"Alternatives"

Nothing very exciting going on lately..but my May schedule's full - verily extremely full. Didn't realise my (beloved) uni life's gonna end in just 4 weeks time!

Some friends think I've been sending a gazillion or so applications. I haven't la. Prob due to much lighter workload this sem, its been more of a "prepare-thyself-for-work" kindof semester. By now, its quite clear I won't be staying on in Australia. Bet it surprises many to hear that. PR's abit of a hassle since IELTS tests are fully booked out till next year and I'm not willing to wait that long hanging around doing nothing. There are options of course:
a. Return to KL, take IELTS. Return to Melbourne, apply for PR -- not very likely.
b. Return to KL.
c. Work elsewhere.

Aussie immigration rules means no PR = cannot apply for graduate jobs. But nothing stops me from applying for other jobs, s'long as its not Aussie ones. Been reading Nelson Bolles's "What Color is Your Parachute?" and the one thing that striked me - "alternatives". To have alternatives, and to know what we can offer to the organisation and not just what they can offer us. Its a book I highly recommend to job-seekers. Heartily agree with him - we have faith in God, but we can't sit there doing nothing for months and wait for God to drop a job into our laps.

Just been thinking..I'm about to graduate with an Accounting major, but I've not really considered the opportunities offered by the Big4. I've sent 4 applications as of today (regulator/bank/bank/MNC), hopefully will have some news in the coming weeks. Some have very attractive programs, and with my recent "never-say-die" attitude I think its worth spending some time applying.

May'll be a big month. Some employers from Asia are coming, mentoring for YAA's starting and major presentation + research essay + final test for Asian Studies. I've gotten a YAA group sponsored by BAE Systems and we'll be meeting at their corporate office - so nice! last year my team met in uni :( With 5 mentors from BAE and an external mentor, they seem very "up" for the program this year. Can't make it for the mentors' first meeting next week as its clashing with a workshop and an employer's event in the city. Quite ironic how everything seemed to fall on that particular Tuesday. So folks from May onwards I'll be in city from 5-7pm. (Dinner on Tuesdays anyone?)

Update 21/4

Easter break's this week. I'm not anywhere so its kinda deflating. A whole lotof ppl've been asking what I've been doing lately..so here's an update:

Last weekend went for yumcha in the middle of nowhere - somewhere in Doncaster, far but with exemplary service.. teman-ed Jean to Amanda and Nicole's house-warming.. caught up with some old friends.. realised I'm detached from some other old friends (which may become non-friends the way things go on).. and got frustrated with a very old friend. Confused yet?

We seemed to have completely skipped autumn and headed straight to winter. Such has the weather been of late. Windy. Rainy. On and off and on and off.

Just the other day I almost felt my wallet 'bleeding' when I forked out the cash for both the digital cam and SLR batteries. Those tiny CR2 batteries cost AUD20! plus another 20 for the digicam ones.. aigh...Is it my imagination or has the prices of everything gone up - again?

Actually I would've liked to be off rayau-ing somewhere this week.. but am participating in FutureLeaders in uni these 2 days. When I went in this morning, didn't really know what to expect. What was surprising was meeting some familiar faces from our group of 20. Some were from other workshops I'd been to before, someone from the photography club, another from my mock interview and Pon! Kinda funny cos the night before I was just chatting with Pon on MSN, telling him I had to get offline cos I had to go uni the next morning and the next thing I saw was him coming in for the session :P both of us blur ppl didn't tell each other hahh

Program runs for 2 full days, quite fun cos by afternoon most of us'd gotten to know each other. It involves looking at some of our different attitudes and perceptions towards leadership. Had some group activities and there were some intriguing things I discovered about myself, especially in one of the last activities. Prob elaborate more later when I finish tomorrow's session.

Have some work lined up for the next coupla days.. Applications to be readied and sent out, resumes to be amended.. Major essay topic for my Asian Studies unit yet to be decided. Last semester did globalisation, outsourcing, plus presentation on China. Don't really want to repeat any "old" topics. But I don't want to frus over getting sources so its gotta be a contemporary issue with sufficient resources. The last essay I'll ever write in uni :( ahh i need ideas!!

Thinking bout issues.. having my doubts now whether I shd continue reading The World is Flat. My copy's from 2005 and our dear Mr. Thomas Friedman's so quickly expanded it into another 100 pages for the 2006 revised edition. According to Ben its already out so.... hmm maybe I should just order a copy since I've decided I wanted to keep a copy anyways (yes - order. Apparently they don't stock Friedman. How can you not stock Friedman?!?).. next stop - Angus&Robertson :) and the bank too. Seeing how I'm broke this month, my dad has sent me a very amusing email. Short as it was, it contained plenty of dry humour. Refugee indeed :D

988

Listening to the 988FM afternoon radio drama brings back fond memories. Coupla years ago on our Pangkor/Penang trip we used to listen to it everyday since we were on the road at the same hours each day. Some things change. Then, we were all carefree 19 yr olds. Now, most are working white collar jobs and bemoaning the long hours. But some things don't change - the drama is still regularly broadcasted on weekdays. I find it amusing that I'm listening in from thousands of miles away..and the setting for today's drama is in Melbourne 'n Sydney hahh

Sabah Day 2 KK-Pulau Gaya (Gayana)

In KK, we stayed at Marina Court (owned and managed by Promenade Hotel) which is just a coupla doors away from Promenade and Api-Api Centre (shopping mall). Cost - RM340 per night for a 3-bedroom apartment. Abit steep, but its at a convenient location. Our apartment faces the sea, and the 5 islands of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park (Pulau Gaya, Sapi, Mamutik, Gayana and Sulug) can be seen from a distance.

SiowPing and LiKai during brunch "eyy what did you take??"

Further down the road (10ish minutes walk) is the KK Filipino market where pearls (dubious origins or not I dunno), tourist trinkets and souvenirs etc can be bought. Be warned though, that the listed prices of goods are ridiculously high. Which was also the reason why we didn't get anything from there. After brunch we caught the boat to Gayana Island Resort on Pulau Gaya.

KK Jetty

And finally we reach our Pulau!

Pulau Gaya - largest of the 5 that make up TAR Marine Park, but not the most-developed. Tucked away on one side of the resort are the 44 chalets. Kinda exclusive cos we have the whole place to ourselves, there's no public beach hence no outsiders. Water's green compared to the others' blue. While we were there it was all cloudy and the water didn't look very appealing for swimming. So basically we just bummed, took some silly pictures and bummed sommore!

A very good place for bumming I must say. We took 2 chalets (RM90 per pax includes breakfast, accomodation and return boat transfer). Environment's quite rustic, (sea)food at the sole restaurant was good (and relatively cheap - which was a surprise! considering its the only place serving food, they could've hiked the price).

The chalets look good yeah..Its not as "modern" kampung style as some other places, but good enough. Interior of the chalets look almost exactly as that on the website, didn't take any proper photos of it.. There's a nature pool at the end of the chalets, cordoned off. Not many live corals though (due to the time of the year and also location le). There's also another beach area at the end. We people were too busy bumming, didn't really walk around much :)

Next.. Day 3: Island hopping/KK - Kinabalu Park

Sabah Day 1 KL-KK

My very belated Sabah posts are finally on the way.. The 5 day trip in mid Feb was well worth, returned with loads of photos, some good some so-so and others - drastic. Most of the days were very cloudy/rainy, leaving precious few moments for photography.

Us :LiKai, Samuel, Joe, Lorraine, SiewWeng, SiowPing and Di.
When :16-20th Feb 2006

off.. on a not-so-smooth AirAsia flight..

We spent the first day driving around KK town in 2 cars (SiowPing's Iswara plus a rented Kelisa - RM90 a day). Saw some of KK's landmarks, including Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Yayasan Sabah building. Also managed to see the Universiti Malaysia Sabah campus (HUGE!) - they have their own beach, jetty, aquarium(?), mosque etc in addition to all the uni buildings, very nice campus environment. Views looked fantastic with the sea on one side and the mountains on the other..

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, KK

We also passed by this amusing sight near UMS when we went to pick up the car..

And look - they have traffic jams in KK too :) albeit only for awhile.. taken on the way to UMS during the evening peak hour. Dinner was a seafood affair. Seemed to be our unlucky day as our first choices for dinner (and lunch too!!) were closed! But it was great nonetheless. No photos cos we were too busy digging in to all that fresh seafood hahh..

Sunset from UMS jetty 16-Feb-2006

Coming soon..Sabah Day 2 KK-Pulau Gaya