Life in bank

I like my friends a lot in my work place. They are Sam Goh, Benard Ong, Peiwen. They were used to be my team mates but due to changes, we are split up. I am grateful that I still have Sam Goh around. We will teach each other on how to perfect our speech and at the same time help the clients.

Time really flies and looking back I feel that I am very brave to take this outrageous step to quit Audit. Audit is always perceived as an iron bowl rice but I dun really like the nature of work. I always love to study accounting as I can get to know about the balance sheet and through it kinda help me do fundamental analysis. Though I am starting to be lazy and just read analyst reports! I love to study accounting, maybe the reason I like it cos I can get at least a B+ average in my last 2 years of accounting. But I kinda love and hate audit. Well, I have already left the place :)

I just hope I can learn as much as I can from my work place.

Elections

Ms Sylvia Lim, chairman of the Workers’ Party said:

“What struck us, at first glance, is that we believe there is some gerrymandering involved in favour of the ruling party. If you look at Aljunied GRC, for example, we note very quickly there have been nine precincts given out of Aljunied GRC. Seven to Ang Mo Kio GRC and two to Punggol-Pasir Ris.

“And particularly these precincts are actually very close to Hougang SMC (Single Member Constituency), where we know there is significant WP support.”

She said in their place, six precincts, carved out from Marine Parade, had been given to Aljunied GRC.

When I was 12 years old which is Year 1997, my place where I am staying is in Cheng San GRC, WP was winning around 40% plus votes. Right after that, my place is replaced to Pasir- Pungool GRC. You can feel that something is wrong when the presence of WP is so strong here. Now this thing happens again. The boundary drawing is really a very debatable issue.

Fernando Torres

He was my favourite player in Liverpool since he came in. If you look at Liverpool's line-up, there is nothing to cheer for except him. But his recent sulking and body language means that he is feeling despondent whenever he plays for Liverpool. I thought he will support Liverpool like I do no matter what.

I feel cheated when he said Liverpool is his boyhood club. He left Atletico Madrid to Liverpool instead of Real/Barcelona as he does not want to play against his former club but now he is joining Chelsea. He should have waited till the summer when more clubs can bid him.

I can only wish him all the best and at the mean time cheer on Suarez and Andy Carroll.

An old article..

Extracted from ST online

June 4, 2008

Would you prefer to live in a world where you earn $60,000 a year while those around you average $40,000, or one in which you earn $100,000 but everyone else gets $200,000?

Robert H. Frank, professor of economics at Cornell University, says that most people find the first option more attractive. When it comes to salaries, we care more about relative size than absolute size. What matters most is earning more than our neighbours.

The same holds true for all sorts of things. The actual size of our apartment matters less than its size compared to everyone else's. And most of us will settle for a modest car - provided our neighbour is driving something worse.

Prof Frank labels things like salaries, houses and cars as positional goods, whose defining characteristic is that the amount of satisfaction we get from them is strongly influenced by comparison with what others have.

The American essayist H. L. Mencken hit the nail squarely on the head when he defined wealth as 'any income that is at least one hundred dollars more a year than the income of one's wife's sister's husband'.

It is a sobering thought. We assume that getting a pay rise, or moving into a new apartment, or trading-up to a better car will bring us increased levels of happiness and satisfaction. In fact, many of us simply raise the bar on what counts as adequate.

We work longer hours, earn more, spend more and consume more. Meanwhile, everyone else does the same. So, by comparison, we are no better off, and therefore no happier.

After German reunification in 1990, living standards in East Germany increased dramatically. Despite this, happiness levels actually fell. The East Germans were better off, but began to compare themselves unfavourably with the more affluent West Germans.

But not all goods are positional. Try answering this question: Would you prefer to live in a world where you have two weeks' vacation while those around you average one week, or a world in which you have four week's vacation but everyone else gets six weeks? Most people prefer the second option. With vacation time, the absolute amount is more important than the relative amount.

The same holds true for things like health and marriage. The satisfaction we derive from them is not strongly influenced by a comparison with those around us. Our enjoyment of good health is not spoiled by the knowledge that our colleagues are also fit and well. We do not enjoy our marriages any less because our neighbours are happily married.

Prof Frank labels things like vacation time, health and marriage non-positional goods.

The problem we face, as individuals and as a society, is that the balance of our lives can all-too-easily become shifted too much towards the acquisition of positional goods rather than non-positional ones. Our tendency to compare ourselves to others on things like salary, house and a car, can make us spend too much time and energy in pursuit of them.

Research suggests that most Americans would be healthier and happier if they worked fewer hours. But the relentless desire to keep up with the Joneses prevents them from doing so.

All too often, we base decisions on a flawed theory of happiness that puts undue emphasis on positional goods. We sacrifice leisure time and family time to stay in the rat race.

British economist Richard Layard and the author of Happiness: Lessons From A New Science, puts it succinctly. 'Most people are not rivalrous about their leisure. But they are rivalrous about income, and that rivalry is self-defeating. There is thus a tendency to sacrifice too much leisure in order to increase income.'

I used to teach in a primary school. I had a colleague, a middle-aged woman who often complained that the demands of teaching full-time and looking after a family left her feeling stressed out and exhausted. She often talked about going part-time. Since her husband earned a good salary, she could have afforded to do so.

Then, a part-time job came up at the school where we worked. To my surprise, she didn't apply for it - she had decided to build an extension to her house and needed to work full-time in order to pay for it.

It seemed to me that she had traded quality of life for double-glazing. It is a trap we can all very easily fall into.

gary@garyhayden.co.uk

Gary Hayden is a freelance writer who specialises in education, science, philosophy, health, well-being, travel and short fiction.

Inspiring story

Buddha was well known for his ability to respond to evil with good. There was a man who knew about his reputation and he traveled miles and miles and miles to test Buddha. When he arrived and stood before Buddha, he verbally abused him constantly, he insulted him, he challenged him, he did everything he could to offend Buddha.

Buddha was unmoved, he simply turned to the man and said, “May I ask you a question?”

The man responded with “Well, what?”

Buddha said, “If someone offers you a gift and you decline to accept it to whom then does it belong?”

The man said, “Then it belongs to the person who offered it”

Buddha smiled, “That is correct. So if I decline to accept your abuse does it not then still belong to you?”

The man was speechless and walked away

Copied from http://celestinechua.com/blog

First post of the year

Woah, I have not been updating for more than two months. Thats bad! Haha. I have been staying late due to the festive season and I am addicted to computer game - Football Manager 2010. I am finally out of my addiction and I have more time for work and doing research on stocks again.

My current job
Its not an easy job but is still manageable now. The job is stressful but I really learn a lot from this job. I have a lot of my batch mates in Dohby Gaunt branch and its wonderful that they are very willing to share great ideas to one another. Things are getting better and I hope I can stay long in this job.

I think this is the first time I am writing a new year resolution. When I was studying, the resolution is just about studying harder and getting good grades. Whenever I go to temples, I will only pray for good grades. One of my friends will pray for prettier looks. Haha. Now I pray for good health and find a good future partner.

New year resolutions
1. Exercise once a week
2. Sleep at least 7 hours per day
3. Don't think too much
4. Be less sensitive to insults or comments
5. Appreciate that I learn a lot in my work place
6. Read more books
7. Find a girlfriend?

Haha. The number 7 is a resolution created by my friend. 顺其自然 will be better :)

Training is going to be over soon

My training will be over after this week. I have been enjoying myself for the past few days as I have managed to pass all exams :) Our class starts to plan on going to our 'grad' trip. Haha. The destination will be KL.

I was chatting with Pong recently and she said I sound pessimistic nowadays. I think I need to recharge sooner or later. She finally found a goal and I must find mine too :)