G'Day Readers!

 

It's been a long time between posts, but this seemed an appropriate time for another one. As of Thursday 19th April 2007, I have officially become a graduate (and no longer a graduand!). It was a day filled with photos and celebrations... I'm just happy and relieved that everything is over. No more assignments and late-night studying for me :D After 5 years of hard toil, I now have 3 pieces of paper to show for it! haha

 

Surprisingly, one of the highlights of the ceremony (apart from receiving my certificates) was a speech made by a guest speaker, who I think is currently the acting head of a department in the BusEco faculty. Whilst most speeches are generally fairly mundane, his was quite inspiring, with the gist of the speech encouraging the new graduates to make a positive change in the world, and making the most of every opportunity that we get (sound somewhat familiar for some people? :P). He also quoted Shakespeare, which I guess a lot of people do these days, but this quote was especially apt given the audience and the occasion:

 

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Readers,

 

Yep, another graduation/finishing uni post. As of Wednesday when uni results came out, I've officially (or unofficially until I get my certificates) graduated from uni! I think my CV will now look something like this:

 

William Chuah; BCom/BEco, DipLan(Jap)

 

All I can say is that I'm relieved that I've finally finished uni and I'm looking forward to my post-uni life, whatever that may bring!

 

William

Hello Readers,

 

I'm going to keep it brief...I AM A FREE MAN!!! :D

 

Well, touch wood, if I pass my final 3 exams (which I should), my 5 years of tertiary education would have come to an end last Thursday. It's been party time ever since!

 

I'm so glad it's over. No more exam stress ever again! Wooohooo!

 

William

 

PS. I pity those who will still be at uni...I feel your pain...but after 5 years, do I sympathise? Well, not really! :P

Hey All,

 

Today is a momentous day. I had my last hour of uni class...forever! Well, this is assuming I don't do post grad (which is highly unlikely) and if I don't fail, touch wood *touches wood*. I still have a couple of assessments to get done, but other than that, only 3 exams to go! All I can say is "Bring it...BRING IT AWWWN!!!".

 

Yep, I just want it to be all over.

 

Looking forward to 9th November 2006 at about 12:10pm. I'll be safely done by then.

 

Then it'll be paaar-tay time! BRING IT AWWWN!!!

 

William

Hello Readers,

 

It just occurred to me the other day that I have officially hit 6 years of service at my part-time job at the accounting firm. If you include the times I have been away (travelling overseas or working in Sydney), I have been working there for 6 years straight. How's that for loyalty (or laziness in not finding another job)?

 

I first did work experience there in year 11 in 2001, then got called back to start part-time work in September. I'd work 2 hours a week after school when I had spares in the last 2 periods. I started on about $5.20 per hour (when I was 15), and was pretty rapt when I got a 40c increase the following week, after I turned 16!

 

Anyway, it looks like I'll be ending my career there in December this year, when I either go on exchange or on holiday. Reckon 6 years service should equate to some sort of gift? I know 10 years is a golden watch...maybe I can get a gold-plated keyring at the very least?

 

William

Hey All,

 

It could be one of those life-changing moments, but then again it might not lead to anything...but last night, I passed the review board! So an AIESEC exchange is now more than ever a serious option. We'll see where the next month takes me...exciting times!

 

William

Dear Readers,

 

Yes, it's been a long while since the last post, but I haven't really had anything interesting to say (you can probably debate whether or not this is interesting either). I just thought I'd share an observation I made the other night:

 

After I had dropped my sister off at the 24 hour Pancake Parlour on Doncaster Rd, I was on my way back home when I passed by a Shell petrol station (opposite Pancake Parlour). I looked up at the petrol sign board to check the latest petrol price, and was almost shocked at what my eyes were seeing...nope, it wasn't that the price was sky high (it was "relatively" cheap at 120.9c/litre for unleaded), but the fact that the numbers were DIGITAL!!! If that's not a sign of the times, I don't know what is! I guess the dude standing behind the counter got so sick of changing the price board manually so regularly that they decided to install a digital price sign. How soothing is it to know that a 10c hike in the petrol price is only a button push away. Gone are the days when you could clamber to the pump to fill up just before the petrol man manually adjusted the price upwards, and get the previous price (I think that's how it worked). Ah well.

 

I'm not sure if other people have seen this digital occurence around town also, or if it's just me.

 

Anyway, that's all from me for now.

 

Over and out.

 

William

 

PS. for the record, the LPG and Diesel price signs were still using the "old" manual system

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hey All,

 

Random observation: on Monday afternoon as I was driving home past one of those lit up 40km/h signs on Middleborough Rd/Stevensons Rd, I saw it stop flashing. Yep, it was exactly 4pm.

 

Today as I was driving to uni, I again past the same set of 40km/h signs and this time I saw them start flashing. And yep, it was exactly 8am.

 

I've driven past there so many times but I've never seen the 40km/h signs just light up or just stop lighting up. But now it's happened twice in 3 days...wow, so freaky.

 

Another thing...yesterday I was one of about 20 cars parked in a row on the gravel. When I went back to my car, my car was flanked by P-platers. Quite literally 6-7 cars on either side of me consecutively were P-plated cars. So out of the 20 cards, I think I was maybe 1 of 2 or 3 cars without a P-plate. I thought that was funny.

 

Yep, boredom has hit.

 

Over and out.

 

William

Hello Readers,

 

Ever get the feeling you're getting old? Yes, I may only be 21, but it's while I'm at uni that I start feeling kinda old. It's a weird feeling, as I'm always used to being the youngest (or one of the youngest) in my group of friends. Anyway, here are a couple of indications of my "oldness":

 

(1) In the first week of uni this year during the first Japanese tute, people did a self-introduction (in Japanese) saying what year they were in. Everyone else in the class had said that they were either 1st, 2nd or 3rd year students! So it was kinda embarrassing :S

 

(2) When I through the car park and to my car, I regularly see numerous P-plated cars surrounding my P-plateless car. I definitely feel like the odd one out there...haha

 

(3) I'm one of the remaining people still around at uni from the initial "1st year group" of friends that we formed in the first few weeks of uni. I'm still unemployed :(

 

Ah well, not a very entertaining post but I thought a couple of those observations were interesting. Oh yeah, one more thing...I definitely do feel quite old hanging around AIESECers now, cos everyone is so young!

 

Alright, I'm waiting for all your old fart jokes now (as lame as they may be)...I'm looking more towards the AIESEC gang *cough* Shu and Emma :P You young 'uns!

 

Over and out.

 

William

Hey All,

 

A couple of weeks ago after a fairly lengthy conversation with a couple of people about their religion, of which they are very devout followers. This got me thinking a bit, and I thought that I'd put this question out there:

 

 

I may be naive in stating that question, and there are obviously many arguments and other factors which surround this topic, but what do people think? I might look at this in hindsight and think "Why did I ask such a silly question?", but now it's been said I'd be interested in what people think.

 

In the meantime, it's back to the books!

 

William

Hello Readers!

 

Last night some of our class of 1997-1999 from Balwyn High School met up for dinner/drinks. There were 13 of us in attendance, and it was great to catch up with them, some of who I hadn't seen in about 5 years! Also, since some of us moved up a year (doing 5 years instead of 6 years of high school), a lot of us lost touch at school, so I probably hadn't spoken to some people for about 6-7 years! Quite amazing.

 

Anyway, some people were saying that they didn't know how a reunion such as this would turn out, whether it'd be awkward or if we would get along. You see, back in the day from Year 7 to Year 9, we were all in the same class for the 3 consecutive years (yes, we were a "special class", part of the Accelerated Learning Program...haha) but the class was always segmented into different cliques. But I guess now everyone has matured (well, most people have :P) and looking back on our early high school years there were many great memories and laughs to be had (yes, and some laughs at my expense :S).

 

For some of us, it turned out to be a long night. We started at 3 Degrees at QV, and when that closed up we went to Hawthorn for a few more drinks after. From the initial group of 13 we ended the night with 4. Overall, I had a fantastic night, reminiscing about years gone by and it was interesting to see where people have come and gone.

 

So thanks to Claud, Kath, Vera, Annie, Shaun, Natalie, Belinda, Chris and Peter for coming out, and especially to Wilson, Leah and Rita for staying out til the very end! It was a really enjoyable night and funnily enough probably one of the best nights out I've had in a while! There are plans for another one of these and hopefully we'll get a bigger group out next time.

 

Over and out.

 

William

 

PS. yes, I did drink again...detox is well and truly over (I guess it never really got started). My motto from henceforth is "drink in moderation" :P

Hey All,

 

Another unsuccessful night of attempting to go detox. It was a friend's welcome back/birthday party, so I had a few to drink. I just couldn't not have any. So from now on, my philosophy is "drink in moderation" as a compromise for my drinking overdose (well, almost) in Sydney. It also means that I'll get a regular shave...haha.

 

Over and out.

 

William

Hi 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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Hey 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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Hey All,

 

It feels weird that I'm doing an update so soon after my previous one (yesterday). It's an oddity, so enjoy it while it lasts!

 

Anyway, lots of people have asked me in the past what the difference was between Melbourne and Sydney, and which place I preferred more (MELBOURNE!!! :D). I've always said that walking around Melbourne City, it felt a lot more relaxed and laid back, whereas Sydney felt more busy and fast paced. I couldn't give a good reason why though.

 

Speaking to a fellow Melbournian intern (at Macquarie Bank), I sort of realised what it was. We were talking about how some cities such as London were both the financial/economical and political capital of the country, and how that may be too much for a city to cope with, ie. a city becomes a Metropolis, and the issues become too big for the city. Whilst Sydney is the financial capital of the country (and to a lesser extent, political), Melbourne holds neither of those titles, hence is one reason why the city has a more laid back feel than Sydney.

 

Another factor I thought of was the fact that Sydney is probably also the tourist capital of the country. Given they have such attractions as the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House (both of which I think are a bit overrated, the more I see them...Opera House as a man-made wonder of the world? Give me the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum or Stonehenge anyday!), they attract a lot more foreigners which adds to the fast "paciness" of the city. This is because they are anywhere and everywhere, filling the streets wherever you go.

 

I think I've taken too long to make my point, but what I'm trying to say is that MELBOURNE ROCKS!!! haha...I think Sydney is a great place for a holiday and a change of scenery, but in the long-term Melbourne is definitely the place to be. All in agreeance, say aye!

 

Anyway, it's that time of day again...dinner time. Those who have travelled/lived in both Melbourne and Sydney, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

 

Holler out!

 

William

Hello Reader!

 

It's been a while, but here's the next instalment of my daily updates, random thoughts style!

 

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