Third Month In

Hello virtual world, I am back! Apologies for the hiatus in past 2-3 months.

Working world has been kind. I am blessed with helpful teammates that made my inititation into the team a comfy one. I am also blessed with a good boss, one that is understanding and encouraging. And also pretty fun colleagues that I can joke with and learn from.

September was a difficult month, though. Teammates were busy with their work and lacked the spare time to teach me the workings of our job scope. Being a fresh grad, I was raring to go, wanting to do real work, and really make a contribution. The slowness in that dull month demoralised me a little (ok not that little) as I struggled with the lack of opportunities to do real work, to prove my worth.

October came and I was suddenly given quite a large workload. I was happy and tried to do it to the best I could. Committed several  mistakes that could have been avoided, did some good work, some mediocre. The learning was good as I was given a slightly difficult case by my TL which required me to liase with several depts and learnt the ropes on the spot. I look forward to more challenging ones ahead.

Although it has only been 2+ months of working life, I’ve learnt or rediscovered some things about myself.

1. I am someone who cant sit around doing nothing.
2. I need to feel that my work is valued.

I am sure I will learn more about myself in the months to come.

FYI -  the reason why this post is possible at this time of day is because I’m home nursing a sprained ankle that occured because I stupidly ran down the escalator to catch my train and nearly fell and broke my fall at the expense of my ankle and yet still missed the train.

 

the new beginning

Today is the start of the new chapter of life. One where we have spent years preparing for yet on the eve of the First Day, we were apprehensive and afraid (at least I was) and a big part of me simply just sad cos it’s sayonara to school and the lovely school holidays!

The First Day went pretty well!

Firstly, I was blessed by a lovely friend who gave me a first-day-of-work-gift! A pack of my favourite candy, Jelly Babies! Haven’t eaten them for a long time, but I’ve always loved them. I was supposed to pop one whenever I felt stressed or lost..and good news, I didn’t pop any today! Thank you YOU, for surprising me with jellybabies, I really appreciate it! ++

Day commenced with introduction and talks, the mandatory ice-breakers, and a surprise welcome gift! That I liked alot. Haha. Nosedived into nitty gritty details.. very structured I must say. Am impressed with the level of preparation they have done for us, feel excited about what lies ahead..

Much more to come in the coming period of time, hope to challenge myself to be outstanding! Bored of being mediocre.

Til then

 

Commencement 2010

Commencement is in 9 hours time, I have officially graduated from formal education. Left school with a reasonable degree done reasonably well found a reasonable job. 4 years of my life just flew by like that! Personally, I think I have grown a lot during the past few years. Yes yes, physically but also mentally. In my perspective, university does (or at least it did to me) train youth to be thinking adults, more prepared for the working world. Business School has definitelly influenced my thinking, that has in turn had an effect on my actions. It has cultivated a certain way of thinking, something somewhere has made me more competitive, maybe more money-minded. Over the past few years, I think I have became more worldly, more interested in global and current affairs as I have learnt how interdependent and connected everyone and every place in the world is to the others. Globalisation has made it essesntial for university students like me to possess a global mindset. One that is able to realise and understand how necessary it is to be culturally sensitive to our local and international counterparts as well as to be able to compete with one another on the global stage. So yes, that is one thing I want to thank Business School and NUS for doing to me.

University also gave me a chance to live abroad for 5 months of my life. Embarking on exchange was a difficult decision, I’ve never been someone excited about change and exchange is really all about change. Getting used to the weather took quite awhile, but it was fun dressing (literally) up for school. I remember vividly when autumn was ending and winter was near, to go out we had to put on

1. leggings
2. socks
3. jeans
4. shoes
5. thermal underwear
6. long sleeve
7. jacket 1
8. thick jacket
9. gloves
10. beanie
11. scarf

before heading out into the cold! It was certainly an experience, totally opposite from what we do back at home in Singapore – wear the least possible. Besides, making friends was challenging. Everyone spoke with an accent, clear fluent English while we (or I) were disadvantaged with a Singlish tongue that required some time to switch to the more universally known English. Europeans, Australians, Americans all could drink well, except as Asians! I was lousy, but I’m proud to say that my alcohol tolerance certainly got better as the days went by.

I especially enjoyed the times going to the supermarket, thinking of what to cook, when to go shopping, when to hang out at a cafe etc etc. The lifestyle in Europe was so awesome, we ate like Kings, laughed heartily, saw the world, made new friends, and I (being very lucky) had an aunt and uncle in Sweden, that housed me , fed me, kept me warm during the weekends and made me very very happy. That really added a very warm touch to my exchange experience.

Being in university also gave me the chance to lived on campus, staying in TH for all 4 years of my university life. Hall life was worlds apart from home. Did my laundry myself, cleaned my room, changed bedsheets, cleaned window, shopped for groceries/cleaning stuff for hall etc etc. It was like I had a place of my own, which I really enjoyed. Best thing was, friends were always around the corner. Late night suppers, late night sports sessions (i really loved), late night hthts. I forged several strong friendships during this period in hall and I’m thankful to each of these friends. IHG was certainly memorable as we trained hard together as a team, had suppers as one, played for games together, and won games together. Squash was an heartache when I was captain, we did not perform but we got closer through the losses. We came back the following year and trumped our opponents to emerge Champions, finally. Every victory was sweet, the memories sweeter. I still cant believe everything has became the past, and what lies ahead of me is simply the workforce.

No more school holidays, no more hall, no more IHGs, no more school projects.. I have graduated!

But.. on a positive note, since I have graduated, I went on a 28day long grad trip to EUROPE! And a short 3 days getaway to Malacca.. and next week, I’m gonna be jetsetting to Vietnam! Ooh I love this life. I wish time will stand still.

 

Memories of the Consulting Workshop (No sleep for 30 hours)

Been reminding myself, I have to document what I went through and experienced during the 2-day consulting workshop last weekend, 13-14 March.

Nothing could mentally prepare you for what was going to happen at the workshop and you just find yourself thrusted into the situation with random group members, a hungry stomach and a questioning mind. So, you’re acting as a team of consultants attempting to win the deal with your client that wants to implement a change in the organizational culture to one that advocates radical innovation and breakthrough thinking.

So what happens is that you have to work with your team under very tight deadlines to read the case and materials given to you (which was really information overload) and decide on questions to ask your clients and your managing consultants that have worked with this company before.

So, my group went on to do badly for the first 2 meetings (even the professors acknowledged it) and hence, was down to a very low morale. To make matters worse, there were several disagreements within the team as differences certainly existed amongst us. However, we got through those and really worked very hard during the whole night. Each of us took turns to go home, take formal wear and rest for abit before rushing back to school. Final presentation was scheduled at 930am we only finished our slides at 9am. That was how tight it was.

We went to sit through an agonizing 6 presentations. Being the third team to present, we saw the standards that have been set and thought we were certainly on par with some. Finally, all presentations were made and profs announced the result. 2 teams tied at 1st place and… we were one of them!!

We were estatic, high-fiving and laughing. This was certainly one of the most memorable moments of my life in Business School. The endless project meetings never really made an impact on me, but this one was different. Being forced into the situation without prior information, made me really deal with the case at hand, bearing in my time was not on our side, and these were people you never worked with. The thing that really surprised myself was how my mind could really keep working under this pressure for a long period of time (I only felt tired at about 4am).

It was certainly one of the best learning experiences I had and am proud my team and I have achieved what noone expected us to. Hooray!

 

This is the scene I would miss if I were living abroad. We’re all on the same carriage on the train, travelling to somewhere along the line.. It doesnt matter where, but somehow we meet. The students plugged into their apple-dominated worlds (ipods and iphones), the boys furious on their psps, the aunties with bags of groceries, the couples whispering sweet nothings.. Such an ordinary scene but close to the heart. It’s this exact feeling I get when I’m abroad. So ordinary the things that happen. It would feel so natural and right to be at the Eiffel Tower, or the Brandenburg Gate, the majestic cathedrals.. But when we’re back home, I think to myself I can’t believe I was just there! Soon, another two months, I’ll be there, being seen in Europe.

Counting down!

 

Yeah baby

YEAH. Grad trip flight to Rome is booked, 25 days in awesome europe, 10 days on a contiki tour!

 

it is over two.

The holidays are OVER! I cant believe it, one month of travelling, going out, eating, spending time with loved ones and christmas celebrations just flew by. It is the time of the year again where we pack our bags, shop for back to school/hall items and prepare for THE Final Semester of my life. Unbelievable I’ve been in university for almost 4 years, feels like  yesterday that I got my acceptance letter into NUS Business School, preparing for hall and uni life. Now, I’m what you call an oldie in school, year 4, last year last chance, final year etc etc. Uni life has indeed been very very eventful, experiences I will never forget, some tight friendships formed, picked up new sport (squash), rekindled old friendships..

This is week 2 in school, and I’m here still in the East, spending time with gran, enjoying the warmth (figuratively and literally) here at home. The job search is getting more frantic, more anxious, more people asking about progress..2 friends even found jobs alr! It might be a Business School thing to be this competitive, but I seem to be lacking the drive..the edge. We’ll just see how things turn out..

For now, my grad trip mates and myself have to plan for GRAD TRIP! WOOOHOOO! So exciting. I’m looking forward to heading back to Europe, visit new cities and some that I’ve been to, seeing the world. My bank account is gonna be so busted. Estimated 3 weeks trip cost 6k. We are planning to go for slightly more than 3 weeks. 6k is a huge sum of money, but we only have this final 2/3 months of pure break before we head into the intimidating real world. One of the last person you’ll call rich, but this is gonna be money well-spent..memories itched in mind and heart forever, experiences that will never go. Money can be earned back I am sure, considering how hectic Singaporeans’ lives are and how hard workers we have been programmed to become. So..grad trip here we come!

Note to self: you still haven’t finished your entries on some trips since exchange!

 

it is over

The semester is over. Exams ended today, a geography paper which I spent almost a whole week preparing. Paper turned out pretty okay, maybe not fantastic but good enough.

I’m officially left with one semester of school! It’s the real end of formal education, heading straight into the next stage of my life. Job search seemed to have ceased during the exam period due to the lack of suitable opportunities. I’m excited to step out of the education system and earn myself a living and be financially independent. At the same time, the perks of being a student will disappear and soon I’ll just be working my ass off for some company for a Thing is, I don’t know what I want to do! Does knowing what you don’t want to do help? Guess I just have to wait for more opportunities, and hopefully land a job that I will enjoy.

Yes, the holidays are here! Days of sleeping in, going out, spending time with loved ones, nuaing in hall/at home, playing sports, shopping, eating all my favourite foods etc etc! Think I do deserve  a break after such a constantly busy semester, full of assignments, tests, projects, presentations – til presentations hardly make me nervous or anxious anymore.

I will remember rushing for a 15page single spaced assignment for 3 consec days that really tired me out but gave me an immense sense of satisfaction when I finally completed it and even exceeded the 15 pages.

I will remember rushing for my CP with my funloving CP mates, sharing jokes, spamming each other with up to 20 over drafts of reports and presentations, being constantly the best group during our presentations with the prof, having late dinner at HV together, having proj meetings at HV and sharing frolick together after that..it was definitely one of the most fun group I’ve worked with in my 3 years in business school.

I will also remember the rushing for my weekly culture assignments that seemed to always revolve around the same theme of culture sensitivities and the prof’s incessant sharing of his experiences (some were boring).

This semester was eventful, albeit a busy one. I hope I have done my best during this semester and the results will make the judgement. I can only look ahead to the final semester of my varsity life and enjoy every momemt left of being a student before I become a full-fledged adult, earning my own money, spending my own money. (I want to buy a car when I have enough!)

Till then, the holidays will be a fun filled one and I’m aiming to complete my long overdue blog posts from my exchange escapades in 2008!

 

 

don’t regret

Yes, the ramblings of a final year student in university.

It’s hard not to feel pressed for time, stressed to find a good job when all your peers are discussing the career talks they have attended or the multitude of companies they have applied to. I tell my parents, they are shocked that we are applying for jobs now for next May. I am shocked myself too.

But what to do? We were brought up in a society where more is good. The more you do, the harder you work, the more competitive you are, the better you will be. My 16 years of formal education in Singapore has almost come to an end. Instead of trying to enjoy the remaining time being a school kid, I am pushing myself to gain momentum, to work hard again, to try to believe in myself, that yes I can, yes I can achieve results better than this. What have I been reduced to?

Is this really what I want for my life? To compete alongside with peers for places in university, then for spots in business school, and then for hons year, and now, for JOBS. Aye. The requirements stated on companies’ websites for the graduates they intend to hire, never fail to demoralise me. Excellent academic results? All rounded CCA? Great presentation skills? Analytical? Interpersonal skills? Team player? Are we really capable of being a being packed with so many attributes just to be a tiny cog, a small fry of a big company? Why?

For reputation. For the need for achievement. For the money. I answer myself.

So please, work hard, or at least try to. So you won’t regret next time, sam.

 

To Blog.

Prague.

Berlin.

Munich.

Yes, I went for exchange like last year but still havent finished blogging about the trips!

SAM