I am currently back in the training room for bank products, loans & investments training for the past week and due to finish by next week. I had to sacrifice some school lectures for this, but I would say it has been worth it. Gaining real practical knowledge applicable to the industry definitely beats theory and empirical study.
Bank products turn out to be a totally different ball game from credit cards, it is so much more interesting to see how financial instituitions make money. Small things like earning the spread on FX differentials, sales charges for brokerage contracts, even time deposits - there is just so much to learn and it makes my brain work overdrive thinking how to make these things work for me in the future.
Today the trainer released the results of our first test which we took last week, and which had a passing requirement of 80%, and I topped the class! Haha, not only that, I was the only one who passed. Not bad for the only part-time staff in class. :p I went to my direct supervisor's desk after lunch and after getting an earful from her for sending out an email to the whole department to look out for my missing access pass (which I sheepishly told her I eventually found it in my wallet), I told her the test results and she was absolutely thrilled.
My army buddies who are working and studying with me asked me why I skipped school for work. The answer is very simple, textbooks can give you knowledge and understanding - I definitely feel that me studying banking and finance played a very crucial role in passing my test - but I study what I study because I want to work in a bank after graduation and since an opportunity presented itself for me to gain real life, day to day knowledge, why should I not go for it? Besides, I am being paid to learn, and it is not often that you go to work looking forward to what new things you can learn.
Banks may not be the best place to work right now, but economic cycles rise and fall, and it will definitely rise again. No worries on that front, but having said that, I must not neglect my studies. After all, I am still but a student working part-time. :)
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
I Believe I Can Fly, I Believe I Can Touch The Sky
Qantas is probably going to see more empty planes after that incident they just had. Newspaper reports said that the plane suddenly descended rapidly for 10-12 seconds and passengers and crew not restrained by their seat belts had been flung towards the ceiling along with all sorts of nonsense like serving trolleys, glass bottles and the like.
Crazy stuff. And talking about crazy plane rides, here are some pictures that evoke memories of events that I had just recently laid to rest but keeps refreshing itself in my mind. When I ORDed, Melvyn asked me if I missed army life. My answer then was a direct "Hell no!", but now, maybe I do, just a teeny weeny bit.
The view aboard a chopper and the deafening sounds of its rotary blades beats having high tea at Swissotel the Stamford
Not even economy class - no Singapore Girl to ask us,"Coffee, tea, or me?"
The events that took place after the jump door opened were a blur...Next thing I knew I was floating above a plantation of trees, and had to scream for help before a fellow trooper used a parang and hacked down 3 trees to free me.
Airborne!
(Photos courtesy of my mate WQ Song. Reproduced without permission :p)
Crazy stuff. And talking about crazy plane rides, here are some pictures that evoke memories of events that I had just recently laid to rest but keeps refreshing itself in my mind. When I ORDed, Melvyn asked me if I missed army life. My answer then was a direct "Hell no!", but now, maybe I do, just a teeny weeny bit.
The view aboard a chopper and the deafening sounds of its rotary blades beats having high tea at Swissotel the Stamford
Not even economy class - no Singapore Girl to ask us,"Coffee, tea, or me?"
The events that took place after the jump door opened were a blur...Next thing I knew I was floating above a plantation of trees, and had to scream for help before a fellow trooper used a parang and hacked down 3 trees to free me.Airborne!
(Photos courtesy of my mate WQ Song. Reproduced without permission :p)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
You Are What You Eat Say
It is apparent you can't have much of a public opinion these days, not if people perceive what you say as a slight or dig. It is okay to be self-depreciating (see July 4 entry), but it is not okay to subject others to the same standards. I probably wasn't sensitive enough, and cannot expect everyone to take everything with a pinch of salt. For my insensitivity, I truly apologize. No more talking about school, plans, fantasies, dreams, aspirations and goals from now on. This is going to be a football blog.
After work just now, I followed JJ down to the open courtyard between Millenia Walk and Millenia Tower for his smoke break. We were sitting there chatting when two girls in race queen attire with a big 'Tiger Beer' logo across approached us. They tried, in their most 'diao' voice possible, to convince both of us to participate in Tiger Foosball Challenge next week at Harry's Bars around town next Friday to Sunday.
I asked one girl, how many people do they need to form a team, but she probably heard me wrongly and said she needed to sign up 128 people. Okay, whatever, so we just filled in the form and with JJ's ripping muscles, very much similar to Rafael Nadal's, I think we stand a very good chance to win. One swift turn from JJ and the ball could be sent hurtling across the foosball table and into the goal.
Cheer us on next Friday at Harry's Millenia Walk! We haven't decided on a team name yet, but as the tournament is held in the evening while we are probably still at work, and if our bosses can kindly let us go, we would give them free naming rights and would proudly compete as Team CitiPhone haha.
Can muscles rule the foosball field???
After work just now, I followed JJ down to the open courtyard between Millenia Walk and Millenia Tower for his smoke break. We were sitting there chatting when two girls in race queen attire with a big 'Tiger Beer' logo across approached us. They tried, in their most 'diao' voice possible, to convince both of us to participate in Tiger Foosball Challenge next week at Harry's Bars around town next Friday to Sunday.
I asked one girl, how many people do they need to form a team, but she probably heard me wrongly and said she needed to sign up 128 people. Okay, whatever, so we just filled in the form and with JJ's ripping muscles, very much similar to Rafael Nadal's, I think we stand a very good chance to win. One swift turn from JJ and the ball could be sent hurtling across the foosball table and into the goal.
Cheer us on next Friday at Harry's Millenia Walk! We haven't decided on a team name yet, but as the tournament is held in the evening while we are probably still at work, and if our bosses can kindly let us go, we would give them free naming rights and would proudly compete as Team CitiPhone haha.
Can muscles rule the foosball field???
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Driving In The Fast Lane
So I've passed my bridging course at the second attempt. Managed a respectable result from an intensive yet sometimes frustratingly slow two weeks of revision. I burned all of this year's annual leave to prepare for the exams and though thoughts of flying off to some cool breezy beach in a foreign land where I can bake in the sun and frolic in the cool clear waters the whole day have all but disappeared, overall I am satisfied.
Ever since I went back to work after my exams, life has been boringly routine. My piggy bank has not recovered from the humongous damage caused by my major purchase of the year: the Apple iPhone. After lessing of student discount, I fished out $898 to re-contract with SingTel for another two years and got a 16GB iPhone after queueing for 5 hours on launch day.
That will probably one of the most disastrous decisions I have made, the waiting I mean. Against better judgement, I concurred that, as SingTel put it, only those with appointments would be allowed to collect their iPhones. What I did not bet against was, 10,000 other people had appointments too! Sleek marketing move there by SingTel huh. Create a human chain that snaked round ComCentre and spilled onto Killiney Road.
I went there at 11.30pm 21 Aug and emerged from the cube-like structure specially built for the launch of the iPhone at 4.30am, exhausted, dehydrated, and wallet substantially lighter. Was the time spent queuing worth it? Definitely not. Was the $898 price tag justified? Well, maybe, if I was earning $8980 per month then it would be just a ripple in the pond. In this case, it caused a tsunami.
These past few months working and studying have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I have the utmost respect for people who juggle full-time jobs and study at night. Throw in a girlfriend or boyfriend, and it would be seemingly impossible for anyone to have a life. Thus, I am quite happy that I am a part-time office worker and full-time student, though I still wish that my working hours are reduced further. I am grateful that I have my friends with me in the office everyday so going to work isn't such a pain.
My stamina have decreased dramatically, as seen in yesterday's futsal game. In the first hour, I was all over the pitch, putting the ball in the back of the net 7 times. But the second half against a different team made me feel like a pedestrian. I couldn't run, couldn't challenge the second balls, and scored a very, very lucky goal. My team was dismantled mercilessly by what I feel, was a team that we could easily beat on our day.
It correctly proved the theory that has been in my head for the past month - that Samski is without a doubt the most important man in our team. Two matches ago, he did not turn up for the game. Despite our best efforts, we lost every single match even though we had the tenacious Eugene, the class of Timmy, the predatory instinct of Elvin, the trickery of Ian, and the safe pair of hands of, well, Ah Son.
I still find it hard to believe that with a team that has played together for so many years, we were easily beaten by soft goals from veterans who would look as at ease on a couch watching tv. The following week, Samski re-joined and we went on to terrorise everyone. Yesterday, we had no one marshalling the defence, no one to clean up and stop the opposing team's movement. We managed to string together a few good attacking plays but I just didn't have it in my legs for box to box play yesterday. I am still aching.
There were a few moments worthy of mention though. First of all, is of course Elvin's marvelous solo goal. He won the ball through a tackle, went on a mazy run, and beaten every man to slot the ball through the legs of the keeper into the net. And I was on the opposing team. Fantastic stuff. The second one to me was a total fluke. It seemed to me that Elvin fumbled the ball while attempting to get past Roland, but somehow it became a feint that only Ronadinho seemed to be able to pull off, played a through pass to Timothy and I can't remember what happened after that, only that the two of them went running off to some corner shouting and laughing merrily.
Call me a football fanatic, but it is precisely because of these moments, the moments where I get to see my grown-up friends laughing unreservedly with the widest grins, the camaraderie experienced after pulling off a good team effort to score a goal, and the look on my girlfriend's face when told that she would be in the car with my three friends whom I was giving a lift, and who, like me, smelt like we just took a bath in the sewage after the game, that makes me look forward to soccer with my mates every week. :p
It's past my bedtime, and I am pretty certain I will end up in the back of a cab to school tomorrow.
Good night :)
Ever since I went back to work after my exams, life has been boringly routine. My piggy bank has not recovered from the humongous damage caused by my major purchase of the year: the Apple iPhone. After lessing of student discount, I fished out $898 to re-contract with SingTel for another two years and got a 16GB iPhone after queueing for 5 hours on launch day.
That will probably one of the most disastrous decisions I have made, the waiting I mean. Against better judgement, I concurred that, as SingTel put it, only those with appointments would be allowed to collect their iPhones. What I did not bet against was, 10,000 other people had appointments too! Sleek marketing move there by SingTel huh. Create a human chain that snaked round ComCentre and spilled onto Killiney Road.
I went there at 11.30pm 21 Aug and emerged from the cube-like structure specially built for the launch of the iPhone at 4.30am, exhausted, dehydrated, and wallet substantially lighter. Was the time spent queuing worth it? Definitely not. Was the $898 price tag justified? Well, maybe, if I was earning $8980 per month then it would be just a ripple in the pond. In this case, it caused a tsunami.
These past few months working and studying have opened my eyes to a whole new world. I have the utmost respect for people who juggle full-time jobs and study at night. Throw in a girlfriend or boyfriend, and it would be seemingly impossible for anyone to have a life. Thus, I am quite happy that I am a part-time office worker and full-time student, though I still wish that my working hours are reduced further. I am grateful that I have my friends with me in the office everyday so going to work isn't such a pain.
My stamina have decreased dramatically, as seen in yesterday's futsal game. In the first hour, I was all over the pitch, putting the ball in the back of the net 7 times. But the second half against a different team made me feel like a pedestrian. I couldn't run, couldn't challenge the second balls, and scored a very, very lucky goal. My team was dismantled mercilessly by what I feel, was a team that we could easily beat on our day.
It correctly proved the theory that has been in my head for the past month - that Samski is without a doubt the most important man in our team. Two matches ago, he did not turn up for the game. Despite our best efforts, we lost every single match even though we had the tenacious Eugene, the class of Timmy, the predatory instinct of Elvin, the trickery of Ian, and the safe pair of hands of, well, Ah Son.
I still find it hard to believe that with a team that has played together for so many years, we were easily beaten by soft goals from veterans who would look as at ease on a couch watching tv. The following week, Samski re-joined and we went on to terrorise everyone. Yesterday, we had no one marshalling the defence, no one to clean up and stop the opposing team's movement. We managed to string together a few good attacking plays but I just didn't have it in my legs for box to box play yesterday. I am still aching.
There were a few moments worthy of mention though. First of all, is of course Elvin's marvelous solo goal. He won the ball through a tackle, went on a mazy run, and beaten every man to slot the ball through the legs of the keeper into the net. And I was on the opposing team. Fantastic stuff. The second one to me was a total fluke. It seemed to me that Elvin fumbled the ball while attempting to get past Roland, but somehow it became a feint that only Ronadinho seemed to be able to pull off, played a through pass to Timothy and I can't remember what happened after that, only that the two of them went running off to some corner shouting and laughing merrily.
Call me a football fanatic, but it is precisely because of these moments, the moments where I get to see my grown-up friends laughing unreservedly with the widest grins, the camaraderie experienced after pulling off a good team effort to score a goal, and the look on my girlfriend's face when told that she would be in the car with my three friends whom I was giving a lift, and who, like me, smelt like we just took a bath in the sewage after the game, that makes me look forward to soccer with my mates every week. :p
It's past my bedtime, and I am pretty certain I will end up in the back of a cab to school tomorrow.
Good night :)
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I have reserved mine, and come tomorrow night, I will be one of the first in Singapore to collect my iPhone 3G from ComCentre at the stroke of midnight. I would be more than glad to have some company! At the same time, I am selling my iPod Classic 80GB for $300. Please let me know if you're interested. Can't wait! :p
Monday, August 11, 2008
Bridging Exams... Again.
I have been on leave from work since last Tuesday to study for my bridging course in maths and econs exams that is on wed and fri respectively. Progress has been very very slow but at least I managed to cover everything. Now is just to revise all over again and hopefully, I will be able to do well enough to attain a B and redeem my Xbox :p. The first time round, I really did not prepare until the day before the exam, and thus me failing was not so much a big surprise.
This time, I will get Timothy to check my results for me once again haha. He was so straightforward about it that time, just sending me and sms tt said,"Yo dude, you failed both man." No words of comfort, nothing. So this time, I really hope he will be a bearer of good news, but I also know it all depends on me.
I attended classes proper last friday. Let's just say being a student once again is nice, and I can't wait for bridging course exams to be over so I can study my main subjects. Also, I spoke to my mum about me going London next year to study on campus at LSE for a short period of time and so far she has hinted that she may well just allow it. I did the calculations and it will cost me something like 6000 plus sing dollars? Goodness, it's all about money these days.
Talking about money, I bought my first unit trust near the end of last month with JJ. Of course with the small amount that we put in, we cannot be expecting high yields, but it's more for long-term capital appreciation and hopefully we made a correct purchase and if the fund continues to perform well, maybe we can inject more capital.
I have also opened a stock brokerage account with Citibank to trade in the Singapore & US markets. I did some homework last week and was mildly surprised that CTB offers the lowest commission fees amongst the banks in Singapore. From time to time, I do speak to my peers about investing their money, but so far, most of them except my commando friends has been less receptive to the idea.
Putting your money in the bank and not doing anything about it is just about the worst thing someone can do. With inflation at a high, everyone is becoming poorer from their inaction. We work hard and spend most of the week in the office slogging just to earn that little paycheck and after lessing off CPF, there really isn't much to play around with.
People always have the misconception that investing involves high risk. Well, driving without a licence is high risk - the risk comes from not knowing what you are doing. If you bother to educate yourself or learn more, and taking small baby steps to test water, after a while you will become better at what you are doing.
Do not be fooled by the interest rate the bank pays for savings account. It is currently around 0.25% across the board. Say you have $10,000 in your account, that will give you a return of $25 at the end of the year. Inflation currently is around 8%, so your $10,000 is probably only worth $9200 now. Lessing off the interest you earned, you would have become $775 poorer by doing nothing.
Inflation is a very real problem, and as you get older, there will be more bills to pay, more things to worry about. Maybe I think too far ahead, according to Matthew when I met him for breakfast last Tuesday, but if you do not make plans, then you would be struggling to survive. And if you are struggling to survive, how then can you go to the next level and help others in need?
Those who have taken a plane ride before would know that in emergencies, when the oxygen masks come down, you are instructed to wear your own mask first before you help your child or other people. It's the same analogy that applies.
That said, I just want to do well for my bridging course exams again so Nicole won't have the chance to have another go at me saying,"Still can say passing mark is only 34" haha. Yeah, I too find it hard to believe till today, that I managed to fail two exams that has such low passing marks. And it cost me time, it cost me my full time position at Citibank, and it cost me another $720, before GST.
Okay, time to go back to differentiation, integration, matrices etc etc and all that nonsense with numbers. I know, there are secondary school kids who will say this is a piece of cake, but I really really hate math. HATE it, so please don't laugh at me and show some love instead.
This time, I will get Timothy to check my results for me once again haha. He was so straightforward about it that time, just sending me and sms tt said,"Yo dude, you failed both man." No words of comfort, nothing. So this time, I really hope he will be a bearer of good news, but I also know it all depends on me.
I attended classes proper last friday. Let's just say being a student once again is nice, and I can't wait for bridging course exams to be over so I can study my main subjects. Also, I spoke to my mum about me going London next year to study on campus at LSE for a short period of time and so far she has hinted that she may well just allow it. I did the calculations and it will cost me something like 6000 plus sing dollars? Goodness, it's all about money these days.
Talking about money, I bought my first unit trust near the end of last month with JJ. Of course with the small amount that we put in, we cannot be expecting high yields, but it's more for long-term capital appreciation and hopefully we made a correct purchase and if the fund continues to perform well, maybe we can inject more capital.
I have also opened a stock brokerage account with Citibank to trade in the Singapore & US markets. I did some homework last week and was mildly surprised that CTB offers the lowest commission fees amongst the banks in Singapore. From time to time, I do speak to my peers about investing their money, but so far, most of them except my commando friends has been less receptive to the idea.
Putting your money in the bank and not doing anything about it is just about the worst thing someone can do. With inflation at a high, everyone is becoming poorer from their inaction. We work hard and spend most of the week in the office slogging just to earn that little paycheck and after lessing off CPF, there really isn't much to play around with.
People always have the misconception that investing involves high risk. Well, driving without a licence is high risk - the risk comes from not knowing what you are doing. If you bother to educate yourself or learn more, and taking small baby steps to test water, after a while you will become better at what you are doing.
Do not be fooled by the interest rate the bank pays for savings account. It is currently around 0.25% across the board. Say you have $10,000 in your account, that will give you a return of $25 at the end of the year. Inflation currently is around 8%, so your $10,000 is probably only worth $9200 now. Lessing off the interest you earned, you would have become $775 poorer by doing nothing.
Inflation is a very real problem, and as you get older, there will be more bills to pay, more things to worry about. Maybe I think too far ahead, according to Matthew when I met him for breakfast last Tuesday, but if you do not make plans, then you would be struggling to survive. And if you are struggling to survive, how then can you go to the next level and help others in need?
Those who have taken a plane ride before would know that in emergencies, when the oxygen masks come down, you are instructed to wear your own mask first before you help your child or other people. It's the same analogy that applies.
That said, I just want to do well for my bridging course exams again so Nicole won't have the chance to have another go at me saying,"Still can say passing mark is only 34" haha. Yeah, I too find it hard to believe till today, that I managed to fail two exams that has such low passing marks. And it cost me time, it cost me my full time position at Citibank, and it cost me another $720, before GST.
Okay, time to go back to differentiation, integration, matrices etc etc and all that nonsense with numbers. I know, there are secondary school kids who will say this is a piece of cake, but I really really hate math. HATE it, so please don't laugh at me and show some love instead.
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