It has been a few years, so it was nice to see some of these pictures pop up on Facebook.
My time coaching the Universitas Pelita Harapan (Pelita Harapan University / UPH) law mooting teams was a real pleasure for me. I am yet to meet such a dedicated bunch before or since. The core of this team was committed to learning and achieving. Ultimately, the year following this one, they did achieve their goal of winning the Indonesian National Round of the Jessup International Law Moot competition.
Many of them have now gone onto careers in the law, joined the diplomatic corps, or have opted for further study. I am proud of each and every one of them. I hope that over the years I will remain in touch with all of them. I am certain that they will all continue to achieve and excel in their chosen fields (so, keeping in touch might get me a sympathy job at some point in the future, right?).
These are photos from 2009. The second one is standing around in the cold Washington DC air. And, the first one is a "last supper" that we shared when we arrived back in Jakarta and before I left to come back to Australia. The bag contained an awesome little scrapbook of memories and kind words (which sits on my desk, and to which I look regularly). It also contained an iPod which I continue to use and enjoy!
I really enjoyed the opportunity. I hope they learned something useful about the law and about life. In a lot of ways I consider them to be family, especially seeing they all turned up to check out Will when he was born. And, we spent a lot, a lot, of time together working on research and memorials and oral advocacy over teh two years we dedicated to the UPH mooting cause.
The HAHS Class of 1987 get together every now and then for a social gathering and a few drinks. This follows on from a reunion that was held a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the reunion as Will was deciding whether or not he wanted to come early.
But, I did manage to get to the most recent one at the Sussex Hotel. I must confess to never having been to the Sussex Hotel before. It was a pleasant little place on the Darling Harbour end of Sussex street. It is probably not a place for those looking to kick on as it does last drinks at 11.00pm. Anyways, back to the gathering, the latest gathering was a small affair in comparison to those of the past. Nevertheless, it was interesting to catch up with the few that did make it. With a bit of luck more will happen in the future and more people will be able to make it.
They say that home is where the heart is. My home for many years has been Indonesia and I must say that I have enjoyed each and every minute. That said, it is also true that my heart is no longer in it for the long haul. In many ways it is hard to explain and any explanation would not do the complexity of the emotions justice.
This needs to be read in the context of being born and raised in Australia. Australia will always be home. I am sure that there would be the odd person jumping up and down questioning my Australian-ness or right to call Australia home. Therefore, it is in this context that I had made a life in Indonesia that until recently I had really been enjoying.
It is said that a change is as good as a holiday. So, it is a change that I am making. The Wife and Kid are along for the ride. I am not sure that there was much choice on that front.
I am looking forward to going "home" to Australia and wiping the slate clean and starting out afresh. Perhaps these changes will see me moving in a completely different direction that is not related to the practice of the law or writing about it in any other way than as random unanalytical blog entries.
Life is like a box of chocolates, just as Forrest Gump so eloquently said in the film, if you just dive in and go for it you are never quite sure what you are going to get. This has been my Indonesian experience. This chapter of my life will close tomorrow night around 9pm local Western Indonesian Time. But, I will have a lifetime of memories to cherish through the remaining chapters of my unfinished life.
To all those family and friends that I / we are leaving behind, you will not be forgotten.
Good luck and may all your own dreams and hopes come to fruition.
This one is for all those rugby players out there who already know the answer to this question...
Two 90 year old men, Mike and Joe, have been friends all of their lives.
When it's clear that Joe is dying, Mike visits him every day. One day Mike says, 'Joe, we both loved rugby all our lives, and we played rugby on Saturdays together for so many years. Please do me one favour, when you get to Heaven, somehow you must let me know if there's rugby there.'
Joe looks up at Mike from his death bed,' Mike, you've been my best friend for many years. If it's at all possible, I'll do this favour for you.
Shortly after that, Joe passes on. At midnight a couple of nights later, Mike is awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to him, 'Mike--Mike.'
'Who is it? Asks Mike sitting up suddenly. 'Who is it?'
'Mike--it's me, Joe.'
'You're not Joe. Joe just died.'
'I'm telling you, it's me, Joe,' insists the voice.'
'Joe! Where are you?'
'In heaven', replies Joe.
'I have some really good news and a little bad news.'
'Tell me the good news first,' says Mike.
The good news,' Joe says,' is that there's rugby in heaven. Better yet, all of our old friends who died before us are here, too. Better than that, we're all young again.
Better still, it's always spring time and it never rains or snows. And best of all, we can play rugby all we want, and we never get tired.'
'That's fantastic,' says Mike. 'It's beyond my wildest dreams! So, what's the bad news?'
The treespotter tagged me to do a music post some time ago. I have been a little too lazy to do it. There are rules which I am not going to follow. Although, the rules meant I could have written about AC/DC and "Sink the Pink", a classic song in its own right. However, one of my all time favorite bands is Cold Chisel.
My favorite all time Cold Chisel song is "Khe Sanh". This is closely followed by "When the War is Over". I introduced one of my best friends (even though we have not seen each other in years, there are some people you just bond with and that bond is tight no matter what the tyranny of distance or time is).
Khe Sanh is a favorite of hers as well. I have always had a fascination with Vietnam and the Vietnam war. My friend has a family connection having lost an uncle (if I am not mistaken) in the war. We used to play this song and sing (some would say scream) along having learned the words off by heart. Funnily enough she has now taught her young kids to sing the song. This is probably a good thing for Cold Chisel as this will continue to ensure that the royalty revenue keeps rolling in.
The words of Khe Sanh have always got me thinking and as I get older I can relate many of the ideas of the song to my own existence. These ideas do not always have to do with war. The song is very much about the disconnect, the inability for others to understand the experience, and the need to get away and live life but never really being sure whether you are going to make that last plane or train out of the city.
Here are the words:
I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the blackmarket man I've had the Vietnam cold turkey From the ocean to the Silver City And it's only other vets could understand
About the long forgotten dockside guarantees How there were no V-day heroes in 1973 How we sailed into Sydney Harbour I saw an old friend but couldn't kiss her And she was lined, and I was home to a lucky land
She was like so many more from that time on Their lives were all so empty, until they found their chosen one And their legs were often open But their minds were always closed And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains
And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, paypacket lean And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been But the car parks made me jumpy And I never stopped the dreams Or the growing need for speed and novacaine
So I worked across the country from end to end Tried to find a place to settle down, Where my mixed up life could mend Held a job on an oil-rig Flying choppers when I could But the nightlife nearly drove me round the bend
And I've travelled round the world from year to year And each one found me aimless, one more year the worse for wear And I've been back to South East Asia You know the answer sure ain't there But I'm drifting north, to check things out again
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone Only seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong There ain't nothing like the kisses From a jaded Chinese princess I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long
Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone Yeah the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone And it's really got me worried I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry And the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone (Repeat twice)
Why a post on Belgian beer? Well, as I have been sitting here this fine Saturday evening I have enjoyed a couple of Belgian beers. Two are of the Hoegaarden brand: a white beer and the grand cru. The third was a Leffe and a brown beer. I think I like Belgian beer.
I have a good mate who is currently studying for a Masters of Law in New York at NYU. The last time we were in the US I convinced him to have a go at the Sam Adams (very much a boutique beer brand). He loved it! So, the other day whilst chatting, he in NYC and me in J-town, the subject of beer came up and some new Sam Adams flavours. Then the discussion turned to other beers and the Hoegaarden was described as being worth a taste test.
I was not sure where I would find it in Jakarta but I figured that one day I would make the trek over to Bugils in Taman Ria. Bugils started off as a bar owned by a Belgian (see comments -- this is not true! It is in fact owned by a group of Dutch business people) and has morphed into a business group with a number of bars and a travel agency and other business interests so I am told. My logic being that if the owner is Belgian he probably indulges his own tastes and some Belgian beers would be on the menu (see the earlier point -- if the fella was Belgian then my logic might hold true. The fact that he is Dutch means that the logic does not stand up to scrutiny).
However, a trip to Pacific Place, a new shopping mall and hotel complex in the SCBD, uncovered a Kem Chicks supermarket. Lo and behold the Belgian beer availability question was answered. I decided to start off slow and purchased just one bottle of each. Now that I have finished all three bottles I am left ruing the decision not to buy more.
I have decided that Belgian beer is pretty good.
I have also determined to do a beer appreciation course (I am guessing something like a wine appreciation course) so that I can post authoritative looking posts describing the unique palates and flavours and whatever else connoisseurs say. Although, for most of my mates the simple recommendation of that it goes down smooth, tastes good, slightly bitter, and ranging in alcohol content volume between 6.5% and 8.7%, will probably be enough information for them.
I have just done a little Internet searching I think I can learn this beer tasting stuff on line here.
Being new to the blogging game and I am not even sure that this is true or more to the point even works, but apparently the choice use of keywords in the title of posts and labels may increase traffic to your blog. Hence, the title of this post.
It seems some of my blogging colleagues have cottoned on to this and may be using it to great effect. But as I said, I am no techno wizard or genius and know as much about this kind of stuff as I do about walking on the moon!
So, a shout out to my colleagues who have on occasion opined about one of these topics:
