long week out of office

i spent 3 days of the week at ICPAS doing the corporate taxation course. it's been a good refresher and update for me. taxation has always been a pet subject and it's been my ambition to go into tax consultancy during my school days. however, life doesn't always go the way we want them to..some how i never got around practising tax.. i find the course insightful..and things seem to make alot more practical sense, now that i encounter quite a bit of them in my present work.

it's a good break out of office work..but unfortunately i've been feeling unwell since last week end.. i managed to push myself to run 10km on mon and another 10km yesterday..but today my body succumbed to the cold bug..and i'm now sitted here, after class, typing an entry for my blog, instead of going for a swim at clementi.

let's keep my fingers crossed for now as i hope to recover on time to enjoy the labour day holiday tomorrow. it'll be such a pity if i had to be bed bounded because of cold on a public holiday.

back tracking, i have wanted to blog my thoughts on monday but i missed doing so.. alot of thoughts went through me as i trotted along in the crowd on monday morning. i felt much like an alien out of place; the people around me dressed to kill, while i was like a punk in 3/4 pants and a faded shirt.

working in the prestige central business district of the country demands dressing of certain calibre. there were so many coach clutch bags hovering around, i wondered if all of them are genuine coach.

somehow, i was thankful that having to work in tuas, i don't have to dress in a manner as such. if i'm required to, i'll probably spend a good proportion of my wages on clothes, bags and shoes..leaving little for savings.

on the other hand, i was envious. i wondered when would i get to be a part of this clan of working class. dressing well indeed would boost one's confidence by a whole lot..and being able to work in shenton way would probably mean i'm an employee of a pretty reputable company. well, of course i must hold a decent position in the reputable company to hold the need to dress well to work each day.

wow. imagine that. tricia and her power suit dream again.

i think the fever has burnt my brain a little.

goodbye ct

Yesterday was ct’s last day with us. I’m pretty reluctant to see her go as she’s a nice supervisor who has given everyone in the department a fair chance to learn and undertake new challenges. She is one person who has excellent personal relation skills..but somehow, something along the way must have gone a little off course causing her to leave. I’m getting used to not having her around to guide me. It’s not easy as I am still not totally versed with the work she has handed over to me. I guess things just need to be learnt, just like rules.

In a week’s time, a new financial controller will take over. This leaves many of us wondering what other changes that may come with. What kind of person will she be like? Will she implement a lot of changes which we have to work and adapt to? I can only tell myself that I’ve got to stay optimistic and ensure the rest of the team remains united.

rules rules

I spent the weekend understanding the meaning of being rich and affluent. As I stood there waiting for time to go by, I observed the people that came and went through the aisle.

Every game has its rules; some of them a pain in the neck, some of them a little easier to adhere to. No matter what rule it is, like it or not, you either play according to it or you’ll be kicked out of the game. I was pretty appalled how restrictive the rules were but I reckon it’s just a matter of getting used to.

if only money grew on trees

I’ve been surveying for the air tickets and stuff for the planned Melbourne trip.. as we were considering the possibility of doing the Gold Coast marathon instead, hence I was comparing the prices.

Lo and BEHOLD!! thanks for the soaring fuel prices, to fly to Melbourne or Gold Coast would cost at least $1k per person. Just on air travel alone, that’ll set us back a good $3k. that’s really crazy. I had been under the impression that air tics are in the $600+ range. I guess that was the outdated rate, 3-5 years ago.

It’s really disheartening to know how little my bonus can cover.. and just for us to go on a trip, it’ll really require quite a substantial budget.

Talking about budget, budget airlines aren’t that budget after all. Perhaps what it means is that it’s meant for people with a decent budget.

Flying to Melbourne via jetstar is $1.3k while via Qantas (which is NOT a budget airline) would only cost $1.1k. and the funny thing, if I can get 1 more person to fly, getting a package to fly with SIA (mind you, SIA leh), only cost $1,087 per person.

I think budget airlines better rethink the whole concept of what they mean by budget.

On one hand I frankly do not have that big a budget to bring us all to Melbourne and have a good time (don’t have to stay in budget hotels). But on the other hand I don’t want to disappoint my family as we’ve been talking so much about it.

Now that I think about it, my colleague’s idea of going to a beach in Malaysia is a wise way to get a relaxing holiday without burning a hole in the pocket.

I can virtually see my dollar shrinking in light of inflation.

Dearie suggested we swim to Australia. Not too bad an idea. Just that mum we’ve got to put on a buoy and drag along. If we can do that, we can probably top Kapas Marang next year.

The feeling is likened to being run over by a car driven by the rocketing prices of commodities. Even going for a holiday is becoming such a woe to plan for. Now having a clearer pictures of how much it would actually cost, I probably might need to save up for a year more.

I have all reasons to be envious of those who get to fly all over. It’s now becoming a luxury good to fly, mind you.

In aid of my shallow pocket issue, I’m habouring intentions to bury my money in the pot of soil and hope a little tree springs up with more money on its branches.

Yea, tricia’s fat hope: if only money grew on trees.

cool in shades

have you seen how cool we looked in shades recently? =P dearie wears his briko and i'm with my rudy project.=D

personalised fridge

dearie bought pretty fridge magnets and we have a personalised fridge!! =)

the real red gem

dearie said that the earlier photo isn't mine..so i've uploaded the authentic red gem. heh.. it even has "billy & tricia" engraved at the back. so it's the one and only one!!

the slacker speaks

Jaszy is giving up her slot for sundown marathon..and I am taking it up. wow. i better be doing more mileage because it’s only 6 weeks away. Dearie will be pacing with me.. so that makes the whole journey a lot more fun!

It’s been raining a lot these days and it’s really spoiling my training plans. The humidity and all can really make training tough. Hot, humid, sticky and breathlessness.

I’ve got today to finish 2 reports, 1 reconciliation and 1 investigation to do. honestly, my brain isn’t working much today. Hehe.

Managed to get myself out of bed to do a much needed spin. Though I only got to spin for 30mins, that was a good effort. I’ve slacked on my spinning because it can really get boring spinning on the spot for an hour. Then again, I have to confess, it’s not just spinning I’ve slacked on, I’ve been slacking for everything. =S

bee lan and sook sun treated us all to pizza yesterday. i ate 2.5 slices for dinner yesterday. wa lao. damn fattening. good thing i made up a bit with 3 loops of underground run and 5km chancery run with dearie and thomas.

i really got to run alot more than what i am doing now. if not how to survive the sundown as well as the x-country marathons?

the slacker speaks. eats. and resolves to start running.

little red gem

i received the 1st part of bday gift from dearie. it's a pretty red shuffle. i call it the little red gem.

8km couples run

Wow wee junior juice! We did a 39:30 for the 8km couple’s run. Dearie says it’s lesser than 8km la. But I’m just happy we did better than what we had targeted for: 45mins. =)

i let go to behold

Time and experience changes us. Our values change, beliefs change and perspective change.

Not too long ago, I thought all I wanted was to put in more hours to work, so as to earn more. Having picked up a part time job through the weekend, I reaped a humble sum of money for the effort I had put in. Nonetheless, in the recent year, dearie opened my eyes to the other things worth my “investment” of time too.

What differs is: these investments do not reap an immediate pay cheque at every month end.

What’s similar: they require me to put in constant hours and it’s a commitment, like a job.

These investments call for discipline and a relentless effort to learn. I must continue to look for areas I have to fill and keep my head up when navigating through the labyrinth of unknown seems daunting.

In return, I will reap a progression in career which would often come with a more attractive pay package. Granted an increase inflow of monetary gain, I will have greater financial liberty.

With all my 2 hands can hold, I have loosened my grip on one lasso – my part time job. It is through the letting go that I can now grasp another – learning.

I gave up what is immediate to pursue that which is long term. Apart from that, I gain some time to train more!

As I envisage an ideal Sunday.......

Morning: bike training+brick run / Inline skating / join a training group?

Late morning: have a good breakfast and 1-2hours of rest

Noon: Go NLB to research, read materials, do research

Evening: Have dinner with mummy

Rest early to get ready for work on Monday.

Saturday

Morning: Catch an early swim

Learn inline skating! (for apr-may)

Noon-evening: Go shopping with mum/ do research

all that to behold. life will never be the same again.=)

climb on, tricia

A quick recap on the week gone past

28 march 08

I had a dreary day especially with the rain and all. I dragged myself to jurong west sports hall but I couldn’t find enough energy to step foot into the gym. Lugging the heavy bag of books, clothes and shoes, I slugged to the library. After book-dropping the burden away, I met dearie who gave me a comforting hug which made the depression go away.

29 march 08

We went back to segamat early in the morning but still found ourselves stuck in the jam for an hour. Like ling put it, “mas selamat is indeed a legend”. Look at all the inconvenience he has brought to our lives. Argh!!

We ate through the weekend till 30 march and found our pants have shrunk much in size, although we haven’t put it into the laundry.

Tomb-sweeping brought an element of family togetherness which in its essence to me, was more than paying respect to the deceased but a chance for family to come together and do something as one. I enjoyed it and we’re still hoping the “lucky numbers” we’ve conjured out of the event would bring us some luck. Haha. Wait for this evening! Keeping our fingers crossed.

01 april 08

I had a bad flare up of skin allergy in the morning. I had patches of red all over my forehead and cheeks. I was tearing as I looked at my horrid face. Good thing I was given a jab and it all subsided.

02 april 08

Had a brief talk with ct and was told of the promotion of everyone in the department. I kind of feel like the only one left behind but I guess there’s no other position I can promote to, except the accountant position which I am far from eligible of. So I guess I’ll stay status quo, work for my degree, do whatever courses I need to equip myself with and make sure the next jump from here would be to an accountant position. I give myself 3 years and I’m through with 1 year already. 2 more years to go. hang on tricia. I’ve got dream and ambition, so let these drive me on.

It’s alright, tricia. Just fight on. I suddenly feel the urgent press for myself to acquire as much experience and knowledge as possible. I must not stagnate. I must keep going up. Tricia, climb on!