The Running Man

My 'new' camera

My birthday present from Serene

Today, I went to collect my digital camera from the repairer. Now to recap on what has happened so far on it (from my previous posts)..this was the camera that was given to me for my birthday and it was spoilt a couple of days later...sand got into the zoom mechanism according to the repairer. Due to the sand damage, it's not covered by the warranty as its classed as 'environmental damage' (akin to it being struck by lightning). Panasonic Australia told me this when I found out I was going to be charged $176 for the repairs (ridiculous!). So after I called up Pana Aust, and was told it wasn't covered by warranty...I went to the Pana website to lodge a complaint (I think I was just pissed at that point in time...and if I could call up Japan..I think I would have if I had the number :P). So after lodging the complaint and also calling up Ser to complain about it...we decided that I should just take back the camera and bring it back to Singapore. I called up the repairer, and to my surprise I was told that it had already been fixed "under warranty" (ie. don't need to pay) however I'd been warned by the repairer that if I got sand again (like I purposely put my new cameras in sand) I would be charged for it...needless to say I was pleasantly surprised and happy..felt the day was looking better. So today I went with Thor Liewwwwy (pictured above) to collect, I don't have a car here in Sydney and Thor was nice enough to help out (great guy and nice friend...he is well liked).
After picking up the camera, we went to Newtown (pictured) for lunch. If you ever don't know what to eat while in Sydney (and have a car)...don't go to Newtown! because it will only confuse you more..haha. Seriously, there is so many different foods (Viet, Thai, Chinese, Aussie, Italian, etc) there and they all are reasonably (for Sydney standards) priced and looks quite good. Thor and me ate at this Thai place...$6 per meal..I had Phad Thai..quite nice.


After lunch, we walked around Newtown and had ice-cream at this Italian shop. So many different flavours...I tried the sour cherry (nice). Walking with our ice-creams we walked around a little more than we headed home. Thor wanted to catch up on more "much-needed" sleep (one of his favourite activities is sleeping...and its like 1pm in the afternoon, on a beautiful blue sunny Sydney day..what a waste).

Here is a picture of Darling Harbour (see the blue sky!!!) taken with my camera, at last. Beautiful tranquil sight isn't it...no scene like this in Singapore I am sad to say. Also called Serene, but she was in the shop working...just so enjoy hearing her voice and having a short conversation with her (abt an hr)...miss her lots. Looking forward to talking to her again soon :)

posted by Darren at 10:36 AM | 0 comment(s)

Working @ Westpac

The view from the 23rd floor cafe (we have 3 cafes located on the 7th, 15th and 23rd Flr) looking at Darling Harbour.

Here are some more of the same pictures taken from the 23rd floor.

Overall, its been nice working here (in a new office in Sydney CBD), and I have no complaints about the people or the bank, but I cannot help but terribly miss Serene and feel very lonely without her with me. Sigh...difficult decisions have to be made.

posted by Darren at 4:55 PM | 0 comment(s)

Recap of PwC Singapore

This may be important to some readers (haha..) but here is a recap of what has happened so far...
Previously from Sept 2005 to April 2006 I was working in PricewaterhouseCoopers (Singapore) with a great bunch of people doing Assurance (Audit). I didn't enjoy what I was doing and really couldn't see myself doing it for long, so I moved to Sydney to try afresh (more on that later). There were somethings which I like (and now miss) about audit:

1. Working in various teams on various engagements/clients (variety of surroundings and people);
2. A great run (something like a training cohort of new auditors who are the same level as you and go through all the training with you..something like a 'club'?);
3. Ability to take absurdly long holidays due to the amount of OT that we can charge..this is very subjective and depends a lot on other factors like manager, job budget, TIC, etc;
4. Off-peak season (April-Sept) when I can go and play various sports (volleyball, basketball, badminton, etc) representing PwC (at their cost)...although this aspect is also very subjective as your job may not enable you to play at that particular time and some people (especially the more senior you become) may not even have an "off-peak". This is probably only applicable for the first 2 yrs of your audit career; and
5. The annual Dinner and Dance, Post and Pre-peak bashes - all involving free alcohol, lots of girls and food (now that is a triple delight..haha).

Now in a nutshell, this is what I didn't like about audit:

1. Long hours - now I have previously said that you could claim OT back, but its almost never 1 for 1 so for eg. you could be working like 10 hours extra, yet only claim maybe 2-3 hrs (even less) again this is subject to your current job and manager;
2. Unreasonable managers (if you are unlucky) - these are the people in audit who pretty much control the quality of life in audit via OT and expense claims, setting of deadlines and expectations, their own competences and knowledge, their level of comfort of risk adversity (very random);
3. Pay does not match the amount of work put in - now don't get me wrong..and say that I am lazy and a slacker, all I am implying is that if you paid me decently then I will work through the night for you;
4. Inability to use take your absurdly long holidays (which were hard earned thru many more hours of OT work) as and when you wish. This is because it is subject to the amount of jobs you may have and the 'free' spaces available on your schedule (retain). This sucks.; and
5. Dynamic FRS, IFRS and other accounting laws and regulations.

Now before I bore you with any more of my ramblings and/or complaints, here are some pictures of the fun times I had while in audit with my run (mostly outside of work):

My PGL (something like a mini team within a run)...at this point in time, 5 (including myself) of the above people shown in the picture above are no longer in audit (that is how fast the turnover is in audit). Still I am pretty close to them all. btw we were called "the Optimists" (haha..it was something that we had to come up with).

This was taken @ Alley Bar after we completed our 'gruelling' 2 week audit training session ("Go Audit")...this is only part of the run.

Our PGL leader (Yeong Kheng) with Mandy and Angela (two of the pretty gals in my PGL)

As you can see we all like a drink (oh yeah did I also mention that most of our firmwide activities eg. Dinner & Dance, Post/Pre peak bashes..all involve lots of alcohol? somthing about auditors and alcohol always mix)

More alcohol and run people

Another 5 of the prettiest gals in my run.

Yes all those images you see above were the "happy times" (right after our first training session as auditors) and we were still young and innocent (naive?) about the nature of audit. Next we (or some of us) went to Sentosa beach for a picnic.

I am surrounded by beauties (lucky guy eh). At that point I was the only guy around.

Pretty, Cute, Gorgeous, and Beautiful (in no particular order).

Group photo of all the PwC attendees for the picnic (pretty exclusive group of people).

A beautiful gal (love those dimples)..too bad I ruined the picture :P

I think that we also had a BBQ at one of our run's condo (Shuxian). Quite a big turnout and also celebrated a couple of birthdays too.

This was quite a big turnout for a group outing (maybe we set some kind of PwC record?). It was fantastic of Shuxian to let us use her aunt's condo.

My PGL all present and accounted for...

Just some of the girls at the BBQ

One of the birthday boys (Jason) being 'helped' into the pool by another bithday boy (Mark)

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After...

Some more beauties from the BBQ

We also had a PGL Chinese New Year party @ Shuxian's place...lots of fun and again lots of food (too much). I brought sushi while I can remember Eugene bringing a Hagan Dasz ice-cream cake (delicious), and of course Mahjong!

Here are some of the people who came for the CNY lunch

Mahjong time!

Look at the massive amount of food that we brought (can you see the ice-cream cake in the background?). It was all delicious!!!

Now I have previously mentioned that we had lots of bashes and parties, here are a few pictures from them (not as many because I am the one who usually gets the pictures from others) - I think this was the Post Peak bash @ Dbl O in Apr 06.

Me and some of my run people having another drink (or was it my second, third one?)

PwC people in a group photo @ Double O for the Post-peak bash (April 2006)

Lin Ting and me (before the start of the bash and the drinking...see I am not yet red)

We also had a small BBQ at Eugene's condo (not as big as the first 1). Only invited PGL and 'honourary' PGL members...

The attendees...

The guys...

Meant to be just the girls..but somehow Eugene snuck into the picture.

There were a few more outings (on a smaller scale) that we all took part in, the above pictures just show a sampling of some of them. We even managed to celebrate our 1st aniversary @ East Coast Park Chalets with a massive BBQ, quite a good turnout. Played drinking games and had tons to eat and drink...that was 1 of the fun times of audit.

They were my most fun times I had while in audit, and now that I am in Sydney, I miss them all. Well life goes on...

posted by Darren at 11:57 AM | 0 comment(s)

Hardkor3 weekend

Just came back from the much anticipated 'Hardkor3 weekend' trip up at Thredbo. In a nutshell...there was not enough snow (and we were meant to be in the middle of snow season...disappointing). Andrew and Pras both came up from Perth specifically for this weekend, as both of them haven't seen the snow before so it was an experience for them. I wanted to learn how to properly carve up the snow with my snowboard (ie. doing a nice 'S')..that was my objective for the weekend. For Anthony it was a 'warm-up' to his really hardcore NZ ski trip coming up in August. The picture on the right is us at about 2am on Sat morning about to leave, see we are all decked out in our snowboarding gear. Briefly the itinery was that we leave Pyrmont at 3am, drive down to Thredbo when the lifts open, snowboard until dark then do the same the next day and leave by 4.30pm (last lifts) to head back to Sydney. No time for comfortable hotels, meals, sighseeing, etc...this was going to be Hardcore stuff.

After driving for sometime, it got really foggy from someplace just after Canberra. Vis was probably only about less than a couple of meters in front of the car. We stopped at this petrol station for a break and look what we discovered...a haunted motel! Ok so maybe I am exaggerating and its probably a very nice motel (in the middle of nowhere)..but it was probably the fog and the environment that makes it look spooky..luckily we are not staying there that night (if it is even open). The picture below shows it more clearly... (look at that dirt track! it all adds to the effect).

After hours of driving with a couple more stop-overs to pick up our gear and check into our accomodation, we finally arrived at Thredbo..to be greeted by the bright and warm sunshine (for those non-snowboarders..this is never a good sign). Here is the four of us all decked out in our gear with our boards doing the traditional 'pose with the boards' picture. Got pretty good stuff too...Burton boards and boots.
As it is both Pras and Wongerss' first time snowboarding, Ant volunteered us to be their instructor, dissuading them from taking the beginner classes (provided by boarders who could board so much better than us). So after a little intro on the technique (I was quite new myself and by no means an 'intermediate') on Friday Flats (all man-made stuff), we went up the Gunbarrel Express chairlift to go to 'Walkabout' (where there is some decent snow.
Now, let me tell you teaching beginners is tough (especially since you are pretty much a beginner yourself)...got some fond memories of that. The morning was slow (because of the 'lessons') but after lunch Ant and me went off on our own to work on our technique and try out other slopes on Thredbo. The sun was still shining bright and the slopes were all ice, except for the top part.

This is us going up the Gunbarrel Express...all looking very cool. Taken by Ant with great skill (giving credit). I am wearing my new Dragon DX goggles...just simply love them. Was so useful throughout the trip (prevents the wind/snow from getting into your eyes so you can see properly). Also it is part of any essential snowboarding gear..


Wongerssss and me at the top of the (or near the top) of the mountain...'Walkabout' is my favourite slope..nice and simple for me to practice carving. 'Squatters Run' was icy and'Ballroom' isn't too bad. As you can see there is real snow up here too.





Me again, just sitting on the snow, waiting for Pras to get his bindings on (wasting valuable boarding time..haha)

Now this is one of the more interesting and unusual characters you might meet on the snowfields. This dude is getting married (A 'stag') and so I think as part of some Australian/Western tradition he is being made by his friends (who were accompanying him) to wear that outfit. Needless to say, it drew lots of attention and laughs. His name is Jason by the way (it was written on his shirt). Congratulations Jason!

There is something about snowboarding (and scuba diving) that makes you so ravenously hungry at lunchtime. It may be the huge amount of energy (maybe this is applicable only to beginners) you expand to snowboard and only when you sit down you feel like you could eat a cow! Eating on the snowfields is very expensive, but when you are tired and hungry the last thing on your mind is to save a few bucks...I think that quite a substantial chunk of Thredbo's revenue comes from their cafes situated around the mountain. My beef burger costs A$11.50, about double what I would usually pay for a burger in Sydney city..but when you are tired and hungry...

Nearing the end of the first day, Ant and myself tried to maximise our time on the slopes and that plan also included taking the Gunbarrel@ 4.30pm (last lifts). We took this picture, just as we were going to go down 'Walkabout' for the final time. Ant always looks angry in his pictures...but he isn't :P

After linking up with Pras and Wongersss...I did a 1 run of night snowboarding down one part of the 'Supertrail'. It was freezing cold (mostly due to the air vents on my jacket and pants being open..due to the warm weather in the day). Still just did it for the experience of snowboarding at night...one to be remembered.

For dinner, as I was ravenously hungry we ate outside our motel at a pub called the 'Hungry Ewe' (a female sheep)..can you believe on the drive from Thredbo back to our motel in Berridale, there was not a single fast food joint anywhere...such a torturous drive back. At the Hungry Ewe, I ordered a T-rex spare ribs (basically double the serving of a normal portion of ribs)..it was huge (I am not greedy, but Pras and Wongerssss assurred me that they would help me finish it...this was not the case :P). Just look at those ribs covered in chilli plum sauce...

On Sunday, Ant and myself when up to Eagle's Nest...now this is where the highest cafe is in the Southern Hemisphere..the food, as usual is expensive, but should you go up there..you have to try the Pork knuckle (approx A$30). When you are tired and hungry...

Recommended.

On this trip, because we didn't want to waste valuable snowboarding time, we didn't eat at Eagles Nest...but we did take a few pictures up here and get this...snowboard down. Now this is the first time I have done this and I feel its quite an achievement.

I even brought up a sign I'd made up for Serene's birthday present. My aim to go to Eagle's Nest to take this very picture...and I even dragged Ant (my cameraman) with me to take it. Hopefully the effort will be worth it (haha)...

Now here is my 'promotional' advertisement for Nestle...promoting the Milky Bar (because Ant works for Nestle and it was a crazy joke of mine that we should bring some Nestle chocolate bars and take pictures of them and eating them after a "hard day of boarding"). Maybe Nestle will sponsor our trip? haha...just a joke seriously.

Ant and myself did some jumps...I managed to do my 1st jump, got some air between my board and the ground..but still stacked it (fell over). I thought I was up in the air pretty high, but it is all perspective and I was probably only like 10-20cm off the ground..haha. I also felt that I had achieved my objective of at least being able to do some 'S' and not do a falling leaf everytime I go down the slope...still got lots of room for improvement.

The drive back to Sydney was long and tiring (not to mention the general all body soreness we were all feeling). Pras and Wongerss left on Monday. Well from the 'snowfields' of Thredbo...I am signing off.

posted by Darren at 2:35 PM | 0 comment(s)