The end of the exam blues.....

Its finally over… I’m done with my exams…. Paper 3 & 4, though I cant say for sure how I did…. But the days leading up to the exams were very stressful, I had not left the house in more than a week, and aside from SL and my family, I don’t think I had any interactions with anyone….

All those nights of mugging, its finally over…. The exams took place somewhere near the hockey stadium in Jalan Duta, and it took me quite a long time to get there once I reached LHDN, but the jam at the roundabout where I needed to make the U-Turn proved to be the bottleneck on my way there….15 minutes from my house to the roundabout, and another 15 minutes to clear the roundabout…. Oh well, it was good that there was ample parking….. I flew through the past year paper for 10 minutes before rushing over to the exams hall… where most of the candidates were already seated…. And there was still 5 minutes to spare!!

But the jam at the roundabout wasn’t the only thing to threaten to wreck my day, my stomach was at sea the whole day, and I just about managed to put up with the massive discomfort till in between Paper 3 & 4…. So I had more than one reason to be relieved for getting over Paper 3!! Looking back, Paper 3 was the one I thought I’d have loads pf problems with, for a Chemical Engineering student to deal with statistics, accounting (Financial & Management) and IT, along with a little sprinkle of Law thrown into the mix, I thought it went allright…. Not that I’m saying I’ll pass, but we’ll have to wait and see…..

Paper 4 on the other hand, was deemed to be the easier paper, but I was given a rude shock when I had a look at the questions…. It was much more difficult as compared to the questions in the textbook, as well as the past year questions released by the IIA…. No wonder then that the global passing rate for Paper 4 is a mere 40%.....

I cant say I’m relieved yet, but I am happy its all over…. Relief will set in once the results are out, and that I passed both papers…. But even if I fail either paper, or both, at least I already have a foundation to work on, and not have to start from scratch, which will be a big help I’m sure come the next time I sit for the exams….

So its back to work tomorrow…. I cant say I’m looking forward to it, as I’ve been on leave for the past 3 weeks…. I’m going to miss waking up at 8, having my afternoon naps, eating my afternoon tea….. the bright spot is that I work for one day before it’s the weekend again!!!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I’m too tired to celebrate the end of my exams….. what I’ll do instead is to curl up in bed, with that Robert Ludlum book I’ve been eying for the past 3 weeks!!!

grumpy....as usual....

I opened my eyes this morning, to the sound of the rain pattering down on the roof.... such a nice day to sleep in.... i was glad that it rained, as it has been unbearably hot the past few days.... i dont feel like doing anything when its this hot, which really makes me miss the cold and gloomy days in UK.... i welcome the cold chill and strong gusts of wind..... rather than the humid and hot conditions over here, which leaves me feeling hot, sticky and uncomfortable.....

As it turned out, i stayed in bed for quite a while.... i'm on leave, study leave to be precise.... my exams are on 17th may, not too far away now... while i was surprised to get through the first 2 papers on my first attempt in November last year, i doubt i'd be so lucky this time around.... i should pass paper 4, but the third paper is a different kettle of fish altogether.... with chapters covering Financial Accounting, Finance, Management Accounting and IT, i see now way out of this jam.... what students do in weeks, or even months, i will attempt to cover it in days..... coupled with the fact that i neither studied, or have much experience in the above topics leaves me worried and distressed....

The fact that i dont understand what i read in the textbook, and the feeling of bemusement at the questions at the end of the chapter, where formulas and rationales were not included in the chapters that i had just gone through..... I'd probably find it easire reading something in Spanish, I'm sure i'd be able to get more out of this, which seems as if it was written by beings from another planet.... maybe there is some truth to all the alien abductions that has been claimed, only that those abducted are all accountants, and returned to Earth to carry out the practice of Financial and Management Accounting..... and it seems the only way i'll get to pass this paper is by being abducted by the aliens themselves, so as to pass on the knowledge to me in time for my paper on the 17th of May.....

My mood was not helped either when I read the headlines in the papers today, where Manchester United are not going to be coming to town, due to all the ruckus kicked up by the Head of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).... The rationale is that the visit could dilute the prestige and value of the Asian Cup organised by Malaysia, who are one of the four hosts for the tournament..... This, despite the visit by Man U occuring after Malaysia having finished hosting their matches, and that the remaining Asian Cup matches would be held in another country......

No, i wasnt planning on going to watch Man U play, but the fact that this Hammam fella, the AFC President from Qatar, who obviously wants to maintain the interests of his Asian Cup baby..... So Man U has been asked to cancel their entire Asian tour, out of respect of the Asian footballing community.... "Asia for Asians", was what he said when asked about the reaction expected from the Man U fans in Malaysia.....

I'm upset that the Malaysian football fans have been deprived from watching stars that they previuosly only get to see on TV.... Be they Man U, Liverpool or Arsenal, Barcelona or Real Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan or Juventus, fans worldwide would jump to watch them.....

It is not the fault of the European football clubs that they play a more exciting and entertaining game, as compared to the football fare that is expected to be dished out by the Asian countries during the Asian Cup.... That is entirely the fault of the individual national Football Associations, and of course, the AFC, led by Hammam himself.... It is only now that they start to make the right noises on how to increase the standards of Asian football, to match their counterparts in Europe..... but in the meantime, we will not allow them to come to Asia, so as to not embarrass the Asian teams on their inferior quality of football....

Oh well, I'm sure Man U, and the other football clubs will make their way to this part of the world again, and that this will not prevent them from their usual globe-trotting ways in their quest to enlarge their pockets....

As for me, its back to the books again, or maybe I should look for Mulder and Scully, for tips on how to get abducted by aliens, for a crash course in Accounting.....

An engagement party, a politician and an old schoolmate

I’ve come to that stage of my life where I receive constant invites for weddings or engagement parties…. While a number of girls I know have been tying the knot over the last few years, the guys are quickly catching up….. As far as I can remember, there are 2 wedding invites coming up over the next 3 months…. But its also a time for me to catch up with friends I don’t ordinarily get to see due to the hectic life schedule we all have got ourselves sucked into…..

Last weekend, I went with my parents to an engagement party of my cousin with my family…. Now what makes weddings of relatives more difficult, which I’m sure a lot of my single contemporaries face is the question we like to avoid most….. “So when will it be your turn”…. Usually asked by aunties, who seem to really enjoy all these wedding ceremonies….. I suppose why this question seems more relevant to my aunties is due to the fact my cousin is a mere 2 months older than me…. 2 years is when they expect to receive my wedding invitation…. Wait and see was my response….

Back to the groom, well, good for my cousin I say…. He has been extremely lucky to have found a beautiful bride, a Malay girl who like him, is also a doctor…. In such a small world, it turns out his bride is the sister of one of my schoolmates, who was also there that night…. A reunion of sorts it was for me, as I also got together with all my cousins, whom I have not seen in more than 6 months….

There were a lot of people there, unsurprisingly, as my family do know a lot of people…. Yet it was a surprise to me when the UMNO Youth Chief comes straight up to my sister and me, and promptly shook our hands while thanking us for coming….Hehe, I wonder whether he knows my sister works in the law firm named after him…. Typical of him being the friendly politician, my sister says…..

Another thing about weddings, you wonder whether you’d meet your other half here…. And there were many attractive Malay women, aside from the future bride, so why not? Hehe, the tricky thing at weddings of relatives, especially my family, you just have no idea who’s a relative and who isn’t…. I’m sure I know only a fraction of my family members, so making a move on a girl last Sunday could have seen me chatting up a distant cousin instead!!

Also amazing was how my sister knew a football mate of mine, whom I’ve not seen for more than a year as I have not been able to join them for a futsal session for the last 14 months…. My work colleague from EY was also there, being the best friend of the groom’s sister….

It’s a small world after all….