Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Life

How much must one achieve before it is considered successful? I have been given a very good job offer (at least when compared to my previous job; I would have jumped at this offer) but why do I still feel discontented at this juncture in time. Have things changed that much? No doubt there are better and bigger banks out there but they will also have their downside as well? Is it just branding again? Am I simply afraid of what people will think if I join them? Or is it a real case of not stretching myself enough at a less prestigious house? Will it stunt my growth? Will I be happier elsewhere?

Am I lost again?

And its really getting cold in London...argh

The feeling of being home is wonderful

I once read that one will only appreciate something after one loses it. For me, I only realised how much I missed Singapore after I came back during this short trip. I thought I was happy in London. It is hectic, in fact so hectic that sometimes I am not sure what I was missing. The trees along ECP reminds me how green my home country is. Parks in London may be aplenty but they are in no way as luscious as the trees in sunny Singapore. The ease of getting thru the airport reminds me how much I had taken for granted the efficency of the country over the years. And of course the food. No doubt I have learnt many things even within the short two months, but maybe I want to be home much more than I thought?

The feeling of being home is wonderful.

What I set out to achieve

I was complaining of not knowing what to do after my resignation but as it turns out, there was too little time to do everything! Again I was too ambitious in my plans. My internship at a risk management consulting startup was great and I totally enjoy that experience! An experience which I solely lack after 5 years in the government sector. Thank God I have this experience, else I would not have even realised that I lack it!

Checklist
1) Intern at startup - Done/Great experience
2) Setup up own E-biz/Blog- Blog set up, still working on E-biz (I will set up my biz!)
3) Short vacations- Went to KL to stay with my sis, went on a roadtrip to Genting, Flew by budget airline to Bangkok and Krabi...Wished I gone to more places, but its pretty good nonetheless
4) Pick up French at alliancefrancais - Not done! Will learn biz chinese
5) Learn Wakeboarding - Not done!
6) Learn Diving - Not Done!
7) Practice Golf - Should have done more, went to a 18hole green at JB, driving range a couple of times
8) Try my hand at cooking - Learn cooking at my mentor's place. It was really fun and I really enjoyed the evenings we spent together sampling the food we churned out; we managed to find a mix for really good chicken rice!
9) Read the books in the recommended list of books from LBS - Read when genius failed, Liars' poker... and some books and interview; have been reading up on WSJ diligently
10) Read some novel - Not done!
10) Learn Excel VBA (related to structuring/useful for spreadsheets): Failed, got the book, should practice more; will continue to try in London.
11) volunteer (put this off for way too long! must do something abt it); Not done, my greatest regret, will find opportunity to go to third world country to build school or something.

Final Preparations

I will be leaving Singapore on the 10 Sept (Sun night). Now making all the last minute preparations. I finally managed to defer my in camp training (reservist) after seeing my MP. But then now they asked me to clear my IPPT within the next 3 weeks. Will really need to be on intensive training soon... but my back seems to be hurting again (Argh...)

Checklist on what is to be done
1) Shipping - done
2) Tickets and VISA - done
3) insurance - done
4) Flu vaccine - not yet
5) cancel credit cards - not yet
6) cancel cable - not yet
7) network - still ongoing

Financing your MIF course

The fees for the MIF course at LBS is a whopping £28,000! Added with living expenses it can easily go northward of £40,000. This could be a daunting amount, especially for someone like me who is not earning a lot of money in Singapore. But having said that there are a couple of scholarships which are available which can be used to offset against the expenses. LBS offers three scholarship schemes, two of which are catered for women only
1) The Deutsche Bank Women's Scholarship - One award (amount £20,000).
2) The Citigroup Foundation Women's Scholarship - One award (amount £10,000)
3) The Merrill Lynch Industry Challenge One award (amount £10,000).

There is also another scholarship, the British Chevening Scholarship, which is extremely generous and can cover a large portion of your fees and living allowances depending on the scheme you fall under. This is the weblink for Singapore, they also have the same scheme for a whole lot of other countries. http://www.chevening.com/about/countries/singapore/index.html
For the oncoming year, they will be sponsoring 5 Singaporeans to study in UK (this award is open to all post graduate courses in UK)

Besides the scholarship, there is also the HSBC loan scheme for the outstanding amount. Of course, total expenses is also dependent on how extravagant your lifestyle is (student housing or private apartment, home cooked food or restaurant fare) etc

Starting a biz

Been working at the startup for the past few weeks. Really inspirational I must say. For a start, being your own boss really means having a whole lot of discretion, which I enjoy. You control when you start work, what office equipment to buy, which project to take up. You know exactly how much you will earn from each project but of course it comes with the ups and downs of the business cycle which could translate into sleepness nights worrying about your turnover next day. Couple of things I learn
1) Networking is the most impt thing in a biz. You never know what you need, a supplier of packaging, a new teaching project, cheap laptops etc
2) You might need to go into areas which you are not particularly keen on, esp at the initial stage, in order to support yourself. For e.g. You might want to start a risk management consulting firm but end up being more on the educational side of risk management simply because there are more oppportunities in that sector
3) Its very hard work; more working than working for someone but the rewards are great if you succeed too
4) Being in a small company, there are no commitees, very few meetings, no lousy minutes to take, you made all the decision yourself, you make your own coffee,clear your own rubbish, but life is bliss cos there are no rules at all. No more forms to fill up! You can go for lunch at 10.30!

Is life as a entrepreneur better than that of a trader? Am I having second thoughts?

I am going to stay at Goodenough College!

Accomodation in London is really expensive! For those who are interested in co-sharing an apartment near London Business School, I was told that you should be prepared to fork out between 170 to 220 pounds a week! And of course if you wanna stay alone, be prepared to fork out more than that. Thank God I got into Goodenough College! Though I must say it was quite a hassle; I had to write an essay and get two recommendation letters just to get in there (no difference from getting into LBS!) Although I must say in actual fact, it was easier; firstly becos I recycled the recommendation letters for LBS and then even a large part of the essay for Goodenough is taken from the essays written for the schools. I will be paying around 120+ pounds a week (all utilities and internet included) for a single room without ensuite facilities.

For those who are interested in cheaper student housing i.e. not private apartments, check out the following websites. I applied for all 3

Goodenough College: http://www.goodenough.ac.uk/
University of London Intercollegiate Halls: http://www.london.ac.uk/halls.html (the forms will come together with the package from LBS once you accepted the offer)
International Students House: http://www.ish.org.uk/

Great Movie

Just watched a DVD on the movie "Crash". Its a really great movie on racial discrimation and I think there are really good things to take away from this movie. Crash has a storyline over a 24-hour period that begins at the end with a car accident at a crime scene where a young man has been shot. Ria (Jennifer Esposito) and Graham (Don Cheadle) exit the car, as Ria commences a verbal battle with an Asian lady and Graham approaches the crime scene. This opening is a little taste of what is to come, as several different characters bump into each other by accident. Each time two characters cross paths for whatever reason a new story emerges while it also affects the next story, as if the person was following his or her fate.


Crash (Widescreen Edition)

Bank Account in UK

I have been told on how hard it is for a foreigner to set up a bank account in UK. They usually require previous bank statements, uk home address etc and takes up to a month to set it up. Following a tip from a friend, I realised that it is possible to open a uk bank accout from your home country. I opened my HSBC UK account at the HSBC International Banking Center at Claymore Plaza, Singapore. This saves me a lot of hassle cos I would have a bank account up and running by the time I go to UK. I also need to bring a lot less cash!

LBS reading list

There are so many books and with this much amount of time of my hands. I thought I might just start with the easier ones i.e. the novels. Been hearing about Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis for some time (the "BSD"!) and its is really good read. Do read it if you have the time. Its about sales and trading at the Salomon Brothers.

Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street

Getting a laptop

For those who are keen to get a laptop, the best place to get it is in Singapore, not UK (read: v expensive). There are a couple of places to get it in Singapore, the more famous one being Funan Center (more upmarket) and Sim Lim Square (prepare for some bargaining;some might not be too comfortable with this place). The best time to buy laptops will be during the quarterly IT shows where there are bargains to pick up (prices are not a lot cheaper but they certainly throw in a lot more freebies i.e. more RAM, free thumbdrive etc). Look out for Straits Times Specials and CNET Asia which have a pretty good writeup prior to each event. But I recently discovered a even better bargain. If you have friends who are still studying at the local universities (NUS, NTU or SMU), you might want to ask them to help get you a laptop. Prices are significantly cheaper (the model I am eyeing is $400 cheaper + free extended international warranty to 3 years!).

My last day

It was my last day at work yesterday. A place where I have spent the past 5 years. Thought I would be happy. In fact I thought I would be really happy. But it wasnt to be the case. Reminds me of my exams during university. Every year without fail I will always be looking fwd to the last day where I can burn all my notes, go out partying. But again without fail, I will usually feel kinda lost after the last paper. Am I missing my old workplace already?

Oil in Hell?

Ben Graham told a story 40 years ago that illustrates why investment professionals behave as they do:

An oil prospector, moving to his heavenly reward, was met by St. Peter with bad news. “You’re qualified for residence”, said St. Peter, “but, as you can see, the compound reserved for oil men is packed. There’s no way to squeeze you in.”

After thinking a moment, the prospector asked if he might say just four words to the present occupants. That seemed harmless to St. Peter, so the prospector cupped his hands and yelled, “Oil discovered in hell.”

Immediately the gate to the compound opened and all of the oil men marched out to head for the nether regions. Impressed, St. Peter invited the prospector to move in and make himself comfortable.

The prospector paused. “No,” he said, “I think I’ll go along with the rest of the boys. There might be some truth to that rumor after all.”

New ideas

After talking to more people, more and more ideas are popping up on what I can do in the next 3 months!
Now the whole list includes
1) Intern at startup
2) Setup up own E-biz/Blog
3) Short vacations (Taiwan, Bangkok, Krabi and Bali?)
4) Pick up French at alliancefrancais (is there a 3 month crash course?)
5) Learn Wakeboarding
6) Learn Diving
7) Practice Golf (get handicap??); get a personal coach??but really expensive
8) Try my hand at cooking (will be useful in london; Britich council gave me a cooking book; but maybe go sign up some courses? I hope not all of my coursemates are aunties)
9) Read the books in the recommended list of books from LBS
10) Read some novel (I should be doing this; to be more balanced) All the books I read in the past year are finance/selfimprovement related)
10) Learn Excel VBA (related to structuring/useful for spreadsheets): Trying to borrow book from library
11) volunteer (put this off for way too long! must do something abt it)

Best advice came from a new friend. Stop to smell the flowers. Relax and simply enjoy. I have been in such a rush all my life. What am I rushing for? What will happen when I reaches the finishing line?

Resignation

I have resigned.

For the first time in my life, I tendered my resignation. I have stayed in the same firm for half a decade since I graduate. Has it been too long? Maybe I have grown to be too comfortable in my present environment. Way too comfortable.

I will be going to London to pursue a masters in finance in Sept 06 but now I have this 3 month gap in between. I didnt plan this (long story??!!) What should I be doing? A 3 month holiday??? Is that too much? Maybe I help out my ex-colleague in his new setup? Maybe I should set up my own e-company? Maybe I should get an internship? Maybe I can pick up a new language(French, Spanish or Jap)? Learn Excel VBA? Volunteer? Set up a blog? Exercise more? Get a golf handicap (is it possible?) Or just sit back and enjoy the World Cup??

Isnt it quite an irony when people call it "resigned" when I just tendered. Doesnt it mean the opposite i.e. I quit?

I am lost. Arent I?