The following is content that originally was published on an earlier HTML-based version of XBOP that existed in the early 2000s. As part of this content migration, it has been edited to protect individual identities.
The year 2001 began with a BBQ lunch where we invited friends over. On the evening of January 01, my brother arranged to see Anna & the King, followed by a light meal at New Royal Garden (NRG). Throughout this article, a tally will be recorded of all the visits to this Chinese restaurant which, at the time, was a favourite destination for the family.
The February ending of my uni holidays saw me painting the bathroom and help assist the church install their new data projector system which was replacing the historic and conventional overhead projector method for projecting lyrics during worship. On the first Sunday (04/02) Clayton Church celebrated its 50th Anniversary. Separately, at a family occasion, a classy dinner was held at the restaurant Number 8 at Crown Casino. Other significant events included helping a church friend to move, the attendance of the church’s Cell Church Conference, the commencement of driving lessons with the RACV Driving School. At the end of the month, my former babysitter and church friend passed away. My aunt also helped me to rearrange the kitchen ware into a more efficient manner based on usage. The month ended with the commencement of university Semester 1. The NRG count stood at 2 visits, with no visits recorded for the month of February.
For March, I assisted distant relatives with their family business (CornerStone HomeStay) with some administrative work. [Note: this business has since ceased operation] I got involved with my FOCUS Easter Camp committee and was placed in charge of producing the camp booklet. At uni, a Business Systems BBQ help to unite us all socially outside of the classroom. The birthday celebration for the month was for a FOCUS friend who was celebrating her 21st birthday Hawaiian-style. I also got involved with the ASEAN Club as the sub-editor for their magazine. During the month, my brother stayed overnight a couple of times, once as part of a family outing to NRG; the tally increased to 3 for the year (1 for March).
April saw the workload for the ASEAN Magazine increase, with our publication deadline fast approaching. The approaching mid-semester/Easter break saw me having to organise my time carefully – with commitments and substantial work for the ASEAN Club, FOCUS as well as academic studies. The FOCUS Easter Camp was a key highlight for me, and a very personally fulfilling time – spiritually I was on a high! During the one week break, I busied myself with group assignments. The month ended with an all-nighter (28/04) for my computer/web programming group assignment where three of us stayed up at my place until 4am! The following day, the family celebrated my brother’s birthday at Treasure restaurant, Vermont South. The NRG count remained at 3.
As the uni semester progressed, work continued as I persisted with group members and got them to provide a balanced contribution to the group effort. I continued my commitments to FOCUS (playing and singing) and to the ASEAN Club. In mid-May I decided to apply for a job at Mondo Studios, a private venture established by Monash’s Faculty of IT. The ambition to pursue this job opportunity saw me venture out to the Berwick campus of Monash University. The job hunt strategy was part of my approach to ensuring a safety net since my first preference was to get into the Industry Based Learning (IBL) scholarship program. The very next day (Friday 18/05) I received some of the best news in my life to date – an IBL placement for the next semester. This changed my life completely in the context of uni academic studies and I promptly bought a new business suit in preparation for the whole-day interviews with IBL sponsors that marked part of the initiation process. Amidst the family celebration (at NRG) of this event, I continued with the now-gruelling group assignments with another all-nighter, this time at a friend’s place where we stayed up until 3am! On Wednesday 30/05, I received the official confirmation – an IBL placement at Coles Myer. The NRG count for May was 1 (4).
My birthday month began on Thursday 01/06 with an IBL event – the cocktail party where current second and third year students meet to learn more about the upcoming placements. Exams began on Tuesday 05/06 and concluded on Friday 15/06, with third year IBL presentations held the week starting 11/06. As a birthday present to myself, I bought a CD burner on 16/06 and installed it myself. To celebrate my birthday and IBL milestone I treated the family to dinner at Imperial Kingdom on Sunday 17/06. The presents received were predominantly business attire, in preparation for my placement. I celebrated with my friends with a party at home on 18/06, where we made pizzas. With the semester-break in full force, I spent a day with a friend, helping in the filming of one of his projects in the city. At FOCUS I worship-led for the first time! The final week of June held the IBL one-week Business Communications subject. There were no visits to NRG for the month and instead to Imperial Kingdom.
The beginning of July saw me finish the winter-semester Business Communications subject. In the second week of the month, my IBL placement commenced at Coles Myer, where I began work in the ITS Voice & Infrastructure department in the inner-city. Uni results were released – the best ever! With FOCUS, we celebrated a 21st surprise party. As I settled into a work routine, I met up with my cousin on the train coming home from work, where we floated the idea of me tutoring her son. We arranged to start tutoring straight away. For more information about work, please read my journal entries under the IBL section. There was one visit to NRG (the year total being 5).
At the start of August, I assisted the School of Business Systems in the Monash Open Day. At work, during the fifth week of the placement, I had the first placement visit. I also took some time off work that Friday to spend with my FOCUS cell group. On another weekend, I also went to the cinemas to see the remake of Planet of the Apes with a friend. I commenced a job arrangement with family where, twice a week, I would tutor my second-cousin once-removed in Grade 5 Maths and English. In the middle of August, at work, I got involved in working on tenders, where team members visited prospective supplier companies. This provided me with the opportunity to observe inter-company (business to business) relationships at work. At the end of the month, I attended the Business Systems Ball. The NRG count for August was 1 (accumulative 6).
The first weekend of September included Father’s Day, which the family celebrated with a dinner at Dragon Boat, Knox. Partly I think the family was tiring of all the repeated trips to the same NRG arrangement notwithstanding the high level of service and quality of food. During the ninth week of my placement I had my mid-placement evaluation conducted with favourable results. September 11, as everyone knows now, lives in infamy – with the terrorist attack on the US taking place. Due to the time difference, for us in Australia the attack took place in the early hours of Wednesday 12/09. Later that day, I finally had the lower arch of my braces removed – meaning I was free of braces! [Now on reflection, I will always be able to associate September 11 with the end of my braces experience…] Ansett also collapsed and both the terrorist attack and the corporate collapsed affected my work indirectly. On Saturday 22/09 my FOCUS cell group had an outing to Arthur’s Seat. At Coles Myer, a new restructure phase commenced under the name Operation Right Now. At the end of the month, a group of uni friends got together to celebrate one of the girl’s birthday. My godmother also arranged a reunion-type yum-cha lunch with some old friends of my mum. The NRG count for September was 1 (7).
Monday 01/10 saw me work from the different environment of Hoddle Street, and instead spend time at the corporate HQ of Coles Myer at Tooronga. [Today (2016) that same office has been totally revamped and is branded the Coles Support Office] That night, the family got together to celebrate the Moon Cake Festival. On Saturday 06/10, family members arrived from Singapore & Malaysia to stay with us in Melbourne for a week. In mid-October I applied for a new adult passport, in preparation for our upcoming Singapore trip. On my Dad’s birthday there was an IBL event – the Accenture Case Study Competition. Spending the whole day at uni, eventually my group came runners-up and we all received medals. A small celebration was held at Airstream, Glen Waverley followed by the watching of Kiss of the Dragon. On Saturday 27/10, Dad & I attended the wedding of church friends. That same weekend. my brother bought a new computer and I spent the Sunday setting it up. To end the month, the family celebrated another family birthday at NRG, increasing the count by 4 to 11 for the entire year..
November began on Thursday 01/11, when I introduced the Coles Myer team, who I worked with, to a Vietnamese restaurant/eatery in Victoria Street, Richmond. With the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday 06/11, I took the Monday in between off work, and used it to do some uni administrative work. That afternoon, I had the opportunity to test drive my cousin’s new (second-hand) Mercedes C200. On Wednesday 07/11, I received news of my next placement at IBM GSA. That Saturday, having voted in the Federal Election, we assisted my cousin take delivery of his new car. Towards the end of the month, I bought a second suit and prepared for my end-of-placement activities – logbook wrap up and presentation. November ended with a visit to the dentist. The NRG count for the year remained at 11.
December saw me wrap up my IBL placement at Coles Myer. On Saturday 01/12 I drove into the Coles Myer office to pick up a box of Christmas Lanterns, a product sold by one of my team members. On Monday 03/12, I left work at lunchtime to go to uni for my IBL presentation. The next day, the department held its Strategy Day event at the Melbourne Zoo. Over the previous month leading up to this event, I had assisted with the organisation of the event, which was a fitting way to conclude my placement. On Wednesday 05/12, I drove into work (for the first and only time) to bring the presents which us two IBL students in the team had bought – mugs for each team member. That Thursday, in our final team lunch, we had a Christmas lunch celebration at Blue Chilli, Brunswick, where the team members were given with their presents. That weekend was filled with numerous dinners – Saturday night at Pearl Restaurant (in Richmond), and Sunday night at NRG. Monday 10/12 was my final day of 2001 in Australia – where I attended at meeting at IBM to arrange which department I would be assigned to for my next placement. In the afternoon, I went into work for the final time, having had a lunch with IBL friends beforehand. Finishing at 6pm, the final farewell saw my supervisor drop me off at Heyington station. The following day, my aunt drove us to the airport, stopping in Richmond to have a final lunch with family. Flight SQ228 direct to Singapore left Melbourne Airport at 5:20pm. The 2001 final NRG count was 12 visits, which averaged once a month.
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