Recap of 2008

So what did I do in 2008? Have I made use of my life? I would certainly say it has been worthwhile. Here are a couple of things I did that I would remember as marked my 2008.

1. Successfully completed my 2nd year in my university degree. I went through 2 whole semesters in university and am very proud of it. For those who know me, I put much effort into getting good results in university. Getting good results is always good, but it’s the effort put in that really counts. For one thing I realised is that work life is like that, no one will really push you to up your standard, it’s really up to you how well you want to do. And that is what makes someone special.

2. Travelled to Brighton and Frankston Beach in Melbourne, Australia. It was my first time there, and thus I got to experience the beaches first hand, it was a wonderful experience. Saw how beautiful a beach could be especially in autumn. Would certainly love to go there again.

3. Joined the JP Morgan Investment Banking competition and came in top 5. I am so very proud of my team: Kelvin, Kim Chew and Wendy. We had to travel far and wide just to meet up. I will always remember the good times we had working together. Good work guys, we deserved every bit of that! I am happy for us.

4. Got elected as treasurer of the Entrepreneurial Investment Club. It was certainly a good experience being with EIC. First of all, it is all about the friends there, I have gotten to meet so many people and appreciate our network. I had lots of fun in the meetings and I certainly hope to be able to educate people more about the sharemarket and investing in general in the coming year.

5. A humbling year for Kenjisan Investments. Before you start investing, you will always feel that you can beat the sharemarket. You will feel confident and ready to take on the world. Although the optimism is always good, be careful not to be overly optimistic. The sharemarket experienced one of its worst years since 1930 and we have gone into a recession which has yet to see its end. Financial markets everywhere have plunged and there is a major deleveraging happening globally, the result that many people have lost their homes and jobs. As the investment officer at Kenjisan Investments, I have tried my best to prevent losses but we ended the year down 20 percent, but still better than the market which is down more than 40 percent. I have to reconsider my thinking and try my best for 2009.

6. Made many new friends from all walks. Throughout the year I have attended many lunches, get togethers, parties, outings, gatherings, and the result is that I have formed lasting relationships if not acquaintances with many of my friends. I will always appreciate you guys!

7. Tried many things, and failed. I would say that this year I have attempted to do many things. Like for instance, I joined the UBS Investment Banking challenge and tried my very best to get into Top 5, however, nothing eventuated. Perhaps we were not good enough and have to hone our skills even more. I have attended many interviews for internships in Australia but didn’t even get one. I tried to achieve even better grades for my subjects but didn’t achieve it. But I know that the important thing is that I have tried, and haven’t given up.

8. Became a personal tutor for university subjects. I decided to try my luck at being a tutor for accounting for first years. Turns out, I succeeded and it wasn’t bad at all. I was actually pretty comfortable teaching the syllabus and found out that maybe I do have some teaching talent.

9. Learnt how to play Frisbee for the first time in my life. Thanks to Kelvin who was really my teacher at the sport. I managed to learn how to throw a Frisbee right and it is actually a very fun sport. Would love to continue playing it in the future. Melbournians love it and it is even in the university games.

10. Bought a new laptop, suit and watch. This year marks alot of expenditure on personal items for me. I have saved a lot of money to buy those 3 things mentioned. But after all, it’s worth it. Up to now, I still find them very useful and surely worth the investment into the future.

11. Got an internship at CIMB. After searching high and low for internships, I finally landed one at CIMB. As of writing, I am still working there at the moment. Thoroughly enjoying it and they have put me in equity research department. There I am learning much about shares, how to value them, the different industries and how to improve my commercial judgment. I will always cherish the fun times I had working there.

12. Celebrated the Nando’s Christmas Party. It was the most fun event of the year, we had booze and fun games. Most of all, almost everyone in Nando’s turned up. They are my good friends by now and love seeing us all as a bunch together. We also had a Christmas kringle where we exchanges presents.

13. Finished reading Warren Buffett’s The Snowball biography. It was certainly a great book, as the author dwelved into the life of the world’s current greatest investor and tells the story of his life. It is about 900 pages long altogether and worth every page of it.

14. Grown closer to my close friends. I would want to put one of the defining moments of this year as getting close to my close friends. They are Kelvin, Nicole, Khim, Jerm, Chan and Jenn. I don’t think I will ever find a closer bunch of friends than them. They have always been there for me and the best of the lot.

15. Went through the ups and downs of a relationship. I know how it feels like to go through a relationship, and every bit of it. This year happened to me once. Although it ended, it was not wasted and I see it as a door that opens to a future of possibilities. Nevertheless, I appreciate all that we have gone through.

16. Came in 3rd place in the Melbourne University Entrepreneurial Challenge. After more than 6 months of ongoing competition, we finally came in 3rd. Congrats to our team who worked our butts off and we are just great guys. Cheers to Kelvin, Chiau Lin and Wei Na, we make a great team.

17. Went to a company’s annual general meeting for the first time. Wei Yan and myself both went to BHP’s AGM this year. It was great and my first time experiencing it. It was worth every second of it, and I look forward to going for more in the future. Heck, I think we were the youngest there.

18. Counted down New Year’s at Mont Kiara Plaza. It was really fun having counted down the new year with Chan and Peh Leon. There was fireworks and a live band. So we were dancing and celebrating there the whole night. I only reached home at 3am that night.

There might have been some events that I missed out, but these written here was surely the highlight of 2008. Turns out I had a great year after all looking back. It is already 3 days into 2009 and I can’t wait to experience it with the same enthusiasm as I had in 2008. Here we come 2009!