The Path of Time

Yesterday at the Jalan Duta squash courts was the semi-finals for the IAFG squash tournament. It was Ernst & Young going up against PWC. How did it go? It was a good challenge and we turned out to win the event. We won 4 to 1, losing one men's event to PWC but winning the rest. The atmosphere was really good with many of my workmates turning up to cheer us on. Not letting anything distract me, I walked into the court trying to calm myself down and just focus on the game. I shut out all sounds from the outside and only allowed myself to look at the ball, myself, my opponent and the referee. The sound of the squash ball bouncing off the front wall was the closest thing to heaven for me at that point in time. A more intense period came when our third player was up. The first set showed both players trying to get ahead of each other. When the pressure was starting to build up for both sides, unforced errors were starting to come around and it kept everyone on their toes. Eventually...

I caught my eye on Elucidate some time around last year during Voices of Trance guest DJs for DJ GT and Project C's anniversary in June. That's when I heard the mix of Elucidate, which I was immediately blown away! Listening to that mix told me two very important things - 1. intelligent track selections, 2. top notch mixing skills. I was so surprised because Elucidate up to that point as far as I know has hardly received any publicity unlike the likes of DJ Pi, DJ Doboy or DJ GT. From that day onwards, I knew I had to look him up. My search paid off easily with the help of Google. Elucidate can be visited @ http://elucidatemusic.com/intro.html Elucidate has been around since 1999 until today. His mixes are gaining quite a following and you can listen to his mixes being aired on Digitally Imported Radio and Last FM . I love his mixes and I have downloaded all of his mixes from his official website. Simply stunning!

Always into Japanese songs, I got the latest release of Mika Nakashima's LIFE single. Her songs have always been respectable in her own sense - very deep and emotionally driven. Having quit studies to pursue her passion for song writing and singing at a young age really isn't something easy to go through considering the music industry is an industry that is not easy to penetrate. What can I comment? This time, the song is unlike her usual jazzy and slow paced style, this one is more upbeat but more fusion. As for her voice, those accustom to her voice will definitely recognise the unique low and captivating voice the moment she starts to sing. The flow to this song makes it easy to grasp and to feel the emotion she has for the song. For me, although the song is quite upbeat, it still gives me a feel of somber to the song. After all, her songs have always sounded matured to me. Don't be fooled by her voice because she's only 24 years old. Not many can write and sing song...

Yesterday evening was the preliminary round for the squash event. Format is like this, 5 players each team comprising of four guys and one girl. Each player playing best of 5 sets. So out of the 5 players, each team has to accumulate at least 3 wins. First round, my team, EY was up against Delloitte. It was a pretty good game and I had some fun. There were some serious parts too but its all about the competition. We beat Delloitte 5-0 having all our players won their individual matches. It was a really good result for both me and the firm. After the matches, we adjourned for dinner and a post match briefing to talk about how we faired and how we could improve. Next up - EY vs. PWC this coming Wednesday 29th August 2007 @ Jalan Duta squash courts. We are coming for you Price! Better watch out! HAHAHAHAHA!

After all the trauma, waiting and suspense the wait was finally over. At about 4:45pm yesterday my email account finally received my results from ACCA. How did I feel when I saw the email? I was worried and I was actually shivering with part excitement and part fear. I didn't know what to expect. So I took a long and deep breath, and I clicked to access the email. Then I slowly scrolled down the email and slowly read the results. First subject - passed, second subject -passed, third subject - passed and the fourth subject - passed. Which means I CLEARED all the four exam papers I took during the June sitting! The magnificent satisfaction I felt within was simply wonderful, especially when I really didn't expect to pass all the papers I sat for. For this, I must first thank all the people that made this possible: 1. Alan, for the Law notes and Information Systems notes, and the prayers. 2. Sze Wei, my colleague, my 'tai lo' at work for the kind support and the notes for ...

One day till the release of my results for the four papers I took early June this year. Will I fail, will I pass? God only knows, God only knows. Am I worried? Can't say I am, since what is done is done and no point crying over spilled milk right? The consolation I get is that at least my career promotion does not get affected yet. So I still have some form of buffer time for me to clear the required papers to get into Senior Associate which is not until at least another year. For those who want to know, here is how the progression works from the position I am into a Senior Associate: Senior Associate 1 (1 year) . . . Senior Associate 2 (1 year) . . . Associate 1 (normally 1 year from Associate 2) . . . Associate 2 [my position now] For me to move up into Senior Associate 2, I will need to pass all Level 2 papers of ACCA, which I will find out tomorrow whether I do or not. But as I am supposed to move into Associate 1 this September, I still have 2 sittings to do it (although I re...

I have always been a fan of wallpapers. Wallpapers I am referring to are the background pictures we put on our computers. I surf around looking for different wallpapers to brighten up my Windows desktop. I look into anime wallpapers to abstract wallpapers, I do not in any way restrict my choices of wallpapers. One site in particular I really admire is called Art of Greg Martin . This site basically showcases the artist's portfolio. From the name of the website I am sure you would already know the artist's name - Greg Martin. Every month he will showcase a new wallpaper for downloads. Visit the website at http://gallery.artofgregmartin.com.com/ . All his arts are drawn, vectored and coloured digitally. All this is done from scratch, rock bottom. Really impressive is all I can say. He also does photography. So it is a really good mix. Happy viewing!

This morning I was posted into an engagement to scrutineer a listed company's extraordinary general meeting (EGM). Most of us would presumably think that shareholders would be attending the meeting with the intention to use their voting rights; since they are essentially the owners of the company. But..... apparently not. You see, I was in charged of the registration process whereby the shareholders or proxies elected would come present their identity card and I had to make sure that they are representing the correct shareholder with the correct amount of shareholding. Most of us would have thought shareholders are probably business people who want to enhance their wealth. Apparently not. This is what I observed: 1. They don't know the meaning of 'line-up'. 2. When asked to present their identity card, they toss it as if we like looking at their photos. 3. When asked to sign the attendance list, they don't have a pen (makes you wonder why bother turning for a meetin...

A few months ago, I managed to get my parents to buy this book from Australia, where it was released earlier than Malaysia. Being a Michael Crichton and a sci-fic fan I could not wait for it to be distributed in Malaysia to get it. Reading the reviews on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, it was difficult to gauge how good this book would be, because it somehow attracted a variety of opinions. Two things came to my mind - either this book was very confusing or it was a book that simply wasn't a cup of tea for the masses. However, before reading the book I had absolutely no idea what was waiting for me. I was in fact assuming it was a fiction novel, but it was actually part fiction and part non-fiction. This book talks about the modern world of gene therapy, and how some conglomerates abuse the patenting of genes. It also features experiments that led to certain impressive yet quite disturbing results - like transgenic parrot name Gerrard that qoutes movies and do math, a talking chimpa...

Every Fridays and Saturdays I attend classes. The classes are for a very important subject in the ACCA course, therefore many people attend the classes during those two days. So every time I attend the class I get a great deal of discomfort and I feel really irritated. Here's why - the class is always packed like a tin of sardines, and the air-con cannot really cool the place down thoroughly. By now, I am sure you can already imagine how the condition is like having a stuffy lecture hall packed with people that keep on yakking. The lecturer is there trying to convey her materials and the class is hardly ever focused on her. Yelling from the front so that the ones at the back can catch what she is saying is already a pain for her. Students then conveniently make matters worse by talking. Is there really so much to talk about? Time and again, the lecturer has expressed how much she detests students making so much noise and disrupting the class. She was very, very close from leaving...

Three days ago, I went for my first outstation job. Not overseas, but in a different state. Surprisingly I was sent to Ipoh - place of good food at reasonable prices and for a reasonably good quantity! Ipoh is also my parent's hometown, which I visit every now and then so I wasn't really in a foreign place altogether. The experience was interesting. For my case, I am going to consider myself really lucky because the client provided us with transportation and lodging. In a team of four, we set off for Ipoh with me on the wheel. Once again, luckily for us traffic was surprisingly clear on the way up and no speed traps. Despite not having speed traps I was disciplined and kept to the speed limit like chewing gum on a shoe. Compared to toll plazas in KL, tolls over at that region were considered a lot more quieter with less traffic. However to my surprise, controls and discipline in these small tolls were just as good as busy tolls. With luck on our side, the personnels in every to...

Psychology News Disclaimer: what I have written below is paraphrased from books, and not my direct findings. I am merely, conveying it through this blog because I think it is noteworthy. ___________________________________________________________ If you believe the adults around you are acting like children, you are probably right. In technical terms, it is called " psychological neoteny " - in which ever-more people retain for ever-longer the characteristic behaviours and attitudes of earlier developmental stages. In a psychological sense, some contemporary individuals never actually become adults. And it's on the rise. According to Dr. Bruce Charlton (Bruce G Charlton MD, Editor-in-Chief, Medical Hypotheses, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK. e-mail address: bruce.charlton@ncl.ac.uk .), evolutionary psychiatrist at Newcastle upon Tyne, human beings now take longer to reach mental maturity - and many never do so at all. Charlton believes this is an accide...

Recently being assigned to a new engagement, my eyes are definitely opened up a lot more now! Bet no one can guess what this new engagement is about. It is auditing toll plazas (yup, toll plazas as in tolls that collect money from you and I when we drive our cars on highways). It is tedious, very tedious for really busy tolls; especially the ones around Kuala Lumpur ! So, what do me and my team do? For starters, tolls deal with heaps of cash, and I mean HEAPS of CASH. So the company sets a range of procedures to ensure the safety and accuracy of the cash, and of course to maintain the smooth running for the toll plazas. Contrary to popular beliefs that toll plaza supervisors just sit in the air conditioned room and count cash, that is not the case at all. Their responsibility level is far higher than most supervisors in different industries. So what is my job? Me and my team observe their activities in a day to ensure those procedures are adhered to, and to make sure every single do...