Saturday, December 5, 2009
Cash link
While we appreciate any efforts to send us gifts, given the nature of our wedding we are requesting cash gifts so please click the following link to make a cash gift with Paypal
Thursday, October 22, 2009
I'M BACK!!!!!
I know this blog was pretty much stillborn, I aim to change that starting now. I've been in the USA for several months now and I can't honestly say that I've been too busy to take the time to blog.
Sorry to all my friends that might have been following this in the hopes that I'd be less lazy, but I got sucked into my own little world of joy and depression over here in Minnesota. I promise to write at least 3 posts a week from now on.
My gaming edge has pretty much eroded to a horrible dullness over here, partly due to being unable to afford to buy a lot of titles and partly due to the fact that I seem to be gaming less compared to when I was in Malaysia. Me and the missus are playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 at the moment and I'll make a more detailed post about that in the future.
I am also planning to change the title of this blog to something more relevant to my current lifestyle ^^
Sorry to all my friends that might have been following this in the hopes that I'd be less lazy, but I got sucked into my own little world of joy and depression over here in Minnesota. I promise to write at least 3 posts a week from now on.
My gaming edge has pretty much eroded to a horrible dullness over here, partly due to being unable to afford to buy a lot of titles and partly due to the fact that I seem to be gaming less compared to when I was in Malaysia. Me and the missus are playing Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 at the moment and I'll make a more detailed post about that in the future.
I am also planning to change the title of this blog to something more relevant to my current lifestyle ^^
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Religion and converting it for love
I will be heading of to my fiancee's church with her after office hours today and I am whiling away the hours in the Minneapolis public library until it's time to meet up with her and head over to church.
We're basically trying to figure out what is required for me to convert to Catholicism and I am a bit apprehensive about the process, but am keeping an open mind about it.
It's so strange, why does a guy who doesn't believe in anything feel so afraid to take steps to believe. I've come to feel that being an atheist, free thinker or agnostic is just as important to a person as being a christian, muslim or buddhist.
I'm afraid to give up my lack of religion if that makes sense.
Hopefully it goes well and I can clarify some things and put my doubts to rest.
Wish me luck.
We're basically trying to figure out what is required for me to convert to Catholicism and I am a bit apprehensive about the process, but am keeping an open mind about it.
It's so strange, why does a guy who doesn't believe in anything feel so afraid to take steps to believe. I've come to feel that being an atheist, free thinker or agnostic is just as important to a person as being a christian, muslim or buddhist.
I'm afraid to give up my lack of religion if that makes sense.
Hopefully it goes well and I can clarify some things and put my doubts to rest.
Wish me luck.
Educating myself
I have recently confirmed with the New York Bar association that being a University of London law graduate entitles me to sit for the New York Bar exam, a process that should take me roughly a year to complete.
While this will only entitle me to practice law in the state of New York, barring some extremely high scores on my part, it still beats the other options available to foreign law graduates in the United States of America:
Option 1:
Sit for the LSAT examination and attend a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) program for 2 to 3 years, and then sit for a state Bar exam upon graduation. This will of course add roughly 30,000 to 40,000 dollars of debt to your portfolio for each year you're in school.
A further downside to this is that a J.D. is basically an L.L.B. in the United States, it used to be called an L.L.B. in the past and was changed at some point. So I would basically be going back to school to re-earn a degree that is on par with my U.K. law degree.
I feel that this is a pointless exercise that a lot of foreign law graduates get misdirected to which costs both a lot of time and money.
Option 2
Sit for an L.L.M program, which is basically a Masters or Advanced degree in law and will take roughly a year to complete (again with the 30,000 to 40,000 dollar fee approximate for a year). This degree requires that a student already hold a J.D. or L.L.B.
While this still involves going back to school it is more suitable to foreign lawyers who want to acclimatise themselves to the U.S.A. legal system without rushing on to the Bar exams. Additionally a prospective student would be working towards earning an advanced degree rather than another basic law degree, which would edge them forward in any aspirations they may have in obtaining a PhD in Law.
I still have a fair bit of time to sort out my education and career so I am not rushing into any one of these alternatives, and even considering sitting for the MBA instead to diversify my capabilities a bit.
However it is very important when making these types of decisions that you go out and do the research instead of only relying on the advice of friends, as the best they can do is relate their own personal experiences.
The internet is your friend and google saves lives.
While this will only entitle me to practice law in the state of New York, barring some extremely high scores on my part, it still beats the other options available to foreign law graduates in the United States of America:
Option 1:
Sit for the LSAT examination and attend a Juris Doctorate (J.D.) program for 2 to 3 years, and then sit for a state Bar exam upon graduation. This will of course add roughly 30,000 to 40,000 dollars of debt to your portfolio for each year you're in school.
A further downside to this is that a J.D. is basically an L.L.B. in the United States, it used to be called an L.L.B. in the past and was changed at some point. So I would basically be going back to school to re-earn a degree that is on par with my U.K. law degree.
I feel that this is a pointless exercise that a lot of foreign law graduates get misdirected to which costs both a lot of time and money.
Option 2
Sit for an L.L.M program, which is basically a Masters or Advanced degree in law and will take roughly a year to complete (again with the 30,000 to 40,000 dollar fee approximate for a year). This degree requires that a student already hold a J.D. or L.L.B.
While this still involves going back to school it is more suitable to foreign lawyers who want to acclimatise themselves to the U.S.A. legal system without rushing on to the Bar exams. Additionally a prospective student would be working towards earning an advanced degree rather than another basic law degree, which would edge them forward in any aspirations they may have in obtaining a PhD in Law.
I still have a fair bit of time to sort out my education and career so I am not rushing into any one of these alternatives, and even considering sitting for the MBA instead to diversify my capabilities a bit.
However it is very important when making these types of decisions that you go out and do the research instead of only relying on the advice of friends, as the best they can do is relate their own personal experiences.
The internet is your friend and google saves lives.
Life after migrating
So it's been about 2 and a half months since I migrated to the United States of America to be with my fiancee of 3 years. It was a very exciting and tear filled experience for me particularly, even though I was basically planning to leave Malaysia for years, now that I'm finally here, I can't help feeling a profound sense of loss.
I guess George Bernard Shaw was right when he penned "There are two tragedies in life.
One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."
Still life in the States has it's exciting moments, the most of course being able to spend time with the woman I love. It's funny how we take the little things for granted when we have them, like being able to sit down and have dinner, or grabbing a snack from McDonald's, or just talking about a show we saw together on TV.
There are also times where I wish I could just leave the United States and head back to Malaysia. I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss my old job and the wonderful people I used to spend my days with. Sometimes I think I made a huge mistake and don't know what to do. It's a testament to my fiancee that she puts up with my occasional drama.
At this stage I'm pretty much just enjoying what free time I have until I can go to school or get a job. So I'm turning to blogging.
I think the biggest hurdle to migrating to any country is networking, being social animals it's hard for a person to lose their social circles so abruptly. Finding and connecting with people that share your interests and such can be very uplifting.
Sadly I haven't been able to find very many people that share my interests in video gaming, comics or movies. Shockingly so given that I was expecting to find a lot more people interested in those things. My fiancee of course is a wonderful woman, but completely uninterested in a lot of the same things I am. Oh well opposites attract.
I recently received a few shipments I sent myself from Malaysia before migrating and among them is my comic collection which I hope to sell off on ebay with some luck (of course keeping some choice issues for myself). This should pretty much take up a lot of my time for the next few days.
There are a few people I need to get in touch with over the next couple of months, and I say months simply because while I should be networking I can't legally work just yet and clearing that paperwork hurdle will take a few more months. The mind can over think things too much when left idle and I'm probably worrying about way more things than I should. Slow and steady though, the worst part about migrating is that your life tends to suddenly freeze up, it is temporary and overcoming that freeze is usually what makes or breaks you.
Well that and missing everything you've given up.
I guess George Bernard Shaw was right when he penned "There are two tragedies in life.
One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."
Still life in the States has it's exciting moments, the most of course being able to spend time with the woman I love. It's funny how we take the little things for granted when we have them, like being able to sit down and have dinner, or grabbing a snack from McDonald's, or just talking about a show we saw together on TV.
There are also times where I wish I could just leave the United States and head back to Malaysia. I miss my friends, I miss my family, I miss my old job and the wonderful people I used to spend my days with. Sometimes I think I made a huge mistake and don't know what to do. It's a testament to my fiancee that she puts up with my occasional drama.
At this stage I'm pretty much just enjoying what free time I have until I can go to school or get a job. So I'm turning to blogging.
I think the biggest hurdle to migrating to any country is networking, being social animals it's hard for a person to lose their social circles so abruptly. Finding and connecting with people that share your interests and such can be very uplifting.
Sadly I haven't been able to find very many people that share my interests in video gaming, comics or movies. Shockingly so given that I was expecting to find a lot more people interested in those things. My fiancee of course is a wonderful woman, but completely uninterested in a lot of the same things I am. Oh well opposites attract.
I recently received a few shipments I sent myself from Malaysia before migrating and among them is my comic collection which I hope to sell off on ebay with some luck (of course keeping some choice issues for myself). This should pretty much take up a lot of my time for the next few days.
There are a few people I need to get in touch with over the next couple of months, and I say months simply because while I should be networking I can't legally work just yet and clearing that paperwork hurdle will take a few more months. The mind can over think things too much when left idle and I'm probably worrying about way more things than I should. Slow and steady though, the worst part about migrating is that your life tends to suddenly freeze up, it is temporary and overcoming that freeze is usually what makes or breaks you.
Well that and missing everything you've given up.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The First Post
At this point in time I am both unemployed and bored, which leads me to blogging about the random thoughts and opinions that cross my mind as the days go by.
I've been following the news and keeping up with current events, as well as playing video games and studying for the LSAT examinations (which truth be told I care less and less about as the days go by).
As time passes I will occasionally update my profile with more information about myself, and I would assume that most people coming across this blog would be my friends and other folks who already know me, so no rush there.
My name is Navin Magnus, I am 28 years old and I moved to the United States of America a little over 1 month ago. I grew up in a country called Malaysia, in a town called Seremban, and spent my entire adult life working in Kuala Lumpur prior to moving to the States.
That's it for introductions, more information will be made avaliable in my profile and with and occasional posting on what is happening in my life. As I said at the beginning of this post, I will be writing on a variety of topics from video games to politics, from finance to movies.
I don't expect that every single one of the topics I address will be popular, but I do home to gain some significant readership over the next few months.
Thank you for stopping by
I've been following the news and keeping up with current events, as well as playing video games and studying for the LSAT examinations (which truth be told I care less and less about as the days go by).
As time passes I will occasionally update my profile with more information about myself, and I would assume that most people coming across this blog would be my friends and other folks who already know me, so no rush there.
My name is Navin Magnus, I am 28 years old and I moved to the United States of America a little over 1 month ago. I grew up in a country called Malaysia, in a town called Seremban, and spent my entire adult life working in Kuala Lumpur prior to moving to the States.
That's it for introductions, more information will be made avaliable in my profile and with and occasional posting on what is happening in my life. As I said at the beginning of this post, I will be writing on a variety of topics from video games to politics, from finance to movies.
I don't expect that every single one of the topics I address will be popular, but I do home to gain some significant readership over the next few months.
Thank you for stopping by
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