.

I hope you are keeping well amidst the partial lock down, wherever you are right now in the world.

The past 3 months of the Movement Control Order had been rough for me; working from home was not as wonderful as I thought it would be. There was a lot of working into the night and waking up early to meet a deadline and the stress was tremendous. Amidst the sleepless nights, I came to the realisation that nothing is more important than your well being, and nobody but you is responsible for your own happiness. And with that, I tendered my resignation in late May and have officially resigned from my previous firm on this Monday. It was a tough decision to make, but it is a decision that I need to make. I am forever grateful that I started my legal practice with my previous firm, and for the opportunities and exposure that I was given as a junior associate.

I also had the best farewell ever: My boss informed the judge that presides over a case that I have been assisting since pupillage that it was my last day with the firm, and the judge and other lawyers gave me their best wishes. I also had lunch with my colleagues and I really appreciate them making time for me. My boss then invited us for farewell drinks, and we spent 4 hours (!) in the bar! I gave my farewell speech and (of course) it involved some waterworks on my part. Nonetheless, it was indeed a night to remember :)

The LTS team.

From left: Me, Sharron, Esther, Kenneth, Tuck Sun, Najwa, Ariel and Xavier.

My team mates that I hold very dearly to my heart, for we share a bond that I don't think I will be able to find anywhere else. Although some of us have left the firm, but I know the team is always there :)

The past 2 years (wow it's been 2 years since I returned from the UK) had been one hell of a roller coaster ride, but I would not trade it for anything else.

For now, I will just enjoy my voluntary MCO.

:)

family day out

I woke up in the middle of the night and something felt amiss. 
Why were my room lights on?
I stumbled to the toilet, emptied my bladder and climbed back to bed.
Ah, I must have fallen asleep reading the novel (Fishbowl by Bradley Somer - an exciting novel! I was just tired haha).
I wrapped the blanket around myself and felt the corners of my mouth curled into a smile as I fell back asleep - I haven't done that in a while.

*
I was later woken up by my mom. She was asking whether I wanted to join my family for  shopping. I was so tempted to say no - I have got my day planned out - do some house chores, vacuum my car and meet up with Francesca. 
But I know my mom would not take no for an answer, and so I said yes, and off we went to the shopping mall.

*
Shopping today with my family was more fun than I thought it would be: my dad picking out designs that we all know he would not wear, checking out earrings with my mom (though not getting any of them at the end), a hearty lunch, us having a family discussion over which pair of sports shoes my brother should get, and ordering 3 bowls of shaved ice from Snowflake for sharing after all that shopping. 
It was a fun day out with my family.
:)

kimchi rice balls

I stepped outside the hotel building and rushed across the street as the green pedestrian light was blinking and I was running late to meet Chien Ling for dinner on a Wednesday night. It felt odd (and a little bit unsafe) to head towards my destination by just walking, although I used to do this all the time in Cardiff.
We had a very hearty dinner at a Korean restaurant: a combination of kimchi rice balls, kimchi soup and good conversations. We then went to a bar tucked at the side of the famous Orchard Road, and had two drinks each. When we were done and said our goodbyes, I waited at the traffic lights again and crossed the then less busy Orchard Road, and went back to the hotel.

Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the good company, but as I waited for the traffic light to turn green, I felt a sense of freedom.

And I held onto that feeling for as long as I could.