Monday, July 28, 2014

Singapore Break and a Wedding

Friday the 18th of July, we packed our bags and flew to our neighbour down south. We got a little lost finding our way to the hotel but come on, who gets lost in Singapore? However, getting lost enabled us to discover that we were staying just a stone's throw away from the Singapore National Art Museum.

Reached Singapore!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Being Thankful: Days 146 - 150

It's so weird, I'm losing track of the days and every day I discover more and more outstanding (not mine) work that I need to settle for someone. It really gets tiring when the tasks date back to early 2013 and the business units are chasing me like it was my fault to begin with! So so difficult to walk the talk of being forgiving and professional.

But, I am still thankful for:
  1. my other colleagues who despite their heavier workload (due to the disruption from portfolio change) still offered to help me out. Every day is an overwhelming experience of panic till past 8pm.
  2. learning the little things that will make me self-reliant in future. The downside from my previous role was that I was too reliant on my assistant for certain matters.
  3. the cheque coming right on time. No penalty for my 'almost slip up'.
  4. the e-board training session done and over with. Constructive advise received. Next time (if there is one) I will need to steer the directors conversations back to our training objectives. 
  5. being able to receive criticism and agreeing on it. Surprisingly. Maybe it's part of growing older?
  6. letting go of things out of my control. Leaving work in the office to focus on my weekend!
  7. meeting up with the girls for a healthy vegetarian meal... and then we adjourning for cake! Counter all the goodness in one night! 
  8. getting a bottle of almond butter. Mmm...
  9. our final weekend in Genovasi. Final presentation done. Buka puasa and farewell dinner. Laugh and laugh and laugh.
  10. finally deciding not to go back to office on a public holiday. It was a productive day (in a stress relieving sense). Good early start and finally having the chance to exercise. Quality time with family and the dogs (Meowww! Poppyyyy!).
  11. learning the difference between Registered Shares and Bearer Shares, thanks to filling up HSBC forms. Registered shares have share certificates with the shareholder's name on it whereas Bearer shares don't have the shareholder's name on the share certificate. So anyone who gets hold of a Bearer Share certificate may claim ownership over the shares of the Company. Therefore it is always good practice to execute a share sale agreement, even for transfer of Registered shares.
I think 150 is a good number to stop?

Saturday, July 05, 2014

Being Thankful: Day 140

I'm thankful for:

  1. the lunch treat at Zen. I guess it's a gesture of peace after the c*** I went through last week. Ah sm remember, remember... challenges = growth.
  2. my colleague sending me her draft simulation board papers from the last round of training. At least I don't have to start from scratch for next Friday's training. Need to work out what to say, pronto!
  3. getting the PAL and forms out. Hope this don't trigger a backlash.
  4. meeting up with a potential partner. Seemed to have a lot of experience and gave us some constructive advice.
  5. (can't think of any. brain shutting down)

Friday, July 04, 2014

Being Thankful: Day 139

I'm thankful for:

  1. discovering that my phone only has one speaker. Didn't know this until yesterday. I actually texted the shop owner about claiming warranty! Thanks to Google, I now know that my mini heart attack was utterly unnecessary.
    not spoilt but only 1 speaker
    See! A pair of grills - how would I know that the left was a speaker and the right one was for the mic?
  2. someone saying that I 'sound' tall over the phone! This is the second time she has said it haha.
  3. the DCFO mentioning something that jogged my memory - OMG, I haven't raised the company's authorised share capital! Yea... this is what I hate about changing portfolio (again) in the middle of a corporate exercise.
  4. secretly being excited about having the chance to try leading our e-board training to some of the L1s. So glad I volunteered myself this round instead of having to draw lots to take charge of the VVIP training session! Foresight.
  5. a productive discussion.

Thursday, July 03, 2014

Being Thankful: Day 138

Ong ong numbers 1-3-8! Yea... anyway, I'm thankful for:

  1. walking a lot today. Choosing to take the stairs and walking to the bank instead of driving there before or after work.
  2. getting some filing work done. There's no better motivation for filing than a change in portfolio (again) and statutory audit (of course).
  3. tackling the odious journey of filling up the HSBC account opening forms - wasn't too bad, just really tedious. Why must they have so many different sets of forms and T&Cs just to open one account and what's with the KYC forms when the Group has been a long time corporate customer!?! Foreign banks have too many red tapes.
  4. not much jam going to PJ for our team meetup and having a few laughs about the sink hole and interesting pictures.
  5. Texas Chicken - yums!


Wednesday, July 02, 2014

Being Thankful: Day 137

I'm thankful for:

1. The board meeting going smoothly although it was my first for this particular JV.
2. Having weird thoughts during the meeting like "why is that guy's skin so white & smooth? Hands also no hair! But over the phone sounded like old Uncle... summore the name so hebat! I think he's more feminine than I!" Mind conversations like this really helps in keeping me awake at long meetings.
3. Finally filing the agreements received from the lawyers a few weeks ago. To be honest, besides being crazy busy I didn't prioritize this task because I didn't know how to do it! (the SOP, I mean) But it's done now!
4. Jamming my finger at the agreements filing cabinet. The experience just heightens the senses. Never knew I could feel that much intensity in a fraction of a second. Receptors for pain, cold, hot, everything firing simultaneously. Neurotransmitters oversupply in my synapses. I start seeing that textbook image in my head. In short, makes me feel human.
5. Productive discussion. Finished mapping out the features. Timekeeping really works. Just a little more to iron out before we meet our potential partner.