Thursday 17 August 2017

Final Paper Syndrome

InsyaAllah I will be attempting my final ACCA paper this December. It has finally come to the end of the race! Time really does fly by.

For the final leg of the exam, I had to choose 1 paper out of these;


P4 ; a lot like Corporate Finance which I'm not a fan. So that's out.

P5 : a big part of it is about Management Accounting. I could consider [Lowest passing rate though]

P6 : plain auditing, need a strong foundation on financial accounting knowledge.


So so many people advise me against attempting P5. 
  • The toughest paper; need analytical skills (wouldn't help if you memorize the whole textbook)
  • A LOT of assumed knowledge from paper F5 (which I was exempted from)
  • Although the passing rate doesn't differ much across papers, bear in mind generally people took P5 the less. 31% of the already small pool of candidates means, even a lower number of candidates who passed. 

But, it does have continuity from P3 (Business Analysis) paper which I enjoyed so much under the mentoring of Mr Joey Wong.

So I decide, I'm gonna attempt P5 and be one of that 31 % who passed 💪


As of today, I've attended 5 lecture classes.

Each class was after working hours [except for those once a month all-day weekend class] 😌

*Oh the sacrifices we and our spouses make*

What can I say?

I have never been this tense, ever!!  No, it's not because of the syllabus.. No. 

It's the effect of these;

  • The lecturer, Mr Chan Tze Kang always, always focused on the exam technique which is great. But he's a bit strict and there's an aura about him that makes you cautious in class 
  • Mr Chan is the first-ever lecturer I encountered which put much importance on the articles written by the examination team. We have to read EVERY single article, even those from 1998! 
  • There are about 10 students in my class. 10!! With such a small class, the pressure is definitely up. 
  • There's a voice at the back of my head constantly saying 'you need to pass, you need to pass'. As a result, I'm tense throughout THE WHOLE class. Every time after the class, I'll have backache *sigh*
It's all in the mind, I know.

The final paper syndrome. You know you'll have to perform your best for this exam (even more compared to other papers) that you stressed yourself out. 

As for the content of the paper itself, I like it so far. You'll have to read between the lines and think holistically. Different from those calculation papers. 

Next week will be the first Progress Test.

Wish me luck!
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Sunday 6 August 2017

Kinabalu Trip - A Summary

Nazli mentioned last year that he wanted to visit KK. So I sorta surprised him with this trip for his birthday.

Crossed off his bucket list

This was my second trip to KK (first for him).
We went there for 4D3N. Masih rasa tak cukup.



Transportation
Flight
I bought the tickets suuuper early during promotion period through a friend who claimed she's a ticket agent. Turns out the master agent was WTS (viral kes tipu tiket flight). Thank God my friend gave me a refund so I bought the ticket later myself. Good thing though because I scored even cheaper tickets for return flights. LOL
AirAsia + Malindo return tickets for 2 = RM380

Rental Car
Would recommend Fred, who rented his Axia to us. Reasonable rate and he's friendly too. Easy to deal with.
Contact number - 0102375803 (Fred)

Uber
Once we're back in KK we just traveled around using Uber. Convenient and cheap!

Accommodation
Kinabalu Pine Resort

We stayed at the Superior Standard room (Block P) and the package we took include breakfast  and dinner.

[Next time around, would opt to stay at least 2 nights in Kundasang]

[Cr:Internet] My unit was the second floor of the left picture; with clear view of the mountain.  
[Cr:Internet] The room is pretty basic, with water heater, flat screen TV (with movie channels!), wi-fi and fan. We also have our own balcony with chairs facing the Mountain. 
In front of our room, 7am.




Pros : Magnificent view, great location, good dinner spread for 2 person, easy reservation (via e-mail), movie channels, good wifi

Cons : Hard rock bed, it took a while for the water heater to work, breakfast wasn't a buffet; instead an ala carte meal per person, limited parking spot

Rating : 4.5/5


Gaya Centre Hotel

[Cr:Internet]

Chose the hotel because it was really near to Jesselton Point. Got upgraded to the room at the top floor. 

Pros : Near Jesselton Point and Dataran Todak, directly opposite a shopping mall (Suria Sabah), comfortable bed, nice view 

Cons : So-so breakfast, the bed sheet was dirty (not changed beforehand), the toilet bowl was dirty

Rating : 3/5


Activities
Poring Hot Spring

[Cr:Internet]
We love the place so much we visit them twice, paid for the private room. Only RM15 per hour!

(The two pictures on the top) More privacy, there were 2 tubs in the private room, big enough for the two of us, complete with shower too.


Fish Spa Tagal
Nazli was skeptical about this place at first, don't know why. Haha But he turns out to be excited, had to drag him out of the river, basically.

The fish spas in Thailand (those where we dipped our legs in an aquarium) is nothing compared to this place. The fishes are hugeee!!

SInce we arrived in the evening, we thought the fishes would all be full by now. *silly*
But noooo. They're eating away our dead cells like nobody's business. And it hurts + tickle a bit, 




Desa Cattle



Seafood Dinner

I had shortlisted 2 places for our seafood dinner at Dataran Todak; Haji Manja and Sinar Delima. Surveyed the price, and Sinar Delima was a bit cheaper. So we went there. For both nights.

Udang harimau masak butter basah, kerang bakar sos, sotong bakar (RM80 - plus drinks)

I kid you not, this is the bomb!!! These babies were as big as ping pong ball!
RM20 per kilo.
We ordered kerang bakar both days *so gooddd*
We had udang masak butter (kering), sotong goreng tepung, kerang bakar and it was only RM60. Please let me move thereeeee already.


Island Hopping
This time around we went to Sapi and Manukan [RM50 per person all in]
Sapi is okay just that the beach area was a tad too crowded. The area for you to swim is also restricted.

Manukan is a bit bigger, seems more commercialized with resorts. More suitable for families.

Next time would choose to visit Mamutik and other island.


Manukan Island

Sapi Island

Traditional Dish at D'Place Kota Kinabalu
I had been eyeing this place since I saw Marsha's episode of Selera Selebriti. I really wanted to try Ambuyat and ...... butod.

They had butod pizza!!!
Unfortunately, they did not sell this by slices. Instead, you need to buy the whole pizza. That's a bugger. Was really really excited to try them.

But fret not, they do sell the butod by itself too!

RM3 each. You can have them raw or fried. I chose the fried version

It was surprisingly chewy!

We also had the traditional Kadazan Dusun meal plus Ambuyat.
 It was a good experience. Don't think I'm gonna order it again, though. Hahaha
The place was nicely decorated, the staffs were very attentive. And oh, there was a cultural dance too.




Till the next trip, stay in love!
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