Coffee & Cases.

Anonymous asked: May we see what you look like?

I’m fabulous, don’t worry. ;)


In all seriousness, just pm me and intro who you are and I’ll kindly do the same. I’d love to be friends! I’m just not completely comfortable with me not being anonymous to a sea of anonymous people (I dunno, maybe I’m behind with the times or whatever). A few followers already know who I am, some have figured it out, some are close friends etc. But that’s cool cos I can attach their internet existence to a name and a face and it makes me feel cosier. :3

Was thinking about the law school culture of perfectionism and subsequent stress when I found this.

Professional support without love will often seem empty. Lawyers have to learn to be kind to themselves. To love themselves; and I am not referring to conceit. To find enjoyment and peace in their lives. Not be overly critical after a less than glorious day in the office or in court. Law schools and legal venues are often stressful places. Somehow, a lawyer must learn to cope. And to accept occasional failures and imperfections which are a mark of human existence. Getting the right work/life balance is important for every lawyer. Coping with stress and disappointment, even sometimes depression, is necessary. There is always help at hand as in Beyond Blue or the Tristan Jepson Foundation. And the best help, if you can find it, is often a companion who laughs at the pretentions of the law; at all the gossip and the infighting. Making these personal life choices correctly is a big key to success and happiness in our profession.

- Michael Kirby, LLB Guide 2013. 

Ode to POLS3202.

A triumph of study, a semester well done, 
To the best course in IR, it was super fun. 
Despite witty comedies, to learn was the key,
From North Korean nukes to the East China Sea. 
Accelerated exposure through engagements at hand,
Taught me much more than I had time to understand. 
Mini MUNs per session, the mind left unwanting,
Now procrastinating the assignment…not done and still daunting. 

Peter McDermott, whyyyyyyy?

“Illegal purposes are illegal.”

“So…the rule against perpetuities…is not static…it’s…changed……………….over the years.” 

I say this to everyone who will listen. Honestly, I freak out half the time when I’m listening to the recordings because I think my audio is still buffering until I open the tab and realise that it’s just how he’s lecturing. 

Peter is such a lovely, intelligent man who definitely knows his stuff, but why oh why on a Sunday night with so many other things to do am I stuck with his sleep inducing voice in this sleep inducing topic in this sleep inducing subject. 

My only friend seems to be my massive mug of fruity tea. (Usually not a fan of fruity teas, but this one’s so delish! It’s Higher Living’s Very Berry) 

Anonymous asked: what are you planning to do after you graduate?

Well, the plan is get a job. :) I’m assuming that was already inferred by your question haha. 

But truth is, I am so far away from the end of my degree (I’m barely halfway through) that I can’t really say much about that.

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History > Law for hardness right now.

I’m doing a  heavily economics based research topic for my Contemporary China subject and I don’t know anything about economics (that’s not true, I’m sure I know more than a 5 year old through my studies here and there I hope). I hated it in high school and have not touched it since year 10, except only when necessary, like now! I’m talking about the problem of urban poverty in China and how the government should be doing heaps more and all my books that I’ve researched have just been packed with data and these funny looking equation things. It’s like Maths B for the humanities. Whut. 

I don’t even know why I picked this topic. I’m so dumb. I checked out my lecturer’s profile the other day and it turns out modern Chinese economics and business is like  his mojo thing (he’s won awards and published heaps of stuff on it) so I basically can’t bluff even if I tried. My one strategy in Arts has now just been processed by stomach juices, pooped out and flushed down the drain. :( 

Hoping that if I throw the terms “market economy”, “income distribution”, “labour market” and “subsidies” (this last one’s been abused wayyy too much in the last 500 words to be legal), I’ll do okay. Omg since when did history get this hard. 

UPDATE: 3 hours later, I have almost finished. 2000 words in 5 hours? This deserves a hot chocolate and some good reads before bed. :) 

Anonymous asked: What are some of your favorite songs?

Oh dear, where do I even start?? I honestly don’t know ahh. What genre? What band? What album? When? Why? How? 

Okay. So I feel like procrastinating and I love lists, so here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to list ALL the songs from ALL the artists from ALL the genres. And these are only songs that I really, really, really love. Brace yourself!

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Music is the kindest study buddy. (If not my only luls).

I love that moment when I’m listening to some great, new tunes and I realise how perfect everything sounds and feels and how lovely and blessed my life actually is. God is good! 

Doesn’t matter that I have 2500 due next week and then 5500 words the week after on top of my weekly tutorial and lecture stuff…right now, I am writing and I am writing fast, but everything is fine. Because I have found the secret beauty hidden between lyrics wrought from brimming hearts, and I have heard the delicacy in faraway voices, held together with warmth amidst a forest of simple, complex notes. I have a friend in good and true music. :) 

Music is great to calm the mind, and all my deep, inner parts. I find that it also helps keep things in perspective. It’s always the simpler things in life that seem to know better. So perfect to ease into work - stress free! 

What’s on my playlist right now: Art of Sleeping, Passenger, The Paper Kites, Sufjan Stevens, Ben Howard, Ron Pope. 

RAILS Update #2.

So after a month of doing a whole lot of admin work, I am so thrilled to be fully delving into the legal aspects of things. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love admin work, and I am very obliging towards my caseworker - seriously just want to help him as much as I can, and he’s very appreciative, so I have no qualms doing what I did. But creating 75 pages of immigration and visa application forms in Adobe…it drains. 

Over the last two weeks, I have been compiling legal submissions and having much more client interaction. I transcribed for an interview today with a client, whilst her cute kids were running around being cute (they hugged my caseworker and I as they left!!!!), before collating all her evidence into a statutory declaration. So hard to take a step away from legalese and just write in the voice of the client! (A statutory declaration is a declaration of truths that will be submitted to court, or in this case, the decision maker for visa applications). But I am fully enjoying myself and so privileged to have this experience. 

My caseworker is a nice man, somewhat cynical, but still very agreeable. I really appreciate how he takes the time to ensure that I am learning constantly at RAILS, and that he explains things to me so that I can understand everything. He’s really down to earth (as is everyone at RAILS), and I do enjoy my chats with him. My fellow volunteers are all great people, and I definitely enjoy the work environment at the office. 

I was so tired today that I fell asleep on the job, but hey, I’m a volunteer. Regardless, point is, I am so loving what I do - tired or not tired. :)