Remember I was supposed to start school 17th September? Well, that didn’t happen because my loan application from RHB wasn’t processed in time. Which brings me to what I’m gonna be talking about today. Efficiency at work. There are a few reasons why my application wasn’t approved in time.

1. There are some parts of the forms that weren’t filled in dutifully.
2. My joint applicant’s payslip that I submitted was for July and “most recent payslip” refers to August when I submitted the application.
3. Applicant’s housing loan monthly installment break down was not provided.

I look at these reasons and I thought, well, they were pretty valid. I’m not shrugging off responsibility because truth is, I didn’t fill them up/submit the right documents. I submitted my application at the Raffles Branch but the banker I was referred to is stationed at Geylang branch. So here’s what I’m dissatisfied about.

1. The banker whom I spoke to could have vetted through the forms and inform me of the missing information.
2. The banker who received my application should have vetted them through before he submitted to the credit department.

Credit department then shoots back the application stating that housing loan repayment not filled up. Banker then calls me for information and then submits to the credit department. Credit department then found out the payslip is not the latest. Then shoots the application back to the banker.

1. Credit department should have identified ALL missing information/paperwork before sending the application back to the banker rather then throwing back ERROR FOR ERROR.
2. The banker could have gone through the application again. Every time this application is thrown around, it has a turnaround time of 2-3 working days.

The bank is just wasting its resources couriering documents, losing customer confidence and potentially losing customers. Thanks to the inefficiency of the people at the bank, I have missed one bridging module which I have to overload in January.

It’s 28th September, 3.5 weeks after I submitted my application and still no news from the banker. If they screw it up again, I can’t just drop bridging module #2. I’d have to fucking wait for the next batch of bridging, which is in January.

Thanks for screwing me over RHB BANK!

Many of you might think this is quite an impulsive decision but I’d beg to differ. I’ve thought it through and through while I was lying in bed in Seletar Camp and many nights before I go to sleep as a a civilian. I’ve shopped around for schools and courses and shortlisted SMa’s business courses. Degrees are issued by Murdoch. Relatively recognised in the private sector though it’s not Ivy League nor a local university. I blame this on myself for having too much fun in Poly year two. For someone who did a GPA of 3.6-3.8 (max 4) for 4 out of 7 semesters, I should have been in NUS or SMU. Thanks to the 3 semesters of GPA ~1. What a bloody waste, I know!

As for course, I’m still wondering if I should do a single major in Management, or double major in Banking & Finance. Of course doing a single major will be so much cheaper and easier but during these two years, I’ve started to grow a keen interest in the economy and investments, mainly from my career in Prudential advising on investments and wealth planning. So that I’m still undecided on that. (Input from you readers will be appreciated +) )

Financing my school fees will be a BIG headache mainly because I am starting school without any savings. I know you’re shaking your head at me right now. A consultant who tells his clients that saving is important for his future is not doing what he preaches. I blame this once again on myself for taking that super long one month holiday in Dubai/Europe, and then Bangkok after coming home. This further affirms my point that it might be hard to save and put aside money every month but at times like this, money does come in VERY handy.

I have gotten the blessing from my boss to start school come September and he has been very supportive in the decisions I’ve made through my year in Prudential. I must say that I’m really blessed to find such a good mentor who sticks with me through thick and thin, ups and downs. Though it sounds like I am leaving Prudential, I AM NOT. I will still be a full time Financial Consultant. I will still be providing financial advise to all my clients, friends, and to be honest, anybody who needs any. I hope that my clients will be supportive, as they always are, while I take on another challenge in my life.

I foresee the next 2 years to be very tough, in every sense of the word. I will have to reduce my extravagant lifestyle – all the shopping, drinking and feasting as money will be used to finance this endeavor. For all the people out there whom I’ve shown an act of kindness to (VERY RARE, I KNOW), please don’t forget to give me a treat or two because I am about to be very, very broke come 31st August. As my first commitment to spending lesser money, I will be canceling 4 credit cards come tomorrow. Worse comes to worst, I will be liquidating my wardrobe. (I JUST TEARED WHILE TYPING THAT.)

Obviously, I am going to spend lesser time on leisure but I will not shortchange myself by taking away time I spend exercising. My goal to lose 10KGs this year still stands. Right now, I am 3KG down and I have 7 to go. I believe that the added stress will contribute to the weight (not to mention hair) loss as well. Probably have to say no to mahjong very often. My heart just sank and hit my toes.

Balancing work, school and my sanity is not going to be child’s play but I’ve seen people around me do it and as much as this sounds really arrogant, I believe I can do it too. My aim is to finally graduate with a distinction/merit!

I know right now I sound like a drama queen but it is quite a big decision I am making, considering it costs twenty-three fucking thousand dollars. This post is starting to sound a little yawn-worthy as well so I’m going to stop right here.

(Please pray for my sanity)

Here’s a link to the FB shop

The shop specializes in babies’ clothes from newborn to 24 months old and not to mention, REALLY AFFORDABLE at 15-23dollars per piece with shipping/postage thrown in. If you purchase 3 items or more, there’s an additional 10% off. So if you, or someone around you, are going to pop a beautiful new born or have a toddler charming his way into your hearts, why not check out the online store and buy him/her something cute and fancy for that picture perfect moment?

As we enter August and with my birthday merely days away, I am still struggling to put together a party this weekend. I know it’s really last minute and I have so many things to do – the caterers, the alcohol, the venue, the guest list. A close friend asked me, “Why do you want to throw a party this year? You’ve been pretty low-key and prefer spending intimate time with those who are close to you, haven’t you?” To which my answer was, maybe it’s about time I threw one to thank them for their friendship. And so, if you receive any invitations within the next few days, please try and make time as it will mean a lot to have you there.

And since I’m talking about my personal life here, I thought I’d throw in a photo I took on Saturday night.

Taken with a recently acquainted friend. Notice I don’t look as ghastly as before? Yes, I have been spending some time in the sun with a few work-outs here and there. I know I still look chubby and it’s going to take ages before I lose all that extra baggage I’ve put on but I’m working on it (and I hope by September Yvonne will be able to see my adam apple once again.)

My partners in crime.

Cardiff is home to many things – numerous castles, the Welsh language and definitely breathtaking scenery. I’m not exactly the tree-hugging nature-loving kind of guy but I was charmed by the colourful flowers and greenery that surrounds Cardiff.

Something to blame the spike in weight on. Best is the linguine de mare. The fish and chips is the worst I’ve had in UK. The best was from Poppies (Bricklane, London).

Saw his music video when I was in Cardiff. Was on X Factor and is now selling albums. Such a cute video!

Random snippets throughout Europe. We did Cardiff/Amsterdam/Paris/London.

Lebanese food at Wafi Gourmet, Dubai Mall.

L2R,T2B: Spicy fish, mashed eggplant, eggplant salad, HUMMOUS, crispy flat bread, MINCED RAW LAMB, raddish and onions, mixed kebabs.

The spicy fish bears a stark similarity to Ayam brand chili tuna. The eggplant salad was refreshingly good. My favourite is the hummous (by far the best I’ve had). Bread is crispy and served warm. The minced raw lamb was too adventurous for me. The mixed grill is heaven. Meat on skewers = best invention on earth.

After a few days of exotic food, we decided that we shall indulge in something Asian and found ourselves at a Korean restaurant.

Seafood pancake was not crispy enough. Sam gae tang (ginseng chicken soup) was not ginseng-ish enough. The seafood mapo tofu was HEAVEN. Chap chae (fried glass noodles with assorted vegetables and beef) was CLOUD NINE. BBQ beef rip was HEAVEN. The side dishes were all really good as well. Too bad I can’t remember the name or the location of the restaurant. One of the best Korean restaurants I’ve been to. YUM!

Evidence that I was a very happy boy!

The bus stops in Dubai are air-conditioned. Yes, you heard it right! BUS STOP, not bus interchange.

There are so many mosques in Dubai. I managed to take one in the setting sun. On Friday, when Muslims are praying, prayers and sermons are blasted all over the country. Yes, in every corner you can find and hear a speaker. The sermons aired are in English and it was about love that day.

This is the city area and the water you see is actually a fountain. Nope, not river, not lake; a fountain. I managed to take a video of the water show that goes on every 30minutes. The best time to go is of course at night when the skyline is lit with lights. Here’s a video of the show.

Singaporeans, I know right now you’re very embarrassed about the Fountain of Wealth at Suntec. I feel you.

An indoor aquarium. I was so excited to see sharks! For a fee, you can actually take a dive in the aquarium.

The Deira spice souk (market) where I bought lavender to help with my insomnia and exotic teas for Phillip, my host in Cardiff.

The biggest gold bangle in the world. You’d think that if anyone made a bangle this big, they’d make it pretty right? I thought it was hideous but hey, it’s still worth hell lots of money.

River taxis that cost less than 1SGD.

I WENT TO THE DESERT (and it’s nothing like sex and the city). It was the highlight of the trip though. It took about an hour to drive from where I was staying into the desert. Riding the sand dunes in a 4X4 = DAMN FUN.

If you look closely, the front legs of the camels are bound together but a short rope. This is to prevent them from running too far away in the span of a day. When the sun sets, the camels know how to head home by themselves and they remember which camel farm they are from, which playpen to get their food. Must say they sound smarter than quite a lot of people I know.

Here’s a camel dressed up for tourist to ride on. The camels have to sit down for the tourist to mount and then stand up, walk a few rounds and sit down again. They looked really tired from all the sitting and standing and MY GOD some of the tourists are so oversized. This one here was moaning and groaning a lot each time she is instructed to stand and she was so tired she just fall to her knees when she sits down. I refused to ride them even after much encouragement that camels behave this way.

The sand is so fine I feel like I’m walking on powder, except that it doesn’t smell as nice as powder and there’s the occasional camel poo.

Over dinner at the desert safari, we were entertained with traditional performances like belly dancing and this VERY VERY SICK PERFORMANCE. This man spins like a top (no sexual innuendos please) for a good 10 minutes without getting dizzy and does tricks. I would have puked my guts out after 2 minutes of spinning.

So that’s pretty much Dubai. Up next – CARDIFF.

Dubai – the city that’s larger than life and home to the Emirates fleet. We’ve heard that Dubai’s an incredibly rich country which dips her hands into creating all that’s the most magnificent, most indulgent and larger than life what-nots. A one-and-only  7-star hotel, largest aquarium in a shopping mall, yada yada. At one point I’ve even heard that Dubai wants to build a fully air-conditioned beach.

When I broke news to Doby that I was going to Europe with my brother and flying by Emirates, he suggested that I take a look at cosmopolitan Arabia before it(s economy) sinks with the sand and why would I say no right? I have a wonderful friend who agreed to take time off work to take/show me around. I said OK without batting an eyelid.

I must say that Boeing 777 is by far is the second noisiest aircraft I have flown on. JAL’s Boeing 747s, which thankfully are retired now, has got to be the noisiest. NO WAIT, I’ve taken a FinnAir flight from Singapore to BKK and the plane was almost falling apart. That has got to be the worst. Nothing comes close to flying on the Airbus A380. Even JetStar’s A320s are quieter than the Boeings.

Do I have my lack of luck to blame or  is Emirates just fucking inefficient? Out of 4 flights (SG-DXB, DXB-LON, LON-DXB, DXB-SG), NONE OF MY FLIGHTS DEPART NOR ARRIVE ON SCHEDULE.

SG-DXB – The Singapore airport was closed for an hour because of a military exercise. This I blame it on my luck BUT the aircraft suffered technical failure and some engineers had to board the plane to fix it. When air traffic was open once again, we were number 15 in the queue. Then mid-air, dear captain says this – “Ladies and gentlemen, apologies for the turbulence earlier on as an SQ A380 was flying above us and that caused the turbulence.” Dear pilot, nobody will feel sorry for you if another flight caused your plane to rattle. In fact, if anybody felt anything, they’re probably scared shitless that another aircraft is flying so fucking close I say save everybody the heart attack and concentrate on the clouds.

DXB-LON –  Paperwork not completed. The aircraft which was supposed to take off but the plane in front of us took a while to take off so we had to wait. If I were the pilot I’d horn at the plane in front. (Not that it’s possible anyway.) When we landed, there was another Emirates flight at the berth and we had to wait for it to taxi out before our flight could stick its nose into the the parking lot. The service on board was almost unbearable. A stewardess pushed her cart straight into my kneecap without apologising. One gave me the face when I requested for water. At least wait until your back is facing me?

LON-DXB – ONCE AGAIN PAPERWORK IS BEING PROCESSED. I’m starting to wonder if their paperwork is done in Arabic and it takes the airport a while to Google Translate it. This flight was particularly interesting. At the London airport, the VAT refund counters are inside the departure area, which means you would have checked in your luggage before doing a VAT claim. Being the dumbfucks that we were, we didn’t know we had to present our goods when we try to get our tax refunded. So two prada bags that belonged to my fellow traveler and my Chanel stuff didn’t get tax-exempted. Refusing to give up, we approached the boarding gate and sought help from the Emirates staff. We asked if they could have our luggages unloaded so we can present the goods to the VAT counter and the lady said we couldn’t. That I could swallow but another staff just cut in and said, “Well too bad you can only get yourself off the flight, get your tax refunded and hop onto the next flight. At your expense.” I don’t know whether it’s just in the EU that this attitude is tolerated because if it was in Singapore, you will most definitely find yourself on Straits Times the next day. Admitting defeat, I decided to thank them and walk away and he had the cheek to ask me, “Are you flying or not? Are you going to fly?” At this time my blood was boiling and hot enough to poach an entire halibut.

DXB-SG – Our flight was waiting for passengers to board. I’m 100% certain that it’s one of those business/first class people. If the person who’s late was flying economy, they’d have unloaded their luggage and sent him/her a flying kiss and took off without second thought. We reached Singapore slightly off schedule but that didn’t bother me so much as I was so elated that I’m back home. All in all, I’m very disappointed with Emirates and I am going to write a very long letter to them. No more Emirates for me.

From Cardiff to Amsterdam, I flew EasyJet – the JetStar of Europe. The plane was filled with teenagers probably flying to Amsterdam for the first time to party and get stoned. Praise the heavens that the flight was a mere hour long or else I would have imploded from the noise they were making. When we were landing, they even clapped and cheered. Such delinquents. From the airport, there was a train service that runs to Amsterdam Central where we were staying. Train was bumpy but took us to Central in a relatively short amount of time.

We took the Thaly’s train from Amsterdam to Paris. The train was clean, quiet and it was a smooth 3 hours from Amsterdam to Paris Nord. Nothing much to say about the train ride.

Decided while in Paris that since we have flown and took the train, we shall attempt more modes of transport for the fun of it so we got ourselves booked on the EuroLines (coach) from Paris to London. It takes the coach 7.5 hours to reach the border. To cross the border, our coach will be parked on a vessel and be ferried across into UK. From there, it’s a 3 hour coach ride to London. We were going back to Bristol to pick up the car so that’s another 2.5 hours to Bristol city center. Picked up the car and drove another 1 hour back to Cardiff. I must say that this “out of fun” decision turned out to be really torturous.

I must say that my favourite mode of transport was the taxi ride from Changi Airport Terminal 1 back home.