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2月26日 These Boots Are Made For WalkingHey All,
Just thought I'd give a run down on the Sydney Bars/Clubs/Lounges/Pubs that I went to. And yep, I walked to all these places, even to the ones at The Cross. Feel free to give your comments on any of them from your personal experiences!:
Lower Town (Central to Liverpool St)
- Scubar :: similar to Melbourne's; lots of European internationals
- Charlie Chan's :: quite a number of Japanese there; cheap Toohey's on weekdays
- Cheers :: only a brief sojourn into a famously named bar; wasn't there long enough to comment
Lower-Middle Town (Liverpool St to Town Hall)
- Scruffy Murphy's :: one of many Irish pubs in Sydney; has a good $5 steak meal
- Equilibrium :: 1st floor, World Square; didn't venture to the 2nd floor where the club was; basically has every single beer you can think of on tap! An amazing array of choices!
- 3 Wise Monkeys :: some memorable moments here with my Melbourne friends; not the best of places, but only a 2 minute walk from my apartment
- V-Bar :: half-price cocktails on Thursday; a quiet place when I went, but I hear it warms up on weekends
- Shark Hotel :: not a big fan, as it has really wide open spaces; basically come here if you don't want to cough up $25 to get into Space
- Space :: upstairs of Sharkies, a crazy place with plenty to offer; a predominantly Asian club but pricey
- Maloney's :: quiet little bar next to the games arcade, only went there once
- Star Bar :: the jewel in Sydney's clubbing crown...for me anyway! Went there several times, and usually had a really good crowd; lots of Chinese, Japanese and Koreans
- Pavillion :: where you go to when you get turned down at Star Bar; $2.50 drinks at certain times was good
Middle Town (Town Hall to Martin Place)
- Hotel Coronation :: the pub where people at Citigroup would go after work on a Friday night; had many drinks shouted for me here by fellow workmates!
- The Arthouse :: underneath the Citigroup building, another popular post-work hang out; has a nice decor
- a sports bar opposite work on Pitt St [forgot the name] :: went there at a bad time, not many people there
- GAB Bar :: formerly the Hilton Hotel's bar; not too bad, but was only there briefly after work one day
- Hotel Sweeney's :: nice little pub with a Thai restaurant on top - Statement Bar :: hidden, but a nice chilled place for a quiet drink after work
- Verandah Bar :: an Asian club at Martin Place on Castelreagh/Elizabeth St; has two big rooms, and it's where you'll see alot of Sydney's teenage to mid-20s Asians on a Friday night; it's either here or Space
- Hotel Chambers :: was there for an intern's 22nd party...had alright couches and bar
Upper-Middle Town (Martin Place to Circular Quay)
- Bar 333 :: not a bad bar in the middle of Martin Place, where alot of work people go
- Senate Bar :: in the basement of the Macquarie Bank building where its employees like to hang out
- Establishment :: one of those "upper-class" places where a lot of "lower-class" people go; full of snobs and a pretentious crowd; otherwise, has a very classy interior! haha...but expensive drinks!
- Johnson's Pub :: was there one day on a weekend for a quiet drink with my Melbourne friends
- Jackson's Bar :: dropped by very quickly one night with various interstaters who were working at the RBA
- The Republican :: was there in the middle of the afternoon, so it was fairly quiet. Was there with a fellow intern before he left for a Thailand holiday
Top End (Circular Quay & The Rocks)
- pub under -5 at Circular Quay [forgot the name] :: this was the first stop on a bar crawl that I took some Melbourne people on
- Opera Bar :: apart from the drink prices, has the best views in town
- The Australian Hotel :: delicious gourmet pizzas; my favourite is the roast duck pizza, absolutely packed with duck!
- pub and bar I went to at The Rocks with a fellow Melbournian and 2 Perthies [forgot the names] :: spent the night drinking away at The Rocks; has a very country feel to it Darling Harbour
- Pontoon :: has some good RnB music, and has nice views of the harbour
King St Wharf
- Cargo :: seems to be the same franchise as Cargo down here at the Docklands; a bit overrated, but I never got into the lounge (VIP only I think), only the bar
- The Loft :: very nice, suave lounge/bar with an awesome view; one of the best places I went to
- Bungalow 8 :: quite similar to Cargo, just on the other end of the block
King's Cross ("The Cross")
- Hotel Strand :: not quite at The Cross, but on the way on William St; was my stopover between my farewell dinner at Bar Reggio's (where I had lots of wine) and drinks at Bourbon
- Sapphire :: had a Melbourne feel with the dark loungey areas, but not a fan of the crowd or music
- Empire :: smelt severely of sweat, not a great place just for that reason
- Bourbon :: only here for a short while after the aforementioned big wine night
Places I wanted to go to but didn't get the chance:
- Gas :: on Elizabeth St near Central Station, this club re-opened just before I left
- Home Bar :: well-reknowned at Darling Harbour
- Martin Place Bar :: at Martin Place
- Slip Inn :: the pub where Prince Frederik met his Australian Princess
Total Places Visited: 39
Not a bad effort eh? I'll see if I can make it to that many places in Melbourne over the next 12 months! haha
William 2月22日 Guess Who's Back? Back Again...Hello Friends!
Yes, I'm back! After a 2.5 month stint in Sydney, I have returned to Melbourne to start another semester of uni. I must say it feels great to be back in the home town. I've said many times that Sydney would be a great place to work for a few years, but Melbourne definitely is the place to be. To be honest, I've had enough of Sydney for the timebeing, even though I was only there for about 11 weeks. You may remember my post about how great it is to live in the city, but I guess there is a downside: you're in the middle of everything and sometimes you just want to get away from it all, but you can't because you live there. Your little piece of privacy and salvation is in the very heart of the city!
Anyway, enough bitching about Sydney. I must admit though, Sydney is a lovely city and it was good for a change of scenery over the Summer. The experience of working at Citigroup as well as living it up in the biggest city in the country is something that I'll remember for a while. Although it's not as extravagant as the experiences that some of you readers had over Summer (you know who you are...gallavanting all over Europe and/or Asia!), I have come away from the Summer break with a clearer idea of where I want to go work-wise in the future, as well as further building my networks in industry. Yay!
Funnily enough, I'm looking forward to starting uni again. Maybe it's because I was working full-time during the holidays, but it'll be good to see everyone again. Cheers to the uni lifestyle, before we enter the endless days in the workforce!
William 2月12日 Week 10 @ Citigroup - The Final FrontierHi All,
Yep, the last week of work at Citigroup has come and gone. I must say that it will be sad waking up on Monday morning and not being able to walk into the office (they took away my security pass :|) and not seeing the colleagues I had worked with for the past 10 weeks. Equally, I can't wait to get back to Melbourne and enjoy what I have left of my Summer holidays! Anyway, here is a quick review of my last week:
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[Day 43]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- I was in the office yesterday (Sunday) from 1:30pm til about 7:30pm to work on the presentation for Wednesday. I was dressed like a bum, in a polo, shorts and thongs, cos no one was around!
- I scored 2 free Hoyts movie tickets! We had a team meeting today and Andy gave each team member a pair of tickets as a reward for our hard work over month end
[Day 44]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- I did a lot of work on the presentation today, just finalising content and fixing up the Powerpoint. I'm feeling a bit nervous and apprehensive, but at the same time quite relaxed about the presentation. Quite a weird feeling, but maybe it's cos I'm tired of thinking about it
[Day 45]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- phew! What a relief! Presentation went by pretty much without a hitch, and the audience seemed to be quite impressed. A few of the interns said it was very professional and very well done, so I was really pleased with that. The format and presentation of each groups contrasted quite a bit cos there weren't many guidelines. Also, I was commended by the CIB CFO who I spent the day with. Commendations from the top...can't beat that! :)
- just a tad disappointed that the CEO didn't turn up. He was probably the main reason why I was nervous about the presentation, but considering he was supposed to meet the interns on Day 1 and come Day 45 he still hadn't, it was a bit of a let down
- had some beer and nibbles after the presentations with the interns and various other divisional managers. Was good to wind down after such a big afternoon
- one of the interns, Jee-Lin, was celebrating her 22nd birthday, so we went to a place called Hotel Chambers for a few drinks and more nibbles. It was a great night!
- I popped by the office on the way to walking home. I gave IB Chris a call cos I thought he'd be in the office still, and I was right. So he gave me a tour of the IB floor at about 11:15pm at night, and also had a look at the CEO's office. It was decked out in cream leathered couches, a flat screen TV, and lots of sporting memorabilia. Lucky man!
[Day 46]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- had a final mentor meeting with Shane. We covered a few things, but these were the main points:
(1) if I was a grad now, they would have offered me a full time position!
(2) we would keep in touch for the next 12 months, and if it suits both of us, there will be a job offer in 12 months time
(3) he will put in a word for me in Melbourne to try to get me a part-time position there when I return home
(4) he has spoken to the CFO and they have discussed flying me up to Sydney during my uni breaks to work on projects
(5) he agreed to be my mentor throughout the year, mainly through emails and a monthly call
All I can say to all that is: SWEET! :D
- I organised a final intern lunch, so a last chance for everyone to mingle on a social level before things finished. Almost everyone turned up, with 13/15 interns in attendance. It was good to see almost everyone there!
- I began cleaning out my inbox today, which I had to cull quite regularly throughout the past 10 weeks. At one stage yesterday it hit the 1,250 mark or so!
- I finished off the day playing tennis at night with the same 3 guys as the last time. It's always fun playing with those guys. There is non-stop sledging, and it gets pretty competitive. Just when it was getting interesting in the last set, the bloody tennis court attendance switched the lights off! Grrr!
[Day 47]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- Gillian (CFO) came by early in the morning to say goodbye to me, gave me positive feedback on my presentation again, and then said to make sure to keep in touch. She also mentioned that Citigroup was always looking for "young and enthusiastic individuals" to work for them (or words to that effect), so I'm glad that she mentioned that to me. It was a good feeling getting a goodbye from the CFO, and the fact that she bothered to take the time to come over and talk to me. I found that to be fantastic, especially knowing how busy she always is
- had HR feedback on the presentation. It was mostly positive, with a couple of ideas that could be worked on. Overall, HR thought it was a very good presentation
- had a performance review with Chris and Derek, and again it was all positive. They were very happy with the way I fitted in with the team, and the way I took to and ran with the tasks that I was given. Good comments all round!
- I made an intern role description for my position for next year. This was one of the pieces of feedback I gave them, so Shane thought it would be good if I wrote something up. I completed it and sent it to Shane, Chris and Derek, and they were all pretty pleased with it
- I was presented with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon at the end of the day in front of my colleagues at the desk. Definitely a moment to remember!
- the team headed down to Bar Reggio for my farewell dinner. Needless to say there was a lot of wine consumed, both red and white. Seeing it was my farewell, it was fair to say that I had my fair share. I had no idea how much I had cos they kept topping my glass up! Overall, it was a fantastic night, and a great way to wrap up the week! :D
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So there it is, my last week in a nutshell. This last week in Sydney will be spent catching up with friends before I fly back to Melbourne next Sunday! For those who may be wondering (and I'm sure there are plenty of you! haha), I will be arriving at about 7pm on a Qantas flight. Feel free to bring a welcome home banner or something...hehe.
Alrighty, I should be off to make some dinner and drinks plans. Only one week more, and counting!
Over and out.
William 2月4日 Random Thoughts from Sydney - Week 9Hey Hey Reader!
My time in Sydney is quickly drawing to a close. Kinda sad, but all good things come to an end eventually I guess. Here are some thoughts of the past week, week 9:
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[Day 38]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- today was the start of an interesting week. My replacement (her name is Charlotte) for when I finish my internship arrived today, so I began transition with her (doesn't this sound familiar?). It was kinda weird transitioning with someone 7 years your senior, especially when she had worked in London for 5 years in Counter Fitzgerald (a large trading house in the UK and US), but it began well
- a bit of trivia: my replacement used to go out with Socceroo player Lucas Neill!
- I think my microwave is possessed. Lately it has been beeping on its on accord, and 6's keep appearing on the screen
- set another late-office-leaving record for the second time in 2 days, leaving at 7:45pm
[Day 39]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- Juliet brought in a CD containing photos and videos from the karaoke night last week. I got some ribbing from some people about some pictures/videos, but I took it like a man! haha
- I had an earlyish finish today, leaving the office at about 6:45pm
[Day 40]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- had dinner in the office for the first time. It's month end, and everyone is busy around this time of the month, so everyone stayed back and a dinner menu went around at about 6:30pm. I got a "South Pacific" burger and fries from Global Burgers. Pretty unhealthy, but hey, it's all paid for! Most people were at work til about 9:00pm, but I didn't leave til about 9:50pm as I was trying to do some work on my presentation
- one of the guys who works on consolidating reports used to play rugby with the NSW Waratahs about 10 years ago! He played about 12 games, and yes,he's big! He played as a second rower, and you definitely wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley. But he's a friendly giant to be honest
[Day 41]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs:
- I did a Boost Juice run this afternoon, and ended up bringing back 6 Boosts! I was given alot of shrapnel, and spent about 2 minutes at the countertrying to count out the right change to pay the chick! She asked me how I got this job, but I kinda brought it upon myself for offering to do the run
- had another all-expenses paid dinner, this time from Wagamamas (we have one in our building). I had 5 duck gyosas (friend dumplings), teriyaki chicken and salad. The dumplings were good, but not so the main meal. But again, it was all paid for!
- I left a bit earlier this time, at about 8:45pm
[Day 42]
RaNdOm ThOuGhTs: - I completed transition yesterday, and had typed up all the procedures for my daily tasks, so Charlotte was pretty much set to complete my former tasks all on her own. For that reason, I moved to a different desk, and attempted to work on my presentation. Needless to say I wasn't too productive, and still have a lot of work to do
- a colleague of mine saw me out at lunch with 2 female interns and she made fun of me, saying that last time she saw me with 1 girl, and now I've got 2! Ah well, I'm getting used to all this ribbing now...haha. It's all a bit of fun
- another colleague organised a farewell dinner for me next week, which was nice of her. We're off to a place called Bar Reggio which is near Stanley St (I think), where alot of Italian restaurants are (Sydney's version of Lygon St, but no comparison I'm sure!). I've been told by a few colleagues that the food here is absolutely fantastic, so I'm looking forward to it!
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That's it for now. I've got so much more work to do on my presentation it's not funny! Have to consolidate all my material that I've got. Ah well, I should get started now. Wish me luck, cos I'll need it!
William |
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