Nonsensical Ramblings

Nothing is the same again

2006-08-27T17:12:00.000+08:00

1 year on in my new job, everything has changed.

There were at least twenty of us in the same training batch and there are just less than five of us now.

I moaned and groaned about how the job sucked and how I hated the long hours from the first day since I joined the branch and I am still here (and still hate the job). But I somehow manage to pass by quarter after quarter getting commission for hitting my targets.

The bank delays the commission payout by 2 months to discourage resignation. For example, if the quarter ends in June, the payout comes in August. I always tell myself, ok one more quarter and out I go and I won't perform in the two months leading to the payout. But I always find myself saying... it has past two months already, let's just stay one more quarter to try things out. And the vicious cycle repeats itself.

I also think I have been very fortunate. My branch location is good; the customer base is good and most of my colleagues are nice. That's another reason why I am still here.

But things are soon going to change. 2 of them have already left the bank (and I am pretty close to one of them), one more is going to be transferred to international banking in October and 3 more (which includes my boss) are going to the new branch at Vivo City in October. I am happy my boss is leaving; which was why I declined her offer to join her at the new branch. But I am pretty upset the other two are leaving. They have given my so much support over the one year that I really am going to miss them.

And one more is going for maternity leave soon which pretty much leaves me with no more close kakis... But I always think: I might not even be there by then so it is not a problem. But who knows such things, really?

Holiday mode

2006-07-24T22:57:00.000+08:00

Since I came back last Thursday, I am still in the this-time-last-week-I-was-doing-this-and-this kind of mood. And it sucks being back in office for the first full work day, although I was already at work till 5 pm last Saturday!

And so, last week this time, I was at the Galaxy Bar at Tiantan Hotel having drinks with my colleagues and playing that silly dice game on Shao Nian Te Gong Dui and having a whole lot of fun! Sigh~ Time always passes super fast when you are having fun but never when you are having a dreadful time.

I enjoyed the trip. Finally, I get a chance to visit the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace etc. China is a good place for sightseeing although it was scorching hot at this time of the year. Maybe because we were on a tour package, we ate practically the same food every day. The food didn't taste bad; we just got so sick of it. And there were so much vegetables that I suspect my little bout of diarhoea just before we left for HK was a result of detoxification, not of food poisoning. And their famous Beijing Roast Duck ain't that great either. I have eaten better ones at Imperial Treasure in Singapore. The skin is not crispy, the dough is too thick. Maybe it is just not suited to our palate. The sanitary conditions are not that fantastic. You see women squatted in toilet cubicles with butts facing outwards doing their business. It was quite a culture shock; I didn't expect something like that in Beijing. But well, I didn't place too high expectations in the first place.

This tour definitely made me understand my colleagues (both in the positive and negative way)better. People are just different when they are in a less initimidating environment. Sometimes, you just have to learn to control your emotions and annoyance a little so you would not spoil the atmosphere. And you wish others would do the same too.

We spend the last two and a half days in Hong Kong and I wished we had more days. I love Hong Kong! I can't seem to grow tired of it. I love the culture there! I find myself fitting in well very fast; I just need to brush up on my Cantonese. And having my uncle take us out for dinner and drinks to all the good eating places made me enjoy my very shortlived time there even more.

All of us had been talking about this trip for the longest time and when it finally comes, it passes quickly and ends in a flash before you know it. :(

Office Politics

2006-06-16T19:33:00.000+08:00

Work life and trying to get along with colleagues is a totally different ball game from school life and making friends.

There are obvious and not-so-obvious seniority ranks in place although everyone is a "colleague" to you. And after a while, you just learn to identify these invisible ranks. And you learn how not to be blunt and avoid treading on these people's toes.

You finally manage to see some meaning in the term "office politics".

But these unspoken rules are a tough act to follow.

You never would have known that your simple act of helping someone buy lunch might be seen as offensive to another as you are seen as if you are sucking up to the person.

And just when you think you should not suck up to anyone, another person tells you that you need to go to the boss's office more often, spend more time talking to her (read: sucking up), just so that she can pass more lucrative leads to you.

Everyone wants you to pay attention to them and at the same time, seeks your attention as well

With all the niggling problems at work, thank God I have the ongoing World Cup to divert my attention as well as the bank-sponsored trip to Beijing and Hong Kong coming up!

Finally, there is something for me to look forward to at work (other than pay day).

2006-06-11T20:30:00.000+08:00

Fixed deposit rates not competitive with other banks. FD cannot do.

One-year structured deposit no longer available. SD cannot do.

At least 6 increases in mortgage rates since the start of the year. Eve walk-in rates are higher than most banks. Bank acting all high and mighty, only wanting to attract the affluent. Now even the affluent don't want to come. Mortgage cannot do.

Terrible investment climate. Most regional market indices suffering worst slump in years, possiblity of a bear market coming up, most funds still coming down. Unit trust, premium currency investment cannot do.

Endowment plans' interest rates not attractive enough; too long term, money locked up. Insurance cannot do.

Bank M offering far higher savings account combined with ATM facility. ESavers cannot do.

Don't need to work already lah.

Been there, done that

2006-04-14T15:03:00.000+08:00

In the bus on the way back from work, I overheard a conversation between 2 young girls, who were probably in secondary school.

Girl A commented that her sister was at home at this time, because she was going to start school in a week's time so she had just quit her job.

Girl B asked her friend which school her sister was moving on to and she mentioned Nanyang Polytechnic. The two girls soon shared very excitedly, their views and "beliefs" about polytechnic/tertiary education.

Views like:

- Her sister's timetable is "so good", some days she goes to school at 9, some days 12pm and some days she doesn't have school.

- The school has an airconditioned food court, and McDonalds as well!

- The school is so big!!

- Freedom to join any CCAs they prefer and the freedom to quit anytime they want.

- No homework(??!!)

- Ability to wear any clothes they want and they can dye their hair too!! -_-

The whole conversation was really amusing, although I have to admit that I have felt this way before. That sense of eagerness, anticipation and that "haolian" feeling when I know I am now part of that "distinguished" group of tertiary students studying in "fancy" campuses.

How I wished I could tell the two girls these:

Wait till you become part of the school. The school would be so big that you might get lost or risk being late for classes because your tutorial venues might be at one end of each other.

And who said there was no homework? Plenty of it!

Free days and flexible hours? Wait till you "camp" in school or come back on your free days to complete the neverending projects, assignments and readings. Then you will really really miss your 8am to 2pm classes back in secondary school.

Just a case of been there, done that.

Reminiscing

2006-03-01T21:13:00.000+08:00

On a similar day like this 4 years ago, I must have been feeling how my cousin is feeling now.

Yes, the A Level results are out today. And the lucky gal scored three 'A's!! And me? That C still remains a sore thumb in my otherwise-what-I-think-is-near-perfect certificate.

The memories of that day still remain so vivid. :) And that was like four years ago??!!

Boy, I am growing old.

No failure, no failure at all...

2006-02-16T20:37:00.000+08:00

Big shots need to have "face". Sometimes things have become a very, very obvious failure, but they just fail to admit it, claiming that "this new innovation" was a "roaring success" and even have the cheek to thank everybody for contributing to the success.

All that nonsense talk about productivity, how a new and innovative system would reduce the paperwork dramatically, cut down the time we take to put through trades. If this was the case, why would we still resort to getting customers to fill in manual forms (how it used to work previously) and after sending the customer away, spend the next one hour trying to be part of the crowded and jammed server to put the trade through? It probably takes double the time to complete an application as compared to before. Increased productivity? Decreased productivity more likely.

And what do you think of a product whereby customers take it up only to cancel it less than 10 days later? Complete failure. But nobody would admit it. There is just too much pride and obviously moolah involved to ever back out from their "grand" schemes.

In the meantime, before the grand schemes get axed, we in the frontline have to continue to bear the administrative headaches, system delays and what-have-yous.

Huat ah!

2006-02-05T12:59:00.000+08:00

I pray that the Year of the Dog would bring fortune and prosperity to those born in the Year of the ~~Pig~~ Boar (aka me).

I have been enjoying quite a fair bit of luck on the gambling table this new year. Played mahjong on chu er and chu san and I was the sole winner against the other three players on both occasions. But the bets were all so small that all the winnings came up to not much. Not that it mattered.

Then I was at a colleague's place after branch yesterday for another round of gambling. And I tell you, their gambling antics are so vastly different from my previous kakis.

We first played ban luck and our stakes were $2 minimum. For someone used to playing with cents, this was a relatively huge bet. I lost quite a bit initially, already losting $30 bucks in less than 30 minutes. Then I had the chance to become the dealer (all of us had) and I started recouping my losses. In the subsequent rounds, I won bit by bit through slow and steady albeit very conservative bets.

In Stanchart's jargon, I liken myself to being a "regular savings plan" with a preference towards capital protected funds with dividend paying advantage.

At the end of everything, I won a grand total of $96. Not too bad, considering that I had lost $30 at the start.

Then we played mahjong. I am an amateur at the game. I only know the bare essentials of the game. Ask me what strategies I adopt, I cannot give an answer. I play to win. I really had the beginner's luck. We only had enough time to play one round and I was the biggest winner again - winning $24 in all, with an initial capital of $100 worth of chips. Not bad. Capital protected with 24% return.

And before anyone thinks I am becoming like a gambling addict in the making, I only have this to say: CNY only comes once a year, so this gambling only happens once a year. ;p

2006-02-03T21:25:00.000+08:00

Found this from Leonard Png's blog. Damn funny and cute!!

Random updates

2006-01-19T23:06:00.000+08:00

Long time since I blogged...

Work has been busy as usual and Changes at the work place have been real sucky.

1st Sat of Jan was spent at Boss's place for dinner and new year countdown.; 2nd weekend (Sat + Sun) at Suntec City for roadshow; last weekend (Sat + Sun) at Ironman event all the way at ulu NTU. This Sat.. roadshow at Woodlands. In short, no life.

But the Ironman event last weekend really deserves some mention. The whole Ironman concept derives itself from the Ironman triathlon. While the normal triathlon consists of a 750-metre swim, cycling 20km and a 5-km run, the Ironman triathlon is the ultimate with a 3.8-km swim, 180-km cycling and a 42.2-km run.

Not that we did the full event in those two days. We did do a scaled-down version: a 50-m swim, 3-km cycling on the stationary bike, and a 400-m sprint, done by 3 different individuals.

This Ironman event was meant to be used as an analogy, as an example of how we could apply this to our work performance. Yes, stuff about productivity, tracking our individual performance, keeping track of our variance and coming up with corrective action plans to, well, correct the unsightly variances. Perfect example of micro-management. :-(

The message behind this Ironman event is useful, teaching everyone of us to learn to exceed our limits and break our boundaries.

One video they showed was especially meaningful. I still had goosebumps even though this is my third time seeing the video.

It is about Henry Wanyoike, a blind athlete. Henry was born with perfect eyesight. But at the age of 21, he woke up one morning and found himself totally blind in both eyes.

The video shows a scene at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, showing 2 runners tied together with a string. The two of them are nearing the end of their run and one runner (we will call him A) is smiling and looking very ecstatic while B (the other athlete) continues his run.

After a while, we see A is slowing down and seems to be lagging behind A. As both of them reaches the finishing line, A stumbles and falls while B frees himself from the string and smiles and waves happily at the crowd.

The video ended with, "Who was Henry?"

So who was Henry? A or B?

Runner B.

Yes, the one who gave A a hard time by pushing beyond his limits and outpacing himself as he passed the finishing line.

I am quite certain that if anyone had seen the video the first time, they would have thought Henry was Runner A. Really. I did. Because Henry really did not look like he was blind with all his actions.

His quote was especially memorable. "I still feel proudly the scars [incurred from his many falls and scratches while running] on my hands."

And the management threw the question back to us. Were you Henry?

On a totally irrelevant note, we are going to get cable vision!! Yay! Finally! I can watch all the soccer matches I want on ESPN and Star Sports! And with the World Cup in Germany this year, things can't get any better!

I did say this post is really about random updates.

I will be good from now onwards

2005-12-17T20:54:00.000+08:00

Work today was absolutely horrible. In the three past months I have been here, this is by far the worst Saturday I have ever experienced.

Reason? Stanchart has lowered the requirement for a fixed deposit for 1 year at 2.75% from $50,000 to a mere $5,000. $5,000!!! Who doesn't have $5,000??!!!

Today, I heard, is also the first time the Q-matic system has generated nearly 120 numbers and this is excluding the over twenty numbers generated from the Priority Banking queue.

At one point, there were 60 over people in the queue and the waiting time stretched to 89 minutes.

And when the doors were closed at 11.30am, there were still at least 40 people crammed in the small banking hall, still waiting to be served.

With everyone so hard pressed for time, we just have to suay suay encounter problematic customers.

Some very common examples:

1) Do we really have to open a transactional account to enjoy this promotion? If I put in $50,000, can you waive this requirement?

No! I don't care if you put in $5,000 or $1 million, this requirement has to stand.

2) I want to open a joint account with my father, one with my mother, one with my husband etc.

Erm, Okay... Man! You don't know how much paperwork that entails...

3) If I open this account now, what will happen to the money if I die? Will it be confiscated by the bank? How would it be distributed?

I am not a lawyer. I don't know how it works. And when they do this, I have to "smoke" a lot. But the bank will definitely not confiscate the money.

4) I want to add another name to this account.

This is bad. Not only does it entail lots of paperwork, there is no value derived from this at all.

5) Customer presses for a Priority queue number. When asked for his Priority Banking card for verification, he conveniently mentions that he has left it at home.

Hello.. We can always check whether you are a Priority Banking customer from our system. If you are not a PB customer, you jolly well press for the normal queue number and wait (long long) for your turn!

6) Customer asks for a plastic bag to put her esavers kids piggy bank. We tell her we don't have plastic bag and offer to tie it with nylon so it is easier for her to carry. She declines. Because she doesn't want people to see that she banks at Stanchart. Duh. We manage to get an NTUC plastic bag for her. She rejects it again. How come you all don't have your own Stanchart plastic bag? As if we are supermarket like that... -_-

7) Customers you talked to a long time ago and whom you have absolutely no recollection of suddenly comes down to look for you, while you are all busy and flustered. To open a fixed deposit. And because they think they are one of the privileged few to have an appointment with you, they do not need to get a queue number.

8) Customers sit down and you start explaining all the promotion mechanics to them. After all that explanation, they say: Let me think about it. I think XX Bank gives a better rate.

Then go to XX Bank then. I am amazed that some people are willing to queue for so long just to make enquiries.

9) Customer wants her fixed deposit to be automatically renewed for a similar maturity upon matuiry and after all the paperwork has been done and submitted, she changes her mind and says, "I think I want the interest to be credited to my savings account instead. Don't auto renew for me."

%$!@*&#

10) Customers leave for a while because "it is still a long way from their queue number." When they come back and realize their numbers have past, they demand to be served immediately.

I know that if the service quality surveyors were to come today to get customers to assess our service quality, I would fail terribly. Please don't blame me. You can't expect me to be in the best of moods after repeating the same words over and over again.

I promise to be a good customer from now on. I believe good service begets good service. You can't expect me to display good service if the customers themselves think they are oh-so-great just because they have $5,000 to put in a fixed deposit and start to act all high and mighty.

Marathon completed

2005-12-11T15:16:00.000+08:00

The 10km race.. that is.

This time last week, I was at the Imperial Treasures restaurant at Wisma Atria together with my colleagues, enjoying a nice dim sum treat from our boss because it was her birthday. And of course, this was our little reward for having shown good team spirit by taking part in the Standard Chartered Marathon 10 km run.

All of us had dreaded this day. When I first joined the branch, and I heard the other people talking about the marathon, how they had already registered for it, I thought I could keep quiet and escape from all this hooha. Of course, I couldn't and I ended up being one of those last few to register for the event.

The week of the marathon was a busy one. There was showflat duty on Wednesday, scorecard rollout on Thursday, D&D on Friday and ended with marathon on Sunday.

We went to collect our race pack on Friday and I like my race ID.

Nice number right?

Reached the Starbucks outlet at Raffles City on Sunday morning at 6.30am. It was so early in the morning and it was queer seeing that everyone around you were all dressed similarly.

The run started at 7am sharp and for the first time, all of us were running on the roads of Shenton Way, legitimately! Ran past all the office buildings and reached Marina South. This stretch was a complete torture! Not only were there no buildings to look at to distract my attention, there were just trees, grass, more trees and grass and narrow, uneven paths!

And the route signs that showed our progress only served to demoralize me further when the first sign showed 2 km after when I thought I had ran forever. And it was only two freaking kilometres?!

And as if knowing that route signs for every kilometre completed would be a depressing thought for runners, the organizers decided to do away with the signs until the 5th kilometre when there was the U turn. Good idea! By then, I was feeling slightly better. At least I was halfway through. At least I was seeing some results. Only 5 km more to go. Not too bad.

The timer read 1:29:11 when I sprinted across the finishing line. My chip time read 1:21:21, which made me the 2nd fastest runner in my branch, out of 6 people.. -_-

10 km @ 81 mins 21 secs meaning
1 km @ 8.1 mins 21 secs

Comparing such results to the 2.4km run I did in school,

2.4km = 8.1 mins 21 secs * 2.4km = app 16 mins!!

~~Bad bad! This is bad!! I am slower!!~~

Granting that 10km is the longest distance I ever ran, and I haven't run in such degree in like three years, and that above formula was calculated assuming I maintained my speed for the full 10 km = not accurate, this result is quite ok lah..

Yadda yadda yadda.. excuses and excuses...

Anyway, this is my prize for all my effort..

A winner's medal! That was available to everyone who finished their 10km run. In short, no big deal..

Checked my race analysis and I am slightly behind the halfway mark. Not too bad granting that I only trained a week before the actual event.

Will try to take part in next year's 10km event if I am still in the bank then. ~~Don't~~ Mark my words for it.

Steamboat

2005-11-27T17:53:00.000+08:00

Met up with my fellow LCK Securities "colleagues" for dinner on Friday and it was super fun!

Haven't seen them for such a long time and all thanks to Siew Hup for organizing everything. I miss all of them!

We went to Tian Tian Huo Guo near Bugis -- the one that is always advertising on TV. Smart alec Eugene and Darrell had to choose the ma la ~~soup~~ oil base.

The calm before the storm...

And the aftermath..

Notice the empty jug. Make that two empty jugs of iced Chinese tea and chrysanthemum tea plus lots of sniffing of noses and coughing due to the extremely hot ma la soup! And we learnt of an interesting fact from the boss as well. Ma la plus iced water is a lethal combination for inducing diarhoea. Er.. Thanks for the handy tip provided during dinner.

The grossly dark red colour is the ma la soup base. There were chopped chilli and dried chilli padi floating around in the soup! I probably won't touch steamboat or at least ma la steamboat for at least the next few months, but I definitely enjoyed everyone's company!

Till we meet again!

Corporate Reshuffling

2005-11-18T18:58:00.000+08:00

The same pie is now cut into more slices; the table is getting more crowded now with everyone sharing the same quantity of food.

Great. And I thought I had already experienced the worst case scenario. The situation now must surely be the worst. It ~~can't~~ better not get any worse.

All my past few entries are all about work work work, but I can't help it! It is becoming such a big part of my life, unfortunately. I want to blog about my latest facial appointment, my shopping exploits, a very good, I-wish-it-would-come-true dream I had two days ago, even about the cute guy I talked to during the roadshow on Sunday. But I won't. I think I have lost my sense of humour (if I ever had it in the first place).

Damn tired.

2005-11-04T19:26:00.000+08:00

My horoscope for today:

Confusing financial issues could come along during the workday, but there's no cause for alarm. You have friends in high places, and if you ask, they'll be only too happy to help.

In any case, the issues are not exactly confusing in the first place. But anyway, make this prediction a daily occurence. So much so that it is driving me nuts!

You all problematic people out there, you think bankers are all very eng ah? Dunno how to use Internet Banking/Forgot PIN/Why there is a $5 charge for counter withdrawals etc... no need to come down to branch one.. Just call the hotline!

Arghh!!

To all customers out there, our bank believes in the "The customer is always right" mantra. But before you waste your own precious time (and ours too) by coming down to the branches for all sorts of enquiries, maybe it might do yourself good to navigate our website for added convenience. It is very very user friendly. If you still have enquiries, you can call our toll-free hotline too.

Thank you very much.

Pui!

What a whole load of crap

2005-11-01T12:33:00.000+08:00

I love my holidays!

Resolved the day before that I would make full use of the Deepavali holiday today by sleeping real late the night before and waking up bright and early this morning.

Of course this is a tough compromise to make and I ended up waking up after much of the morning had passed. So much for making use of the holiday...

Need to draft another appeal letter for my Dad's summons again. He got a summons for parking against the double yellow line. Time of the summons: 3.52 am. He had come home around 1 am and there were no empty lots then. Did the authorities expect him to stay awake until 3 am and park the next available lot? And so I shot an email to HDB to appeal for a waiver of the summons. It got rejected.

Reason? HDB had waived off the fine on previous similar occasions for him then. Their solution for him was that "If (he is) unable to locate vacant parking lots in car park no. [ insert carkpark no], (he is) required to park (his) vehicle in the nearby carparks ... and display the relevant parking coupons."

Then what is the use of my Dad paying the $65/month season parking ticket if there are insufficient lots for ticket holders like him and he needs to resort to parking at other places?

So does it mean that we need to come home by 7 pm every night because we get penalized for returning late?

Better get down to writing my 2nd appeal letter. Something that is a "piece of cake" for me. hahaha

Spring cleaning

2005-10-20T19:37:00.000+08:00

Switched mobile phones with my Mum two nights ago and I was looking through my list of contacts and keying in the missing ones.

I noticed that I have accumulated a rather substantial list of contacts over the years. I have to admit that there are some names which I have absolutely no recollection of - who they are and why their numbers are there.

I have 2 simple caller groups too -- Friends and family. Family is a no-brainer. But the friends group? There probably needs to be some sifting through and filtering involved to determine who are the "privileged few" to qualify as "friends".

Under the "Friends" category, there are mobile numbers of past project group mates. Which means to say, even though we were very close during those few weeks of project discussions and meetings, the phone conversations were only exchanged during those few weeks. Qualify as friends?

And then there are those "friends" from primary/secondary days. Not very close then, not too close now either. We exchanged numbers for "memory's sake".

Under the "category-less category", there are numbers of estate agents, customers, recruitment consultants etc. Their names were essential because I needed their help then.

Of course, there are names that I do not have the heart to delete even though I may have only called the number once or I do not contact them now, or their numbers may have changed. They are just there, just to be within my view.

After a thorough decision-making process, most of the names were spared from being deleted. For the handful that were deleted, it took me a long time for me to decide to press the "delete" button.

So much for "spring-cleaning" my contact list.

This little exercise also made me wonder how many phones/organizers have my number on it.

Have you done a little spring cleaning on your contact list yet?

Eat grass

2005-10-15T18:53:00.000+08:00

Imagine a table of 10 guests at a wedding banquet tucking into a tableful of dishes.

The 10 guests are divided up into 2 groups. One group of four is entitled to the sharks fins, the seafood and other expensive food. The other group of six is only entitled to the "cheapo" food - the chicken, vegetables, tofu etc.

Now consider this situation. Two more people join this already crowded table and together, they are entitled to the chicken that originally belonged to the group of six. What is the group of six left with? Only tofu and vegetables.

New (and drastic) measures are possibly going to be in place at work wef Monday. And the above analogy, albeit very silly, describes this situation perfectly. I think I am going to "jia4 cao4" (literally means "eat grass" in Hokkien, meaning to be left with only the scraps) very soon.

How can I ever survive?

Grow up lah

2005-10-14T13:31:00.000+08:00

Yeah, you are not angry with me; you are just angry with the whole situation. Or so you claim.

I am angry with the whole situation too. From the very first day I came over.

All my expectations came tumbling down with what I observed from the first day. And it sure doesn't add any form motivation to someone who is taking on a "real" job straight after university.

But do you see my public displays of annoyance and displeasure? No. Was there really a need for you to display your displeasure so publicy?

I wish I could change the situation, but I am in no power to do so. So before there can be any improvements to this situation, please just LEAVE ME ALONE. I just want to do my work well.

I am pissed.

Realization

2005-10-03T19:21:00.000+08:00

Second week at the branch, and so far so good. I am still trying to understand all the complex documentation but other than that, everything else is a-ok.

My colleagues are nice, but frankly speaking, I hope to be able to maintain a strictly professional relationship with them. We already spend so many hours together 5 and 1/2 days a week; I wish I could have some "me-family-friends" time. Everything came too fast too furious.. dinner plus KTV on Friday plus birthday celebration at Marriot Hotel next Saturday... Too fast too furious.. But I guess this is mandatory socializing :(

I know of people who are already getting on my nerves with their behaviour, and I do sense that wee bit of office politics from the seemingly incessant bitching around the office...

What a warm welcome to the corporate world.

Overcoming the barrier

2005-09-22T19:59:00.000+08:00

Today was the last day of training and I will be back at the branch tomorrow. It feels as if it is my first day of work again. Frankly speaking, I wished I hadn't passed all my CMFAS and I would be at Direct Banking at Cisco Centre tomorrow.

All my colleagues said I was crazy to even harbour such thoughts; those who hadn't passed wished they were in my position!

My thoughts are so contradictory. One part of me is happy I am one of the "privileged few" to be able to be deployed to branches; the other part wishes to be at Cisco Centre.

I guess I still haven't been able to overcome the personal barrier of doing sales and hitting targets yet. I better overcome that asap.

Attended a "Personal Relationship Banking" course modeled on Cohen Brown earlier this week and this phrase really struck me.

The behaviours that make the most money are those you least want to do.

How many of us are truly happy and enjoying their jobs? True, most of my friends, including myself, are just starting up, we are still low down in the learning curve so everything seems interesting and fun.

Five years down the road, would we still be feeling the same? Enjoyable job + good money. This combination is perfect for me; but how many jobs are there out there that can fulfil this criteria?

Now I know why my mum can stay at her job for thirty years. Nobody wants to work, but if that is where the money is, why not? True, we have far more choices now, but in every job, there needs to be a mindset change.

I don't like sales, but this will be my bread and butter for some time to come. After all, the behaviours that make the most money are those that (I) least want to do.

Memories

2005-09-17T10:58:00.000+08:00

Next week is the last week of the six-week "intensive training" that all of us has to go through.

The honeymoon period is really coming to an end.

All the new friends I have made are a wonderful bunch of people, and instead of dragging my feet to work, I began to look forward to each new work day. The bonds are made all the more tighter because all of us have gone through the horror of Wealth Management, and the ultimate killer: a six-day intensive Mortgage training program.

We gave each other the encouragement and tips that were so essential to helping us pass the CMFAS exams.

In between the monotony of all this training and stress, we had the pleasure of one-and-a-half hour lunches plus morning and afternoon breaks, thrown in with good albeit a little too oily finger food.

I am so going to miss Plaza by the Park and the people on the 10th floor - OL and HR dept. I will miss the long lunches the whole group of us had - Crispy wanton mee and authentic Indonesian food at Parklane Centre Shopping Mall, various food at the Paradiz Centre food court, Sushi Don and Pickles at Hotel Rendezvous, Ajisen at Plaza Singapura, also wanton mee at Sunshine Plaza, where I am, according to my colleagues, the owner. And that small little dessert store at Peace Centre which serves really yummy and creamy mango sago. "Waterloo" - the eating place along Waterloo street and Kopitiam - right on the ground level of PBTP deserve some mention as well, although these are the last resort we would ever turn to (read: only if it is raining or we have to pia CMFAS).

Thank God most of us made it through all the internal assessments in one piece. Now I just hope everyone passes their M1 and M6 exams asap, by spending the least possible time in DB so we can start going to branches and earn big bucks!

Yesterday's lunch was one of the best ever - nearly three hours! Parklane wanton mee followed by "insightful" conversations over good chocolate fondue, cheesecakes and mudpies at Coffee Club Xpress.

And one last thing. Although I don't think I will use this name, I will miss the manner in which you all address me as Sunshine ~~Baby~~ Pan. ;)

It's the "last leg" next week. I pray all of us would pass the PFC Proficiency test with flying colours although I think some ~~cooperation from everyone~~ divine intervention might be required given my personal progress :(

Jiawen Terelle Aity Alice Sylvia Annie Rieky Kelvin Lex Joey Janice Marc Donny Rizal Steve Shawn Wendy Pearl Valerie Vinson Jen Elizabeth Daryl Juwei Bernard Hazel Carol Norman Felicia ...

The grass is always greener elsewhere.

2005-09-16T07:55:00.000+08:00

Right.

I should just be contented with whatever I have now and quit moping over what I don't have.

The grass can be green over here too.

Seven things

2005-09-10T12:15:00.000+08:00

I love Saturdays! It is such wonderful pleasure to be able to wake up after 8am and while the whole day away by doing ~~no-brainer~~ leisurely stuff like blogging and random blog-browsing, and study for my last CMFAS exam on Monday (well.. that's a different matter altogether.)

Got the "invitation" by Shunmei to do this "Seven Things" meme. Yay! Thanks girl! -_-

Seven things that scare me...

1. Being in poor health or stricken by illness.
2. Losing my loved ones.
3. Losing my job.
4. Being alone.
5. Not having enough money and sufficient financial protection and insurance coverage. Occupation hazard. I must be going nuts after studying M9. But this is very true. Are you sufficiently covered?
6. Moths.
7. Putting on weight. Yes, girl! Me too!

Seven things I like the most...

1. My family.
2. Friends.
3. Spending time alone. A bit contradictory, I know.
4. A very pampering and relaxing facial. Throw in a body massage and spa session and everything would be oh-so-perfect!
5. Talking.
6. Food glorious food!
7. Sleep.

Seven things important in my room...

1. My bed (plus my smelly pillow!)
2. Air-con/fan.
3. The never ending collection of skin care products.
4. My makeup.
5. My wardrobe.
6. My magazine and novel collection.
7. The TV.

Seven random facts about me...

1. No sense of direction. Still...
2. I look best in spring and winter colours.
3. I speak too fast.
4. My new nickname is "Sunshine".
5. I like to dilly dally.
6. I have short hair, which is a very suitable hairstyle to portray professionalism! Yay!
7. I usually cry when I am angry, not sad.

Seven things I plan to do before I die...

1. Go traveling around the world.
2. Learn driving.
3. Get CFA qualifications. This is really one big hurdle man!
4. Get married.
5. Have kids.
6. Be more tech-savvy.
7. Learn to cook a decent meal.

Seven things I can do...

1. Rope skip 1,600 times in half an hour.
2. Roll my tongue.
3. Play the tuba.
4. Repeat the same exercise routine 7 days a week without seeing visible results. :(
5. Play a mean game of badminton.
6. Laze around.
7. Remember faces.

Seven things I can't do...

1. Maintain my attention span for more than an hour.
2. Remember names.
3. Go without meat for more than a day.
4. Drink alcohol. It must be "flavoured" to be able to entice me.
5. Finish singing a song without first going off pitch somewhere.
6. Count the "tai" when playing mahjong.
7. Play computer games that requre a lot of coordination.

Seven things I say the most...

1. Shit.
2. Pardon?
3. Huh?
4. Ya lor
5. Piang
6. Damn
7. Is it?

Seven celeb crushes...

1. Louis Koo.
2. Brad Pitt.
3. Shawn Yue.
4. Tony Leung Chiu Wai.
5. Takeshi Kaneshiro.
6. Lin Feng.
7. Angelina Jolie.

Seven people who have to do this...

Hee.. I don't know enough people with blogs to do this, so anyone free enough, just go ahead!

Simple rules

2005-09-07T18:56:00.000+08:00

Does the keeping left while on escalators at MRT stations apply to all stations? Or is it just the select few at strategic locations like Orchard, City Hall, Raffles Place etc.?

I think it applies to all MRT stations right? Correct me if I am wrong. Then when can't some commuters understand this simple rule and keep left instead of jamming up the way and preventing people who are in a rush to move off first?

This is such a simple rule and it doesn't take much to display some consideration right?

I don't understand people sometimes.

The "Conspiracy"

2005-09-03T09:52:00.000+08:00

This is one big fiasco.

Although I had known the result would turn out like this even before before the finals started, I just hoped I would be wrong.

And every time the judges praised Kelly for her wonderful performances and ~~criticized~~ commented on Kelvin's not-so-good performances, I worried even more. Because the negative comments would only serve to spur Kelvin's supporters to vote all the more for him!

Even the most fervent supporter of Kelvin must admit that he didn't do well in the finals; and Kelly did way better, but he still emerged victorious with 64% of the votes. If this is not sympathy, then what is? Someone please tell me. Does Kelvin have more superstar appeal than Kelly? I don't think so. Well, maybe he may have, because he is unique.

True, he has a soothing voice, though not enough to bring tears to me because I don't have the habit of paying close attention to the lyrics and music and its underlying meaning as I find it too much of a bother. And his genre is limited - it is harder for him to sing catchy tunes, but his diehard fans would probably be just as contented to be enjoying his shen qing kuan kuan songs.

No sympathy votes involved? Like real. Yes, he has a good voice, but don't tell me there is not a single tinge of sympathy involved whenever someone cast their ~~vote~~ votes? Because, at least in my opinion, people might listen more intently to Kelvin's voice since that is about the only way he can connect with the audience. With Kelly, they are more distracted, because they need to listen to her voice, watch her stage presence and dance moves all at the same time.

In any case, I trust the producers at Play Music, I believe, are known for transforming unique individuals like Ou De Yang and are willing to experiment with all things new, would carve out a successful music career for Kelvin.

Call me a case of eating sour grapes. But Kelly, in my opinion, probably got the better deal, ironically a prize for second place: a singing contract with the more established (IMO) Universal Music, renowned for creating stars like Jacky Cheung, Energy, Evonne Xu etc.

Yes, perhaps the "conspiracy" is working, at least for now.

One more to go

2005-08-31T07:58:00.000+08:00

I will retract my words. I think I will miss training once it is over. I will miss all the wonderful people I have met there, the friendly trainers and of course, the blissful 9-6 (sometimes 5pm) training hours. Because when training ends, it will be crunchtime.

Meeting clients, hitting targets, trying to be alert when dealing with the complicated documentation. I will really, really have no life then.

I shall enjoy training while it lasts!

And, another CMFAS exam done - Health Insurance. Yay! Last one - M9. I don't even know why I have to take these two exams. I am qualified to sell insurance, but I can't. I can only introduce and see my revenue points slipping away from me! Bah!

Off to work! Running late!

Multiphobic Phobia

2005-08-25T18:42:00.000+08:00

Today was great. Training ended at 4.30pm coz FinIQ training had to be postponed due to boot failure of the bank's system. Which means I have more time to study my Health Insurance exam, which according to my colleagues, is quite a killer as well, and... of course, time to blog as well! Boy! I miss the times when I could spend all my time updating nearly everyday with mundane stuff or browsing blogs because I had SO MUCH free time..

Anyway, I found an article that listed all the different phobias from The Straits' Times "Mind Your Body" on Wednesday interesting. And going through the list, I found I had quite a few "phobias" as well.

1. Achluophobia: Fear of darkness.

Yes, I think I do, especially after watching movies like "Shutter" and "The Ring".

2. Agliophobia: Fear of pain.

I don't think I have a extremely high pain threshold. That's why I cringe when the doctor ~~removed~~ wanted to remove my stitches (i.e. he hasn't removed them yet.). But the prickling feel from plucking of eyebrows is still bearable lah ;p There is a price to pay for vanity...

3. Didaskaleinophobia: Fear of going to school.

Wah! I didn't know there are people who fear going to school that much. For 15 years, I have had the same fear. Now, I only have "work-phobia".

4. Enochlophobia: Fear of crowds.

Make that hating crowds. Especially among others, selfish commuters who stubbornly refuse to move aside when others want to board/alight the MRT or bus.

5. Latrophobia: Fear of going to the doctor.

Because it means additional expense, anxiety or fear of knowing I have contracted some illness or require immediate surgery. The latter seems to have become a norm.

6. Ophidiophobia: Fear of snakes.

They are disgusting creatures. Their slimy feel and evil-looking features just turn me off and scares the hell out of me. They should just be eradicated forever. Period.

7. Thantophobia: Fear of death or dying.

It is more like I have the fear of losing people close to me. It is a terrible thought.

N.B. Phobia: A persistent, excessive, unrealistic fear of an object, animal or situation. A type of anxiety disorder that affects people from all walks of life. -- reported by Judith Tan.

I don't think I fit into the definition stated above for any of the phobias I listed. No offence to anyone; this entry is for pure fun and obviously, conjured out of bohliao-ness.

I. Have. No. Life.

2005-08-20T15:04:00.000+08:00

Been a week since my first day at work. I'm so tired. And I haven't even gone to my branch to start the real work, because I am still stuck in training. A horrible six-week training with an assessment at the end of every lesson that requires a minimum passing rate of 80%. To "sweeten the deal", I have to pass the external CMFAS exams as well, with a minimum 70% pass rate. And if I don't fulfil any of the requirements, I would be stuck in Direct Banking (DB) until I clear EVERYTHING!

DB = telesales cum handling enquiries cum receiving complain calls cum round-the-clock working hours = No selling opportunities at branch = no revenue points = NO COMMISSION!

Why is the company so strict? It is not as if I will remember everything for as long as I am in the bank. Anyway, isn't there a very comprehensive database for us to refer to when we are in doubt? In fact, I got all the more confused after all the assessments so far.

Anyway, I am glad everything is on track now. I have passed Module 5 and 1B so far and only HI and Module 9 is left. I was so proud of myself for passing 1B on my first attempt because this module is apparently a tough one, with a 30-40% pass rate. Oh well, better not get too distracted by the "achievement". There are two more to go.

And the assessments? They are killing me. Hardly anyone can finish reading through all the notes in the few minutes we have after the end of each lesson, before the assessment to guarantee an 80% pass rate. Since all of us are in the same predicament, we "cooperate and help each other out". Even the trainers have "closed two eyes" about it.

This is the only way to make sure we do not need to stay in DB. We have no choice. To make matters worse, there are no second chances. We have to pass the assessments in one shot or join the next batch of newbies for training. But please rest assured that such acts will not compromise the competence of the financial consultants and relationship managers. It is merely bending around the rules a little.

I am tired.

What happened to you?

2005-08-15T19:43:00.000+08:00

My youngest sister is considering whether to choose my alma mater when she completes her PSLE this year.

Just a few months ago, she had no doubts at all. My alma mater would be the first choice, because she would be with her friends, and more importantly, she could continue pursuing her interest in badminton under the same coach there.

But she is wondering if she needs to rethink her decision now. Helped in part by my incessant grumblings and complaints about the horrible behaviour of the students there now.

Some time back, I was with my cousin at a MacDonald's outlet near my place and I spotted a group of my juniors inside. Since when did the school allow students inside Mac? That was how strict the school was during my time.

Then, another group of students came by and one of the girls (Girl A) inside Mac spotted them and came out to meet Girl B. Instead of the normal act of a simple hi or conversation, Girl A started shouting Hokkien vulgarities and kicking Girl B on the butt.

We couldn't really detect any anger from Girl A; in fact she was smiling while she was performing those acts. It was so obvious that A and B were trying to gain the attraction of everyone around. So childish can! I feel ashamed to let people know I was from the same school, I told my cousin.

What has happened to the school? Everything just seemed to have gone downhill after I left.

The majority of the students I see nowadays have such loose fitting belts with hairbands around their necks instead of on their desired place - the head. Most students do not wear knee high socks now; most of them wear ankle-length socks now, not because the school demanded it, but because it is in vogue now.

And why oh why did the school relax the rules on hair?!! Both the primary and secondary schools have allowed students to keep long hair! Whatever happened to this long-standing tradition?! Although I longed to keep long hair when I was in school, I took pride that we were one of the few schools in Singapore where long tresses were not allowed. Why this now?!?!! At least they keep the distinctive blue pinafore + white belt combo. At least we are still distinguishable from the other girls' schools.

No wonder my sister is pondering over a once obvious and definite decision.

What has happened to you, PL?

From an annoyed ex-PL Lite

National Day

2005-08-10T13:36:00.000+08:00

My National Day celebration this year was slightly different.

For the first time in five years, the parade was held at the Padang, which means our yearly ritual of catching the fireworks was disrupted this year. :(

Granny wasn't around to view the parade with us this year. She was part of the 100,000 crowd who viewed the parade at the heartlands. She was at Tampines with my grandaunt.

I am so jealous! The fireworks this year had to be the most spectacular this year because this year was Singapore's 40th. And I had to miss it! Bah!

Our yearly ritual of fireworks viewing during National Day consisted of a quick dash to the corridor on the 10th floor to catch a pathetic few minutes of "a bird's eye view" of the fireworks. And due to our mistimings and impatience, we always left before the whole display. The fireworks need to take a breather too; to save the best for the last, we found out. But if we waited too long, by the time we get back home, we would hear the last strains of "Count on me Singapore" or "One People, One Nation, One Singapore." These songs are still my favourite National Day songs after so many years. True, I do like the recent songs; Kit Chan's "Home" never fails to tug at my heartstrings. But somehow I still find comfort in the older National Day songs, despite the anonymity of the singers. I miss the "MTVs" of these songs!

So, perhaps it was a good thing we couldn't view the fireworks this year, because I was then able to view the reciting of the Pledge, listen to "Mahjula Singapura", "Count on me Singapore", "One People, One Nation, One Singapore" completely.

I just get particularly patrotic come National Day. The sight of everyone (well, nearly everyone) singing of the National Anthem never fails to send a tingling feeling of pride rushing down my spine. I might even be moved to tears if I was at the Parade.

Of course, some things never change during National Day.

Like how Mum would urge us to stand up to sing the Mahjulah Singapura. My sister could no longer bear hearing the same comment year in year out that she quipped, "I have been hearing this since I was in primary school."

Or how Dad would crack silly and lame jokes about how the Prime Minister would be late because he couldn't find his socks or there was a traffic jam, about whether the commander of the parade would suddenly attack the President with his sword (?) while he was getting permission for a marchpast. He even conjures up imaginary (read: predictable) questions that the President might have asked when he stopped to talk to the selected soldiers of the contingents. He has a very vivid imagination.

This year, he had something new. Because the heartlands have their own celebrations this year, he wondered if the ministers and MPs who were "stationed" there had any grouses at having to settle for something smaller and miss out on the actual "big thing".

His remarks have become so predictable that Mum had to remind him gently that he had said the same thing the previous ~~year~~ years.

Some things just do not change.

That little rascal

2005-08-09T12:43:00.000+08:00

My dad was right in supporting my sis in bringing the rascal back.

Granny and I were most against bringing ~~a pet~~ an animal to the house after such a long time.

We gave reasons like:

1) My sis only has san fen zhong re du and Granny would end up being the one taking care of the rascal in the end;

2) Waste of time/money/water;

3) My sis would bring the rascal to the room and dirty the whole place etc.

Of course, all our reasoning fell on deaf ears and my Dad's reason for bringing the rascal back? It would remove my phobia of animals and I would not cringe in fear and lift my legs up whenever a cat walks under my chair at a coffeeshop. I went "Huh? How would this help?" I just thought this was a totally lame excuse!

And so when the rascal arrived on the 1st of July, I could only mutter a soft "cute" before dashing to my room and closing the door shut until I was assured he was safely in his cage. That is how timid I am when confronted with animals. I nearly cried tears of frustration when he barked non-stop in the dead of the night on his first few nights because of the unfamilar surroundings. What if the neighbours complain? So paiseh! There was ~~minimal~~ zero contact between the rascal and me for the first few days.

Granny took it pretty badly too. Dad only told her about it on the day of the rascal's arrival. She refused to even go near the dog and did not speak to my sis for a few days.

Of course, all that has changed.

My dad was right. I no longer cringe in fear when I see a cat coming near me. My phobia of animals has definitely lessened by a significant degree.

The rascal has become the joy of the family. He is let out of the cage in the morning and allowed to walk around until we bring him back in in the evening. The kitchen becomes his favourite hangout place around dinner time and he goes around sniffing everywhere. His ears perk up and he starts to get all flustered when he hears footsteps and turning of the door knob. He jumps up and runs around in circles when anyone of us comes home. He is stationed outside the door of my room when my sis is not awake yet. He just knows she's there. He cuddles up in his little "bed" and takes his afternoon nap when no one is free to entertain him. He rushes back to his cage when he pees at out-of-bounds areas, because he knows he is going to get it from us.

And Granny? She loves the rascal and shows it obviously through her actions, although she refuses to admit it. Like the time she steamed some pork for the rascal just because he refused to eat his own food. She asked, What if he goes hungry? The pork has no salt; just mix it with some rice, it should be ok. Or the times when she would save up leftover rice to make sure it lasts through the weekend for the rascal's meals because we don't cook on weekends.

I have never mopped that much or used that much Dettol or old newspapers before the rascal came. But I really do not mind. Neither does my family. True, we make the occasional grumbles about yet another puddle of pee or poo, but everything is cleared up in a jiffy.

When a relative commented that the rascal really needed to be sent to a vet because he was constantly itching and his butt was turning reddish due to his constant scratches, I was super worried. Which clinic would be good? Would an injection be painful for him? I hope he responds well to the medicine. Lots of thought ran through my mind.

And so, we brought him to the vet today. And his diagnosis: bacterial infection. He curled up in fear when the vet took his temperature and placed his head on my sis's shoulders the whole time he was there. Thankfully, he gobbled up his pills right to the last morsel like it was some special treat.

Get the rascal to guard our house? Forget it. He is even afraid of cats! We would have to protect him instead. With much pleasure.

Please just stop beating around the bush

2005-08-04T10:40:00.000+08:00

No wonder I didn't do as well as I thought I should have for business law. And thank goodness I didn't choose to study law, not that I might have passed their interview anyway.

Because I find out a tad too late, that I suck at understanding legal speak.

My first CMFAS exam - Module 5, is scheduled for the 11th and by now, I have already read the 214-page course book twice through, ever since I got it last Tuesday. Given that I still have the time to blog, watch TV, go out and do a whole lot of other things, with the exam as my last priority, I think this is quite a achievement. I am not trying to boast about my learning capabilities. In fact, I am worried. Because I seriously think I haven't read the book as thoroughly as I should.

But it is not that I don't want to. The first two chapters on the Financial Advisors Act/Regulation/Guidelines were enough to put me to sleep. And their lengthy explanation of the different sections/sub-sections/amendments/and what-nots really dampened my initial enthusiasm.

I understand this. Lawmakers need to make sure that all sections of the Act are adequately and fully explained to avoid any loopholes in case they are exploited by potential offenders. But aren't they a tad too lengthy? A typical ~~sentence~~ phrase is at least 4 lines long and by the time I finish the phrase, I have forgotten what the front part meant.

And in a typical section, there is a main point, a sub point, a sub-sub point, and a sub-sub-sub point. And the explanation within each point is al least another 4 lines long. How to remember everything?

This explains why I finished studying everything so quickly. I ~~ignored all the legal terms and read whatever I felt comfortable with~~ applied what we learnt in General Paper by picking up the key words and main points in each of the paragraphs. Yah right.

I can only say lawmakers are probably terrible at summary writing.

zzz

A new visitor

2005-07-31T11:34:00.000+08:00

This blog now has ~~a new visitor~~ new visitors! Thanks ~~girl~~ girls, for finding my blog accidentally/unexpectedly/without me giving you the addy.

And I apologize for not sharing the address with close friends like you.

I don't know why too, but I just didn't feel comfortable letting people know a lot about me although this is the very purpose blogs are supposed to serve! Sigh. Such contradiction!

No worries, I am not upset about letting you know about my blog. In fact, I feel relieved. Great! Because frankly speaking, I had wanted to reveal this "sacred information" many times but I don't know why, silly me just held back all this while.

Great! Since I have been a "fervent supporter" of your own site, I think it is only fair for me to turn you into a fervent supporter as well. Muhahaha! Good! At least it is a two-way street now!

And with regards to the part you mentioned about us drifting apart, you are right. We have been drifiting apart. And I dare say the first signs of the "drift" started when we entered different universities. And true, like you say, such happenings are "nan mian" - inevitable. It just gets harder to maintain the close ties when we don't even see each other as often as before.

Heck! Then let's just start the "rebuilding" process here, right at this blog (and yours too). Go ahead and read my one-year worth of past entries to fill up the voids during the periods when we hardly met up. And don't be surprised to find ~~shocking~~ surprising revelations! Hahaha!

Take care, enjoy your reading, and do continue to dish out your comments! I will too; I even created a new Xanga account for that purpose! ~~See how noble I am!~~ Blur me should have just left the comments on your tag board! ;p

I hate to wait

2005-07-27T13:21:00.000+08:00

Things at StanChart are proceeding at such a snail's pace that I am getting increasingly irritated. After I found out I was accepted eons ago, HR only called me up last Thursday (which is one week and two days after my final interview) to meet up yesterday to look through my contract and all the nitty gritty details.

Yesterday didn't start off well. I left the house at 9am for a 10am appointment with StanChart at Plaza By The Park. And ~~the stupid bus~~ two double-decked buses had to come a good old 35 minutes later. This is really the ultimate. The time isn't exactly off peak is it? 9am is still relatively early in the morning right? And the strangest thing was, I kept seeing many buses of the same service number stopping at the bus stop opposite. (This service goes on a loop journey. So buses that stop at the bus stop I was waiting at would eventually stop at the bus stop opposite.)

If there were so many buses stopping opposite at such regular intervals, why didn't anyone of them stop at the stop I was stupidly and impatiently waiting at??!!

Of course, I had to call the person in charge and tell her I was going to be late. So paiseh! And she told me to arrive as early as possible because she had another appointment at 11am. Damn SBS! This isn't the first time!

Anyway, back to the job. The contract terms seem pretty good. Annual salary was within my expectations and the thing that really got my attention was the amount of leave I am entitled to.

I get 25 days of leave per year! Besides the condition where I can't take leave for the first 6 months, I am entitled to this obscene amount after the period, regardless of my length of service.

I don't really know the norm in Singapore, but my guess is 21 days? And that is only if one has worked a certain duration before one is entitled to that amount.

I am so lucky!

Of course, there has to be a downside to a seemingly good offer. I have to start studying again. I need to take 4 modules of the CMFAS exams and pass them within two months.

I have already registered for two modules where exams are scheduled for the 11th and 18th of next month. There goes my goal of aiming to start work by 15th August. :-(

And the course material is horrendous! The guide for Module 5 on the rules and regulations is over 200 pages and filled with lines and lines of words. Goodness.. How the hell am I going to finish ~~memorizing~~ looking through every single page? *Faint*

I am targeting a end August/early September start date because I don't want to lose out on the year-end bonus that is not available to staff working less than 3 months with the bank!

Praying hard.

Update: My manager just called me and she's putting me in the training class that starts 15th Aug! Yay! I would need to inform the person in charge of the training on the day I have a paper. Sigh.. This also means I will have lesser time to study... *Keeping my fingers crossed*

Terrible, just terrible

2005-07-21T18:17:00.000+08:00

I know this is really late news... but Xiaxue's blog and Gmail account got hacked by some idiotic fucker!

This is just terrible! Anyone, both diehard fans and haters of the girl alike, must admit that this is really a very very unethical thing to do, criminal even, as Mr Brown quoted, this is a criminal act under the Computer Misuse Act.

All her hard work is gone just like that! And the new site is in a very plain white background like this:

I miss her pinkish blog background and her what-I-thought-was-heow-and-ego pic!

Not that I am a "star blogger" like Xiaxue, but I have decided to backup all my posts as well. I did everything through the traditional copy and paste method and not by the site sucker way mentioned by Mr Brown because it seems that only works for Macintosh! In addition, I think it is high time for me to change my passwords for all my accounts.

Sigh! I hope the police catches the culprit soon!

Another Cheesy Quiz

2005-07-19T11:32:00.000+08:00

The True You

You want your girlfriend or boyfriend to be more relaxed, calm, and composed.

With respect to money, you spend whatever you have.

You think good luck doesn't exist - reality is built on practicalities.

The hidden side of your personality tends to be satisfied to care for things with a minimal amount of effort.

You are tend to think about others' feelings a lot, perhaps because you are so eager to be liked.

When it comes to finding a romantic partner, you base your search on information from your friends.

Who's the True You?

Interview tips and tricks

2005-07-18T13:12:00.000+08:00

Now that my "brief job journey" has ended for the moment, I feel as if a huge load has been taken off my back.

It has been a long journey; coupled with increasing self-inflicted pressure, and guilt that my parents and relatives are telling me to take it easy. But I know I am lucky, because I know quite a few people who haven’t found their dream job yet.

I am no expert, but my experiences have certainly taught me a few things.

1. Know what you want and know it well.

This means knowing the job specs very, very well and market yourself according to the job requirements. My failure to do so initially cost me dearly.

I have sent out so many resumes, that I have lost count. But I do know my very first resume sent out for a permanent job was for JP Morgan. The first one sent out by snail mail was Morgan Stanley. Notice the “big names” here. I sent them out as early as late March, weeks before my exams. That was how kiasu I was. At this juncture, I admit, I was attracted by the “big name” companies here, which isn’t a good thing. Because big-name companies have much more stringent criteria. And your lack of preparation would only be even more obvious if their HR personnel manage to “grill” you inside out.

Then as desperation started to creep in, I started applying for many different companies, as long as the job requirements were for fresh graduates, with a degree in business or any specialization.

This isn’t a good thing to do. Because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. And it really pays to do research on the company when you get called up for an interview, or at the very least, be very clear of the job specs. Once, I had an interview with AIA as a management intern in backroom operations. I still can’t recall the exact title. When I got called up, I no longer could remember what the job was about because I sent the resume out eons ago. This is total disaster because it seems the standard practice among HR professionals is to ask the interviewee what they know about the requirements of the job. And of course, I was totally clueless about that AIA position. Not surprisingly, I flunked that interview. I knew it when they didn’t call within the 2 weeks they promised. And ever typical of the inefficiency of the HR dept, they sent the rejection letter to me nearly a month after the interview! Ouch!

2. Think out good answers to standard interview questions.

It really makes a lot of sense for your first interview to be a job that you aren’t very interested in. Because there are high chances that you might not do as well, due to lack of actual practice. The first interview would serve as a very good training ground for you to pick out the standard interview questions.

I am no guru in interview techniques but my brief brush with interviews has enabled me to pick out the following standard questions that should fit most interview contexts and come with ~~boring~~ acceptable answers.

a) Tell me more about yourself.

This is the time to market yourself as an outstanding individual who can contribute to the organization. Recalling the 1st point on knowing the job requirements very well, market yourself according to them. For example, if the job requires you to have good communication skills, provide evidence on areas where you have shown good communication skills. Such evidence should be from all areas possible, from work experiences, hall activities to school. This will reflect how all rounded you are.

The most important thing is to choose selective information that will show the interviewer your capabilities. Don’t go rattling off that your hobbies include shopping, eating and sleeping if they add zero value to you as a unique individual. Worse, it might just degrade you in the eyes of the interviewer! Sometimes, it helps to ‘keng’ a little. If your life is really so plain; you are only a passive member in CCAs, your grades are average etc, try to boost up seemingly minute interests. For example, if you enjoy playing soccer, say that sports helps to train your sense of endurance and determination and enhance your team dynamics. As a result, you like working in teams. This is not wrong at all; only exaggerated.

b) What made you apply for this position?

Mention that the job specs interest you, no matter how mundane they may be. Anyway, there must be some area of the job that interested you to apply for it, so mention it! It would be good to say that this job provides you with ample opportunity to learn. I got this advice from my aunt; we got to be really, really humble here and if possible, “suck up” to the organization.

And, NEVER EVER say this job is a very good stepping stone for my personal career path. This may sound obvious but I was silly enough to have committed this stupid mistake. Because this only means to the interviewers that this job is only a temporary thing, something for you to “test the waters”, and you will switch jobs once you find something better.

c) Where do you see yourself in five (some other time frame) years time?

Show your ambition here. Something like being able to achieve a significant degree of career advancement. This indicates your capabilities. You can talk about possibility of further studies, but it would be wise to mention that it would be on a part time basis and related to the position you are applying for, so that “you can contribute much more to the well being of the organization.” Shudder! I’ve got goose bumps already! Again, this is pretty obvious. Interviewers like to see commitment from their candidates.

d) You are a fresh graduate, with not much experience to speak of. How do you think you are able to contribute to our company?

Reiterate your answers in the “Tell me more about yourself” section. Things like good communication skills, team dynamics, ability to work well under pressure… and of course, willingness and capability to learn! After all, that’s what students are best at – learning!

e) Your major is in Finance (or your own major). Why didn’t you apply to work in the banks?

This applies especially if the job scope of the position you applied for is not exactly what you studied in school. Talk about the skills that can be transferable regardless of your major. I mentioned taking up finance has trained me to be meticulous and adopt a systematic approach to my work. It has also honed my patience too. You can crap a little about the university education system as well… like how NUS provides a very “broad based education and it has cultivated my interest in areas outside of finance.”

f) What do you think are your weaknesses?

I figured that instead of listing your weaknesses in a negative manner like “I am not very firm and tend to be too soft”, it might be better to say something like “I think I can still show greater firmness when dealing with unreasonable demands from people.” Lastly, mention how you intend to curb this weakness by providing solutions. At least it shows your interviewer that you recognize your own weaknesses and are willing to change it.

The list of questions is not exhaustive, by the way, but these questions are more or less “universal”, especially the first two questions. As the interview draws to an end and the interviewer asks if you have any questions for him/her, don’t ask about the salary/perks of the job/other benefits!! That should be avoided at the very first meeting. I usually ask these questions at the final interview. Typical questions I would ask include:

- What is a possible career path for me in this company?
- How is the organization structured? This is relevant, especially if the company has very diverse business units. But ask this question only if the information is not found in the website.
- How many rounds of interviews would there be?
- (How long I would need to wait before I know I am shortlisted for the next round)

3. Rehearse your interview script the night before.

Now that you have thought out answers to interview questions, it would be good to rehearse the interview. You rehearse your presentations a dozen times the night before; some even memorize their “speech”, so why not your interview?

This step really helped me a lot. In the beginning, the most I did to prepare for an interview was to read up on the company through its website, that was all. I didn’t believe in this step because I thought all interviews were unique; there was no way I could predict the questions asked. And true enough, when the interview started, I got stumped on some questions. They weren’t difficult questions. In fact, they were standard questions. So it really does help if you “play out” the interview in your mind beforehand.

4. Show your confidence. Stay calm.

This is easier said than done. It is so hard to keep calm especially if the interviewer looks very stern and starts bombarding you with cheem questions and frowns if you don’t provide the standard answers.

But as a kind friend advised me, one should go for an interview with an attitude that the company is interested in his capabilities and it would be the company’s loss, not his, if he doesn’t get selected. Does that sound better? Besides, being called up for an interview indicates that you have been successful in the first round of the job application.

There are other pointers like “look straight into the eyes of the interviewer”, “look sincere”, “prepare your attire, right down to the underwear the night before” but they are obvious right??

By the way, I am still waiting for StanChart to give me a call. Hurry up can!! I don’t have a lot of patience you know…

Never been so lucky

2005-07-16T14:20:00.000+08:00

Finally.

I no longer have to peer through the Straits Times Recruit pages every day or spend ~~hours~~ many minutes scrutinizing each and every executive job ad every Saturday.

I no longer have to browse through JobsDB, Monster or the Career Opportunities pages of random companies (read: only MNCs/government bodies/established local companies may apply.)

I no longer have to send out standardized, mass-produced type cover letters at random.

I no longer have to slog my brains out over my "speech" for interviews the night before.

Because I have got a job! At long last!

It is with StanChart as a personal financial consultant. There is nothing to be so glam about. Besides, I know I was once wary about such financial consulting/advisory kind of positions. But this position gives me much more security than if I were to become a independent financial adviser because of the basic pay + commission pay structure.

Anyway, I will probably get a call from HR next week asking me to sign the conditional offer. Conditional because I would have to pass the exams before being sent for a six-week training! So looking forward to that! Paid studying!

The details are pretty hazy because I was only supposed to know I got recruited next week.

But I got a call from another company, Coface Infoasia asking me to start work on Monday. So rushed can! No meeting up with HR, no discussion of pay package or benefits, and no signing of offer contract. Made me feel as if I was a temp employee.

I already decided I didn't want the job so I had to quickly call StanChart whether I got recruited, coz if I didn't, I would bo bian and take up the Coface offer lor. And of course, StanChart wanted me as well!

Back to Coface. The career advancement path in the company is rather limited. My first interviewer told me frankly that the job scope would get pretty monotonous. After a few years, I would probably be promoted to Senior Business Analyst, repeating whatever I have been doing, albeit, with a far greater work load.

More importantly, I must admit the company brand name/reputation really influenced my ultimate decision.

Coface vs StanChart. The majority would take up StanChart. Being a much larger company, there would be more chances I might be able to take up other roles in the organization. The training, the exams I would take (fully reimbursed by StanChart) and the fact that I have worked in the company before would be such a big plus on my resume should I intend to ~~quit~~ look for greener pastures in future.

Most importantly, being ever so pragmatic, the higher salary at StanChart was a big magnet that attracted me to the company. I would just say StanChart offered an amount that was much closer to my expectations.

So there goes. While waiting for the call next week, I shall attempt to read up on my finance textbooks in the meantime!

It ended sooner than I expected

2005-07-13T13:03:00.000+08:00

The court battle between NKF and SPH ended just when I was gathering an interest for it. Frankly, I wanted to see it stretch over say, a 10-day period because I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the exchanges between the CEO of NKF, CEO TT Durai and SPH's counsel, Davinder Singh in court.

I wondered what Durai was thinking whenever Davinder Singh revealed one ~~shocking~~ he-probably-knew-it revelation about his company one after and another and how he responded with his not-to-the-point replies.

Like how NKF/Durai

installed a gold-plated tap that cost $990, an amount that would be deemed expensive by a donor earning $1,000 a month, "even after a 10% discount". The tap was later replaced with a less expensive version that cost less than $300.
received a 12-month bonus for the year of 2004. 12 month??!! There are people who only receive a half-month bonus!!
claimed his travel entitlements for SIA business class to be "transferrable for first class on other airlines. And Durai still claimed he was traveling Business class. Yes, Business Class amount of money for First Class...
overestimated the number of patients NKF was treating
underestimated the number of years its reserves would be sufficient for its "current costs".

But most absurdly, Davinder revealed that NKF paid for Durai's upkeep of his personal Mercedes Benz that his wife also drove. This is on top of the eight cars, complete with drivers that he, together with five other NKF officers were entitled to.

Can you imagine that the money you parted with at the charity shows was used to pay for the road tax of that Mercedes?!

I wonder whether all that grotesque sum of money goes to these areas:

the treatment of their ~~3,000~~ 2,000 kidney patients
contribution to the NKF Cancer Fund
maintaining the exaggerated salaries of the VIPs like Durai
maintaining the upkeep of cars of VIPs like Durai
paying for "first class air travel on SIA business fares" for VIPS like Durai
maintaining the decor of their Dialysis Centres like I mentioned in this entry

And now, paying for costs that would be claimed by SPH and its lawyers that have been incurred.

NKF is slapping their own mouths (a Chinese saying). Who asked them to file a suit against SPH, especially when there were no accusations in the report at all?

Durai defended his reason for the suit because "... the offending paragraphs made it look like he was being 'shamed' into replacing the fittings." Duh.

Now that the case is closed, it is high time we returned our focus to the most important people of NKF: the patients. I pity the kidney/cancer patients. Would Singaporeans stop donating because of this scandal? True, NKF's reserves can last 30 to 40 years, but as Faith mentioned, what about inflation and more importantly, new patients? They still need our help.

I pity Mediacorp artistes who have slogged their guts out to perform year in year out for the patients. Oh, I pity Cao Qi ~~Bye~~ Tai (as coined by Potatomus Maximus) for ~~distorting his face to show his agony~~ zealously appealing for more donors by interrupting big-name stars like Adam Cheng. I wonder if he thinks all his efforts may have come to nought...

Shit! I don't think so! In fact, I think he would ~~distort his face even more~~ appeal even more zealously and interrupt big-name stars even more to get the donations reaching sky-high levels. Oh no, oh no!

In any case, I applaud the Mediacorp artistes for their efforts. Star appeal really does wonders to donation efforts. The point is, instead of us donors cutting off donations to NKF, NKF should instead adopt a more transparent approach to the financials of the company. NKF is after all, not a private listed company. It relies a lot from the funds of their donors. That makes us, donors, "shareholders" of the company. So, shouldn't NKF be accountable to their shareholders?

In fact, as I am writing this, I hear news reports on radio about 120 people already withdrawn from this monthly donation scheme of NKF (their donations are deducted from their bank accounts automatically).

A typical response to such a situation.

I am so pissed off with NKF.

A resounding end to my educational career... for now

2005-07-10T13:42:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the "BIG" day.

Convocation! What else! And I am part of the centennial class of 2005! Finally, after seeing the banners for commencement for the past three years, it is my turn now! Hahahaha!

So cliched but time really passes so quickly that I am still trying to come to terms with my graduation. Honestly speaking, I have avoided thinking about this day right after the last day of my exams. On that day, Siew Hup congratulated me for having gone through my last exam at NUS. Yeah, I was happy! But I shrugged when I knew this meant the "dreaded event" was coming.

And as the days passed, whenever I thought of the impending Big C (read: CONVOCATION), I still tell myself "Nah! It is still months --> weeks --> (and finally) days (only!!) away." Full blown panic! Hahaha! Now I am wondering why I was so paranoid! All my fears turned out to be unfounded! :D

Anyway, everything only started to sink in when I went back to NUS last Friday to collect my graduation gown. I was travelling on that familiar long and mostly annoying 151 journey. And dare I say it? Despite my incessant complaints, I missed the journey! Sigh! How nostalgic can I get? My blog has been occupied by random posts of nostalgia about NUS. From my last finance quiz to my "depression" at the last IA class of the semester to being a total glutton by even recollecting about the Bizad canteen.

Anyway, back to gown collection day. My countdown to Convo Day started when I landed my hands on the gown. By the way, I think the colour of our Bizad hood is still the nicest.. White, a little silverish even. It has such a classic look and the contrast with the dark blue gown looks really nice!

So, I agreed to meet Siew Hup beforehand at Bizad to take photos to feed my nostalgic appetitie.

The Bizad canteen, what else! And my special request for this photo was that the focus of the picture should not be me. The highlight should be the canteen! I am supposed to be only the "prop" here!

The long stretch of road leading to the conference rooms. I would sometimes be performing my 50 metre (an exaggeration lah!) dash here, specifically for 9 am lessons. Nice right? I mean the view. Newly renovated.. everything is so new and makes it such a stark contrast from the rest of lok kok Bizad!

The lecture theatre. Haven't been there much since Year 3. I do miss big lectures where you can fall asleep more easily without being caught by the lecturer than in a sectional! Too bad the theatre was locked. I would have taken a photo in there!

Nothing would be complete without "showing off" the NUS Business School sign. This photo is a must! Again we are the "props" here.

Then we were off to the UCC. It was bustling with activity! Spotted familiar faces and of course, took more photos! Everyone looked so different!

With Siew Hup and Darrell at the robing room before the ceremony.

With Gregory at the robing room.

Honghui. Also at the robing room.

With Heather and Siew Hup. It was quite hard to spot more familiar faces at the robing room, given that the room was rather dark, and made more so by our dark-coloured gowns. And of course, everyone was in such a gan jiong mood (at least for me) it was better not to disturb them!

And why is my hood positioned so differently from everybody?!! Luckily there were people who helped to arrange our attire just before we went on stage! Phew!

The ceremony started sharply at 3pm. Yay! No delays! The ceremony took shorter than I expected. Everything was simple but grand. There was only a short video showcasing NUS before 3pm. Even the speeches were short and sweet. The Dean did not make a speech either. Before the presentation, the camera was zooming in at the audience at all angles and it did capture some funny scenes. There was a girl who was all slouched in her seat, sleeping really soundly only minutes after the ceremony started. Was she really that tired?

The presentation of degree scrolls started relatively quickly, although it soon became a bore having to sit through the awarding of Doctorates of Business and the different MBAs before it was the BBA - our turn.

Frankly speaking, it was only after the ceremony that I could finally put names to the faces I have seen around Bizad and vice versa, faces to the names I have heard. And to speak the truth, I don't recall seeing most of the faces that went on stage yesterday. This is how cooped up I am within my own circle of friends!

As the rows behind me started to file out for their turn on stage, I got even more nervous. I constantly rubbed my ~~sweaty~~ sticky palm against my gown. All sorts of embarrassing scenarios started playing out in my mind. What if I slipped or tripped? Worse, what if my mortar board fell off? What if I forgot to look into the camera (as instructed by the helpers earlier) before collecting the scroll? Bah! Thankfully, all my worries were unfounded!

Before I was due on stage, as I was beginning to wait for my turn off stage, I reminded myself to listen carefully to how the presenter would call out my name. And of course, my mind went totally blank when I was ~~pushed~~ led on stage. I only knew I had to walk straight --> smile a little --> shake hands --> turn to face the camera --> collect my scroll --> walk down the stage.

Sounds simple enough? Wait till it's your turn! Even such seemingly simple instructions can turn out to be inexplicably complicated ones. It is scary how anxiety can grip anyone!

The valedictory speech followed right after the presentation. The speech was also short and sweet and although the message was rather meaningful, I could only remember the valedictorian saying things like "It was at Bizad that I learnt that project meetings could stretch to 3 am in the morning" and "Open book exams meant that all the answers would not be found in the textbook!" Hahaha.. such words really tug at any student's heartstrings. That it is NUS's 100th birthday or Bizad's 40th birthday this year doesn't really impact me. What I think I remember for a long time would be like what Augustin (the valeditorian) mentioned, the long project meetings, the crazy times spent during orientation, the boredom when faced with long sectionals and lectures, the hours spent slogging over that IT project (Brrr!!) and of course, the friends made.

After the ceremony which ended around 4.10pm, I met up with my parents who were sitting right at the top because they arrived on the dot. Since we were still waiting for my Grandma and sisters to arrive, I went on a photo-taking ~~frenzy~~ session. It is not a frenzy because my digicam memory died on me for a while! So some photos are still with my friends. Arrggh!!

Siwei and Yayu. It was such a surprise to see them. This was after the ceremony. They were even more excited than me!

Xinjie, another surprise visitor. She was my Macro Econs project group mate. Graduated last year.

Siew Kee.

Zhihao.

Meimei. Haven't seen this girl in ages!

Anson.

Eugene.

Lots more photos, but I think I better stop. This post is getting to be an excessively long one!

Lastly, to all the people who came for the graduation ceremony, and whom I have had the opportunity to take a photo with,

THANKS FOR COMING!!

I would definitely make the effort to attend your ceremony next year!

And to those who didn't turn up despite my constant ~~hints~~ ~~pleas~~ requests, I will make an even greater effort to turn up for your ceremony next year to make you feel even more guilty! Hiak hiak!

More photos at this site. Type zhiwei05@gmail.com. to view.

I enjoy badminton as a player, not as a spectator

2005-07-05T16:41:00.000+08:00

I was off to the Singapore Indoor Stadium to watch this:

And because it was free seating, we reached the venue at around 12pm to "chope" the good seats.

I am not exactly a badminton enthusiast although I do participate as a player. But since there were free tickets, why not?

Big mistake. The event turned out to be nearly six hours of boredom plus little glimpses of excitement here and there.

To make things worse, I do not know the rules as well as I know about soccer and I had to turn to my sister (who plays for her school team) every now and then to ask silly questions like "Is that shot in or out?", "What did the linesman say?", "What is wrong with that shot? I thought it was ok?"

And when there is a doubles match, I need to keep intense concentration and listen real hard for the umpire's cue on whose server is it now or whether it is the first or second server.

This intense concentration soon waned down whenever a "less popular" match was staged. Btw, the highlight for most people was the men's singles final between Taufik Hidayat and Chen Hong, which the former won. I never had any idea how popular Taufik was to Singaporeans until now. In any case, I have seen Taufik play before and although he is a good player, but I can't stand him because he has such a hao lian look!

No matter how close the game is, badminton can never beat soccer in terms of excitement or intensity. True, some soccer games can be such a bore and detractors often wonder where on earth is the excitement with seeing 22 men chasing 1 pathetic soccer ball.

BUT, can a player who won 9 straight points to win his opponent after being 8 points down count as "one of the greatest combacks"? I heard this from a guy who was sitting behind me when that happened. He probably is not a soccer fan. I admit I am no soccer expert myself, but come on, surely the Liverpool vs AC Milan or Man Utd vs Bayern Munich Champions League finals should be considered as "great comebacks"? Badminton is much further down the excitement scale.

Each big final consists of 5 games - men's singles, women's singles, mixed doubles, women's doubles and men's doubles. 2 sets have to be played per game. If a winner can't be decided from the 2 games (i.e. the players draw), a third (and last) game would be played. My boredom got to this extent that I would be supporting the team/player that won the first set because I could not bear having to endure a third set. The "experts" call it a double. For a third set? Doesn't make much sense.

Hence I did not display any sense of allegiance or support for any particular team except in the men's singles. What for? To make matters worse, there were two games where the opponents were all from China. No kick at all. Boring.

We even left before the last game - the men's doubles between Indonesia and Denmark. It was already past 6 and the game was still undecided.

Give me soccer anytime. I have had enough of badminton. As a spectator.

An Interview with God

2005-06-28T14:23:00.000+08:00

I was blog-browsing randomly and I found this from Samaryn's blog.

Really beautiful stuff.

The Bizad Canteen

2005-06-28T00:44:00.000+08:00

Alright I admit. I do miss NUS, although I was delirious with joy after my last paper at NUS. The nostalgia seems to have hit a few notches up as my convocation draws near.

~~In case all the memories fade,~~ Being plain bored, I decided to reminisce about the times spent at the Bizad canteen, known officially as The Terrace, but plainly to practical Bizaders, Bizad canteen. In fact, I doubt any NUS student would even address their respective canteens by their affectionate names. A bit funny leh!

I love the Bizad canteen. Although we have to share it with the Law people! But, from my friends’ and my observations of these aspiring lawyer wannabes, we gathered that most do not sit down and nua the whole afternoon away (like us Bizaders) while indulging in a proper lunch (sandwiches and coffee not included!) In fact, we wonder if they ever eat! The very rare occasions they are eating, they are probably discussing some court case or debating over a particular clause in some law! The canteen is airy and there are plenty of seats. Even if there is a seat shortage (which is rare), we can bring our food to the study benches and continue with project discussions at the same time. The main grouse is probably the presence of disgusting crows that are on standby to pounce on your food once you leave the table or leave it on the clearing shelves. Yucks!

The Bizad canteen is famous for its Chinese dumplings (jiao zi) and Western food. With regards to the jiao zi, one can smell the overpowering vinegar smell come Thursdays and be prepared to join a long, long queue for your food. It is so popular that the assistants do nothing but make only jiao zi on Thursdays. The situation seems similar to a mass production operation in a factory! Personally, I have only eaten them once and even then, I shared the plate of jiao zi with a friend. No offence to jiao zi lovers, but the vinegar smell combined with seeing many people (especially PRCs) indulging in one whole plate of jiao zi alone totally put me off them for the rest of my time in Bizad. I don’t even want to find out the quantities that are being sold! I couldn’t imagine seeing someone finishing 15 jiao zi on his own! *Shudder*

But the Western food gets my two thumbs up! Not considering the first semester of Year One, where I was ~~frightened~~ pissed off by ~~the uncle’s~~ Edward's stern looks and army-like “Next, please!” or “Fried fish to go”, I am a very regular patron of the stall, to the extent of us striking up conversations! But only when he is not busy! I still don’t have the guts to ka jiao him with special orders during peak periods! As seen from my “extreme likeness” for this stall, I do have several regrets about leaving Bizad and this stall.

Firstly, being not very adventurous when it comes to eating, I have not tried all the food that is available, partly also because his menu is so freaking extensive!! And he does introduce new items once in a while! If I had the opportunity, I would try the Atlantic salmon, lasagna etc. anytime!

Secondly, the taste of the Fusilli (the twisty and screw like pasta) with chicken and mushrooms still lingers in my mouth. This item is not available for sale but my IA class had the privilege to be the first “critics” of the food because Prof Low requested for it to be prepared during our IA make up class! The dish definitely pleased most of our taste buds because it received such rave reviews. And the turnoff of it all, this dish would only be available next semester! Boohoo! NUS students better try this dish or they would be missing out on so much!

Lastly, the stall has some items that are only available up to 10am. During my 3rd semester, I had the ~~horror~~ opportunity to experience attending four 8am lessons so I had the opportunity to try this dish. It’s called Cheesy Farmer and basically, it is egg omelette with cheese and mushrooms. 2 slices of toast complete this divine meal. For the benefit of most Bizaders, can the uncle sell this item full day or at least extend the timing? Afterall, Bizaders are notorious for being ~~slackers~~ late-starters. Most lectures start at 10am and the place is virtually like a ghost town before 10am, save for the people with 9am sectionals. Even then, they would be stuck in class and would only be “released” at 12!

Besides the Western stall, the café is my “saviour” during the dreadful 3-hour sectionals. There is cheap Milo and Teh-O to tide me through the difficult times, and various varieties of pastries that are cheap without compromising on the “professional café” quality as well. I have one grievance of the café though. The aunties are all super inefficient! Sometimes they seem to look through you and continue chatting although it is very obvious that you want to make payment. And the proverb “Too many cooks spoil the broth” is perfectly epitomized in this situation.

One typical scenario would be this: One auntie serves the main queue. Another queue is forming near the soft drinks dispenser and another at the sandwich department (sandwiches made a la Delifrance). All this while, the two aunties would either be (1) continuing to take the croissants out from the oven, or (2) just hanging around the dispenser, wiping God-knows-what. It seems as if she is just trying to act busy. Easy! Go and attend to us! We are pathetic souls! Sometimes we only have measly break times of 10 minutes so it won’t be wise to waste our time in this manner!

There used to be a Kyros Kebab stall and it closed down this semester. My guess is their business wasn’t good and they probably received less than complimentary reviews. Because their service is yawningly slow and they are, in my opinion, the pioneers of the “Too many cooks spoil the broth” theory. There are also several assistants, in fact more than sufficient to handle the traffic. My friends and I once contemplated focusing our Operations Management project on them. I don’t know the exact Logistics term but their workstation layout was hampering their service efficiency. They had the biggest stall space but this was no excuse. For example, they could be walking to one end of the stall to get the fries and then walking to the other end to collect their kebabs. I can’t really remember the exact details but it was along that line. I used to get so frustrated just looking at how they work. But they have a redeeming point though. I love their fries!

I also patronized the Malay food, Indian food stall, the Chinese rice stall, chicken rice stall, Chinese noodles stall and the Yong Tau Foo stall, albeit not very frequently.

Yong Tau Foo: The stall used to be one of my favourites until they changed vendors. I prefer to go over to the Arts canteen for Yong Tau Foo now. And the stall has rather orthodox items that doesn’t quite qualify as traditional Yong Tau Foo. Luncheon meat? Carrots?

Indian Food: The Indian food is good; the menu does not totally cater to the Indian palate, they have introduced more local-like food as well. I tried the naan once. I like! Service speed could be improved though! And it won’t hurt if prices could be less steep! After one meal, I feel so heart pain…

Chinese rice: I started trying out the Chinese rice stall this semester because I was finally convinced by my friends’ testimonials of the good food and more importantly, the quick service speed. I never liked the stall before because the queue was always very long, all days of the week!

Chicken rice: I quite liked the chicken rice in the past and I even pitied the owners when the bird flu broke out. The business became very bad. I still patronized it, but I can’t make that great a difference mah! You can’t expect me to eat chicken rice everyday! I don’t know if the declining business dampened their morale and affected their food quality. It just did not taste as good as before. Once, my portion of cai xin had turned all yellowish! Business never really recovered from the virus attack and the queues are no longer as long as before. However, it took me too long to discover their hidden gem: the duck guo tiao. Tastes heavenly with the chili!

Chinese noodles: This was another stall which I initially patronized out of “sympathy” due to its bad business. Also, the stall belonged to a friend’s uncle so I thought just give some mian zi (aka 'face') and just shang lian (patronize out of good will). My “compassion” soon ran out because I found the noodles too sticky and “clumpy”. And, they gave pretty stingy portions that were ill fitting of the price paid. So, a no-no for this stall too.

And, the perfect place to quench my thirst after the plethora of food choices available besides the café, is the fruit juices stall! They have fresh cut fruit and I suppose, many, many combinations of fruit juices available. But being the boring old me, I have stuck to the same old combis: apple + guave, orange + guava, honey lime. That is how boring I am.

I think I have tried honey dew + guava before but it was too sweet and I didn’t like it. Also tried blueberry juice, but tasted far too synthetic for me to qualify it as fresh fruit juice. In fact, no one would believe that all their juices are freshly squeezed. I don’t think guavas produce so much juice that is so green in colour and consistently tastes sweet. Must be the concentrate version. Besides juices, they offer desserts as well and I like their grass jelly and almond jelly.

The herbal soup stall just opened this semester but I have not tried it before, save for little mouthfuls here and there from friends. And my verdict? The menu, with stuff like water cress soup, chicken ginseng soup and lotus root soup, does remind me of home, my Grandma’s wonderful soups, but that is where the similarity ends. The soup tastes a tad too MSG-ie. Enough said.

Sigh! My stomach is growling in hunger already! What a glutton I am!

Not again!!!

2005-06-23T14:30:00.000+08:00

Alright, alright. Another bo liao quiz because I am feeling bo liao.. I like the pic though.. :)

You are like majority of the people in today's
society. You probably like the latest trends,
but not because they are considered cool; just
because you like them. Continue being you,
people like you for it.

A Deeper Look Inside Yourself (with pics)
brought to you by Quizilla

Do I sense some form of preaching here?

2005-06-21T16:07:00.000+08:00

I totally hate it when NKF sponsors yet another Chinese drama on Channel 8.

Given that I am slacking now (~~unemployed~~ a fresh graduate. Btw, I wonder how long I will stay "fresh". Hate this term! Makes me feel like I am fresh pork being displayed at the market!) and I do not have cable (i.e. I don't have much of a choice of what I can watch on the google box), I don't want to spend my week nights going through one whole hour of goody advice like "You should eat your vegetables", "go for regular checkups", "do regular exercise" blah blah. Yes, yes, this is good and sensible advice, we should all listen to NKF. But come on, life as it is, is already hard and so stressful. Nobody would want to have to face such grim albeit the truth advice. Watching serials should be a light hearted event. It should not make anyone worry if their cholestrol level has shot up from that heavy dinner they had the other night or wonder if they had taken enough water for the day.

To be fair, some credit has to be given to this serial. At least, it is different from the usual weepy NKF-sponsored serials in the past. The plot, as of now, is lighter, but very, very familar. MediaCorp is a copycat. Christopher Lee (the lead) reminds me of Forrest Gump and Ah Wong from Square Pegs. Why are they so into portraying idiots/mental retards? I don't get it. Is it the trend? But of course, there is an abundance of subtle tips and hints here and there to remind the viewer of NKF's existence.

To make matters worse, as if viewers do not know the show is sponsored by them, they air their advertisements aggressively, with most of them consisting of testimonials from cancer patients... something along that line. I am not sure coz I usually switch channels or go for toilet breaks when they first come on, so I am not really sure of their content.

AND, they have a 1/2 hour documentary on Sun about cancer survivors! AGAIN!

To top all this disgust, it seems that NKF is having yet another charity show for their cancer patients this time. My grandma always questions why they need so much money. Don't they already have countless shows for their kidney dialysis department? NKF will give all the crap about kidney dialysis patients requiring lifelong treatment. I do sympathise with the patients. I do donate ok! But like what many Singaporeans ask, how much of our donation actually goes to the patients? I tell you, the kidney dialysis centre opposite my house is super nice! All airconditioned and so beautifully decorated! I wonder if some of my money went towards paying for that vase I saw. Hmm...

Back to the charity show. Everytime my sis sees the commercial, she questions which celebrities are going to perform. I can't be bothered. Because even if a celebrity I really like comes to perform, I won't watch it anyway. It is too "preachy" and "emotional". But the truth is, Singaporeans need some "incentive" in order to call the donation lines. So if NKF still does not tell the public who the performers are, it is not likely the donations will come flooding in at this time.

To conclude, (my favourite term when churning out reports/doing GP essays. Alternative is "To sum it up") can NKF please stop all this nonsense? Let me watch my TV in peace!

I feel like a telephone operator today

2005-06-20T15:19:00.000+08:00

It is only 3.22 pm now but it seems as if one whole day has past, because of the flurry of activities that came my way since 9am.

I am facing yet another dilemma.

Firstly, I was scheduled for an interview with Recruit Express for the position of recruitment consultant today at 4pm. I postponed that interview to tomorrow because the Exel people called. (See below.)

The position with Exel was an internship position D recommended. The HR person told me to come down for an interview at 12.30pm, all the way at ulu Changi, near the Air Freight Terminal. *&%$@#**^% That is a bloddy ulu pandan place lah! I had to take a 25 minute bus journey to Pasir Ris MRT Station and transfer to a cab. How troublesome!

And on my bus journey, another lady from Recruit Express called and had a position as Claims Officer in an insurance company for me. I want I want! Much more than the recrutiment consultant position! Because I don't like the "sales" aspect of the job. But I told the lady I would go for the interview for RC first before giving her an answer. But I so want this job! I just can't bear to cancel on the RC position! :(

Alright, back to Exel. I transfered to a cab and it cost me 7 bucks! True to my belief, the place looks totally detached from civilisation. I don't mind working to gain the experience, but the interviewers seemed concerned that my ideal job would be in finance and that I was on the lookout for perm jobs. With regards to the first concern: Yes, Exel is a logistics firm, but surely the company needs employees other than those with a logistics background? Ridiculous! Besides, D told me the nature of this position was not entirely to do with logistics! As for the second concern, I was told initially I had to commit one month, that's all. But I was told a different thing just now: I had to commit at least one month, and maybe slightly longer until they found a permanent replacement. So, of course they had apprehensions of whether I could commit myself.

And as I left the place, I had a missed call from an unfamilar number. It was some recruitment agency, which I don't remember sending my CV to. This lady had a 2-month data entry assignment for me at NKF that pays $5.50/hr after CPF, which is much better than the $600/month I would receive if I chose Exel.

Besides, the NKF building is at Toa Payoh, which is so much better than 81, Airport Logistics Park of Singapore (aka Exel)! Bleah!

I am seriously considering the NKF offer because the added benefit of that is the no-commitment clause. I only need to give one week's notice if I do intend to quit.

Then, I just received an SMS from S, inviting me to join her at Tioman for three days next week. I want! But what if I get a job, temp or perm? I am giving her an answer tomorrow, but I think it would be a 'no'.

Here comes my dilemma. What if Exel wants me (NKF hasn't replied yet) and given that I am not exactly keen on the job, I reject their offer and wait patiently for NKF. But it turns out that NKF also doesn't want me! And at the same time, I get rejected for the perm positions as well. That would be real tragic! And I would be back to square one again! I really want the NKF job, of course not forgetting the "claims officer" one. I can only hope now that NKF would call me first.

I hate the situation now! So many uncertainties!

Engrish is a global language

2005-06-17T12:59:00.000+08:00

Nope, I didn't coin this term. The Singaporean context of Engrish (aka English) would probably be "England", I suppose.

"Wah, your England very powderful leh."

I wonder who came up with such "ingenious" terms.

Do Singaporeans really speak terrible English? I don't know if this was mentioned anywhere, but I think Singaporeans in general are very adaptive creatures. We have the ability to switch from Singlish to English and vice versa effortlessly as and when the situation calls for it. And since there has been much (long past) debate on Singaporeans speaking poor Mandarin, are Singaporeans equally bad at the subject as well?

For the record, I think I am pretty good at both subjects. I got an A1 for both O level English and Chinese and A2 for both General Paper and Chinese in JC ok! Don't pray pray! And my JC tutor wrote this in my testimonial:

"She writes and speaks fluently in both English and Chinese which makes her geniunely bilingual."

Hee. I am not trying to boast about my "excellent" results here, but my point is, most Singaporeans who have had decent schooling ( i.e. up to the secondary level. Not a bad benchmark right? Most young Singaporeans at least finish secondary school.) speak at least average to above average English/Mandarin. Sure, we still hear the lahs and lors everywhere, but when confronted with formal situations, we switch to standard English.

However, I must agree that we can't rest on our laurels. Singapore seems to be portrayed as a "neither here, nor there" nation in terms of language ability.

Moving away from the language debate, I chanced upon this site, Engrish.com that showcases a wide selection of pictures depiciting poor and sometimes puzzling English from all around Asia (mostly).

According to the website, Engrish is defined as "the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design". However, the use of Engrish is no longer confined to Japan although "the vast majority of the really funny and creative Engrish is from Japan."

The website also gives a rather thorough explanantion of why the Japanese are such poor speakers of English, despite having one of the world's best eduational system.

The pictures are divided into many categories and I found a couple of interesting ones.

Nothing wrong. Jeans are meant to serve this purpose. But a little too crude?
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

Found in a restaurant menu from China.
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

A brand of er.. toilet paper from China. A very apt and "functional" name I must say.
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

Literal translation.
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

Another case of literal translation.
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

Speaking of literal translation, I still remember this classic example of literal translation 14 years ago (boy! I am really growing old!) when I was in Primary 2. I overheard a classmate telling my teacher:

"Sorry, Miss X. I didn't bring come." Which should have meant: "Sorry, Miss X. I didn't bring it/(the thing)."

Meaning of the words in Chinese:

I = "wo3"

didn't = "mei3 you3"

bring = "dai4"

come = "lai2"

Ok, she can't be blamed. But given my above-average English standards at that time, I was already feeling very puzzled!

Continuing...

Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

No, I won't be so silly. In case, they get dumped into the Kallang River too. Sorry.. I know this is not funny.
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

Yucks! The chicken is going to taste all "mousey".
Btw, despite efforts to blur the company's logo, it's still pretty obvious that this ad came from a popular fastfood chain, also available in Singapore, whose food just tastes better. Hmm...
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

No, no I won't. I don't think I will get scalded. Anyway, the cup can't get scalded by the heat right?
Sometimes, one small little alphabet is all it takes to cause the damage...
Image courtesy of www.engrish.com

Utterly hilarious! Should check out the site!

P.S. Engrish.com has cautioned readers of their site to refrain from using the site's pictures for their own Engrish.com site. This isn't one; it's a blog. So I suppose it's okay right? Besides, I am doing free advertising for the site!

ciao!

Green tea everywhere

2005-06-16T19:57:00.000+08:00

I dunno if this is a current trend or I am already too late in observing this trend. But there's green tea everywhere!

First, it started off with the very plain, in taste and looks, old-fashioned green tea.

Then marketers got a little smarter, and decided to market the plain old green tea as a "cool" drink. Add in jasmine and you get:

My all-time favourite drink! Pokka also decided to come up with Peppermint Green Tea, which I think it's a totally bad move! Yucks!

And after judging the popularity of the green tea, companies went berserk and introduced all kinds of green tea products due to its medical benefits, ranging from lowering the risk of heart disease, lowering chlorestrol, prevention of cancer, promotion of weight loss, and of course beauty remedies.

Speaking of beauty remedies, several companies like Ginvera have even devoted whole ranges to include Green Tea.

Some examples...

Step 1: Cleanser Step 2: Toner Step 3: Moisturizer

And to refine the beauty regime, they also introduced

The Green Tea Mask.

Ginvera also has a range for the body.

Body Lotion

Shower Gel

Their claimed benefits range from "removal of dead cells", "revitalization of skin cells to lighten age spots and freckles", "anti-oxidant effects", "prevention of prickly heat, skin rashes and dryness" etc.

This is still OK. I like green tea. They smell good. In fact, I am using this shower gel now:

Shokubutsu Green Tea Shower Gel. And I love it!

But things seem to have gotten a little far off with Darlie's introduction of their Tea Care toothpaste:

Like every other naive consumer, I tried it out of novelty. Green tea mah. I like all things green tea. So this should be good!

Boy was I wrong! It tastes ultra sweet, not like toothpaste at all, and like my sister commented, it felt like eating sweetened tea leaves! Pui!

Of course, green tea still has its redeeming points. A googling session brought up these finds:

Green Tea Capsules, although I don't know what this is good for.

Elizabeth Arden Green Tea perfume. Bought this on the plane. Just the scent I like. Fresh, sweet, light.

Bvlgari Green Tea Perfume

Green Tea Ice-cream!

And... green tea pocky! WHY DON"T THEY HAVE THIS IN SINGAPORE??!!!

That's what I have found so far. Don't be surprised to see more innovative green tea products like green tea facial tissue??! Okay, I am not very creative... But really, the green tea fad is still on!

I want these!

2005-06-15T13:29:00.000+08:00

I am trying my darnest best to resist the temptation of shopping online before my actual shopping trip on Saturday.

And I tell you, it's hard!!

Browsed over to Estrella Shopping for the second time in 2 days to their Trendy Tops section.

I want these:

Front. So nice right? Always had a soft spot for halter necks. This is sooo nice! The material looks so flowly!

Back. I wonder if the straps are detachable. If not like not very nice leh..

I also like this:

And while I was happily doing boh liao browsing, I ~~accidentally stumbled upon~~ browsed to Victoria's Secret, and took an immediate delight to..

This

and this

Sigh. I doubt I would get the Victoria Secret's stuff, yet. The shipping fees are exorbidant and I think it would be more hua suan if someone else buys stuff too, so we can share the fees...

So for now, they will be KIV. Just for now.

Saturday was spent...

2005-06-13T12:19:00.000+08:00

... watching Mr and Mrs Smith! This is definitely one of the nicest movies I have caught in a long time! Watched it at Jubilee with W. This is a perfect heartland location if you want to beat the town crowd. Jubilee AMK is even more "heartland" than Bishan J8, which in recent years, has become so like town. I call it it the Orchard Road of the heartland. I have experienced trying to buy tickets but were sold out for the slots I want on several instances and my next best alternative? Jubilee, which is only a convenient 2-bus stops away!

Right, back to the movie. Yes, critics can argue that the plot is a little far fetched.. What is your take on a routine "couple quarrel" consisting of machine guns, explosions, grenades, shattered glass... *you get the drift* ? Kua zhang. Definitely.

BUT, the oozling chemistry between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie more than makes up for the odd and sometimes-exaggerated storyline! No wonder Brad Pitt won the "Sexiest Men Alive" award not once, but twice. And Angelina... she has such a great bod that turns me green with envy! :p

Not going to divulge more about the plot, as if you can't find out from the plethora of movie reviews from so many sources.. A definite must-watch!

I am Sleeping Beauty?!!??

2005-06-12T11:40:00.000+08:00

Do I really sleep that much to warrant such a ~~embarrassing~~ glamourous award? But thank goodness for the beautiful, enchanting, and as sweet as ever part. :D

You scored as Sleeping Beauty.
Your alter ego is Princess Aurora,

a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty! You are beautiful and enchanting, and as sweet as
ever.

Sleeping Beauty

56%

Cinderella

56%

Goofy

50%

The Beast

50%

Donald Duck

44%

Peter Pan

44%

Pinocchio

38%

Snow White

31%

Ariel

25%

Cruella De Ville

19%

Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?
created with QuizFarm.com

Friendliest Blogger

2005-06-12T11:34:00.000+08:00

I figured that since I can't be as popular as Xiaxue, I will just pretend that I won an award: "Friendliest Weblogger".

Not bad, not bad at all. After all, this is the truth. I am a very friendly person :)

WEBLOG

wannabe

2005 weblog award

awarded to

raindopz

in the category of

"Friendliest Weblogger Alive
"

New skin!

2005-06-10T16:59:00.000+08:00

Yay! I changed my blog ski... AGAIN!

It's not as if this is some very creative skin or what. This is from Blogger also. But I can't be bothered. Most of the blog skins from www.blogskins.com look so cutesy, teenager-ish with all the "5566", "Kelly Clarkson", "Taufik", bears/fairies/puppies themes. *Goosebumps*

And... I have finally figured out the ideal font size I had been craving since I browsed JLLT. It's Verdana in font size 8.5!

Why did I take so long to figure it out? I was fiddling with size 8, 9 and 10 but never 8.5 until now...

So here it is! My new blog!! I love the new skin!

:)

Ouch!

2005-06-09T15:52:00.000+08:00

There's an irritating ulcer in my mouth, stuck deep inside, in between my gums! And it's hurting like crazy!

Arrghhhh!!

The shopping bug has bitten again!

2005-06-08T14:56:00.000+08:00

I had an interview with AIA yesterday morning 10 am, at their headquarters, AIA Tower. Nope, I made sure I clarified with the lady who called me a few days ago that this was not a position of financial adviser. Thank God! This position, Management Intern, requires the candidate to work in "Insurance Operations", they call it. And I call it, Management Intern: the dirty work, backroom stuff.

One-year contract, doing largely administrative work. But I do so hope I get it! Getting desperate liao...

The two HR executives who interviewed me were nice, like every other interviewer. Even if they are disgusted or totally turned off by you, they would not show it. Professional ethics?

I had expected a much more intense session with them shooting very vague I-don't-see-the-link-to-the-job kind of questions like:

Tell me more about yourself.

Hello! So ambiguous! Which aspects do you want to know?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I ain't have any job now. How do you expect me to see where I am in five years' time? Or as suggested by W, "I hope to be happily married with 4 kids by that time." Duh.

Do you want to talk more about your job experience at XX Company?

No, I don't! Can't you see everything is already written on my resume?

And blah.. a whole lot of other stupid and cliched questions that I have not encountered before!

But, no. I was feeling so at ease throughout the whole session because it was so one-sided. The two executives kindly explained AIA's operations, the departments, the hierarchy, the position's expectations patiently to me. Now I am beginning to worry if such a session bodes well. :(

Anyhow, the interview ended around 11.20 am and I was off to Orchard to feed my shopping bug.. which had been waiting impatiently since AIA called on Thursday coz it knows I can sneak in some shopping after the interview!

On the way to the MRT at Raffles' Place station, I was stopped by another financial adviser, Prudential again! Promoting some new savings plan! And I was so stupid to give the guy my number again!! When he slipped me his namecard, I made a mental note to keep it and remember the numbers on the card so I can miss his calls! Bah!

And I reached Orchard before 12. Early by my usual standards, but the place was already packed with oh-so-young-I-miss-those-times teenagers walking in huge groups. Sian! I know it is hard to go to Orchard without bearing the big sardines squeeze, especially during this time, but at this time?!! I was dead wrong!

That spoiler aside, I love retail therapy alone! This was one of my more successful shopping trips because I managed to get something within 15 minutes of the start!

I am so into boleros (Is that what you call it? You know, those small "sweaters" with sizes that fit someone half your age?) at this moment! So everywhere I went, ~~I only saw boleros~~ I only looked out for boleros! I was ooh-ing and ahh-ing and comparing prices quietly at every boutique I passed. And ~~by chance/accidentally/unknowingly~~, I stepped into bYSI. I settled for this:

I love the fakey pearl buttons! So oriental! So in! And I think the pink contrasts very nicely with the black spaghetti top! But I was quite pissed off with the sales assistant! I spotted a green one that looked very nice because green is THE colour now. But I decided against buying it because the colour would go out of fashion and green isn't exactly very easy to match. So I asked her:

Me: Does this design have any other colours?

She: There's pink, blue and white. But the white one is sold out.

Me: Can you show me the pink one?

I take the green and pink one to the dressing room.

Me: (I come out) You sure there are no more white ones left? Can you help me check the other stores?

She: (She doesn't bother to check.) Oh, the white one, a customer is trying it.

Me: (in my mind) WTF! I thought you said it was sold out?!! Keeping my fingers crossed.

She: (The customer comes out) Sorry, the customer wants the piece.

And the customer, the lovely angel, tries to comfort me by saying the pink one is "very nice". Thanks, but I still feel bitter!

And as I hear the sound from the NETS machine indicating successful transaction, I see I-strongly-believe it was a bloody WHITE piece!

She: That is the blue piece.

Me: (in my mind) Fine, if you insist. Anyway the blue one looks pretty good too.

Me: Can I change the pink one for it?

She: NO.

$%#*&%&^!

Nvm. I am loving it more the longer I look at it. :)

Then I made my way to Tangs, ~~swearing~~ hoping to use up my gift vouchers. No go. Nuff said.

Off to Isetan Shaw the next. I just love Isetan Supermarket! I feel as if I am transported to Japan. The huge array Japanese foodstuffs never fail to mesmerize me! There was Japanese ice-cream on sale (which I can't bring back coz it will melt.), lovely, can't-bear-to-eat Japanese cakes on display. I only browsed lightly. My feet were starting to give way...

Took the escalator to Isetan, Fashion Department. I was greeted by a plethora of capelets! Yay! Not a wasted trip! I am not exaggerating! Everywhere I turned, I saw capelets. Classy, cutesy, smart casual, denim material.. You name it, they have it! And by 20 minutes, I was armed with 5 different capelets to try out. I just bugged the sales assistants with my endless "What colours do you have for this?", "Can I try this one?", "No thanks."

And my final decision after my exploits:

From Sugarlink. It came in green also, but I thought yellow flattered my skin more!

I am sooo pleased! 2 capelets in one shopping trip!

My last stop was Bishan J8. Walked into the bYSI. And I saw the white capelet! $#%@^!#&*

Cool it.

Grandma just passed me a pair of earings she made. So nice!

Finally after much cajoling, she has "ventured" in making jewellery. Not bad for a first attempt :)!

Tired liao! Another long entry! lo so!

Tata!

SMRT and SBS, hear me out!

2005-06-05T15:45:00.000+08:00

BUS and MRT fares are going to be set for yet another increase from 1 July 2005. See link here. Sure, the increases this time are minimal. But, like any typical Singaporean who relies on public transport, I only have this to say: SBS and SMRT, please ~~bloody hell~~ kindly ensure that there is a corresponding improvement in service levels!!!

I have read so many letters in the Straits Times' Forum page, requesting the same things. Why aren't there any replies from the relevant authorities? Or even any significant improvements made?

Yes, yes. Singapore's transport fares are among the lowest in the world. And I am not that well-travelled to compare our system with that of many countries, much less even show appreciation for it. Singapore ranks among the top in several areas: Our port, "Best Seaport in Asia", airport, winning the highest honour in the aviation industry for 4 years running, business competitiveness, globalisation, low corruption level etc etc. And the transport system? No, it's not that bad that it is of a Third-World level, but there is definitely much room for improvement.

I am more of a bus taker so most of the complaints are with the bus system. In fact, save for the occasional delays, I think the MRT system is doing a wonderful job! I have no complaints!

The Frequency of Buses

I am not expecting buses to arrive at intervals of one minute. But buses travel at ridicuously uneven intervals within the same peak (or off peak) period!

I once had a terribly bad experience waiting for Service 151 at the Kent Ridge Terminal after school. The time was around 7pm, peak period. I walked to the terminal and did not feel very good when I realised that there wasn't a single stationary 151 bus parked at the lots! Which means to say, I had to wait for at least one 151 to come back, drop off passengers, rest a while before that same bus would pick up passengers again. Fine. It was a Friday, I remembered very vividly. I have no school tomorrow, I can afford to wait.

10 minutes. 15 minutes, 20 minutes. The time flew by without a single 151 coming back. And I had to bear the annoying sight of seeing all the other bus services breezing by me, some of them in repetition!

After 25 minutes, an air conditioned 151 comes back. As expected, it parks itself in its lot. And I have to wait for it to cool down. It was another 10 minutes later before I boarded a non-aircon bus whose driver picked us poor souls up without "resting". Bless him!

The (in)frequency of buses really hits me hard. This explains why I am always late for school. Although I admit that I have a tendency to dilly dally as well. :p

The Physical Condition of Buses

I have had countless experiences with the poor physical condition of the buses. That was just one of the unhappy and annoying incidents I have had with this particular service in my 3 years at NUS. I haven't mentioned about the time the bus broke down on the day I was rushing to school for my last paper and a few of us NUS students were already planning to share a cab before another comes along and I reach school right on the dot. Or the time when smoke started to come out from somewhere on the bus and we all had to be evacuated.

SMRT buses are not spared as well. Why bother to have super duper long buses that are a pain on roads when you can't even maintain the basics? I took Service 853 when I was in AJC from 2000 to 2001 and I tell you, the non-airconditioned buses look like they are way past their scrape off date! Everytime I board the bus, I feel as if I am transported (pun intended) back to Malaysia. I worried whether I could make it back home in one piece. Aren't there supposed to be periodic inspections of the buses? Why do these buses pass the tests everytime? What is the criteria for assessing their condition?

Pass assessment = no need to buy new old = save costs?? Probably.

Sensed Bias Towards Concession-Holding Students

This is with respect to my taking 151 to NUS again, although I no longer need to do so. Anyway, what is the rationale for deciding if a bus should be made non-aircon, partial aircon or full aircon?

I just can't help but feel SBS has a bias towards us pathetic students. You see, 151 is partial aircon, and when they mean partial:

Definition from www.dictionary.com:

Of, relating to, being, or affecting only a part; not total; incomplete

they really, really mean it. Because out of their entire fleet of 151 buses, it seems that only 20% are aircon buses. Out of the at least 8 trips of 151 I make in a week (2 per day * 4 days of school), at least 6 would be on non-aircon buses. What the f***! And when this happens, it really makes my concession fare "bo hua"!

1 non aircon trip = $1.18
1 aircon trip = $1.43.

In one week,
6 trips of non aircon = $1.18 * 6 = $7.08
2 trips of aircon = $1.43 * 2 = $2.86

In one month,
total spent on transport = ($7.08 + $2.86) * 4 = $39.76 = a freaking $12.24 less than $52!!

Okay, this calculation is probably too exaggerated. I am not a hermit, I do go out on weekends. But couldn't SBS just increase the number of aircon 151 buses, especially during the semester?

I think there really this bias. Because the service plys along many schools. First, along MacPherson Road, I do see some Cedar Girls students using the service. Then along the PIE, Whitley Road, it's CJC students, followed by SJI and SCGS students.

SMU is next, using NUS's campus although this is no longer applicable since they are moving to their city campus this August! Pui! Jealous jealous!

Then, it's the famous Bukit Timah stretch, lined with schools which every parent would aspire to send their kids to. Hwa Chong Institution, Nanyang Girls', NJC, Raffles Primary, MGS. Whoa! All the ming xiao!

Then, turning into the Clementi stretch, where I am finally going to reach school, Ngee Ann Poly and SIM end the memorable route of schools 151 plys. I used to be so interested looking at all the schools when I first started at NUS, although I just slept the whole way through after a while!

So, you see! All the schools along the way! The SBS people must be thinking, how to have full aircon service?!! Sure will lugi one! Therefore, all the poor students, including me, have (had) to go through each school day by bearing the super packed buses + infrequent timetables + the sweltering heat... Sigh!

The Planning of Routes

I know of some bus stops where the buses that pass by all stop at the same interchange and worst still, ply along very similar routes.

For example, along Hougang Ave 3 at the bus stop I always wait to take 151, there are a total of 6 services.

And a breakdown of their alighting and boarding points. I have purposely grouped them together so you can see how dumb SBS/SMRT are.

151: From Hougang Central Interchange to Kent Ridge Terminal
51: From Hougang Central Interchange to Jurong East

25: From Ang Mo Kio Interchange to Bedok Interchange
87: From Sengkang Interchange to Bedok Interchange
854: From Yishun Interchange to Bedok Interchange

55: From Bishan Interchange to Siglap?

See? There are 3 services all going to Bedok Interchange and I tell you, I have taken both 25 and 854 to Bedok before and I can't tell the difference between their routes!

Yes, it is always good to be able to have the luxury to wait for more than 1 different service to the same destination, but 3??

That's a joke!

EzLink

It's been nearly two years since it has been implemented, and the system's "teething" problems are still unresolved. Kudos to the company for allowing us commuters to exit and tap our cards at the front door and introducing an auto-updating of bus stops.

There still exists just one teeny-weeny problem.. Overcharging of fares.

I thought the auto-updating system was meant to solve this problem? I still see letters written to the Forum Page, with readers complaining about the overcharging of fares due to "tweaks" in the system, and not forgetting, the not-so-friendly procedures involved in getting the few cents back.

Frankly, I can't be bothered and am too poor in mental calculations to make sure that I am deducted the correct amount each time I take the bus or MRT. God know how much I have been overcharged (undercharged) ever since...

There! I have finally aired my grievances about the transport system! Now before you brag about how Singapore has such a state-of-the-art transport system, and to be appreciatiive of what I have, consider this:

The Ezlink system was implemented in July 2002 if I am not wrong. Hong Kong already had their own "Octopus" card waaayy before us. The card could even be used to access the buses, trams, trains and ferries. The card could also be used for supermarket purchases. And only now, our Ezlink card can be used at McDonald's!

Our family was at Foochow in 2001 and the commuters at the city already enjoyed such "card travel", complete with "TV Mobile" with super good reception!

Which brings me to my last grievance...

TV Mobile

I really appreciate the effort because it really saves me from the boredom of long journeys to school. But why is the reception so bad??? I hate the screechy sounds and can't bear looking at distorted-looking faces on the screen.

And why is there this habit of recycling TV programmes? I know it, because I have watched the same Channel 8 show on three separate occasions. It is repeated because out of sheer coincidence, everytime I catch it, it is always the first episode!!

There you have it, I have finally aired my grievances!

That.. was a surprise.

2005-06-04T14:58:00.000+08:00

That piece of news crossed my mind again these past few days.

He's no longer attached. I think.

And I tell you, the level of surprise and shock is definitely no less than what I experienced when I heard that piece of news.

But I don't think I felt that upset or regretful than the first time. I seemed to have drifted further away from him since that piece of news. I didn't have the guts to face him, in case I gave myself away. And, I don't think it would be appropriate to get all chummy with him, especially since his "status" was now different.

And so, I went round first by immersing myself in agony and regret and confiding in my close friend about the news, before, at long last, (I think) I am finally over him, and can hopefully, get back to how we were in the past.

I know I haven't gotten over him. Because when the whole group of us meet up, I worry about feeling uncomfortable when he talks about his gf, or worse, even bring her along. In fact, I had even envisioned her sitting beside him, behaving all lovey dovey. I don't think I would have been able to take it if it really happened.

The first clues came from his MSN nicks. Initially, they were all about love, missing someone etc. I did not think much about it, because I know him to be a rather emotional person.

Then there came this nick about wanting to win someone back. I sort of guessed it.

Even before our latest KTV gathering, I was still worried about whether he would bring her along. Obviously, he did not.

Then came the all-important Friendster verification.

His status? Single.

It was here that I felt my suspicions were probably 80% confirmed. It was just like how his status was quickly changed to reflect his new "status" after that piece of news.

Then, W called to chat about 2 days after our results release. He talked about him.

I don't know why. W asked me how things were between him and his gf. How would I know?

I guess W had some inkling about the whole thing, especially in their typical guy-to-guy talk. Either that, or W heard it from the rumour mill.

It seems the gf left because she was having insecurities with him being so close with his female friends.

Truth or pure speculation? I'm not sure. But I know this isn't some kind of "golden opportunity" for me to take action (i.e. confess) because if I had the courage, things probably wouldn't have come to this state. So the most appropriate action now? Remain status quo.

Results

2005-06-01T11:45:00.000+08:00

It was doomsday at 1900 hrs yesterday, 31st May 2005. The release of my last results at NUS to put a temporary end to my academic pursuits.

Instead of using the phone to check my results, I used the Internet this time. I never really liked having to listen to the recorded female voice slowly pronouncing and articulating every single syllable.

At least I get to see all my results at one shot, irregardless of whether it was good or disastrous.

I always get mini panic attacks right before I am due to collect a test paper, exam script or results. I don't know if this happens to anyone. But my confidence that I might do well for a particular subject will take a drastic nosedive just before the results will be out. I would be thinking things like I didn't answer a question right or adequately enough or I should have participated more in class discussions blah blah blah...

Switched on my computer at 7.01pm.

Directed my browser to this page.

The page loads.

As I took a deep breath and braced myself to see a couple of Bs and hopefully no Cs, the browser brought me to this page:

[Home]

WTF! Yes, I know I am graduating and I am absolutely sure that my personal details are right. Even then, can't I check my results first???!!!

Panic.

Click "Proceed".

My overall CAP is a not-to-be-proud-of 3.42. Heck! At least I increased the figure.

A surprise and little disappointment. No 'A's but all 'B's. No 'C's! Investment Analysis B+!!!

Yes! I was not expecting to get an 'A' but I really really thought the subject would be at most a definite 'B-'!

B+?? I am eternally grateful!

And for the fun of listening to the female voice on the recording one last time, I called NUSPHONE.

This time all my panic was gone and in fact, I even called it a few more times after the first call! Hahaha!!!

What a comeback!

2005-05-26T05:11:00.000+08:00

Am blogging while I am keeping my eyes glued to the Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool. Most difficult multi-tasking so far!

As football commentators would say, it has been a cracker of a match!

Supported Liverpool because

1. they are English;

2. this is their first final in 21 years;

3. Milan has already won the Champions League 2 years ago and

4. Liverpool finished 5th in the Premier League and by rule, they have no chance of competing in the Champions League next season. The trophy, hopefully, would be a consolation for them.

Been a wonderful game so far. Milan was 3-0 up before half time and frankly, I wanted to go to sleep then. But, I just had this little little hope of seeing how Liverpool would fight back in the 2nd half. And true enough, they did. In the space of 6 minutes! Steven Gerrard scored first (54th minute), followed by Smicer (56th), and lastly Alonso (71st) completed the spectacular comeback.

The last 20 minutes was pure agony but it still went on to extra time.

30 minutes of extra time still failed to separate the two teams. I am glad Uefa scraped golden goals or silver goals. It is such a terrible strain on one's heart. The pulsating feel, the sense of holding one's breadth and the utter sense of despair when the game ends, just like that.

Down to penalty kicks. Love and hate this segment. The adrenaline rush when your team scores or the goalkeeper blocks a shot from the rival team is as high as when your rival team scores or when they block your shot... Brrr!!

Current penalty score: Pool 2 Milan 0

Are Milan that bad???!! Their morale probably took a disastrous dive when Smicer scored the equalizing goal. I pity them.

2-1 to Pool

Still 2-1 Pool. Riise's shot is blocked! How dramatic can everything get???!!

2-2 Milan.

3-2 Pool

Liverpool are the new Champion League winner 2005, winning 3-2 on penalties (3-3 full time).

WHAT A COMEBACK!

Kudos to Liverpool for staging such a beyond belief, spectacular comeback! It must be really hard on AC Milan! Their disappointment must be immense. This victory definitely more than makes up for Pool's domestic failures this season!

I must admit. This Champions League makes it more spectacular than Man Utd's victory over Bayern Munich in Barcelona in 1999, albeit by a little. I seem to be recollecting and reliving that victory 6 years ago although the winners are supposedly Man U's bitter rivals.. Six years??!! Has it been that long? Man U had better buck up next season.

Been a while since I blogged a soccer entry. Am losing touch (and interest) with it, no thanks to Man U's failures and the absence of cable. What kind of a fan am I? But this game has been so amazing it has aroused my failing interest in the sport by a huge margin!

Looking forward to the New Paper tomorrow. I am glad I witnessed such a historic moment in Champions League history!

ciao!

The curse of modern technology

2005-05-23T11:52:00.000+08:00

Now that I am cooped up at home, devoid of much human contact except the occasional meeting up with friends or the mindless chatting with neighbours/salespeople etc. (time with family doesn't count), I am beginning to appreciate the existence of modern commiunication tools, most notably to me, the trio of the TV, the computer and the telephone. And this is all the more so since I have an abundance of time on my hands now...

Much as I appreciate them, I worry for their continued existence in this household because all three of them are seriously overworked.

The Television Set(s)

We have 3 television sets at home, one in the hall, one each in my room and my Grandma's room. This is nothing to boast about; almost everyone has more than one TV now. And having a TV in my room, I know I am fortunate. But it has turned out to be a bane at times. How to study with the blaring TV next to you? How to sleep with the blaring TV AND the glaring light on AND deafening laughter in the dead of the night?? (I sleep with my younger sis, that's why I am subjected to such torture.)

Thank goodness the TV in my room is only a bane during school time. Phew! But as a result of this, it is overworked. The situation is aggravated because a brand new VCD cum DVD player has joined it, courtesy of Grandma. She couldn't stand hearing Sis beating and slapping the old and beyond repair player. My heart skipped a beat a few weeks ago when the whole TV suddenly turned mute. I can't bear having to spend the money to send it for repair or worse still, get a new one!

It is still fine at the moment, although I can't help but worry for its survival. The TV is on at least 3 hours every weeknight and the figures at least doubles for every day of the weekend. The VCD player as well, gets worked slightly less or equally hard as the TV as well.

The TV in the hall, at least 8 years and *fingers crossed* counting, still works relatively fine except for the occasional turning green of the screen and the absence of NICAM. The latter especially, doesn't bother me much now because of the dearth of Japanese dramas on TV nowadays. But I am disappointed I didn't discover this function much earlier when it was still working and there were still nice and quality Japanese dramas on TV. Bleah!

There is the whole package in the living room as well. Short of the newest home entertainment system, our system is rather full-fledged, with the LD player, HiFi system, DVD player, VCR player etc. The first two are more of white elephants. The LD era seems to have gone. The situation is similar to the one in my room. Dad uses the VCD player the most, watching his favourite concert VCDs/Cantonese drama serials the Nth time.

The last TV in my Grandma's room is relatively new, and overworked as well. I think the situation is not as bad now, because the new-look Channel U has cut down (or removed totally?) on the number of Taiwanese Hokkien dramas. It was really bad in the past. Here's how it was.

Channel 8: Hokkien drama from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, Mondays to Fridays (which she would watch on the TV in the hall)

Channel U: 2 consecutive Hokkien dramas from 4.30pm to 6.30pm, Mondays to Fridays. These two, she would tape them.

Then at 10.30pm after the news on Channel U, she would watch Taiwan Pi Li Huo, and during commercial breaks, watch a little of the shows she taped in the afternoon.

She hates it when I make only a passing comment about her watching TV habits, although I must admit that some of the shows are nice. Long and lo so yes, but the plots got pretty engaging at times! I missed not being able to watch Pi Li Huo after its finale, which was fantastic! But I digress.

Won't you worry for my TVs after learning of their "plight"? Sigh. And this is only the first of the trio....

The Desktop Computer

There is actually another desktop computer with no Internet access (no communication to talk of, and which I hardly use. So I shan't talk about.) and my Fujitsu laptop which requires dialup and has a snail pace speed of 56kps (Dial up is too expensive compared to the unlimited access at $47.25 on the desktop, and is too troublesome to connect as well. Besides, it is lying in my room like a white elephant as well because I only use it for churning out reports for school. So I shan't comment on it as well.)

The main computer that is excessively used has no particular brand. All its components were manually assembled by my uncle, keeping in line with the low-cost mantra. Unlimited broadband access is a godsend, although the incidence of virus attacks, spyware, Trojan worms increases exponentially. But I trust my anti-virus program, Zone Alarm firewall and AdAware to do a good job of maintaining my computer less-virus/worm/spyware-prone for me. At least it is so much more better than the ancient times of dial up, where I was practically keeping my eyes glued to the clock with every minute passed while my sis was using the computer. The fees then were exorbidant!

The computer has been reformatted at least 4 times and it is only slightly more than 2 years old. And I am always the one doing all the dirty work (i.e. reformatting, installing anti-virus, asking for help etc.) There is also bound to be lots of fingerpointing between my sis and I since we are the two main users. The virus came from your profile. No lor, I did the virus scan. More than half of the worms came from your profile. Something along that line. Childish right?

We are heavy users. The longest time I could recall was 9 hours at one shot, by my sister coz she was doing her project CUM MSN-ing, blogging, checking mail, checking Friendster and a hell lot of other stuff!

Checked our usage for the month of April. 119 hrs and 55 minutes. File transfer of 1463 MB. That is on average 3.97 hours per day. OK, reasonable. Could be lower, considering that we were both at school for most of the month and I shoild have been mugging for my exams.

It has become a routine for me to do a Disk Cleanup and an AdAware scan before I log on to the Internet AND after I am done with it. Plus an anti-virus scan weekly. Call me kiasu, but I am really tired of having to call for help when the system crashes!

The Telephone

I am not referring to my mobile phone. It is the cordless phone we have at home. I am a very light user of it, since I rely on SMS and mobile phone calls. But I still get so irritated with it.

Firstly, because it is cordless, everyone in my family has gotten so lazy (me included). We bring the phone into our rooms, bathrooms, kitchen etc to continue our conversation and leave it there. When the next call comes (which is rather frequent), we go round searching frantically for it. The last cordless phone we had was much better. Probably sensing the common habits of consumers, it had a "phone-locator" button when pressed would sound a constant ringing sound for us to *duh* locate the phone. I miss the old phone.

Secondly, this new phone also has a horrible, horrible ringtone! It screeches! It becomes a terrible nuisance to hear it if you are cooped up in the house or day (like me!) And given that we get calls at intervals of at 15 mins (sometimes shorter) at times, I hope I have not inadvertably become a potential candidate for the owner of a hearing aid!

Overwork or not, I am not too sure because I don't look/don't dare to look at the telephone bills, although I do know the phone starts to buzz with activity once my youngest sis gets home as she is bombarded with calls from her classmates! I wonder what they do in school all day. They are in school as well, but don't seem to note down whatever the teacher says. So they need to call my sis everytime for help! My sis is in Primary 6 now and this has started since she was in Primary 1!! The irritating parts are that most of the questions seem to require only one-word answers, the same girl can call back at the count of 5 after the first call, and the calls don't seem to decrease after the exams or even during the holidays!

Lastly, I hate it, hate it when the phone forces me out of my beauty sleep! i am always the victim, because my younger sis would never, ever pick up the phone. Either, she is sleeping like a log and can't hear it, or she is pretending to be deep in sleep because she knows I would have to pick it up. I suspect it is the second.

The phone is really getting on my nerves. I cringe with annoyance when I hear that ringing. Pui!

Yes, I know we need to reduce our reliance of such faceless forms of communication and build up our communication with real people. But for now, the second would have to take a back seat as I continue to immerse myself and fall deeper into the curse of modern technology.

Ciao! Watching TV...

I lead a totally boring life!

2005-05-21T16:20:00.000+08:00

I have so much spare time now that I wished the exams hadn't ended or lessons were still conducted.

But we can't turn back time.

On a particular normal day (i.e. no going out, just nua-ing at home), one can practically adjust their watches according to my activities with clockwork precision.

I miss the late-night Net surfing sessions but I haven't done that in a long time. This is because I have so much time in the day to surf all the sites I want to.

Suddenly, I miss structure. I miss keeping to deadlines. I miss last-minute mugging. I miss rushing out tons of projects and reports. I miss school.

I can't live each day aimlessly. What happened to the spirit of carpe diem?

I want a job NOW! I am glad I am at least working on something on this front. I've got an interview on Tuesday. Frankly speaking, I am starting to develop a phobia of interviews.

I wanted to go on holiday badly before my exams but considering the circumstances now, I think it would be more vital to secure a job first. I need the money.

Courtesy of www.devitart.com

I have no life.

Of architecture and grievances

2005-05-20T12:33:00.000+08:00

So much for an enthusastic employment hunt. Bleah.

I had "anticipated" with dread, the "interview" with Company A for days: wondering about my future job situation with them, meeting clients etc. etc. I decided to give the company a "chance" to impress me with what they could offer me, and conversely, hoped they would give me a chance to prove my capabilities to them. I knew right from the beginning this would be a job title of a financial advisory representative (somewhere along that line), hence many similarities with an insurance agent. But I fooled myself thinking that since Company B is a rather established company, Company A, being its subsidiary, shouldn't be too bad. I genuinely looked forward to being able to "market" unit trusts, bonds, options, on top of the regular insurance policies to my prospective clients.

My appointment time was scheduled for 8.30 am on Wednesday and I was told it would last a day till 6pm. Dread! But I decided I had to go for it, just to "listen to things" because if I didn't, I might have missed out on possible opportunities. And I was still, on my way to the office, still hoping that there would be other positions other than positions of financial advisers available. All that thought came to nought though, as I was to find out.

Left my place at 7.30am, and I really, really felt good to be part of the working crowd, on board packed buses, seemingly on my way to "work". Besides, I was clad in true working class "gear" - smart shirt-pants-pointed heels combo.

I was not late. I hope I am slowly regaining my sense of direction. Hahaha. The moment I stepped into the building, I was greeted with a sense of awe.

The building looks different from any typical office building. It had won the Best Buildable Design Awards in 2003.

The plaza looked just magnificent! The place had a distinct European feel to it and I felt as if I was in Venice. It is getting harder to find such a building which can boast of its congruence with Singapore's growing commercialization and modernisation, while still preserving its historic image.

The lobby is another architectural wonder. A lady branch manager mentioned that the advisors often brought their clients here for meetings during our orientation tour. The feedback from clients have been very positive so far. The best gain from my trip to Company A is probably learning of such a place. A jazz band plays there every night, and prices are not exorbitant. The best of all, it boasts of possibly the world's tallest wine cellar. I was told there are "angels" who would "fly" up and down the cellar to get wines. I imagine that the sight must be real queer but fantastic!

Enough of that. We went to Gateway, another building where Company A had an office. This was where everything began. Saw a couple of familiar faces. Not surprising, considering Company A was appealing to all fresh graduates, irregardless of specializtion. We were split into groups and it was a diverse group. There was a guy from Engineering, a girl from Arts, and two of us from Business, Finance and Applied Economics.

Everything felt like an orientation program. Meaningful games were played, "sermons" were preached etc. But the niggling discomfort I had was the constant reiteration of this phrase: We are watching you. It seems that this whole program is being run a la Survivor, where people would be voted off at different sessions. There were spies around, from the very junior advisers right to the CEOs. So the message was to watch what you say and how you behave.

I hated that! I felt as if there were several hidden cameras tracking our every move. I am probably exaggerating, but I just felt it seemed like a horrible intrusion of my privacy! I was also in two minds; I was feeling so restless and tired from listening to all the "sermons" that I longed to go home. I wished for myself to be eliminated. On the other hand, it was embarrassing to be called home, especially at the first elimination. The way they handled this was so tactless. The MC/speaker read names from a sheet of paper and called them to go to meet a particular person. This is still OK. Why did the speaker have to tell the whole group that those people were eliminated??!! Was this a way to constantly keep us on our toes and to show the most accepted behavour? Pui!

Lunch time at 1pm. And surprise, surprise. There was a catered buffet. This was a kind gesture on their part, but I viewed it differently. I decided they were using this to win our hearts and prevent us from leaving while we went out for lunch. I apologize for thinking that way, because they totally spoilt my plans! I was thinking of leaving during the lunch hour. This would kill two birds with one stone. I could leave but not face the embarrassment of elimination. Of course, this was not to be.

More preaching and group discussions and one last elimination round was to follow after lunch. High flying advisers shared their testimonials. There was a guy who gave up his promising career with the army because of office politics to join Company A. He has only been in the job for a year and 3 months and he earned $600,000 last year. But how many people can achieve such a feat? There was a common theme among the testimonials that were shared. They tugged at our heartstrings with talk of not gaining acceptance and understanding from parents initially, being from a poor family, wanting to prove others wrong.

But I was particularly incensed with the last speaker. He questioned our attitude and said frankly that out of the over 40 people here, probably only 5 would make it. Why is he making it sound like the company is investing "millions" in us and we should try to show more initiative? I didn't apply for Company A, mind you. They sent a letter to me, requesting my attendance. And, if we were ever going to take time to consider or ask our parents if we were offered a chance to join the company, it only means we are not interested. How true is this? One guy in his testimonial mentioned he agreed to take up the job even before consulting his parents. I can't do this even if I have a lot of passion and interest for the job. This isn't about being indecisive or lack of interest. This is the basic respect for people who are depending on you to support them after devoting selflessly to your own development.

I was totally pissed off, although I must applaud all the speakers for their ability to make you feel bad for leaving such an "engaging and informative discussion". They would say things like (not the exact words),

"This is going to last past 6pm, so people with appointments, I will give you time to SMS or phone your friends or family to postpone the appointments. You may leave too, depending on how serious you view this event."

The last phrase is the killer jolt. Who would leave in such a situation? If one person leaves, everyone can see him. It is just like the elimination thing. Why shame people in front of everyone?

The speaker finally ended and I was not prepared for the next shock that was to come. Our group leaders started bringing some formalities like talking about the perks of the job (again!) before moving to their main objective (motive). We had to register for the qualification exams to get our licence before we could be considered for another round of selection. The fees came to over $200 and we had to pay on the spot.

I was feeling very uncomfortable about the fees and I am so proud of myself about voicing my doubts right on the spot. I did not succumb to the pressure or the "coercing" from the team leader. I told him frankly that this position was not my ideal career and I needed time to speak to my parents and consider.

His face turned all solemn and "black" and told me my words gave the impression that the company was desperate (yes, he actually said this) to hire me. I had the exact feelings but obviously I did not want to incur his wrath anymore!

(not the exact words) "This is the only chance and if you do not take it, it is too bad. We probably won't call you again. But if we can't become colleagues, you could become my client. Feel free to call me...." How typical! I heard from another girl he asked her to introduce her friends to him to join the company.

Makes me wonder if there is a quota each adviser has to fulfil in bringing in new people....

Long, long entry, but heck, at least I finally managed to air my grievances!

KTV

2005-05-16T13:04:00.000+08:00

Had a KTV session at Partyworld Bishan yesterday. Been more than 5 months since I met up with everyone. I am definitely happy to see everyone, in a out-of-school context. Finally!

No assignment worries, no exam blues, no project deadlines. I don't think our topics revolved around schoolwork much. It was basically crap, crap and more crap!

Met some of them for lunch first at 1pm before the session started at 2pm, which was to last till 7pm!! Hahaha.. 5 hours marathon singing!!!

W brought along his classmate from Game Theory class - Georgina. She is quite a nice person to chat with, coz she is one of us.. Chinese speaking by default!

We proceeded to our now familiar eating place at one of the S11 coffeeshops for dinner - zi cha, with this "full chested" auntie forming the butt of our jokes. Sigh.. I shouldn't be so mean!

But it was an enjoyable time and for once, we did not leave immediately after the meal. We "strolled" and walked around J8 before settling down at Delifrance for coffee and more crap! I never laughed so much in a long, long time! My abdomen was aching from all that laughter!

I love these people! They are such a fun bunch to hang out with! I sure hope there are more of such gatherings in the future!

Chalets, holidays, BBQs? Let's have them!

It is confirmed. I am a procrastinator.

2005-05-14T13:43:00.000+08:00

You scored as ADD. Your procrastination type is ADD. Attention deficit disorder, or ADD, is one neurological cause of procrastination. Frequently with ADD, there is difficulty staying with a task and seeing it through to completion because of a tendency to get sidetracked.

ADD 75%
Worrier 69%
Overdoer 69%
Perfectionist 63%
Crisis-maker 63%
Dreamer 56%
Defier/rebel 50%
Not a procrastinator 44%
Teenager 38%

Pretty accurate, especially the worrier and overdoer part. But 56% Dreamer? I expected it to be much higher.. heehee

2005-05-13T12:16:00.000+08:00

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who have a split personality - cold as ice on the outside but hot as fire in the heart.

In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you.

You'd like to your lover to think you are loyal and faithful... that you'll never change.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please.

Your ideal relationship is comforting. You crave a relationship where you always feel warmth and love.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something that will confine you. You are afraid of marriage.

In this moment, you think of love as something you don't need. You just feel like flirting around and playing right now.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Clueless

2005-05-12T12:54:00.000+08:00

Still in rest-and-relax mode.

All the interviews I have attended so far and are going to attend appears to be dampening my spirits. I think it is because I do not know what I want. I majored in Finance because I envisioned myself working in some big corporation, managing a group of subordinates. I know where my problem lies. What is the job description that I want? What is the exact job title that I desire? I am clueless.

It seems that most of the finance-related jobs out there for me are as a role of a financial adviser a.k.a insurance agent. I know I shouldn't be complaining in such a depressing job market but I really don't like it. It is so unglam! The thought of having to be all chummy with friends you probably meet less than 5 times a year and persuading them to buy insurance really puts me off! And why do they seem so eager in praising me to the skies and glossing over my so-so capabilities? Because nobody wants to be a financial adviser ! And, this position is not exclusive to degree holders! Diploma holders can be a financial adviser too!

I am totally screwed up. The big corporations don't want me and the small insurance companies are scrambling to get me. I am in such an odd situation!

####

My desktop has been fixed! It did not literally mean "boot failure" as suggested by the system. Turned out that the settings were a little disturbed, that's all. Hence, it did not render the need for reformatting or dismantling of the hardware.

I am eternally grateful to Uncle Chow. He is the technician who oversees the maintenance of the "ratings machine" in our house. He was the person I called instead of our "regular guy", Uncle Ming, my dad's cousin, because if we really had to send our PC to the latter for a complete overhaul, it would take months because he is always so busy!

I had wanted to call Uncle Chow hoping to solve the problem over the phone, but he volunteered to come down the next night on Monday.

When he came, he unscrewed the CPU, made some "magical changes", modified the settings a bit, and viola, everything was back to working order! When he realised there were some problems with the power supply, he gave us another three-pin plug F.O.C! This is on top of the Norton Anti-Virus 2005, Anti-Spy and Windows XP with SP2 CDs he left behind!

And to top it all up, he refused any fees for his effort! To think I always grumbled when he called in the past because of yet another problem with the ratings machine!

Whatever it is, thanks Uncle!

Through his actions, I have learnt not to too critical of people, to be less 计较, to learn to live and let live.

2005-05-09T15:51:00.000+08:00

Reestablishing contact

2005-05-09T12:06:00.000+08:00

Alright, I have finally done it.

I just sent a message to him through Friendster. Yah, might seem like peanuts, but it definitely meant a great deal to me!

It's not as if I haven't done it before. I have nothing to lose. The Internet is so faceless and emotionless. He might not reply, but at least I know I gave it a try.

Maybe there was a sign for me NOT to message him. Because just as I was about to do so last nght, my whole desktop shut off by itself. Fuck! There seems to be another boot failure again and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the hardware is still intact :(

I defied the signs. I know me. There is a "window period" whereby I have all the courage, beyond which I would start having second thoughts about doing things.

I would probably regret it later, but heck! at least I have sent the message out, so it won't do me any good to leave any room for regrets!

A Pleasant Surprise

2005-05-06T14:30:00.000+08:00

Just came back from the library. Thank God I went to the Sengkang library instead of AMK. It was raining cats and dogs when I wanted to leave. At least at SK, the journey back home would be all sheltered!

Checked my NUS email today and I got a pleasant surprise. It was an email from Dr Koh, my Leadership tutor this semester. The email was titled "Group Email" and I thought it was another "nonsense" email for the whole class again.

I was smiling by the time I finished reading it. It made me feel that I mattered to Dr Koh.

The email he sent:

Dear Group,

Time flies so very quickly. It has been more than a month since I received the email from Ben that he had taken ill and was unable to help out with the group project. I then see how this group closed rank, worked doubly hard to make up for the shortfall, and even decided to give Ben the full credit for the group project (despite his illness and inability to contribute significantly). Although I could not give the group any extra credit, all of you shall always remain in my memory for being a very very generous, understanding, and forgiving group.

And now Matthew has sent me the case study that you purchased in the course of doing your project. I hope to use the case somehow. But even if I do not use it, it is yet another fantastic gesture of un-selfishness on behalf of your group.

As your lecturer, I must say that actions such as these speak volumes about your character, something which, to me, is more precious than the grades you will score on my subject.

I cannot award 'A's to everyone. But I must say that in my heart, every single one of you has my deepest and heartfelt respect. You made me proud to be your lecturer, and you will be the beachmark upon which I will judge all future groups in term of teamwork and selflessness.

Rgds,
Dr Koh

####

I didn't expect him to remember our group and the circumstances. But he did. I am so touched. To think I had started to believe some of the not-so-good opinions his ex students had of him.

This email sure brightened up my day.

Crazy finds!!

2005-05-05T16:38:00.000+08:00

I have a principle for shopping. Die hard bargain queen. Always gives me an immense sense of satisfaction when I am able to fish out amazing finds for much lower cost!

Some of my bargain finds...

From Mango. Only cost me $25!!

Fond Hugs. A steal at $13!!!

DCP. 50% discount!!

Charles & Keith. Love this bag! Only $25.40 after 15% discount from a coupon from the latest issue of Her World ! Woohoo!!

Random ramblings

2005-05-05T16:06:00.000+08:00

Finally! I have finally changed my blog layout after much indecisiveness and pondering! It is so sleek, so uncluttered and simple! I love it! Especially the super cute 晴天公仔! Been rewatching "With Love" and I am going gaga over their quotes and all things to do with the serial!

Cooped up at home all day. But loving it! Planning to do more solitary work in the next few days. First up, the library tomorrow! There are so many books I want to read!

Ciao~

Another bo liao quiz

2005-05-05T15:55:00.000+08:00

Your Birthdate: May 30

Your birthday on the 30th day of the month shows individual self-expression is necessary for your happiness.

You tend to have a good way of expressing yourself with words, certainly in a manner that is clear and understandable.

You have a good chance of success in fields requiring skill with words.

You can be very dramatic in your presentation and you may be a good actor or a natural mimic.

You have a vivid imagination that can assist you in becoming a good writer or story-teller.

Strong in your opinions, you always tend to think you are on the right side of an issue.

There may be a tendency to scatter your energies and have a lot of loose ends in your work.

You may have significant artistic talent and be very creative.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I need the confidence!

2005-05-01T13:30:00.000+08:00

I am scheduled for an interview on Wednesday. I was elated when I received the call initially. Then the career office people sent me an email, together with nine other recipents... My confidence took a real dip.

This isn't my first interview, at least considering other interviews for temporary jobs. I am so worried I will freak out. It has happened before.

Heck! I shan't think about it now.

Bleah!

2005-04-20T20:39:00.000+08:00

Just had IA final quiz today.. "the last finance paper" (quoted by Darrell) of my entire school life. Slightly easier than the mid term but still...

I am indeed in a nostalgic mood. Had Bizad Westen food for possibly the last time at student prices and the guy (~~I still don't know his name!~~ I just found out recently! His name is Edward!) wished me all the best for the future! It is amazing how friendly we have become with each other! And to think I didn't even dare eat from his stall for a period in Year 1 because I had heard so much about his notorious temper! Anyway, I still do not dare provoke him during lunchtime! I still get nervous when I tell him my order!

Then I was chatting with Siew Hup, about our past semesters, how all the exams came together during one particular semester. And she talked about having to undergo the torture of the bidding system, CORS all over again soon! In fact, after using it for so many semesters, I still haven't really got the hang of things.. all the technical jargon, "strategies" to adopt, mental stress when modules are not allocated to you blah blah blah... I am definitely pleased not having to undergo it again this July!

In a "rest and relax" mood now. Do not plan to do anything related to school for tonight. Figured that two days would be enough for me to tackle Servant Leadership. Haven't felt so relaxed during exam periods. I had only one exam last semester but the mental and physical torture of having to cope with 3 closed book exams and 1 project submission on the last week more than made up for the "xian ku hou tian" exam period.

Tried to make myself less guilty about not doing any work by actually goggling "Servant Leadership" to see if I could find any value added research for my exam on Saturday. Gone case! Doing online research when it is not urgent or mandatory really bores, for me at least!

I hope I am not taking things too lightly because this is my last semester and both exams are open book.

Alright, will try to utilize my time as much as possible tomorrow!

Siew Hup's birthday photos!

2005-04-15T12:25:00.000+08:00

Singing the birthday song.

I haven't seen Siew Hup laugh so heartily before! I am so glad that she is enjoying herself!

LCK Securities: CEO Sunil, Macroeconomic analyst Anson, technical analyst Prof Eugene Sim, fundamental analyst Siew Hup, macroeconomic analyst Zhiwei, fundamental analyst Darrell

With Dr Low Chee Kiat

Just after class.. with our beloved IA text!

We were all suffocating from the smoke! All forced smiles... hahaha

Collage 1

Another collage to wrap up the wonderful memories...

Embarking into the next phase...

2005-04-13T22:00:00.000+08:00

Today was meant to be the last lesson of possibly my entire school life. It isn't, because I still have Services Marketing make up class on Saturday! Bleah!

Anyway, I truly enjoyed myself today. In fact, I do feel a little sad that IA class has to come to an end.. I enjoyed IA classes and project meetings the most this semester. As I said before, I probably never enjoyed myself that much in a few semesters!

Our surprise and "conspiracy" worked really well today. Siew Hup was totally caught unaware by the surprise we sprang on her. We took some photos and she smiled so widely! Will post the photos up as soon as Eugene sends them!

I am truly coming to an end of my school life. Siew Hup asked how it felt to be ending school soon. No more long bus journeys, no more rushing deadlines, no more EXAMS, no more readings blah blah blah...

But... the list of things I would miss is far longer... no more long bus journeys, no more rushing deadlines, no more exams, no more readings, no more seeing and crapping with my friends, no more Bizad western food, no more enjoying the exhilaration of seeing certain people...

I am sooo sad!! I seem to be suffering from withdrawal symptons alreadty.. :(

Maybe I really should take photos of my friends at Uni, even the places I frequently "hung out" - Bizad com lab, canteen, CRC, benches especially along LT19, CRF and CRE, Hon Sui Sen Library and the lecture theatres in Year 1 and 2. Frankly, I miss them! Basically covers the whole of Bizad. But when would be a good time to take photos? Seems so dumb to be taking photos of nothing in particular especially with so many people around! As a first attempt, I took photos of the Central Library and the UCC, to remind me of the places I had to pass by nearly everyday to get to Bizad..

Depression sets in.

Not again??!!!

2005-04-12T11:43:00.000+08:00

I am utterly pissed off!!

At 11.43am on a Tuesday, I should be on my way to school but here I am stuck at home! Prof R cancelled class AGAIN!!! Due to a severe migraine. This is the second time of the semester and he had to do it on a day where I had a presentation, a quiz AND a case assignment to do! What the fuck!! And to think I was studying for the quiz and memorising the specch at the same time late last night!

Arrghhh!! I don't know what to say. He totally spoilt my plans. I was intending to start studying for IA final on Thursday after the case submission and now that the class is postponed to Saturday, this means I need to submit my case on Tuesday, which leaves me so little time to write my IA term paper and study for the final!! Hell!

Not that I want to waste my time now, I am still waiting for the Zone Alarm update to finish downloading... And I know I need to contain my fury and get started on IA!

Ganbatte!

Horrible day!

2005-04-07T00:24:00.000+08:00

Just finished editing our GEM term paper. Pretty impressed with myself. Managed to cut down the report from 30 odd pages to 19 pages. Well, not that I am super good with my editing, I also manipulated some things here and there, like using endnotes instead of footnotes, changing the spacing a little, etc. But I really do not want to look at it again.. Please pardon me, but I really have a lot to say about the writing styles of cross-faculty people. Maybe it is because I am so used to working with Bizad people and I am so used to “our style”. I totally hate it when the phrasing seems weird and stuff! For once, I think Biz Com was such a useful module! :)

Received my IA mid term paper today. Started having butterflies in my stomach when Dr Low told us we could collect it after class. As for the grade, all I would say is: I am graduating anyway, so the grade doesn’t really bother me! :p Get it?

Second last week of the semester. Second last week of my NUS life. Checklist of assignments in order of urgency:

1. GEM project due 8th April
2. Biz policy case due 9th April
3. Services Marketing case presentation on 12th April
4. Services Marketing quiz on 12th April
5. Services Marketing case on 14th April
6. IA term paper due 20th April
7. IA final quiz on 20th April
8. Leadership exam on 23rd April
9. GEM exam on 27th April

(And this list doesn’t include the unread readings and undone tutorials!! :x)

And I am out of the school! 27th April would be my last day at the school! One part of me can’t wait for this day to arrive. And I think the other part of me can’t bear to leave the school.

Darrell said we should all take pictures next week since it would be our last lesson. Yeah, I would probably take pictures the whole of next week, with all the friends I have made at Bizad. Heck, I have been longing to take pics of the library, lecture halls, com lab, tutorial rooms, the canteen and even the sights on the long bus journey! Hell, I think I would even miss the bus journey although a day hardly passes without me criticizing it!

Been sort of planning one blog entry that would chronicle my times at NUS. From the 1st semester, all the people I have worked with, all the memorable experiences etc. That would be one hell of a long entry!

That would be done, but much later. When I have more free time. Like any typical NUS student, I have such a myopic view (literally and figuratively) and I find it extremely important that I get the tasks on the checklist getting checked off first! Brr!

Off to bed… lots of things to get done tomorrow!

Procrastinating in progress

2005-03-26T01:02:00.000+08:00

I have been doing my Leadership journal since Tuesday and I am still not done. Ok, I have been procrastinating and alternating between different tasks, for example Biz Policy report. Will talk more about that later.

Good Friday today, but my Friday has been anything but good! I am typing this with the exclusion of my right middle nail because it is blackened with clotted blood and plastered up and with short periods of throbbing pain!

I can’t even bear to think of what happened! I met D for Biz Policy project meeting today and he drove me back from the interchange. I had wanted to take a bus home but he wanted to send me back coz he didn’t know his way back from the interchange! It’s his entire fault! If I had insisted on taking the bus all this wouldn’t have happened!

Anyway, the injury was inflicted because I slammed his door without noticing that my finger (the top part with the nail) was so near the ledges when he dropped me off. And horror of all horrors, he didn’t notice it and had even drove off a little! So, can you imagine how tightly the door had my nail stuck inside? And as one can probably see from here, my blaming him is entirely a convenient way for me to find excuses to cover up my carelessness! As usual!

My face was practically all white when I reached home, very "pain"stakingly. And like the usual me, I started thinking horrible thoughts. What if my bone was fractured? Or worse, broken? What if they had to amputate my nail? Bleah! I am such a worrier.

Anyway, the pain seems to have subsided a little. It is so much less painful than in the afternoon, and I can still move my finger. So I guess it wasn’t a fracture or broken bone after all!
Ok, now that I have convinced myself that it is OK. I guess I was just being paranoid. I was even all prepared to go to the polyclinic for an X ray tomorrow! All thanks to W, he scared the hell out of me!

I have been wanting to update for so long but the desktop always seem to be down with some virus. Sigh!

Anyway, our IA presentation was two Wednesdays ago and I think we did pretty well. I am so glad it is over! The days before the submission and presentation were pure havoc. Last-minute realization of mistakes but were too lazy to change, just hoping Dr Low wouldn’t spot it, certain portions that needed polishing up, inconsistencies that had to be changed, no conclusion and had to be added in last minute, checking of grammar, aligning margins, (basically beautifying the report) discussions via MSN, sending of 3MB documents via MSN and email, resending of emails because of full mailboxes, receiving and making phone calls of last minute amendments etc. etc. etc. But I must say Eugene did such a good job of beautifying the report. It looked just like a professional report complete with price charts and a general disclaimer!

The final product

In case you are wondering, the cover pic is courtesy of the Singapore Zoo. In trading speak, a bearish market vs a bullish one. Geddit?

The disclaimer. Copied word for word from a professional anaylst report. Love it!
On the day of the presentation, we had to come an hour earlier at 8am to "rehearse" the whole thing. And turned out that I was the first person to arrive and there was no rehearsal after all!

But I enjoyed myself tremendously during the presentation. Sunil did such a great job introducing us as various professionals with many years of experience in our relevant fields. I couldn’t help but laugh!

With that over, the IA quiz on Saturday was a killer! One Bonds question worth 40 marks seems to be totally gone! I would be happy if I could get some marks from that question! Anyway, after the quiz, together with our IA group, we went for our “outing” to Holland V for Crystal Jade lunch! It was super fun! And it was my first dining experience at the restaurant.

All that aside, I have been busy with work, work, and more work. Spent Saturday to Monday with Marketing assignment 2. Sigh! I thought I should be able to get a good grade this time wrong, but there were still some errors! *Disappointed*

Oh ya, I finally heard from he himself about his girlfriend. I had known this all along but this was the first time I heard this “confession” from his own words. We were on the same bus to school on Wednesday together with S when he mentioned it. He didn’t tell us he was attached, but he mentioned her in our conversation. And surprisingly, I don’t think I had looked shocked or anything like that. Coz S was here? Or coz I had gotten over this? I don’t know, but I do hope it is the latter.

And recently, I have been thinking. Why are people often so obsessed with thinking about the bad that happened to them instead of reflecting on the good?

For example, I can easily think of the days when I had to wait a long time for the 151 bus or when I had to endure the heat from an non-aircon bus. But I would be so hard-pressed to think of the days when my bus came quickly, and I reached school in a breeze, when I enjoyed the cool comfort of the bus etc. This is just an example with the bus. I am so not positive in other aspects as well.

Therefore, from now onwards, I shall try to think (hard) about at least one good thing that happened to me in a day.

Here goes:

Bad thing: I hurt my nail today.
Good thing: At least I didn’t hurt my finger and risk breaking any bones.

Good thing: I had McDonald's for breakfast today.
Good thing: I managed to finish my part of Biz Policy report today.

So, I suppose it is really not difficult to conjure up good things that happened in a day if we take the effort to think through them!

I feel so fortunate!

New week ahead

2005-03-14T19:58:00.000+08:00

Start of a new week.. Start of new worries, new assignments, new procrastination. Dr Koh was talking about self defeating behaviours during Leadership class today. Several behaviours he mentioned fitted me to a T. Worrying, procrastination, perfectionism, hostility etc.

I am a definite worrier. Sometimes to the extent of thinking about it that I cannot concentrate on other stuff. While I am looking forward to graduation, there is still a huge hurdle of tests, assignments, project submissions to get over. Brrr!! I don’t know I am going to cope but I will definitely miss this hustle and bustle when I finally put education aside for a while.

Anyway, as I commented to Anson, I (or we) am/are breathing, living and sleeping IA now. First, for the project due tomorrow and the test on Saturday to wrap up for this week at least.

Was in the com lab doing IA again as usual. And I am taking to using the Windows Messenger in the school PCs. At least I would be able to do some messaging even in school!

He messaged me. I was rather taken by surprise. How long has it been since he ever initiated the chat on MSN? Ages. We met for lunch later. Been a long time since I had lunch with him. The feeling was like in the past. I told Shunmei I had gotten over him. I think I have.

Ok, back to work!

Ciao!

2005-03-11T10:11:00.001+08:00

It has been a busy week, coupled with not-so-good news (again!). The school announced a new change in the Honours Program. Now, the cut-off CAP for at least a 2nd lower is 3.5, which is of no concern to me because my CAP is slightly below this. And I would need at least 4.27 this semester to push it up to 3.5. This is near impossible! Therefore, I have been comforting myself that since I do not intend to work in the public sector, whether I get Honours does not matter. Bleah! It is just a case of eating sour grapes!

Anyway, that aside, been spending most of my week doing IA: studying for the test, preparing tutorial and doing up our final project. Phew! At least the last two is nearly done!

Not that I am complaining. I do enjoy our IA project discussions. True, we are always digressing, but it is always so much fun and lots of laughter! I dare say this is the project group I most enjoy being in this semester.. and for the whole of these 3 years?? Possibly. I haven't laughed so much in a long while.

I just hope everything turns out well, especially our presentation on Wednesday!

Off for breakfast!

2005-03-03T16:46:00.000+08:00

Ok, it's a little too late to write about this now.. But I am just getting absolutely crazy with using Hello to post photos.

The bush fires seemed to have all but disappeared in Singapore but on Tuesday, it was as if we were living in El Nino 1997 again. Woke up to a hazy morning with that familar "burnt" smell.

Seemed pretty bad that morning but there wasn't any particular news report on it. Probably coz the rains have come again..

Took some photos from my place. Same locations - haze and no haze. Can really see the difference.

No haze..

Same place shrouded by the haze

Not too clear this one. But this is haze free.

Need I say more?

Clear skies

Blurry again

Anyway, the haze seems to be all but gone. From Malaysia I think. The winds all but blew it away. And of course, THE RAIN!

Pardon my anger.. I was just so thankful few days ago for the showers of blessing.. But maybe there is enough blessing for now?

For two days in a row, I was caught in real heavy rains in as many times! And not that I didn't bring an umbrella. I was sheltered but I was still wet! My bag had to be sent for washing! The roads were slightly flooded today.

But, I guess I shouldn't grumble too much. At least there is water. The grass won't die. And the weather is much cooler.

I am fortunate.

Ooo.. I can't wait for Saturday to come quickly coz I am going to catch the MSU prelude on TV. Hahaha.. how exciting is that you ask.. Coz there are at least 2 girls I know (not personally) who are in it. (Although I don't feel they can go far..)

sigh.. off to do research..

Friends forever!

2005-02-28T16:45:00.000+08:00

A collage to remember our friendship by. Done by HQ dearest.

2005-02-28T16:37:00.000+08:00

Ok, as promised. A selection of Grandma's craft. Lots more.. but I can't seem to find them =(

Tortoise keychain. Many colours available but green is the nicest I think!

Comes in a pair. For CNY too.

Paper lantern 1

Paper lantern 2

Paper lantern 3

Luo han fish???

Ong Lye!!

2005-02-28T16:27:00.000+08:00

My handphone accessory. Apparently, it is made of real crystals!!

Elephant. Complete with the mat on his back and decorations on his head. Dunno what that is called.

Pigs!! So cute!! There are other "designs" - pigs in different poses!

Pair of pumpkins??

For CNY.

Beaded lantern

2005-02-28T15:47:00.000+08:00

Grandma was off to the old folks' home for her routine "voulnteer session" yesterday. She always goes to teach the old folks how to do all kinds of craftwork. Shall post some pics of her craft soon.

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim (some minister) came to visit yesterday and my dear Grandma had the honour to teach Dr Yaacob her craft! Wow! I haven't been on the papers before; neither have any of my family members! She's the first!

Below are some pics from the local papers. The main text isn't important. Talks about water conservation in recent dry weather. Nothing to do with the pic!

Grandma teaching Dr Yaacob Ibrahim how to thread beads.
Lianhe Wanbao 27th February 2005, Sunday.

Grandma looks so funny with her mouth wide open! Dr Yaacob is elated for what-seems-to-most-of us a HUGE achievement!
Xinmin Daily 27th February 2005, Sunday

After Grandma's mini brush with fame this time, all I can say is

I'M SO PROUD OF YOU GRANDMA!

You know, not many people can do the craft she does.. even for people half her age! I, for one, can't! My hands are like legs and I have utterly zero patience!

Our whole house is filled with her works. From lanterns to all kinds of beaded ornaments, handphone accesories and keychains. Little puppies, turtles, pigs, goldfish, elephants, Hello Kitties, rabbits, snakes, pumpkins etc. etc. You name it, she probably has done it!

Most relatives who come to my place, especially during Chinese New Year swoon and are in awe of my Grandma's skills! And mind you, she only picked this up just this few years! So I am truly amazed at her capabilities!

I never ask her to teach me because I know I would be such an utter failure hahaha! I am more than satisfied to get her to make them for me! Heehee! My handphone accessory is from her hands!

To digress, rain has finally descended on the shores of Singapore! Hallejuah! Although it was still blistering hot this afternoon, it is raining heavily now! Thank God for the showers of blessing! They would definitely provide some reprieve for the dried grass patches on the pavements!

zzz

2005-02-24T05:44:00.000+08:00

Woohoo! Barcelona just dealt a blow to Chelsea's champions league dreams! They won 2-1 at the Nou Camp!

Bleah! Man Utd lost 0-1 to AC Milan at OLD TRAFFORD!! Homeground!! What the fuck happened??

Miserable day ahead...

Arrghh!!!!!!!!!!

2005-02-22T20:51:00.000+08:00

I just typed a long long entry and the computer hung!! Arrrgh!!

See if I can recall.

Had IA discussion today and it seemed like any ordinary schoolday. The computer lab was packed with people. So were the study benches. Who says Bizaders are slackers??

Not suggesting anything, but after being in mostly girl company for a long time, it is quite a refreshing change to talk with guys. Yes, they talk about girls, porn and sex but at least their conversations are often no-holds barred. At least this is what I think. With girls. it is different. Topics seem to revolve around our latest shopping expeditions, gossips, relationship problems etc. And there is this fear of backstabbing too. Why did she say that about me? What does she mean when she says this? She is so fake. I can't stand it! blah blah blah. You get the drift. With guys, it is possible to hold insightful conversations. How insightful can knowing about a sale get??

To digress, I encountered one incident that happened about a week ago between a girl and a boy at the playground near my place. I was walking home after school.

(In Mandarin)

Girl: What is your name?

Boy on bicycle: Jun Hao

Girl: Ok, I shall address you by "Ah Hao" in future.

Wow! Is this how easily children make friends nowadays? I have grown old. How easily they take the initiative. I really do miss the carefree-ness of childhood. Little worries. No fear of rejection, no worries of schoolwork. And how serious can friendship problems get? Probbaly just the I don't friend you line and all's well after 3 days.. Ahhh!! I love the innocence of children!

Hmm.. should I wake up for soccer tonite?

2005-02-21T10:27:00.000+08:00

Keeping my fingers crossed now! Let me post this blog successfully please!

First day of the mid term break! Yippee! This has really been long awaited!

No need to wake up before 7.

No standing in front of the wardrobe agonizing over what to wear.

No need to run for the bus.

No need to run to school coz running late.

No need to listen to boring lecturers.

No need to see certain people.

I am tired. Seriously. I still haven't quite gotten over that piece of news. I still can't talk to him like we used to. He asked me last Monday whether I had a date on V day. I was tempted to ask him how he was going to spend his. I didn't, in the end. Why must I ask him for the answer when I already know it?

He also asked me why I hadn't been online for so long. "I haven't chatted with you for a long time." I was a little pissed off when he said that. Aren't I always the one to initiate the chat when we meet online?

Anyway, I haven't been online much mainly due to the crankiness of the computer. God knows how many viruses or Trojan horses have inflicted it. It is always hanging! Not that I am complaining that much. In fact, I am not particularly craving for going online and chatting. I have run out of topics to talk to him about.

I think I am trying to avoid him. Tuesdays have become my most dreaded day of the week. I just can't seem to be able to face him.

Therefore, I am not unhappy that there is no mention of any KTV session or anything. I just want to be alone this week. I have had enough of all the pretentious smiles I have had to put up to hide my unhappiness, if there still is any.

Out of sight, out of mind.

2005-02-05T16:58:00.000+08:00

Yippee!! As mentioned in my previous entry, I didn't break my "promise" of checking out VNC. Hahaha! Aren't these shoes lovely? And they only cost me $27.90!! So much cheaper than Charles & Keith or URS! And nicer and quirkier designs too! Oooo.. I can't wait to wear them! =)

2005-02-05T16:43:00.000+08:00

Another one of those online quizzes.. Fun but bo liao :p

-Perfect- You're the perfect girlfriend. Which
means you're rare or that you cheated :P You're
the kind of chick that can hang out with your
boyfriend's friends and be silly. You don't
care about presents or about going to fancy
placed. Hell, just hang out. You're just happy
being around your boyfriend.

What Kind of Girlfriend Are You? brought to you by

2005-02-04T09:22:00.000+08:00

A sad piece of news came through to me last week. Made me feel pretty down and sad for most of the week. Was in denial too. This is not true. He's just kidding. But heck. I am slowly moving on. I can't turn things back in time and ask all the if-onlys. Too late.

I am coping well.

Anyway, school work is piling up and my CNY would be spent doing work. Bleah!

Meeting at Raffles Place for project tomorrow. Yes! I shall go check out VNC for their oh-so-nice shoes! Retail therapy never fails to perk me up! (:

2005-01-27T21:50:00.000+08:00

Nearing the end of the third week of school. Starting to feel the heat from schoolwork...

Tentative to-dos :

1. Euro Disney case
2. IA readings - text and journal
3. IA research for "young" company
4. Leadership readings - last week's and next week's!!
5. Start research for "4-5 page, single-spacing" GEM essay.. brrr!

To be continued... :-(

F***! I better get down to real work soon. Can't afford to laze around anymore!

Anyway, CNY spirit is everywhere. Feel it with the wang wang ads on tv, CNY songs playing over and over again in shopping malls, and the decorations in your neighbourhood!

For the second year running, my MPs are transforming my neighbourhood into a mini Chinatown. Seems a pretty big event; was even broadcast on TV and printed in newspapers!

Apparently greater this year, over 100 stores promising New Year goodies (which effectively is the combination of several pasar malams put together. Stuff sold also similar!), a huge Fortune God statue at the road junction which will "throw" lucky numbers to get-rich wannabes, trishaw rides, a beer garden (???), free shuttle buses, a grand lucky draw etc etc.

This event is even "registered" with the Singapore Tourism Board and the STB would actually encourage tour agencies to include this mini Chinatown into its agenda for tourists! Cool!

Alright, I seem to be "pouring cold water" over this entire thing but please believe me, I truly applaud the people behind this. In fact, I feel proud to belong to this neighbourhood. This event is a first in Singapore!

The collaboration with STB is great too. This is a wonderful opportunity to bring some business to the small retailers here and create some buzz for the normally quiet neighbourhood!

Check out the pics (albeit not very well taken)!

2005-01-27T21:49:00.000+08:00

More of the lightings. The lighting actually goes the entire stretch of road but it's kinda hard to take photo from my balcony.. Reminds me of Christmas..

2005-01-27T21:40:00.000+08:00

Many apologies for my lousy photography skills.. But it's real beautiful!

2005-01-27T21:39:00.000+08:00

The reminder that CNY is coming...

untitled

2005-01-21T14:04:00.000+08:00

Just testing it out. Hope it works!

Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term'

Infringing on my privacy!

2005-01-20T22:27:00.000+08:00

At it again... My MSN nick at the moment. Doing compiling again. Small matter this time. Only seven pages, no drastic shortening required. Phew~

Been online since 8.30pm and I am still at Page 4! Too many distractions! Checking emails, viewing blogs, window shopping online blah blah blah.

Someone help me! It feels weird to be doing project on the 2nd week of school. Pui!

Anyway, Thursday today. My FREE day. Spent the morning attending some interview at Everest Associates (under Prudential) to be a "financial adviser" (aka insurance agent. So unglam.) I still haven't figured out from which recruitment agency the company got my resume from. How the hell did it end up in an insurance firm? I am so pissed.

Reached the company 10.30am and I was made to wait a whole half hour before the guys came in. Talk about sincerity! Typical of any insurance firm (or any other sales related industry), the two guys went on preaching about how great their company was, how closely knit everyone was, how you can earn big bucks easily etc etc etc. And all I could do was to nod, smile, nod. :(

I don't think I will get the job. I hope not. Fingers crossed. I seemed far too accommodating, far too "nice". Not that I am upset about it, but it suits me fine. I prefer to keep out of the limelight. Just give me a workstation and I would be willing to slog all day for you. Alone.

Took up a good one and a half hours of my time. Bloody hell.

Left for school for project discussion, supposedly for one hour 3-4pm. So drained. Managed to see him in school. He didn't see me. :(

As usual, I volunteered to do the compiling, yet again. How else could I contribute? I suck at PowerPoint. I am totally dead on creativity. Spare me. Stayed around till 5.40pm. Not bad, nearly three hours. My bus fare would have been more worth it. LOL.

2005-01-18T17:55:00.000+08:00

What a strange day with such a turn of events! I know I have used this phrase many times but please pardon me for my uncreativity.

Today's Tuesday -- "Services Marketing Day", day where he and I would be in the same class, in the very last semester of our NUS life.

Was sort of looking forward to it coz I knew I could defintely see him around although last week was rather dampening.

Then just as my bus was turning into NUS, around 11.45, he called me, saying that the class was cancelled! I was like.. WHAT THE F***! To think I spent more than an hour coming to school and this had to happen! To make things worse, I have another lecture at 4! How was I to rot till then?? Then he said he could accompany me for lunch since I was already in school. Yay! *heehee*

Reached Bizad with Christine and the notice on the door said Prof wasn't feeling well and the class would be postponed to next Saturday! Arrghh!!! Another Sat gone! I already have a "date" with Wang Pien for Biz Policy this Sat and now this piece of shit! :-(

He was the one who "tempted" me to skip my lecture and go shopping with him. See the turn of events? Initially, I was very contented to be able to be in the same class as him and now this... Been a long time since we went out together, just the two of us.

He brought his pool cue along. He has this habit of playing pool alone every Tuesday. Went to Plaza Singapura coz he had to send his phone for servicing. That's why he had time to kill until around 4 for pool before meeting one of his friends - a girl. Not wanting to mean anything, but I guess I shouldn't try too hard. 想开了. No point me getting all upset and sensitive.

And I badly wanted to eat Cafe Cartel but their grilled chicken was sold out! Hmpf! And this is high maintenance meh? Coz I wanted to eat outside instead of in school.. That's what he thinks. But that's so NOT TRUE. I hope he won't be turned off by his own thoughts. Settled for Thai Express in the end. My first visit to the restaurant. He didn't eat coz he already had like 3 meals previously and the day was only just half gone only!

Took a bus to Suntec City coz there's only so much one can do at PS. Walked around, cracked a few jokes blah blah blah. The time was already nearing 3pm and I felt quite bad for getting him to go to Suntec with me.

Walked around some more. Shopping is always like that. Each of us would be looking at different stuff. Interaction is pretty limited.

Anyway I decided to do a manicure (at long last) at Fave Nails at Citylink Mall. He accompanied me to the place and left shortly after that. Was around 3.30pm. He had offered to teach me pool but I declined it. I am hopeless at the game. Actually, I wouldn't have minded watching him play but then, I guess it's ok.

As it is, I am already very contended with the events of the day.

Smile!