CHARLES LIEW | Blog

Earth Hour

2009-03-29T13:12:00Z

Newcastle 1-3 Arsenal

2009-03-23T04:39:00Z

Newcastle United v Arsenal

We continue our superb recent run with a thumping 3-1 away win over Newcastle.
Sure enough, we are too far away from Manchester United now even with United losing at Craven Cottage...
... but thanks to Liverpool's 5-0 demolition of Aston Villa, we are now 3 points clear of Martin O'Neill's suckers! Eat that!

Melbourne

2009-03-22T23:01:00Z

The 12 Apostles, Great Ocean Road.
Only 9 left!
(Road Trip 21/3/09 with Fabian and family)

Seeking Spiritual Relief

2009-03-17T11:44:00Z

Last Sunday, all of 2 days ago, was a pretty special day. I went to a Buddhist event in the morning, and a Church service in the afternoon. Both a first for me.

I went to the Soka Gakkai's Kosen-rufu Day gathering at the Australia Culture Centre at the Sydney Olympic Park. Actually had to spend Saturday night at CK's place because my place is too far from the Olympic Park and I would not have been able to make it in time.

What is Soka Gakkai? Here is an introduction on its website:

"For SGI members, Buddhism is a practical philosophy aimed at awakening people to the limitless potential and value of their own lives. Practicing Buddhism brings about a positive transformation in the depths of an individual's life, transforming fear into courage, deluded impulses into wisdom and egotism into compassion.

Buddhism begins with individuals deciding to take responsibility for their own lives, first reforming themselves and taking action to improve their immediate surroundings and relations, and then gradually extending their wisdom, courage and compassion into a wider sphere."

Learn more, go here http://www.sgi.org/.

It was such an inexplicably peaceful experience, being around so many Buddhists. I got to talk to quite a few people and listened to their stories - how Buddhism has changed their lives. The whole gathering was held in a fully air-conditioned hall, resembling the setting of a Christian church - rows of chairs facing a stage at the front. There were performances, various speeches, from welcome speeches to speeches about experiences and self discovery, and then there were chantings. I was a bit freaked out by the chanting to be honest! They chanted really fast, and in unison, and they were left, right, front and back.

In the afternoon, I met up with a wonderful lady of the name Ee Leen at the University of New South Wales to attend the FOCUS Church Service @ 4:30pm. FOCUS stands for the Fellowship of Overseas Christian University Students. That's pretty much self-explanatory.

The church service was remarkably breathtaking. I have been to church services before, but they were all Christmas Day services. The one on Sunday was pretty different. There were the usual singing and praying, but I felt the pastor's talk on "Joy of Sacrifice" (Philippians 2:19-30) was most eye-opening. Perhaps right now I am just appreciating the pastor's words intellectually, and it would take some time for me to fully implement it in real life, but I do feel if I could gain from a session like this, I would be a phenomenal human being if I follow it on a regular basis.

Qi

Joanna Wang

2009-03-13T23:57:00Z

Check out Joanna Wang (王若琳).

I have been listening to a lot of Adele, Damien Rice, Jason Mraz, Amos Lee...
... and only this morning I discovered Joanna.
A Taiwanese, raised in Los Angeles, she is too awesome.
She has got a pinch of Norah Jones in her.

Her first album "Start From Here" reached #1 in Taiwan.

Qi

Melbourne

2009-03-10T08:05:00Z

Maybe the skies are indeed bluer on the other side

Bus to Melbourne, one-way, costs AU$75, takes 13 hours.
Train to Melbourne, one-way, costs AU$91, takes 11 hours.
Plane to Melbourne, one-way, costs AU$69, takes 1.5 hours.

And so I booked my plane ticket to Melbourne. The things I look to achieve in Melbourne are:

1) Unwind. Gruelling job hunt is taking its toll, psychologically and physically.
2) Catch up with people.
3) Actually being there.
4) Getting a "feel" of the place, seeing as I might just have to move there some day in the very near future!
5) Trying to secure interviews for Monday and Tuesday (23rd, 24th March). Perhaps telling Melbourne firms I will be in town for interviews for those 2 days might make them think: Ah, might as well!

Melbourne, be prepared to be Chuckified!

Realism vs Optimism

2009-03-07T17:31:00Z

Being an optimist to me means ultimately nothing.

Being an optimist to me means two things: One, because you are an optimist, you go on living your life oblivious to the negative things around you. You succeed by focusing on the positives. Two, because you are an optimist, and because you ignore the alarm bells, you are left pursuing something that is not really there. Something far-fetched. Fanciful. You fail.

So really, being an optimist to me means nothing. I am a realist. I would like to think I am an optimistic realist. There is a giant in-your-face difference between an optimistic realist and a realistic optimist - and I am inclined to think I am the former. The difference between the two is at the core - realist at heart, or optimist at heart.

The Reality

Coolest advertisement I have seen, ever!
Maybe Valerene had something to do with this...

Now, the reality is that the economy is going bust, no two ways around it. 651,000 jobs lost in the United States already, and the crisis has led to my friend Ace having to leave the States for home. Hopefully Siang would have more luck hanging onto his visa. Closer to home, the sad state of the legal market in Sydney has seen my friends from the College of Law struggling to cope. Kenn moved back to Melbourne late last year, while Larry gave up on Sydney for better prospect in Singapore. Two days ago, CK said he would be leaving Sydney for Singapore as well, after 5 months of trying - of all people, CK has been the most "chiong" (translation: "chiong" means "gung-ho"), and his giving-up came as a shock to me. Susan is back in Germany, riding out the storm in the process. I, however, doubt the crisis will subside when she gets back! Darlington is still waiting for the contract offer, while some have been forced to work for minimal pay. Reality - scary, ain't it?

The Optimism

Acknowledging the reality, I remain optimistic. I refuse to crumble. This may be financially draining, but when I get that elusive job, everything will fall into place. My grand plan is waiting to take off. It is annoying that it hinges on the attainment of a job at current time. It is my life ambition to be in a position in the future where my life is not dictated by the volatility of the market and the security of a job.

The Talk With Family

Ah Mi

Skyped with Mom, Dad and Brother last night. It was good to finally talk to them after 4 weeks back in Sydney. I always thought my parents would not understand the effect the economy has on the legal market, but they sounded rather empathic last night, which was refreshing for a change. One of my cousins, who graduated from the UK with a law degree, has been back in Kuching for a while now due to the bad legal market in the UK - perhaps this made my parents realise just how bad the situation is! Me updating them on my futile jobhunt has also allowed a kind of psychological release.

Good for health, in general.

I'm out!
Qi

Great, I Lost My Entry

2009-03-07T12:15:00Z

I lost my entry. Boo-hoo!