Job Life:RSH here i come

Sir/Madam, do you need size S or M ? LOL! Ok that is not my future job!
 After more than 30 job application, 3 face-to-face interview, 1 rejected before even interviewed, 2 phone interview, I finally got a job after 3 months mencari merata tempat ke hulu ke hilir. Whereabouts? RSH in Bandar Sunway.

My working hours would be Monday to Thursday 8.30-6.30, Friday 8.30-5.30. So with these work hours, I hope to slot in some workout session. This time around, I am really committed to improve my body/weight through workout, after being motivated by so so many pictures in Facebook and Instagram. Even nowadays, I am doing some light workout everyday. Doing pull-ups using the staircase (say what yes, its not a proper pull-up though), some ab pillow exercise, etc. In addition to workout session, I also hope to get my driving license soon. There is no more room for further failure,its only creating more monetary pain as well as psychological pain! Last but not least, next year I hope to take my CPA.

Accounts Assistant, RSH is not my dream job, its a far cry from a job as EY Tax Associate. However, since I am a fresh grad, I should ''start low''. There is a quote by someone that said that:As a fresh grad, we are ''fresh meat'', if you get a high starting salary, it is an invesment made by the company,hoping that you would contribute more in the future. You only start ''earning'' your salary when you have some experience.

What would be future like? Moving from corporate to big4 after I have obtained by CPA in a few years time? Staying at RSH, and slowly climb up the ladder to the top? Staying at RSH temporarily maybe 1-2 year,then find a greener pasture in other company? However, it could also be other way around i.e. I am often being scolded for being ''slow'', thus cant even pass the probation period? All these scenarios are possible depending on the environment!

Doing things at the very last minute is very very bad. I need to find a place to stay in these couple of days, staying at a cheap hotel for extended period is not a recommended option, as its not cost-effective and maybe not comfortable!

Till the next posting, I hope I enjoy my whatever analysis and preparation of tax,vouchers,etc. Later days,see you later!

Students in Melbourne:How to save?

This is a long ''overdue'' posting, I apologise for my erratic, irregular blogging timing. As promised in my previous blogpost, I am going to share my ''love'' and ''craving'' for cards is not without a reason.Why on earth would I fatten my wallet and almost break it for no apparent reason? Read on to find out more.

As students, we have ''limited allowance'' (thank god I have side incomes, otherwise how on earth would I finance my impulse shopping as well as ''donating'' to Crown once in a blue moon!). Some people are so lucky that with their ''limited allowance'', they manage to eat out almost everyday, go clubbing every week, and enjoy Melbourne's breakie cafe culture again almost every week. On the other hand, some people are barely scraping through, surviving on Macca's loose change, cheap eat at you can chinese buffet, instant noodles like Indomie or Korean brand instant noodles (note:Maggie is not so popular in Aussie)

Living in Australia is indeed not cheap,nor its crazily expensive supposingly you know how, or in Australian terms learn how to Ozbargained! Today I am going to share with you a few tips/cards that would be helpful to help you save/some of it you might not know about it! Even though, there is a Study in Australia thread in lowyat forum, there is no mention about such discount cards. Oh BTW, my friend gave me an ''additional degree'', ''Bachelor of Discounts'', LOL!

1. Student Edge card go check their official website at Student Edge
You can get discount/freebies at many places including Dell,Macca,Hoyts.
I often flashed my card at Macca's when I purchase a minimum of $3 to get a free drink. Take note though,sometimes it might not work with Loose Change menu

2. Your Student ID
your student ID can be very useful,in some places they dont publicly advertise they have student discounts. Sometime it pays to ask if they do student discounts! For example, in Macca's Clayton, if you flash your Monash ID you get 10% off.20% if you are a MSA Card member but that card costs $20/yr,so you decide whether the benefits outweights the cost!

3. Unidays
Go google em out and get registered. You would get 10% off Asos, and many other brands.Sometimes there is a student promo for 20% off Asos.Its FREE to register

4.Loyalty cards/Membership cards/Clubs
Grocery: Coles is Flybuys, which you can earn points at lots of other places like kmart,target,
not much of discounts but with 2000 points, you can redeem $10 Flybuys $ which you can use to offset your spending at Coles,etc (easily achievable if you also do the monthly Coles survey at tellcoles.com.au, make sure keep at least 1 of your Coles receipt every month to do this)

Woolies is Everyday Rewards. The points system is bad,you can only earn points when you spend min $30. However, look out for the orange tags in Woolies, as those as EDR Special discounts for members. Personally, sometimes I go ''mad'' when I saw those orange tags and bought more than I can stomach! However, sometimes even with these EDR specials/weekly specials, pricing in Woolies for some items seems to be higher than Coles!

Love IKEA meatballs? then you must have the IKEA Family card, which the most important benefit is free hot drink (think its maximum of 2 per card) Monday to Friday.In addition,sometimes there are member special for the restaurant section $4.99 instead of $7.99 for a main course. And of course IKE Family prices on selected items in IKEA store. Your birthday? IKEA gives you a free slice of cake!

Its your birthday? Happy birthday,here is a free this and that for you,assuming you take the time to register for this and that,LOL! Register for Subway Eat Fresh Club, and get a free Sub+ coke on your birthday. Not enough? As a member of Crown Signature Club, get 500 points/$5 + if you celebrate your birthday at Crown, you would get a free cake. Need a bubble tea? With Chatime card, you get a free bubble tea on your birthday! Love Esprit? As your birthday gift, they would give you an extra 100 e-points with any purchase within 4 weeks of your birthday! Would not be complete without a dessert, so register for Club31 Baskin Robbins and get a free ice-cream! Birthday is more rewarding nowadays

I know there is too many cafes around in Melbourne, with most of them having excellente coffee. However, if you need a chain store coffee, join VIP club card of Coffee club and get b1f1 deal on your drinks!

Last but not least, Melbourne is a fashion mecca so if Myer is your store?join the MYERone and shop,collect points and redeem. Err,Myer too expensive? Prefer to buy online from Asos,The Iconic or Macy's? Well introducing cashback websites cashrewards.com.au, starthere.com.au and also ebates.com
Just need to make an additional click, to get the cashback! Isnt it fun someone paying you to shop!

For more updated discounts/offers,refer to Ozbargain website

On that note, hope that bit of tips can help you to enjoy your undergraduate life in Melbourne to the fullest, and be a ''smart shopper/consumer''. Those little bits of hardwork could save you lots in the future,you never know! See you later (as aussie's like to say), any questions about these tips you can buzz me on my twitter @mingteo91!

CN Blue Blue Moon World Tour Melbourne 2013

Clap clap, love love love! ok wait this posting is way overdue but anyways I will just tell my experience of attending my 1st ever Kpop concert!
For pictures you can refer to my facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ryan24591/media_set?set=a.10201492248935127.1073741826.1443312389&type=3

On a Friday 1st June 2013, I set off from my place of residence in Clayton for a rocking nite as one of the many 'BOICE', or CN Blue fans as we are known as who attended the concert at Festival Hall.

I got lost finding my way there from Southern Cross station but eventually made it there.I reach there around 4pm and some BOICE were already waiting. There is also a counter which sells the official merchandise of Tshirt at around AUD30+. As time passes, the queue and more BOICE appears. The Aussieboice also distributed a blue banner which the boys of CNblue also got it & took a picture with it and posted on their official social media channels.

The gate was open at around 6pm, but the concert did not start until about 7.30pm.A very interesting starting montage was played as the concert started, with the theme of blue moon. The concert hall was packed to the max and I was pleasantly surprised how near I am to the stage. JK Entertainment, as the organiser made good their promise of 'an  intimate concert' that brings us closer to CNBlue even though its the cheapest ticket AUD99. Kudos to them

Initially, the security was open to lettting us take as many pictures n videos as possible but after a few songs,the guards started to show signal of no video/no photos. However, as seen from Facebook posting many especially those who were in front or away from the guaRDs eagled eyes managed to snap snap snAP!

The song setlist was the same as other Blue Moon concert. According to some reports, CNBlue were surprised at how well we managed to singalong to ''CNBlue hit song of 2013'', Im Sorry. Oh oh back to me im sorry now, ok back to posting!

CnBlue talked a bit during the concert.Self intro,what they like about Melbourne:STEAK! At the end of the concert, they did a thank you bow and it was a picture perfect opportunity to snap snap some picts! And chief entertainer, Yong Hwa did some dance move even though CNBlue is no ''dance'' group.

In my opinion, its was a 2h+ concert that really rocked the nite,and I really enjoyed myself.The fun was spoiled by the very heavy rain,and very paboya(stupid/idiot) me forget to bring the umbrella and had to run & get soaked in the rain until I reach Coles to get an umbrella! Some lucky fans who waited & braved the rain,got quite ''exclusive'' pictures of CNlbue as they were leaving from the venue at the back of the hall. They waved to the fans who were waiting in the rain!

I am proud to be a BOICE.I am a BOICE since their 1st Korean song debut,Love and will be hopefully for many more years to come.

Till the next posting, which would delve on why on earth I have so many discount cards even in Australia.Its quite helpful to Malaysian/other country students who are studying in Melbourne & wants to save a bit of $$$$

Go and listen to some Cnblue Im sure some of you will be converted into a BOICE haha Bye

7 months

Hello everyone, its hard for me to start writing/typing again after neglecting this blog for almost 7 months.However, as hard as it seems here I am to bore you with my point of view on events as well as a quick recap on my life past 7 months!

To sum up my life the past 7 months, I can described as 'in a despair,frustration,and very sien(bored)'.Everything that happens started from a chain of events. I started the last sem of my university life with a very respectable WAM of 74.25 and GPA of 3.25. Somehow, getting too much pre-occupied with online surveys had taken its toll it seems,as seen from my results. Short-term gain has become long term pains, as my WAM dropped to 68.667 with a very bad GPA of 2.625. With such a drastic drop, I have only received a few job interview with 1 screwed it up(KPMG Singapore),2 still pending (EY KL,KK). I have no idea what the future looks like for me. I am cautiously optimistic that something will be 'knocking at my door if I am patient'. From investment point of view,it seems that my ROI is very very LOW!

Changing the subject to something on a lighter note, this is the 2nd time that I have stepped my foot into Istana Nurul Iman for HM Sultan of Brunei Hari Raya open house. I am impressed with the changes for the better in the dining areas(food & drink included), and now there is even free wifi by DST (which I think is the fastest wifi in Brunei at 10mbps)!. Feel honoured able to get so close and shake hands with the members of Brunei Royal family. I do not see anything like this outside Brunei,so I hope that the future Brunei royalty will continue this unique tradition.

Moving on to the next thing, the PRU13 sees less than half of Malaysians saying 'Lain kalilah',while a little more than half said 'UBAH'. The BN is back in power with its worst showing ever, and started its another term as Malaysia govt with this:Apa lagi Cina mahu? This is what I think, election is over. With the current economic & global situation, there is a need to stop all these very insulting and not very helpful in nation-building statement, focus on the main issue of high cost of living,high national debt,corruption.Instead of harping on this/that politician wrong-doing. The media need to understand this as well,stop giving coverage/so much airtime for political matters.Give more airtime/coverage on corruption,high national debt,high crime,high cost of living. Constructive criticism is ok,but personal attack/hitting under the belt will backfire. Its time everyone in the country,play our part in strengthening our nation economically & socially.

Last but not least,since we are in the Merdeka mood, a bit POV on it. The Minister in charge noted that merdeka spirit is low, and thus proposes a Negaraku singing in cinema. Yes, I know that Thailand do that. This would not instill nationalism & patriotism if the people have too many doubts about the country. Malaysia might be far far away from being a perfect nation, however this is our country. Its our task as Malaysian to work together hand-in-hand with the government as well as the opposition, to make Malaysia a better place to live,as well as a better future for our next generation. Merdeka! 50 tahun Jubli Emas penubuhan Malaysia

This blogger thinks that 20 sen increase in petrol, make no sense to increase price of mee goreng or mee sup or teh tarik by 20-50sen.10sen is more than sufficient.How many litres of petrol do you use in teh tarik,mee sup,mee goreng I wonder?

Selamat Hari Kebangsaan Brunei

1 hari lagi kita akan menyambut Hari Kebangsaan Brunei ke 29, dengan tema sambutan Negaraku Brunei Darussalam. Sempena hari yang penting ini, saya ingin berkongsi pendapat mengenai Brunei.

Seiring dengan status Brunei sebagai negara Melayu Islam Beraja, pada tahun 2012, beberapa inisiatif telah diperkenalkan. Yang paling diperkatakan oleh orang ramai ialah penutupan sementara premis-premis perniagaan sewaktu sembahyang Jumaat. Pelbagai pendapat telah diutarakan oleh orang ramai, namun perkara ini jangan dianggap sebagai 'menyusahkan'. Jika pandai mengatur, perkara ini tidak akan memberi implikasi apa-apa sekali pun

Beberapa bulan ini,saya telah membaca pelbagai pendapat yang disiarkan dalam akhbar harian tempatan, Brunei Times & Borneo Bulletin. Ada yang mempersoalkan mengapa BSP tidak menyumbang banyak kepada Brunei, seperti Petronas kepada Malaysia. Ada pula yang mempertahankan BSP,bahawa mereka telah menyumbang banyak kepada negara. Pada pendapat saya, adakah perlu bangunan ikonik seperti Menara Berkembar Petronas di bumi Brunei? Rasanya tidak ada keperluan tersebut. Pada pemerhatian saya sejak menetap di Seria semenjak 1997,banyak perubahan yang telah berlaku di Seria hasil sumbangan BSP. Mengambil contoh OGDC,Pusat Insani,pusat bowling dan pawagam 3D.

Kerajan KDYMM telah memperuntukkan sejumlah wang untuk projek FTTH. Baru-baru ini Telbru telah melancarkan FTTH. Diharap dengan pengenalan FTTH di Brunei, tiada lagi masalah seperti 'internet lag' akan kedengaran lagi. Tambahan pula, pihak DST dijangka akan melancarkan 4g LTE bagi mengatasi masalah capaian internet mudah alih dan menawarkan kelajuan internet yang lebih tinggi kepada pengguna telefon mudah alih terutamanya telefon pintar. Walaupun kemajuan teknologi di Brunei agak perlahan berbanding negara jiran, ia tetap dialu-alukan!

Akhir kata, saya bangga menjadi salah seorang dari penduduk di bumi bertuah Brunei ini! Walaupun saya bukan rakyat Brunei, saya dididik mengikut acuan negara ini. Brunei akan mendapat tempat di hati saya, jika boleh saya ingin berkerjaya di negara ini, tetapi apa kan daya saya bukan orang Brunei dan bidang pekerjaan yang saya ingin ceburi menurut undang-undang yang saya ketahui orang Brunei sahaja yang boleh diambil bekerja/keutamaan diberikan

SELAMAT HARI KEBANGSAAN KE 29 BRUNEI

10day CNY holiday

Its 12day into the Lunar new year of water snake,another 3 more day and it will be Chap Goh Mei. My zodiac prediction for this 'Water Snake' year is not very good. Master So,a famous HK fengshui master describe it as 'Yat Lap Kat Sing Dou Mou' (1 lucky star also dont have). Some other predictions says that I should not try to get/expect 'quick gains' from gambling or investment (I am assuming CFD those kind of investment). I am also prone to easily 'fire up', so I must control my anger! This year not much luck for me,only hard work will do! Jiayou Fighting!

Let me just quickly sum up my 10day holiday
7 Feb-depart Brunei to Singapore on a RB 9.15am flight.arrived at efficient Changi Airport,only to be greeted by traffic jam on PIE/CTE otw to Holiday Inn Orchard City Centre.Had lunch at The Basement by Kopitiam,in Centrepoint. Went to the 'usual place' Ngee Ann, OG, Robinson's,Paragon. I went to branded boutiques AX,CK Jeans,GUESS but the prices were .... (I guess I should stick to buying these in Australia during Chadstone sale).Anyway managed to buy 1 T-shirt & shorts from GAP,not exactly cheap but since its 'sponsored by parents' who cares LOL! Evening went to Chinatown. After Chinatown, went to Singapore Flyer. Wow, what an experience!

8 Feb-as usual every morning I went for my Orchard Road morning walk to buy newspaper & get free newspaper. And this time, I stopped by any free wifi hotspots to check on the latest update on the housing issue (glad to note its settled). After breakfast & a quick shop at 313@Somerset,depart to JB. Similar like last year, it rained heavily! Halfway to my 'kampung' in Batu Pahat, dad asked if I wanted to go JPO. I rejected it,thinking that I would be brought there few days later but apparently I was WRONG!

9 Feb-CNY eve,nothing much to say. In the afternoon, meetup with one of my friends from Monash Sunway, Tommy. Nice to catchup with what they are doing

10 Feb-Happy CNY,nothing much to talk about just temple visiting for 'pai pai'. At night, had a CNY feast in Restoran SY

11 Feb-Went for kirin fish touching.As usual didnt manage to touch the fish

12 Feb-This is going to be the longest journey in this trip,err more than 12 hours no thanks to traffic jams! After breakfast,went to Kluang to pickup my cousin,Peter who will join us to Penang. The jam at PLUS highway was terrible, luckily we manage to shave off some jam time by detouring to GCE somewhere in Selangor. But still, we reached our hotel,Holiday Inn Resort Penang in Batu Ferringhi at 12am

13 Feb-After breakfast, went to Fort Cornwallis. Next up,Penang Hill train/tram ride up Bukit Bendera. Had lunch up there,char kway teow! After the hill,went back to rest,but me and my cousin decide to walk around Batu Ferringhi up til Hard Rock hotel.Dinner was at Guan Guan Cafe, an eatery which obtain '4 star+' trip advisor rating.

14 Feb-Breakfast at New World Park. After breakfast, went to the Wat in Lorong Burma. Got a 'chiam' from there,not  very good one. Next up, Queensbay Mall. Had lunch at Kim Gary, looked around at branded boutiques like FCUK,but the price ...... (I should stick to Chadstone sale). Instead went inside AEON to renew my AEON card and buy Renoma underwear(which might be a wrong decision,as when I return to Singapore learnt that BHG sells the more upmarket 2xist 2 for $35). When we are about to leave,it rained heavily so end up having a drink in Starbucks and luckily Starbucks had a buy 1 free 1 promo for Hojicha latte. At night went to nearby Tesco Seri Tanjung Pinang for dinner n some shopping in Tesco

15feb-Depart from Penang after breakfast in Mcd, send my cousin back to Kampar. Arrived in Subang Jaya/Sunway, went to Monash to buy my textbooks. After that, had some cendol at the famous cendol rojak stall. Stayed at Empire Hotel Subang. There, I manage to have a look at Superdry prices in Tangs. Turns out its about the same,if there is no discount,but if there is either Malaysia or Australia is cheaper. Pretty huge collection also! Dinner at Din Tai Fung, which is famous for its xiao long bao. After dinner, went to Thean hou temple

16 feb-Depart for JB after breakfast in Asia Cafe.Stayed in Inter Continental singapore in Singapore. I must say its a very good value for the price that my dad pays,with free internet n nice room! went to marina bay sands after lunch at food junction.no luck at all,but manage to walk around the shoppes at MBS. After that, went to Chinatown to buy the 'famous' Lim Chee Guan bak kwa. At night, I went for last minute shopping at EDC Bugis

17 feb-Back to Brunei,weather was not very good.The flight was bumpy almost all of the times! BTW, a friendly info:If you spend $100 in a store in Singapore,dont forget to ask for GST refund form. Now the process is simplified by using eTRS kiosk. Previously I often get scolded by Custom officers for what reason that I dont know,now no more scolding,easier GST refunding!

I guess that's about it for now.Next up my National Day posting

Pre CNy posting

Before CNY

                It’s been almost a month since I last blogged. I still can’t contemplate to have regular blog timing, and is amazed how some people can blog daily.

                The Lunar New Year of ‘Water Snake’ approach and the Year of Dragon comes to a fiery end on Saturday nite/Sunday. Let’s wish everyone celebrating Chinese New Year and people I know, Gong Xi FaCai Xing NienKuai Le. May The Year of The Snake Brings Everyone Good Health,Good Life and Prosperity.

                Speaking about CNY, this year marks the breaking of the CNY tradition that I called ‘1 Sabah,1 Johor’ (no I am not pledging allegiance to a certain political party) as in 1 year, our family will go back Sabah and another year Johor for CNY. No, we are not going for a CNY holiday, as its too costly and certainly not in our current financial situation. For the record, we went back to Johor for CNY last year, and surprisingly or not, we are going back to Johor again, due to ‘certain pressures’!

                The good news is I get to go to Singapore for some ‘Orchard Road shopping’ and maybe try my luck in MBS. In Johor, we might visit Johor Premium Outlet or the much talked about, Legoland. For our ‘Cuti-cuti 1Malaysia’, we would be going to Penang. Before going back to Singapore, we would spend a nite in Subang Jaya. I hope that some of my friends are already back from their CNY break in their hometown, so we could meet up. More on my CNY holiday after I return from my trip. Lets get to a few things that I would like to blog!

Crazy CFD Losses:Pause & Reflect

                If you remembered I have blogged about the huge losses that I suffered from CFD! Unfortunately, the $150 has also turned into ashes, pushing me further into red. Currently, I am taking a break from this ‘risky game’ to recoup some of my losses through survey work. At the same time,before I get back into the ‘game’ again, I have to reflect on my decisions carefully,so that I am not pushed further into losses! Again, I shall advice newbies, don’t dabble in these kind of things unless you are sure and not powered by greed!

Move House: Another Long Story

                Things are not looking any better since I first blogged about the ‘lease problem’, as of now there are still NO confirmation on where I will be staying the next sem. Hopefully, over this week and next week, they would have settled it,and provide some certainty. Otherwise, I am left on a ‘cliffhanger’.

                Seria has been my ‘home’ since 1997, Labuan which is my real hometown seems ‘foreign’. The prospect of moving out of Seria, saddens me. However, as this is not my decision as its related to where my dad will work in the near future,amid the end of a huge contract. This might be a logistical nightmare, as I would have to update my Bursa’s correspondence address as well as moving stuffs!

Fruits of Previous Investment

                Its been a while, since I last blogged about my share portfolio. My share portfolio value is facing a ‘roller-coaster’ ride, as the Malaysian market faces uncertainty over the upcoming PRU13. Let me share with you, some of the current quarter’s dividend distribution  and updates of my portfolio!

My Australian portfolio:CFX is expected to announce its distribution on 21 Feb, however based on previous release to ASX, they are estimating 6.8cents/share

From YTlGroup:I have just received 1sen/share from YTL.Starhill REIT has declared 3.58sen/share. Starhill Global REIT declares 1.13cents, however due to broker admin charges, I am not going to get the full amount

Interestingly, Sunway REIT which declares more than 3 sen (including advance distribution), is asking for a trading halt pending an announcement. Let’s see whether its good or bad!

Pavilion REIT declares 3.51sen

KrisAssets which would be delisted, upon the completion of all the corporate exercise, has provided me quite a windfall of $2.60 cash distribution. Its offspring, IGB REIT has also declared 1.83sen

CMMT declares 4.24sen

Last but not least, I have added KLCCP to my portfolio and I am wondering if it’s a correcr decision. In addition, DiGi will declare its result on Wednesday, I am anticipating 4-7 sen dividend

                Okey dokey, I shall blog again about my CNY in the near future.Once again Gong Xi FaCai and see you soon! Cheer!