It has been a great two weeks so far, with a lot happening and much progress happening too. You know it is a great week when you feel that time has flown by quickly and when you look back at the events, you can't recall every event!
Yesterday night I attended Mel's 21st birthday party and it was nothing short of awesome! It's the kind of birthday party that has everything - good food, great speeches, new people to meet, fun games and more. I cherish the fact that I have a friend like Mel whom I have met and known for around 4 years already. Friendships in Melbourne are starting to grow older and more valuable of course, especially since this is my 4th year in Melbourne already.
Today is the last day of my short 2 week holiday before uni reopens its doors again! This coming sem will be very different to the last 3 years. It will be the beginning of research year. For those of you who have not done research before, I reckon it will be a pretty challenging year from the likes of it, but, do not be afraid as nothing is impossible for us!
I wonder sometimes what this year will bring for me, I am more unsure about this year compared to the same time 1 year ago. I will of course need to ask God for help in guiding me this year. Some people has said that Honours year will be the best year of their lives, but would it? I will find out for myself pretty soon. So to the last holiday of 2009-2010 summer, I bid you goodbye and may a great sem ahead start!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Finance Honours Retreat
Today I have just had the longest day I have had in a looooong time.
Why you ask?
I just came home from the Finance Honours Retreat!
Where you ask? *must be thinking of somewhere cool*
The Melbourne Museum!
*gasps*
*That is a lame place.*
It is quite a cool place actually. It was held at a specific venue inside the Melbourne Museum, better known as the TreeTop.
It was a cosy place, well decorated and airconditioned, I cannot complain much. We were well treated with many delicious sandwiches and coffee/orange juice to come with it. I must've had like 4 meals today.
But the whole day started at 8.45am and it just ended at 11.15am, what a long day! I am happy, however, that it is finally over.
Throughout the whole day we were briefed about what we should expect throughout the year, about managing our expectations, preparing early for the research essay and what we need to successfully pass the honours year. I was starting to think that my year of relaxation isn't going to turn out that relaxing after all!
It was good, however, to meet alot of new friends and connect back with old friends whom I wasn't that close to before. It seems that this year the honours batch is like 27 guys and 3 girls, which is quite biased towards guys! Some say that honours year will be the best year of our lives, and I will definitely look forward to it! It is a wholly different environment with the classes now going to be very small and everyone is alot closer to each other. I feel I am beginning to be closer to some of them already!
We had quite a good dinner with all the staff from the Department of Finance, Li-Ren Yu the winner of last year's Finance Honours Medal and also my head-tutor for CorpFi and people from Macquarie Capital. We were served a 3 course meal (which was not bad!) and had a lovely time chatting with all the people on my table. They specially set up tables for us in front of a museum gallery to make it special, and indeed it was! They also gave us CabCharge cards to taxi our way home after the event, how nice.
This is the first time I have been treated so nicely by the Department of Finance, as a student you have got to feel special! I think I will remember this day for a long time to come. Definitely when honours is nearing an end, I will always remember the beginning, the beginning that was the Finance Honours Retreat. =)
Why you ask?
I just came home from the Finance Honours Retreat!
Where you ask? *must be thinking of somewhere cool*
The Melbourne Museum!
*gasps*
*That is a lame place.*
It is quite a cool place actually. It was held at a specific venue inside the Melbourne Museum, better known as the TreeTop.
It was a cosy place, well decorated and airconditioned, I cannot complain much. We were well treated with many delicious sandwiches and coffee/orange juice to come with it. I must've had like 4 meals today.
But the whole day started at 8.45am and it just ended at 11.15am, what a long day! I am happy, however, that it is finally over.
Throughout the whole day we were briefed about what we should expect throughout the year, about managing our expectations, preparing early for the research essay and what we need to successfully pass the honours year. I was starting to think that my year of relaxation isn't going to turn out that relaxing after all!
It was good, however, to meet alot of new friends and connect back with old friends whom I wasn't that close to before. It seems that this year the honours batch is like 27 guys and 3 girls, which is quite biased towards guys! Some say that honours year will be the best year of our lives, and I will definitely look forward to it! It is a wholly different environment with the classes now going to be very small and everyone is alot closer to each other. I feel I am beginning to be closer to some of them already!
We had quite a good dinner with all the staff from the Department of Finance, Li-Ren Yu the winner of last year's Finance Honours Medal and also my head-tutor for CorpFi and people from Macquarie Capital. We were served a 3 course meal (which was not bad!) and had a lovely time chatting with all the people on my table. They specially set up tables for us in front of a museum gallery to make it special, and indeed it was! They also gave us CabCharge cards to taxi our way home after the event, how nice.
This is the first time I have been treated so nicely by the Department of Finance, as a student you have got to feel special! I think I will remember this day for a long time to come. Definitely when honours is nearing an end, I will always remember the beginning, the beginning that was the Finance Honours Retreat. =)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Celebrating my 22nd on the 22nd at No.22
Recently there has been a lot of potlucks happening. For those not familiar with the term potluck, it means that everyone has to bring a dish enough for 1 person and if everyone does the same, then we will have quite an interesting dinner indeed with many dishes.
The first potluck recently was at Jolene's place's rooftop which was quite interesting! We had a lovely steamboat there on the rooftop and had fun making new friends including Seok, who is a 3rd year medical student this year! It was good to catch up with old friends too including PeiYee, Jolene and Marina.
Then came my 22nd birthday party on the 22nd of February at my apartment whose number is 22. It was interesting day, a lot things happening and I felt really, really happy celebrating with all my friends, getting to try a lot of different food and finally opening presents at the end.
I sort of invited everyone on my facebook to my birthday this year which was ridiculous because I have almost 1,000 facebook friends. But I knew that a major proportion of those friends are actually overseas, so I was just kindly extending the invite to friends overseas even though I knew they couldn't make it. I was expecting about 40 people to attend and finally about 45 people attended. I am happy for that.
It was potluck style as you already know, and everyone brought interesting dishes to the party! To add to the incentive, I sort of provided prizes for the top 2 dishes of the night and the prize for chocolate shavings from Koko Black. It was in my opinion the best product of Koko Black where all you had to do was mix them with hot milk, stir and there you have it, a nice cup of hot chocolate!
The two dishes that won were firstly a dumplings dish made by Ling, where in one of those many dumplings there were a 5cent coin where the person who ate that would be considered 'lucky'! What an interesting dish, no doubt it won! Secondly, it was the herbal chicken dish made by PeiYee, Jolene and Marina. They had literally 'steamed' the chicken the whole day and the result: a juicy, tender, aroma-full chicken which was delicious!
There were 2 other dishes as well which in my opinion deserved mention: Budi's strawberry dish which says 'Happy Birthday' with the strawberries was very unique and wow-ing, albeit it didn't taste as good as it looked! And finally Amanda's apricot cheesecake dish which was restaurant quality and possibly the most delicious dish of the night! She should really open her cafe one day.
I was very glad that a lot of my good friends made it that night, at least those in Melbourne. Too bad the birthday party wasn't complete without 2 people there: Chan Jun Kai and Rhun Kiet Chuah whom are both my good friends and whom are both in Malaysia at that time.
It was a very busy time for me as the host, I had to organise everything, made sure people were settling in, but it was all worth it in the end. We had fun playing some card games, poker, even managed to play sparklers outside.
To list out all the wonderful presents that my friends gave me, here it is: 3 books (2 of which are the same!), chocolate cigars, a wallet, a Westfield gift card, a box of chocolates from Max Brenner, a deluxe poker set and an iPhone case! But the most wonderful present of all would be the cards I got from each one of you, that is the most treasured present of all and I would keep it for many years to come!
This was the first birthday I had in my apartment in Melbourne in a long time. I remember the first time I celebrated a similar birthday was 4 years ago when I was doing VCE Year 12. How fast time has passed since then! I cannot believe that now I am already in my 4th year of uni doing Honours. God has blessed me abundantly since then and I am eternally grateful for all the wonderful friends that I have. Thanks so much guys for making this a memorable birthday and hope I can be a better friend to you all in 2010! =)
The 22nd on the 22nd only happens once in my lifetime and it has been a memorable one!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Victoria Night Market
It was my first time coming to the Victoria Night Market even though I had been in Melbourne for the past 4 years. The reason? I guess I only travelled around Melb for sight-seeing when my parents are around, seldom I go out with friends sight-seeing. Usually me going out with friends would be for dinner/lunch reasons.
Also the Victoria Night Market is only open during summer (needless to say they are closed during the freezing winter) and this would be the time when I have just arrived back from KL and would be busy settling errands!
It was a good experience going there! Went there with Jolene, Pei Yee and Marina(Jolene's housemate). The night market is just like the Festival of Nations at my uni multiplied by about 4 times. There were just tonnes of restaurants around, selling all sorts of different food types and also all sorts of goodies, ranging from funny hats to posters.
It is, however, very different to the night market experience in Malaysia. In KL, you have a lot of illegal stuff and usually no/little beer would be in sight. In Melb, you have no illegal stuff at all and there are tonnes of Aussies around drinking beer. What a different sight! Which one do I prefer more? Hard to say. I never really enjoyed going to the night market in Malaysia alot. I mean yes it's interesting going once, but after that, it is usually the same. I guess the same goes for Melb.
We had some sort of Roti Canai from one of the stalls which was good. And also listened to some guy singing oldie songs. It was a refreshing experience really. One of the good ways to celebrate a good holiday night, instead of just being at home. I would definitely recommend the night market to friends wishing to go in the future. Actually, this coming Wednesday would be the last time it is open before next summer, so I'd recommend you go fast! :)
Also the Victoria Night Market is only open during summer (needless to say they are closed during the freezing winter) and this would be the time when I have just arrived back from KL and would be busy settling errands!
It was a good experience going there! Went there with Jolene, Pei Yee and Marina(Jolene's housemate). The night market is just like the Festival of Nations at my uni multiplied by about 4 times. There were just tonnes of restaurants around, selling all sorts of different food types and also all sorts of goodies, ranging from funny hats to posters.
It is, however, very different to the night market experience in Malaysia. In KL, you have a lot of illegal stuff and usually no/little beer would be in sight. In Melb, you have no illegal stuff at all and there are tonnes of Aussies around drinking beer. What a different sight! Which one do I prefer more? Hard to say. I never really enjoyed going to the night market in Malaysia alot. I mean yes it's interesting going once, but after that, it is usually the same. I guess the same goes for Melb.
We had some sort of Roti Canai from one of the stalls which was good. And also listened to some guy singing oldie songs. It was a refreshing experience really. One of the good ways to celebrate a good holiday night, instead of just being at home. I would definitely recommend the night market to friends wishing to go in the future. Actually, this coming Wednesday would be the last time it is open before next summer, so I'd recommend you go fast! :)
Friday, February 19, 2010
CNY 2010 in Melbourne
I haven't actually really celebrated Chinese New Year in the time since I have started studying in Melbourne. When I made the move to Melbourne, it seems that my ang pows are becoming less and the CNY spirit is not as vibrant as it used to be.
There are a few reasons, one being that all my relatives are in Malaysia (most of them) and so there are not people to visit or celebrate with family in Melbourne. Also, Melbourne is a western city, and so CNY is not as main event as it is in Malaysia.
Nevertheless, that did not stop me from celebrating this year in Little Bourke St. Jolene, Pei Yee, Yip and myself managed to organise something for ourselves on CNY day itself. We went to the city, to Little Bourke St at quite early in the morning, around 10am, and saw the amazing display of fire-crackers, lion dancing and martial arts there.
They were really good and prepared. There was one act where the lions had to go on top of poles and perform their tricks there, which was really dangerous. One lion fell to the ground, injuring itself in the process, which I felt was really unlucky for them, but luckily it was not as bad as I thought it was because the lion stood up again and somewhat continued what it was doing, albeit in a milder manner.
After the initial celebration, we headed to A1 Cafe for some lunch. There we tried the delicious dishes that comes with egg chiffon. Talking about it now actually makes me hungry already, since I have just woken up and have not yet had any food. I love the food at A1 Cafe, it is very delicious and always keeps customers coming back for more.
After lunch, we walked around Russel St and Little Bourke St to see all the stores that were set up just for the CNY celebrations. It was a refreshing experience and I love the joyful mode of that event. The fire-crackers were very loud too causing me to be abit deaf after the event, but it wasn't that big an impact. It was a good Sunday and it was good to see some traditional Chinese events. At least the CNY spirit is there which I thoroughly enjoy.
There are a few reasons, one being that all my relatives are in Malaysia (most of them) and so there are not people to visit or celebrate with family in Melbourne. Also, Melbourne is a western city, and so CNY is not as main event as it is in Malaysia.
Nevertheless, that did not stop me from celebrating this year in Little Bourke St. Jolene, Pei Yee, Yip and myself managed to organise something for ourselves on CNY day itself. We went to the city, to Little Bourke St at quite early in the morning, around 10am, and saw the amazing display of fire-crackers, lion dancing and martial arts there.
They were really good and prepared. There was one act where the lions had to go on top of poles and perform their tricks there, which was really dangerous. One lion fell to the ground, injuring itself in the process, which I felt was really unlucky for them, but luckily it was not as bad as I thought it was because the lion stood up again and somewhat continued what it was doing, albeit in a milder manner.
After the initial celebration, we headed to A1 Cafe for some lunch. There we tried the delicious dishes that comes with egg chiffon. Talking about it now actually makes me hungry already, since I have just woken up and have not yet had any food. I love the food at A1 Cafe, it is very delicious and always keeps customers coming back for more.
After lunch, we walked around Russel St and Little Bourke St to see all the stores that were set up just for the CNY celebrations. It was a refreshing experience and I love the joyful mode of that event. The fire-crackers were very loud too causing me to be abit deaf after the event, but it wasn't that big an impact. It was a good Sunday and it was good to see some traditional Chinese events. At least the CNY spirit is there which I thoroughly enjoy.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Last Day of my Internship
So, finally, after 11 weeks it has came to an end.
My internship has been a great experience and has taught me a lot of things, especially about myself and what I am capable at and what not I am capable at.
If there were two things I have identified about myself which are weaknesses, then it would be:
i) Active listening
ii) The ability to answer questions in a balanced way
I believe I was always lacking those two character traits, but had not actually been aware of it. I really, really thank my buddy Chris who actually has a rare ability to read human beings well as the feedback he gave me was spot on.
I also realised that I am very capable of picking new ideas up easily and I am definitely an analytical person. To a certain extent, I also believe that I am sociable and am able to interact well with other people, at least in a professional way.
People tend to comment about me as someone who is also passionate about the work that I do. They can see high conviction in my ideas and that I tend to be excited and enthusiastic about new ideas. I guess in a way I am aware of that just that I didn't know to what extent that had an effect or impression on other people, but it is good to know now!
I have learnt a lot throughout the 11 weeks and have built lasting friendships (I hope) throughout the time there. I made new friends with my colleagues and especially my fellow interns, Shaun and Dom, and also including the interns in the other division. I can say that I have walked out of the place having a deep knowledge of how Asset Management works and how it feels like working there.
I have also got exposure as to what it feels like working in a high pressured environment and being given the responsibility of a full-time graduate because I felt as an intern there, the work I was given was comparable to that of an entry level graduate.
After finishing work at the place, I definitely feel sentimental towards it and had actually spent a day reflecting what I have learnt/done throughout my internship. It will be a good memory in years to come and I hope that I will takeway key lessons from the experience.
I want to actually start working full-time soon and probably would not be doing any more internships. It has been a great experience so far and having done 3 internships in total, I understand what it feels like to be an intern! Hopefully I will be able to communicate my experience to future interns whom would be someday working under me.
My internship has been a great experience and has taught me a lot of things, especially about myself and what I am capable at and what not I am capable at.
If there were two things I have identified about myself which are weaknesses, then it would be:
i) Active listening
ii) The ability to answer questions in a balanced way
I believe I was always lacking those two character traits, but had not actually been aware of it. I really, really thank my buddy Chris who actually has a rare ability to read human beings well as the feedback he gave me was spot on.
I also realised that I am very capable of picking new ideas up easily and I am definitely an analytical person. To a certain extent, I also believe that I am sociable and am able to interact well with other people, at least in a professional way.
People tend to comment about me as someone who is also passionate about the work that I do. They can see high conviction in my ideas and that I tend to be excited and enthusiastic about new ideas. I guess in a way I am aware of that just that I didn't know to what extent that had an effect or impression on other people, but it is good to know now!
I have learnt a lot throughout the 11 weeks and have built lasting friendships (I hope) throughout the time there. I made new friends with my colleagues and especially my fellow interns, Shaun and Dom, and also including the interns in the other division. I can say that I have walked out of the place having a deep knowledge of how Asset Management works and how it feels like working there.
I have also got exposure as to what it feels like working in a high pressured environment and being given the responsibility of a full-time graduate because I felt as an intern there, the work I was given was comparable to that of an entry level graduate.
After finishing work at the place, I definitely feel sentimental towards it and had actually spent a day reflecting what I have learnt/done throughout my internship. It will be a good memory in years to come and I hope that I will takeway key lessons from the experience.
I want to actually start working full-time soon and probably would not be doing any more internships. It has been a great experience so far and having done 3 internships in total, I understand what it feels like to be an intern! Hopefully I will be able to communicate my experience to future interns whom would be someday working under me.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
My New Apple iPhone 3Gs
I am usually bored when I am on the bus travelling home as well as unsatisfied at my inability to type up proper emails whilst I was on the go. I felt I also needed more entertainment as I was constantly travelling and could do with some games to pass the time.
So I decided to get...
*Drum rolls*
The new iPhone 3Gs!!
This new black, shiny phone is slick as ever, and so far, I am 100% happy with it!
Comparing my old phone to the iPhone...
I have never been a Steve Job's apple fan, but ever since getting the iPhone, I have to say that Steve Jobs is freaking awesome to be able to think of something like the iPhone. It is testimony to how he thinks independently of the crowd and pursue something that is truly unique.
Even the box that came with the iPhone is as slick as ever, it was black and shiny. It reminded you of the time you bought something previous and expensive.
Talking about marketing, there is no one better than Jobs at marketing.
He basically knows what the consumer wants, and gives them exactly that.
Sometimes he even knows what the consumers wants even if the consumer doesn't know that they want that, is that pro enough?
He makes sure that his products are shiny and full of quality and convincing enough for the customer to buy it.
When you get an iPhone, a whole new realm of possiblities open to you.
It is not just a phone by itself, it is 4 things in one:
i) an internet communicator with excellent email capabilities
ii) an iPod for your music, videos
iii) an app device where you can install any of the 140,000 apps online
iv) a Phone with conference calling too
My favourite part of the phone is the apps.
You basically have all sorts of apps which covers almost everything imaginable.
You have an app for the weather, an app for stocks, an app for games, an app for learning chinese, and an app to play guitar hero, just to name a few.
I guess what is best about the iPhone is that it is completely touchscreen.
The screen can adjust itself to whatever application it is using, hence making the phone very versatile.
Many people likes to argue that a Blackberry is better because of the email capability and faster typing. I disagree though, because most good Blackberries have plastic keypads, and I believe the future is mainly touchscreen: you can actually learn to type even faster on an iPhone than a blackberry.
Also, email is not everything.
One awesome part of the iPhone is the iPod.
You can watch videos you download off iTunes here.
You also get to surf through your music in Cover Flow format, where they show all the albums you have on a screen just like the one below.
Going through some of the apps in the iPhone, I am very, very happy now with what I have.
I also know that I can always easily expand my app universe by just going to the App Store to download more. There are free Apps and also Apps that charge, but the cost is just a few dollars.
Basically the iPhone has two stores which are very easily accessible, the iTunes store where you can go to download music/videos and the App store where you can go to download Apps.
Here is an MSN Messenger app on the iPhone, just one of many.
The iPhone has an awesome GPS system, where you can not only get directions to the place you want to go, you can see which direction you are facing!! Awesomeness.
Here is the iTunes store look, easily accessible on the iPhone.
The iPhone also has a Compass app, which I think is quite cool as you can see which direction you are facing. Looks good as well.
The iPhone is not called the king of all phones for nothing.
It brings the word "convenience" to a whole new level.
Other phones have been trying to catch up with it ever since the iPhone's inception, but have unsuccessfully tried.
The most unique feature of the iPhone is that it has everything in one.
The only concern I have about the iPhone is that you will basically need to recharge your iPhone everyday if you use it constantly. But that is not a problem for me as I basically do that everyday anyway.
If you want the best iPhone, there is always going to be improvements, so don't wait to get an iPhone. The iPhone 3Gs is already very good as it is.
I recommend getting it.
So I decided to get...
*Drum rolls*
The new iPhone 3Gs!!
This new black, shiny phone is slick as ever, and so far, I am 100% happy with it!
Comparing my old phone to the iPhone...
I have never been a Steve Job's apple fan, but ever since getting the iPhone, I have to say that Steve Jobs is freaking awesome to be able to think of something like the iPhone. It is testimony to how he thinks independently of the crowd and pursue something that is truly unique.
Even the box that came with the iPhone is as slick as ever, it was black and shiny. It reminded you of the time you bought something previous and expensive.
Talking about marketing, there is no one better than Jobs at marketing.
He basically knows what the consumer wants, and gives them exactly that.
Sometimes he even knows what the consumers wants even if the consumer doesn't know that they want that, is that pro enough?
He makes sure that his products are shiny and full of quality and convincing enough for the customer to buy it.
When you get an iPhone, a whole new realm of possiblities open to you.
It is not just a phone by itself, it is 4 things in one:
i) an internet communicator with excellent email capabilities
ii) an iPod for your music, videos
iii) an app device where you can install any of the 140,000 apps online
iv) a Phone with conference calling too
My favourite part of the phone is the apps.
You basically have all sorts of apps which covers almost everything imaginable.
You have an app for the weather, an app for stocks, an app for games, an app for learning chinese, and an app to play guitar hero, just to name a few.
I guess what is best about the iPhone is that it is completely touchscreen.
The screen can adjust itself to whatever application it is using, hence making the phone very versatile.
Many people likes to argue that a Blackberry is better because of the email capability and faster typing. I disagree though, because most good Blackberries have plastic keypads, and I believe the future is mainly touchscreen: you can actually learn to type even faster on an iPhone than a blackberry.
Also, email is not everything.
One awesome part of the iPhone is the iPod.
You can watch videos you download off iTunes here.
You also get to surf through your music in Cover Flow format, where they show all the albums you have on a screen just like the one below.
Going through some of the apps in the iPhone, I am very, very happy now with what I have.
I also know that I can always easily expand my app universe by just going to the App Store to download more. There are free Apps and also Apps that charge, but the cost is just a few dollars.
Basically the iPhone has two stores which are very easily accessible, the iTunes store where you can go to download music/videos and the App store where you can go to download Apps.
Here is an MSN Messenger app on the iPhone, just one of many.
The iPhone has an awesome GPS system, where you can not only get directions to the place you want to go, you can see which direction you are facing!! Awesomeness.
Here is the iTunes store look, easily accessible on the iPhone.
The iPhone also has a Compass app, which I think is quite cool as you can see which direction you are facing. Looks good as well.
The iPhone is not called the king of all phones for nothing.
It brings the word "convenience" to a whole new level.
Other phones have been trying to catch up with it ever since the iPhone's inception, but have unsuccessfully tried.
The most unique feature of the iPhone is that it has everything in one.
The only concern I have about the iPhone is that you will basically need to recharge your iPhone everyday if you use it constantly. But that is not a problem for me as I basically do that everyday anyway.
If you want the best iPhone, there is always going to be improvements, so don't wait to get an iPhone. The iPhone 3Gs is already very good as it is.
I recommend getting it.
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