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How would you remain friends with someone you believe to be doomed?
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Gone were the days where our government tries to subtly help a certain race. Now, they have resorted to giving free money directly. Yay! Well, I have a suggestion. Just make it a legal requirement for race A to set up a direct debit to race B transferring cash periodically. Yea, that's a hassle-free efficient plan.
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Warwick
First of the long list of plastered smiles
With Family
And Daniel
Ceremony starts at 11 in the morning, and as I need to queue up for an extra ticket into the graduation (Butterworth) hall for my gran, I was up and about in my dress very early in the morning.
Turned out I was not the earliest to queue for the extra tickets. Quite a number of students, especially international students like me, were so desperate for the extra tickets that they arrived an hour before to ensure that they get spots for their families. Immediately after, I rushed over to another booth to put on my graduation hood and the mortar board. Now this was the tricky part, and I spent the next hour in the toilet with other girls trying to figure out how to pin down the hood without making the shirt that we pinned it on slide upwards by the drag of the unexpectedly heavy hood. Yes, sometimes graduates can still be dumbass at these sort of things. Only after we had decided to pin the hood to the shirt, and then the shirt to our trousers that some realised they couldn't go to the toilet without removing everything anymore. Opps, no visits to the loos!
The ceremony itself was, to say the least, brief. Started with a sweetening speech by the chancellor, the graduates were invited on stage to receive our degree certificates, with some special awards given out in between. Peter Corvi won the lecturer award, which was not much of a surprise as he is probably the only lecturer teaching our business school with an appreciation/fan page on facebook. Oh yes, I am a huge fan as well. The party moved to the piazza afterwards for a class photo session, and with the hundreds of WBS grads, it took quite a few shots before we were let go by the photographer. A buffet lunch was served, and it was surprisingly fantastic, given the horrid reputation of business school with freebies/ luncheons.
Everything followed was a blur. Photos everywhere with everyone you could grab, and then the goodbye hugs and the constant worry about our parents going missing on campus. And all of a sudden, everything was over and you are left with a camera with a completely run down battery in one hand, and a very important piece of paper in the other.
Yay!!!
Farewell Warwick, the famous Russell Group university, and the notorious, money drying machine more commonly known as Warwick University Ltd.
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Warwick
Results came out today, while I was in Pisa, Italy with Daniel.
The trip was pretty crazy. Met some nice people, some rude and moody ones, got 'robbed' off our change, saw one of the 7 wonders of the world, and survived the very very hot weather in Italy without air cond.
Then on the last day, we got nervous waiting for our results. Not sure why, but the results was scheduled to be published at 3pm. Odd timing. We were still in Pisa, and because I didn't want the horrible wait by the phone to hear the news, I did not ask any of my friends to look up the results for me.
Oh well, at least I got to enjoy my last bit of the holiday.
Turns out I didn't have to worry about my results. Or Daniel's borderline-employment-at-risk grades. We got a lift from Dan's dad from the airport, and headed straight to the university house where they posted up the results for students to view. That's the first time I got my results in this traditional way- Look it up on the board.
And yep! I got my 1st class honours! Yiipeee.... Omg, such a bloodshed for that. Still haven't got over the fact that I did so well in my 3rd year. And as for Dan, he got his 2.1 so... our job is secured =) (provided I get my work permit and now THAT, is a huge problem for me) Anyhow, fantastic full stop for my student life.
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There you have it, my final exam at Warwick. Prepared freaking hard for this paper, but didn't really do myself justice as the questions that came out were short of what I anticipated. Anyhooo, I am done done done.
Finally.
Over the last 2 weeks my house mates have been rubbing it in, in my face, that they are all done but me and now... haha, the torture is over and I just joined the group of 3rd years putting our student lives behind us and moving forward. Well, as long as we don't owe any library fines etc, we should be able to graduate.
Graduation ball is naturally the best way to commemorate the end of university and hence after forking out a hefty £65, I dressed up (while guys, 'suit' up) and we all went merrily to our 'final fling'. Unfortunately though, the Warwick grad ball is pretty much a disaster, not even close to being OK. £65 and all we get is the worst budget public bus hire? Not even a coach? Transport 'musuem' as the venue and 'pre-cooked' meals with cheap ingredients and rock hard sorbets? Weird 'actors' hire? No drinks apart from plain water! The whole event was nothing but disappointments and we would definitely have enjoyed ourselves much better paying for a proper meal at a hotel with private taxis and good clubs.
Oh well, event's over and now I am back in my pit with heaps of junks to sort out. Happy packing!
Anticipating my Milan and Europe trip with people I love
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Critical Issues in Management- a module compulsory to all 3rd year Accounting and Finance students, has brought me lots of pain, frustration, many late nights. However, the very core existence of this module, its structured scattering of knowledge, compulsory attendance of seminars, presentation and QnA based approach to teaching, and the variety of issues that it covered... I have to admit that I could not find its relevance and 'the whole point of it' to start with. Raising my hand and asking questions for the sake of asking (more like for my contribution marks), presenting something with the intention to 'just get it over with'. It wasn't until towards the end of it all, when exams are approaching, that I fully appreciate the whole 'point' of doing this module. Seemingly useless but very thought provoking. My final individual presentation was a good end to it all for me. That was the first time I did one with such passion in delivering the message across, and of course I am happy the audience appreciated that (not least the seminar tutor)
Anyway the main issue I want to draw on today, is the Book Review assigned to me in CIM beginning of the year. The Corporation. With such a boring cover page, one can not help but feel a little put off from reading it.
Well, see for yourself
There are however, many hidden treasures in the book. Its main aim, is to get the readers to be aware of the ruthless legal existence of Corporations. McD, General Motors, Goodyear Tire, BP, Bodyshop... know these names? Yes, it's about them. They have human-like existence according to the law, and we are responsible for giving them that.
Problem number 1: They only have one legal purpose: Make money for shareholders
Problem number 2: They never die
Do you know that in terms of money making capability, Walmart is bigger than the whole of Malaysia?
Given how big they are, needless to say, they also have a big say in how things are run, on the international and national level. Political conspiracy? Definitely. Remember the financial meltdown in 2008, you bet these are involved.
Let's go right down the the basic, personal level and look at how corporations take over our lives. Recently I saw a blogpost on Facebook, with over 2000 comments to that post. It was an incident in Cheras. Now hear me out.
It happened in the middle of the night. There was a car accident involving several cars. Whether the drivers were drunk or not does not matter in this story. End result was that they crashed, and the cars were severely 'deformed'. This blogger was actually a passer-by, and he saw in what was left of one of the car, the girl behind the wheels screaming her lungs out as she was pinned, squashed in it. Seeing that sparks were forming at the rear of the car, this blogger ran to the nearest petrol station begging for fire extinguishers.
Two men were sitting behind the kiosk. Neither were willing to lend the fire extinguisher to this blogger to save the poor girl. Company policy, it was said.
But the girl is going to be burnt alive! She needs help! You can have my ID and I will return it and I will pay for it.
Sorry we cant let you have it. Our boss does not permit lending things to people. Oh, and it you make a scene here, our CCTV has got you captured and we will report your actions to the police.
Due to the insistence of the 2 cashiers to not lend the fire extinguisher to this blogger, the spark turned into fire.
The girl was burnt alive.
Post mortem: Would that action be considered negligent manslaughter? Unfortunately no. Remember the definition of corporations? They are here merely to make money. Saving lives? Sorry, not in the context.
What followed was that the blogger tried to initiate a boycott towards the company involved in that 'crime'. Crime of refusing to save another's life, accusing the 2 of murder. Morally, perhaps, but in no way did their failure to act can be considered manslaughter/murder. Here, I believe 2 issues presented themselves.
1) The lack of common sense of the nation. Education or the lack thereof, has failed to produce a nation with the basic ability to think, and react.
2) What I like to refer to as 'the shell of corporations'. The tendency of people to hide behind the corporation shell avoiding making personal decisions and taking responsibilities. In creating corporations, we created a money making machine, and also a poor excuse that shelters many morally corrupted intentions/actions that ultimately harmed no one but ourselves.
A case illustrating the failure of capitalism and corporations
with reference to Akina Teo
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Thoughts
Critical Issues in Management- a module compulsory to all 3rd year Accounting and Finance students, has brought me lots of pain, frustration, many late nights. However, the very core existence of this module, its structured scattering of knowledge, compulsory attendance of seminars, presentation and QnA based approach to teaching, and the variety of issues that it covered... I have to admit that I could not find its relevance and 'the whole point of it' to start with. Raising my hand and asking questions for the sake of asking (more like for my contribution marks), presenting something with the intention to 'just get it over with'. It wasn't until towards the end of it all, when exams are approaching, that I fully appreciate the whole 'point' of doing this module. Seemingly useless but very thought provoking. My final individual presentation was a good end to it all for me. That was the first time I did one with such passion in delivering the message across, and of course I am happy the audience appreciated that (not least the seminar tutor)
Anyway the main issue I want to draw on today, is the Book Review assigned to me in CIM beginning of the year. The Corporation. With such a boring cover page, one can not help but feel a little put off from reading it.
Well, see for yourself
There are however, many hidden treasures in the book. Its main aim, is to get the readers to be aware of the ruthless legal existence of Corporations. McD, General Motors, Goodyear Tire, BP, Bodyshop... know these names? Yes, it's about them. They have human-like existence according to the law, and we are responsible for giving them that.
Problem number 1: They only have one legal purpose: Make money for shareholders
Problem number 2: They never die
Do you know that in terms of money making capability, Walmart is bigger than the whole of Malaysia?
Given how big they are, needless to say, they also have a big say in how things are run, on the international and national level. Political conspiracy? Definitely. Remember the financial meltdown in 2008, you bet these are involved.
Let's go right down the the basic, personal level and look at how corporations take over our lives. Recently I saw a blogpost on Facebook, with over 2000 comments to that post. It was an incident in Cheras. Now hear me out.
It happened in the middle of the night. There was a car accident involving several cars. Whether the drivers were drunk or not does not matter in this story. End result was that they crashed, and the cars were severely 'deformed'. This blogger was actually a passer-by, and he saw in what was left of one of the car, the girl behind the wheels screaming her lungs out as she was pinned, squashed in it. Seeing that sparks were forming at the rear of the car, this blogger ran to the nearest petrol station begging for fire extinguishers.
Two men were sitting behind the kiosk. Neither were willing to lend the fire extinguisher to this blogger to save the poor girl. Company policy, it was said.
But the girl is going to be burnt alive! She needs help! You can have my ID and I will return it and I will pay for it.
Sorry we cant let you have it. Our boss does not permit lending things to people. Oh, and it you make a scene here, our CCTV has got you captured and we will report your actions to the police.
Due to the insistence of the 2 cashiers to not lend the fire extinguisher to this blogger, the spark turned into fire.
The girl was burnt alive.
Post mortem: Would that action be considered negligent manslaughter? Unfortunately no. Remember the definition of corporations? They are here merely to make money. Saving lives? Sorry, not in the context.
What followed was that the blogger tried to initiate a boycott towards the company involved in that 'crime'. Crime of refusing to save another's life, accusing the 2 of murder. Morally, perhaps, but in no way did their failure to act can be considered manslaughter/murder. Here, I believe 2 issues presented themselves.
1) The lack of common sense of the nation. Education or the lack thereof, has failed to produce a nation with the basic ability to think, and react.
2) What I like to refer to as 'the shell of corporations'. The tendency of people to hide behind the corporation shell avoiding making personal decisions and taking responsibilities. In creating corporations, we created a money making machine, and also a poor excuse that shelters many morally corrupted intentions/actions that ultimately harmed no one but ourselves.
A case illustrating the failure of capitalism
Posted in
Warwick
Everything is going in slow motion... The mad exam revision rush, the congregation arrangements (hey, where are you 'putting' your parents for graduation? Why are we referring to our parents like they are objects?!), the first proper house-hunting (to rent or to buy) for the coming year (now we pay income tax, council tax, NIC etc), the last minute Europe touring before some leaves UK for good... and before you know it, it's time to leave the place we now call home.
I still remember what the term 'home' means in our first year. No matter how much inconvenience it caused, we never fail to distinguish the place we STAY (ie: our current accommodation) and what we used to call HOME (the 6000 miles away paradise). Gradually, the distinction became less important, as the line blurred even in our own mind, and by the time we realised the perception changes we went through, we already started referring to what we used to think of as the temporarily place we stay, as HOME. And what of the 6000 miles away paradise? That is Home-home. Real home. Perhaps its the feeling of being united with the little family we gathered for ourselves away from our real ones. Whatever it is, this place bears a lot more meaning to us than it did when we first stepped onto the Warwick grounds.
It's a natural process in life. You go to a new place, you meet new people, and then after the common goals are accomplished, you leave. That is the way. What's saddening is perhaps the fact that most of the people you laugh, cry, struggle, sing, dance with, your path will never cross ever again in the future. We will now scatter all over Earth like tiny peasants. What's depressing is you are leaving the life of being a student you know so well, that you have perfected, stepping into a completely new world, and that there is no turning back from now, whether you like it or not. What's exciting is- it is a race of life from now. We came to university for different reasons, some to get a job in the highly competitive job market, some for an international experience, most to gain skills in preparation of taking over family empires, and a handful just for the sake of getting a degree. Whatever it was, we shared a common challenge, albeit a colourful one. Now, the clock starts ticking, and you have a limited time to get out of this maze of life, whichever direction you choose to, at the pace you desire.
It didn't matter who you were, we were all students; it didn't matter how rich your family was, we all shared the same chasing after the 12 or unibus experience. But now, armed with various degree of knowledge/qualification, depending on how you did over the last 3 years, we are now all thrown back out of 'The Bubble'- the term Warwick is well known for. This is a dedication to all my fellow leavers of 2010. Looking back at the photos over the last 3 years, it is visible how much we have grown. Together. It is now time. Time to pack up and run. Now, let's run, babies, run.
