It has been one month since I stopped work. Well, never mention where I work so yups below are pictures of my workplace and some people I have met along the way. Couldn't get a picture of my cool boss! =) Nevertheless, God certainly works out in ways I can never imagine and its really good to step out even though your thoughts, and everything around you seems to tell you the other way around.

Gifts from my collegues to take home on my last day of work

My collegue that went to Korea gave me a souvenir

Not to mention the many free lunch that they have showered over me. In essence I have met great people along the way and discovered not just the bank better but also the area around Masjid Jamek. Not to forget I learned a little bit more of myself through the process.

My little nephew and niece =)

Back after the day of walking about

Awh.... with the lovely Jerusha

Dinner together

Since exams ended it has been a crazy time. Visited aunts and also caught up with friends. It is the beginning of the things to come in the next two weeks.

Yesterday visited 3 aunts place in a day. Super exhausted. Today, my aunt came over with my cousin and her two children. Rascal (the pet cat at home) was manhandled. Its really nice to play with the two little children as they are so full of energy.

Met up with a very good friend in the evening today, Jerusha. I have to say going down memory lane with this lass brought back good memories and it was really refreshing. Really miss those days back in TARC Hostel when she was still around. The long hours and the times that we shared our ups and downs. Its really a good feeling to be with her. Manage to meet her Singapore friends that happen to be around the area. What a coincidence.

She wasn't the only person I haven't meet in a long long while. Another long time friend who came half way through was Kenny. Picked us up and headed to Sg Wang and was driver for the day. He paid for dinner as well. It was good to be able to catch up with him as well.

A good and well spent time. :)

Guess 3 people hanging out was good. Treasuring these moments....

The challenging 3 days are over..... for now at least. Whether I pass or not that is another story another chapter. Of course like all aspiring CIMA Students I want to pass first time but I guess I am just not competent enough.

Not enough practice especially for the paper that I fear the most. Financial Strategy.....

Well, indeed it was a miracle that I went through the exams and came out of the exams still emotionally and mentally sound. Was not as tense as I should feel. Really glad that my sister fetch and waited for me 3 days in a row. A HUGE sacrifice :) and mum who has pretty much retired from cooking at home cooked breakfast and dinner to ensure that I had the nutrients each day throughout the exam period. The BIG breakfast kept my stomach from making grumbling sounds through out the exams.

I believe I have gained muscles on my right arm. Amazing how ugly my handwritting can be.

Well shall not go on with my ranting on my exams. Its time to move on...

Some pictures to tell what I have been doing after I stop work while I prepare for the exams.

Avin and Desmond. Freshman I met in TARC. Can't believe it they are the same age with my brother Tjoe. Though it has been a short time being with them but I really thank God for knowing these bunch of people-the new freshies that just came in.

During the time I was still working manage to attend EASTER 2010 Although I only manage to hear the message and not watch the skit. I heard the skit was great though. The message however was clear and really good.

Manage to even catch up with some older ones. Not just them but well can't be taking pictures everywhere I go and definitely not posting it all up :P

3 Awesome gals I got to know. Powerful women of God. Best part is that they although they are young they are very matured in their thinking. Still growing and learning to be more like Him. I like it!

Yes I manage to have ONE group Steamboat before I left college. Amazing isn't it. Oh and it was Kah Hong, my inspiration who suggested eating here in the first place. Seriously its not the food that counts but its the people around that makes moments the way it is.

These group of people may not be perfect in their ways but its where I see the Lord's hand working. It is as the clay being molded in the Porter's Hands.

May they be vessels that will be used for His Greater Purpose.

P/S will be blogging more often now that exams are over =) Lots of preparation though before I leave for UK. Need to get started

Continuing from the Good Reads post. I actually pick up the book Christ at the Crossroads because I feel that I am at a crossroad and the title just caught my attention so I decided to pick it up and flip through a couple of pages which I then found it very addictive to and fascinating.

The author Chales R.Swindoll a well known author in the Christian Literature uses many examples from Shakespeare - Macbeth and the poem which most of us would have covered in our School days Life's Brief Candle, and also Robert Frost's which is no stranger to us as well as we have covered his famous poem The Road Not Taken in the days we wore uniform.

The book touches on Christ at the Crossroad of Temptation, Misunderstanding, Anxiety, Shame, Ambition, Death, Doubt, Accomplishment, Divorce, Remarriage, Confrontation, Pain, Prejudice, Hypocrisy, Integrity, Disqualification and Inadequacy. Areas which is much too familiar to us and that we can relate to.

He offers mind probing questions and also reflection on the areas that usually we would have a set understanding in our beliefs and seeing another point of view would spell HORROR.

To me throughout the book although I actually read the book looking for quick fix, I have to say that I ended the book not really having a solution to the problem but really seeing my God in a whole different light. Its amazing how routine can make things a norm and that knowing God as He really is became difficult and having Him box up in my mindset of understanding and my years of experience became what things are.

It was funny to see how this book takes it a little deeper and further the things mention in Hell @ Work. Different authors but the message I get seems to be the same.

I can't wait till the CIMA exams are over. I have never felt so depressed in my life. I can't even do simple calculations. To make matters worse I can't even remember what I have been studying in my diploma years. How am I suppose to pass the papers?

Seriously, it will take a miracle for me to pass any of the papers. Just at the cracking point now.

11 more days and at this point I doubt I have even mastered 5% of any of the papers.

At the looks of it, its money going down the drain. Oh well, there is nothing much I can do perhaps I should just relax and do nothing. But yet I can't bring myself to do it.

What a struggle...

It has been a good one week especially since I am not so tired from the running up and down from work and also studying and no classes!!! =) I joined the Hostel prayer meeting in the nights and it is really good to be with them as it is so refreshing.

Over the week a good friend of mine ask me whether I was an idealist. I guess it wasn't asking but rather she thinks I am. I ask her what she meant by idealist and she said (paraphrase mine) that its setting goals that its quite impossible. Usually when she ask questions it doesn't get stuck in my head for days well this question however was and it just played in my mind over the week. (Glad she didn't ask me at the beginning of the week)

But I am glad that she did bring it up. It was a good question for me to reflect on my life and the things I do. One of those people that is good to have around. An intellectual person indeed. Anyway, today, right in the middle of service with the song Take my life and Let it be behind the background I am reminded that my God is an idealist and that it was alright for me to be one.

His ideals of wanting to have a relationship with man kind almost seems to have been crushed by the sin that Adam and Eve brought upon the world right in the book of Genesis. If we were around that time we would have most probably say there goes no solution to save mankind and that God's ideals has been thrown off board. (Rule : God holy can't be with unholy people just like oil and water don't mix) But He is the God of the impossibles and yes there is a solution that would rectify this problem that seems hopeless and far beyond repair that was sending Jesus to the cross.

I am not here to give you a sermon on salvation. I'll get to the point.

Yes I have ideals and she wasn't the first to have mention it. I had others who came up and told me to be realistic this is the world. No such thing as perfect guy (I wonder what they meant by perfect though because I can't imagine one perfect human being that has come across my life) to be married with and that life is not as what it seems and is going to be. The thing is that life is as it is. Hopes are there to keep us moving and motivated.

If something comes along our way that dashes that, it doesn't stop there - God didn't stop there anyway... So why should the same apply to me. Nopes I am not being unrealistic and living out of this planet. I just believe that even though things may not go the way I want them to be that doesn't me that my fate is doom and I should settle for something less than His ideals.

Just like the little boy by the sea throwing in the Starfish that was wash to shore one by one. A man approach him and ask him what he was doing and he said he was saving the Starfish. The man then told him that he would never be able to save the starfish as there is just too many of them and (I love the little boy's reply) "Well it makes a difference to this one" just as threw in a starfish to the sea. So yes I may not fulfill all my goals but at least it made a difference if it even had 10% of that goal being fulfilled.

I'll end with one of my favourite Sunday School Songs.

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty

There's nothing My God cannot do for YOU

The mountains are His,

The valleys are His,

The stars are His handiwork too

p/s - btw girl if you are reading this thanks for the thoughts love the mind exercise =)

Christ at the Crossroads - Charles R.Swindoll

Hell @ Work - Eng Whyeteck

I took the time to read Hell @ Work during the break time from studying especially since it was way more interesting than the textbook. I also read another book about Change over the week but the book Hell @ Work really got me stuck to the book and I had to finish it ASAP. Simple truths but illustrated very well by the writer. It talks about leadership, management and change. A rather short book but if you really take the time to ponder on the things he mentions in the book a whole lifetime wouldn't be enough to discover and live it out. The things he mention in the book can be applied to our daily lives as well. The book caught my attention because it talks about Perspective and he really brought a very unique perspective to it especially since I have read so many books of such topics.

• We make a living by taking what we can, We make a life by giving what we can
• It is not what they're doing it is what they think they're doing. (Pretty much similar to the thing It is not what we are giving to our customers. It's what we make the customers think they're getting)
• We see things not as what they are but as what we are

Some tips of understanding the opposite sex. (Especially since the guys always complaints about their lady bosses). Just sharing it with you all especially to those that are in leadership roles. Some of you may beg to differ in terms of the views expressed.

Women use language to convey feelings. A woman may not be making a point at all, but simply informing you of her emotional state. She is not expecting anything to be done about it, there is no hidden message, there is no request for change or an accusation of blame. She may have a feeling and express it without the intention of making any work-related point.

Expressing and sharing negative feelings is a powerful way woman give and receive support. It is also a good way to relieve pressure or venting.

However, when a male hears a woman venting, he may misinterpret that the boss is frustrated or lost. It may sound to him as if she is saying, "I have too much to do and I can't do it."

Woman talk to discover a point while men generally know what they are going to say before they speak. After wandering around for ten minutes in her communication, she may then say with excitement, "This is what I wanted to tell you," and then she makes her point.

The problem with this communication style is that a man is thinking, "If this is what you wanted to tell me, then why did you make me wait ten minutes? Please don't waste my time. Get to the point right away."

Hence a lady manager talking this way gets the guys frustrated or loses their respect. To earn respect in the workplace, a woman manager needs to be aware of how she might be viewed by her male employees and make appropriate adjustments.

When she wants to explore and idea to discover the point, she could say this : "I'm not sure exactly what I want to say, let me think out loud with you." Sometimes all it takes is simply to state what you are doing.

When she wants to express feelings and feel better, she could say this : "Do you have a few minutes? I just need to vent some random feelings." After this she could say, "Thanks I feel better." This makes it clear to the man that this interaction wasn't a waste of time.

- Bet now most of my guy friends would guy. Yes! Wen Lin you should do that instead of talking round the bush. - Moving on....

By his mode of communication, a woman misinterprets a man as selfish and inconsiderate and thus concludes he is not trustworthy.

For instance, a male manager can quickly create a mutiny of gossip and tension by ignoring how his male employees respond to his directness. When a man is too direct, a woman mistakenly assumes he is angry with her or doesn't like her. For example, when a male manager is right to the point and doesn't engage in a little "small talk" to establish a friendly connection, a woman tends to conclude that he doesn't like her or is angry with her. She will tend to take it personally and feel excluded, mistrusted, unappreciated and disrespected. Because the woman's world is about rapport - so when we don't like her, we would talk to her less, ignore her and go straight to the point.

However, this book is not about Mars and Venus comparison for that books like Man are from Mars and Woman are from Venus which most of you are familiar with would be a better choice. I recommend the book especially to the working people. Examples given are so true and relevant. =)

Would give my review on Christ at the Crossroads in the next post.