cover this shit
lunedì, aprile 17, 2006
byebyeseeyou
sr is leaving on a jet plane for shanghai. boo. can't gear myself up for it somehow, maybe cos this trip's mostly for work rather than pleasure. funny, i swear i was 10 times more excited the last time i went on a schl trip=germany. Am mentally and emotionally unprepared, YET to recover from the final exams(mine ended today)scars are still fresh = dark eyebags,caffeine overdosage.
And... Just now was just a whirl of last minute travel toiletrie shopping, money changing, debit card collecting and packing. at least its done *sigh of relief*
*sniffles* i'm damn sad cos i can't bring my favourite luggage to shanghai. that lovely deep blue piece w the tiny pudgy hippo keychain accompanied me to genting, germany, bintan and beijing... =( it's too small for all the stuff i'm bringing this time but hippo's definitely tagging along,all the same.
thanks for all the sweet bonvoyage messages folks. sry if i took damn long to reply just now, was in the midst of packing. leejingyang YOU'RE DAMN MEAN. -__-
am in a somewhat reluctant mood now. just hugged xm gdbye during lunch tdy cos i won't see her till many mths later!! becks and kel,we must meet when me and elisa return OKAY !!!!!! the choir clique too. havent seen them for so long I FORGOT WHAT EVERYONE LOOKS LIKE ALREADY.andandand i miss bearrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. hiakz, the talk cock sing song sms was really qte amusing. k shall stop rambling.ttfn.
Gemstar blogged on 4/17/2006 08:36:00 PM
sabato, aprile 15, 2006
i hear cows being strangled every morning
you know, having a musically inclined mum has its perks, I believe i'm 1 of the lucky few who wakes up to piano music every now and then. BUT that changed when she took up the cello. Status upgrade to the mellow strains of cows being strangled every other morning. i swear she does it on purpose, to get me out of bed ):
For behind every great musician comes hours of practise. and practices come with hits and misses as you slowly master the technique. Make that, more mistakes then hits. *makes a face* but i've been good, i havent been complaining. I'm all for creative expression, and life-long learning and all that jazzz.
it REALLY doesnt help that I am TRYING MY BEST TO STUDY the AMORTIZATION OF BONDS and she and her friend are doing a clashy duet on the piano and cello. AND THE CELLO IS $%^&*(*&^% OUT OF TUNE.
i'm stressed.
i've yet to pack my luggage.
Gemstar blogged on 4/15/2006 01:57:00 PM
lunedì, aprile 10, 2006
1, down the drainnnnnnn.
Gemstar blogged on 4/10/2006 12:02:00 PM
martedì, aprile 04, 2006
Knowing our places- from www.minishorts.net
I cannot describe how importantly I view the virtues of humility, especially when you're just fresh out of grad school with a smashing honours degree (first class honours, anyone?) as that cherry on top of your cake.
The scary thing about graduating with first class honours from any university, is the fact that showers of praise are heaped upon you when you get out. You have proud parents and envious friends patting your backs and singing praises about your bright future–suddenly everyone around you can predict your future. And that's the scary part.
The problem is you haven't even got yourself a job yet. That seal of recognition on your certificate just tells your potential employer that you're a potential candidate to fill an empty position–it just tells him that you're good at getting great grades. Nothing on that piece on paper says that you're going to be a good worker.
In comes the CV, or resume. 'I've had work experience before, I spent three semester breaks working as a trainee in different companies, and I got very good reviews.'
Chances are it was a prerequisite for you to complete at least one internship in order for you to get that degree. And even if a traineeship isn't a requirement, you're not the only graduate who worked at a company for a minimal fee during the holidays.
…
You see, sometimes the danger of graduating with glamourous results and fantastic reviews from supervisors and lecturers can get threatening. It becomes easy for students like this to fall into the trap of being conceited–they think they own the world, and that the globe is at their feet, ready for them to march in and conquer. Such idealistic thoughts and dreams are fine, of course, but when you climb too high too soon, you lose your balance easily, and you fall easily. I've friends who've envy-worthy graduation slips, and past-promises of a bright future, but have recently got entangled in wallows of self-pity. They keep pointing out their lesser-peers, people who did not do quite as well as they did in university, but are spearheading teams at their own companies, and they do such pointing with venemous fingers of accusation.
Sometimes in private spaces we talk about work and share ideas on how to survive in the rat race. But the weight of six consecutive 4-flats pulls them down so strongly, it's hard for them to stand up and join in the race. They cannot understand that to win a typical race, you have to start from the starting point, not barge in in the middle and sprint to the front. Usually, they think they're atypical, and they want to get the champion's trophy even before trying.
I told a fresh graduate just a few weeks back, someone who had just came out of a UK varsity and has been searching for a job for three months (and still searching), that he needed to cast away his degree and focus on performing well in the interview.
'But won't the interviewer and the potential employers even consider my degree and the years I spent overseas? I didn't study so long and so hard just to be rejected, you know?'
'Well, of course he would consider that. The moment you get the invitation to be a candidate, he's considered all your academic qualifications and past work experience. But once you step into that interview hall, you just have to put your university achievements behind you and focus on the interview. You don't want to convince your future employer that you're great because your academic results prove so. You want to convince him that you're the person for the job because of who you are, and what you can provide for him.'
…
Sometimes it's hard to trust the numbers on a piece of paper, because they do not reveal enough about a person's capability to perform well. That's why almost all interview processes these days includes that aptitude test, and more recently, that English test. You never know what an A1 in the 1119 will translate to in real life. For all we care, you just rote-learned your way to your glittering grades, and it worked for you. But we don't want parrots with glamourous results. We want people who can perform.
People who graduate with straight As have the problem of aiming too high, because they think too highly of themselves. They want to start off with a bang, in huge companies, MNCs and GLCs, in high-ranking positions that will take them across the globe and allow them to leave a trail of colourful ribbons for their younger friends to see and admire. That's why they keep rejecting jobs, 'That company is not good enough for me. That salary is too small for me. That position sounds so dodgy.'
It beats me why can't people like these understand that it's not what they can do for the company right now, it's more about what the company can do for them, the kind of experience that they will take home from that experience in a small company. I was trying to convince yet another girl who had a First Class Honours Degree in Informational Technology to take up a RM1800 position in an SMI.
'You don't understand, Claire. That place is too small. RM1800 is too little. I graduated top of my class, and I have friends who didn't do as well as me earning RM 2000+ already. I need a job that will prove my academic work worth its years,' she insisted.
'Well that small company will provide you the experience to move on to another job, and maybe you'll stay and grow with the company as it gets bigger. No company is set up to fail you know?'
Her response floored me.
'You know, a lot of MDs and CEOs of MNCs started off in MNCs. You know Bill Gates? He started off with Microsoft when he was younger. He's still with Microsoft.'
…
'Yeah I know.'
I thought it was pointless to continue talking to someone with that kind of knowledge about the world. First Class Honours? Sure.
----------------------
a gentle reminder...
that grades aren't everything, that we fresh grads will eventually start off as the tiniest shrimp in the corporate foodchain, before we advance to greater things, hopefully. i'm trying to make myself feel a teeny wee bit better, but i've not much to show except for my grades, and even that's floundering these days. geez i definitely ain't gonna allow myself to sink into that rut, esp since uni's supposed to be the time our lives! what irony. which. part. of. me. look. like. i'm . enjoying. myself? granted, i do have fun here and there, honestly enjoyed some of the projects i've worked on and the lil respites i've taken here and there, like, starry starry nite!
Watching campus superstar on sunday brought back many fond memories, of what school spirit used to mean. Loud, raucous cheers, the belief that your schl could do you no wrong. heh, that brief clip where they focused on that bunch of rg girls cheering for their friend during the auditions was amusing, seems like, the school culture hasn't changed much, that's "LOW and LOUD" for you babes, we've nvr been the high-pitched screaming types. jc life was hectic and fastpaced, yet when you were in there time seemed nvr-ending. And then you're out before you know it. Those days of switching off and zzzing during lectures, having tutorials in classrms with grey tables and floors, buying chips fr. the western food stall after PE, and staying back till late for the numerous choir practs in the stuffy "the-school's-saving-electricity-so-no-aircon-for-you" LT.
Have we really left all of that behind? Indeed, I think I had. The past year just flew by with my adjusment to uni life, there just wasn't time to look back. And then you realize with a start, the past has been reduced to a distant memory, of what seems a lifetime ago.
We're approaching yet the end of another sem and *gasp* we'll be year 2s soon enough. Life's really comfy in smoo, we've aircon 24/7, well almost, and escalators and lifts to bring us to every floor. i love subway, baked rice at SIS's kopitiam & Hotel Rendesvous's 3nines cafe, jap omelette fried rice at concourse's kopitiam, and magic wok's zhi char! Am becoming sucha spoilt fat lazy bum. ok. i don't know where this post leads to, but just felt like rambling on tonight.
tata, wrk beckons
Gemstar blogged on 4/04/2006 10:39:00 PM
domenica, aprile 02, 2006
i love watching live performances. =)
they enrapture me.
espcially if the vocalists are gddddd.
*melt melt melt*
argh, funny how the urge to attend concerts, musicals, plays and so on is especially strong when i'm in the midst of mugging for exams.
speaking of which, haven't went for any of those for a loooong time.
Gemstar blogged on 4/02/2006 08:20:00 PM
Fix You - Coldplay
When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just watch and learn
Lights will guide your home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
Tears stream, down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I..
Tears stream, down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I..
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.
========
sigh. nobody tries anymore. weary.
Gemstar blogged on 4/02/2006 01:29:00 PM
