2 months worth
Tuesday, November 25, 2008

hit the snooze button for that extra 5 mins,
hit the snooze again on my alarm clock for another 5 mins,
off the alarm and wait for the final draw, the handphone alarm.
thats waking up 2 mths back.

constantly checkout wallstraits / sgx / bloomberg for any newest updates in the financial market, talk to colleagues about it, and of cos, wait for lunch and 6pm, im sure u know why.
thats work 2 mths back.

after 4 days of company training and 3 days of intensive training, im getting used to the hang of the new job and style.

the office is always noisy, everyone talking stuff, about next year being the year of the ox and wat year they want their children to be borned in, the food around this new district or how did the big 4 all lost points collectively... yada yada. no need to act hardworking, keeping quiet staring at the com pretending you are doing something while you are thinking of wat to do after work.
thats work 2 mths after, now.

i kinda like this new change.

no more rushing to meet lunch time hours, rushing back just to be seen at your work station. u can stroll into all the nice shops in the district take ur time to enjoy the serenity in chaos, or just sit down right in between the 2 mrt entrances, its gd enough atmosphere.

posted by ikaira @ 10:43 PM, ,


4 days in, and more to come
Thursday, November 20, 2008

its been 4 days since i've rejoined the workforce. 4 days of training, from product knowledge, underwritting, compliance yada yada. it gets dry but when ur doing wat you like, things arn that bad.

posted by ikaira @ 11:46 PM, ,


It finally began
Saturday, November 15, 2008

school ended, papers cleared, contract signed, tasks appointed. so does this really mean no more student life and work society for watever's beyond?

It finally dawned upon me that it had finally began. like a revelation which always come in the most unexpected time, catching you off-guard left right center, just after finishing starwars episode 3: revenge of the sith, in the wee morning hours or 2:48am.

so is this it? the period I always looked forward to?, where money was little and although adequate for survival with a few dining luxuries here and there, it was never enough for lets say a PSP for Wii as and when the "want" exceeds the logical mind.

realized that in future, there isn learning time anymore, nor is there a protection-cloak saying "you're still young", "you're only a student" or "he'll understand when he starts working" Consequences will be much heavier then they always used to be. every step should be well-planned before chartering (like it ever happens this way)

but then again, the night dosen feel any less different, nor any more.

posted by ikaira @ 2:44 AM, ,


How was your weekend?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008

So how was your weekend?, this sentence has been very much underused ever since i've stopped being woken up by my alarm clock... awaken due to job obligations... that is like 1 month ago, time sure flies especially when you are enjoying it.

day after friday are great, of cos they're great when theres practically nothing to worry on about. not those urgent enough to stress about.

posted by ikaira @ 5:05 AM, ,


In a chess match, everyone is a prawn, p.s. unless you are obama
Saturday, November 08, 2008

its saturday 5am in the morning. Today or should i say yesterday was my last paper for the bachelor. finally, after 2 slogging years, i've managed to reach the destination. cant help but feel a sense of accomplishment for the 2 hard years of lifelessness and moneyless. its time to catch up on the unfinished movies, bum around awhile, not to mentioned heroes 3 is out.

so what if i've gotten the qualifications now, the gahmen is saying now is the best time to go study cause its recession time and when the economy rebounds, with the right qualifications, you'll be at the right place at the right time. to add to that, aussie dollar has depreciated a freaking 28%, just imagine a few mths back, everything you ate then, you could eat 30% more now, everything you bought, you could buy 1.3 times more.

and you know wheres to get the cheapest ipod in the world? well, thats not much of a riddle, its aussie land of cos, and im not kidding, its true, it used to be hong kong last year.

and believe it or not, aussie land is not the worst, take a look away from our southern neighbours and far away to the place Eidur Gudjohnsen was borned. a first world country, inside europe, how bad can it be u might ask. not too bad, just 51% depreciation, everything times 2 or divide by 2. you house, its worth half now, ur savings - same halved.

P.S. ~~Choose the black-guy, save the world~~

posted by ikaira @ 5:18 AM, ,


Some spare reading
Thursday, November 06, 2008

The below is taken from cowboy caleb.

Fact: Your Parents Will Get Sick and Suffer

If you’re middle-class right now, chances are that your parents won’t have much insurance. Back when they were young, they were too busy living hand-to-mouth and trying to bring you up properly to have purchased insurance for themselves.

So now they are old, and without insurance. Unfortunately, you are going to do your duty as a child and pay any medical bills that come their way.

2 months ago, my grandmother was hospitalized for the second time in a month. Although it turned out to be nothing serious, the hospital bill was rather hefty and my aunts/uncles turned to me for help because her first stay had practically wiped them dry for that half of the year. So I forked out a couple of grand for which they were very grateful.

That started me worrying about my own parents, who have little or no medical insurance. Even if I were to buy insurance for them now, at their age it would cost a bomb. Sure they are healthy now, but 10 years down the road what if they get sick? Even if it’s not a critical illness (eg. broken hip) the hospital fees would be hefty. Everything I had worked so hard for could be wiped out to pay their medical bills.

Being a professional pessimist (it’s in my job description), I expect shit to happen. Insurance is a necessary evil that transfers the financial risk to a third party.

So I rang up my insurance agent and told him about my dilemma. He said he would do some research and get back to me.

( I will tell you another time how to choose a good insurance agent and make him work for you. )

Anyway, last week he rang me up and told me he had found a plan that would cover my parents. It was a new plan, and I would one of the first to sign up for it. This elderly insurance plan would cover most of their hospital bills before they hit 70, and thereafter everything plus lasik, massages, transport etc. It was a fantastic plan because it was new (plans degrade in quality as more people sign up).

The annual premium for my mother (who is in her mid-fifties) cost about the same as my grandmother’s hospital bill for one stay. Imagine that!

My father may not qualify for the insurance plan because he has hyper-tension - it was a mistake to wait so long to buy a plan for him. And even if he does qualify, his premium may be sky-high.

Being a worrier, my mom told me not to buy the insurance, because the premiums were so high, and she was scared that I would not be able to afford it if I had more commitments in the future (like kids). I told her that I could afford it, but what I could not afford was an extended hospital stay if she were suddenly hit with an illness.

The moral of the story is this - It’s expensive to buy insurance for the elderly, but what you’re actually buying is peace of mind. I know I won’t have to sell my house one day to pay for an operation. I know I won’t have to cutback on my lifestyle one day so that we can afford a live-in nurse. It’s better to pay now, then to pay later when it’s infinitely more expensive.

posted by ikaira @ 9:59 PM, ,


2 more to go
Sunday, November 02, 2008

1 down, 2 more to go.

posted by ikaira @ 2:20 AM, ,