It's frrrrriiiiidaaaayyyy! By today most of my friends will have ended their internships and be enjoying their last 2 weeks of hols before school starts. It's so amazing thinking about the experiences my friends have had this summer and I can't wait to see everyone in school to find out how their summer went.

I'm at my desk now eating a tuna sandwich and typing this on e-mail because they block blogspot here. Despite the fact that it can get damn boring here at times I am always grateful I got my shot at this. It's been very fulfilling helping my boss managing some of the accounts in Citibank. I've learnt alot about myself the last few months. I've learnt most importantly you just need to do something you're proud of. something that brings in enough income for you and your family. And something that gives you the time to spend with the people you love the most.

At citi in particular, I've really enjoyed learning the ins and outs of being in a bank. In a serious environment where all our work add up to the billions, age works against you, and I've learnt that you need to be mature, calm, polished and capable if you want others to look up to you. Not that I am haha but its something I've observed.

I've also learnt to always ask questions. Always write things down. Be meticlous with details. Reply e-mails immediately. Bug people persistently. Be polite always. Accept OT without making a face. Always wear your tie even if no one else is. I've also learned v lookup and pivot tables on excel haha. Was damn proud of that haha.

I sat down with my boss for a "heart to heart" talk after I asked him to tell me more about the cash and trade products that we offer. ( BTW Citi is the number one cash management and trade bank here). He explained alot of things that I'd never learn in a finance class about our business, industry, the clients. People always think "oh investment banking", but really the world of finance is too wide to limit ourselves to one particular area. There are so many other non-investment products like cash and trade. At citibank, it's the corporate relationship bankers that really see the clients, take them out for dinner, who really understand them well and know where we can support them. They sell all the products. And that's really interesting. I encourage anyone who thinks investment banking is the way to go to really consider their options before they know wth they are talking about. The world of money and business is too big to just be another donkey following another tail. Go out and find something you are interested in. Don't just follow the crowd.

In all I am very grateful for Alfred letting me join last minute. He has been very kind to me and he has allowed me to see how the business really works. I respect the fact that Alfred heads our department and still manages to always be positive. The rest of the department is normally waist deep in work and too busy to even smile. Alfred said with a laugh that he intentionally made me go to the managers to collect account information from all them as a form of a test because they're so hard to catch. And I passed! I felt very honoured when he said that I have what it takes to make management trainee, and I will definately consider this as an option when school ends. I am very encouraged because it's been such an uphill climb for me the last couple of months, and I think that I've finally had my payoff.

Next week will be busy (thankfully) because Alfred has kindly asked me to attend 2 training sessions for the managers dealing with new trade policies as well as some hedging/FX. I was quite intimidated at first but I know it will be interesting. On Monday I will be meeting one of the VPs at Franklin Templeton because I'm very interested to know about their fund management business and I'm already planning my work for next summer. Things at work are slowly winding up and I can start thinking about school.

I can't wait for school to start! I seriously feel 10 years older than before. Or more. This holiday I really feel like I have changed alot inside. You will probably see it in my eyes. Because I sure can feel it in my bones. But I am grateful it's been such a fulfilling holiday, and I'm looking forward to the coming few months because I forsee special times ahead. A gut feeling that things are going to be great this term.