Golden Ticket?

Starting work on 2nd of August.

Uncertainty?

Yea I guess it kills. Both literally and figuratively. Boy, isn’t it ages since I last updated my blog? I haven’t even found the initiative to blog about my Vietnam trip yet. Bahhh lol.

Anyway, for what it is worth, it has been an awesome 19 days trip in Vietnam. Been through highs and lows, learned a lot, seen quite a few new things, experienced something fun too. *cough* Also, I was pissed scared to drink the Dutch Lady I bought from Vietnam, the ‘fristi’ drink with two superheroes in cyborg uniforms in front as 1. Not only it’s written in Vietnamese 2. There’s ‘Calcium & TAURINE’ inside.

YES, GOD DAMN TAURINE. That’s why I bought it to try. It tasted a bit weird, but still ok.

Time to sum up my 19 days trip: (Take this with the pinch of salt)

1. Never ever take a freaking bus from Saigon (Ho Chin Minh) to Hanoi. It’ll take you 2 god damn days on the bus. Believe me, I was bus-sick when I was there. Terrible. Although the bus facility isn’t that bad (the 24hours busride), I still cannot take it. First time in my life I’d actually ‘lived’ in a bus for a day. Yeah. Not to mention the awful 3 hours minibus sardine cramped bus trip. God, I think riding a bicycle to the destination isn’t that bad after all. You still arrive with sore legs, just that you’re still able to breathe fresh air. Not to forget training your leg muscles as well.
2. If you ever have the cash, do visit a massage parlour. Lol.
3. If you ever stay in Saigon or Hanoi, do have a mp3 player with you. The horns there will drive one crazy. I know it did. It’s not for the fainthearted or those with high blood pressure. Trust me, you’ll thank god that you live in Malaysia (or where ever you are).
4. Girls cross their legs and sit sideways on the motorcycle, which is an elegant pose IMHO. Malaysian girls should do that. Especially those that are pretty *nods*.
5. Mixed ice drink (xua xua) is awesome. Such awesome, cheap, and refreshing drink where to find~
6. Girls there have better proportions for their body to hip ratio. I mean, there are those that does not fit the statement, but hell, comparatively, they beat MY girls flat. Physically. Disregard the face in this statement (MY girls still look way MORE ELEGANT and MORE SEXY and MORE BEAUTIFUL).
7. Taxi service there is awesome. Really. Like Ma Linh, the driver should be happy to come down and open your door. No joke, it’s written in the taxi in English. How professional that is. In Malaysia? Are you kidding me?
8. Saigon is still a better place to enjoy life compared to Hanoi (as there’s four seasons in Hanoi, and I went there during summer. Great).
9. Hanoi girls look way better than Saigon’s. BUT, comparatively, they are way more rude and impolite. Go see for yourself and you will be grateful for your current Malaysian girlfriend that you have. Maybe lalamuis are somewhat on par with them but wth.
10. North Vietnam and South Vietnam is always in a never ending crisis, altering history as we speak. (No, really).
11. The country is divided into North and South (DUH), whatever you have in the North, there’s a replica or similar destination in the South. I do not believe this at first, till I went to those places, and I gave a big lol in the end. Sea beach, Nha Trang vs Ha Long Bay, Highlands, Sa Pa vs Da Lat, etc. Really fascinating.
12. Never ever drink ethnic wine. I was screwed over with.
13. If you really want to go Vietnam, find a local there and stay with that person where ever you go. You’ll get cheaper price for most of the stuffs. They really pro at chopping foreigners (I believe this happens everywhere).
14. Vietnamese are good drinkers (most of them), so… don’t out-drink them if you can’t.
15. Malaysia still have better highways and facilities. No doubt.
16. Despite the barrier between the South and North, they are actually more united than Malaysians. Sad huh?
17. When opportunity comes, hit it hard with a baseball bat before it runs away.
18. You’re better off buying a Vietnamese wife instead of courting one. Lol.
19. Communists. Nuff said.
20. By the time you reach this, you’ll probably be saying “OMFG” or “Are you fucking serious”.

So yeah, that pretty much sums up my 19 days journey.

—

On to my job interview.

I went to PricewaterhouseCoopers for an interview yesterday (Monday morning) in One Sentral, beside KL Sentral. When I reach there, I was totally amazed by the security the building imposes. You need an access card to activate the elevator. Not only that, the panels are cool, they’re located in the middle of the building (for the lower ground).

… and so I went to the 10th floor. Went and change to formal shirt and tie, I came out from the toilet abruptly. I was trailing a fine man speaking fluent English, when he turned back for a while, I saw him in awe. He is the executive officer of PwC. Dato Johan. GG.

Yeap.

So I met Jennifer after that, and proceed to my first interview, with the HR.

Logic questions, Maths (I DIDN’T FINISH IT GOD DAMN BUSINESS MATHS), and essay writing (Should information security be classified as a cost to business? My answer is no).

About 1.5 hours for all. Then I waited 30mins in the room, was bored, and 2nd interview followed suit. I was interviewed by a senior manager that watched WC at night so he was sleepy when he’s talking to me (well I was as well, I mean on the sleepy part), and  a lady that is CS graduate and came from Citibank and ex KPMG staff interviewing me. It was fun, and interesting as well as the lady offered to get my a drink a refill as I was coughing badly due to the airconditioning. The vent is directly above me. Yeah. But the most interesting and eye-opening part is their professionalism (sort of), first thing they did, hand me their name cards after I shook their hand. YES. I never expected that as most of the people say, oh, get their name cards at the end of the interview so that you can make use of it in future, etc etc. That shows how PwC’s standards are. Damn professional.

Either way, long story short, I did the best that I could, and I end my interview session without being able to meet the partner of the division (Note: Partner = Senior Executive Director). Yeah. I was shocked when I know what ‘Partner’ really meant. Lol.

On the way down the lift, Jen told me that the interviewers liked my essay. It was the best they had received, and really impressed as my essay managed to show that I know the current happenings and I do now something about the job that I applied for. Honestly speaking, I feel that my essay isn’t up to the standards, mostly I think due to the mistakes I did (grammar perhaps), and it was done in haste. I could’ve done better, seriously (I forgot Bruce Schneier’s name!).

So… I do hope that I can join the company. It’s my dream job! Part of it.

I need to believe that it will happen. Lol.

Alright, I shall sleep.

The feeling of uncertainty, it either makes you wanna move forward more to explore, or left there helpless.

eXPeri3nc3.