Here's a picture of all the ladies.  

Picture of the boys looking all charming and debonair. If you're scratching your head as to why everyone is not looking at the camera when this picture was taken, then scratch no more coz' we were actually posing for another camera when this picture was taken. Our paparazzis just happened to count 1,2,3 at different times so we didn't know where to look. 

Picture of the boys, Candid. Everyone nearly fell on Malcom at the bottom coz' someone from the back was trying to get on top of me.  

I have to admit that I looked taller in here coz' I tip-toed. Before this picture was taken, I warned the tall gals not to stand in front of me but to no avail. In the end I still had to tip-toe coz' I wanted to show the tie Chloe bought for me from Thailand. I had a lot of fun with this class and like they all say, "Training period is like the honeymoon period". I think everyone got along just perfect. Couldn't have asked for a better bunch. 

Steve (the big guy seated) and Arthur (the balding guy standing) are two of our many trainers and together they create the funniest classroom environments; sometimes we laugh for the whole time in class only to find that we cannot remember anything they taught us....ok ok almost everything...And that's Joey on the left and Gladys on the right. 

Heng Shen looks older than me but he is actually my age too. He was also appointed as the class monitor because of his boy-next-door look. I think these two look quite good together... 

That's Joey on the left who sent me the pictures and that's Malcom with her. Both of them were in the same validation group as Ann and I; who was also my partner. I think the four of us were the only ones in class who nearly got perfect scores for our validation coz' the validator was very lenient.  

From left: Clara, Ann and Pandora...Yes, Pandora as in the box that released all that evil in that fable. Ever so cheerful and vivacious, this bunch never fails to entertain me in class when I'm bored. 

Quite a number of brainy people in class and one of them is this lady here. Angela and Eugene were both from HCJC so we weren't surprised. 

I'm just posting almost whatever that has been sent to me. Here's Jeff doing a solo and Eugene is caught sleeping again. He'll sleep during every class but he'll pass every paper too.  

These are the two ISS (Insurance Sales Specialists) among the four we had in our class. On the left is Kristen from NTU Marketing and Hazel from I dunno where on the right, listening to iPOD during class hours... 

From left: Me, Eugene, Yeong Ming, Theresa and David. These three guys were the first few people I met in the class on my first day because we were all punctual. Technically speaking, we formed the first clique in class and that allowed us all to break the ice with the rest more easily later on. 

That's Chuin En on the right trying to take our picture while we were trying to take his. Tommy on the left may look like he is in his late twenties but he's just 26 this year. Maybe it's the receding hairline. 

Forgive me for I can't seem to recall the name of the guy in the left of the picture coz' I seldom talk to him. The guy on the right though is Jeff who would join us for pool during our lunch break sometimes. Believe me when I say that the guy on the left was practically in this same position throughout the lesson. I'll get a neckache if I were him.  

Speak to me in Mandarin la.

After several weeks of classroom training with DBS bank, it has been brought to my attention that my command of the mandarin language is utterly atrocious. This is markedly due to my years of neglecting my mother tongue as well as the constant usage of and obstinate reluctance to revert from a language my forefathers from China and Burma would have thought to be foreign. I have now, as a result, resorted to watching more mandarin shows on TV channels TCS 8 and Channel U whenever I have the opportunity. Quite frankly, I’m beginning to enjoy watching these shows, dramas and serials; most of which I would have shunned just a month back; largely due to the fact that the stories and sense of humour being unique to me. You see, this change of behavior all began after my trainer got my colleagues and I to play this game in which each group had to translate words like “Bonds”, “Structured Deposits” and “Unit Trusts” to mandarin and afterwards write it down. I had zilch to contribute throughout and it got really boring after awhile just watching some of my classmates discussing in mandarin. At least I wasn’t alone coz’ I think half the class was quite lost. Nevertheless, I learnt a lesson then and I am intent on improving the language that defines my roots and heritage. Who knows? If you’re sitting in my car the next time, you may hear me listening to Yes 93.3!

Europe.

By the time you read this post, I would have already sent my brother and our friend, Barry, off on the plane to London Heathrow. Yes, he’ll be doing the same thing I did before I entered National Service. His stay though, will be a little shorter than the 1 month I spent in London, Paris, Bern, Grindalwald, Rome, Monaco, Nice, Montpellier, Barcelona, etc. This is mainly because he will be starting school come end of May. I hope the shorter time span will not compromise the amount of fun and knowledge he will gain from this wonderful experience. Come to think of it, there is little to doubt that it'll be an enriching backpacking trip for him since he, unlike me, will have the luxury of time and budget to visit Holland.

Later in the night, I'll be back in the airport to send Huangwei off to New York where my dear friend will be embarking on his new career at Credit Suisse. Educated at Brown Uni, I'm not surprised he got the job there. It's just unfortunate he can't stay with us and his gf who's working for Credit Suisse Singapore. Nevertheless, I wish him the best of luck in his new endeavours. He'll be missed.

So in the last 1 month, I’ve sent 2 friends to Shanghai and New York, 1 girlfriend to Thailand and 1 brother to Europe. In 8 days time, I will also be sending my father off to Shanghai where he will spend 5 days on a holiday with a banker friend. That will inevitably leave my mum and I at home to fend for each other from the 16th to the 22nd; unless of course she also decides to take the opportunity to go to Hong Kong with her colleague as well. I’m not complaining since I’ll have the whole house to myself; so if I throw a party at mine, everyone will be cordially invited.

I’ll just make an official apology here to my friends and cousins who have been complaining about my lack of posts for the past two weeks. Much like Jeannie, who’s in KL now, I’ve been really busy with job training and finding time to write a post has been almost unfeasible. Meantime, I’ve been contemplating about filling up some space in this blog by chronicling my adventures during my Europe trip almost three years ago. Till then, take care.