ADAM weekend

another OZ debating competition i entered last weekend. no preparation, no practice, last minute team matching, gone down with a cold, won only one round and didnt even go to the last round. But i did get myself a taste of turksih dish and chinese noodle box.

im beginning to understand why young people are always the one with the spirit and energy, cause once you get older, you had enough, it doesnt seem to have the same take on you anymore. you are comforted by the fact that life is not about winning anymore, and there is more to life than winning. or maybe im just saying this to comfort myself from not being the eager-winning-biatch anymore.

as i look back to my joyous debating era, i can see that i was once an eager biatch that sets her heart on taking the world. and i had my partner in crime and i always had the better team and position. whilst here, i am no one, a newbie, with other newbie that is not exactly the top-debater-of-them-all. this all might just be my excuse to make me feel better, but seriously, now i know what it's like to look at me in a debating competition. im crippled without my wingman and my legacy. so this is how if feels to be on the other side of the coin.

as i went from one competition to another, i kinda enjoy being under the radar, i was given the challenge to proof that i am someone, or at least are good in something. but, the agony of going over the process endlessly comparing what you had and what you are going through raises its own debate in my head. why do i even bother? i set my heart on joining MAD (Monash Association of Debaters) this semester (checked) and got so irritated by the competition with a fellow indo debaters (whose name should not be mentioned), and finally settled with the agreement that im in it for the love and fun i had for debating and that it should not in any way bother me on whoever or whatever situation i might encounter during the process. so far, my effort should be rewarded. im still alive n kickin, not so thrilled about winning though - odd.

i am grateful for the chance i got, not everyone gets the chance to taste all the world has to offer - the good and the bad - What i need to work on now is how to put the bad as a lesson and a reminder of how i have lived a good life and is grateful for having it. Thanks for asking me to joing your team Jenny - Will, it was a pleasure to be in a team with you guys.

Jessup Moot Court Winner

Hard work paid off, we won the battle. ladies and gentlemen, i can now proudly pronounce that i have participated in the Jessup Moot Court competition in Monash Uni and WON. yeehaaa...
my international law and policy unit gave me an opportunity to try out for this year's jessup moot competition. the memorial submission will be counted in my second assignment mark and then we had to do the verbal presentation after all exams are over. the result of the verbal will not be accounted into our mark but there are prize money for the winner, ehm.. for me. This all happened in H2.22 Monash Caulfiled Campus, Saturday June 21, 2008.

i would also like to give my appreciation for alamo and mita for their help in making it all happen. Couldnt have done it without their help.

just look at my face, this was taken after my speech, which explains the blur effect from my still-trembling hands, thus i feel the need to take a pic after my speech. i look disoriented dont you think?

Just a little background for those who is not familiar with Moot Court competition, so it is pretty much like a debate but in a court setting, kinda similar to ally mcbeal and boston legal where there are 2 sides, one respondent and one applicant -my team was the applicant, a.k.a The Winner *cheeky mode on* - and we would act as so called lawyer and would have to defend our case pleadings and hope that the ICJ (international court of justice) rule in our favor. as in a debate we also have adjudicator, but in moot it's called judges. I went as first speaker for the applicant. can you believe it? i was never a first speaker, yet i won this one as a first speaker. really need to consider a carrier as first speaker.

below is the judges, andrew from Monash uni and Jadranka from Melbourne uni Law School. pretty scary eh.. but they are really nice (hahahaha i probably wont say this if i had lost).


too bad no one was able to take pictures during the speech, since everyone was pretty much caught up with preparation and rebuttals. but these are some picts i manage to capture on recess.

Let me introduce you to the team. Here are Pete and Jakub (the second speaker) - the Boyz -

and these are the Gals - Majella, G! (First speaker) and Sarah (the third speaker)-

and here's a pict of everybody, the winning team, our lecturer Alice de Jonge (in the red robe) and the respondent (the other team)
cant believe i can actually be happy after spending a saturday at uni, one of the best days of my staying in Melbourne. Even more so, i went all night long and didnt get back till 6am the next morning. so what happened was after the whole thing was over, we all went to tabaret across uni and grab some beers, had dinner at thai safron (my first real meal of the day) and went to jakub's luxurious apartment (in st kilda, looking at the st kilda marina) cause he wanted to drop his car and change clothes and then we all cruise to richmond and went bar-hopping.

Gosh, it was my first experince in a real OZ bar, no asian around, amazing. The first bar was called 'Post Office'. Loaded with tall people which makes me feel like a midget. The place was not too big, rather small i may say. The second one was Public house, still small, lots of broken glasses, no bogans yet. And finally, the last bar, Swan hotel. this is where i can see various socio-economic condition in OZ. the carpet was sticky, a bit smelly, bad acoustics used by the live band. The highlight of my night was when a guy - a drunk guy - asked me to dance. of course i said no, but since we were standing on the dance floor and he was dancing, he brushed my but. im like WTF? and no i didnt brush his but back, i stepped aside and let him slide. dont want to mess with a drunk guy, mainly a bogan.

Just when i thought the night was over, i was wrong. After the swan, Jell asked me to hang out at Damien's place and help him finish his red wine since he's going abroad soon. He got a really nice apartment, spacious and heaps of wine although he doesnt have the view of st kilda marina. Stayed there till 5.30 and went back home. I was going to take the first train home, but Jell wont let me, she was going to pay for the taxi. I didnt let her, we ended up sharing a cab. She said that if they are your friends, a true OZ, they wont let you go back home alone on that train. If they did, they are not your friend.

Some of the boys i hang out with always put forward the "equality" principle when it comes to taking a girl home. They would argue that you wanted emancipation and equal rights therefore you should not expect boys to take you home to your doorsteps. After yesterday, i can say that argument is just mere excuse for their laziness. Nothing to do with equal rights. At least a good friend, a gentlemen, would make sure that you get home safely.

I cant believe how i happy i am, i even dance when i walk. This is a good thing.

things i learned from easters

these are several things that i came across on my anzac weekend-getaway-while-joining-a-debate-competition yet again.

numero uno: i am older. i no longer share the passionate and excitement of joining, being and wanting to win a debate competition. i seem to have passed my golden era in debating. maybe im just making excuses since i was not able to break into the final rounds nor give my very best performance. or maybe i am just over it.

two: assume everyone is taken. considering previous precedent of falling for a gay dude, i came across trying to have fun and got something that is a complete failure. i realized that it is within my best interest to assume and believe that every cute and nice guy is taken. therefore, no speculations and expectations on will-something-happen-between-us idea.

three: some people are just born to be annoying. no matter how hard you try to understand and accept them. they are just that. no need to do a psychoanalysis on it. people choose their own way of living and sometimes it is just repulsive. so deal with it.

four: the im-drunk-n-safe-me trick doest work in OZ. they get drunk all the time, pretending to be tipsy in the hope of getting some "action" doesnt work. simply because they are all taken and you might not be that drunk to just pick any random guy.

five: it is useless to constantly compare your new hangout buddies with your best friends. they will never exceed you expectations, in fact, they will never be able to see you the way your best friends have. the ones you have is the best and will always be the best. this new developing relationship might have the potential to be but will never be the same in any shape or form.

six: i dont necessarily tell people that i am involved in a debating community, not even my closest friends, and i am pretty good at it. most of the time i did it because people see this community as an elitist community with snobs that speaks english all the time. second, because i prefer the public to know this by reputation instead of me bragging about it. it just sounds a lot better when someone else is saying it.