2009

Looking back the the year 2009, it has been a pretty eventful year and quite a few things have changed. The transition from study to work life, not only for me but for the rest of my friends, has been encouraging. We made some big decisions in our lives this year. To pursue what we all what to do for our future.

In a way, I'm glad that I see the changes in each and everyone of my friends. Being more subdued after a job, being more serious about life. I guess its just a whole new chapter for us. It also marks a different life for me, knowing that I'll be in Australia for the forthcoming years, and knowing that my frankston buddies Steven and Ben won't be here. It just will never be the same without them in Australia. From a lofty bunch, numbers here have cutted down considerably. I guess its just William, Khai and me for now. William may be transfering to somewhere else, to explore new places, Khai likely to be in the city.

This year, I also met a girl that would change my life. I do not know how strong my willpower is to get a job here if not because of her. I'd probably give in and return to Malaysia when Ben and Steven have already made up their mind. Just a couple of months back, I was really unsure of which path to take, knowing that I have yet to pull down a job then. I guess I was lucky when suddenly everything came together as we approach the final months of the year. So Jia Wei, if you're reading this, I'd really like to thank you for who I am today, how you kept me motivated and being optimistic. I hope that I did the same for you too. I know its been a tough year for you too but lets look forward to a whole new year together :)

Besides that, I bought a new car too. Guess I just want one that is really my own. Took up my first ever loan, knowing how complicated it can get if unaware. Knowing the meaning of commitment over a longer term.

Well thats it for now, I'll be heading back to Malaysia in two weeks. I can't tell you how eager I am to go back this time. Knowing that I'll treasure my short 14days stay in Malaysia. Because the next time I'm back, it'd probably be CNY of 2011. So guys, wait for me!!! Christmas and New Year party!!!

Transition

As some may realised, I started a new job recently. No more tiring restaurant work and hair-messer marketing runs. A proper 9-5 office job, routine worklife, 7am wake-up time.

I'm currently working at Voyager Distribution Co., a major company in the Australian apparel industry, supplying clothes to major shopping names such as David Jones and Myer. This huge company is located in Carlton, dead smack in the middle of the city, 2 minutes walk to Lygon Street. I am working as an Accounts Reconcialition Officer in the Accounts Payable Department comprising of about 10 staffs (total of like 25 in the whole Accounting Department). Duties mainly involve reconciliation and helping out on the A/P side of things.

So yeah, that's my September to October Update. Finally, glad to land a job that I have been looking for since forever. Oh yea, and since during the festive period of December, I may come back to Malaysia since the company will be closed for a week. Yay!

Decisions

Discarded clothes, unarranged luggages, abandoned soft-toys, dim lights, messy jumbo cards on the floor, overused poker chips, unthrown rubbish. These are the things I see upon opening my room door. I should feel agrieve seeing the mess here at Florence Avenue but deep down in me, I see emptiness. This place used to be all noise and heavy laughter, foul stench and budgeoning footsteps. I used to feel agitated at times when I try to sleep but there was too much noise, but now I feel different. Everything just feel so silent, so dead, so hollow.

Four years now I have been in Melbourne, from a curious 19 year-old living on a 200aud expense per month in Frankston, to a man working six days a week, trying to cover the ever-increasing expense and the holy grail of pulling down a proper job. Times flies, people make decisions, people execute decisions which they believed in. I have made mine, in fact I made it four years ago, and I'm trying to stick with it. But as time goes, one by one we all leave, and soon it will be just me around. It makes me doubt my decision. Is pulling down a good job here more important? or being around with friends back home which makes me a happier person? Do we seek happiness? Or do we want to live a better life in a better place?

As the years aged, I feel distant. Distant from my closest of friends that I've known since high school, distant in terms of geographical proximity and in terms of growing older together. I missed the times when we have loads of fun going about our 'yumcha' session, going on holidays, going to university. I missed the times but I feel I missed out right now.

For now, it remains my desire to obtain a good, professional job here. But with each departees, it blows a chill wind to that desire. I need to be tough for now to keep the fire going.

As the lights in Ben, Marcus and Steven's room when out. I do not know if mine would, but I will keep it on, just yet.

Good night, friends.

Bulan Ogos, Dua Ribu dan Sembilan

Wah, I so long didn't post already meh? I nearly forget my password. Okay, this is to update my friends and families far far away.

Been busy of late, due to ever growing frustration with the same-old same-old, jobhunting. Market doesn't favour the recent graduates, more so in Australia than in Malaysia, even more so for Internationals in Australia. I just knew I couldn't stick to those online applications and the occasional company visits. It just doesn't cut it anymore as things have been stagnant for awhile.

If you guys haven't already know, I took up a career consultant in the form of GradSolutions, who specialises with helping International Students like me obtain a desirable job. I see this as a chance to renew my aggression in my barely litting fire. I cannot afford to see my flickering light go off. I wanna have big big fire, like the bushfire, not like a joss-stick! But deep down, I see this as a last resort because I've been wandering around too long that I wake up everyday thinking of my road of life.

Well as of late things have been better, I'm currently working on two jobs. One at the same restaurant and one as a marketing consultant in GradSolution itself. Yes you may wonder why I took up the marketing job as it seems skeptical at first, like wasting my time with a part time or maybe even subscribing for help only to help them with promotional activities. But I see this as a chance to build up my people-skills and to boost my resume further, not to mention I'm paid based on KPI (Key Performance Index) too. It is a new challenge to me as well as I have no marketing background whatsoever.

Okay, why two jobs then? Because the restaurant job offers a safe-rate and the marketing one tends to fluctuate. On graph, its like drawing a straight line in the middle of a zig-zag. And also the marketing one being flexible, I have extra time to earn some pocket money as well. Six-days work a week, that is how hard I wanna push myself to reach my goal. I have to, I need to and I will. Hopefully there will be positive news by the end of September, which coincides with my house rental contract termination.

Beyond that, I cannot say much. But I am going to set out and achieve what I came for.

June Update

Okay, long time since I posted because life's been mundane. Some updates in June for now, nothing interesting, move on move on.

1) Started working part-time at some restaurant in Glen Waverley, mainly out of guilt more than anything. Roughly 150-180aud a week as a consolation. Well, at least its better than just sitting at home, generating further negative-profit, in hope of a light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, more on this current temporary job. And I stress temporary because it also serve as a motivation for me to find a proper job and quit this as I dislike waitering. But at least this one is pretty slack on weekdays, I can stand and watch TV and wait for customers to come in. Its the total opposite on weekends though. Certainly did not know that this restaurant would be so busy during lunch time. It came as a surprise to me knowing that its quite empty during my pre-working days whenever I pass-by the place.

The 'colleagues', if I can call them that, treats me nice. The atmosphere is good and I can brush up, or probably overhaul, my Cantonese with some of the HK ppl there. Free drinks from the drinks-maker (more polite, because in Cantonese they call it 'suey ba lui' - Waterbar girl) whenever I ask, behind the back of the Boss :P

2) Hmmm, got a call today for a Finance Analyst job. I was abit caught off-guard because I applied too many jobs and I can hardly recall which it was. At least its a Finance one because I only submitted a handful of that. The angmoh over the phone, actually 'pre-interviewed' me, saying he needs to find out more about each candidates and their characteristics as 'there are overwhelming reponses' (Got that like 100000 times from emails rejecting me). I tried to sound as cheerful and as enthusiatic as I can, and answer his questions which knowledge I got. I even went and explain the financial crisis to him, citing some points which I got from Jason's Finance assignment, lolol. Went on to talk about exchange rates and how it reflects on the economy and stuff like that. Hope it went well, because I was abit surprised at the call.

Well, June it is, and I still need a full-time job. Have to be determine! Oh meanwhile, exams are on and people are busy like bees, not much time for me =grr. Roy's coming down to Melbourne AGAIN, bring ur rockband set please rofl. K thats it.

Hired! Do your homework, land a job

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Even in the current job market, getting a pink slip doesn't always lead to long-term unemployment - especially if you're willing to do the extra legwork it takes to get hired these days.

When David Hudson was laid off from his computer programming job, he sharpened his skills, did his due diligence and took full advantage of the resources available to him.

Hudson, 40, was lucky enough to get a heads up before his employer gave him the ax. He was notified in early February that his firm would have to make cuts and his last day would be March 6. He made sure to use the time wisely.

"I put myself in the place of the employer," he explained. "What would the employer be looking for, what would catch their eye?"

For starters, Hudson researched the key words and phrases that hiring managers were looking for now, like "computer programmer," instead of the more outdated "IT professional," and described himself accordingly on his résumé before posting it to Dice.com, Careerbuilder.com and Monster.com.

It worked. Hudson says he received 20 or 30 calls or hits from his résumé alone.

As for networking, Hudson reached out to his friends and former managers, joined LinkedIn and his college alumni association at UCLA to gain access to more job listings. He focused his search on programming jobs in the Los Angeles area. With a wife and two sons, Hudson hoped to make the transition smooth.

Meanwhile, he brushed up on his software skills through books and online tutorials. And prepared a loose-leaf binder with alphabetized information on the companies he applied to and recruiters he was in contact with.

One of the employers that contacted him early in his search was Edmunds.com, a Web site that covers the auto industry based in Santa Monica, Calif.

Immediately, Hudson familiarized himself with the company by watching the office video tour online. He also looked up current employees on LinkedIn and researched the relevant skills and current projects they listed.

When it came time for his interview, Hudson arrived in a suit even though he knew the office was business casual. He also prepared answers and anecdotes for every conceivable question he could think of in advance.

Jesus Robles, Edmunds.com's director of release management and Hudson's hiring manager, said the Senior Release Management Engineer position had been open for 5 months and they had received many, many résumés - "way more than normal," he said.

"When I saw David, it looked like he had done his homework; he was really good at responding to our questions, his skills were current."

Hudson got the job and started March 10. Technically, he had only been unemployed for three days.

Back in business

Our career experts agree that Hudson can credit his success to his analytic approach to the job search.

"This is a buyer's market out there right now," said Dan King, principal of Career Planning and Management Inc. in Boston. "Its not always the most qualified who gets the job but the one who knows best how to market their qualifications."

Like Hudson, job seekers need to sell themselves to potential employers. That means getting up to speed on relevant skills in demand, finding contacts with the company and putting your best foot forward at the interview.

Using job boards to get information on what employers are looking for, and incorporating that in your résumé with key words and phrases, is a smart way to get started, according to Barbara Safani, president of Career Solvers in New York.

Taking courses, webinars and tutorials to bone up those sought-after skills is also key - particularly for those that have been out of the job market for an extended period of time, she said.

"That's true in all industries but particularly in technology," she added.

Further, promoting yourself as a serious candidate during in-person interviews is not just about being prepared, but also presentable.

"Showing up in a suit communicates that it was important enough to him to make the right impression," King said.



Bibliography
1) Ng, E.W.Moe (2009), The Moe forwarded mail, K.L.
2)CNN

Inbox

Inbox means got job replies right???? NO... =(

Heresy!!!!

I don't understand some people!!

Educational?

Football can be educative. Having learn, play and watch football since I was 8 taught me alot actually. It even came as a surprise to me considering it was meant to be an entertainment, a recreational sports that me, my dad and my friends share as a common topic. Unknowingly, I found out that it taught me alot more than that.

1) Geography

Having watch football regularly over the years, the EPL, the Euro Cup and the World Cup, it gave me more in terms of recognising countries and their respective flags! Came to know of it when I was playing the Geography game on Facebook, where the players are suppose to match flags to countries, geographical location to landmark names etc...I never knew I know much about the country flags of 'less popular' places, like Belarus, Croatia, Hungary, Angola, Ivory Coast and so on, mainly around the eastern europe to african region :O

2) Names

When people come up with a name like Van Den Berg, taking a rough guess, you would probably go for Holland/Netherland (I don't know why they are called Dutch when their country is either Holland or Netherland). But where did this rough guess came from? Must be football? With all those Van Nistelrooy, Van Persie, Van Der Meyde and more Vans.

Also recently I went for my driving test and the instructor's name was Toula Dikeliotis? My wild guess? Greek. And Greek she was. It has to be because of football again, with weird and fancy names (for me at least) like Nikopolidis, Giannakopoulos. Well of course they can be Australian with a Greek descendant as well.

3) Culture

While not much about the main culture of each country, but the culture of their football. Russia, Serbia, Slovakia and those around that region always make good defenders. Tough as tank. I wonder why. While South Americans tend to be short, fast, techically-superior and unsporting, lol. This can be relate to culture perhaps.


So you see, football can be educative. :O

Change

Her hands may be small
Her feet may be tiny
But her Will stands tall
In the face of scrutiny

The winds may be strong
The weather may be cold
But her mind plays a song
To overcome and be bold

Cherish the struggle
For first you feel deranged
But you strive to untangle
To bring a world of change

Seasons in the Cold

The weather have been freakish of late. Well not entirely freakish but I guess it marks the changing of a season. Winter. Sub-10s temperature. Numb fingers. Thick Jackets.

Mom is dropping by Melbourne to visit us two weeks from now. So mom, bring thick clothings because I think its gonna be colder than your last visit. Plus, its been raining for abit recently, adds to the agony. Hehe.

Also, some china telemarketer have been ringing me up lately, till the point of total annoyance. Yes, its my fault for picking up and deciding to listen for a little, not wanting to be rude. But still, YOU DONT NEED TO RING ME FOUR TIMES IN THE MORNING!!! So if I happened to cancel some "WITHHELD" calls, sorry for that yea.

My wishes for May. Still the same, aligned towards the same goal. GET A JOB!





p/s: Wow, as I typed this post, some company rang me up again. A Malaysian spoke to me asking about my skills and experience, said he would forward my resume to the client and he will choose between 6 candidates. Pick me pick me!!!

Recently...

1) Celebrated Stevie Birthday at Hog's Breath
2) Went on a 3 days 2 nights trip at Safety Beach, Dromana (Yes its a big group mom, not just 2-3 of us)
3) Still applying more jobs, stepped up a notch by calling instead of just mailing
4) Took over ownership of OWN 569, and Cal Jan's car looks good
5) Gonna sit for a drive test on 5th of May, coincidentally back at Dromana (Had the time to scour the place during the trip)
6) Only going out on weekends with her due to studies and tests and assignments and exams, which also gave me alot of time for jobs applications
7) Met up with Bro alot more due to geographical proximity
8) Mom and Jan always ask questions with a cheeky look
9) Cooking abit more at home, save money
10) Had a truckload of bacons and prawns due to our 'geniusity' for not bringing to trip
11) Roy made good lamb ribs, William made good chicken wings, Marcus made good charsiew, and I make good indomee.
12) I need more exercise
13) Ran out of blog-juice

Random Thoughts

Do we play with fire or
Do we savour the warmth of the cave
Do we pursue our burning desire or
Do we leave it all up to fate

To take one step at a time or
To stare in the wildiness of the blind
To act on the thoughts of mind or
To follow the heart of the divine

Is luck an important factor or
The ability to manufacture our own
Why be the prey amongst predators
When we can be kings of the throne

A Step Forward

So, after 300+ applications on my two-month jobhunt, I finally got a call for an interview. Put it this way, it is actually my first official interview, since the APESMA one doesn't count because I already got the job before hand, thanks to Jan.

Waking up 830am in the morning hasn't actually been my daily ritual, but with some coffee, and anticipation of the interview, I finally got going. So with new office shoes I've been dreading to wear, I head out to catch the bus to Oakleigh, then transit the Box Hill. Left the house at 930am, and I was so nearly late for the interview, reached there 11am sharp with a constant look on the time during the whole travelling period.

So anyway, this company that I'm headed for was an agent for a client, where if successful, I'll be working for. I thought the interview went alright, it was a relax environment, where he (Peter) explained to me the job at hand, the expected requirements, the client's company background, the salary package (35k to 40k for starters) and also cracking a joke or two. There was a short form for me to fill in too, namely questions like "what are my stengths", "whats my short term and long term plan", all these already the expected questions to be asked, and questions which I am prepared for. I was made to break sweat though as there were some practical accountancy questions to complete too. But digging back the dusted knowledge in the far corner of my mind, it all went well.

So I made the long journey back home. And about 5pm, Peter gave me a call. He said he have arranged for me to meet the client for a second interview tomorrow at Mount Waverley, my first reaction was "Whoa, so fast?". But of course I went on the agree and I'll be heading to the company tomorrow, this time, its only 2km from where I live. And straight after the interview, I have to go for my Hazard Perception Test at Oakleigh for my Victorian License. Sounds like a busy day, but it is damn well better than being idle.

Oh here are the websites for the agent and client, maybe you're interested in looking at it, lol.

www.zhu.com.au (agent)
http://changhong.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=52 (client)

China electronics store? :O

Update of the Updated

Sometimes, the working life intimidates me. An evil glare staring at me, and will probably stare still for the rest of my life, till retirement of course. Today, I went to a career fair. 86 of the largest, most reputable companies in Australia are there, each having a corner of their own. But more compelling was the amount of people there, and in fact, the amount of foreign students browsing around with the 'looks' of a distinction student. I do not know if I can be compared with them. I do not know if I'm good enough to secure a job in one of those 86 household names. But what I know is I am damn well gonna give it a shot, to embrace the struggle, to keep my head above water in the competition I am going to face, and to be the person I always wanted to be.

I am trying, but I wondered if I have tried my best. My thoughts tell me that I still have an extra mile to go, an extra gear to shift in. Maybe I'm not feeling as desperate as I am portraying, but the more the time passes, the more I can smell that stench. The stench that may allow me to find that extra bit.

Besides the whole miserable job hunt, life has been alright. Met new people, went new places, drank more coffee :P, and trying hard to break the routine life. Oh and I met someone really interesting, feels like years when its only a month. Will see how it goes.

Other than that, there isn't any much to update about. I'm also partially bored which is why I decide to post something :O

Till the next post, WILL THE ECONOMY TURN FOR THE BETTER ALREADY PLEASE!?!? Haha.

UPDATE !!

Have you come across a time where you're staring straight at the screen of your comp, with whatever browser opened, but only a blank whitish glare staring back at you? Yeah, I was having that just right now. Job sites checked, Facebook checked, Soccernet checked, Mininova checked, my pals' blogs checked. But hey what about mine? So i decided to type chokec.blogspot.com. Hmm, this place seems dusty, I cancelled all my earlier post because I thought it wasn't necessary anymore. And all that is left was acres of empty room. Thus, I decide maybe I'll write something.

You know, maybe what Roy said is true, "It seems when you're happy, you dont blog", quoted the man. And I do to some extend agree on that, because like him, we haven't been updating our blogs as often as we'd like. And when i looked back at my earlier posts, it only magnified his words as most of my posts are more like rants and complaints, which is the very reason why I decided to take everything off. Start over. Fresh.

Everyone have their bad times, and their good times. And it feels like when things are bad, the only way left is up. I really enjoyed myself since my return to Australia, the trip back home somewhat reinvigorates me, rejuvenates me.

Well also, been sending in tons of applications for jobs. It's a tough time, but I'll give my best, and I'll take what the world gives me. Till then, at least my blog isn't so empty anymore :O

2009

First post of 2009, been away from some time. Haven't been updating the blog because it wasn't necessary, I have nothing to rant about recently :)

I'm having a blog-freeze at the moment, can't think of anything to say or write. Maybe soon, hehe.