The feel and fear of job-hunting has painfully crept into the lives of all of us to-be grads, and of course this has never been a better/worse time to be afraid of being caught in a career crisis. Yes, in one of the most dramatic days in Wall Street's history, the abrupt fates of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers; even the conversion of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to commercial banks - suddenly the world economy and job market have taken a slippery slope overnight, and alas - it dawns upon us that we're about to graduate into a recession.
In the words of my finance Prof, "The job-hunting scenario used to depict graduates fearing themselves not being selected for the investment bank's interview. Now it seems they are afraid of being able to find an investment bank itself."
Now I speak as though I aspire to be an investment banker like most of my peers do, which obviously ain't so. Yet how are we to bring ourselves to ignore or neglect the consequent implications of the situation, and the giant's overpowering effects which will spill into other sectors and industries? It is scary indeed, especially at this very important crossroads of our lives.
Even putting aside the pending economic downturn, we more-than-job-seekers fast-trackers have been concerned for the longest time over landing that ideal first job. Maybe it is a result of the forward-looking (albeit competitive) SMU culture, or maybe we were all forced to grow up. Whatever it is, we're in the stage of life where there's no looking back.
Personally, amidst the mixture of apprehension and excitement of going out to work in the "real world" in half a year's time, I am consoled to know I've indeed matured over these past 2-3 years, understanding myself and my career values to better manage self-expectations in the future. Really, I've definitely come a long way from the naive, myopic JC graduate, to the first dilemmas of choosing my majors, and eventually a graduating student seeking to carve a meaningful career path for myself.
Undoubtedly, I am missing out on many of those recruitment talks and seminars being so far away from home. SMU and OCS emails fly in and out of my mailbox every day, leaving me with a sense of guilt and loss that ultimately I'd better be independent, do my readings, find out more on my own and from my friends. With the emails to/from Christine and Kay Key that frequently revolve around the uncertainty of career planning - it is really at these times that I wished I were back home, talking about such close-to-heart topics with people who care and understand. Not to forget that I'll arrive in Singapore right in the middle of Week 1, and I can't afford to lose any more time in my last 14 weeks of school to adapt or adjust myself to the rush of things. ROAR.
P/S: Chris, I need you too to be my career advisor as much as you need me! :(
xx
I believe the above was triggered by the comment from my finance Prof, haha. It wasn't meant to sound that serious, even though at times I do feel quite stressed up over here thinking about career management and other issues.
On a side note, I wanted to share Trend Hunter, a website I came across during Small Business Management class. It's a rather interesting site to explore and navigate around - basically collects trends (fashion, retail, sex, environment, travel etc.) from all over the world and publishes them with ratings, statistics and what-nots. You might see something really interesting every time you visit and surf!
And since I'm at the topic of classes, let me just take the opportunity to reiterate that Art of the Film is REALLY INSIGHTFUL. I don't know how to describe it in brief words, but it has taught me to better understand and appreciate a film and the filmmakers' techniques, which actually require in-depth reading and research into its history and repeated observations of scenes, characters and situations.
I am also more sensitive to cinematographic details and turning points in a film's structure now, incessantly testing my assumptions and learning to dispel judgmental responses for more critical and meaningful ones. Watching Rashomon (see film description here) today, albeit a 1950 black-and-white Japanese film was invaluable, setting me thinking a lot about philosophical issues and the injection of Asian values within a dreary post-WWII setting. Intriguing!
random rant'o random-ness 8:58 AMTo the many friends who've already heard of the near-CAD-40 tee I've made for a souvenir from The Forks, I've finally collected it! The print looks golden here but it's actually greyish-silver - not a very shiny tint, so it doesn't look gaudy nor loud..
At least the captions ain't that big so it doesn't look too corny, heh.
This is an actual "Winnipeg at Night" postcard..!
The bus-ticket dispenser on Winnipeg Transit. It's interesting that bus tickets vary in physical length every time you board, and is dependent on boarding time. Fares are a standard CAD 2.25 regardless of length of journey, though tickets are valid for transfer to a 2nd bus within 1.5 to 2 hours upon boarding the 1st. So basically the driver adjusts the dispenser clip every 15-30 mins to reflect a new time expiry, accounting for the difference in ticket lengths every time (I still miss tapping my Ez-link though)!
I was craving for a healthy home-cooked meal today (decided that I should eat home more often even though reading with a cuppa in hand is what I often like to do straight after lessons, but that means spending money!). So this was what I cooked..
Brocolli + mushrooms + baby carrots, and tomato egg! Omg I miss the tomato egg my mum makes.. :(
Notice for a change that I'm drinking plain water - somehow I'm always drinking sodas or lemon teas over here - so quite proud of it, heh.
Suddenly this post gives me inspiration as to what to include in my Mum's birthday surprise, woo-ha! Haha.. :)
I've been talking too much about the University Centre and Elizabeth Dafoe Library; I finally brought my camera out Monday so as to document and share these favourite hangouts with people back home.
University Centre (UC) and the U of M Bookstore
Interior of UC - 3 stories high and consists of all kinds of shops - the U of M bookstore, 2nd-hand bookstore, florist, travel agency, hair salon, a bar, food outlets etc. Food outlets are limited in number and variety though.
GPA convenience store leh! Haha.. and now the amazing U of M Bookstore I've been swooning about:
This is really a good place to while time away in the afternoons, just because there is so much to look at - stationery, books, electronics, cards, little gifts (from china pieces to kitchen utensils..!), but what's REALLY eye-catching is its entire section on U of M souvenirs!
Hoodies and running tops - I'm eyeing the latter! Haha.
Ladies and guys' tees
Even baby clothing and all kinds of bags (and I really mean all kinds, from laptop bags to totes, slings and backpacks!)
HUMAN series tees that I kinda like.. though people back home'll prolly think I'm just "um"-ing away, haha.
A whole lot of cards and books of all genres, nice.
So really, the bookstore's one of my favourite hangouts cos I always find something new every time to look at. Book-browsing here is interesting too, cos their collection is rather diverse. :)
Elizabeth Dafoe Library
Also the main library on campus (there are 9 libraries in all), the Elizabeth Dafoe Library is a popular place due to its vast collection of course reserves, research materials and academic journals (and not forgetting Starbucks)! It is always crowded during lunch-time, though the Starbucks on-campus does not offer that great a selection of drinks.
Research area, and what I always have with me during my weekly Monday film readings
The library is 3 stories high and these depict only a small portion of every level, so it's really kinda huge. But all libraries on-campus only offer academic materials and journals, so no fiction at all unless you visit a public library.
Haha.. okay.. 'nuff said!
Couple other random shots
Administration Building at Chancellor's Circle
Duckworth Quad
Maybe I should in my spare time document significant places on campus and make it into a series of U of M memories as well, haha. Just a random thought.. hmmm.
The Assiniboine Park Zoo is home to more than 1250 animals from 300 different species, including native animal exhibits of polar bears, cougars, elk and bald eagles. Animals from around the world include the red panda, tigers, leopards and monkeys. It is said that there is also "a statue of the most famous bear who takes Winnipeg's name - Winnie the Pooh" - but I didn't get to see it anywhere :(
Hmm. I don't know where to start! As with every zoo trip, you don't always get good pics all the time and there are animals whose names you can't remember, haha. Anyhow, I'd say this zoo experience's kinda different from back home. Even though they feature exotic animals that I haven't seen before, it feels that their manmade habitats are neither as visually appealing nor "majestic" as Singapore Zoological Garden's. We did walk a lot of course, but mostly along mere zigzag aisles that separate an exhibit from another; I still find Singapore's more spacious lanes and larger animal ranges to be more conducive. (Oh besides, this is the first time I don't get to see rhinos, giraffes and elephants in a zoo leh, haha).
Zoo admission here is really cheap, at about CAD 5.50 per adult! They also have unique events at different times of the year, like "Lights in the Wild" in December, and one that's coming up really soon, "Boo at the Zoo" during Halloween in end-October - we may make a trip here again with Laura cos she says it's really fun, albeit for the kids. Still, it's our first time officially celebrating Halloween ever so I really don't mind spooking around with cute toddlers, haha.
Here's documenting my day at the zoo:
Assiniboine Park Entrance and the Pavilion
I love these 2 shots.
Didn't know the LHS shot turned out like this..!
The entrance, in preps for Boo at the Zoooo.
See they have cute bright strollers that parents can use for free
Grizzly Brown Bear
White Black-bear - a black bear but of a white phase! In fact, this bear was born from a black mother; her light colour is due to a lack of the black hair pigment melanin (informative eh). By the way, it's also refreshing seeing polar bears in the open instead of being enclosed in deep blue waters, haha.
Paying respects to Kungfu-Panda's shifu, the Red Panda! Squirrel monkeys are cute and hyperactive too, though I wished they looked more like squirrels than monkeys.. haha.
Press-a-penny machines are still fun to play around with.
Caution: wild animals on board!
Then it was time for lunch and a great big dessert.. heh.
Goofin' around with Boo at the Zoo props.. haha. Read the tombstones!
Cute and sociable raccoons
Don't know what this is, but it's cute and prances all around when you put your finger near them
Prairie dogs burrow everywhere in the ground
Bisons, reindeer and some dono-what-anymores..
Chasing peacocks
This feels like the FotoQuest Fishing game in my phone, haha.. piranhas to the right.
Vultures, and a very cute snow owl that looks like it's smiling!
Feeding the ducks with dried corn
SMU jumps that didn't really work.. looked more like I was preparing to go somewhere haha
Caught stealing maple leaves! Haha.. and finally treating myself to Baked Expectations for 2 whole days of walking. Well well, I guess this pretty much wraps up my remaining days of summer here, Fall starts tomorrow! Brrr.