I think, therefore I am...

Out of town

Will be in Vietnam from 8th to 22nd July...

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 3:49 PM 0 Comments

Thank You...

Labels: AIESEC, update

posted by Sharon @ 2:31 PM 3 Comments

I am alive!

Here's another quick update, considering that the last one with slightly more content was done in early March..

So yes I am doing well as always... since IPM in Macedonia, followed by the short trips to Bulgaria and Turkey, I've visited Japan as well to facilitate at the Asia Pacific Exchange Leadership Development Seminar, a 1 week conference for Asia Pacific... (I had 1 week in Singapore from the previous trip before jetting off again) it was a great experience seeing highly motivated and very fresh members from all over AP, and also experiencing the diversity and professionalism of like 12 other facilitators from around the world.. not to mention the 5 days we spent in Tokyo after the conference... highlights include Disney Tokyo, Kamakura, lots of walking, lots of sushi and lots of photos :)

Getting back in end March saw crazy preparation for the AIESEC Symposium 2008, that we were proud to be hosting together with AIESEC International. with 60 corporate representatives and 30 AIESEC youths from Asia Pacific, we convened in the Fullerton Hotel for a day of speeches, sharing, discussions and networking around the topic of Youth Talent: Leadership and Innovation.... really enjoyed myself... such an eye-opening and fulfilling experience...

after that, it was great times with Shirley who was in Singapore on country visit... I think the elects were really challenged and have emerged wiser and more motivated... it was crazy social times too with what felt like the world visiting Singapore... Cyrus from HK, Sandy and James from Malaysia, Won from Korea, Aman and Rishabh from AIESEC International, Fish from China, then Pui from Thailand, Yuichi from Japan... fun times :)

so yeah.. here's the update thus far... will be in conference from tomorrow onwards till 11th May... Am chairing the EVOLVE Conference (5 days, 120 delegates of which 105 are foreign, lots of external particitation)... after that, will be leaving for Guang Zhou for Asia Pacific Member Committee Transition Camp 2008 from 20th May till probably end of the month...

stay tuned!

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 12:52 AM 0 Comments

Quick Update

Just so you know, I am alive and well...

currently writing this from the airport in Istanbul...

this has been quite an intense travel experience...

from Singapore to Istanbul to Skopje to Ohrid,

and the Ohrid to Sofia (Bulgaria) - 8 hours plus of bus
Sofia to Istanbul - 10 hours of bus
Istanbul to Dubai - 4 hours flight
Dubai stopover - 8 hours
Dubai to Jakarta for quick stop and then Singapore...

Looking forward to home :)

more updates maybe in April...

Next stop... Leaving for Japan on 13th March!!!

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 11:38 PM 0 Comments

Happiness...

is fighting for Ice Cream with the team you love...

thanks for a great meeting, great dinner and great dessert session that day!!

What a Diwali that lights up my world!

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 7:16 PM 0 Comments

I'm alive!

wow it's almost been 3 weeks since my last posting... so here's what's been happening since Oct 8, 2007

Charity Change Challenge 2007
The effort from the BEADS team paid off in their Charity Change Challenge on 11th October 2007, as they set the record in Singapore for the longest chain of coins. The event was aimed at raising awareness and funds around HIV/AIDS, a pertinent but under-exposed issue in Singapore that AIESEC has chosen to address. Good job to the team for this record!

AP HEROES Conference 2007
The 2nd HEROES Conference in history of Asia Pacific Growth Network, and now a formal and official GN conference! Also my first time facilitating at an actual AP conference :)
Heroes was from 18th to 21st October, and GN board was in KL, Malaysia since 15th Oct for meetings and preparation... Heroes prep took up quite a big chunk of time as well since my last blog update.. but it was a great experience... totally loved it!

hmm seems that aside from those 2 big events, I've just pretty much been busy with meetings and other usual AIESEC work stuff...

Some things that have been keeping me happy include:
- Conclusion of the ICX Killer Cup weeks, with lots of sales activity going on in the LCs, and which has translated into lots more raises!
- all in all, lots more results flowing in, and lots more on their way to come!
- Taekwondo training has been good... after finishing with grading, now the focus is around physical training and practising fundamentals of the different kicks... so far we have done a lot more legwork and even sparring... lots to learn still but totally enjoying it...

and yeah that's it for now.. I am starting to think my AIESEC journey posting will only be out in Dec, after NLDS cos that's the next break for now!

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 11:06 PM 0 Comments

Taekwondo update

Went for my grading yesterday (Sunday) and am happy to say I am no longer a white belt! Have passed and gotten white belt with yellow tip... Next grading is about 3 months from now...

• 10th kup (white)
• 9th kup (white with yellow stripe)
• 8th kup (yellow)
• 7th kup (yellow with green stripe)
• 6th kup (green)
• 5th kup (green with blue stripe)
• 4th kup (blue)
• 3rd kup (blue with red stripe)
• 2nd kup (red)
• 1st kup (red with a black stripe)

The nine degrees (dans) of Black are organized into skill levels:

• 1st-3rd dan (Novice) with the title of Assistant Instructor (Boo-sabum)
• 4th-6th dan (Expert) with the title of Instructor (Sabum)
• 7th-8th dan (Master) with the title of Master (Sahyun)
• 9th dan (Grand Master) with the title of Grand Master (Saseong)

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 11:39 AM 3 Comments

Update update

Ok so I have been somewhat inactive on the blogging scene...

so what's happened since my last book reading marathon? Can't remember much really...

though some things that definitely stand out in memory include:

Meeting up with school friends
these people have been trying to book me since June/July but as most AIESECers know, that's like the busiest months with transition and planning, followed by the crazy period just before IC, the traveling to IC, then there was the craze with our National Induction Conference... yes I think you get the picture...

well things have moderated out since then (well kind of) so I've so far met with a group of high school classmates, and with a bunch of my Junior College training mates... been great to get back in touch with these people... pretty much talked about what's going on in life now that we've all graduated and are working... most people seem envious of my job even if it is quite different... think the opportunities for traveling, network and doing what I like at a kind of flexible working rate helped in that...

Getting fit again
Since studies are officially out of the way, and driven by the need not to get fat, flabby and decadent, I've signed up for Taekwondo classes... actually I joined the club in SMU which would make going to training easier once we officially move into our office which is located in the SMU underground... I just got back from my 2nd training actually... nice feeling to be a newie again... great feeling to be moving and stretching and getting back into shape... and definitely looking forward to more legwork and techniques to learn... not forgetting it's cool to meet new people outside of AIESEC :)

Doing AIESEC stuff
hey it's my job... of course it stands out in memory... been working quite a bit these days... even Saturdays are not spared (but I expected that when I signed up so it's cool)... but I'm enjoying the fact that now I'm more used to this full time thing, and am able to take time off on some weekday evenings to just chill and get away from work... been totally enjoying my Sundays as well since it's kind of reserved for my day off... definitely getting the hang of doing this full-time and still maintaining some sort of balance...

and that's what's been up these days... next travel stop will be KL, Malaysia in mid-October... looking forward to the makan sessions then...

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 11:47 PM 0 Comments

Off to International Congress 2007, Turkey

Flying tonight, 13th August 2007.

And will only be back 1st September 2007.

In the meantime, will be getting the most out of Turkey and of course the conference itself...

see you around!

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 2:21 PM 1 Comments

Guess who's in Singapore?

Amy from NZ is here!!!


All we need now is to find a way to bring more of the AP sisters to Singapore :)

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 1:11 PM 0 Comments

Another quick update

Lots to do these days... so here's another quick update

Got back from the 1st ever AP MC Transition Camp in Penang from 24th to 27th May. such an amazing experience, and so inspiring to see the future leaders of AIESEC in the AP being so committed to driving performance in their countries and leveraging on the APGN initiatives!
it was also great to see so many familiar faces.. Sandy, Beatrice, Cyrus, Geralynn, Ren Chang, Rina, Nadya and not to forget, my beloved AP sisters Anisha, Mindy and Pui! Got to meet so many new people as well.. 0708 is definitely a term to look forward to!

that aside, went for an interview yesterday afternoon for this Professional Engineers Board Gold Medal Award... enjoyed myself in the interview... they were asking questions about my involvement in AIESEC (as usual) and what impact did attending so many international conferences leave me with... one of the panelists even asked how AIESEC international conferences are rotated among countries and whether Singapore has hosted any before! when I told them that was in late 1970s, she then asked if we are intending to bring one to Singapore any time in the near future! haha.. definitely interesting... even if I didn't get it, at least it was an enjoyable experience... besides, my interview took about 15 mins while the guy before me was in and out in only about 5 mins! heheh

but yeah.. that's what been happening... that aside, it's the usual of transitioning, preparing for new term, and holding the fort for some current stuff like Incoming Exchange...

Just want to make a public note that I am very very proud of AIESEC in NTU, NUS and SMU for such drive and effort in raising exchanges with companies! Current numbers stand at an average of 5 realisations per LCs, with more in the pipeline... total LC driven ICX realisations stand at 14 at the moment, compared to 6 in the whole of 2005/2006! that's almost 150% growth, with another 1 month to go before July comes along!

Well done to the LCs!! You have proven that AIESEC in Singapore can and will leverage more on the external environment here in Singapore!!!!!!!!

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 3:34 PM 0 Comments

Quick update

Been really busy these days... so not much time to update the blog...

but very quickly...

• having MC Transition this whole weekend
• preparing for sessions to be delivered at the AP MC Transition Camp next week
• Finish up the FINAL FINAL thesis report
• leaving for Penang on 23rd May for AP MC Transition Camp, reaching back in Singapore on 28th May
  
• getting ready for MC Consolidation and Planning, and of course National Planning
• getting transition from Suchith for AP Chair
• getting ready for my trip to Taiwan to chair their Nat Con and of course for some relaxation... reach Taipei on 3rd July, pre meeting in Kaoshiong from 5th to 6th July, Conference from 7th to 10th July, own travels from 11th till 15th July...

and beyond that... well we will see :)

Labels: update

posted by Sharon @ 12:54 AM 2 Comments

Taking a Break... in Singapore

Yup.. back in Singapore.. it's been 6 days since I came back...

been really busy since getting back...

I landed at 10am (one hour later than supposed because of flight delay), grabbed breakfast with my Dad and Bro at the airport and headed home... unpacked somewhat, showered and went off for an AIESEC event... after that event (which was fantastic by the way), I headed off for a Chinese New Year reunion dinner with my Junior College Wushu (chinese martial arts) society... of course I was feeling super tired at the end of that day because of the travelling as well so that meant a good night's sleep, which really helped in countering jet lag...

Sunday was a day of more unpacking, clearing emails, consolidating stuff from IPM, writing report and tidying documents... I figured I should clear the stuff from IPM first before I move on to other stuff...

Monday was supposed to be back to school again but I overslept and ended up at home, clearing AIESEC stuff still, sorting out my lecture notes, downloading notes that I need to print and catch up on... looking at my Final Year Project (FYP) stuff again...

Tuesday I went back to school! spent most of the time in the library printing my notes and sorting them out... suddenly saw an email from my FYP supervisor asking for a meeting that same day and so went to meet him, without much progress since the last time unfortunately... but fortunately, he's quite nice and after a quick update from my side and quick refreshment from his side on what I still need to do, it was back to the library to finish up on the printing... then I headed back home (yes I went to school but didn't attend classes... my theory is that priority then is not to learn new stuff in the middle of nowhere but to clear the urgent school stuff first).. once home, it was back to the laptop to work on my FYP... working out equations, tweaking my programme.. and finally getting proper results at 3am... YAY!! it works!

Wednesday was spent at home again... this entire day was devoted to studying for the quiz on Thursday... I got mixed up and almost studied 3 of the 4 parts of the module... which was why I was quite panicked about finishing all that materials.. in the end, I realised my mistake and things turned out alright, since I had overbudgeted for studying time and now had more time to get the information in my head... so.. reading reading and studying... getting good news once in a while via email about FYP or other stuff... and so the day goes by..

Thursday I met my FYP supervisor again and he's happy with the results... gave me a set of new conditions to run on my programme... pretty much finalised the scope of what should be in my report (the draft of which is due next Tuesday) so at least there is clear direction now.. and that feeling of closeness to finishing with the project... after that, it was off to the library to revise for the quiz but somehow midway through that, I distracted myself by turning on my laptop.. haha.. anyway the quiz was... just alright.. could have done better I am sure.. especially if someone had told me I could bring a summary card into the room... oh well.. that's for missing lectures I guess (at least I had good learning time in Egypt nonetheless)... after that, went for a catch-up dinner with Diana and Phoebe... great to be back and hearing their stories, while sharing mine...

so yes for those of you who have been asking how has it been since getting back, I hope this answers your questions...

It's hot and humid here, the streets are suddenly very structured, the air suddenly quite clean, the people still as "unfriendly" and things seem the way they were 3 weeks back... but well.. it's good to be back...

and now.. I'm just chilling in my room.. radio on with DJ-less music again.. enjoying the moment...

cheers... =)

Labels: reflections, update

posted by Sharon @ 2:03 AM 0 Comments