Suffice to say, this blog will now stay on as a reminder of 9 months past of good, bad and downright ugly times. And a string of A-'s, B+'s, mounting electric bills and friends, those few whom I had.

Here's to Seattle.

Last Dinner in Seattle (I think)

Because law school students are so freakin' awesome, we celebrated the conclusion of our last finals of the year with Chinese food in Lake City at this place called Chiang's Gourmet. It was also a chance to enjoy company with my friends, make some new ones, and basically muse on UW and Law School and realizing that perhaps if I had tried harder it would've been less lonely for me. Nonetheless, friends are friends for a long time and I'm glad to know these folks. :)

We also had dessert in West Seattle, at this place called Bakery Nouveau. The desserts were good (not necessarily mindblowing as my companions described but not half bad) and the company and coffee made it enjoyable.

I'm a little sleepy so the usual Trissy wit is lost, but rest assured that I'm ok and alive - just need some sleep on my freshly washed carpet floor. :p

and a little melancholy - as we drove over the bridge connecting Seattle with West Seattle and looked at the night skyline of Seattle with all the monochrome lights glowing in the distance, I realised I'll actually kinda miss this place, for all the shit and cold summers and nonsense I've been through. So. Last thoughts from me.


Us at Chiang's Gourmet.

From left to right;
- Yong Yun, Korea, good friend of mine - we took at least 1 class together every quarter

- Saza, America, new acquaintance but who drove us around

- Michiko, Japan, good friend - very sweet lady, we also shared classes and she's really very nice and open

- Eri, Japan, friend - a bit reserved in the beginning but really friendly and funny

- Rayo, USA, friend - Filipino descent, from SF, sunny disposition, absent his usual peroxide blonde hair

- Hania and son (his name suddenly escapes me), Syria descent - only knew her from International Law class

And as it turns out, it really was a case of "if i'd talked more". Or perhaps "if i'd look friendlier". :p


Bakery Nouveau.


The desserts we chose. So very good, so very sinful, hurhur.

Last Thoughts before Sundown

Sitting in Room 133 right before my Torts II exam. While everyone looks at their notes in a frantic last minute ditch to do well / get in everything they hadn't studied / paid attention the whole year past, I'm just chilling.

As are those dudes listening to the Rocky soundtrack. :p

This really is the final countdown. No more reason to come back to Law School, no more reason to sit here, no more reason, purpose, compulsion of being a UW Law student.

I guess I really should be concentrating on the exam per se, and defamation and what have you. All that kind of 'important' stuff.

Yet all I can do is remember, smile a little, feel a little sad.

Last exam before sundown, last week before flyin'.

Will be damn glad to be home though, such is the conundrum of my Seattle experience. :)

God Damn.

I've got 2 weeks before I return home.

Suddenly the past 9 months have seemed irrelevant, the future looks a bit uncertain (esp given the @$#!~# army) and these essays and books I surround myself with seem unimportant. Like something's more pertinent, something's more needy than these tests.

But with 13 days to go before I touch Singaporean soil, Seattle suddenly becomes a slightly friendlier place, people smile more and life seems a wee bit better.

And these 9 months, if they taught me nothing, taught me to love my friends, my family and those who care about me genuinely a bit more than I did.

To Seattle, cold summers and cold smiles.

Suddenly, leaving you is a little tougher than I thought.

Return to the West

11th to 18th May: San Francisco

It's a bit hard to characterize San Francisco II, because 1) we lived in a shitty part of town and 2) the summer warmth made for a different experience than it was with poo in December. Nevertheless I shall try to break it down, as the rappers would say.

Sunday: Touched down, met Tania at the airport, subsequently checked into our hotel which was in the frickin middle of the shady part of San Fran, replete with funny smells, weird people and strange characters. It was... Bothersome, to say the least. The hotel room itself was ok but unless you feel incredibly brave or carry a gun, I'd suggest my friends not to stay in Civic Center Inn.

Tania and I had a stroll along the Embracadero and Fisherman's Wharf, before joining up with the trio for Becky's 21st at McCormick and Kuleto's (after many pronouncements that we were taking her to a burger joint, hurhur). The wait staff was amazing, the mussels in Red Curry was fgood and everything was perfect. And the wine wasn't bad either, though we had too much fun laughing at Kong as he created flavours in the wine as he sniffed. It was a fun night, with good food. :D

We ended off the night playing Texas Hold'em in my room before the trio left for their hostel. Well, not before my BBC America got hassled by a homeless dude who crossed the road with a taxi serendipitiously pulling up before he could do anything more. Heng siah.

Monday: We woke up kinda late - which was fine, since all we'd planned was the SF Giants - Houston Astros baseball game at night. So we decided to go walk walk around Downtown, hit a couple of department stores and watched "What Happens in Vegas" (in lieu of "Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay"), a sweet and silly film but not as fantabulous as Iron Man!!!!!!!!

Sorry, Robert Downey Jr. is just a god.

The Giants-Astros game itself was not bad, though it took me 3 innings to fully understand the game. Fun though, especially when the Giants scored a hoome run and Fred Lewis did awesome shit. When we left though, the Astros had taken the lead 4-3. Tris' curse on the home team has not been broken so far (every match i've attended with the sole exception of the Raptors game where Stanley's karma outbid mine has seen the home team lose). Had an early night but...

Tuesday: Because I'm such a champion, we missed the bus to Napa. We rescheduled, at a $25 cost. I sulked for a bit before a Nutella crepe and watching sealions cheered me up somewhat. Tania was worried I would blow up, but I'm not... Always explosive that way. :p

We ended the day visiting Stanford, which Tania thought was a boring white campus but which turned out to be an interesting trip through Spanish colonial architecture. It was nice meeting up with Jesley and Yongfeng, our very gracious hosts who took us around and about.

Got back late into SF city because Tris did not comprehend how the Caltrain tickets worked, while our friends waited for us at an Indonesian restaurant as the train plodded slowly back. The food at the Indon place was not bad, mind you - though a little unfilling. A short trek back and we slept earlier because...

Wednesday + Thursday: We all got our butts up and left early for Yosemite National Park.

at this moment, Tris will issue a travel advisory: DO NOT BOOK ANY TOURS TO YOSEMITE IF YOU CAN DRIVE. We each paid in excess of US$200 each, only to find that what we got was a bus there, a hotel room and a bus back. While they called it a 'tour'. Oh, and a mumbly bus driver who was doubling up as a tour guide. Quote: "mumble mumble armonds mumble mumble pistachios" (Chinese dude - WAH LAU EH BRUDDER MAKE US LOOK BAD) And the latino woman at the tour center was completely incomprehensible when she pointed to me and said "You are Tris" and pointed to Tania "you Havier". I didn't quite get it either.

BBC Americas hereby condemns California Parlor Car Tours and Grey Line. F**k that shit.

Yosemite is nice, but it was... Hm. In my opinion, overhyped. I had 7 mosquito bites on my neck, we walked past heaps of mule dung and it got way too hot way too fast. It wasn't all that it was cracked up to be - though I will concede now I am less averse to nature. Winter seems so much friendlier a time though, less insects and cooler weather.

though without the sun, Tris wouldn't have worn his fantastic looking sunglasses, his Christmas present from poo who he is very grateful for. :D I mean, for her in general, not just the present. -muah-

Our room was really nice, next to the river and where we enjoyed the company and warmth of a fakey fireplace. Romance was not in the air or on the cards, but good company was and I'm glad we went as a big group - much more fun and much more enjoyable. :)

Tania and I left early on Thursday but we missed the mule rides, so we just had a nice long breakfast and stroll to Mirror Lake, where we bumped into 4 Singaporeans. One thing - Singaporeans who meet other Singaporeans overseas just don't say hi to each other, they kinda gravitate and talk loudly so they let the other party know, but they don't do much more than that. Kinda sad yet bizarrely funny.

We left Yosemite at about 4ish, and proceeded to piss off the whole bus by singing loudly and (with the exception of Kong) off-key, along with other racial inflections that would piss off a majority of Americans, being politically correct but globally ignorant and all. We got back about... 10ish, where Kel-Al-Becky proceeded to book out the rest of their tour while Tania fell asleep and I mulled my essay.

Friday: The Napa Trip that was missed Tuesday was made up for here. Much like Yosemite, it was a bit too warm for me, and the sparkly wine made my tummy queasy. Could've been the lack of food or something. We hit 4 wineries, but I'd be hard-pressed to tell you the names now. Still, it was a nice trip through Napa and Sonoma, and the evening was spent in quite reflection and me being a bit tipsy because I didn't spit all my wine out. :p

Saturday: Because Tania owns a license, we were able to rent a car and drive down to Monterey, which Tania had the biggest crush on because there was a lone cypress tree. I'm dead serious about it. But since she was driving it was fine - enjoyable for me as I leant back and just gave directions.

The cypress tree was nice, but I was personally more interested in the golf course - I think Dad and Wendy would like it, it's the friggin' famous Pebble Beach Golf resort! Quite awesome, pretty pebble beaches (incomparable to Nice though, which be the bomb) and strong winds.

Nothing happened Sunday besides my flight - but there, another chapter of Singaporeanhood ended, and it just remains for me to thank Tania, Alan, Becca and Kong for a wonderful week. Hope you guys are having a good time back wherever you are now. :D

As for me, time to go back to work.

Oh and because I'm lazy you can click here for the photo album. Not that many photos, I relied more on my friends. :p

Derelict in Duty

At this juncture, no words can express my apology so I might as well get right to it.

Been busy on the social circuit these past few weeks, so let me just run down what happened and maybe you will be kind and forgiving and not kick my ass too hard.

Anyway, I foresee this will be my last update ever - while everyone I know is getting ready to up and go to Yellowstone (which is like 6 hours away?), I will push into the final chapter of my life in Seattle, study up for my last exams and then get ready to get the f**k out of here. Leaving behind a trail of memories, going back to a life I don't remember all the details of, but am eager to relearn.

I'll post one more on my thoughts before I fly off, but suffice to say, it finally came good these few months.

Week of 28 April
First up, a short intro: I finally made 2 friends here who I can routinely hang out and message and abuse without fear - Stephanie and Mijung. Stephanie is from Hong Kong, this be her 2nd degree; while Mijung is a Korean girl - both ladies are on exchange, and we've taken to each other like ducks to water. As in, comfort level, we go out all the damn time etc etc. Which probably accounts for my excellent mood. We can talk, and laugh, and just have lunch, without them looking at me strange like so many Americans have done.

To anyone who is coming to America:
1) Be a girl
2) Join FIUTS
3) Search out Singaporeans and other Asians.

Don't be full of bravado, Americans are not the friendliest creatures around.

Anyhow, we met a guy called Michael Riegner, a bro from Germany who was visiting our Law school and considering if he wanted to join UW in the future, following his 18 months of post-graduation training. (for anyone who wants to complain about Singapore pupillage which is mercifully short) Being around our age, it was just nice hanging out with him (though I think he was more into the female company :p kidding, he was really nice to hang out with).

So on Monday, we went to downtown for dinner - this Asian place which wasn't particularly filling; then for drinks and cheesecake at Pike Place.

Thursday, 4 hours before he flew off, we went clubbing. I had a good time but I don't really think Europeans and Asians have similar clubbing styles in that we focused on the disco-house style music while I kept hankering for the R&B in the main room. But it worked out ok, and he had a great time so that was that and we all were pretty happy. :)



So from L to R: Michael, me, Mijung and Steph. This is the Alibi Room, where we had red wine with cheesecake - very very fun for all of us. :)

Friday, the three of us (sans the returning-to-Frankfurt Michael) went out for dimsum with Dana (the exchange co-ordinator, very sweet lady), then we went shopping. It was a good week, no questions. :)

-----------------------------------------------
The Re-Constitution of BBC Americas: 8 to 10 May

I am now a believer in the "good things come in threes" paradigm, because my 3 London-borne homies came down on a cold Wednesday night. Sure, the hunger meant we had a bit of time trying to regain the initial chemistry, but if you know the BBC you know too that it takes only one jack for the whole thang to fall into place.

And so it was, as we discussed Pupillage, love lives, illnesses, Vancouver, and the whole gamut. I didn't get very much sleep during the period, but it was awesome just hanging with my homies, talking and sharing and being with them, and Becca's presence made for a very comforting female presence as well.

And of course, Iron Man which all the boys were so impressed by, hurhur. But the memories are more: Like walking through Capitol Hill, going through Downtown, distracting Becca so we could prepare her birthday, celebrating the birthday proper, Cheesecake Factory with Mama Sophie, and so on and so forth, throwing the pigskin behind the house and freaking out when it tapped the car - Life is memories, and these memories made the trip be awesome.

No words will really do the emotions I felt justice, but for the first time in a long time (since January 11) I felt truly comfortable and at home in Seattle. Thanks Kel, Al and Becca, you guys made the few days here truly memorable. And, er, for not minding the shithole I call a home. :p


Perfunctory Gangsta Shot. Don't be messin' with the BBC yo.

(unless you're a girl - my epiphany over these days is that as much as we are the Bitch(y) Boys Club, we are also the Bitched (ka-pssh) Boys Club. :p)


The infamous 'Tudung' Shot. All gear is mine. :p


The kungfu shot, Kong and I holding Alan as he struggles through his pose. :p


4 Singaporeans in Seattle. Thanks guys, it be awesome. Miss you all already.

Kanye West in concert - 16th April 2008

(c) MTV.com & Kevin Winter / Getty Images

So that's Kanye of course, and as one might guess, I didn't take that picture.



This was the only picture I got to take. After a 35 minute bus ride where the Asian dude standing behind me was too cool to talk to me (and I tried, but he was insistent on ignoring me and talking to the white girls he came with) while a couple of ang mo girls sitting down were nice enough to talk with me in dribs and drabs (as the momentary lulls in the insane screaming on 74 allowed), I got off the bus, and took this picture of the Key Arena.

After walking 100 m to the entrance, it was evident I had made a grave error in my calculation.

"Please open your bag, sir."

"No problem!" (and I thought, well, no problems, until...)

"Sir, you're going to have to put your camera back in your car, we don't allow cameras inside."

(in a fit of irritated spite) "I don't have a car."

"Well, how did you come?"

"By busssssssssssss."

(American brain working, so one could hear the cogs grinding) "Ok, hand me your batteries."

"Ok, there you go."

I get into the arena. I sit down. 25 minutes later when the arena is 70% full...

-flash-

-Tris turns around, to see a group of bimbos posing-

-flash from other side-

-Tris turns around, to see a mixed group of jocks and bimbos posing.-

And then the flashes all attacked the Tris, revealing that Tris was either 1) stupid, 2) biased against (I wouldn't say racism since the dude confiscated the batteries of the folks before me) or 3) both of the above for not hiding the camera better.

Thank God for phone cameras I say.


The Key Arena before the concert began.


The concert proper opened with Lupe Fiasco and a 45 minute set - something I did not realised until he got to his last song 'Superstar', which sad to say, is the only Lupe song I know. Nevertheless, it was a good start to the concert since Lupe is not the in-your-f**king-face kind of performer, but rather a slow jams-Imma enjoy myself kind of rapper. Crowd was a bit dead (perhaps the lack of familiarity) but as the songs got more recognisable, the energy went way up.

It was also around the same time as 'Superstar' as the two folks who were sitting next to me decided to take their places. And immediately I felt a pang of regret and anguish - I had the seat next to the get-a-room couple. The guy looked like Peter Crouch (a bit less gangly but same buck teeth) and the girl was your average American girl (i.e. kinda slutty), but once they got their seats they were AT IT LIKE PANDAS WHO WERE ON CRACK. Or rabbits - whichever animal you think needs the most lovin'.

I am thankful for the group behind me who refused to let them make out in peace, with the (rather cute, prob the Yalan type) Latino guy whipping out his phone and PROCEEEDED TO FILM THEM. Gotta love the Yanks at times. And the Asian girls he was with (with Chinese faces but waists the size of the continent) repeatedly heckled the couple, proclaming "That's gross! Get a room! EWWWWWWWW!!!!" Fantastic friends, wahahaha. :)


At 815 pm, N.E.R.D. took the stage - they brought on a live band, had nothing synthesised or pre-recorded and basically just tore it up with a live set. Pharrell was insane, he kept moving and rapping and singing; while his partner (sorry, his name escapes me) was just rapping and slamming - these two guys were insane and their band was insane, and this was probably the highest energy performance of the night. Pharrell lost his voice at the end of the set, but 40 minutes of N.E.R.D really got the crowd pumped.

Couple at this time had disappeared to make out somewhere else or something, while the dudes next to me smoked weed.


After 40 minutes of stage-shifting (which got me irritated because the last bus was leaving at 1030), Rihanna took the stage at 920 with the insane stage set that you see here. A bit too flashy for me, but at least I knew all the songs, from S.O.S. to Rehab to Chloe's fav song Unfaithful to Umbrella (eh eh eh) to Break It Off. A lot of dancing, a lot of grooving, a lot of loud pumping music and fluorescent colours with Rihanna's singing (mostly live) making for a pretty intense 45 minute set.

I was considering leaving to catch the last bus but one does not pay 66 dollars for a Kanye concert to not see Kanye - though I did not like the extreme length of changeover. I understand the love for complex sets but the transition made a lot of folks restless (45 minutes in between is far too long).





But as the above pictures attest, Mr. West really knows how to put on a show.

Kanye incorporated an interesting storyline into the concert, and the songs were pretty well worked into the routine. The story ran that Kanye was a space traveller plowing the universe for inspiration when he crashes on a desert planet, with only his spaceship console 'Jane' for company. I can't remember the exact order of songs now, but I know he started with 'Good Morning'; when he kaopeh'd about the crash Jane reminded him "This is not your first crash, Mr. West" where he broke into 'Through The Wire'; he then said a prayer to God and promised not to ruin any more award shows (self-jack! hahaha) and sang 'Jesus Walks'; his complaint about being lonely on a desert planet had Jane offering to be of help, after which "SHE TAKE MY MONEEEYYYYY" blared; and of course with his huge ego he was to be the savior of the world and that he alone could bring them home, where the opening strains of 'Stronger' began.

As I said, Mr. West really knows how to put on a fantastic show. I left after 'Stronger' for fear of not catching a cab, but I got home happy, satisfied and convinced that I'd spent my money extremely well. A bit of a shame that I had no one to watch it with, but you know, if it's there, go for it and regret the details later. :)