credit and security??!?!

It somehow seems ironic that one day the mumblings of Prof P. Ellinger might possibly come in useful in my career, given that I was usually unable to decipher the ongoings of the Credit & Security module taken in my 4th (?) year in NUS...

But nonetheless, the deed is done, and I will officially be leaving the convoluted world of capital markets into the (hopefully) brighter sunshine of banking. No, not joining a bank, but rather the banking team in FSD. Am presently trying to ensure that everything is handed over smoothly to fellow associates who have the luck of the draw to be taking over my current files, and should be doing so for the next couple of weeks before I take on the new challenges of facility agreements and security documents.

Anyway, boring stuff aside, I was asked to join the banking team lunch today, and I gladly accepted. Since I'm probably gonna be seeking plenty of precedents from my future teammates, I might as well get started on building relationships! But seriously though, they seem to be a pretty nice bunch of people - light-hearted and ready for humour, which many of you will know is an important trait that I value.

Lunch was supposed to be at L'Angelus at Club Street, but due to the heavy rain, we were compelled to switch venue to the Rang Mahal at Pan Pacific. I thought I'd never been there before, until I arrived and realised I did do lunch there before, though I can't remember exactly who was there. Probably some random monthly lunch back at my old firm. Food was not bad, company was great, so am looking forward to embarking on the new journey ahead.

Watch this space for updates! (yea, yea...i know that's what i said in my last post yonks ago too...)

i'm still alive!

Yea, it's really been quite a while since I last posted anything. Been simply too caught up with work and making the most of the times when I'm not working!

Anyway, since my last post, I have travelled twice more for work - once to Jiangsu in China through Shanghai, and once to Korea. Doesn't seem like a lot, but considering that my roommate hasn't travelled anywhere since joining the firm almost 3 years ago, 3 times in 5 months is a lot!

Shall not bother to give detailed updates since May, but suffice to say that I have apparently lost 4kg since switching firms, and that was measured about a month ago, so I might have lost more! Will try, however, to resume more regular updates here. Right now I'm just shooting off with whatever comes to mind.

Work is interesting, but very tiring. It just seems inconceivable that the bosses managed to survive through so many years of this crap, and I wondering how long I can do it. But for future's sake, I just gotta grit my teeth and get through this trial by fire.

Wedding prep is moving along. We've taken our photos, and selected them for the albums! Ad thinks it's mad that we forked out an additional 2,300 buckaroos on top of our package price to have 2 albums instead of 1. Yea the pinch is sorely felt, but well, it's once in a lifetime! And I'd rather spend a bit now, than for us to look back year from now and wish we had chosen more photos. Next step: settling the guest list and the invites.

On the housing front, things aren't as brilliant - we received a letter in May saying that TOP is expected to be in August, but it's already late September and there's no news yet. I got an email from SQ who found me though this blog, and he shared that the developer had told him the TOP is delayed and likely to be in October instead. Very annoying. I might write to bug the developer too by early October.

Ok, gotta go do some work. Let's see if I can keep to my promise to update more regularly. ;)

ching chong business

Details of my trip have been more or less finalised as per the itinerary on the right. Flying off on the morning of 14 May, and returning to Singapore at dawn on 17 May. Will be spending about 5 hours in transit in Beijing back and forth, so any ideas of what to do for 5 hours in the Beijing airport would be most welcome...

Quite exciting to be flying business class for the first time! (yes, I know I'm most suaku)

Will be staying at Golden Gulf Hotel, which is apparently one of the best hotels in Yantai. Click here to read more about it.

the end of an era...

Ok, the title's a bit of an exaggeration, but nonetheless, I am in fact about to move on to a new phase in my career.

The wait I had described a couple of posts back was for the outcome of an interview with my future employers. Notwithstanding that I had told them at the interview that I would be leaving for ICT the following week, they were unable to get back to me before then, and it was only during my day off-in-lieu on 2 Feb that I got the long-awaited phone call offering the job. :)

So I'll be joining the Equity Capital Markets team in the Frantic Slogging Department of a very large local firm. For the finer details, click here.

The benefits of the move are clear to me, as the experience gained will place me in a much much better position for future career moves and options in the event that I choose not to stay (or am compelled by fatigue to move). The downside is of course that I am voluntarily giving up the most excellent hours which I am enjoying at my current firm.

Weighing the pros and cons, I suppose it's a necessary sacrifice (and investment) to slog a bit harder now while I am still young, and reap the benefits in time to come. Every person is granted with certain gifts from God, and for me, I suppose the parable of the talents come into play here. I should not be sitting comfy where I am, and allowing the gift from God to stagnate. As my ex-pastor used to say all the time, if you're comfortable, you're not growing.

Of course the most difficult aspect of the move would be having less time with Ad, but I truly hope we can both look at this shift with the right perspective, and support each other through these (still) formative years of my career. There will come a point of time some years down the road when I will have to choose between family and career, and because I will be choosing family, hence it is all the more important to establish the career aspect firmly for now.

Dealt with another difficult issue yesterday - the tendering of my resignation. It was very hard to break the news to my boss, and even harder to look him in the eye when discussing the matter thereafter. I'm sincerely grateful to my current firm for helping me transit to corporate law, and I apologise for the disappointment caused by my departure. May God prosper the firm always.

So this shift is accompanied by mixed feelings, but with trust in the Lord, I need not fear, for He shall direct my paths. (Back to the key Bible verses of my life - Proverbs 3:5-6)

Last day of work at my current place on 11 April 2007, whereupon I'll be scooting off to Bangkok from 12 to 14 April. Starting work tentatively on 23 April. FYI. :)