Backstreet's back

Yes, I'm back!


Okay not that I went anywhere, but I know my prolonged absence must have made a few disappointed and angsty, in particular my most avid fan (sorry Drew).

A few of you might have noticed my absence on MSN nowadays. The truth is, I'm almost always online, just that I am not on MSN, or I'm just appearing offline. There are times when I'm doing work and MSN is just too big a distraction for me.

I know there are people who can have half a dozen of conversation windows blinking at them, and at the same time still go about with work. But, I do not belong to that group. Okay maybe I just can't multitask, but I'm now a convert of doing one task at a time.

So, instead of going online and risk your wrath by not replying to your messages, I'd rather go stealth and choose to be a hermit. At least for now that is. Haha.

As my fellow 2009-er so convincingly preaches, it's time to get serious.... or dangerous...



Before I leave, this is for all Darkwing Duck fans...

A story to share..

An American businessman took a vacation to a small coastal Mexican village on doctor’s orders. Unable to sleep after an urgent phone call from the office the first morning, he walked out to the pier to clear his head. A small boat with just one fisherman had docked, and inside the boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

“How long did it take you to catch them?” the American asked.

“Only a little while,” the Mexican replied in surprisingly good English.

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” the American then asked.

“I have enough to support my family and give a few to friends,” the Mexican said as he unloaded them into a basket.

“But…What do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican looked up and smiled. “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Julia, and stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life senior.”

The American laughed and stood tall. “Sir, I am a Harvard M.B.A. and I can help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. In no time, you could buy several boats with the increased haul. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats.”

He continued, “Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village, of course, and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles, and eventually New York City, where you could run your expanding enterprise with proper management.’

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, senor, how long will all this take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years. 25 tops.”

“But what then, senor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?”

“Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village, where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with you wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…..”

79 no more..

79 was the previous mark I got for my previous paper, and judging from the stick I got for it, I reckon it was pretty good.

So much so that my classmates started calling me 79 in Hokkien, which really sounds kinda stupid. Just imagine everyone in your group calling you that. That wasn't the best grade, but when I asked why those who fared better were spared of the name-bestowing, the reply I got was classic:

"Oh... 86 over speed limit, 79 still legal."

Well, but guess I can't get that upset with such a grade anyway. Haha.

Well, for better or for worse, I think this won't happen again for the recent paper that I took. If my entry doesn't sound like I'm too angry, I really should be.

Here's the story...

The entire cohort were told on Day 1 of the module that we will only be required to attempt ONE out of three questions in the examination. Everyone started preparing in a way such that his/her answers would be comprehensive and detailed enough for a one question examination.

So imagine our shock when we entered the examination hall and discovered that we had to attempt TWO questions. Being the one who thought he was ever so smart, I proceeded to do ONE question, because I believed the error would be duly rectified. Okay to be honest, I did not have a choice because out of what I prepared, only one question came out. But that's really not the point here!

The invigilators tried to contact University of Manchester staff regarding this, but it was a Sat noon so maybe they were all still sleeping (Time differerence). In the end, the majority did one question, a few did 1.5, and a couple of amazing ones did 2.

At that point of time, I was not in the least worried, and maybe even figuring what grade I would get this time. Then came the shocker from the programme director:

"The PMC examination results will be submitted for approval to the Board of Examiners, along with all the other exams/coursework results obtained during this academic year. Please reassure your colleagues that I have read their various explanatory messages sent to me (either directly or indirectly) after the exam and I will appraise the Board of Examiners (and the Mitigating Circumstances Committee) accordingly. The views and concerns of your colleagues will be presented at those meetings and, ultimately, it is for the Board of Examiners to decide whether and how to address those cases where only one examination question was attempted. "

To translate that to english, it means I'm screwed.

That email was sent out to the class and you start seeing angry emails shoot out from everyone and everywhere.

We will be having a meeting with the programme director this evening so probably things will be clearer after that.

Will update then...

Maybe it's time to think about it...

It's been around 8 months since I last quit my job. During this period, I've rested, worked, slacked, studied, in what I would say is a good mix of all the 4 actions.

But one thing that really stuck out throughout the time I've left my job, is that I've been thinking really hard. And I figured that in the one year I was in my job, a lot of my brain cells probably went into retirement because I just didn't think much outside of my working life.

When you're in a job, it's too easy to fall into the rat race. You get a 9-5 job (my previous job was 830 to 630), slog your guts out for the company, gripe about the salary, office politics, and the fact that there are no pretty faces around, be the occasional bootlicker, and then what do you do?

You report to work the next day, and this entire process is repeated.

I'm definitely not in a good position to comment much about life as an employee, since my experience is seriously limited. But to be honest, it's not an experience I relish or in any case, much appreciate.

Just to relate my own account:
When I was working, I was pretty much in my small little world. Actually I wanted to call it my comfort zone, but I look back at my previous job with too much disgust to even consider using that term.

Back then, life was terrible. The only thing that kept me going was that with each passing day, it gets closer to the weekend and of course, the end of my contract term.

I still recall the day I signed on the dotted line.
The contract that bounded me to life as a miserable employee for 11 agonizing months.
And I really didn't have a choice back then. Breaking the bond meant I had to pay compensation of $10K - something which I well am not able to foot out.

So I stayed on.
The months passed,
the white hairs grew,
the acne popped out.

I think I'm still suffering from the repercussions of the job even till today. Damn!

Okay I really wanted to talk about what I have been thinking about since I quit my job but I keep digressing. Sorry, I just had to write out my frustrations back then. Haha.

---

So, I've been thinking of a lot of things. I've been trying to make money on my own since I officially became a "full time/part time" student. I know you've probably have heard this, but allow me to say it once more.

Why "full time part time"? Because I'm really a part time student who studies at night, only that its my full time occupation. =)

Okay maybe it's nothing to be proud of, but I never found student life that enjoyable before. It was my previous job that made me realise that. Sometimes I'm really glad I went through such an ordeal. It really makes me appreciate the finer side of things.

While I'm not exactly making big bucks now, at least I earn according to the amount of effort I put into my business. The potential is huge, and I've seen enough in recent months to know that I can scale it big. The problem is that I'm often guilty of being too lazy, which explains the inconsistent earnings.

I know that as long as I work hard, and smart, I can easily earn a lot more than what one gets with an employee's paycheck. And that is something I can never achieve while working under someone. That's the difference really.

I've been thinking of business ideas, ventures, so much lately that I'm getting overwhelmed at times. I have a feeling that something will happen soon, and I'm trying to faciliate that opening.

Watch this space!

And for those who are concerned, I've got a job now! But, I'm not an employee though. I'm hired on a project basis so I'm somewhat like a contractor offering my services. Will be involved in the training and marketing aspects of the company. And the good thing is, its very flexible and I can choose to work from home. =)

Salary wise, I honestly think it could be better, but I'll take it. I'm viewing this as a stepping stone to future opportunities and I think the experience will do me good.

Now, am I still a full time part time student? Haha.

**I actually have a lot more to write about but I'll leave it for another day. Good night!

2 down, 3 to go

After watching Man Utd lift the Carling Cup this morning, I have a feeling that they're gonna sweep everything in their way this season.

It's almost impossible and unbelievable to think of winning all 5 trophies on offer, but wasn't that what was said of Michael Phelps' 8 gold medals at the Olympics last year?

I would have bet every dollar that Phelps' would not have achieved it, and I'm glad I did not. Haha.

For non Man Utd supporters reading this:

Better luck next time!