More & More Students are leaving UK For Good!! =(

Recently there have been so many students leaving us as they graduate and now go back to HK for good! It's so sad to see them leaving, specially those who had been in UK for a long while where the friendship and fellowship had been built strongly. Hope that we will still be in touch in future and have fun in HK when we meet again!

Also thanks God for giving me the opportunity to serve in student group this year. I was so scared at first to serve them with the age difference, but thanks God we can built up the fellowship where most of cell member would share openly, would support and pray for each other. They also make me feel so young and energetic, ha ha ha.. I really enjoyed this year!!! Will miss you all and see you in HK!

How confident are you???

I watched a TV programme this evening called 'How To Look Good Naked?' which was presented by Gok Wan. He's a fashion designer who shows women how to look fantastic and love who they are with or without their clothes on, and no matter what their body shape (all without a surgeon's scalpel in sight).

The one thing that had an impact on me in tonight's programme is how the attitude and mindset the lady had changed from before the programme to when the programme ended. I believe most woman (including myself) do not have 100% confident in our own body shape or appearance.

Gok Wan showed the lady she could look good with the right style of clothes on no matter what the shape is, he also mentioned so many times that the most important thing is you need to have confident in whoever you are and love who you are (which is very similar to bible message as God created each individual specially and we're beautiful and precious to HIM! HE values how we are inside instead of outside!). Sometimes it's just wonderful being reminded again with this kind of message!   

My 1st Joint Venture Investment Property =)

Good news today as my 1st joint venture investment property has completed today. My husband took the house key this afternoon. I'm so glad to know that the house is kept tidy and clean and won't need to do much before we can let it out.

Few potential tenant viewings have also been arranged for end of this week, so hopefully we can rent it out asap to reduce the void period! Thanks God for blessing our first investment property with a smooth process and a reasonable purchase price.

Forex Trading Seminar

Me and my husband attended a Forex Trading seminar last night from Knowledge To Action (Greg Secker), and it was taught by Clive (sorry I don't know his surname). Clive is very experienced in Forex trading and he's very confident that Forex trading can generate income when you know what you're doing. There are few things we learn last night:

1. Risk management - Make sure you know how to manage risk (if you're losing, only lose 1% of your capital).

2. Mindset 80% with Strategy 20% - With trading, it's so important to control emotions and have a right mindset to know when to take money, when to quit, when to trade and when not to trade.

 

3. Confidence - Need to be confident and be comfortable with trading. The example he gave was really good. Imagine you're driving a car, you wouldn't think you're going to crash everytime you drive, and why? It's because you are so experienced in driving that you have confident in what you're doing.

 

I understand that a lot of people think trading is risky, and I always have a question as to whether these people who lost in trading did go to any education course to learn strategy and how to manage risk? It's risky in any investment if you haven't done the research or learn about the subject, which was the mistake me and my husband made few years ago when we bought the property abroad. Luckily, instead of keep looking back and scared of investing, we moved on, we grow and we learnt from experience. We believe to achieve success, it's going to have lots of up and down, and trying too!!! 

Leaving Day Agreed!

Hurray! My leaving day has been agreed with line manager today and it's going to be next Friday, 6th Aug. I'm very excited with new opportunities in my next stage of life! Thanks God for giving me peace and a thankful heart!

Forex Trading Platform

After attending the Forex trading seminar at weekend, I started comparing the different Forex trading platform available in the market. I'm amazed by how many companies there are and it's hard to make a decision as to which company I should use.

I found the website below which compares different trading platforms with user comments, and I found this very useful, so try looking at this site if you're also new to this.

http://www.forex-ratings.com/

I also joined IG index yesterday as one of the helpers from seminar kindly offered to go through the platform with me. He spent an hour on the phone with me going through the analysis of charts and how to make an order to start my first trading. Can't believe he is so kind and friendly, and it doesn't cost me anything for this tutorial. Thank you!

Hurray! Out of Prison to a New World!!!

Minute before I went into see dentist, my company phone rang and it was the Company Director. He left a voice message and I phoned him back straight away. He told me in a serious voice that the request for voluntarily redundancy has been accepted by the company. He asked if I'm still ok to take it. Of course it is because I requested it myself!!!

He then said he'll need to get in touch with HR regarding when the notice period starts, the handover of work and when I can leave the company. Therefore, there is even more wait but at least I know I should start my NEW JOURNEY properly now.

I will need to work hard looking for another job, for other ways of generating income and helping my husband to move forward with property investment. God please guide me through this new journey and give me wisdom.

Another funny thing happened this afternoon is the conversation I had with my husband, he asked me "How come my wife suddenly change so much? Are you still my wife?". Then he said he's happy that I'm up for change. He also encouraged me to stay focus and work hard with goal that I set. I believe the 'Rich Dad Poor Dad seminar' does have an impact on me, specially seeing Kim (Robert's wife) so successful in investment. I always believe woman can do well too! Add oil Carmen Chan!

Decision Day!

Today is the day where the Director suppose to inform us who would be made redundant but thanks God I feel so peaceful and happy in the morning, specially after speaking to my close friend in Hong Kong. I really miss them a lot, all the girl's chat, the fun and the night we stay up till late to play games. Thanks for being my friend, you are all so important to me!!!

Meetings were arranged to see us individually, first one at 11.30am and me at 12.15pm, while the colleague on maternity leave is on holiday (so she's not coming in). My colleague came to the office early to prepare for the meeting. He looked upset and angry with the consultation process, but I can understand why because he's got 4 children and a wife to look after. I feel his worry as he is the support of the family. He fights for the family's living and during the meeting, we could hear his voice even though we sat outside the meeting room. He's really fighting for survival.

For me, this job is not as urgent as I don't have children to look after. I have always want to have some freedom and take a career break and therefore, I don't mind voluntarily redundancy. No decision has been made today and posts are still at risk. The process is so so so long, when is it going to end???

Interesting Seminar ~ Forex Trading

Since the bad news came out from my company at beginning of July, I started to look for new ways of generating income instead of relying on a Job. One day, I saw an email with subject Forex Trading and it offered a very good discount, so I decided to join to learn something completely new. 

The seminar took place in London at the weekend and it was taught by Jimmy Young who had many years of foreign exchange trading experience. He's a very knowledgeable, experienced and funny person who really knows the subject well and know how to teach. At the beginning of the seminar, he said some quotes below which is very encouraging to someone who's new to Forex Trading.

" When you TRADE, you've no clue on what's going to happen next! It's uncomfortable way to earn money but it works with Pattern."

"Force yourself to make effort you need to make. Need to be Patient as you'll need to learn to Trade! Get Serious!"

The most important quote is as follow:

"If you don't believe you can do it, you'll never do it!"

"Make the effort to get there, believe in yourself!"

He's obviously right that starting something new need lots of effort and a strong mindset to believe in yourself. Forex trading also involves risk but it's about managing your risk to a level that you can afford. I've learnt so much during the weekend which I believe it worths looking further. I should share more later about what Forex trading is and what needs to do to start trading.

Importance of looking after your FINANCE!!!

I had a really enjoyable girly's dinner last night with 2 other friends. It was nice to catch up with things as one of my friend just came back from long HK holiday. We talked about lots of topics and the best bit was near the end where we had a discussion about Finance.

We found out so many people that don't review their financial situation and keep depending on bank overdraft or credit card loans. Because of this, they are always poor and it leads to the partner who needs to take control and in charge of them in order to put their life back to normal. And eventually they can enjoy life, go holiday and do things that are beyond their needs.

Therefore, if you find out your boyfriend/ girlfriend or  husband/ wife are in same situation, it may worth reviewing their monthly INCOME & EXPENSE by clearly listing down every item (table below is only my suggestion, you may have other items to add). When they see the figure in writing, I can tell you they'll be in shock and has no answer to you (the mouth open without anything to say!!).

Monthly Financial Review

Income:                                                                        
Salary                                                                          
MISC (such as stock, property rental income etc)               
Total Income                                                                    

Less Expenditure:
Mortgage                                                                           
Bills (electricity, gas, water, mobile, landline phone etc)       
Food                                                                           
Car (petrol, insurance, road tax etc)                                    
Entertainment (gym and any kind of regular hobby)              
Credit card monthly instalment (if there is any)                    
Total Expenditure                                                            

Net Income = Total Income less Total Expenditure       

But be honest, a healthy relationship with healthy finance would lead to a better and happier life between the pair of you. And imagine going to a holiday without worrying too much about money and overdraft, that's a real relaxation!

Wedding Venue in Leeds

This year so far had been a lot of good news around with friends being engaged and some of them are looking for wedding venue, photographer, DJ, wedding budget and ideas etc. I feel so happy for them as they find the MR or MRS Right in life which isn't easy at all. It also brings back lovely and unforgettable memories when Andy and myself got engaged, then prepared for wedding and the actual wedding day. I just enjoyed every minute of preparing for wedding and wish I could be a wedding planner one day (when Andy becomes millionnaire and I don't need to worry about monthly income!!!).

Last week when we visited our friends, I promised them that I would gather some research regarding Leeds (West Yorkshire) wedding venue and write on my blog, here is the link where you can find nearly all wedding venues in West Yorkshire

http://www.swpp.co.uk/wedding_venues/West%20Yorkshire.htm

When you click at the link, it should come up with 61 venues which will take you to their website for further information. In my opinion, I prefer the followings:
1. Marriott Hollins Hall (ha ha ha.. I have to put this first because I got married here, sorry a bit bias!)
2. Bramham Park
3. Harewood House (there is 'All Saints Church' set within the grounds of Harewood House which look really nice for ceremony)
4. Mansion at Roundhay Park (the inside look really grant and high class)
5. Holdsworth House (my other couple friend is getting married there next year)
6. Wentbridge House

Hopefully you will find this information useful and help you find the Venue you dream for your Big Day. I will also write something about wedding budget for my other friend but don't have time to do it now. So keep visiting my blog when you free.

Experience ~ First Car Boot Sales

I woke up so early yesterday (at around 5.45am) to go to Car Boot Sales near Harrogate, this is my first experience of doing this kind of things. I found it fun (even though I only sold around £20 of stuff) and I've learnt and experienced how hard life it is for those people in HK or China who stand on the street all day trying to sell their products.

When a potential buyer looked at the things on our stand, there was nothing we can do apart from trying to say how perfect or new the product is, but the decision whether to buy or not is still up to them. The moment they decided to buy the product is very exciting and happy, but when nobody came to your stand it could feel really sad and desperate for sales!

Unfortunately the weather wasn't too nice yesterday, it was very windy and cool but thanks God it didn't rain. Otherwise, we would have to quickly put everything back to the car. There weren't many public buyers who came to Car Boot Sales yesterday and we think it's because of the windy weather. My friend told me normally this place is quite busy.

I sold quite a lot of board games yesterday but there were a bit of panic yesterday. When the buyer agreed to buy the MiWii, I found out that inside the box, it didn't have the adapter but the kid so want it that he tried to persuade his father to buy. Therefore, my clever friend said to him we'll deliver the adapter to him, luckily they just live near to my home.

I also nearly sold a fitness ball and dvd set but when I opened the box, I found out the bump went missing, so the buyer couldn't buy it at the end. I can't believer I'm so careless and I learnt a lesson that I should check and make sure all components are in the box before I sell it. Andy my husband just laughed at me when he found out the two mistakes I made, I found it funny too, ha ha ha..

I don't think I would be that excited to go to Car Boot Sales for the second time as the time and effort put into this I could be doing other things to make money. This is a very good experience in life though!

Car Boot Sales!!!

I had been really busy today trying to gather all stuff for Car Boot Sales tomorrow. For some reason, I'm looking forward to this experience as I haven't been to any Car Boot Sales before. Hopefully I can sell most of the stuff that I take to there and have some pocket money. Most importantly I would like to get rid of all those stuff in my house, so it gives more space and less rubbish! ha ha.....

There is also other thing I like to do at weekend, which is to research on some Wedding Venues for my engaged friends. So many happy news around, lots of them are engaged and would like to know where are the Wedding Venues in Leeds! Therefore, I would like to share some more later on. Now need to go to bed and prepare for the early morning start tomorrow at Car Boots Sales! Have a great weekend!

Restaurant offers in Leeds

My friend from HK has arrived Leeds yesterday and will stay at ours for few days. Therefore, I'm trying to research some good restaurant to take her out for dinner tonight. I personally prefer restaurants or country pub that are outside Leeds city centre but shame I don't like driving too far unless my husband is going with me. Anyway, I found the following restaurant offers which you may also find it useful:

Early Bird Menu:

• Verve Grill at Village Hotel in Headingley - 2 courses £9.95 and 3 courses £10.95 (early diner guests must be seated by 7pm). Website - http://www.village-hotels.co.uk/media/199182/villageearlydiner.pdf
• Weetwood Hall restaurant in Headingley - 2 courses £18 and 3 courses £23. Website - http://www.weetwood.co.uk/file.php/id=714
• Browns restaurant in The Light - Menu Prix Fixe 2 courses for £10.95 or £12.95 (guest must be seated by 4pm to 6.30pm & 9.30pm to 10.30pm). Website - http://www.browns-restaurants.co.uk/
• Sam's Chop House by South Parade - Express Menu 2 courses for £11.95 or 3 courses for £13.95 (5.30pm to 9.30pm). Website - http://samsmanchester.thevictorianchophousecompany.com/
• Bibis by the train station - 2 courses £13.50 and 3 courses £16.50 (noon to 7pm). Websit - http://www.bibisrestaurant.com/
• Loch Fyne on City Square - £10 Set Menu with 2 courses £10. Website - http://lochfyne.come/Restaurants/Special-Offers.aspx
• Brasserie Forty 4 on the Calls - Early Bird menu 3 courses £22.50 include half bottle of Chardonnay, Merlot Rose or Merlot (6pm to 7pm, please vacate table by 8.30pm). Website - http://www.brasserie44.com/menu
• Fourth Floor Leeds in Harvey Nichols - 'Get Your Fixe' menu with 3 course set menu starting with a glass of Prosecco for £15 per person
• Roundhay Fox by Roundhay Park - 2 courses for £9.95 (but need to become friend of the Roundhay Fox). Website - http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/theroundhayfoxleeds/
• Cosmopolitan hotel restaurant - Prix Fixe menu 2 courses £15.95 or 3 courses £18.95. Website - http://www.peelhotels.co.uk/pdfs/cosmopolitan-hotel-leeds-yorkshire-england/Prix-Fixe.pdf
• The Restaurant at Thorpe Park Hotel - Daily speical menu 2 courses £14.95 or 3 courses £17.95. Website: http://www.dine-at-the-restaurant.co.uk/default.asp?section=1237

There are also other restaurant vouchers which you can print off from this site to use - http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/restaurant-vouchers.html
Enjoy eating out with a bargain discount!

A wonderful weekend but back to reality!

I had a very busy weekend but full of happy and fun time. On Sat, we went to a friend's wedding which we thought the bride and groom look great on the day (specially the beautiful bride), and we can see the effort they put into organising the wedding which makes the day very enjoyable. The wedding was very emotional when it came to the end, it made quite a lot of guest cried and we can really feel the love and thanks from bride and groom to their parents! Wish them a very happy marriage life and may God bless their new family with love and joy!

On Sun, it was our friend's birthday. It was a very sunny day full of BBQ food and guests. There must be more than 40 guests coming and going during the day. We're so glad that our friend enjoyed the celebration although she was so busy walking around and entertaining guests all day, ha ha ha.. We thought should we be us entertaining her instead but she's too busy for us to do so! We enjoyed the party so much, had eaten lots (shame have to do more aerobics to burn it off) and even took Roast Pork rice dinner with us to eat on train on the way back. Quiet a lot of friends were laughing at me as I took so much food away, they said I must have a 'Thick' face skin to do so, ha ha ha.... I guess that's what human do when they are poor and have no money!

Today back to reality, I don't like going to work now as nearly every office phone call, I heard my colleague talking to other colleague, mention my name and about the redundancy. I'm hoping that this topic will soon go away and people will be bored talking about it. I also had colleagues phoned and asked how I feel, I just wish they could go away and leave me alone as I can move on with my life happier that way. Anyway, I have completed the consultation paper where I outlined why I feel the company shouldn't select me for the process, now it's up to the Solution Director to make a decision. A further meeting is arranged for this Thurs, so I should know more. If I'm saved at this first round, would there be a second round and whether I want to go through this consultation process again! I doubt it!

Search on Wedding Card Message

Today is such a beautiful day with sun shining outside and most importantly, it's FRIDAY, Hurray!!! I suppose to start writing a case to explain to the company why my post shouldn't be at risk and provide business ideas on how the company can generate more sales, but for some reason I'm not motivated to do so.

Instead, I spent sometime on Internet searching for wedding card messages instead as I'm going to friend's wedding tomorrow and want to get some idea on what to write on card. Here are some interesting wedding card messages I found on website and you may find it useful too if you can't think of what to say:

1. 
   
   "Wishing you the best of things in your marriage. We're confident that you two will be a blessing to each other and those who you meet along your journey."
2. 
   
   "Marriage is a chance to be an example of the love that our creator has shown us."
3. 
   
   "We are praying that God guides you in your new adventure. May God pour out blessings on you two."
4. 
   
   Here's to success in your new titles, bride, groom, husband, wife, and any more you will pick up over the years together."
5. 
   
   "The ride to a good married life may not always be smooth. So hold on to your seat and enjoy the ride! Happy wedding!"
6. 
   
   "The road ahead may be uncertain. Welcome the new challenges in your life with a smile. Congratulations!"
7. 
   
   "The melody of love just let out a perfect tune. Congratulations on your wedding!"
8. 
   
   "When you are in love, the world just seems a lot brighter. Have a happy married life."

Here are some funny ones:

1. 
   
   "A good marriage is where two people love each other and decide to screw everything up by forcing themselves to stay together through anything. Here's to your good decision!"
2. 
   
   Newlyweds argue over little things. Old couples argue over little things. Newlyweds make up easily. Old couples make up easily. The only difference is make-up-sex as opposed to 'make-up-'Jeopardy'. Whishing you the best through the awkward years in between sex and Jeopardy."
3. 
   
   "Hold tight and prepare for your marriage life. Call 911 if you need help! Seriously, you can count on me to be there!"
4. 
   
   "You may have arguments everyday. That's okay if it would be you have to wrestle every night in bed. Congratulations on your wedding!"

By the way, I went to meet a recruitment agent yesterday after work and he seems very positive with my CV and my job hunting, so I will see whether he'll get back to me on any job opportunities. Hopefully better opportunities come soon!

My 1st day of consultation period

Yesterday was one of the most shocking days in my life, I received an email at work from the Solution Director who called for an urgent meeting the next day (which is today). The email and the agenda didn't say much about what the meeting is for, apart from saying that the Government spending cut has an immediate impact to the organisation.

I guess under this market condition, this meeting must be about redundancy and therefore, I just had to prepare for the worse. I'm glad that I wasn't as sad and as negative as I expected, and thanks God for giving me peace and hope for the future.

My first concern and thinking from the email wasn't about whether I'm safe in the job, it was about how I can move on and generate income. After attending the Rich Dad Poor Dad Seminar, I learnt that there are lots of opportunities out there where we can earn income, apart from stuck at work. Therefore, I believe this maybe a good opportunity to start something new in my life and start working hard for my dreams. I believe when people have dreams, they work hard to get it. It's definitely my case as I had many dreams when I was young and now I've achieved them.

In terms of action that I took from this bad news, I had never be so efficient to apply for jobs. I had already applied for few jobs and been to a recruitment agent. I've also started to write my blog as Internet can definitely generate extra income. I guess I will share more later on this after I do research and testing.

I will also keep updating the blog for how this new journey works out for me. Hopefully it'll be a bright future blessed by the God.