Heavy Rains in Chennai

It was raining heavily continously in Chennai for the past few days. This was due to the high concentration of low pressures off the Bay of Bengal (east of Chennai). The news reported that a cyclone was forming. Winds of up to 60km/h were expected to hit Chennai. I didn't really know whether it is considered serious or not except that due to this heavy rain, I caught a cold because I was always under the rain. I do have umbrella but what's the use in Chennai where there are so many low electric cables around. I could easily grab one of the power cables and *bzzzt* ....Fried CY.

Previously I said that monsoon season is over but I realise that the information is not correct for Chennai. Chennai will experience monsoon till end of this month. Also, this heavy rain has not occured for more than 3years. It flooded most of the outskirts of the city. Between where I stay and my place of work, it is relatively dry but there are some areas which is heavily flooded. People have to wade through waters that are at waist level. Gov't officials are concerned of the diseases that might spread because the water is mixed with drainage water. *Eeew*... but what to do? On Thursday, my friends and I went to work quite late because we were stuck as the road to the train station was flooded till waist level. We took an auto (the yellow tuk-tuk as they are called in Thailand) who has strong bargaining power due to the floods around. A ride that would normally cost Rs10, he charged us Rs30. No choice but to pay because we still have to go to work right?

The interesting thing was that due to the heavy rains, the train station's counter was not open so we had FREE train ride. hahaha.... to make up for the expensive auto. When we reached our office, the main road to the office was flooded as well. We had to take off our shoes to get in. It was very 'jialat'... Umbrellas don't really work in this kind of situation. It would've been better if we had raincoats and PCK boots. Reaching the office, we found out that many others have not arrived despite us being 2hours late. The director was so happy to see us in office that he wrote an email to show off the quality of his S'pore recruited trainees. The rain continued to pour heavily and we started to wonder what would happen when the cyclone hits Chennai.

Abuthen, we should've just stayed at home that day because at 3pm, the director declared that everyone can leave. This was because Tamil Nadu was in a state of emergency, 550 bus routes were stranded due to the floods, power was cut in many parts of Chennai and the trains were not operational. Because we could not take the train back, my friends and I boarded the company van to a nearby public bus stop. Winds were blowing strongly and the rain was torturous. We were all freezing cold because of the rain. The once traffic jam prone street has a few cars on the road. We witnessed a tree branch break and falling on the car. Fortunately, the branch was not heavy enough to damage the car. The driver drove off as if nothing happened. Lucky him...

After we managed to take the bus, we were only able to alight at a stop about 2km from where we stay because of the route. We tried to walk back to our place of stay until we reached a "dead end"... Floods that were up to waist level on the main road. Autos could not pass. We tried to flag down an auto to get us back. It took us about 1/2 hr before we managed to get a guy. In such a situation, he tried to get us to pay Rs30. We agreed if he brought us across the flood. When he reached, he realised that he can't drive his auto across and apologized. Told us that he can bring us if we pay Rs50. We tried to bargain for Rs40 because it was way too expensive. He was reluctant. He stared at my friend who was doing all the bargaining. My friend stared back hard. The situation felt abit tense. Ended up, we tried to get off his auto, he demanded for us to pay Rs10 for the short distance. My friend was pissed and did not want to pay. An argument broke out and lasted for about 10mins I suppose before the autodriver finally agreed to Rs40.

Once back in VR Home, we quickly took a shower and enjoyed the comfort of the place. For dinner, because of the heavy rain, we ordered pizza from Dominos. It was super cheap Rs117 (about $5) for 2 personal pizza and free delivery. When the pizza guy arrived, he was shivering because of the heavy rain. I pity him but didn't think of tipping him... which I think I should've because he battled through the cyclonic rains to bring our pizza. That night, we just glued to the TV news channel getting updates on the cyclone's situation. It was reported that the cyclone was suppose to hit early Friday morning. The winds were still blowing very strongly that night.

However, when day broke, it was strange... No strong winds, no rains. The sun was bright and sunny. My friends and I stayed... ponteng work until about 10am. Realising that no cyclone will hit today, we left for work and reached at 12pm... Just in time for lunch. Hahaha....

Pondicherry

Pondicherry is the name of the former French Colony town situated about 130km South of Chennai. My friends and I went to Pondicherry on Sunday. We were actually planning to go there on Saturday but was not very sure how to go or whether we should or not. So, Saturday we ended up shopping at Spencer Plaza all afternoon (doesn't it sound like expensive plaza as in x-spencer to you? coz one of my friend heard it as expensive plaza instead of Spencers).

We took a bus at 8am yesterday morning. It was raining quite heavily but when compared to SEA, the "heavy" rain are just mild. Weather these days have been quite unpredictable. Chennai is suppose to be hot all year round but we are experiencing rain every day eventhough monsoon season is over. I don't really like the rain in Chennai eventhough it is considered a blessing here as Chennai has been experiencing drought for the past 3 years. The rain makes the road very difficult to walk and it damages my shoes. Some of the roads are very muddy and puddles are everywhere. So... we took the public bus near our place of stay. Strangely, whenever we try to flag down the bus we want to take, the bus driver ignores us and drive off. Due to this, there was one Indian guy running after the bus. My friends and I were in awe seeing how fast he could run and he grabbed the rails on the bus climbing as the bus moved. We continued to wait patiently before a bus finally stopped for us.

Buses here are interesting. The conductor always sits 2nd from the back and by the window. This is so that he could see whoever boards the bus and ensures that he collects the fares from them. He has a whistle - 1 blow means stop, 2 blows on the whistle means go. I also had the experience of seeing the conductor chasing a guy out of the bus because he couldn't pay the fare. They argued and the conductor of course managed to get him off.

Ok.. sidetracked a little from the main points of my trip. The bus ride to Pondicherry was 3 hours. We changed bus to an ECR (East Coast Road) bus. The bus was full and we had to stand. We stood for about an hour before we managed to get seats. My legs were already feeling very tired. Upon reaching Pondicherry, we realised that we don't know where we are supposed to go. We don't actually know where the remains of the French Colony was located. All we knew was that we wanted to go see the beach. We didn't want to take the auto because we know we'll be cheated as we are not familiar with the prices.

We asked around and found out that the beach was 2km from where we were. As we walked along the road, the scenery became more and more "organized". Suddenly, we saw a French lady (or maybe just another ang moh). My friend Benny got more and more excited. Moving on, French schools (mostly Catholic? All of them had the Virgin Mary statue situated just below the roof of the main building.), French library, police post with a French sign, etc. It was almost as good as being in France... almost. The roads were very straight and traffic was low. There is also a heritage walk where the path is paved with stones. This place is more suitable for tourist. There are many foreigners around here. Many of those street pedlars selling 'exotic' stuff like sandalwood necklaces, drums, etc.. I didn't buy any because of phobia. I have enough of being cheated.. Buy only next time if I do go back :P

The beach, well, wasn't really a beach. The sandy beach was 10km away (according to one of the auto guys). We settled for the dangerous rocky beach. Of course, I didn't went into the water. Only our friend, the Indian girl went in. Along the beach was a giant statue of Gandhi and a small Nehru statue opposite it. I realise that there are many statues along Marina beach in Chennai and Pondicherry. Oh yes, there was also Notre Dame here but we didn't have the time to visit it. There is also a very famous and big Hindu temple but due to lack of time.... And not forgeting, we saw the Joan of Arc statue but only her back because it was fenced up and we can get to it unless we walk a long way round to enter from the church. But we went to the house of one of the famous Indian Philosopher, Sri Aurobindo. We had to take off our shoes and walk in. There was a tomb with flowers over it and people meditating beside it. No one was allowed to talk. The place was sacred. I didn't really understand who he was so just walk walk, see see inside. All I know from that trip was that his wife was called "The Mother" and she played tennis.

Oh ya, FINALLY SAW AN ELEPHANT IN INDIA :P ... India is supposedly the land of the elephants and they are sacred creatures here. Hahaha.. I've seen elephants before but that was so loooong ago. Also, at Pondicherry, I had my first 'Banana Flambe'. It was too sweet but quite interesting. I mean.. ice-cream on top of a hotsauce with some liqour - new experience.

So far I've been blogging about my good experiences at Pondicherry but it also left me with some 'bad'/sad experience. It is here that I saw a man foraging for food from the garbage. Beggars came up to me, one even had a baby on her arms. Although I was very sympathetic of them but I did not give them any. I felt bad but it can't be helped because if I were to help one, the rest will come chasing. After this experience when I returned to Chennai, I got abit of phobia when I see kids running up to me. I have this anticipating feeling they'll extend their hand and ask me for something then I realise they ran past me and they are dressed quite well. I am abit lost when I see these people... makes me feel really appreciative of what I have.

Anyway, last night reached Chennai at about 9am. Quickly showered and went to sleep because of work today. It didn't really feel like a vacation. I would love to go back to Pondicherry next time but will stay there overnight. 1 day is definitely not enough to enjoy.

Summary of what has happened so far

I find myself very tempted to blog ALL of my daily activities. It is so good that I wanted to share with everyone. BUT of course, this is not feasible and damn boring. Hahaha... Anyway, things are starting to slow down for me (so fast u might ask? I don't know :P). Let me describe abit of my experience in Chennai in the sections below.

People
I think more than 98% of the population here are Indians if not all! The Indians I met so far in restaurants, VR Home, at office are extremely friendly and "trustworthy". As in I don't get the feeling that they want to eat me up. Very different from what I would find in KL. During my KL trip, that was horrible! Everyone looked dangerous and ready to pounce on you. I would prefer to walk alone at night in Chennai than in KL. There seem to be also some form of mutual understanding and respect between people here especially when driving.

Traffic
Ironically, on the way to Changi that day, the taxi driver who drove me was having a fight with another taxi driver. This was because the other driver was flashing his headlights at him for no reason. He drove dangerously to show his anger at that guy. I was abit frigthened by it... 6hrs later in Chennai.... heh... EVEN WORSE! But the driver was not in a rage. He was just going around as if normal. Everyone sound their horns, everyone flashes their headlights. It is very important to sound your horn in Chennai as traffic is damn messy. But then again, I find that despite the messy traffic, people seem to know when to let others pass and when not to. It is weird. I would be stuck in a junction if you ask me to drive here.

In addition, trucks have "Sound Horn" notices written at the back to warn drivers to sound horn if they can read. An interesting fact is that during normal hours, one can hardly shift into 4th gear on the street. At most, just 3rd gear and you might have to start shifting down to 2nd liao.

Food
Idly, poori, sumber, chutney, chappati, dosa, uttapam, lassi, and so on.... are well... acceptable. Some are delicious while others are just plain not suitable for me to eat. The worst was the sour pickle. It was way too sour. The food overall was not as bad as how the reception package I read described it. I suppose it is only relevant to people who can't handle spicy food. A meal in TCS caffeteria for worth Rs30 would leave me so full that I could barely move. Restaurants however are abit costlier. Minimum of Rs100 for a complete meal. Quite worth it though.

Although..... I would like to note that it is quite hard to find a restaurant selling meat here. The other day, my friends and I were hunting for chicken at restaurants near our place of stay. We walked for quite a distance.. like pgp to bizad canteen before we finally found a "KFC" like fast food restaurant which is situated in the middle of nowhere. The shops beside it was all closed. If I was alone, I would NOT go there. Quite scary...

Last night, we went to a restaurant in the hotel near VR Home. The chef was so delighted to see us because we were "different". First he asked where we were from and of course we said Singapore. He immediately boasted his culinary skills which were not included in the menu. Singapore fried rice, ee mian, etc... He was like "You want S'pore food? I can cook for you. Make you feel at home."

Shopping
Ok.. First of all, I'll have to admit I have poor bargaining skills. Full stop. I shall not elaborate further as my friends here have been reminding me over and over on something I've bought. Other than that, I went to this place called Spencer's Plaza, supposedly the biggest shopping center here in Chennai. Here, we are able to see various types of people... as more like S'pore except with majority Indians rather than Chinese.. Hahaha.. I'll continue to say that I've spent quite heavily recently and will eat idly and dosa (maybe vada once in a while) for the next few months to save up.

Autorickshaw (just 'auto')
Today just had the experience of bargaining hard with an auto driver. These drivers would drive up prices so high to cheat us. I mean .. a short trip which was suppose to cost Rs40, they tried to charge Rs120 for the ride. Fortunately, there was another auto driver who came a little later, offered to give us the ride at that cost. The first auto driver was abit unhappy because the other guy wanted to try and take his business. They were arguing abit in Tamil. We were bargaining with the first guy. So when we requested the price, the 2nd driver laughed at the first guy and would gladly accept our offer. Unwillingly, the first guy accepted our offer, the 2nd guy just laughed and drove off. We were also smiling at this incident. :P

Airline adventure

It has been quite some time since I last blogged. It is not easy to find time to come out to this internet cafe to blog because I get off quite late from work and my friends aren't keen on going online.

To the topic! -> to continue from where I left off previously, Changi Airport is marvelous. It has proper airconditioning and very clean... all very comfortable. When my friend and I boarded the plane, the first thing we noticed was how "un-SIA girls" they were. ^_^ ... Next, the interior of the plane was abit warm and stuffy. I was getting abit nervous because I fear that would be the condition all throughout the flight. The size of the plane was also very small - an Airbus A320. Only 2 toilets for the 4hr flight with 150ppl sitting. When we boarded, everyone inside was staring at us curiously. There were only 3 Chinese man on the flight and we are 2 of them! Next problem I faced on the flight was the storage of my hand luggage. Most of the compartments were already packed. It was here that I realised the need to go through Channel B(read below). These people bring a lot of stuff! In the end, my luggage was stowed away in a compartment a little further from where I sat.

During the flight, I noticed that the passengers like to walk around the plane often. It was very busy. People would walk from the front to the back, back to the front and chat around. It feels as if they do know each other that well. However, I don't know if they do or not. But then ar..... the aisle is so sempit! that they are blocking the path. At one point, the air-stewardess was pissed and she firmly requested that they be seated down. (yah! coz they were blocking our food!!!)

On arrival at Chennai Airport, I was already prepared for how it would be like. As expected but also not as expected.... very much the opposite of Changi..... of course, this is a bad comparison. I mean, Changi is the world's top 3. Oh ya..... at immigrations, I was held up awhile because I was.........*TADA*.... STATELESS! (Why am I not surprised?) I was just sniggering all the way at the poor officer who looked stunned and wanting to throw me out of India. I smiled as the poor guy had to walk over to his colleague to seek advice on what to do with me. Well, of course at the end, I was allowed to pass.

At baggage claims, I had the "wonderful" opportunity to experience power trips at the airport. The whole airport power was cut suddenly when the luggage conveyor belt was running. The belt operated smoothly for awhile before it tripped again. They had to manually switch on the belt each time. This occured 3-4 times before I finally manage to get my luggage. My first feeling as I stepped out of the aiport was "WAH! So many people! Why is it also very humid!?" When I rubbed my palms, I can feel some sort of wet and yet dry sensation. This is not the same as sweat. I began to fear what it would be like everyday here in Chennai. Anyway, after our contact person picked us, we were brought to our accomodation at VR home. It is situated very near the world's 2nd longest beach! Also... where the tsunami hit India last year. The house was better than expected -> Friendly service, personal double room, ac, clean water, hot water... It was magnificient! I took a shower and went to bed straight.. very tiring day....


Update: This place I'm staying at the moment is suppose to be for associate consultants/clients/big shot people. As accomodation was not properly settled, they chucked us in there. Next week I might be staying in some run down apartment :( ... Hopefully they settle something good for us...

Airport Adventure

Changi Airport was filled with Indians the day I was flying off to Chennai. It was not because they were there to fly to Chennai. They were there to send off their friends/relatives. When I arrived at the airport, I was quite shocked. In addition, at the immigrations section, there was a special section for those flying to India to be cleared first. I was directed to "Channel B" where the authorities there weigh my hand luggage. I didn't understand why they needed to do that until much later.

I was actually quite late when I started to queue at the immigrations. My flight was supposed to be 9:05pm but I entered the immigrations at only 840pm. Queue was super long and I started to feel panic. Various thoughts ran through my mind like "Oh no.. miss flight...Benny is going to fly to India without me." "Doris is gonna kill me." "My friends are gonna laugh at me." ... Before my queue was over, I saw my friend just coming in to join the queue. I was like "WOAH!" and felt reliefed. I'm not going to be the only one left out... hahaha... if anything goes wrong, both of us will just get it from Doris or our HR manager... Hehehe...

Anyway, when we cleared immigrations, we both ran like mad to the gates. I was carrying a 11kg bag and boy it was damn heavy. I ran out of breath before I even reached C Gates. My friend was already far ahead of me. I couldn't see where he was. All I know was that I have to reach Gate C21. When I arrived at C21, I was so shocked to see that the lights were all off and there was not even a single soul there. I started to swear and ran around panicking even more. When my fear started to subside a little, I remembered and checked my ticket. The gate is NOT C21 but actually C15. WAH!!! THen I continued to run a little further to the gate. I arrived at the gate at about 9pm which is 5mins before the actual flight time. The gate was supposed to be closed 10mins before boarding but it didn't. Lucky man.... Anyway, I want to blog a little more on why this is.... But i guess my prepaid limit is out... will blog again another day.

Chennai Trip Postponed Again

My trip to Chennai is now postponed to 15th October instead of this Friday 14th. So, 1 extra day for me to spend in Singapore. My friends are already 'bu2 nai4 fan3', all ready to kick me out of this country. This is for the crime of DoTAing daily and sleeping like a pig. Sorry lah ppl, I have no choice but to hang around a little longer. LOL!

Also, initially there was some problem with my Indian visa application. My visa took quite a long time to be approved. I suppose it was because I'm stateless. It is so difficult to travel with a passport like mine. I can only travel to East Malaysia and Singapore without the need of a visa. Anyway, fortunately visa application is handled by my company's admin officer. I didn't know that there was such a problem until my colleagues told me. Also, not a problem for me as long as I don't get fired because I can't fly to India :P

Chennai in 2 days (for sure this time)~

Packing Up = Thrashing Out

It is weird that when I pack up stuff, I find a lot of unwanted stuff as well. I kept some of the stuff in the box previously because I thought that it still had some value in the future. When I look at these stuffs again, I realise that it was just thrash. I should've cleared all these loooong time ago. Hahaha... But I suppose it was because I spent so much time reading and studying those lecture notes and tutorials that I very 'bu4 se3 de diu1'. Now.... just anyhow lar.... into the bin. Halfway through packing up. Another half to go. Furthermore, I've settled most of my other stuffs as well. Hahaha... Lighter responsibility liao (I've just been questioned by my colleagues why I'm still so involved in student societies. Who knows?)

3 days to Chennai~ I've just got news from my friend who already in Chennai that the lodging is quite good.

Luggage Bag Shopping Experience

Yesterday I went out hunting for a good and cheap luggage trolley bag. I know that Mustafa Center is selling relatively good quality bags at cheap prices of $20-$30 for a 25" to 28" bag. However, the prices are too cheap to convince me that they would last wear and tear. This is weird but quite true. Anyway, I saw in the newspaper Robinsons having a sales for travellers bag few days ago. I went out straight to Centrepoint Atrium at Somerset to have a look at the sales. When I saw the prices of the bag, I was abit shocked. The luggage bags were very expensive. I hesistated whether to buy or not. Since it was still early, I decided to go down to Orchard and walk around first. At Orchard, I went to check out the prices of the bags as well, still quite expensive. I then remembered that Seiyu and Carrefour had better offers. So I thought, "Oklah.... don't want buy from here liao. Too expensive."

I went to the nearest Carrefour which is located at Dhoby Ghaut. When I arrived, I found out that Carrefour was also having a luggage bag exhibition at the open space in Plaza Singapura. Furthermore, the prices of the bags was what I was looking for. I got a 3-in-1 bag for just $49.90. Lucky I didn't go get that $89 bag at Robinsons. Feeling satisfied that I have achieved my target, I went back. Now, it is time to start packing up. 4 Days To Chennai~.

A little limerick

There was a young man named Chin Yun,
Who got bored gaming ev'ry noon,
He told the interviewer:
"I am a fast learner!"
And they'll ship him off to India quite soon.

By Hooi Ying (posted with permission)


My comments:
Very power... I don't think I could come out with that rhymes like this. Thanks HY for this cool limerick.

... and some more to add on...

Actually, I didn't expect my title when I first posted that I would be confirmed to leave for India. However, I did remember previously that the HR manager wanted us to be there on the 15th October. Now I know why it was postponed. The formal training starts on Nov 1st. My colleagues and I are sent 2 weeks earlier supposedly to allow us to spend some time to get use to life in Chennai. However, the main objective though is actually the resources are in Chennai and we have 2 weeks to self-study and ensuring that our Assembly Language are on-par with the 20 other recruits from India. (unrealistic though...I feel very scared... will be an embarassment if I can't learn fast enough... I'm pitting myself against the best of the best from India.. a scary thought.... I think expectations from NUS would be quite high also since NUS is 18th in the world....)

In addition, as my other colleagues put it, we received another bomb today. Training is for 3 months but actually there's another 3-5 months work on a smaller scale project before we are shifted to the more critical project in Taiwan's ASDC or Singapore's SIA. So... instead of being away for 3 months, it will now be 6 to 9months. My colleagues being abit "pessimistic" set it as 1year in India. Anyway, we are already starting to plan our trips around India - Plan to leave as soon as work is off at Friday then come back only on Monday morning (Travelling in India takes a loooooong time. Chennai is nearer to Singapore than to New Delhi in terms of travelling time). Then can blame all on Monday Blues for our lack of productivity on Monday. Hahaha.....

........or maybe not....

Today I've just received an email from the HR manager saying that I won't be flying this Sunday. Instead, the date has been postponed to 14th October. So, I have another 5 days of slacking before I fly off. *phew* I was panicking as I start to pack my stuff today. There seemed to be a lot and I don't know where to start. Now that it has been postponed, I'm relieved. I have more time to settle some of the unfinished stuff else ar..... I'll be constantly sneezing in India just because people would be scolding me for tossing all the work down. hahaha....

And so it is confirmed....

I have just received an email from the admin officer announcing that the flight has been booked. My flight will be this coming Sunday at 9pm. I'll be flying together with 2 others. Another colleague will be leaving for India earlier on the 7th because her mom will be travelling from North India to meet her. I'm in a really excited mood now. Abuthen ar, there's quite a number of issues that I have to settle before leaving Singapore. Don't think I have enought time to finish all of them though...

Anyway, gotta start packing and preparing for my journey. My next phase in life is about to start - The Working Life. Chennai in 5 days.

Countdown to India

Although the exact date that my colleagues and I will be leaving for India is yet to be confirmed, the HR manager has said that we will start our orientation in India on 10th October. According to our admin officer, she said she would be booking for 9th October as soon as our visas have been approved. I am feeling very excited. After 5 months of idling, finally I have something to do again.

For the past week, I was virtually gaming every day. Some of my friends were boiling when they found out that I was on "gaji buta". Well, I did receive my pay slip for the 5 days I "worked" last month. It is equivalent to what one would earn during internships for a month. They were mainly boiling because as one friend puts it - "Melampau! I suffer for 2 months get $500 only. You play DoTA for 5 days and get the same amount!" To add to this friend's anger, I replied "It was very tiring. I have to study the strategies and put up with all the lagging problems. My my... *sigh*... so shiong eh~" Of course, with this reply, I should expect a beating which I did receive. :S .. Abuthen har... payslip have but money haven't receive... I think must be my bank account number error. Well, I'll check it out with the admin officer when I see her again.

Other than DoTA-ing, I've been reading up on India and especially on Chennai. Check out Wikipedia's Chennai facts. In addition to this from Wikipedia, I've also been reading the Chennai SN package (Student Nominee package - AIESEC reading materials for incoming trainees to the place) that EL borrowed me. This is what makes AIESEC trainees having an edge over others. It helped me understand abit more on the local setting. Wikipedia provided facts but not how to handle the culture change and other issues. I learnt some survival tips for when being in Chennai and had set some expectations straight. One interesting fact is that one can live quite well (better than most there) on about 7000Rs (approx. S$270) per month with food and accommodation included. Most importantly, I have to be culturally sensitive and open minded. Ooo... I can't wait, Chennai in 6 days.

Very proud Chinese lady at the bank

Today I went out to the DBS bank at Clementi to bank my cheque. After I had filled up the forms, I joined the queue. In front of me was this Chinese aunty who I assume to be in her early 50s. She turned around, saw me and exclaimed "Wah, so tall ah you!". As usual, the expected question that comes after that is - "Do you play basketball?". Haha.. unfortunately, my height has nothing to do with me playing basketball. I didn't really play basketball until after I came to Singapore.

Anyway, back to the point. After asking about my height, she starts to talk about America - Las Vegas. She continued to critise Batam as stupid because they have just banned the casinos there. Her rational was that countries that have casinos prosper well and that casinos earn a lot of money. In my mind, I thought - "Wah, she very support S'pore gov't on the casino". Before long, she went to say - "S'pore now then start have casino. Way too late liao lah. How to compete. You see: Macau, KL (isn't it suppose to be Genting?) all so rich now". I just nodded and didn't really care what she said.

After she stopped talking about casinos, she started to rant about Chinese overseas - how united they were. The way she describe it, I think if I put it on this blog, you might see my name in the newspaper tomorrow for causing some discontent in racial harmony. I was shocked when she started to explain how in countries like America, Chinese overseas are very united and "white" people see color. She went on to explain that see color makes the Chinese people strong and that it forces them to stick together and earn a lot of money. Furthermore, she was virtually attacking any non-Chinese. Everyone in the bank could hear her. I looked around nervously and wondered if there would be someone to protest. People around didn't really bother or as how I would feel if I was one of them - "Seesh, who is this person talking a lot of crap". As she continued, I felt like saying "Lady, please stop. Keep the opinion to yourself."

After talking about "color", she went on to brag about overseas Chinese as super rich. Sugar King, Timber King, Flour King, etc. She said to me "You know Robert Kuok - Sugar King... you see so rich." In my mind I thought - "Heh...Lady, if I was still studying in NUS this year, I would take up the opportunity to have lunch with him in Hong Kong this December." The queue for the bank counter felt like eternity as she continued. It was torturous. I've never met someone who can say so much to a stranger other than the taxi drivers. Taxi driver coffee-shop talk I'm used to but bank customers having coffee-shop talk, this is my first experience. Anyone else had similar experiences before?

First Day of Work

This morning I went off to the company very early. First day mah, so wanna make a good impression. As expected when I arrived at the office at 850am, there were not many people around and the lights were not all switched on yet. I looked around to see if I can find someone to report myself. A moment later, one of the admin staff came and asked. I told her that it was my first day and waiting for the admin officer in-charge. She asked me to sit and wait. While waiting there, I found out that the office itself is separated into two sections. One is TCS and the other is Tata Technologies. TCS people come into the office only around 910~930.

During the wait, I met two others who would be going off to India with me. There's suppose to be another guy but he didn't go to the office today. Anyway, there wasn't much to do at the office today. It was mainly brief abit about when we might be leaving. The exact date I'll be leaveing for India is not yet known. According to the HR manager, we could be off this weekend or middle of next week. We were all abit shocked at the dates set although I was abit prepared as I knew we were suppose to be in India early October.

The best part of working for TCS at the moment is ~ we were all sent back home by 12pm after we settled the administrative stuff and need not report to the office till 30th Sept. This is because TCS Singapore is just a recruitment office/hub. The office here does not have servers or high-tech computer equipments. I suppose those based in Singapore are outsourced to work in projects of clients. My colleagues who would be going to India with me were bragging to their friends that they were on a "paid-leave". This is abit melampau but I suppose it is a good thing that I'm paid to stay at home and sleep till before I fly. =P

Isolation stunts creativity

The more I stay in, the less I feel like blogging. These days I can't seem to think of a good topic to blog about. There are a few issues in my mind but I can't develop my thoughts into a blog post. What to do? I need inspiration! lol~

中秋节快乐

Today's moon was very beautiful. Here's some pics which I took with my new camera. Unfortunately, my camera does not do any justice to the actual view of the moon.

Blur Image of the moon - looks like a light bulb (Taken without flash - my hands are too shaky)

The moon (Taken with flash)

Moon with clouds on the side (not very clear ~ need better camera, SLR?)

I like this picture - looks as if a cosmic explosion just occured. Of course, it's only the moon's light through the clouds. (Again, the fault of my camera.. hahaha.... viewing it through our eyes is much much better than through the camera lens)

My new camera!

After I found out that I would be having my job trainings in India, I realised that I needed a camera. To make things unfavourable, the COMEX held in Suntec City was over. I didn't know what to do as I am not a good shopper. I don't know how to compare prices and bargain. I ended up searching online on how to buy cameras from Sim Lim. Guess what! I found a wonderful site where tourist discuss in the forums on how to get the best camera deals from Sim Lim Square. These 'ang mohs' ah, you always think they go Sim Lim to be 'tang1' (Direct translation - Slaughtered). The forum teaches them how not to be fooled by the shopkeeper's 'special price only for you my fren'.
Step 1: Go Mustafa center check out the prices and the freebies
Step 2: Go Sim Lim check prices
Step 3: Negotiate for a price lower than Mustafa and get them to throw in freebies e.g. memory card.

So, I did follow those steps except for the bargaining part. I'm not very good at it. This is my experience:
1. Went into shop, ask about price for Panasonic & Canon camera. ~Get price liao~
2. Was hesitating as price was abit high so asked if have promotion. ~Salesman say no, over liao~
3. Turned around abit sad thinking "Oklah, maybe I don't really need a camera"
4. Salesman quickly say "What you like? I give you free memory card - 128Mb!"
5. My eyes glimmered. I think he sensed that. But I still hesitated, I was like "er... 128 ah.. too small ler..." Turned around again preparing to leave.
6. Salesman say "Ok ok! I give you 256! You like?" ~BINGO!
7. "Ok... I think I will wan to buy"
8. He then intro me his Konica Minolta camera (according to HF, this shop is the authorized dealer of KM cameras, so they'll hard sell it to you, anyway...)
9. I liked the camera, he gave an offer price of $599. I was like er... I must bargain but how? I am still very naive.. and nice to the salesman so I asked for $580. He was like "Hey.. $19, also wanna bargain meh? Ok lah.. I give u 590".. I accepted.
10. Then he suggested I get 2nd battery - special price for today is $55 compare to usual $75. So total is suppose to be $645. I bargain again.. ask for $640. He was again like "Hey... $5 also wanna bargain." I replied "Yah.. easy mah.. round off". Despite his reply, he gave me what I asked for. I suppose it was a small bargain. He must be laughing inside that he has a weak bargaining customer.

Anyway, overall, I am quite satisfied with the salesman's service. At least he was trying to service me and ensured that the camera was all in good order. I will look towards the positive side of this and prevent myself from suffering 'post-purchase dissonance' syndrome (Besides, this syndrome is common so no need to feel bad). Here's a pic of my camera :D

Cool morning yesterday

Actually I wanted to blog this post yesterday night but was busy until quite late. Why was yesterday cool? Well, to start off, I actually forced myself into bed early the night before. This was to ensure that I could wake up early yesterday. I hate the feeling of getting up from bed tired and stretching all over. It spoils my mood. The best way to start of the day is when I get up feeling fresh and energetic. So... trying to lead a healthy lifestyle - Got up -> wash up. After that, turned on Channel News Asia to catch Prime Time Morning while drinking my cup of tomato juice (Vitamin C is good for body u noe?). Ah~ This is the life.

After that, I spent another hour watching the news. It got abit boring when the same news are repeated over and over again. I decided that I should get out of my chair and do some exercise. So.......... I prepared myself and went out to swim! This is my 2nd time in the pool after being here in S'pore for 3years. I didn't swim far as I got tired very easily. I can't swim 50m without resting. I remembered the first time I went to the pool here in S'pore, I was abit over-ambitious - recalling the days when I represented my district swimming team to compete in the nationals back home in Brunei (which was like 10years ago). I swam half-way realised that I was too tired to swim further, I struggled to the ledge at the side. I thought for a moment there I was going to drown. Scary... After that incident last year, I only swim near the sides. I dare not swim far from support liao. I suppose I need to swim more frequently to get my body used to the water as well as building up stamina. After the swim yesterday, I'm planning to go to the pool again soon.

我的汉字很不ok

我发觉到原来我很久没写汉字了，所以我想试试看用电脑打汉字。我知道我自己的华文grammar一定有错。我差不多有一年没有学华文了。很多汉字我已经忘了怎么写也有很多我忘了怎么念。如果陈老师和林老师知道，他们一定会觉得 disappointed。
因为我已经找到工作，工作还没开始所以天天很得空。从明天起，我得天天学写汉字。(要不然到了台湾会给弄笑话) 在 interview 的时候,我说我会说华语可是我会一点儿汉字。。。。哇，我觉得很累打这个 post。我需要很多时间来打这么短的 post。好吧，这次我就打这么的 post 吧，改天才打一个有意思的 post。

The new NLB at Bugis

From the outside, this building looks very futuristic and cool. Many people have complain that the design is out of place because Bugis is filled with heritage buildings. I went to the National Library yesterday after a frustrating window shopping experience at Sim Lim. I was totally not in the mood to shop so I left Sim Lim before I even properly started.

I took the glass elevator up to the highest level - 14th floor. As the lift moved upwards, I started to feel afraid because I have a fear of heights (more specifically - falling). I could feel cold sweat running down my forehead and my legs are weak. I tried to control my fear by telling myself that it was all in the mind. At the 14th floor, I marvelled at the view. It was quite good but abit limited. One can vaguely see familiar landmarks at Orchard road. The view of the city is completely blocked or maybe only when they properly open all sections in the library then can one see the city.

The library has gardens on located on various levels in the building. I only manage to visit the Level 5 courtyard. The place is interesting but again - view is terrible. There isn't anything special to see from here except maybe chiobu walking around Parco hahahaa.....

From my visit, I only like the exhibitions such as Singapore's history as well as on the development projects for Marina Bay. The Marina prject looks very ambitious but if the project is successful, that place so poshy. I would also wanna buy a home there if I have enough S11.

Coffee Bean, Starbucks and so on

These days I've been travelling around Singapore's CBD and shopping centers. Mostly because I need to go for interviews at the offices there. As the title suggest, Coffee Beans, Starbucks, etc catch my attention each time I pass by. The alluring smell of coffee leaves one craving to have a cup of ice-blended coffee with whip cream. But then ar, a cup of it will leave me eating rice with soya-sauce (Labi style - Labi is a rural farming area in Brunei where my father grew up. He likes to intro this dish to us if my siblings and I were to complain about mom's cooking so that we should be grateful... hahaha... :P) or tomato sauce (like the girl who gathers free ketchup from fastfood restaurants so that she could buy expensive fashion labels) for a few meals.

Despite my wallet burning deep these days and I can see butterflies coming out of it, I could not resist the temptation. :S ... I try to give excuse to my guilty conscience by thinking: "It's alright. I'll be earning my own income soon. Once I have my income, it will be alright." True no? Of course, after attending the financial advisory courses, I learnt that this is what most people think and it leads to unsatisfactory results. Majority of people spend first, save later. There are also many who spend future income (like what I'm doing..... eeee.. guilty ler...).

ANYWAY, let's not talk about finance. The more I talk about it, the more sad I am. Boh lui liao~ I realise there are many wants/needs that I want/need to fulfill before leaving for India. I'll make another post on this another day. Back to topic - Coffee Bean, Starbucks & others like Secret Recipe.

I wonder what the secret is in all these Ice-blended coffee. Can one get the same taste and texture from 40cents coffee mix with ice throw into blender? As I blog this, I'm starting to crave for a cup. Maybe I'm just a frap·pé-addict. For now, I will have to control my cravings. See no frap·pé, Smell no frap·pé, Drink no frap·pé.

Offer Concluded

Yesterday morning I went to Tata Consultancy Services, supposedly just to collect the contract then return home to read it thoroughly. Instead, the HR manager led me to another room to read the contract first so that I can clarify some of the terms in the contract. At the meeting room, I joined another potential joinee who was already reading his contract. I happily started to read my first employment contract. The contract seemed alright to me. I quickly flipped to the salary section to check if they are paying me what I requested for and...... THEY ARE. So I was very happy and could just sign without reading on. But of course, it would be foolish of me. What if there are some clauses that suddenly prevent me from doing something? So I continued.

When the guy beside me finished reading his contract, he started to ask me some questions regarding the job scope and length of time we'll be out of the country. In addition, he said that the salary was low. I asked him how much he was paid. He answered S$30k annually. I was like "You are a fresh grad also, you will be getting more than me and still not happy?? -.-" " He then explained about the potential salary he might get if in KPMG ($2k but will reach $3.5k in 1.5year) or PSA ($2.8k). Ok lor... I told him that the opportunity to go overseas is different mah and we'll be paid for our stay overseas. He wanted to make sure that the allowance package was high if he were to join. He went over to the HR to try and negotiate for a higher salary. The HR manager didn't give in. Anyway, he took his contract back to reconsider.

For me, I went to clarify some of the unclear terms in the contract and what the 13th month salary meant. I just found out that it is a common practice here in Singapore that most firms will pay 1 month's worth of salary at the end of every year completed. After clarifying my doubts, without any hesitation, I signed the contract. Voila~ CY is now "Trainee Engineer" at Tata Consultancy Services.

Tired day

I got up yesterday in a half-awake-half-asleep state. I was not very sure why I was like that. All I know was that I felt irritated because daylight had not break and I was already awake. I felt very tired while feeling my entire body being sore. I had interview at 10am so I forced myself up and prepare for the interview.

The interview yesterday was at CSA. Before the interview commenced, I had to take 2 tests - one on Java2 and the other on Servlets. During the test, I find myself being very restless. I could not sit still on the chair because my whole body was feeling uncomfortable sittting up straight. I ended up sitting as if I had no backbone. I spent about 45mins for the test. Most of the questions I do not have an answer to it although it was MCQ (tikam lor). The result -> 28% for Java2 and 30% for Servlet. Of course with such a result, the interviewer is bound to ask. She asked how I felt about the test. I told her that it was very difficult and that many concepts I was not familiar with. Java was suppose to be my forte but I've no knowledge on threading which was asked very often during the test. I suppose the job is more suited to CS students. Her comment: "Oh, this is the type of questions for Sun certified Java programmers".. Hmmm... ok. That means I'm not qualified then. Anyway, abit 不耐烦 already because I was feeling very tired. In addition, at the back of my head, I already know that I'm going to take up the TCS offer so abit bochup also.

After the interview, I was considering whether to or not to go for my lessons at the Prudential Training Center. It was nearing lunch time but I didn't feel hungry. Instead, there was a weird sensation in the stomach - no pain though. Just plain weird - like no appetite to eat. In the end, I went to Boon Keng mrt to help my uncle settle some payment and then went to Dhoby Ghaut for lunch. After that, I decided not to go for lessons. I went back to try and get some sleep. I didn't manage to sleep but I had loose bowels for quite some time. Later in the evening when it stopped, all I felt was my stomach aching. I'm still feeling this ache this morning. It is only when I lie down to rest, the aching stops. Food poisoning?

Another job offer

Today I went to the 2nd interview at Tata Consultancy Services. The result -> I have been extended the offer to work with them. It came as a sudden surprise as I thought that my previous written test and interview didn't go well. I called my parents to tell them about it. The first reaction was: "Huh? India again? The pay very low one wor... Go choose some other company". Not only my parents, I have another friend was also very concerned about the pay that I might be getting from this company. Fortunately, the HR manager clarified that I'll be receiving my salary in Singapore dollars plus additional living allowances when I'm in India. I've not confirmed my salary with the HR manager as I was not sure whether it was the right moment to ask. I'll ask her when I meet her again to get the contract.

At the moment, my heart is more or less set for this job offer. If all goes according to plan, I'll leave for India in early October. The trainings session is for about 3 months and after that I am very likely to be posted to Taiwan to work for a period of time OR I could be posted back to Singapore depending on their needs. I'm very excited. :D

@XP

@XP -> AIESEC Experience

Today I went for an AIESEC exchange simulation session at NTU. During the session, a presentation clip was shown. The clip was full of questions on why AIESECers are in AIESEC. I was able to relate to feelings asked by most of the questions.

Out of all the questions, this one was stuck in my head - 'Have you ever wondered why your friends could never understand why you are so involved in AIESEC?'. Everytime I tell my friends that I'm going out for an AIESEC event, some would respond negatively by giving disapproving looks while others would just question why? I discussed this issue with another AIESEC friend. He was also saying that he complains about the workload in AIESEC to his other friends and he gets no sympathy from them. Cruel?

Just to share with all my blog readers whether you know what AIESEC is or not, AIESEC has changed my life. This is why I'm still so involved in AIESEC. When I started my final year in university, I was quite lost. The thought of graduating from university was terrifying. I was reluctant to move on to an unknown place. I joined AIESEC that semester and was quite involved in the training sessions initially and backed out in the middle. I was starting to think why am I so involved in AIESEC for? Then came NLDS 2004 (National Leadership Development Seminar). I participated in the camp with the intention of just wanting to enjoy not bothering about other stuff.

NLDS 2004..... the turning point of my life. On the first day of NLDS, I had the opportunity to meet some delegates from Indonesia and Malaysia. The meeting to me was the first of its kind. These people are so energetic and passionate to do things. During group discussions, the passion of these delegates in sharing their ideas was refreshing and pulled me along. During dances, they would dance passionately and not care if there are no one else following them. This is proof of working hard and playing hard.

During the evening session, an external coach was invited to train us. He asked a simple question - What is your passion in life?. He made us think about it carefully. When I thought about it, I was like "Hey, yea o... what's my passion in life? er... start business? er... why? er... playing computer games? er... I don't know". He asked for volunteers to share what their passion in life is. I was one of the people called to share. I started by saying "I want to start a business". He looked unconvinced and probed, "What business? Sell what?". I continued with "er...Sel...." *"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR PASSION IS! Think carefully again then answer me next time"*, he exclaimed and smiled. It felt like a large slap on the face and a strong wake up call. It was true what he said. I searched deep inside me to the answer.... and I have none. 2nd evening, another slap on the face - different coach, same question. I began to think about it seriously but till today, I have not reached a conclusion what my passion in life is. Nonetheless, through that experience, it has served as a wakeup call to me.

After NLDS 2004, I am more keen in pursuing my final academic semester in NUS. In addition, I was more open to the idea of graduation and going out into the unknown. Of course, this is my personal experience. Others might have other experiences which differ from mine completely. Anyway.... so, what is your passion in life? I strongly suggest that you think about it.

Ups and Downs

I was up last night till about 1am doing some last minute mugging on Module 9. I set my alarm to ring at 830am this morning. I woke up at 8 this morning feeling fresh and good - ready to mug some more for M9. I was in a very good mood. Joyfully I went to have my breakfast and left early for Suntec City. I arrived at Suntec City at about 1030am. Not many shops are open yet and the atmosphere was interesting. To be able to see shop owners getting ready for the new day makes one feel ready to tackle the challenges of the day.

Since I was early, my intention was to sit at one of the benches in Suntec Tropics Atrium (located between Tower 1 and Tower 2). Happily I opened my M9 '10-year series' and tried out questions. There were still a lot of concepts that I didn't understand. Suddenly, I realised that I had totally forgotten to bring my passport for identification! That got me panicking. The time then was 11am. I didn't know what to do. I considered taking the mrt back but that would take way too much time and I won't be back in time. So, feeling annoyed, I took a cab back - paid $8 for the trip just to take my passport. I cursed myself for being so absent minded. The more I think about it then the more I felt irritated. I mean I paid $105 to sit for the exam and now I've paid an extra $8 for something that I have considered pulling out from....

I mugged on cab unhappily. It was a horrible experience to read on a cab. As soon as I got down the cab, I felt nauseous. I quickly grabbed my passport and other important documents just in case then took the bus back to Suntec City. Fortunately I returned to Suntec City Tropics Atrium just in time. I had 15minutes before the exam started. In addition to this, I passed my M9... Yay! Don't really know why I celebrate though. I still have to attend product training sessions next week.

In other news, I got a call from CSA regarding an interview with them. This is the first time the person asked me what grade I got for the Information Systems Development project I did in my 3rd year. I told her "C+" and her reaction was like "Wah! Why so bad?". In my mind I was like "What the??? How can you be so straight forward one? Sh**.... S'pore kiasuism......". I had to explain what went wrong in the project and how we could've improved on it. She was not fully convinced but arranged an interview for me anyway. Hai~ Although I'm only in the process of getting employed, I experienced some office politics even in the training sessions. There was one guy who brags that he's from the top agency in the field. I mean "Duh!"... Don't need to brag all these leh. When talking, he speaks as if he is a level higher than the rest of us. Do I have to be like them to survive this cruel dog-eat-dog world?

My consolation

Gemini 31st August 2005 - "Don't even bother trying to get something done. It won't happen. But starting things -- now that's a whole other story. You're just raring to get things going. Rome wasn't built in a day, but that's how it started." Daily horoscope found here.

This reading sounds abit pessimistic. 'Don't even bother trying' <- how discouraging.... So, just to start things? The journey of a thousand miles start with a single step but no one said there would be pot holes along the way. I'm still keeping my spirits high though. Was just abit frustrated by today's interview session at Singtel. I wonder how the interviewer felt.

Akiramenai (諦めない)

...

Just when I thought everything was moving so smoothly and going so well last week, this week all crashed down. This sucks.

Closing Interview Session with Accenture

Today I went for the "Closing Interview" (the HR manager emailed me with the phrase as the title). I suppose the as the title suggest, this was the final interview. I was interviewed at the Accenture Technology solutions office located at Commonwealth (very near to NUS).

My interviewer started off my explaining the objectives of the interview. She said that the technical interview that I had the other day was basically it. The interviewer was satisfied with my capabilities. It is just a matter of choice now. As she began to explain the whole organizational structure of Accenture and the departmental structure, I began to sense something was not right. She was explaining things like "Accenture Technology is a separate entity from Accenture Consulting. This entity has been formed not too long ago. It is also found globally including Brunei." She would also ask if I mind being posted back to Brunei to work. I thought "Duh, it would be quite good opportunity."

Then the make or break question came. She asked if I prefer consulting or technology. Without hesitating, I stated consulting. I'm passionate about technology but not as much as I would to consulting. After that, everything in the interview went on about the expectations and the lack of freedom to shift focus. I understood her expectations and she understood my expectations. She said that she'll hand in my application to the consulting section and depending on whether they need people, I might get a chance or I might not. After that, we shook hand and bid farewell.

My second job rejection. This time my rejection was abit too fast I think. I should've given myself some leeway by saying that I need time to consider. However, at the same time, I want the get a job in consulting badly and not get stuck in development throughout my life. Ok lah.... hope things go on well. Tomorrow I still have an interview at Singtel.

Monday Blues

Today started as how many people would say Monday is -> Horrible. Well, the situation isn't too bad to the extent where I would ramble non-stop about it. In fact, it was just the initial part where I had trouble waking up at 730am just to attend the tutorials at 930am at Paya Lebar. After passing Module 5, I am left with 1 more module to clear - Module 9. This module is so shiong. Comparing A levels to uni then compare to this, I'd have to say the rule of indirect proportionality applies. In A levels, you spend about 1 and a half year to cover the materials. In university, it is reduced to 1 semester (approximately 3months). This course? 1 week. Superman leh all the people here. I guess 1 week because most are either fresh uni/poly grads (assumed to be good at absorbing information) or industry specialists (people who have worked in banks/financial institutions).

Anyway, more about today. I took a bus out to Buona Vista mrt as usual. The crowd of people at the mrt was expected because of rush-hour. Everyone squeezed in like 'packed human sardines'. Being a tall guy is disadvantageous because my arms had to be kept folded or holding the ceiling. Reasons?
1. Prevent accidents. If not ah, it is possible to suddenly hear a squeal then CY's face is marked red with someone's palm. (Probably the lady thinks there's a mosquito ... How considerate.. Haha...)
2. Increase center of gravity by using shoulder and arm contact on other people to stay stable. (Newton's 3rd law - Action & Reaction)

Well, my day wasn't too bad. During the tutorials, I received two calls for interview. One from Singtel and the other from Accenture. I'll be missing afternoon tutorials tomorrow and the day after because of interviews. My priorities now are on interviews and getting a job quick! But.... at the same time, I don't want to fail M9. How? How? How? Self-study for 26chapters in 3 days is suicide without an instructor to summarize. Ah... it's getting late, I have to go attend early morning tutorials again tomorrow morning.

Watch this space for more updates on Interview Adventures soon.

Funstuff

Your Birthdate: June 21

Being born on the 21st day of the month (3 energy) is likely to add a good bit of vitality to your life. The energy of 3 allows you bounce back rapidly from setbacks, physical or mental. There is a restlessness in your nature, but you seem to be able to portray an easygoing, "couldn't care less" attitude. You have a natural ability to express yourself in public, and you always make a very good impression. Good with words, you excel in writing, speaking, and possibly singing. You are energetic and always a good conversationalist. You have a keen imagination, but you tend to scatter your energies and become involved with too may superficial matters. Your mind is practical and rational despite this tendency to jump about. You are affectionate and loving, but very sensitive. You are subject to rapid ups and downs.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

I was surfing around someone else's blog then found this. "I easily bounce back from setbacks rapidly whether physical or mental". This is true? Most of the time! The tougher things get, the more determined I am to achieve my goal. Akiramenai (諦めない)! I portray a "easy-going, couldn't care less" attitude? This one I think so but of course, despite my external attitude, I still ensure things are done accordingly. Akiramenai (諦めない)! Excel in writing, speaking and possibly singing!??! LOL! For people who have heard me sing before would definitely reject this statement. Or maybe I can interpret it as "likes to sing often". Now this would be true. Keen imagination eh? Well, when I am alone walking around shopping centres, I would day dream on various future scenarios ranging from career to family to leisure. On a side note, another friend of mine would comment, "Chin Yun ar! You mad ar! You think too much dy. You know.. you should become an actor". Anyway, overall this is just a 'feel good' article.

Note:
Akiramenai (諦めない) - Japanese phrase for "Won't Give Up" (Narutards should know better)

Just another enjoyable moment

Yesterday after going through interview and the Module 5 exam (which I passed. I was first to come out some more... haha...1hr), I had about 4-5 hours to spend before the Horror Show at Suntec City organized by FCBC. First thing I did was just sit down inside Suntec City and read newspaper. After that, went around and had a try at Secret Recipe. Ooooh.... The Marble Cheese Cake was absolutely deliciously creamy. I felt very 'sayang' to cut the only slice I bought in big portions ($5 for a piece... ouch my pocket is burning deep these days.... :'( ). Every piece that I took a bite on, I slowly played with it in my mouth enjoying and sucking out the flavour. Ah.... that was a piece of really good cheese cake. I craved for more but the hole in my pocket is too large to ignore so I walked away feeling slightly sad. At the same time, I was in a super jolly mood because everything seemed to go smoothly (although I didn't know my interview result).

Went window shopping at Carrefour - Lowest Price Everday! (which is quite true especially those that are put on offer. I mean where can you get shaving cream that costs $7.80 in Brunei, $8.50 at NTUC BUT at Carrefour, it's only $5.10) After walking around Carrefour, I had about 2 hours left to spend, so I walked out to the benches outside Suntec Tower 5. The first thing I saw were couples getting cozy with each other then I saw non-couples smoking away. The benches are positioned in such a way that no two bench are near each other. If they are, it will face a different location. I suppose this place is suppose to be 'lover's corner'. Anyway, I just sat down and enjoyed the environment around me. I was feeling over the moon, smiling from inside out (And no, I was not there waiting for a girl. Although I think, it is a good location to get one :P).

The weather wasn't hot. The sun was shining softly but mainly because most of the rays were blocked by the tall buildings around. The trees around the fountain helped in to keep the place cool as well. I just found out that the fountain is not turned on before 5pm. Anyway, back to the atmosphere, it is just very calm and peaceful. I could sit there all day without a care for anything in this world. Enjoying every moment there, I looked around at the couples, at the tourists armed with cameras looking facinated by the fountain and taking many shots of the area as well as admiring the wonderful architectural designs of the buildings around Suntec City.Of course, I didn't stone there for the full 2 hours. As I sat there feeling very happy, I also wrote down some points I wanted to write for my blog posts. Haha... which resulted in this post lor~

Accenture Singapore - My Interview

Yesterday I had my interview at Accenture's Singapore office located on the 33rd floor of Raffles City Tower. The office is AWESOME..... They have spent a lot in really ensuring that the name Accenture equates to something of high quality and class. I could easily describe the office with adjectives like professional, classy, chic, beautiful, smart, elegant, fashionable and the list goes on. I mean.... "WOAH!" ... No wonder people pay Accenture consultants $300+ just to sit down and have coffee with them. (Of course, listen to the consultants tell them things they already know. LOL)

First entry, I thought that I had entered the lobby of a hotel. The receptionist gave me a form to fill up and asked me to go into a small room near the entrance. The small room again... anyway, cut long story short.... made me day-dream. What did I day-dream? I'm somewhere on the other side of the globe on an assignment. I'm just settling the paperwork in the comfort of my hotel suite after a day's negotiations with my clients. Ah... then I snapped back to reality and focused myself - "I WANT THE JOB. I am going to sell myself like I'm the candidate for Google developer position."

After finishing the forms, my interviewer came out to invite me to the interview room. As I walk past the corridor, I can't help noticing but.... "Wah... telescope... wah... pinball machine.... wah... jukebox... wah..... interview room.....wah... flask..... wah......cool cup....wah.. wah...wah...". The feel of the office is very much similar to the main level of NUS Central Library plus the cool discussion rooms. Amazing..... I was just too awed by the environment that made me crave for the job more and more.


My Interview:
Interviewer: "So, tell me about yourself"
CY: "What should I tell him? Hmm" ... Smiled at interviewer and said, "Hmmm, what would you like to know?"

Interviewer: "Up to you. Just make your sales pitch."
CY: "Oh Sh**! Why open ended? Tell what? Tell what?" ... smile some more and answered, "I'm friendly, er.... responsible? er.... tall? er..... I don't know...."

Interviewer: "Hmm... is that how you want me to remember you as?"
CY: "Ah.... **** ... how how how??" .... smile again... and answered, "Haha...er.... " ... smile

Interviewer: "Ok, nevermind. Let's move on to the questions."
CY: "Sh**..... minus marks for CY..... there goes my opportunity".. just smile as if nothing was wrong....
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The interview ended about half an hour later.....Things weren't as bad as it started off. I was actually quite happy with how I presented myself throughout the interview.

The result? Well, as a jesture of courtesy for every interview, I will send an appreciation to my interviewer and whoever contacted me for the interview. I sent my appreciation note very late last night. This afternoon, I received a reply to the appreciation note saying that I passed Round 1 and will be informed of Round 2 next week. :D

Interview at Singtel

When I hear of the name Singtel, I think of something that is branded, classy and has quality. Today I went to the Singtel Academy located at Bukit Timah (next to NJC). I was surprised by the building. It is very old and run down. Ironically, this is where all the Singtel IT people work. However, they are moving to North Serangoon by end of this year. Maybe the building there is newer and more representative of Singtel's name.

Anyway, for today's interview, I am very reliefed that I did some last minute studying of my CS3214 textbook. I read up on J2EE and the differences between the entity and session beans. Questions were again asked related to those. I don't like answering them because it reveals how rusty I am with those technical stuff. It has been over a year since I last worked with the J2EE environment. The previous project was a disaster but I learnt a lot from it.

As for my interviewer today, he has visible 'black rings' around his eyes. I can tell that he lacks sleep. I begin to question if I would end up like him if I work there. Anyway, if I am successful, I'll be called up for Round 2 soon. More good news:
1. Interview at Accenture tomorrow!! (Finally! After sending 3 applications...3 times to strike?)
2. Daimler-Chrysler Internship interview soon? (I was rejected for the job 1 month ago... I received a call today asking if I still want or not. I was asked if I have read the job responsibilities because most people didn't and rejected them after they were called up. I suppose that's why after rejecting me 1 month ago, they are crawling back to ask. Hahaha...)

Change of Perception

After attending 2 days of tutorials, my perceptions and confidence in financial advisory services has turned very positive. Before this, or should I say long before, I always have a negative impression of insurance agents. Not only me - people around me also feel the same way. Almost every friend I meet with the exception of one or two who have been consulted by financial advisers instead of insurance agents felt differently.

The Singapore government has done a lot to raise and improve the image of financial advisers by passing the Financial Adviser's Act (2002). There are some strict criterias which financial advisers and their representatives must fulfil before engaging a client. The primary objective is to help clients fulfil their financial objectives and NOT pushing for a sale. I don't know whether I'm being biased here or not BUT my confidence for investing money in insurance has never been positive until I learned of Prudential. This company goes the extra mile to ensure that their customers are well-taken care of, through trainings and seminars for the representatives(agents) to train them on better customer relationship building.

I think it is very likely for me to join this industry if I quit the IT field.

Shopping! An unusual experience.

Weird topic for a guy's blog no? I sound so grrl leh.

Anyway, irregardless of what you think. You are still reading on so I guess it doesn't matter. After the tutorial, I went to Suntec City to do some shopping at Carrefour. Instead of doing a guy's shopping like what I usually do, I took my time to slowly walk around Suntec City first. As I walked along, I took notice of my surroundings and people passing by. Just enjoying my time I guess since I have nothing to do (study Module 5-Chapter 1-4 leh?).

I went to Carrefour to buy my necessities (ah... finally, guy's shopping style... phew). As I was buying my stuff, suddenly an announcement was made that sushi was on sale for 1/2 price. It is quite unusual right? I thought that maybe they have 2 sessions of sushi selling offer. One is now and another is at night when they are about to close. Not long later (maybe 1/2hr later or 1hr later.. I didn't check my watch), another announcement was made that Carrefour is closed for the day. I was abit stunned as I've not finished shopping. Anyway, I quickly made my way to the counter to check out what I have. I asked the cashier what happened and why are they closing so early. She just answered, "Company affair". ('???' filled my head... doesn't matter..)

At the end of the day, I managed to buy the things that I need as well as a new shirt for a bargain! LOL (-.-" ... CY... hai~)

Tutorials!

I went for tutorial today from 930am-4pm on Module 5 of Singapore College of Insurance. The tutorial was held in the Prudential Training Center located at the 8th Level of Singapore Post Center (Paya Lebar mrt). This building is amazing. I like the design of the offices and the spacious area available. From outside, it looks like a giant UFO. Previously, everytime I pass by this building I would think, "What the heck is Barang-Barang? This building looks strange."

Tutorial was conducted by one of the Prudential trainers. Although she was lively but the content of the course was dry so most people were falling asleep including myself. As like in NUS, the tutorials have tutorial project groups. My group members were friendly and one said she stayed in Bukit Batok... OMG I thought, OH NO I thought... Then I told her my address. She was not familiar with it which made me feel relief. Hehe...

Today I realised something (sth that is S'porean or prevalent elsewhere).... having a degree increases one's status and rank. It is not that I want to look down on others. It was never my intention in the first place. When my people ask me where I studied, and I told them NUS, immediately they gave me a weird kind of stare and they 'talk down' things. They didn't say where they are from so I asked and they would just say "poly" in a shy/embarassed manner. I don't know what to say for this situation. It is the first time I've encountered it although I was in a room full of poly grads for an interview previously (I didn't asked previously). In the previous case, I find that they are more reserved and timid. However, in this case, they weren't like that until they found out that I'm from NUS. I wonder what they are thinking inside. IF I were them, a possible thought would be "Heh, NUS grad ah? So what? I will do better than you in my career." Abuthen, this is me. I think I'm having these thoughts because I don't want to be looked down on. I demand recognition and acknowledgement. Hahaha.... Oh well...

Of course, after stating the above, I don't mean polytechnic grads are low class. This is why I felt weird after they gave me those looks. I mean, so what? Heck care the education level or school one is from! What matters more is how well one cope with the University of Life. Entrepreneurs like to quote this: "Do you know that only 20% of top managers have university degree while the 80% have only O levels or lower? The top university students work (slave) 12hours under them daily." Does this make university education obsolete? No. It is still important to do well in university because what we learn from university is not knowledge but skills. It gives us opportunities to hone analytical skills, writing skills, time-management skills, presentation skills, etc. I'd like to use AIESEC way of questioning and answering here - 'Are you studying to get good grades or preparing yourself for future challenges? It's Up To You how you want to spend your university life.'

Unfortunately, my university life has 'expired' :(

One step at a time

After making countless changes to my resume and cover letters, I am starting to get results. I am receiving more and more phone calls from potential employers. This proves how lousy and horrible my first few resumes and cover letters were. In addition, the first 2 interviews that I had taught me a few things. Some of the things that I should note on my next few interviews:

1. Speak with confidence irregardless of whether the interviewer is intimidating. I mean, what the heck! He might just be testing me out or forcing me to say what he wants to hear. I might not be happy if I work for such people.
2. When asked "Do you have any questions for us?", I should just say "Yes. When will I know the results of the interview? Are there any more interviews after this?"
3. Prepare backup copies of resume, transcripts and photo. This is so as to show sincerity that you really want the job. The HR manager can be forgetful at times so just pull out a copy from your bag and voila, impressed.

Anyway, hopefully next week I get more phone calls. (My phone bill is gonna kill me again this month.)

Big Company = Big Stress

I went for TATA Consultancy Services' written test and interview. I prepared wrongly for both. I thought that the written tests will be related to programming and the interview related to analysing my soft skills. Instead, the written test is exactly the same as American SATs and the interview..... heck... I was interrogated by two people whom I assume to have PhD in Computer Science. I'm doomed.

The learning point from this - study my Java well.

Suddenly Financial Adviser, Suddenly Not....

The interview with Nicholas Goh went by so fast that suddenly Nicholas just called in his HR manager to process my PR application form. After that, he set me up for 2 tests which is necessary for those who wish to work in this field. I paid $200 for the $210 test because I did not have the change. The HR manager, Merle was a nice person. She was friendly and helped me by checking out the requirements of the forms and told me what to bring. As I did not have the necessary documents at that point, I made an appointment to meet her again yesterday.

I went back happily thinking, "Ok. Financial adviser, an opportunity to try something new and learn something else. Don't worry. Everything will turn out alright." AS IF! There must have been something deep inside of me that is rebelling. Yesterday morning, I received a sudden call from Tata Consultancy Services asking if I would be free to do their tests and interview TODAY! I thought "What the heck? I've already accepted another job. Is ok, I can look for Tata next year if I want to." Again, deep down inside, I felt uneasy. I had an aversion to work as a financial adviser? What am I seeking?

Afternoon came, a friend/resume adviser of mine was online asked if I got a job. I told him yea, non-IT. He was shocked and I told him about the Tata offer. He said that I should try it out and my employment contract says that I can break it anytime. *BAM* This was the point where all my inner thoughts came out and I felt like screaming... I mean, $210 will disappear and I'll be thrown back into the point of job uncertainty... Anyway, I was in a dilemma for quite sometime and talked this out with Loon......... He just helped me clear my doubts a little. Deep down inside me, I felt like quitting the insurance job. On the surface, I give myself 'an wei' by sugar-coating the job opportunity. In the end, I called Tata back and begged the HR manager to send me the details for the event. After that, I called the Merle and told her that I wanted to withdraw. It took me quite some time to build up some courage to say "I want to quit". I thought rejecting job offers are easy. Although I'm not in the job yet but it is also quite hard....

At the moment, I'm jobless once more and thrown back into the world of uncertainties.

Interview Round 3

It seems that the HR manager liked me despite the fact that I feel the opposite. He sensed potential in me? From 269 applicants, narrowed down to 11 people for the first interview and don't know down to how many for 2nd interview and now finally the 3rd interview. I'll finally get to meet the director of the company - Nicholas Goh. I wonder what kind of person he is....

In other job hunting news, an IT recruitment agency has finally called me up in the afternoon. We didn't discuss much other than to verify that my application is valid. I wonder if they'll offer me some vacancy any time soon.

Weekend Fun!

This year I volunteered to be an Orientation Group Leader (OGL) for AIESEC's Recruitment Orientation Camp (@ROC) 2005. @ROC took place in Dairy Farm Adventure Camp (DFAC) this year. This location is spacious BUT NO A/C! I was sweating profusely throughout the camp and I could smell myself. *P U*

As like previous @ROCs, each group is assigned a country. This time, I was assigned to lead Kenya (Ma kay tu eh tu eh ba, Ma kay tu eh tu eh ba, Tu tu eh tu tu eh ba ba, Tu tu eh tu tu eh ba ba....). A brief description of my group members. I had a group of 10people and out of which only 2 are girls. One from NTU and the other from UTM. Last year, Kenya - also about 10 people BUT out of which only 2 are guys. This proves the concept of 风水轮流转? Haha... Anyway, camp started off with registrations and then a sponsored talk by Eu Yan Sang on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Our @ROC goodie bags include some herbal tea which have to be cooked by slow cookers/clay pots from Eu Yan Sang. Now I know that the grandfather of the current CEO of Eu Yan Sang is Eu Tong Sen which is the name of one of the streets in Chinatown. The session was very informative and explained abit on the basics of the 5 elements and the EYS clinics around Singapore.

After the talk, the Organizing Committee played music and immediately forced everyone to dance along. This must have been a shock/surprise to the juniors. Everyone looked and acted so shy. I remembered myself back then as well, I was just like them. So as an OGL, I had to lead them in the action. Monkey see, Monkey do. During the evening, @ROC night was glamourous. When the soon-to-be-elected Miss @ROC 2005 came out, 'she' made everyone else looked lousy. Gals, eat your heart out, I mean, this guy (possibly gal) has very beautiful legs.... Er... what the heck am I saying? Haha... anyway, Miss @ROC was just too good. Miss Indonesia on the other hand had extended her hand to touch (more like molested?) our dear friend ..... poor him.... Our poor friend also had a good view of what's ....er... under skirt.... (need to wash eye liao). If only I had a camera, it was definitely a Kodak moment. I don't know what else to do but to laugh so hard that I fell to the floor rolling. ^_^

After the event, sculling and partying took place. This year due to lack of budget and sponsorships, there was only a limited supply of beer such that they had to dilute the beer available. I didn't get to drink any... :( ... But I had lots of fun dancing with the rest who didn't scull. After that, I went to sleep at about 3am but was half awake all throughout. I didn't sleep well. I was aware of what went on around me such as people talking, insects outside.

I 'woke up' at 730am. Breakfast was just instant cup noodles which were sponsored. The day continued with more dancing and team games as well as info sessions. Before the event officially ended, most of my members had already left the group due to other commitments. They missed the 'ultimate' roll-calls presented by us seniors. Oh well....

I enjoyed myself during the camp, though I don't know about my juniors. I gotta find out from them.

Round 2 coming up~

I just had a call from Nicholas Goh & Associates for Round 2. I'm starting to feel afraid. Being in round 2 means that I have a good chance of being employed by them soon. Although no guarantee, I can feel cold-sweat. Why? Because I'm venturing into a totally an unknown field. Because once I get in, it is bye-bye IT (unless I take up some professional certification). The IT firms which I applied to have not called me other than requesting for more information regarding my qualifications. How much longer do I have to wait? In the event I do get selected for this job, I need time to consider. I don't have a pool of job offers to choose from. This is my first and only offer. Should I go for it? I'm desperate for a job though and more desperately need PR status.

I talked to a friend from BizAd regarding the firm yesterday. She said that financial firms are a good start. One can learn can network a lot and maybe move on to a better career. This seemed like a plus point that I can focus on. What should I do? Someone advise me on this? Should I talk to the career center people? Of course I should, shouldn't I?

My First Job Interview

Early this morning I received a call from a lady who identified herself as from Nicholas Goh & Associates. Immediately in my mind I was like "Woo hoo! First Break!". She asked if I was free for interview in the afternoon. Happily I agreed. She ended the phone conversation by telling me her company's address.

The next thing that came to my mind was "Nicholas Goh & Associates"? I've never applied to the company before. I checked my applications and guessed that it might have something to do with the "Management Executive" position I applied to from Jobstreet.com. An hour after the call, I found that someone has read through my application 3 times. As I have no idea what I got myself into, I quickly googled for "Nicholas Goh & Associates". Luckily, these guys have a website. Although I would have to say that the website does not contain enough information for me to understand the company better. All that struck me was "Prudential Advisers" in the list of employees. I was abit stunned and thought "OMG! What have I done? I'm putting myself into an interview for an selling insurance????"

Anyway, I looked on the brighter side of things. This is my first interview so I should go irregardless - I might learn something from this. I was right. I went through some personality tests and had a 'nice' chat with the recruitment manager. He looks young but I suppose he is about 35 as he said sth about that. Anyway, I felt weird when he spoke to me. He sounded friendly but yet... there seemed to be a weird aura emitting from him. I'm not sure what it is. I'm not sure if it is good or bad. I learnt a thing or two about what wealth management is from him. Bank savings interest - 1.5% p.a. then S'pore inflation rate is about 3.5%p.a. so every year, savings lose 2% value. He considers putting money in bank as putting it to rot. It breaks the conventional Asian thinking.

As for the interview, I don't think it went well. At the start of the interview, I was cool and confident. As it progressed, I felt over-powered by the recruitment manager.... or his 'reiatsu' (bleach =P) is too strong. I can sense my voice getting softer. I started to mumble. This is the first time I felt such a weird presence. Was it because he was scrutinizing every word I say and every move I make?

I wonder if I would get an offer for 2nd interview for this job after the interview. Do I want the job? I have to seriously consider... What about my IT related jobs? Why no reply so far?

The Interviewer VS The Interviewee

Ironically, as I still await companies to give me interviews, I am conducting interviews for AIESEC LC NUS. It makes me feel sad but at the same time happy. By conducting the interviews, I gained more confidence and learnt from the performance of the interviewees. If I had time to take notes, I think I would try to note down some impressive performances as well as those that I should avoid following.

I had different types of interviewees. Some were extremely shy and quiet while others would just speak everything that comes to their mind. Of course, this does not mean that those who are quiet are disqualified straight away. I consider myself as a fair and NEUTRAL interviewer. Even if I was interviewing my close friends, wo bu hui shou xia liu qing. I had several experiences where my friends bu shuang me because I didn't favour them and I voted for others. Although by right, people say fren fren must give fren face. I to help fren at times if fren really "cmi" unless desperate situation. I'll dig out every information that I need. Abuthen.... I must say that I'm not easily seduced by the interviewee despite their qualificatins/looks although there was a girl whom I must admit is quite chio..... *ahem* .... back to the topic...

My interview partners (those who don't know me very well) felt that I acted quite differently from how I was usually. They think that I'm quiet but when it was my turn to ask questions, my partner felt as if I stunned the interviewees with my questions. I doubt that I was torturing them because the questions I asked are more of their own experience. I was just probing into what they had actually done in the past. Asking questions about future outcomes usually result in model answers while asking questions about the past experience paints a better picture. e.g. How can you commit? Ans: I will quit all my other CCAs, I will put in all my heart to work for AIESEC, etc. Thanks to the training session held last Sunday for the interviewers, it has helped me understand how interviewers might think and why they asked those questions. This teaches me how to make better 'model' answers to my advantage during work interviews. Hahaha.... then again, this is just an ideal situation and truthfully, I can't lie about my past. My face skin isn't that thick enough and as I have expressed earlier about myself not supporting friends at times shows how objective(evil) I am. I have answered very truthfully during my traineeship interview. Nonetheless with this experience, I can better sell myself in the interview.

When will I get my FIRST job interview?

PGP Welcome Fest Grand Finale

This year's Grand Finale is the most organized of the 4 years I've been in PGP. The event is very grand and the opening skit performed by the RAs was great! It was a mix of Lord of the Rings, Titanic and Star Wars but of course they were just spoofs replacing the key objects with transponder. The jokes were all about staying in PGP, guy and girl behind closed doors as well as the maintenance and cleaning staffs. The best part of the show was when they actually pulled out light sabers and fought. The crowd went wild as they extended their light sabers. Anyway, the events after that was just so-so... Belly dancing, seen before during the previous welcome fest - same drummer guy and same *cough* lady. The Chinese song item wasn't very suited for the Welcome Fest Grand Finale. It felt more like a 'shiok sendiri' item for the performer. Most of the people in the crowd either weren't able to understand the song or don't appreciate it as people around were just talking among themselves rather than listening. Maybe in a different setting, his songs would be appreciated. Anyway, as no major performances can end till the fat lady sings, no major PGP event is over until the fat lady eats! =P The food served was delicious!

Anyway, every year there is a different experience for the welcome fest. Despite the formality and organized Welcome Fest of this year, I missed the 'Welcome Fest' that I had. It wasn't formal but it was well organized (thanks to the volunteering seniors from TCS). That year, every freshman who participated could actually feel the bonding with the seniors and the other PGP residents around. I still see some of the Vietnamese I met during that time. Although we just say 'hi and bye' but we know each other by names and where we came from. We remembered what we talked to each other about at that time. Of course, this is my personal experience and it belongs to me. Others may feel differently about this (as in they also felt quite bonded with the other freshman in PGP) and I'm alright with it because that is their experience and I have no right to say that they don't have a fruitful freshman experience. What I want to say is maybe Welcome Fest can be improved further if they had a buddy-buddy system that I experienced as compared to "I'm an RA, call me if you need help else go play with your fellow freshmen". But of course, the seniors from TCS are still around. Every year, they'll come down to PGP to look out for the freshmen but some how not as large scale as before. Maybe it is also because of the various cliques that are already formed such as AMCISA (looong ago), VNC (my 2nd year in NUS) and Indon group (dunno when ... just saw them gang together recently).

Job Searching

Since 2 weeks ago, I have shifted gear to send in more and more resumes for job applications. Until now, it seems that I have no reply. It is so weird. I would expect at least a reply for interview from 1 or 2.... The situation is starting to be a little frustrating. However, I'm not giving up yet nor am I exhausted from this. Today I just found 'another' online job portal WHICH was advertised to me SO VERY OFTEN when I was studying in NUS. The NUS E-jobcenter... Not the NUS E-career but the NUS E-Jobcenter operated by the NUS Career Center. The jobs offered here are more relevant to what I studied and are grouped as such that I can choose entry level jobs. In addition, NUS students who are looking for part-time jobs/internships can also applied through this webportal. I should've found this one earlier, think there were a number of relevant jobs that had already 'expired'.

Anyway, I have applied to a number of jobs through this portal liaoz. I'm really really looking forward to an interview soon. On another note, I'll be interviewing others soon. Hahaha... AIESEC work. Join AIESEC, Apply online now! Don't miss the opportunity BUT of course, IT IS UP TO YOU!