Paul's Fulfilling Life

This gathering was planned at our last meeting in late October. The reason for the early plans was due to Elaine’s impending birth of her 2nd child in early March, next year. It was fortunate that our meeting was not at Royal Plaza At Scotts as the North-South MRT line had been down for the evening rush hour, but at the Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel’s Blue Potato Restaurant. The food was not too bad, and we would like to thank Peggy for introducing to us this place. It is always nice to catch up with them as they would always update me with the latest happenings in their lives and developments in their work. It is definitely heartening to note that they actually remembered my birthday and actually asked Tammy to get the birthday cake for me. I am touched by the gesture.  =) Me with Elaine, Peggy & Tammy with my Oreo Cheesecake I would like to thank Elaine for giving me a ride home, although the ride was rather long as there was a massive traffic jam on the CTE as we hea...

The gathering with my ACCA classmates was first mooted by Tammy on Facebook about 2 weeks ago and seconded by Elaine. I felt that my Facebook Wall was not an appropriate place to discuss all these. I certainly do not want many people to know where we were going. I agreed with Peggy that Facebook is a dangerous place to post things sometimes. Dinner was at Carousel @ Royal Plaza on Scotts as requested by Elaine. She said that she enjoyed the fresh seafood at the buffet. Therefore, I booked a table a week before through walk in since it was near my office. I did not expect the restaurant to be so crowded on a weekday nite. It was certainly great to see the ladies, since I have not met up with Tammy & Peggy since the last dinner we had before Elaine was due to give birth. Peggy and I chatted for about half an hour while we waited for Elaine and Tammy to arrive and continued eating and chatting till 11pm. The tab was again picked up by Peggy. The three of us felt bad about her pi...

I was invited by my ACCA classmate, Elaine, to her baby boy’s baby shower today. My fellow classmates, Peggy & Tammy were not able to make it, so I was the representative for them. It was indeed quite odd to be there alone. Fortunately, Elaine, her hubby (Sia), her mum & relatives was able to make me feel at home with their friendly conversations. I hereby wish baby Gylan a happy 1st month & hope he grows stronger and healthier each day.

I had only received Elaine’s sms that she had given birth a baby boy, Gylan when I got off the bus at Far East Plaza this morning. Apparently Baby Gylan arrived in this world late last night. Since it was too short of a notice for me to order a hamper, since she could not confirm her ward number and bed number as the hospital, she was in, Thomson Medical Centre was packed with expectant mums. She was housed in the Day Surgery Centre. It was not until the early afternoon then she was able to confirm her ward & bed number. I tried to get Tammy & Peggy to join me but they had prior appointments. They asked me to send my regards to her and get for her something. It was hard to get something within a short notice. Eventually I got her a hamper. as shown in the photo above from the hamper shop located at the ground level of the hospital. I must compliment the shopkeeper. Her service was excellent. On seeing that I may have difficulty carrying the hamper up, she offered to send...

Me with Elaine, Tammy & Peggy These were the photos taken outside the Nike Store Wheelock Place on Friday. Thanks Peggy for the sharing!!!

This meet up was hastily arranged as my classmate, Elaine had requested that we meet up before she becomes a mummy next month. Therefore I hastily messaged Tammy & Peggy the next day, checking if they are available on any of the days mentioned by the mummy to be. I was a little surprised that both Tammy & Peggy agreed to the meet up almost immediately after receiving my sms, with Tammy stating that she is excited about seeing Elaine, while all of us are excited to catch up with Peggy after she missed the last 2 gatherings with us at Sun & Moon @ Wheelock Place and @ Carousel @ Royal Plaza on Scotts. Dinner was at Big O Cafe at Wheelock Place, as the mummy to be said she can’t take raw food for the time being. I was there a little late, as I was trying to clear a complex tax provision, but due to its complexity, and diverse business, I was not able to complete it today. We had a good time catching up with one another, as we have not met one another for about 8 months. In...

Wednesday was my first lesson for the Professional Accountant (P1) paper that I will be most likely retaking for the coming June Exams. The location of my new school is at 6 Raffles Quay, Singapore Accountancy Academy’s City Campus. The building is actually the former John Hancock Tower. I feel glad that I have made the choice to study at the school as this lecturer, Mr Woo, seems to explain the concepts better than the lecturer at Kaplan. This makes me able to grasp the concepts taught better. Although the distance is slightly further than Kaplan, the longer time taken to travel is worth it. Even though, it means I have to have my dinner of bread at my office first before I leave for class. Let’s hope this will give me the confidence and motivation that I need for the coming exam.

I have been asking myself this question since I heard from my new colleague, Wee Yong that CPA Australia has a much higher pass rate than ACCA. I am quite tempted to make the switch as my ACCA Level 2 qualification is recognised in as part of the qualification. Seeing how my friend got her CPA Australia certificate in 4 years, while I am still struggling with my ACCA after 4 years, after discounting my one year break as of now, makes me wonder if I had made the right choice to take ACCA as my degree in the first place. It took me 3 years to get through the Level 2 hurdle and I certainly do not want to keep not clearing again, despite putting in the effort. Maybe I should give it a try should I flunked the Professional stage again. The facilities of CPA Aussie is definitely better than ACCA. Went down to Kaplan City Campus just now, hoping to sign up for P1 class. I didn’t know that Roy Goh does not teach P1 anymore, but shares P2 with Mr Sami now. I wanted to try out Roy’s class a...

I was asked by Peggy to join her for this seminar organised by the ACCA and Oxford Brookes University last night about doing the Research & Analysis Project to obtain a Bsc Honours In Applied Accounting. Since I have cleared my Fundamentals Stage of the ACCA quite some time ago and am looking at various options since I am stuck in the Professional Stage, I decided to join her for this talk. The cost for the seminar was $25, which I thought was a little steep, but taking into consideration that it covered the speakers’ airfares and accomodation, it was justified. Some doubts about the degree which I previously had were clarified. Just a report and analysis report will be sufficient to get the degree as the techincial aspects of the degree are all covered in the ACCA papers. There is no need to wait till the completion of my Professional Stage to start to work on the project as I have completed my Fundamental Stages. But these are the things that are holding me bac...

I hereby wish all my friends who are taking their ACCA exams or any other exams this week, good luck for your papers. May what u wish for come out and the questions that came out you are able to do so and do it well. Received a phone call from the CASE officer who was handling my case. She advised me to go down to the company and sign their agreement, otherwise I may have problems cancelling the agreement that I have signed. Will be doing so tonight. I will be there with my friend & mum. Thanks JS for agreeing to help on short notice. Also to some of you whom I called for help but are not able to accompany me. Thanks for your advices and support. I guess you guys know who you are. Will defintely update you on the progress. Let's hope nothing funny happens tonight.

Just saw my results a few moments ago, I have failed again. I feel distraught and disappointed that I have failed again. I felt I have tried my best, but it seems my best is not good enough. I really feel like giving up but some of you have encouraged me to go on. I should be going on to retake the paper again since the syallabus is changing again.BUT I am not sure if I can have the motivation and confidence to go on further.

Just want to wish my friends and fellow coursemates who are taking the ACCA exams in these 2 weeks (like me) all the best in the papers that they are taking. Let's hope that ACJC is a good hunting ground for us to ace our papers!!!

I am tempted to ask one of my former lecturers for ACCA this question after she told my friend not to attempt for the coming June exam after my friend had asked her if it was alright for her to just run through her notes, instead of practising the exam kit. Because of this, my friend became very sad and stressed. I spent about an hour with her on the phone to convince her to go for the exam, no matter what. As a lecturer, I feel that she should not have looked down on my friend. A lecturer should teach in a easy to understand way, to encourage students and to instill confidence in the students. Having taken this lecturer's lessons before, I must say she is not a good lecturer as her practice questions are not of exam standard, unlike Mr Sami, my Corporate Reporting lecturer whose questions are more exam focused. This lousy lecturer seems to have problems explaining concepts to students as well. I just wonder if she would ask her child not to go for exam next time if her ch...

Attended my first lesson of Advanced Corporate Reporting at FTC yesterday. I understand from my lecturer that the school will be following its rival course provider in giving homework & mock exam to students. Just hope I will be able to cope with it. It seems a bit difficult, judging from the work load I am having. Was irritated by the fact that people are still not moving to the rear of the bus as I travelled to work today. I can't imagine the lady stand near the door and don't move. I was just tempted to ask if she got jelly legs that will melt after moving to the rear of the bus? When will these people ever learn?

Just wish to express my thanks to the following people wishing me good luck for papers. Darling Dalicia Elaine mei Tammy Ms C Curryegg Especially Elaine, Tammy & Ms C who said I can do it. I will try not to disappoint you gals.

Just want to wish all my friends who are taking or have taken their ACCA papers for this 2 weeks, All the best for your papers. That includes myself too. Paul - P1 & P3 Richard - P1 & P3 Tammy - P2 & P3 Elaine - F8, P2, P5 Sherlyn - F5 & F6 Oh to one of my blogger friend too, who is also taking her exam this round, good luck to her too. Thought that this song by Jay was touching, so decided to share with you guys. I'm Not Worthy

I just wrote an e-mail to my school. I shan't explain myself here. Please read the email & you will know why I am still seething with anger. The thought of these people collecting our fees are like blood sucking loan sharks that kept increasing our fees every semester!!! Dear Ms Mah, I wish to express my disappointment for this coming term's class registration. I was planning to submit my registration online as I will be busy with my work after my exams. Unfortunately, I have found that the link was removed. May I ask why was that so? It has been an effective tool for most students, I believe as everyone has a heavy workload to clear after our exam. With this tool, we could actually send in our application first and make the payment later or by cheque. Secondly, I understand that FTC should close at 5pm on Sat. However, when I made the trip down to the school at 3.15pm, I found that the shutters were down. Why were we not informed of the change? It is very fustrating to see...

Mr Dominic Danaraj Pic courtesy of FTC Kaplan I had 2 ACCA subject lectures with my lecturer, Mr Dominic Danaraj today. As he was conducting the Business Analysis lecture about human resouce management, he mentioned a part that an organisation needs to select the "right" person for the job. An organisation needs will change so as to suit the changes of the enviornment around it. A person's needs will change too, as his goals and objectives will change as he seeks for better prospects due to the enviornment. He went on to say that if you were to go for an interview next time, don't ever mention that you are leaving because of the salary, but say the organisation's goals and objectives are no longer parallel with my objectives and goals, therefore I decide to move on. I agree with that. What do you think?

I attended the Advanced Performance Management Bridging class conducted by Mr Sami last night with Von. The purpose of the class was to let us know the new topics that were added to the new syallabus for the paper that I just failed. He mentioned that the paper at the last sitting was rather unfair, especially in one of the questions, where many things were required under exam conditions. He advised us to retake the paper at this sitting as this sitting, we are allowed to take the options paper first for the last time as we were under the old scheme. I went to ask him after the class last night if I should take all the 3 papers (incl the Business Analysis & Professional Accountant papers that I am taking now) or if I should drop one of them. I didn't expect that he advised me to go for all of them. In fact, Von, my mum & Elaine mei asked me to go for all the papers this round. I decided to talk to my mum as to why I decide to take only Business Analysis & Professional A...

Today was the day for the release of my exam results. You haven't heard me talking about it as I was too busy with my work. In fact, I was back in office last Sat to clear some of the filing of documents. I didn't want the b*** to find an opportunity to stab my back again. I failed my paper as expected as I didn't manage to finish the paper, but it was a good score for me, considering I did only 60% of the paper. I wish to thank the following people for their support. Eriko Gingy Yvonne Christine Krys Wendy Rebec Elaine mei Tammy Caifeng I can't retake the paper that I failed this round as there is a change in syallbus. The new requirement is to clear the core papers first before coming back to the optional papers. I promise to strive for my Professional Accountant & Business Analysis paper this round.