last day of business fundamentals training

yea today was e last day of our business fundamentals training. for e past 2 weeks, we hav had learnt, or rather relearnt, e basic finance concepts, played a trading simulation game and taken 2 exams! we jus had our 2nd exam this morn, after only abt 4 hrs of sleep. shagged man, worse than uni days lo. we mugged till 3am! hahaa. but well, it was finally over.

e activity after e exam was fun! it was called “re-create e trading floor”. yup it was some sort of trading simulation, but nt e kind we did for e past 2 weeks, which was those online one. this was entirely new for me haa. it was in fact futures trading simulation done physically.

in grps of 3, we took turns to play e role of a trader (whose role is to strike e deal), a floor manager (whose role is to run e book) and a runner (whose role is to convey messages between e 2).

we were betting on e total value of 4 randomly picked poker cards from a deck of 52. say, if ur view is that e 4 cards will add up to 30, u will wanna  long at a “price” that is less than 30 or u will wanna short at a “price” greater than 30. information will b released from time to time, so teams may change their views on e total value of e 4 cards. for e.g., at some pt of time, 1 out of e 4 cards will b revealed. also, e remaining cards in e deck are slowly revealed at diff pts of time.

futures trading simulation game

it was exciting to b a trader haha. ppl were shouting at their top of their voice and competing with one another to give e best quotes. it was tiring too definitely haha. as for e floor manager, a key responsibility is to continously work out our net position and breakeven price, to give e trader an idea of “prices” and positions to quote. and e runner, besides shuffling to and fro e trader and floor manager to pass deal tickets,  has to look out for info releases.

though we didnt win, we still make some profits haha. but more importantly, it was damn fun!!

but activity after tt was kinda sian. we went to do some gardening chores in a public park as some community involvement project! wah lau. i think it was kinda pointless lo. but well… nt tt we hav a choice haha. i mean i am ok if we do community service tt are like more meaningful, such as tutoring kids, painting some children homes or things like tt u see.

anyway it has been a tiring day! and i have to go pack for our scotland trip later!! haha.

sunday outing and mugging

last sunday morn was spent at buckingham palace. or rather, outside e palace haha.

a trip to buckingham palace

there was e change of guards parade at 11.30am, so we reached there at abt 10plus 11 to try to get a gd spot. it was really crowded and our spots werent really fantastic. but well, it was kinda disappointing cos there was really nth very nice abt e parade. but well, this is still sth tt one muz experience at least one time in london huh.

e must-do thing in london tt can really do without

after tt, we walked towards the houses of parliament and the big ben, which was just abt 15mins walk away. took some pics with, and of, the famous clock tower haa.

big ben

a few metres away, we could get a nice view of another london’s landmark: the london eye. we heard last year’s GTP grads had a networking event onboard e london eye lo. how shiok! haha. but not anymore this year. so poor ppl like us could only take pics of it from a dist.

london eye

after a morning (and early afternoon) of sightseeing, we made our way to another famous destination of london. yess harrods  is e most famous departmental store in london i think haa. it is very pretty inside. it also houses alot of luxurios brands which i cant afford ha. so e first section i went to was e souvenirs place. got some stuff for my colleagues. things there seriously nt cheap lo. jus some biscuits and jam cost me like almost 100 sgd!! wah biang.

harrods

decided to return to apartment early cos we were having our first exam on mon. went back and we went to ade’s room for some instant noodles dinner. kinda pathetic huh haha. then after tt was mugging session. yawn.

instant noodles party

circus skills on fri and outlet shopping on sat

e first part of training was over and we will b having our first exam this coming mon! training so far was okie. learnt abt basics of financial mkts, stats, probability, accounting etc. and also hav to play some trading simulation game in teams of 3 or 4 ppl. but it was kinda tiring to b attending lesson everyday from 8plus am - 6plus pm everyday. well, but still much better than working la haha.

fri was a bit different. yes, cos e 2nd half of e day was spent learning some circus skills! packed lunch was provided and a coach fetched us to e venue. we changed into casual clothes and were divided into grps. 4 main activities for e session: juggling, static trapeze, stilt-walking and acrobatic balancing (doing human pyramid). it was pretty fun cos had never been exposed to such stuff at all haha. but nt easy man. esp stilt-walking! wah lau it was scary lo. cos so unstable. though i think it didnt reallly help much in teambuilding, it was still a kinda gd experience ba.

teambuilding event at circus space

e session ended with all e grads forming a giant human pyramid! and after e event, finger food and drinks were served haha. oh anyway no pics to show cos nv took any. wad a pity.

most of e asian grads went for dinner tgt at a chinese restaurant. ordered quite a lot and it was very filling. but e food was so-so only. but it was quite a refreshing change after days of burgers and sandwiches ha.

asian grads dinner at lao di fang

at nite, we decided to go to a club called “abacus” as many grads were there as well. jus went there to look look see see la. had been sooo long since i last went to a club man ha. okie la it wasnt too bad. but was soo tired after a loong day. only slept at abt 2plus am! and had to wake up at 8plus am for outlet shopping!

club at abacus

on sat, went to this outlet mall called bicester village. it took us abt 1plus hour and 16 pounds to reach there. well, it was quite big and it was crowded with ppl. there are brands like burberry, CK, DKNY, ted baker, tommy, polo ralph lauren, D&G, hugo boss, fred perry, paul smith, dior etc etc.

outlet shopping at bicester village

reached there at abt 12plus pm and went for lunch at pret a manger. nt bad! nice sandwiches and wraps and soups haha.

lunch at pret a manger

then we splited up to shop before meeting up again at a specified time. well, nth much for me there. only gt a cardholder from ted baker for myself and a small DKNY bag for dear. things werent really cheap. ok la, US outlet malls are too hard to beat man. haha.

goodbye bicester village

reached back central london at like 8plus pm and we were like sooo hungry! couldnt find any decent restaurant at liverpool street. most were alr closed. so ended up in mac. tried a burger tt was nt avail in sgp. it was gd lo haha. mac is hard to go wrong man.

mac for dinner

at nite we met to discuss abt our scotland trip next weekend. yup, most prob will b gg ahead. it is gg to b just a short 2D1N trip but we certainly hope it will b fun! if nth goes wrong, shld b able to book e tickets and accomodation tmr! nice. haha.

2nd day of training

first half of today’s training was another series of talks by guest speakers ha. it was being held at UBS office at finsbury avenue, actually pretty close to e office we went to yest. breakfast was provided and so we had some coffee and pastries. nt bad at all.

UBS office, finsbury avenue

today’s talks were on personal branding and reputation mngt, performance mngt and measurement, intro to community affairs etc. yes, part of this program will see us doing some community affairs activities like gardening! haha. tt will happen next fri. and sth even more exciting will take place this friday! circus skills! oh my goodness lo. why are we gg to learn circle skills?! apparently tt is supposed to b teambuilding event ha. a quick glance at e handbook, we are expected to experience acrobatic balancing, stilt-walking, juggling and static trapeze! fun anot u tell me. wah lau haha.

anyway, we were let off at abt 1230pm to have our lunch at our own expense. we had a quick one at this jap-inspired cafe. i had a vegetable dumpling udon soup. kinda nice! and very filling too. quite worth it for 4.95 pounds haha. tt is like one of e cheapest meals we had in london alr.

cheap and good lunch

after lunch we made our way to dexter house where e bulk of e remaining training will b held.

dexter house

we will b learning e financial fundamentals there. class was taught by some external trainers and it was still okie. i will faint when it comes to my much hated derivatives and bonds i guess. haha. but shall nt waste time worrying abt tt first. one step at a time!

class ended early at 5pm today! cos ade wanna shop for some shoes for gardening, we went to primark at oxford st, a place selling cheapo clothes and accessories and stuff. back to apartment for instant mee noodles for dinner. so sad.

training has officially started

training officially started yest and all e graduates gathered at UBS office at 100 liverpool street at 11plus am.

UBS office at 100 liverpool street

first thing to do was to collect our per diem! yes we were given allowance to support e high cost of living in london ha. shiok man, was richer by 315 pounds. but well, that is like only 15 pounds per day, barely enough to cover food and transport! but well, it was better than nth huh haha.

our per diem!

we were given a handbook which contains all e details we need to noe for this program and also a name tag to facilitate getting-to-noe-each-other process haa.

handbook and name tag

next was networking lunch. first time meeting e other grads from diff offices ard e world. sydney, tokyo, hong kong, beijing, taipei, zurich, london, seoul, and of cos singapore! and everyone was in diff roles within IB, like equities, FICC, IT, compliance, risk, HR and also operations.  it was kinda interesting to speak to diff ppl but slowly and natuarally, ppl tend to hang ard in their own grps. so it was quite distinct that there were e london grp, e australia grp, e swiss grp and e asian grps. haha.

anyway after lunch, it was basically a series of talks from diff guest speakers, topics ranging from UBS values to our structure and strategy to professional behaviour etc. and e day ended with a drinks reception which give ppl more networking opportunities.

dinner was with fellow singaporeans and some new colleagues at an asian restaurant near e office. we were easilye noisiest table there la haa.

dinner gang

another day in london

today was our 2nd day in london. it was a beautiful slp yest and i slept till 9.30am or so. had some breakfast of digestive biscuits and apple, then met up with e rest at 10.30am. first activity: notting hill carnival! it was one of e biggest carnivals in london and it happened to b on 30 and 31 aug. so we took e tube to notting hill to join in e festive mood ha.

notting hill carnival

it was very crowded! there were some processions gg on. very much like our chingay parade haa. and there were some stalls selling food, drinks etc. there were also many locals hawking stuff like whistles, horns etc for ppl to make lotsa noise ha. e carnival spread across quite a large area, amidst e residential district. though there was nth much to see, but i kinda like e whole atmosphere. everyone was in a party mood and e whole place was lively and full of energy.

lunch was from one of e stalls. guess it was some jamican dish, called jerk chicken haa. it was basically BBQ chicken and topped with some special sauce. served with salad and rice, it cost 6 pounds. not bad. kinda gd haha.

our jerk chicken lunch

left e carnival at abt 1plus or so. then headed to oxford street via e tube. oxford st is jus like our orchard rd, alot of shops and could see many familiar brands. it was shopping time! e gers and guys parted ways to shop on their own for 3 hrs. nth much for me cos all still kinda expensive leh. and e brands are nth special, mostly are avail back home. but towards e end bought a formal shirt cos like e cut and material alot. haha.

shopping haven at oxford street

from oxford st, we walked to regent st and finally walked till piccadilly, where we were at yest night ha.

piccadilly, again

legs were super tired after a long day of walking and more walking. decided to go back to our apt to drop our stuff before gg for dinner. another australian GTP joined us and e 6 of us had dinner at a restaurant nearby. my 10 pounds burger was gd! think will go back to eat again next time since it is jus round e corner. after dinner, went for grocery shopping again, but at another supermarket which is jus beside e restaurant.

dinner and grocery shopping

tmr is e start date for our program! but guess will hav nth much tmr. probably will b more of briefing, networking etc. actual training shld start on wed.. time to hit e books soon!

first day in london

my parents and dear went to airport with me to send me off. it was a pleasant surprise to see xinwei, lilin (and bf) and kiaying there too ha. cos only 3 weeks so kinda unexpected tt they actually made e effort to go all e way there. thanks!

send-off at terminal 1

after bidding them farewell, it was time to head to e gate for boarding. our quantas flight took off punctually and e whole flight was more comfortable than i hav expected ha. e food was ok, managed to watch “man i love you (or issit i love you man?), managed to sleep for a few hrs here and there, and e flight was smooth…

reached london heathrow at abt 5plus am and we waited for e van we hav booked in adv to take us to our apartments. e van was huge and comfy and it took abt 30mins or so to reach central london. but at 7plus am, we couldnt check in yet. so we jus leave our luggages with e recep and went to walk ard e area.

think maltings place apartments at tower bridge rd

walked to tower bridge, which is e pretty bridge which i always thot is london bridge. now then noe that london bridge is actually nth one, jus an old simple and normal-looking bridge. we then met up with benjamin before grabbing a bite at some restaurant. next we tried to find our training venue. it is actually walkable from our apt, but i guess it takes abt 20mins. wah lau, nt tt near lo haa.

this is tower bridge, nt london bridge!

we then walked past e tower of london, walked to the monument, then to st paul cathedral. all e architecture is so beautiful man. anyway it was abt 12plus 1pm alr so we made our way back to e apt, thinking can check in alr. but no! apts still nt ready. only benjamin’s one is cos his is at a diff building. so we went over to rest at his place first. his apt was new and very nice laa.

walking ard tower bridge

st paul cathedral

cant believe tt my apt was only ready at like 3.30pm! seriously lo, how inefficient can they get. finally could get a gd shower after waiting so long. my apt was like e lousiest among 4 of us. mine was small and doesnt hav balcony. sigh. but well, still okie la. nth to grumble since it is free right. haha.

my studio apartment - home for 3 weeks

abt 4plus we went out again cos were freaking hungry! went to covent garden which is quite a nice place! alot of buskers and many ppl. one performer is damn entertaining la. but i wonder if his style of humour can work in singapore ha. we walked ard e area in search of affordable restaurant. finally found one called e wellington, jus beside e lion king theatre. decor and ambience was nt bad. i was craving for fish n chips since morning and finally gt to eat tt haa. but food was no gd there. but well, at least it filled our stomach. oh and an australian GTP joined us for dinner cos his peer hasnt arrived yet.

covent garden

after dinner we walked to leicester square then to piccadilly circus, both are very happening places with many cafes and restaurants. but too bad shops close early in london, if nt it wld b much better. decided to go back early to rest cos was really tired alr! it had been such a loonng day man.

ready, get set, go

luggage is packed. finally. nt easy to squeeze so much things man. haha.

my black bulky luggage

in another 6 hrs time, i will b on quantas flight to london! in my 3 weeks there, will try to update my blog as often as i can. it shall b a great trip!

one day leave on fri

took a day leave on yest, one day before  flying off to london. dear also took leave so it was pak tor time on fri haa. first stop of e day was lunch at e jap restaurant in illuma called ebisboshi shotengai. our first time there. decor was nt bad ha. and e food-ordering process was a novelty. instead of servers coming to take ur orders, you are given an electronic pen whereby u can use it to scan e food item u wan on e menu. quite fun ha. cos e pen even reads out wad u hav scanned and prompts u e next step. anyway we ordered a fried beef noodles, a jap-style yong tau foo and seafood okonomiyaki. e hiroshima-style okonomiyaki was pretty gd! quite similar to e one we had during grad trip haa. but e others werent tt great.

lunch at illuma

anyway after e filling lunch we walked ard, and made our way to an 1-hr massage session at lifespa, located at purvis street. there was an UOB promo and each session cost only $24 for first timer. haha tt’s why we went for it. both of us had aromatherapy massage and i thot was nt bad. very relaxing and felt recharged after tt. but nt e same can b said for dear ha. she didnt quite like it. perhaps she is nt really into massage la. but well, i guess $24 is kinda worth it. of cos they will try to sell u packages after tt. but it is okie if u decline. but thumbs down for nt offering a shower after e massage. such tt we left e place with our body abit oily still. cos they over gave a wipe-down.

massage at lifespa

next up wanted to go find e “rich and good cakeshop” at 24 kandahar street (near arab street area). it was famous for its swissrolls, which come in flavours like durian, mango, kaya, coffee etc. first tried its swissroll on thurs when a colleague bought it to share. nice lo. kinda diff from e normal kind. finally found it after driving ard e area for some time, turning here and there. we bought 1 mango and 1 durian one. 2 for $13 which is nt considered expensive given its size!

famous for their swissrolls

before meeting BBS for dinner, we went to chinatown to change some pounds and also buy some toiletries. dinner was at mr curry at central. it was kiaying’s and lilin’s turn to treat! haa yup we took turns to treat each other, in celebration of our first job. food was gd but i think e restaurant is too hot with all its spot lights. esp when u are eating curry lo! haha.

BBS at mr curry

e night ended with a movie. dear and me watched “the proposal” cos didnt wanna watch “year one” which they were watching haa. movie was nt bad. i think romantic comedy is hard to go wrong anyway haa. it was really a loooonng day man. only reached home at 3plus. dead tired! haven start packing my luggage! goodness.

UBS recruitment event in NTU

this week, UBS will be holding recruitment talks in all 3 local uni – NTU, NUS and SMU. as an NTU alumus, i am involved in e event tmr at NTU. haha. to think last yr i was still among e final-year students attending all e countless recruitment talks by e banks and other MNCs. so fast, one yr has passed. and now i am back to those events but in a totally diff role!

quite excited to b involved in this actually, to have e opportunity to share with e students life in UBS thus far. haha. but since i hav only been there for 1plus mth, i guess wad i can share is pretty limited la.  hopefully i can shed some light on e questions they will hav. and e better thing is can get to leave office earlier haa. like at 6pm? okie la better than nth. haa. well, bad thing is tt no transport is provided (wah lau) and e event only ends at abt 9pm, when e next day still needa work. but well, for e pride to b part of this, i am okie with these downs.

looking forward to tmr!

dragonboat

hav been wanting to try this sport since NTU days. finally gt e chance to do so now haa. for e last few saturdays, i hav been faithfully turning up for dragonboat training with UBS team. okie i missed a couple of trainings ha. but well, still quite effort on my part cos e training starts at 10am on a sat man. it takes alot of discipline to wake up early and nt succumb to e temptation of sleeping in on a lazy sat morning lo haha.

dragonboating at kallang

after e first training, my whole body ached for a few days la. esp e waist part haa. actually after every training, my body will ache ha.  it sure takes some time to get used to man. and everytime during training, i will keep thinking wad e hell am i doing there man. torturing myself on a sat morn when i can well b sleeping. but after training, i feel gd and was glad tt i actually went for it. so tt keeps me gg week after week. and yes, i will b there this sat!

ultimately, i hope to join a race with e team la. e upcoming race is e corporate community games (CCG) in late oct. but dunno i can join tt anot cos i will b away for london training in sept and thus will b missing some trainings. see how la, hopefully can still join yea.

but one thing i feel abt UBS team is tt it is nt very close-knitted. i feel la. cos many ppl dun come regularly and they dun like go for lunch tgt or wad after tt. kinda sian huh. esp when u see other teams are like so well-bonded ha. but well, see how it goes. mayb i am wrong ha.

steamboat at M hotel

now shld b bed time for me alr. haha. but cos i am tooo full so decide to push back my sleeping time a little.

had steamboat dinner with my parents and dear at M hotel, the buffet restaurant just now. we gt to choose 2 soup bases from a total of 4: tom yum, chicken soup, bak kut teh and laksa. we chose e first 2 ha. or rather, they chose them, cos i reached late. so paiseh to leave office at 7.30pm today cos my team still busy working. but well..

anyway e food spread wasnt too fantastic. those typical steamboat ingredients. on top of tt, they serve drunken prawns, pepper crabs and cream crabs too. drunken prawns was gd la cos they were large and fresh! but cant say e same for e crabs. e flesh was soft soft kind. nt too fresh i think. dessert spread was ok only also. but i like e durian puree and choc fondue alot haha. e rest were nt worth mentioning la.

but nt bad, e 4 of us had a gd dinner. steamboat at hotel restaurant is much better la. then at bugis or wad. cos gt aircon and e ambience is much better. somemore e servers were quite efficient too, clearing our table and changing our plates pretty fast. and they serve cold towel for u to wipe ur hands after u shell e prawns all tt.

e bill came to abt $90 for 4 of us, which works out to b less than $24 per person. nt bad huh! thanks to citibank card promo haha. 2nd diner dines at 44 cents, up to a max of 4 ppl. tue to thurs only.

happy birthday singapore

yest was our nation’s big day! it was my mum’s bday also haha. didnt go anywhere to cele. planning to go for M hotel buffet this coming thurs to one shot cele my mum’s belated bday, my father’s bday in adv and my first pay day ha. one stone 3 birds eh. nt tt i am stingy, it is jus tt these 3 occassions happen to take place ard e same time ha. anyway before i start working, i alr told myself tt i will bring my family to somewhere nice for dinner at least once a mth.

anyway, back to our nation’s bday. it was sad i didnt manage to get allocated e ndp tix again! wah lau ever since they started this ballot system i hav had zero luck lo. i used my IC, my mum’s IC, my father’s IC, my sis’s IC, dear’s IC and even her brother’s IC but still no luck. so could only catch e parade on tv ha.

last yr went to city hall area cos wanna catch a glimpse of e black knights and also to soak in e atmosphere. this yr decided to jus catch ndp live on tv. lazy to squeeze with e crowd jus to watch e fireworks display. dear came over and we all watched ndp over dinner ha.

ndp 2009

this yr’s ndp was very gd la. i hav never been a great fan of e mass display segment. i only like e parade and e fireworks ha. but this yr’s mass display was totally nice man. e theme, e music, e lightings, e costumes, e stage design, and e whole atmosphere it created. wow. i couldnt imagine e hard work and meticulous planning needed to put this wonderful show tgt. great job ndp committee!

on national day, it was always time to reflect wad being a singaporean means to u, how much singapore has given u, how blessed u are to be born and living here. thanks for everything. i am sure singapore will continue to prosper and succeed in e future. happy birthday singapore.

one step forward towards london trip

yes after hours and more hours of online work, i hav finally finished all 46 online modules that we are expected to finish by 15 aug. in e beginning i still religiously spent alot of time paying attention to every single slide, tried every single practice qn, taking down notes etc. but gradually i started to jus skimp thru e whole thing haa. just to get them over and done with!

also, i hav just received details abt my accomodation in london. seems tt instead of sharing with a fellow graduate as wad we initially thot, i will hav a studio apartment all for myself. my lodging for 3 weeks in london: Think Maltings Place Apartments.  great tt this apt is near thames river and public transport ha. 

pretty studio apt in london

looks pretty huh. haha. but dun really like e idea of staying alone. kinda scary. but well, no choice anyway.

counting down: 19 more days to london trip!

a good week

this week so far has been a gd week haa. met up with dear for dinner on tue at out-of-the-pan at raffles city. citibank credit card holders can enjoy e 2nd savoury crepe for 44 cents, in conjunction with e upcoming national day. had a gd dinner there which followed by a waffle ice cream at shokudo. a tiring day, but being able to meet dear after work brought a smile to me.

wed dinner was spent with meishan, alps and joon at aston’s in suntec city ha. thanks for coming down to suntec huh. and it was a great catch-up session cos has been quite some time since we all last met. busy catching up with each others’ lives etc. over nice and cheap food!

then fri was kind of half day cos we were supposed to attend a welcome GTP 2009 session which was held at UBS WM campus at command hse. yea gd break away from office ha. first time there lo and it is such a beautiful place la haha. set ontop a little hill near bt timah rd, this white colonial style bungalow is really in a class of its own man. in fact. it used to be e residence of president ong teng cheong! anyway had a gd session with other GTPs, getting to noe each other. also, our senior batch came down to share their experiences and network with us. during e session, really felt very fortunate and proud to b in this program. it is definitely a great platform to launch a career in e finance industry. yup, so no matter how hard work is gonna be, i will cherish this opportunity and give my best yea.

command house

and loooonng weekend is here! woohoooo~

sat will b a happy day, lunching with vivien and yanni while dinnering with BBS over steamboat! haha.

sun will b a happy day too cos mon is public hol, cos it is national day and cos it is my mum’s bday! haha.

a good week isnt it?