Next time I'm stressed...

...I have my stress balls to 'destress' myself. Hahaha...presenting my 2006 collection from O-week and the careers expo -


From l to r: Commonwealth Bank, Revs, Optus, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, Hydro Tasmania and IMC Pacific.

Funnily enough the past few days I have been exposed to stuff relating to careers, employment etc but from two different perspectives. I guess after nearly 20 years of schooling, it's time to acknowledge there'll be no more 'school' next year unless I fail which hopefully won't be the case.

Last Thursday was the UNSW careers expo and whilst the goal was to score as much free stuff as possible (and I did), I actually made some sort of an effort talking to employers about getting a job next year. Some were very thorough in their role descriptions, telling me the potential career path that I could be heading and of course the $$$$. Others were more: "Here's a brochure, go read it" or "Here's the website, click under so and so link...". Hmmm, very helpful! There were a couple of hydro companies where relocation will be required (one to Snowy mountains and another to Tasmania) and they look VERY appealing since I have been to neither of those places before and they are looking for Telecommunication grad students.

Yesterday the men and women fellowship group from our church ran a combined event on...Challenge in the workplace. Karen Gettens from Ecom spoke on the challenges of being a Christian in the workplace including time, money, priorities and career advancement. She drew examples of her experience as a Christian working for one the big(ger) law firms in Sydney and it was very encouraging to hear how we should have some sort of balance between our work life and spend time with our family and serving God. She says it's especially easy for fresh grads who just can't say 'no' when asked to hang around and do some extra work by their boss. She gave an example once where she was asked to stay back even though she had to go to bible study and her boss asked: "So is God more important than me?"

From Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 we should be thankful that God has given us work for it is a gift from Him and we should also work hard in what we do. However if we work in order to find meaning and purpose in life then that's not so good and we would be disappointed (Ecclestiates 2:10-11). A difference in work and pursuit of work. Definitely something for me to think about over the coming year as I start submitting applications for graduate positions.

How to lose $20,000 in 3 hours

1. Watch Australia post 4/434 against South Africa batting first in a one-dayer
2. During the innings change, place $20,000 for an Aussie victory at odds of $1.01 with Centrebet (so looking to win $200)
3. Watch in horror as South Africa's Mark Boucher hit the winning runs in the final over and with it, your money

A summary of this article.

Ouch.

Random tidbits from the past few days

Mu is a free online fantasy RPG game somewhat similar to WoW or Ragnarok. Downloaded the client on Saturday night, played a few hours of it and I have to say it's not too bad. Of course this means I might get addicted to it. Luckily it's on my laptop because my desktop computer can't handle the graphics and since I don't use my laptop that often, it might be ok. Might.
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Pokies are evil. I played it at Star City for the first time in my life on Monday and although I won $40 on '5 dragons', I still cannot see the fun in pressing a button and watch random pictures flash up on the screen. So stupid. Btw, I was at the casino because my cousin from HK is here for a week and we went to Garden Buffet for dinner. For $30 it's definitely worth it. Here's a snippet from the website: "Garden Buffet. Popularly known as the 'prawn buffet', offering unlimited prawns and now including unlimited tea, coffee and soft drinks..." Yum! :P
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Driving range is mad. I've always dismissed golf as a boring sport but after going to the Homebush Bay driving range with my cousin last night I think I might give the game a go. Besides, My dad has two sets of clubs (dunno why)
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Faculty Bible study started again today and this session Han, Mick and Vincy will lead my group. Today we had five 1st years and I was the only 4th year+ person in the group. I feel so old!! But it's cool to be studying God's Word on campus again and hopefully it'll be fun, challenging and fruitful for our spiritual growth.
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The sick bug is back! I caught it last week and a few people I know are sick this week. Hope y'all get better soon!

Never trust a lady handing out free Boost bars...

Darn it, 1st week back to uni and I'm sick. I blame the amount of Cadbury Boost bars I ate during O-week. Wayyy too many. Chuck in the sometimes-cool-sometimes-warm weather this past week and I now have a sore throat, runny nose and not feel like doing anything but sleep.

Uni has been quiet so far as one would expect in week 1. The only real activity is on the walkway with the diary/student card collection and the clubs/society stalls. Had 3 lectures so far and none of them lasted the full 60/120 mins. Monday in Network Management (9-11) we got kicked out of Keith Burrows at 10 because of a lecture theatre clash with another course and instead of turning away a class of 200 they kicked us (class size about 60) out. Add to that I got to uni at 9:30 after yet another peak hour traffic nightmare on Victoria Rd, I should of stayed at home. Had Maccas breakfast with Lui and then went home, skipped lunch and slept. Throat starting to feel itchy.

Yesterday was Telco systems 2 with Tim Moors. I had this guy from Data Networks 1. He once kicked Mitchell and Gan out of class for talking and Gan actually had a bleeding nose as he was walking out. Funny moment. Anyway, yesterday's lecture lasted 30mins and it was just admin stuff. Boring.

CBS resumed again and it was good to see many 1st years (as well as others) I met during O-week rocking up. Grimmo spoke on Matthew 8:1-17 and in fact this session we'll be studying Matthew 8-13. Hopefully I can be more attentive than S2 last year when I found myself 'zoning out' on a regular basis. It's something I think I struggle with. Arrggh.

Today was Telco systems 2 again and I was actually on time for the 9am lecture cos I caught a train. Wow, trains running on time? You bet. But before I heap too much praise, let see whether this can last the session. Tim lectured on connectivity for half an hour before asking whether we want to continue on Friday. Everyone said yes. Went home, skipped lunch and slept. Itchy throat, runny nose, chesty cough - the whole lot.