Just A Dream

Have you ever had the feeling where many things (either good or bad) happened so quickly that at the end of the day you wondered whether everything was real? I have experienced this for a few times but as far as I could remember,they were mainly because I felt totally exhausted after a long and busy day. Yet,today (or yesterday to be exact since it's 1.40am now),it was slightly distinctive from my previous experience.

A call from Sydney woke me up at 9am today. In a half-asleep state,I answered the call and was not paying full attention to her.

"Hi,may I speak to Yan?"..."How are you?"..."This is Jessica"...."Institute of Chartered Accountants".....

The lady on the line paused after she introduced herself. She was probably expecting me to say something or she thought I would know the reason of her calling me but the only thought ran through my mind was "Hmm..Chartered Accountants?I don't think I have applied for any internship program offered by the institute.Why are you calling me in such an early morning?". An awkward silence for 2 seconds,I said "Uh-huh?",then she said "Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that you have won the CA Overall Student Challenge in state level and have been selected as the state finalist for Victoria and Tasmania!"

WHAT?! I literally jumped off my bed!

"You will be flown to Sydney next week,have the opportunity to meet and network with high profile employers in the accounting industry,deliver a presentation to the judging panel and have a new suit especially fitted for you!" the lady continued.

She then told me the details and quickly jotted down my email address so that she could send me the information by email. From the itinerary that I received,I know that I will definitely have an amazing time in Sydney,an experience that can never be bought with money! Later in the afternoon,someone from the Public Relation team gave me a call and we had a bit of chat about my experience so far in the competition so that it could be used by the local media's release.

I have never thought that Nicole and I would win the competition. I knew it's very competitive so I didn't aim to win it. I am actually happy enough that we were able to submit works of high quality within the time constraints. It has never ever crossed my mind that we could make it this far! State finalist,all paid expenses Sydney trip,2 nights stay at Shangri-La Hotel,dinner at Cafe Sydney at Circular Quay,1.5 k of corporate attire voucher,presentation skills workshop etc,it is surreal to be informed about all these in a day! Not sure if we could win the national round,but let's just hope for the best,and of course,I will do my very best. Good night! :)

The results of CA Student Challenge 2011:
www.studentchallenge.com.au/

Merdeka

31st August-Malaysia Independence Day. Just in case you are not aware of how Malaysians in Melbourne celebrate Merdeka, we party in a club! Yes, that's how we show our patriotism, by counting down in a club at 2am Aussie time(i.e. 12am Malaysian time),dancing and drinking. I suppose it's just another excuse for them to party for the whole night haha! So this year,I joined the fun and attended the Merdeka clubbing at Fusion nightclub at Crown! Decided to go this year because I was really curious how people celebrate Merdeka in a club. Would everyone stand still and sing "Negaraku" after counting down at 2am? (The answer is NO,everyone continued dancing after "5,4,3,2,1"). Also,some of my clubbing friends are graduating end of this year hence I won't have the companion to attend this kind of event next year. So when would I have the chance to go other than this year?! Here are a few photos taken last night:

Pre-drink at Ze Ying's place

Before entering the club

Clubbing with Shyue Shyan for the very first time!
How surprised our secondary school friends will be after they know about this.

It was a pretty enjoyable night! No one tried to take advantage of girls in our group and no big drama happened. *Thank God!* I am not a girl who could go wild and party to the max so clubbing is still not my cup of tea. It is killing to dance and stand in high heels for the whole night! Okay to do it once a while (like once a half year) but definitely a big no no if I were asked to go clubbing every week/month.

Other than going to a club voluntarily and clubbing with Shyue Shyan for the first time,I experienced the "almost fainted" feeling for the very first time in my entire life. I was perfectly fine when I came out from the club but I started feeling unwell while waiting for friends. First symptom-blocked ears, second symptom-saw spots before my eyes. Started to feel sick and everything around me was swaying. My friends thought my drink was spiked when they saw my pale face and sweaty palms. A few friends quickly helped me to sit on the floor and asked everyone not to surround me. Took off my jackets,took a few deep breaths,my visions slowly went back to normal. Luckily Shyue Shyan was alert and realised that I was unwell. It would be really bad if I fainted and became unconscious. I am not sure what triggered that but I guess the change of place and position after staying in the club for 5 hours might be the cause. It was quite frightening and I will never forget the feeling of going to faint. Have to be more careful in the future and warn the people around me if it happens again! (Of course,I hope it will never ever happen again!)

Have you heard about the Malaysia local production "Nasi Lemak 2.0",the movie produced by Namewee? I went for the only premium show of that movie in Melbourne on Wednesday. A few actors,including Namewee, came and watched the movie with us! A pretty good comedy,which shows the true Malaysia and promote harmony among races. The movie made me miss Malaysia even more and I can't wait for 31st December to come! Just to share something said by Namewee after the movie with you-"There is nothing I want to say other than this. Even if I could get a very good job offer overseas,I will still return to Malaysia".