Our home

Our home is comfortable and warm. I wanted to blog about the house but I don’t have the time to do so. I want to upload as much photos and videos possible to show the house. Well that actually consumes much of my time. Just wait. I’ll make a special blogpost for my 2 months home soon.

Angel of the North. This is one iconic spot not to be missed if you come to Newcastle. It's so gorgeous and the panaromic surrounding view is superbly breathtaking. You may want to have your house window facing such fabolous view.

4 Season Clock

The 4 season clock here is quite tough to follow. The day is now far longer than the night. Wait till its summer and we will have longer daylight. Subuh (sun rise) is at 3.30 am. At 4.30 am the day is clear and Subuh has just ended. Then Isya’ is at 10.15 pm as of today. If we used another “mazhab’s” prayer time, the Isya’ is at 11pm. We have to get used of the clock.

My Tasks in this 2 months

What about my main purpose here? Doing some research attachment. I’m a man with a mission. I’m working as hard as possible to complete my thermodynamic modelling for my reactions. I have had 2 meetings with 2 of my supervisors here. The 3rd meeting will be next week. In each meeting, I need to show some progress. Who dares to meet the supervisor with zero progress!!! I won’t there to do that. I don’t have a face to do that.

Basically I have 2 major objectives coming to Newcastle University. I need to (1) write and complete my thermodynamic feasibility paper and (2) write and complete another paper – Glycerol to Hydrogen (GTH).

Then, I broke my objective to smaller parts. They are (1) to obtain the Gibbs free energy of all compounds related to my study as a function of pressure and temperature (2) to learn to use Matlab to solve 15 simultaneous non-linear equations (3) to write that thermodynamic paper (4) to write that GTH paper (5) to learn various new reactors available under the chemical engineering and advance material group (CEAM), and finally (6) to learn various other equipments available in CEAM.

Some of you may think that I’m having lots of fun here. However, you may not know the level of stress I’m having at this point. I’m trying my best to maintain my composure as well as balance in emotion and spiritual. Not only that I have to take care of my own tasks and mission, I also need to take care of my family and their feelings. The kids especially need some recreational activities to make them happy. They are not schooling for 2 months and that makes them bored.

I remembered one of the postdoc asked another PhD student in the research associate room I’m positioned, “How are you coping with your stress level?”… Aha… That surprised me. I think postgrads and postdocs here are quite stressful with their life. Maybe… I don’t know.

Hmm.. that reminds me that I also need to blog about my school and office here. I mean my work station. That will follow suit soon.

Visit to Angel of the North

OK enough about that. Let me just share a new video and photos on our trip to “Angel of the North“. It was really a wonderful visit. I saw this in movies or TV before. Suddenly, after renting a Ford Fiesta, drove it, I got lost somewhere I don’t know. I don’t have a GPS or satnav with me nor do I have a map. I just based on the main road called A167. Then I got lost. While figuring the way, I saw one big statue with wings and that is the Angel of the North. Gosh…Now I’m seeing it with my own eyes while I’m lost.

More photos of Angle of the North are uploaded in Facebook.com/cyzasector

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OK, back to the real story. Facebook is going public! Yes, you heard that right. That’s very interesting. Finally a big company is going to open its share to the market. What is it for Malaysians? That simply means some of us can have some extend of ownership of Facebook.

The following article will show you step by step method on how you can get shares in Facebook. The article is a contribution by my friend, Chin who owns a new website called imoney.my. Check out the article… amazing piece of information…

Speculators across the world are wondering if the hype of Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) will be artificially driving up its price. In fact, according to Reuters, Facebook’s IPO is already oversubscribed, despite some concerns about slowing growth, high valuation and signs the company is having trouble increasing revenue from mobile advertising.

Below are a few recent quotes / comments by market experts on the topic:

“Most retail investors will be shut out of the offering and won’t get the IPO price, meaning they likely will have to pay more in the days that follow if they want an early piece of the action.” – The Wall Street Journal

“The valuation can be justified only if investors assume that Facebook can continue its rapid growth.” – Gerard Hoberg, Associate Professor of Finance at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.

“When the smoke clears, it is likely for Facebook to carry a $100 billion market capitalization over top of $1 billion in 2011 net income.” – SeekingAlpha.com

Rumour has it the Facebook IPO will create more than 900 millionaires, mostly among Facebook’s early employees. It is no wonder that many casual investors have strong desires to buy a piece of the stock, just to own a part of the company they use so often.

Do Malaysians want to buy Facebook shares? After all, Malaysia is one of the most sociable countries on Facebook.

For those who are interested, the iMoney.my research team has put together a table that compares some of Malaysia’s top brokers. With more than a dozen brokers in Malaysia, it is often a colossus task finding and identifying the right broker. iMoney’s research is primarily focused on costs (how to avoid being charged unnecessary fees) and ease of use (how can Malaysians effortlessly own Facebook shares), and below are some of their top recommendations:

We assumed a USD/MYR exchange rate of USD1 = RM3

So how do you actually get a piece of Facebook share?

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO BUY FACEBOOK SHARES

Before you can purchase any Facebook shares (or any overseas shares for that matter), there are generally a few things you need to do:

1) Open A Foreign Shares Security Trading Account With A Broker. 

To do this, you will need to bring along

• a copy of your NRIC,
• a recent bank statement, and
• an account opening fee (usually around RM10 to RM30)

to the nearest branch of your preferred broker. Some brokers (e.g. CIMB) have downloadable forms online that you can complete prior to visiting the branch in order to reduce your wait time. Maybank allows you to complete the application online if you’re an existing customer.

2) Register For An Online Trading Account

This is an additional step if you would like to buy your Facebook shares online (i.e. not through phone transactions). Most brokers would offer to register an online trading account for you while you set up your security account at the branch, however, you must explicitly request for this.

3) Log-On and Find the NASDAQ Stock Market

Like most technology-related companies, Facebook will be listed on the US NASDAQ share market. To find Facebook shares, you will need to look under the stock code “FB”.

4) Purchase Facebook Shares

Based on a number of market commentaries, Facebook is expected to see its shares sold between USD28 to USD35 (or around RM84 to RM105) upon listing. Depending on your broker, you may be able to purchase shares in lot sizes of 100 or less.

It would generally take 3 working days from the time you transact to the time you actually own the shares (commonly known as a settlement period of T+3).

NEED HELP?

Need to speak to a remisier? Email iMoneyyour name and preferred mode of contact at hello@imoney.my, and we’ll get back to you with a list of remisiers you can call to get direct advice.

Need more comparisons? Want to know our personal recommendations? Sign up for the iMoney.my “Money Saving” Newsletter at our website: www.iMoney.my

Want to know what your friends think? Share this article!

ABOUT

iMoney.my is a new and exciting price comparison website in Malaysia. We help Malaysians compare their options before spending their money.

Disclaimer: We’re not trying to hype up any stock and we’re not involved with Facebook (although we wish we were), and investing money always involves the possibility of losing it, so please consult your financial advisor before investing!

Image credited to http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57367614/facebook-poised-for-ipo/

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In the video below, I was unwrapping the doner kebab that I just purchased. The kebab is served with doner like a bread which is nice and tender. It is also served with a variety of vegetables. I added tomato, cabbage, salad and onion. Then I applied tomato source, mayonnaise and burger source.

Oh yea… I just realized that I keep repeating chicken doner…chicken doner in the video. However, it is actually doner kebab. I don’t know why I said that…haha… OK, that’s it for the time being. Need to get back to work.

Adios…

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Previously, when I studied in Bradford University 13 years ago, I regularly visited Halifax Carboot Sale. It’s located in West Yorkshire. So, it has been quite a while since I visit a carboot sale. Hmm…carboot sale in Malaysia is not popular or rather I can say not interesting. There are carboot sale in Johor Bahru held on a monthly basis, which is quite interesting, but the one in UK is far better.

Getting out of the Metro at Shiremoor. We need to walked several minutes before reaching the carboot.

One of the signboards beside the road on our walk to Whitney Bay Carboot sales

Alya found herself a small tiny push cart to carry her dolls and teddy bears. That cost 2 pounds.

I was not sure what my other half was buying or bargaining this time...

A view of the Whitley Bay Carboot Sale. Stuffs are prices so cheap still in a very good quality.

After the carboot sale. We bought some stuffs. Then we headed to a second carboot which is at Tyneside Metro station.

I found many interesting stuffs in this carboot sale. Among items that I nearly want to buy:

1. Wireless 3 in 1 printer – still functioning, comes with installation CD – the price is 5 pounds!!!

2. Bicycle – suitable for me to go back and fort to the university – 10 pounds!!!

3. Safety boots – brand new – 10 pounds.

However, I just got my self a plyer to adjust the radiator in the bathroom at our house. It cost me 0.50 pound. The teddy bear cost 1 pound each. We bought some glass bowl which cost us 1 pound each – actively being used in the kitchen. Hmm…what else… sorry I have forgotten…

If you see me in the photo above, the black leather jacket that I wore was purchased in Halifax Carboot sale 14 years ago. It is still being used and in fact my favourite jacket when I travel to 4 climate country. It cost me only 10 pound but it is still in immaculate condition! Imagine the cost of a brand new leather jacket?!

The beauty of Carboot Sale in UK

The concept is pretty much simple and this is my personal opinion based on my observation. The sellers are not in seek of profit. They basically want to get rid, minimize or reduce their stuffs and belongings. Most of them are in good quality condition. The selling price are crazily low and there is no way they make profit from it. They just want to let go their stuffs to those who are interested to be the new owner. That’s why many people love to hunt for used stuffs at attractive prices in the carboot.

Just imagine, I bought 4 pieces of napkin which is very much in superb condition (like new) for 10 pence each. That same napkin (new) is sold in popular store at the price of no less than 2 pound each.

Then I bought blue cotton towel (1 piece) and blue cotton hand towel (2 pieces). It cost me 1 pound only.

You can’t get this price anywhere. You can get it only at carboot sale.

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Unfortunately this time, since I’m in Newcastle, we would not be able to celebrate with the bigger family. A small celebration in Newcastle will do. Perhaps later on after I get back from the university. OK, that’s all some updates from me here from the UK.

Cheers.

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