If you want something...

"If you want something, all the universe will conspire to help you achieve it".

Alchemist, Paulo coelho.

I fell in love with this line the moment I read it. This is so very inspiring. It always pushes me to dream, and work hard to convert that dream into reality.
A couple of years into my previous job and I'd realized that I'm going no where. There wasn't anything very challenging about what I was doing. I've not taken birth to do these mundane job all my life - This feeling was getting stronger with each passing day. Things had come to a point where neither the promise of reward nor punishment was able to get me interested in my job. Although, my boss never complained, but I used to feel that I'm drawing salary for contributing nothing. I was certainly looking for a change.
I decided that I'll do MBA. Wrote CAT to get into IIMs... the first choice for any MBA aspirant in India, but failed. I took it up as a challenge and decided to write CAT again. I came close, but cudn't clear it again. At some point of time, I'd also thought of doing MBA from abroad, but there wasn't enough money. So I wrote CAT again, this time too I came close but ultimately could not succeed.
I thought, its time. I should give up my dream of doing masters and start looking for opportunities in other companies.
But then, I wasn't aware that some conspiracy was already going on. One after another, bit by bit, everything started falling in place. All of a sudden, one day I filled up form of AIM and took a flight to Mumbai to write AIMAT. All of a sudden I got a call from XLRI. All of a sudden one day I took a decision that even if I don't get ADB scholarship, I'll take education loan and will join AIM MBA. It looked impossible, but I got edu loan too. One by one, everything fell in line and I realized that against all odds, I'm in Manila atending classes.
Its almost a year, and I can feel that some kinda conspiracy is again going on. I'm destined to get, what I so desperately want. Amen!!!

In KualaLumpur

Its been a while since I posted on my blog. Afterall so many things were happening at once that it had become difficult to find time for writting anything. First and foremost was ever present pressure of preparing for CFA level-II exam. Although the syllabus is not infinite, its taking more time to cover than level-I's syllabus.
Then the project work in China Bank had also started taking its share of time. Good thing is that with each passing day the work here is getting more interesting and challenging :)
I'm bringing my wife and daugter here in june, so was also busy selecting a condo. Good thing that I was able to find one :).

My portfolio which I started last month also took its own share of time. By the way, its doing good. However, I have yet to start trading in forex which will certainly help me diversify some of the systematic risk associated with Indian stock market.

Apart from all this, what took most of my time during past month was certainly the uncertainty asociated with my internship/Action Consultancy. I was supposed to go to Singapore, however my application for training pass/VISA started taking more time than it should have in normal circumstances. It was nothing less than devastating to know that after waiting for more than two weeks, my training pass request has ultimately been rejected for the industrial quota for that sector had already exhusted. It was really magnanimous on my company's part for they gave us an option of coming to their KL office where they also arranged for our accomodation. So this is how I landed up in KL instead of Singapore for my AC. My internship here would focus on commodity trading and finding a mathematical model for maximizing pofits.

Yesterday, with Russ, I went to KLCC where this boy was trying hard to capture both his parents as well as petronas tower in the frame. This pic certainly explains the height of this building which for a couple of years claimed the title of "World's tallest building".