I'm back after awhile...

If you've wondered why I've been missing from the blog-o-sphere, I've just been extremely busy lately. I've been doing many things from getting stuff ready for Cambridge to meeting up with all my friends.



Yesterday a group of my friends and I went on a day trip to Browns Beach Hotel in Negombo, I figured that I'll be way too busy closer to the day I'll be flying. Initally it was supposed to be a much larger crowd but unfortunately since most of my friends were busy we had to settle with a group of 9 of which there were 7 guys and 2 of us girls. (see what I mean about feeling like one of the guys!) Here's a photo of the Negombo beach.


Anyway we had a really fun time! We were splashing in the sea for most of the time and then played water polo in the pool... Actually it was more like water rugby cos everyone was tackling each other and and I'm sure we would have been kicked out even before we began if this was a real water polo match! This is the whole water rugby team!

Now I'm starting to feel the affects of it... my body aches, I've turned a few shades darker and I've started peeling, I guess I should have used the sun screen! But I think it was all worth it. It's good to just take off with a bunch of friends and spend a relaxing (and exhausting) weekend!

From a silent listener to presenter in a second…

I just got to know that the local British Council is conducting a Seminar on “Getting into Cambridge” and that anyone interested in meeting some Alumni and listening to a presentation about the Uni and the College System done by a representative can attend by making a prior appointment over the phone.

The plan was for me to go and just listen to the presentations and maybe have a chat with the alumni if time permitted. Since they had also mentioned that some students entering in 2006/2007 will also be present I thought that this might be a good opportunity for me to get to know some fellow Cambridge students going there this September.

So I called the BC representative and told him that I would like to attend the seminar. So he asked me about what type of a degree I was interested in and I told him that I was already in the Cambridge MBA program, and would just like to come and listen to the presentations. The minute I said I was already in, I could almost hear a smile on the other end. He suddenly asked me “How would you like to help us do a presentation to the others about your application and interview process?” I was taken aback for minute, I mean here I am just planning on sitting and listening to a couple of presentations, and being told that he’d really appreciate It if I could be one of the speakers to a large audience including some major professionals! (and mind you this seminar is this Saturday)

Apparently they don’t have any MBA candidates and there have been many prospective students asking about it! So I thought what the hell, I’ll do it. I’ll tell them what Iearnt during last year about everything from Finances to Colleges. I figured this might be a great networking opportunity too :0)

Hopefully I won’t get tongue tied!

The Replacement

Though I have not given my official resignation letter yet, I did inform my boss and the HR Department that I’ll be leaving end Aug for the MBA. So today my replacement just arrived, they thought it would be a good idea to get her at least a month before I leave so that she can learn everything and be confident by the time I go.

It felt a bit weird to have my replacement here already. She’ll be starting work officially on the 1st August but came over to get introduced to everyone. Oh yes, another ‘she’ to the immense relief of all my male colleagues who were worried that they’ll turn into an all male (would you believe that I just spelt ‘male’ as ‘mail’ think my subconscious was telling me something?) team of engineers again. :0) She seems pleasant. I think she’ll fit in to our team. Of course it’s a bit too early to really say…

I remember what it was like when I started work here straight out of Uni… I was pushed right into the deep end, and had to sink or swim. The guy I was replacing was just there for about a week before he went to start his own venture. So there I was the youngest in the group and had to manage projects of one of our most demanding sectors; the Garment Sector… Initially it was very tough and I was putting 14 to 16hr days at work, but once I got the hang of it things really settled down. I guess the most interesting and the most difficult part was dealing with variety of people from different backgrounds, and mindsets. One of the biggest challenges was the fact that I had to act as the project manager and many older, male colleagues resented it. So I had to be very tactful in getting the work done.

I guess it’s getting closer to the end of another chapter of my life. I guess I learnt a lot during the past two years of my life, not only technical but also about what makes different people ‘tick’ and about the way the world is. Most of which you could never learn inside a class room…

Reach for the stars… You just might catch one!!!

Hi everyone, I know I have been absent from the Blog-o-sphere for a while, just been really really busy lately...

Guess what, finally "I'M GOING TO CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY FOR THE MBA!!!!!"

Unfortunately the schols I hoped for and the HSBC loan (I have a bad suspicion that they might have got worried when they saw my salary converted to GBP, but the biggest difference is the fact that that's the usual salary scale here and we're able to live very comfortably on that and save) didn't work out. So now I'll be using all my families’ savings (thank God I'm an only child!) and a loan I was able to secure from over here. I know It’s a huge risk but what I finally decided was that long term I’m sure it’s going to pay off. After all you can’t really achieve anything unless you take risks. I’m really looking forward to studying with a group of very intelligent individuals who have varied experiences and come from very different backgrounds.

I plan on working in UK for a while, atleast till I am able to payback the course fees but long term I'd like to get back to Sri Lanka.

I also got a College at Cambridge University confirmed, New Hall. After waiting for over 3 months for St Catherine’s College and getting rejected, this College offered me a place in just over a week! :0) Just found out that this is a Women’s only College. Hmmm… Maybe it’ll do me some good to hang out with more females considering the fact that I’ve been mainly living and working in a guys world, as I mentioned before in an earlier post I feel like I’m turning into “just one of the guys!"


Anyway I'm so relieved that everything is settled so now I just have to wait for the final offer letter to come from Cambridge and then get my VISA ready. I informed my ‘back up’ unis that I will not be attending their programs.

I really can’t believe this, when I started applying for MBAs a year ago, I applied to many programs and Cambridge was one of my “Wishful thinking schools” and now I’m actually going there. I’m just thinking of all the world famous greats who went there like Sir Isaac Newton, and Lord Tennyson and I can go on and on… and I’ll be joining that same alumni…

“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture beyond them into the impossible” – Sir Arthur C Clarke

I just caught my “Star”…

A Million Bucks in a Month

I just came across this story about Remi Frazier who plans on making 1 million dollars in one month in the Business Weekly. You can read the whole story here.

He has hopped on a plane to New York, with $100 and a mobile phone, and is planning on making 1 million bucks by building a volunteer network of business consultants, conceptualizing and designing a product, conducting market research for that product, and finally manufacturing and selling it on a wide scale.

The product he's thinking of is a mulitipurpose tool a bit like swiss army knife, but the main difference being that you can customize it using a website.

He's got till July 16th. Let's see what happens then. By June 29th he had $13,000, practically all in the form of donations: $6,500 in Web site design and development from Splint Media, $6,000 in the form of a logo and brand development, and a Web site design package from Paul Miller Studios, among other things.

I just thought it worth while blogging about cos I'm a dreamer and someone who strongly believes that if you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. Maybe I'm a bit idealistic...

Good Luck to Remi!