Jessup

It seems rather strange reminiscing about Jessup, particularly after coming back from Hong Kong. In hindsight, it was an excellent idea going through such a vigorous training process for IHL International; it sure didn't feel that way at that time, though.

I think everyone who was with me or who met me during the preparation for Jessup could see what a toll trying to juggle 2 major competitions was having on me. I remember feeling tired all the time, and the fear of flopping miserably in both competitions was never far away.

To make matters worse, we had the craziest bus ride ever down to UKM. The freakin' bus broke down, making us spend 14 hours on the road. We arrived 9 hours before the start of the competition: crazy tired, a little down-hearted, and not having gone through our finalized oral submissions at all. That was madness; kudos to the whole team for making a gargantuan final effort, even if it meant sleeping at 4am.

On the competition proper, though, it was a good experience facing UDM and UM, and an especial privilege getting to moot against UiTM, the eventual winners of the competition. I am especially proud of Danie; I knew that she wasn't feeling particularly well and she was extremely worn out, but she gave an amazing performance against UiTM in our final round which would hold us in good stead for the IHL International still to come.

I managed to nab 4th spot on the overall mooters performance, which isn't bad. It still felt quite disappointing as I would have dearly loved to have gotten my furry paws on the Best Oralist prize. Ish.

I think the team as a whole, and Danie and myself in particular, can honestly say that we really learnt a whole lot from this competition even if we didn't do particularly well as a team. It really didn't feel like that at the end of Jessup, though, as we were really exhausted, demoralized and not looking forward at all to Hong Kong; we were really expecting to go there and get creamed. Badly.

At the end of Jessup, I definitely was not feeling happythankyoumoreplease; it was more ohmygodpleasethatsenoughfornowkthankskbye. And the thought always on my mind was: 'Hong Kong is only 4 days away'.

4 freakin' days, my God.

That overwhelming sense of impending doom hung over us, as you can imagine, all the way back from UKM on the bus. Thank God things do not always turn out the way we expect them to, ya? =)

More next time.

The Hurt Locker!

Every year, usually around December-February, I'll begin downloading the most critically acclaimed movies of the year (Oscar nominees are usually a priority), as well as great movies from years past which I have missed. This year, I only began my search in February, and to date I only lack Precious from my Oscar nominees collection.

I haven't really had the time to watch any movies at all due to my hectic involvement in IHL, Jessup and IHL International. From the Oscar nominees, I have seen Avatar, Up, Up In The Air, District 9, The Blind Sideand Inglourious Basterds - from this lot, Up In The Air is my favourite (George Clooney, in particular, was excellent), followed closely by District 9.

However, I don't think anybody can say they were too surprised by this year's Best Picture winner. This is one movie I have been saving for a special occasion, when the time is just right, to savor and experience it properly.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you:

Yay, Kathryn Bigelow! And take that, you arrogant blue-man-loving-i-am-king-of-the-freakin'-world-tree-huggin.. er... er.. man!

The Hurt Locker FTW!