Thursday, January 15, 2009
and so 2008 has come and gone, and once again, I haven't been able to keep to my promise of diligently updating my blog. But oh well, hopes springs eternal, and let's keep our fingers crossed I will do just that come 2009!
2009, a year ushered in by uncertainty generated admist the global recession, a year when friends from my batch would be graduating, a year when there are important decisions to be made.
Perhaps of greatest significance, and most challenging, is trying to secure an internship with one of the financial institutions overseas (HK, New York, Philly)--- news such as BFOA completing its acquisition of ML, Morgan Stanley merging its brokerage unit with that of Citigroup's, Deutsche announcing record losses in its trading acitivities... certainly adds to the challenge. The only silver lining is if all else fails, I can always look forward to a good break back home in Singapore, or tour the Nordic countries with Zhida and Jason! But I am definitely not giving up on my hopes!
so 2009 I shall be more self-centric, and my 2009 resolution is: a better me-- investing in yourself! Hopefully a better me gives me greater self-confidence in the things I do and puts myself more at ease around my family and friends, and gives me the right to want to take care of someone, and to want to fall in love!
Heading for HK tmr for half a day, looking forward to meeting my HK friends, in addition to touring the Victoria Harbor, with a special fren, who, coincidentally, is Victoria! lol!
2009 is gonna be more awesome than 2008
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6:01 AM
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Thursday, November 27, 2008
DC! here I come! sorry if I totally haven't updated my blog since gods knows when! but at least for the next couple of days, I will! tksgiving-- a welcome break from school; tksgiving-- I am thankful!
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10:42 AM
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Thursday, August 14, 2008
And so since the spectacular opening cereony on an auspicious date as 08.08.08, Olympic fever has gripped the world, apart from the cooled off Russia-Georgia conflict, and it just seems appropriate to include my 2 cents' worth on the studs of the olympics!
1. Michael Phelps, USA
8 golds in a single olympics seems incredible-- Spore has only a single silver fr the 1960s games in our history-- puts his quest in perspective. The whole world seems to be waiting for the Phelps Phenomenom to petter out, but as the games progress, Phelps seem to be getting better and better! 5 golds, 5 World records after Day 5 suggests he is well and truly on his way to achieving his feat. I still don't think it's humanly possible, but no matter, he is now the all-time greatest olympian, at least gold medal-wise. Jesse Owens is still my all-time legend, for his courage competing in a hostile Nazi envt in the 1936 games.
2. Kosuke Kitajima, Japan
He looks like mickey mouse, looks even cuter among his peers due to his sheer (lack of) size, but boy can he swim! Twice double-gold medalist now, he is probably Japan's top sportsman. His fist-pumping victory celebrations are inspiring, just as his courage in face of greater competition. Whereas his fiercest competitor from the last Olympics, Hansen fr the USA, has faded into obscurity, Kitajima has continued to lead the pack-- and from the front.
3. Jason Lazeck, USA
Yes, phelps is in it, but it isn't about him. It's about his team-mate who may as well save his ass. Phelp's 8-gold quest looked doomed for oblivion after only day 2, but Lazeck was phenomenal-- trailing Alain Barnard, a gold olympian himself, with 15 metres to go by more than a body length, even with 5 metres to go, it was incredible how Team USA managed to win the 4x100 m relay right at the death. Lazeck himself was stunned, but that shouldn't take credit away from his grit and courage in face of adversity-- maybe it's time I fully embrace the Adidas slogan: Impossible is nothing!
4.Federica Pellegrini, Italy
Another gold olympian, another world record breaker with the 200m free, another to have shed the 'nearly girl' tag, and there's more! boy she's hot! apparently she spots an angelina jolie-like tatoo tt runs down the left side of her neck! anyway away from her unflatttering swimsuit, she's one stylish hot chic! watch this! http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/08/federica-pelleg.html
5. Guo Jing Jing, China
She was nearly perfect in the synchronised swimming competition, as she, together with her partner, Wu Ming Xia (left), left their competitors trailing in their wake, finishing a good 13 points ahead of the runner-up Russian pair. Another athelete who looks absolutely stunning outside of her sports gear, she's probably contemplating trading her swimsuits and punishing routine for a celebrity career, and with her gorgeous looks, who's betting she wont come on top again?
So there you are... 5 atheletes who have caught my eyes!
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11:04 PM
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Tuesday, August 12, 2008
On internship...
It was an important learning curve; in 10 weeks I have benefitted tremendously. From gaining quantitative & analytical training in the intitial stage to understanding the value of team dynamics at the later stages, this was an enriching experience.
In 10 weeks I have met some of the most driven people I have ever seen, was introduced to some of the most challenging projects that help shape our economy, but best of all? I have actually made friends. The folks in PVM were always ready to help, always willing to listen. Heartfelt thanks.
Lastly, I hope I have taken away the 6 values that help shape Temasek's transformation, and will continue to drive its surge to consolidate its position as the No.1 Asian investment house.
Merit. Excellence. Respect for People. Innovation. Integrity. Teamwork.
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9:21 PM
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Here it is, after a good 12 weeks back in Sunny Singapore, it's time to head back! Funny how my blog is always back up just as I head back! I dont think I can ever keep to my own promise to regularly update it, but oh well! thanks ppl for all the wonderful memories during summer' 08!
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11:55 AM
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Monday, January 21, 2008
What a day! I was so tired out from all the relentless walking in the blistering cold all over campus as my first day in Spring semester opened with 5 lectures, all scattered over central campus! Not a really good experience at all man!
But it was cool seeing familiar faces at some of the lectures, I din know Frank, Jessie (2 in fact!), and many others were taking Networks 204 (and it sure looked awesome from the packed auditorium and it was pleasure seeing prof. Kleinberg, he looks coool! I love geeky boys haha!), or Steph @ Econ 319, and of course, several familiar faces from my Econ 313 class in my Econ 314 class!
but jet-lag took control after 3 pm and I have been getting this head-splitting headache ever since. But all in all, a good start to the sem! the only thing was, sob sob, I lost my ipod! will the freaking ass hole who stole it please stand up? damn! and I had to quickly replace my companion over the past year, and it has come in the form of a bigger (4 gb), younger (3rd gen) and way cooler (video) NEW ipod! hahaha! Feels so good beating someone right at the death during bidding :-)
so it's time to do a little of reading, and then it's another day of classes!
OnRay
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11:31 PM
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Saturday, January 12, 2008
I like song below; it did not have the most heart-wrenching of lyrics, nor the most pleasant of melodies, but I like the song. I like it because it helped me see many things, and gave me inspiration. [Verse 1] Loosely translating, it means if I were able to see, I would be able to differentiate right from wrong; and not lose you to the crowd. 2007 was a mixed year, plenty of ups and downs; good and bad. I have to hold my hands up and admit I had made mistakes, a couple of which were particularly devastating. There were times when I questioned myself whether I could still tell right from wrong; whether the values which were uncalcated to me from years of strict upbringing and first-class education were beginning to desert me. I wondered if I were still able to retain the faith my family and friends had shown me... I wondered if I were still the Henry Ong I myself had known for over 22 years. 2007 brought with it many setbacks, and sometimes they were so deflating I was engulfed in a vicious cycle of jealousy, self-blame, anger and ultimately, misery. Many a times, emotion got the better of me, causing me to lose sight of the bigger picture, of the goals I had set out to attain. I had lost touch with reality. Could I still tell right from wrong? [verse 2] If I were able to see, I would take you round the world, and give you plenty of pleasant surprises.A friend said I am a sociable and easygoing person, and make a good friend. I hope I am still the person he described me, because I certainly wasn't a good friend this past year. Perhaps the setbacks were affecting me, but I became easily rattled by the slightest of snide remarks from friends; there were couple of occasions I vented my frustrations on closer friends. When stress got the better of me, I no longer knew how to be nice. Over summer, I made a very good friend. We hanged out just about everyday; she was just about the only person I wanted to hang out with then. We got so close that I felt something extra about the friendship. Perhaps sensing everything was happening too quickly, she sought to slow things down. Affected by my previous relationship failure, I saw it as an outright rejection. Angry, confused, disappinted, I withdrew almost immediately from her world. I had not thought much about the existence of this friendship. It was until the last weeks of the semester when I received her call that I realized how important this friendship is to me, and how I had almost single-handedly threw this frienship away. While I haven't been the best friend to many, I have a friend who has stood by me during all my problems. Apart from helping me with studies, he was always on hand to offer a word of encouragement and advice when I was feeling down. We both aren't too good with words, but I am really grateful for having a friend like him. 2007 was a year of many poor decisions, but one of the best? Choosing to stay together with him and 2 other friends, as well as taking the same major. Thanks Mr. Ong. [verse 3] If I were able to see, my life might have been totally different from today. I often contemplated how life would have been had I made different decisions to my life:Would I have been happier had I chosen to remain in Singapore and read Law, still my first choice of study?Would I have been happier studying in the UK rather than the States, since I identify better with the Bristish way of life? Might I have learned more had I accepted Berkeley's offer to study at sunshine California rather than at bitterly Cold Cornell? Should I continue to accept the TH scholarship and spurn possibly more lucrative offers to work at Citibank, Morgan Stanley.........?In the end, I realise they all don't matter. Because I had chosen this path, and while it's still possible to deviate from it, money and time permitting, is is likely to generate greater problems. Importantly, I might not be happier after all. I remember someone in the movie American Pie 2 once said, "We always want to make the best of every situation." I had decided this path for myself, and so it's up to me to make it the best path for myself. this song was sung by a blind singer, and I remembered he made a guest appearance at a Taiwanese variety show. The compere, Matilda Tao Zi commented many of us often lament the many problems troubling us, without realizing there are many more unfortunate people engulfed in greater plight than us. The singer was one such person who had to overcome blindness and other problems to successfully launch his singing career, yet he offered so mich encouragement to the contestants, while maintaining an optimistic outlook to life. Aptly, Tao Zi said while he couldn't phycially see, his songs reflected a greater ability to see through life than many of us. I was stunned into silence by Tao Zi's words, because I was definitely one of them. Many times, I had allowed emotion to get the better of me; it led me into making many wrong decisions. I was rash, I was short-sighted, I was no better than a blind man! Luckily in life, there is always a silver lining in every storm cloud. And I believe I have emerged from 2007 stronger, more sure of what I want to achieve in life, of my immediate and future goals, of how I want to lead my life. I hope I can be a better person in 2008. Henry
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12:47 AM
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8 golds in a single olympics seems incredible-- Spore has only a single silver fr the 1960s games in our history-- puts his quest in perspective. The whole world seems to be waiting for the Phelps Phenomenom to petter out, but as the games progress, Phelps seem to be getting better and better! 5 golds, 5 World records after Day 5 suggests he is well and truly on his way to achieving his feat. I still don't think it's humanly possible, but no matter, he is now the all-time greatest olympian, at least gold medal-wise. Jesse Owens is still my all-time legend, for his courage competing in a hostile Nazi envt in the 1936 games.
Yes, phelps is in it, but it isn't about him. It's about his team-mate who may as well save his ass. Phelp's 8-gold quest looked doomed for oblivion after only day 2, but Lazeck was phenomenal-- trailing Alain Barnard, a gold olympian himself, with 15 metres to go by more than a body length, even with 5 metres to go, it was incredible how Team USA managed to win the 4x100 m relay right at the death. Lazeck himself was stunned, but that shouldn't take credit away from his grit and courage in face of adversity-- maybe it's time I fully embrace the Adidas slogan: Impossible is nothing!
Another gold olympian, another world record breaker with the 200m free, another to have shed the 'nearly girl' tag, and there's more! boy she's hot! apparently she spots an angelina jolie-like tatoo tt runs down the left side of her neck! anyway away from her unflatttering swimsuit, she's one stylish hot chic! watch this! http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2008/08/federica-pelleg.html
