Monday, August 21, 2006

Change is the only constant

One week can change alot of things. I've been in a sorry state over the past week. Awfully sick, awfully broke. and more than a little dejected bcos a few housemates are going back to their home countries these few weeks. Amber left for China last friday. MunYee returning to Msia next week. Peggy to Singapore & FeiFei to China next month and then XiMin back to China in Oct. aihh. I really wonder when I'm going to see them again.. The "awfully sick" part still applies to me now - 病到七彩. All the ailments are linked, asthma - hayfever - eczema (what I classify as "the triple allergies"); plus conjunctivitis (complication of a cold), sore throat, headache. aihh.. I needed something positive to brighten up my days.. and something has indeed occurred.

The weekend has brought some changes.. I've decided to take up an offer back home. The opportunity came up rather unexpectedly and after a very positive interview with the HR head and a senior manager yesterday, an offer was made. I have 12 days to consider but most prob will accept it within the week and start next April.

The role offered - resident manager trainee. Everyone's got their fancy names for graduate programs but I guess this one describes the role well. As usual I asked alotof questions in my discussion with HR and got a fairly detailed outline of what we trainees will be doing/getting. Program begins in KL when we start with 2 weeks training. Then its 6 months attachment in my chosen stream (KL) then 1st posting for appr. a yr. And here's the clincher - the posting's to any of their branches within Msia. And I'm pretty sure it won't be in the Klang Valley ^_^ it'll be interesting to see where we all end up. After the posting, appr 2 mths training in the UK, then its on to the next posting.. or other opportunities within the organisation.

Perks/benefits? Lets just say that its one of the most attractive I've seen available for fresh grads in Msia :P After all, monetary remuneration is a key motivator for employees.. and living in KL with its relatively high living costs, its realistic to expect a certain salary range. The extras are a bonus, obviously...


Fickle-minded I am eh... In a week's time, I'll know where I'll be next year, and thats a comforting thought to end my rather sorry week with..

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Sick & broke.. so sad wey..

Last week was madly hectic. Yesterday, it all caught up with me. Now I'm stuck at home with a "you-name-it-i-have-it" syndrome (fever, cough, cold, sore throat etcetcetc). The thought of lost income these 2 days is killing me. Bank account balance is at critical levels after paying another $500 on Monday for my medical checkup & a temporary visa. Aihh.. really wish money grew on trees.

Worked 3 days last week, became event photographer for uni's Multicultural Wk on Wed, Fri had a tough tough tough assessment centre, Sat volunteered at CFV's annual Gala Ball till 1am. Its no wonder I'm finally sick.

Assessment centre last Friday was tough. I haven't been so stressed for at least 2 years. I think I'm traumatized :( Had to reach Camberwell by 7.15am and the whole thing lasted for 8 hours. I expected more candidates but there were only 4 of us (incl me). 2 Msian guys and a Chinese girl (China natl). The company actually flew them in from Adelaide, Brisbane and QLD respectively, put them up at the Hilton.. and me - ended up trudging to the train station at 6 in the morning. 3 activities for the day - case study, group discussion and business scenario & interview. Only the discussion was groupwork, the rest all individual activities.

Aihh.. won't go into the details. Don't think I performed (up to my standards), Somebody's mentioned "you get thru this, you know you can get thru any assessment centres in the future". Very true cos its given me valuable experience..especially in facing high ranking assessors. But anyways this's the final round and if I do make it, it'll be an offer for a KL-based position.

Pessimism aside, an offer for yet another KL based position will add some weight to the argument of "going back" versus "not going back" to KL for work. I've decided to apply for a PR at the moment, which explains why I'm still in Melbourne (and also why I'm so broke!). Its not to say that the offers aren't attractive enough to "entice" me to return and work back home. But long term prospects are questionable when the country seems to be heading south. Will just have to see how...

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Picnic @ Royal Botanic Gardens - pics!

Had an impromptu picnic on a glorious Saturday afternoon @ the Royal Botanic Gardens with Yee Wei and Jean recently.. an afternoon spent lounging on the park bench (the lawn was FULL of bird poo ughh).. chatting bout random stuff, taking pics of everything under the sun/lake..



Conclusion : a lazy day. Utterly enjoyable. Though Jean enjoyed it more I believe, since she got a share of the long overdue and much-desired sunlight


Isn't that sweet...

"What're they looking at?"

(above) yucky slithery eels..urghh


*we took more pics of the birds than of ourselves ^_^