Moliu_ming's Xanga

Update No.2

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:10:12 GMT

PCLL application was rejected for the last time. The chances of me applying again next year is infinitely close to zero. I am now in the midst of a decision making process as to what to do next. For the meanwhile, my job here at this law firm will continue. I have an idea as to what I want to do next, but I will have to consider the possibility and opportunity costs my decisions will make.

I must limit myself to make this decision within a month.

Quick Update

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 07:48:06 GMT

Some people have been asking about my admission into PCLL this year, which is my 4th (f*cking) year of trying to get into the d*mned programme. Apparently they (HKU) have released the first two rounds of successful/unsuccessful PCLL applications. My ID is neither here nor there, which means, more waiting.

This will indeed be my last year of applying to the programme as next year they will introduce new entry requirements and I will have to go through unnecessary make-up tests to even have a chance to vie for a position, which, IMO is a friggin waste of my time. So if I screw up again this year, I'll have to start thinking about something else for a career.

Life sucks. Either way.

[Edit]: 3rd round released today, still neither here (successful) nor there (unsuccessful).

Moving Onwards

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 06:19:52 GMT

Time to move on from xanga which kinda sucks to a new blogging platform that will allow me to waste more time at work. I won't migrate any of the posts there and this will be used as an "archive".

Here's the new site:

http://moliu.wordpress.com/

Police efficiency and clueless people

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 08:51:35 GMT

I was to make a visit to the police HQ in Wanchai to pick up a batch of photos that were to be used in upcoming court proceedings. An appointment was made at 4:30 and I arrived 1 minute early, I told the guy at the counter my purpose and he seemingly understood and told me to sit and wait. So I took a seat and began staring at the various propaganda poster that was fitted all around the reception room. 30 minutes later another police officer comes and ask me: "Sir, how can I help you?".

WTF. I tell him the exact same lines I told the other officer half an hour ago, and this guy actually goes and picks up a phone and tells me that the guy will "be right down".

The person with my photos turn up 15 minutes later. I knew I should have brought my PSP along.

Well, fortunately I was not without entertainment. Some guy in his 50s or 60s walk into the room (it's the report room as well), stares around the room, and just stood there for 5 minutes before he finally walked up to the reception to talk to an officer. I didn't pay attention to what he was saying but the lady that was dealing with him started to give him a lecture about how the police won't go about replacing his lost bank book and that they can only put it on record and if anyone brings it to the police they will contact him.

"But I want a new one"

"... yes go to the bank and tell them that you lost your old one and they will give you your new one"

"I lost my booklet how can I go to the bank, help me find it"

"... I told you already that we have put it on record, but if nobody brings it to us it is still your responsibility to go to the bank"

"You don't believe what I'm saying"

"... we do, we are saying that we cannot help you replace the book nor can we go out and help you find it now, that is your responsibility"

"I'll just go to another police station then"

"... they'll tell you the same thing, go to the bank"

"You don't believe me?"

"...I've answered your question, you can leave now"

I can tell the lady sitting in front of me was trying not to laugh too hard, but she was giggling halfway through the conversation. I mean, that's one poor old guy that lost his bank book and is feeling unsure of what to do. But then again I doubt anyone could have talked sense into him to actually make him go to the bank where he can cancel his old book and get a new one.

He was probably lucky the person at the counter was nice.

Murphy's Law AKA Curse of Queueing Up

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 03:49:29 GMT

Either Murphy's Law is showing it's power, or it's just that human beings tend to be more aware and remember incidents that were not happy.

Every time there is a waiting queue for anything, I always choose the line that takes the longest. Whether it is a fast food restaurant or a bank ATM machine, my four-person queue somehow almost always takes longer than the other four-person queue.

Sometimes it's avoidable. I've already learned to avoid queues at Mac's that have foreigners or people holding suspicious pieces of paper, and always choose queues with as many children and females as possible (yes I'm a biased, discriminating, stereotyping bastard, but whatever gets me my food faster). But why is it always that the person in front of me is the one that is ordering $80 worth of food at Macs? And why does the guy in front of me at the ATM has to be the one to have to go through a dozen account transfers?

I remember during some Japan trip a few years ago we discussed this "Murphy's Law" (Whatever can go wrong, will.). What a pessimist's gospel, but somehow I get reminded of this every time I get caught up in long queues and the guy in front of me is adding a new order every time the cashier tries to ask him for money.

I lack patience, I need to be more optimistic; but MacDonald's queues need to be shorter.

Dealing with barbaric behaviour

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 01:49:22 GMT

After yesterday's post I've been considering that going at the workers upstairs with rude gestures and violent words may not be the best idea at all. I'll probably be compromised by drills, flying hammer and nails, thinner, paint buckets, and wooden planks.

Fear not. I'll be fully equipped and ready with a raincoat, face-mask, swimming goggles, wok lid for a shield, hockey stick for my main-hand weapon, and kitchen utensils for throwing weapons. If all else fails, my hair spray and lighter combo is probably deadlier than anything they can throw at me. Being equipped in such a way will strike fear into their hearts by the time they open the door. I hope they don't have their mobile phones handy to call the cops.

Don't be stupid. Working in the legal industry I fully understand that ink on paper is much much more effective when dealing with people than steel on flesh and fire on hair.

... I give in, fire on hair is probably more effective. Especially dealing with barbarians, since they're most likely illiterate.

Just kidding, but I really hope they can finish their work soon.

Noise Pollution

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 08:27:48 GMT

I need to be enlightened by someone on this issue: How friggin' long does it take to renovate a flat that is around one thousand square feet? I have been living in the same flat for the past 10 years so I really have no idea.

Because even though I was late for work today I found out to my horror that the flat above me is still under going renovation. There's really nothing wrong with renovating a flat so that it becomes more enjoyable once you move in, but as a resident that's been living directly underneath your flat, hole drilling for the past two months isn't within the definition of what I call 'bearable'. Of course, I have a job and the worker's work hours overlap with mine so I really don't have to bear with the noise they make. But what about my Grandma that is fucking 80 years old and the Philipino maid that takes care of her? They spend 80% of the time in the house and they've had to bear with this nonsense for the last month or two? If I were them I'd have already gone mad.

Seriously, how many holes do you have to drill when you renovate a flat? With the amount of drilling that I've heard on my sick-leave day last Tuesday, and to hear this morning that they are still at it, I believe they are trying to dismantle a wall by drilling enough holes in it. I also believe that they have more than one wall to dismantle.

Even though I've never heard or seen the people who are supposed to be enjoying the end product that is causing this nonsense above our heads, but someone from my family should better have, and those people should probably have presented their apologies or compensation for this sort of maddening experience the elderly in my house have been forced to live through.

If I ever ever find out that it doesn't take 2 months to renovate a friggin' flat I am going to throw some really bad language at the people who are working upstairs, even if it means I have to be late for work.

Easter Sick-leave

Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:13:31 GMT

Even though the calendar showed the last 5 days as red days and legitimate day-offs, those may as well been work-days and I would have taken an equivalent 5 day sick-leave. Flu sucks, and I am still under the effects of its aftermath. Oh well, but being unable to join activities such as Karaoke sucked double.

Outside of having gone through a rather uneventful Easter weekend due to being stuck at home, the past month has been similar (and hence no posts). There may have been stuff to write about, such as the un-impressing re-election of Donald Tsang, the death of some multi-billionaire, or some random news about China implementing online-game restriction on minors, but these things simply don't amuse me enough to deserve me spending 10 minutes of my work time to write about them.

And.... thinking of things to write in this paragraph alone has been giving me a headache.

I give up.

Personal Injury Claims

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 06:11:08 GMT

I had formulated an entire entry in my head regarding the inter-hall choir competition aftermath, but since the discussion has gone a totally different way I will just trash it and talk about something else instead. On a side note, the comments on the online democracy wall amazes me.

I finished a 12 page translation of a witness statement regarding a personal injury claim yesterday, took me an entire day thanks to having to look up the 30+ translations for the hospitals, clinics, doctors, Chinese medicine practitioners the client decided to see. I can't tell you any details because it's supposed to be confidential. But let me tell you how you'd be surprised how much money people can get out of these ridiculous claims for the ridiculously minor injuries they have sustained.

The next time I get a paper cut at work I'm suing my employer for thousands of dollars because the paper cut has caused me pain while I am typing at work. I would claim that my employer did not provide me with paper that was safe for handling and wouldn't cause paper cuts, I'd claim that my employer failed to provide me with adequate training in handling paper to avoid paper cuts, I'd claim that my employer failed to provide me with gloves that were suitable for typing and at the same time prevent paper cuts, and of course I'll get sick leave because paper cuts inhibited my ability to type.

It's much more frustrating when you're client has suffered injuries that you cannot visibly see, and when they appear before you mostly healthy to the point that you don't feel there is anything wrong with them, but on the other hand they are claiming that they have sustained life-affecting injuries, your gut reaction is just to think that they are bull-shitting. But of course as lawyers and to make your life easier you have to force yourself to believe that, in fact, the client has his heart ripped out but is still some how talking to you.

The amount of paper work required for your paper cut is absolutely unrealistic. In fact, I would have enough paper to shred you to pieces with paper cuts. I'd go as far as saying that the Hong Kong court system is very environmentally unfriendly when it comes to paperwork and I can safely say that over half of the documents you file into court are merely token requirements. The sad part is, being the assholes lawyers are, we like to pick on weak spots and hammer at every opportunity to bring the case in our favor, and the only realistic way to counter that is more paperwork.

If I had any sort of power controlling the rules of the courts I'd ban half of the paperwork and seriously make the legal industry around a dozen times more environmentally friendly than it currently is.

And no, my client did not sue the employer because of a paper cut, don't be stupid.

The Standard Chartered Obstacle Race 2007.

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 03:31:43 GMT

After some fooling around and being stupid about things a few of us 3/F brothers decided to sign up and run in the 10km "race" of the Standard Chartered Marathon this year. Four of us moliu enough to spend the weekend met at Jimmy's (who didn't run, duh) place, slept at 2:30 and woke up 2 hour later to start the run on time at 5:50am.

Being that early in the morning the weather was cool and the conditions were fine for a run. Except for the fact that there was more people on the "track" then the crossing between Sogo and Watsons in Causeway Bay. It practically turned a long distance run into a long distance obstacle run. From people pushing baby carts, people with kids piggybacked (how the hell they run is beyond me), some whacko blowing a whistle with a farmer's hat on while he Z-lines through the people, it was a chaotic fast moving Lunar-Festival flower-market crowd.

I claim that I ran much more than 10km just because I had to move around people just to keep myself at a comfortable pace. With that in mind, I was pretty exhausted by the time I got to the bottom of the Western Harbour crossing. With the amount of sweat, hot breathing, and carbon dioxide in the air, I just took it easy on the way up out of the tunnel. And, of course, I'm definitely out of shape, deprived of sleep, and didn't want to risk making the headlines of the papers.

I met more people after the run that ran the same race as I did and was surprised that these people would run the race (much to their surprise of my presence, I suppose).

Dennis, who didn't join us at Jimmy's because none of us knew he actually signed up, started the race late and claimed that there was no such crowd.