aLwiN

This is just to update everyone about myself and to let u know that ‘YES, I AM STILL ALIVE’ lol.. just in case any of u guys are wondering… :p Also, its been too long since I wrote such a long email.. the last one being.. em.. eh.. 2-3 years ago??

Anyway, here are some updates about me, myself and I..

Right now (or at least when this sentence was written) I am on the flight heading to Beijing… via dubai.. yea, slight randomness… I’ve just finished one of my many many exams (which I’ll elaborate a lit bit more in a min) and I’ve decided to head to somewhere new for a break, just to get away really… Thanks to the strong British Pounds and the fact that I am working now, I can afford to do this trip.. if not, flying across the globe just for a short break would be ridiculous (that’s wat I would say 5 years ago),,,

Career, Well I am currently working in a british company training to be an accountant. And this is where all the exams come in. I am taking the Charted Institute of Management Accountant (CIMA) qualification. Unfortunately, this is part of my job contract where I have to pass all my exams… not that I’ve really wanna sit for more exams, but I guess I don’t mind the free tuition (but seriously, I would have chosen something else IF I knew wat I want. ..

I guess this is just a career stepping stone and it isn’t really wat I want to do in the long run.. seriously, accountancy can be soooo… boring… unless you’ve reached a managerial role where by u can start making financial decisions… but for now, that seems unlikely..

Relationship, hmm.. still single and I’ve been single since May 2006.. yup, its been long.. nonetheless, I believe something interesting is about to happen.. (I like to stay positive some times )

Family, well, my sister seems to be doing really well in her life. She has really fought for what she wants and I strongly believe that is happy and she will, in my opinion be really successful. As for my parents, dad is the same, one of those people who are restless, not in a bad way, just that he likes to fill up his schedule (well, u can where my ‘busy’ schedules are inherited from rite…)

Alrite then, what else?? Did I miss anything important?? If yes, do drop me an email, yes and I’m sure u have it by now… :p

Anyway. That’s all for now.. im gonna nap a lit and will def try to post this asap…

Take care,

Never thought that I’d write here again.. told myself not to anyways…

however, I just watched the movie ‘The Break Up’ .. totally gave a snap shot of my last relationship.. that really freak me out.. I mean, it was a good show, but it freaked me coz I think I was like him.. and she was like her.. blah blah blah..

Lesson of the day… be sensitive and dun take things for granted.. everyone who is reading this, please remind me again when im with the next gal..

Cheers and take care…

Since i got back from my trip from the America, I have be going tru this phase of fear and anxiety, also known as I-have-no-idea-what-the-f**k-is-going-to-happen-next.

18^th of September, it was the official day I had to report into my new company – Rolls-Royce Plc (in case you were thinking of getting a car discount, ur not getting any, coz RR does not make cars anymore, they sold their rights to BMW. RR only makes airplane/jet engines now.). Also, my title is Graduate Finance Trainee. Cool eh..

tho 18^th was the starting date, it wasn;t the actual day which I reported into my office. There was corporate induction for 1 week and followed by bookkeeping (accounting) course in Conwy, Wales. I also found out that, I’ll studying and revising for my CIMA exams in Wales every couple of months within the next 18 months. That place reminded me of Concord College, smack right in the middle of no where. I was joking with a fren saying that the challenge is to be able to count sheep accurately as there were so many of them and that they were constantly moving.

Anyway, back to Derby. Week 3 was when I finally reported into office to my line manager. I now work in the Civil Aerospace HQ and will mainly be doing financial reports. Hehe.. that not great ya.. yea.. I know, not that interesting, I still ask myself if this it the right place to be. (Oh well, only God knows and I guess He will take care of the rest.).

As for Derby on the whole, I must say, not that interesting. I sort of got made a big leap into the pub/beer culture. And I do mean a big leap coz we have been drinking every weekend, going from one pub to the other, usually 4-5 a nite. Gosh I can feel my beer belly growing already. A part from that, there is really nothing much to do here. By week 3 we (the graduates) have gotten bored of the pub here and wanted a change, so last nite, we made a trip to Nottingham for a nite. Just for a change and I trust that things will be back to normal again by next Friday.

So, what’s next? I’ve been schedule to go for tones of accounting classes. Basically I have to sit for every single exam that is available. Haha.. suck rite.. oh well, I’ll take it as RR is my new university and they are paying me to learn something new – finance. Haha… well I really hope I’ll survive this small little town and that something more interesting will happen in my personal life. Oh poor me..

Anyway, take care and hope to hear from u..

Yes, this has been my longest holiday ever and it is still going (at least for another couple of days la). I left London on the 19 Jul and will be heading back there on the 6^th of Sept. My 1^st stop was in New Jersey. Obviously, closest to New York City – NYC, I was there for a couple of days. I went around Wall Street, 5^th Ave, Rockefeller Center… blah blah blah and the list goes on. I also met up with my cousins and relatives (for the 1^st time in my life) in NYC. Can’t really believe I’ve never met my 1^st cousin before. But then again, I was stupidity not to come to America when my dad offered 10 years ago.

Well, moving on, I met the most ‘Awesome’ bunch of people and we traveled in the east in our van and trailer. The (few) stops were with TrekAmerica, during the 7day tour, we covered Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Niagara Falls and Boston. Btw, The tour started in NYC and ended there, and we were camping most of the time except in Boston.

Just to give you a gist of everything,

Washington DC was nice and being the capital, there’s where the most historic documents are kept. All buildings are free to enter but I didn’t like the fact that we were security checked at EVERY SINGLE building, and also the fact that we couldn’t take a photo near the FBI building, damnit… Pennsylvania was the best purely because my tent mate and I manage to see a grizzly (I think it’s a grizzly) bear – about 6-7 ft tall and 2-3 ft wide) outside our tent, no joke, check up my photos. Niagara Falls was beautiful, the Maid of the Mist as well as the cave tour is a must go. If you have a Canada visa, go to the Canadian side to see the falls at night. I didn’t have it, so I missed that part and apparently it was really good. As for Boston, it’s a really chilled out and cozy city to go to. We walk around the city in one day and we also went for an improv comedy show at night called ‘Bird flu over the cuckoo’s nest’. The name of the show itself sound funny, so, it is highly recommended (especially for tourist not knowing where to start) and try to watch it if you can.

Btw, it was during the trip where I got hooked up with the word ‘Awesome’ and somehow laughed at myself when I say ‘Really?’ Thanks to the Aussies.

So, that was TrekAmerica in short. The day we arrived back in NYC, I took the night flight and got into Miami – just in time for the Capoeira Bartizado (http://www.capoeiraabolicaouk.com) on Sunday. I spent a week doing some hardcore training – usually 2 lessons a day. Then, I spend a couple of days in downtown Miami. Surprisingly, Miami isn’t that big, then again places always seem different coming from the media. The beaches are nice and South Beach is the most happening place to go (there’s where the clubs, bars and bands are). Also, I met some really cool ppl who brought me around to places like the Everglades and to a Jazz Club, where we had some really good live bands. Tho both of them are activist, they seem more like ‘let’s go party’ type, haha.. 

On 7^th – 21^st of Aug, I was back in Nicaragua work camp for the 2^nd time; my 1^st was in summer 2005. It was basically a work camp helping out improve healthcare facilities in rural communities – check out the website so that I won’t have to bore you about it – http://www.nicaragua.netherhall.org.uk . If the 2006 details are not out, then try to spot me in the 2005 work camp.

Then, I took the longest crossover of my trip, going from Central America all the way to North West America (Los Angeles, California). In LA, I manage to catch a glimpse of the most expensive houses – Beverly Hills. I did some very touristy stuff as well like Universal Studios and the LA city tour. Of course, I went to Santa Monica and Venice Beach (they are next to each other), and all I can say is, if you have the chance, it’s a must go.

Unplanned and unscheduled, I made my way to Las Vegas, where the city never sleeps. Since it was a last minute trip, I was only there for 2 days and 1 night, definitely not enough. I mange to watch some of the free shows but I missed watching one of those not-free ones, which is supposedly really good, even the cheaper ones. Oh well, I did visit most casinos and got some free drinks at the slot machines ;).

And the last stop before I got back to New Jersey was San Francisco, where I stayed with another friend (Laura – from Concord college). Had my 1^st and best ever (it was the best not because it was my 1^st) 9 course meal. Though I don’t really like the idea of eating so many courses in such small portion, I enjoyed it. Oh oh.. btw the caviar was the best – right laura? A part from that, I really liked SF. May be it was due to the fact that I had a 5 star room to stay in (coz Daryl’s place was really nice) and ppl driving me around most of the time, but also because it’s such a nice and relaxed place to live in. Everything is nearby and convenient to reach, and you get a good mix of all nationalities. You never know, I might end up going there if I don’t like RR.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Will write more if anything interesting comes up. If not, I think I’ll be quite busy after I get back to London, considering the fact that I need to move outside London and I’ve postponed my return flight twice. Hehe…

Take care and catch up soon..

Ps. Photos can be viewed at http://alwin_ng.blogs.friendster.com/photos/wohoo_usa/ and if I owe you any photos, please let me know.

Think, Work and Play hard…

Pray very hard…

Spare some time for your own thoughts and for God…

Have fun and don’t worry too much if you have done all the above, because there are things that are beyond our control, but everything will eventually come into its own rightful place…

hA friend told me this (below) and I hope I can share it with those who are facing what I am going through now..

Whether you’re up or down,
remember to keep your head up and walk through life.
Don’t let anything stop you from being happy,
let your tears cry only for the joys of life.
Hold yourself together so that you can survive
and face whatever tomorrow brings your way;
when your problems seem bigger than you can handle,
remember you are never alone in this world.
Heartaches are just temporarily after all,
you can change things around if you want.
Smile at whatever tomorrow brings your way,
don’t give up hope and dreams you might have.
Love in your heart is the answer and it’s all real,
where you least expected it also can come true.
You know deep down that you still got you!
Face life or whatever tomorrow brings your way
with a smile…
Be a happy Hippo, rather than a sour green lime

Awesome aint it…

Trust…

They usually say, “You’re such a sweet talker”, “Yea right, you’ve probably said that a million times”, “Nah… don’t believe you” etc etc…

Sometimes it can be really annoying, but I guess, at the end of the day, working hard for others to trust you really requires effort… and it makes being trusted worthwhile.

Coming home this time round has awakened me in various ways, especially with the incident not too long before my return. I’ve learnt that this current chapter of my life is coming to an end soon, and a new chapter would start soon. The new chapter would involve around many new responsibilities, uncertainties, hopes, risk and hopefully rewards, especially at the beginning.

(haha.. scary aint it..)

To start off, meeting many of my friends who have started working in the past year, I realised that I am gonna be working soon. F **k!!! It really worries me coz right now, I have NO IDEA what’s gonna happen to me in the next 6 months after graduation (which is soon). I don’t where I’ll be or where I’ll be heading. London, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia or anywhere else in the world? I also don’t know what kind of job I’m getting or will I be happy with what I get.

Also, since I’ve been back, I’ve already attended 2 weddings. Although couples both tied their knots early, and though I have no intention of doing it so early, it still freaks me that one day it’s my turn (dude, im gonna be 24 soon.. f **k again!!). My friends too are getting settled down and many seems like they are already a happy couple. My best friend from KB and my ex are now going out, (as far as I know) they are happily together. My best friend is in now Singapore and she just got a new job there too; and they seem like they are progressing well. Wow, seriously, there’s so much commitment compare to what I’ve been through.

Seeing all this around me really made me thinking, thinking a lot about life, thinking about my past, present and future, about what I want and where I want them to be. Although these might seem scary (but less compared to ‘a mid-20s crisis’) but its been making me consider my options. Many of my options..

The best part about my life is that I have such a wonderful family that has given me so many options and much support. My theory is that many work harder becoz they don’t have much choice in life, and all they can do is work with what they have. Hence, some fortunate ones take their life for granted and, in the end, become less successful. For me, I think I really need to make full use of what God has given me and praise and thank Him by giving my very best shot.

I will do my best, but all I can do now is pray and hope…

ps. this new blog was written without any influnce of others, also pls feel free to comment

It has come to a point in time, where you really need to know and remember the importance of prioritising – among family, friends and even in relationships. All this while, you have led a too independent lifestyle, you only worry about yourself and make decisions for the good of yourself. Why not try opening up to others? Your family or your partner (when you had a really great one) are very important too.

You rely so much on your friends (Of course, since you needed them to support you on this independent lifestyle); however, you need to remember that often, there are more important people in your life and you need to appreciate them as well, as much as (or maybe more than) you appreciate your friends. Remember that, or you’ll hurt your family and partner again.

Time has come for a change and learning how to say NO and when to say NO can do that.  Putting important people first makes a lot of difference and your friends will understand, or they are not your friends. I guess this is a way to live life with a due sense of responsibility. Am I right?

If there is another chance, would you take it?

Would you wait for a relationship when you won’t even know what’s gonna happen tmr, but only knowing that you still like that person? Would you take the chance if you like someone that much, tho he needs time to sort out everything at hand before getting back together? If there were another chance, would you take it? Or would you not, just because of time?

Would you?