*This was a scheduled post, and was written before 16 October 2015, hence the reason why it still sounds so upbeat. I've amended it a little only to reflect the current situation, but left almost all of it as initially drafted.*

I just realized, but 31 October 2015, marks the 10th Anniversary of my blog. 10 years!

What a long way I have come, since then.

I apparently started this blog on 31st October 2005, whilst I was in my first year of Law School / University.

(I know for a fact that I meddled with the date of the first post, so this blog's actual birthday is either before or after that date, but I can't remember the exact date - so let's all just forget bout that technicality here lol) 

The design of this blog is thanks to ccymie who kindly designed the current outline of the blog in 2007 according to my specifications, and I have not been inclined to change the design at all all this years. (Though if and when he has the time I may need some help with some html codes on the sidebar for outdated apps.)

The theme for the blog, being "Flow" where I chose water as the main premise, since water is ever changing, and conforms to whatever container you put it in; it can be gentle and it can be cruel; it's unpredictable. 

Which, is in line with this blog's main focus of being unable to see what the future will bring us i.e. I still stay by the theme of this blog that the 'future is unpredictable'; and that the 'fight to rise once again' is till ongoing as a daily battle. But that's a different story for maybe another day, and/or different audience.

While due to work commitments I had became less active over the years in posting anything at all.

Since I rather spend my spare time catching up on my sleep or other things than racking my brains thinking about posting anything. I've honestly also become more reserved about what I want to share online with people who know me, and what I would like to share with strangers, if any, do read what I write.

I also went through a lot career wise. My direct superior and senior left the team at the same time i.e. in April 2011, forcing a 3 man team into a 1 man team, with the same amount of workload, if not more. Hence the lack of posts from that duration on wards. I did write intermittently during that tough time, so maybe I will retrieve what I wrote and post them later. Those will be backdated though, I think..

And also due to some ex acquaintances, who for a lack of a better word were nosy, stalking, gossip mongers, I had for many years made this blog only available for private viewing - it's public again now, and if you don't like what I post then just don't read or follow this blog.

(I'm in a position now where I seriously don't give a damn about your opinions. It's not like you are losing anything financially or your quality of life by what I post here. So don't waste your time reading something you don't like. i.e. No one is forcing you to read my mindless and lengthy ramblings...)

I did skim through my posts from this past 10 years and all I can say is that, the me of the past 10 years, rambles a lot, curses a lot , procrastinates a lot (I probably still do all three a lot?), has a weird sense of humour(?), freaks out a lot close to exams, took a lot of random online quizzes, and again... Rambles a lot.. Ahh, those were the days... 

Amongst my favourite posts from the past that I found during my skimming - be wary of Manglish - I had this habit of not checking what I wrote for grammatical/spelling errors, and used SMS spellings all the time as well:
Poems I wrote: here, here, here, & here.
Me freaking out over my revenue law assignment
Mother's Day in May 2008
Me Freaking out before the CLP/Malaysian Bar Exam lol
Sister's Birthday Card in August 2008
Precious in his Younger Years in August 2008
My Singaporean Cousin, who is the first to classify my alien-ism as an Amoeba, lol

Anyway besides all the random ramblings, whining, complaints, weird posts.. etc..  (I actually read Shakespeare.. Such a nerd! lol) I apparently live a very uninteresting life, since all I do is work; I don't hold interests in things long enough usually (read: short attention span.. lol..), and I'm apathetic to almost everything that won't cause me or people/things/other living beings, I care about, any financial, physical or psychological harm. I guess overall, I am just not that attached to this world.

But I digress... Back to the topic at hand...

This Blog's 10th Anniversary!!

~~

Well, in this year of 2015, to be more precise 31 October 2015 (darn forgot those html codes to make the words blink =.='), 10 years has come to pass since this blog officially had it's humble beginnings...  

So.... After 10 years..... What's different? Besides the recent loss of Baby (which I will not address further here).

I've started a new chapter of my life, since as of 1 April 2015, for a duration of one year I was stationed in the land of the rising sun.  In a so-called secondment by my firm to work as an assistant professor in a certain university here.

After this stint i.e. in April 2016 I'll be going back home; don't get me wrong, while I love Japan, I don't love living here for the long term due to various reasons that I decline to mention in this post, or it will be never ending.

All I can say is that after Japan, I will need to seriously rethink my future, do I want to keep slaving away at my current law firm, or review other options? (Which are all probably in-house options.)

One thing I can say for sure is that in 2005 when I started law school, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, and I never considered being a lecturer. So I didn't bother with a LL.M.  (that's the minimum educational requirement to be a lecturer - besides my bar school offered an LL.M from some Australian University that I've never heard of till this day). 

I did consider doing a masters, maybe a LL.M or MBA, since it seemed it might be better for the corporate world, if you hold a directorship or something, (your profile would look a little nicer in the prospectus lol) it could be advantageous, but I've met some lawyers who don't hold any masters at all, and they are doing fine... So I digress...

Anyway back to the topic at hand, now 10 years after the start of law school, I spent about 7 years of that being a corporate lawyer and now I'm an assistant professor at a Japanese University, in Japan obviously, and I must say, to be frank, I still cannot imagine myself in the teaching profession. 

I rather be out there as a lawyer or an in-house counsel. I honestly prefer drafting/reviewing contracts to preparing power points. Talking to clients than to students. You could say I've rediscovered my love for drafting here. 

Maybe I'm still considered young; maybe I like the corporate world better than the academic world; maybe I'm too used to what I have in the corporate world that moving to the academic world seems like something I can't get accustomed to; or maybe it's a case of who moved my cheese. 

The corporate world isn't all rainbows, chocolates, roses, puppies or sunshine either, the long hours I spend slaving away, dealing with crazy people etc. The toll on my health... Both physical and psychologically... But I think in my personal view that it's more challenging and interesting as compared to where I am now. 

Maybe I'm not being utilized to my full potential here at the university, so I feel this way, but I digress, that is a can of "what ifs" that I will probably never have the chance the open in this lifetime.  

Or maybe, if I ever do fall in love, get married and ever have kids, maybe.... Just maybe.... I will find what I have now more appealing....

So here's to another 10 years! To the future where I hope that this blog and/or I'm still around then, or that still remember about this blog and will post something. Cheers!

-サヤカ-