Saturday

I went for a power walk this morning at Nurragingy. There was a dress rehearsal there for a Filipino wedding. I thought it was so sweet how the family all came to "practice" for the actual ceremony. Takes the element of surprise off a bit though. I don't know. I personally wouldn't want a practice run though it does mean the day is more organised.

Yesterday was a productive day. I managed to file 80 per cent of my feature story and I interviewed a guy who is a fund manager in GS. He flew all the way from the US and had that air of Manhattan about him. It always interests me to meet these people and think in my head how different our lives must be. I am always trying to look for people in the industry who doesn't have the ego that comes with managing billions of money. PXS is a great example of someone who seems grounded for a guy who founded one of the top 10 Australian managed funds. This guy, from GS, is from the other school, it seems. The Ivy league to Wall Street type. Overall though I find that even the most egotistical fund manager (not that I'm saying this guy from GS is one) respects research and professionalism. It doesn't matter that I get paid how much they earn in a day. Besides, we all walk our own path. What matters is that they do their job right and I do mine. One of the best advice I've ever received was from NT who told me, when I just started in the industry and felt intimidated by meeting chief executives, he said "never, ever feel like you're any less a person than they are simply from their position". Sure they have big responsibilities but it's just their job. I've taken that advice with me wherever I go. Someone once wrote a document on the basis that "all men are equal". Sounds obvious but it's interesting how some people can be blindsided by their own self-importance to understand that in the end, it's just a job. What matters is how they treat people.

Prior to that, I sat in a profile interview for another guy who was just appointed chief exec of another leading fund management company. Again my mind was working double time trying to figure this guy out. It wasn't my interview. I just tagged along for the sake of the junior journo. I don't know. It's like a wall or a mask of sorts. They don't have any problems talking about the company and what they've achieved but hone in on their personal life and they clam up. Hah! Why should you open up to a journalist? But that's what a 'profile' interview is. Though it is the goal of the journalist/interviewer to at least establish a foundation of trust, even within the limited time you have, to make the interviewee comfortable. And I think N** achieved that.

After the lengthy interview, where I felt we didn't really get to the core of who he is and that the profile would be 2D, I asked him what his father does/did. It turned out that he was the son of a jazz musician who played seven nights a week and at 61, has come back to the local pub circuit to play as a drummer. That was like opening up the floodgates. From there I discovered that his children are musical enthusiasts as well and play several instruments, that he played drums and was in a band before he got into the world of investing and that he never went to Uni at all. After highschool and 12 years of work experience, he went in and did his MBA.

So there it was. That's the 3D.

My friend and I are on regular email. He emailed me just before he left work for the day. I thought that was so sweet. :D It was a little gesture though and I won't make a big deal out of it. But new relationships can be so fragile. And in these days when a girl's supposed to make the move if she likes someone, it gets complimakated! At least before you would know if a guy likes you because you go through a courtship process and then you accept or decline. Well, there had to be a trade-off for the invention of microwave!

I had a mini car accident today. I was reversing from a very narrow and busy carpark in Blacktown when this guy was reversing too except he was rushing and I didn't see him! Before I knew it, there was this abrupt, grating sound coming from behind and I saw this car (the driver wasn't even looking at me nor the source of the sound) and sped off! I was so shocked I didn't memorise his license plate.

On closer inspection, my brother said he could fix it with $700 and $20 for a quick polish. He said I am fortunate I had my wax guard on as it looks like the scratches (I thought) were really the dirt from the guy's car that got stuck on the wax guard.

I made a quick calculation and discovered that for two rugs worth $10, drinks worth $15, a new jug for $4 and a new coffee cup for $8, I actually spend roughly $800 this morning no thanks to the accident. Though my brother said we can skip the $700 and just get the $20 polish.

It made me think about how, if only I was 10 seconds later or earlier, that the accident wouldn't have happened. But as Milan Kundera suggested in "The unbearable lightness of being", we could live our life choosing either or but that the end game will still be the same.

So I'll just charge this one to experience and be more careful next time. Thank God for brothers who know a lot about cars.

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