- Accompanied client for meetings with company managements. Truly a nerve wracking experience as the client is a fund manager and my boss said the client used to be an analyst himself. I didn't know the story of each company we met thoroughly, much less valuation of their stocks. Fortunately, my boss realized this and tried to cover for me most of the time. Pheww..
- Visited companies for updates. Still related to the previous assignment, but this time visiting their headquarter directly instead of having a meeting in a hotel. The same client was asking very thorough questions, mostly on business model rather than valuation per se. I asked my senior colleague and they did say the client was most thorough.
- Attended an investment forum. The 2nd Indonesia Investor Forum was held this week and I visited several company presentations. I learned more about various business models from different industries. I also networked with several people ranging from a researcher in a consulting company to a fund manager in a private equity shop.
- Attended a public expose of a consumer product company. I met a senior analyst from another equity house and we discussed a lot about the profession and the industry. While the event was informative, I learned more from him about lots of things in just 30 minutes.
Friday, June 01, 2007
The Week of Firsts
Wow.. a lot of things happened to me this week, my third week (or was it second since there were several days off two weeks ago) as a junior analyst. While last week marked my first email contact with a client as an analyst and my first visit to a shareholders meeting (of a bank), this week I experienced at least four new things:
Saturday, May 19, 2007
I Got Promoted!
Wow, it really has been a year since I wrote anything online. Yeah, you read it right, I passed my Management Trainee program and got promoted as a Junior Analyst in the Equity Research Division. This is going to be a daunting adventure and very possibly going to determine my future career path. I guess everything do happen for a purpose. This is no exception.
DANG! I got so melodramatic there. At any rate, I'm going to sign the new contract next Monday and it officially begins. Because of the nature of the job, I will start writing again and possibly reactivate the dormant indrayudha.net. And since I've got a more reliable broadband connection for the past 2 months (somebody say 3G!), it might just happen like the old times. Oh, probably not just quite, I may have the connection now, but I need a more capable computer to handle it (blame it on Apple for delaying Leopard release to October, now I have to wait until then to buy a MacBook).
Oh, and last but not least, thank you for all of your support, prayer, guidance, and patience. It has been a fun and challenging year. I expect no less for the next ride, and I hope you can enjoy it with me.
DANG! I got so melodramatic there. At any rate, I'm going to sign the new contract next Monday and it officially begins. Because of the nature of the job, I will start writing again and possibly reactivate the dormant indrayudha.net. And since I've got a more reliable broadband connection for the past 2 months (somebody say 3G!), it might just happen like the old times. Oh, probably not just quite, I may have the connection now, but I need a more capable computer to handle it (blame it on Apple for delaying Leopard release to October, now I have to wait until then to buy a MacBook).
Oh, and last but not least, thank you for all of your support, prayer, guidance, and patience. It has been a fun and challenging year. I expect no less for the next ride, and I hope you can enjoy it with me.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
I Got a Job!
Yes, that's right! I got a job! I just signed the contract this evening, and will start next week. And what's more, it's actually in the field that I wanted, money management and capital market. The company is PT Danareksa, and the position is management trainee. The commitment is for one year as a management trainee, and two more as a full employee (position to be assigned later). Therefore, I would put my job-search effort to rest until three years from now. What a relief...
I've been at it since I graduated almost exactly two years ago from IU. Thus far, I've managed to snatch several part-time jobs and an internship in-between. So, this position would be my first full-time, out-of-college job. And to my surprise, I got it back here in Indonesia! What's more, even though I tried all the available channels (job fairs, online postings, networks, and newspapers), the fact that I didn't get it from networking is surprising (I applied though a newspaper ad). It proved to me that I was wrong to have my prejudice against the "system", especially Indonesia's. I realize that the "system" is still far from perfect, but now I also realize that the "system" is undergoing positive changes that I just have to experience it for myself.
To all my friends and relatives, I would like to say thank you for all your prayers and continued support in various ways. You've all been helpful and kind, and my gratitude to you all for having accompanied me toward this new stage in my life. I truly appreciate it, and God bless you.
I've been at it since I graduated almost exactly two years ago from IU. Thus far, I've managed to snatch several part-time jobs and an internship in-between. So, this position would be my first full-time, out-of-college job. And to my surprise, I got it back here in Indonesia! What's more, even though I tried all the available channels (job fairs, online postings, networks, and newspapers), the fact that I didn't get it from networking is surprising (I applied though a newspaper ad). It proved to me that I was wrong to have my prejudice against the "system", especially Indonesia's. I realize that the "system" is still far from perfect, but now I also realize that the "system" is undergoing positive changes that I just have to experience it for myself.
To all my friends and relatives, I would like to say thank you for all your prayers and continued support in various ways. You've all been helpful and kind, and my gratitude to you all for having accompanied me toward this new stage in my life. I truly appreciate it, and God bless you.
Friday, May 05, 2006
The Agony of Unreliable Internet Connection
Yes, finally I can get active again writing for my blog! My computer arrived early February and only about a month ago that I switched my dial-up connection to a broadband one (cable), so hopefully things has settled now that I can start writing again consistently.
Even though cable is supposed to be much faster than dial-up, broadband infrastructure in Jakarta is not yet advanced enough. Compare this: advertised speed for dial up is 56K, while advertised speed for cable is 64K. 64K!? That's only 8K difference! Back in the States, the advertised speed is 768K and up to 1Mb! That's 712K difference, at least! See what I mean? The only good thing with cable is probably that I don't need to pay for a continued use of phone line, which is a good thing since I racked up the phone bill for past 3 months before the switch. ;P
And not only that, even the broadband acts very strangely here. It connects up to the advertised speed only after 7-8PM, and then deteriorates after about 6-7AM. One could theorize that not a lot of people using the internet at night. Well, it suppose to hold for dial-up, yes, but broadband!? Not only that, the connection is sketchy, dropping so often in the middle of browsing. Oh, how I missed surfing the Internet to my heart's content...!
My brother give me some explanation about this quirk [well, since he owns an internet cafe, I think that qualifies him as the family expert on this matter]. He said that the local broadband operators have to lease a some sort of a "tunnel" which will then connect to Internet sites outside Indonesia, which is expensive, so they limit the number of people connecting at any one time. This explains the non-existent performance during daylight, but I think it still doesn't explain the sketchy connection.
Yes, I expect too much perhaps, considering the infrastructure is not as advanced. But I grew accustomed with the blazing speed of my former host country. I almost come to blow on several occasions with the operator's tech service here due to these inconsistencies. Luckily, my brother's explanation cooled me down and I try to live with this predicament.
Even though cable is supposed to be much faster than dial-up, broadband infrastructure in Jakarta is not yet advanced enough. Compare this: advertised speed for dial up is 56K, while advertised speed for cable is 64K. 64K!? That's only 8K difference! Back in the States, the advertised speed is 768K and up to 1Mb! That's 712K difference, at least! See what I mean? The only good thing with cable is probably that I don't need to pay for a continued use of phone line, which is a good thing since I racked up the phone bill for past 3 months before the switch. ;P
And not only that, even the broadband acts very strangely here. It connects up to the advertised speed only after 7-8PM, and then deteriorates after about 6-7AM. One could theorize that not a lot of people using the internet at night. Well, it suppose to hold for dial-up, yes, but broadband!? Not only that, the connection is sketchy, dropping so often in the middle of browsing. Oh, how I missed surfing the Internet to my heart's content...!
My brother give me some explanation about this quirk [well, since he owns an internet cafe, I think that qualifies him as the family expert on this matter]. He said that the local broadband operators have to lease a some sort of a "tunnel" which will then connect to Internet sites outside Indonesia, which is expensive, so they limit the number of people connecting at any one time. This explains the non-existent performance during daylight, but I think it still doesn't explain the sketchy connection.
Yes, I expect too much perhaps, considering the infrastructure is not as advanced. But I grew accustomed with the blazing speed of my former host country. I almost come to blow on several occasions with the operator's tech service here due to these inconsistencies. Luckily, my brother's explanation cooled me down and I try to live with this predicament.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Washington DC - Day 12 (June 4, 2005)
Today Salman and I drove to Baltimore (or close to it). We were to meet with Salman's friend, Feysal and several of his friends, for lunch and stuff. The place where we all met up was Jillian's, at the Arundel Mills. Jillian is a combination of restaurant, bowling, billiards, bar, arcade, and some other stuff. It's very much like Dave & Buster, which Salman and I also visited the night before for a birthday invitation, but twice or thrice larger. So the familiarity with the scene was still lingering.
There were eventually six of us that afternoon, and after finished with the lunch we all headed to the pool room. The six of us split into two tables, playing a simple 3x3 (where you claim your number range, and try shooting the other 2 people's balls). The last time I played pool before was with Christa in late February, when I was visiting Bloomington. I didn't play pool often and I'm not good anyway, I'm just barely average. So yeah, I lost, comin in the 3rd and 2nd for the second table.
Then, we hang around Arundel Mills, a large complex of shopping center much like St. Louis Mills. You can only find structures like these in the States due to its vast amount of empty lands and extensive highway systems.
Later that night, Feysal invited us to have dinner at his place with his wife. After dinner, the four of us played Spades. This was my first time playing this game. It wasn't hard, but the rule was confusing at first. It involves bidding and coordination with your partner. There're multiple strategies you can use of course, but trying to get used to the game kinda slowed me down in that department. I lost again, for the second time that day. But it was fun, and the second time I played it again later that month, I won it!
There were eventually six of us that afternoon, and after finished with the lunch we all headed to the pool room. The six of us split into two tables, playing a simple 3x3 (where you claim your number range, and try shooting the other 2 people's balls). The last time I played pool before was with Christa in late February, when I was visiting Bloomington. I didn't play pool often and I'm not good anyway, I'm just barely average. So yeah, I lost, comin in the 3rd and 2nd for the second table.
Then, we hang around Arundel Mills, a large complex of shopping center much like St. Louis Mills. You can only find structures like these in the States due to its vast amount of empty lands and extensive highway systems.
Later that night, Feysal invited us to have dinner at his place with his wife. After dinner, the four of us played Spades. This was my first time playing this game. It wasn't hard, but the rule was confusing at first. It involves bidding and coordination with your partner. There're multiple strategies you can use of course, but trying to get used to the game kinda slowed me down in that department. I lost again, for the second time that day. But it was fun, and the second time I played it again later that month, I won it!
Monday, August 29, 2005
Washington DC - Day 11 (June 3, 2005)
Fari and I planned to meet up again for Friday prayer at the Embassy. Unfortunately, both of us miscoordinated the plan so we got there late, but we arrived nonetheless. I had an appointment with Mas Irawan so we got to be there anyway. Mas Irawan was the person who interviewed me back in Fall 2003 on behalf of Voice of America. Indiana University held the 2003 conference for Association of Muslim Social Scientist and I happened to be one of the volunteers. So that's how Mas Irawan and I met.
Afterward, Fari and I had lunch at the Union Station food court. DC Union Station is just like an airport. It's huge for a train station, and there're plethora of shops and eateries as well. High-rise ceiling and European-style architecture made it an attractive tourist destination of its own, aside from being a transportation center. Unfortunately, the basement (where the food court is located) was still under renovation so it was a bit ugly when we were there.
Since Fari had another plan, we split up after lunch. I went to the National Geographic Museum. Initially, I just went to see what's inside and probably picked a job application as well. They didn't have big exhibition other than photography display of Darfur at the time. I roamed to a small room and found another display of children's paintings to promote peace. I read the tags and the children were students from George Washington School in Charleston, West Virginia, Salman's high school. Small world, eh?
Afterward, Fari and I had lunch at the Union Station food court. DC Union Station is just like an airport. It's huge for a train station, and there're plethora of shops and eateries as well. High-rise ceiling and European-style architecture made it an attractive tourist destination of its own, aside from being a transportation center. Unfortunately, the basement (where the food court is located) was still under renovation so it was a bit ugly when we were there.
Since Fari had another plan, we split up after lunch. I went to the National Geographic Museum. Initially, I just went to see what's inside and probably picked a job application as well. They didn't have big exhibition other than photography display of Darfur at the time. I roamed to a small room and found another display of children's paintings to promote peace. I read the tags and the children were students from George Washington School in Charleston, West Virginia, Salman's high school. Small world, eh?
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Washington DC - Day 62 (July 24, 2005)
We went out for lunch today. The three of us (me, Salman, and Mariam who just came two days ago for a visit) picked an Ethiopian restaurant, Meskerem, for our afternoon consumption. Meskerem is located in the Adams Morgan area, which I think probably the most unique but undercovered DC neighborhood. It's so ethnic, cool, urban, and organic that I didn't feel like I'm in DC the whole time. Weird, huh? You just have to visit this area whenever you come to DC, it's not a hugely popular tourist destination so it'll be like the beaten path for your itinerary.
Meskerem is authentically Africa. Indoor settings (except for the basement) and furnitures were different from most ethnic restaurant I've been in. The table is the most striking. It's actually a basket, standing low at knee-level, where we eventually shared the food together. I ordered Yebeg Fitfit, a lamb-based dish, and Tej for beverage. While all of us ordered different things, we ended up sharing due to the large portions and serving style (remember the basket?) We ate with bare hands, scooping up the dish with our injera, a spongy pancake-like staple bread (similar to Indonesian kue apem but without the sweets). The food was so good that I even raided Salman and Mariam's injera after they were too full to continue ^.^
We were just enjoying ourselves that day, I think taking more than 2 hours in that restaurant alone. Good experience, I highly recommend Meskerem.
Meskerem is authentically Africa. Indoor settings (except for the basement) and furnitures were different from most ethnic restaurant I've been in. The table is the most striking. It's actually a basket, standing low at knee-level, where we eventually shared the food together. I ordered Yebeg Fitfit, a lamb-based dish, and Tej for beverage. While all of us ordered different things, we ended up sharing due to the large portions and serving style (remember the basket?) We ate with bare hands, scooping up the dish with our injera, a spongy pancake-like staple bread (similar to Indonesian kue apem but without the sweets). The food was so good that I even raided Salman and Mariam's injera after they were too full to continue ^.^
We were just enjoying ourselves that day, I think taking more than 2 hours in that restaurant alone. Good experience, I highly recommend Meskerem.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Washington DC - Day 94
This morning I attended a workshop seminar where Macromedia showed their latest installment, Studio 8. I received the e-mail invitation earlier this week from my boss, Graham, and decided to register and attend it. The room was packed, there were probably more than 200 people attended the event. Most of them were government and NGO employees, no doubt working with internet technologies and web implementations for their respective institutions.
Studio 8 hasn't been released yet, so the people attending were among the first to see Studio 8's capabilities. It is a powerful software, and even though it doesn't include Freehand (I never use it anyway), it includes Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash Paper among others. During half of the seminar, they demonstrated the new Flash improvements. It didn't really apply to me since I don't use Flash (no animation talent), so it was kinda boring. However, once the seminar resumed after a snack break, things were getting really interesting.
The chief software development showed us new features of Dreamweaver. It was great. The new Dreamweaver would provide more advanced support for CSS such as the ability to turn CSS on-and-off in mid-development, color each CSS box automatically, zoom in-and-out for more precise positioning, collapse codes for more portability, convert to XSLT for better RSS integration, and many more! It would've made my internship a lot easier. They also showed a new product called Flash Paper which would bring web multimedia to the masses. It's capable of converting almost any type of file into Flash SWF so developer can show documents directly on a given web page.
After the seminar, I walked into Borders store on the opposite block waiting for lunch time. Surprisingly, Borders scheduled a tour appearance of Josh Kelly that afternoon for his new album, Almost Honest. It was my first tour sighting so gotta include this in the blog. Honestly, I never heard about the guy, but his songs were very good. They're on the same genre as Mraz, Johnson, Mayer (what do you call that genre? I always refer to it as folk music since Yahoo categorizes them that way, and there're a lot of "J"s singers too like Josh, Jason, Jack, and John, go figure).
Studio 8 hasn't been released yet, so the people attending were among the first to see Studio 8's capabilities. It is a powerful software, and even though it doesn't include Freehand (I never use it anyway), it includes Dreamweaver, Fireworks, and Flash Paper among others. During half of the seminar, they demonstrated the new Flash improvements. It didn't really apply to me since I don't use Flash (no animation talent), so it was kinda boring. However, once the seminar resumed after a snack break, things were getting really interesting.
The chief software development showed us new features of Dreamweaver. It was great. The new Dreamweaver would provide more advanced support for CSS such as the ability to turn CSS on-and-off in mid-development, color each CSS box automatically, zoom in-and-out for more precise positioning, collapse codes for more portability, convert to XSLT for better RSS integration, and many more! It would've made my internship a lot easier. They also showed a new product called Flash Paper which would bring web multimedia to the masses. It's capable of converting almost any type of file into Flash SWF so developer can show documents directly on a given web page.
After the seminar, I walked into Borders store on the opposite block waiting for lunch time. Surprisingly, Borders scheduled a tour appearance of Josh Kelly that afternoon for his new album, Almost Honest. It was my first tour sighting so gotta include this in the blog. Honestly, I never heard about the guy, but his songs were very good. They're on the same genre as Mraz, Johnson, Mayer (what do you call that genre? I always refer to it as folk music since Yahoo categorizes them that way, and there're a lot of "J"s singers too like Josh, Jason, Jack, and John, go figure).
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Washington DC - Day 4 (May 27, 2005)
I scheduled for an interview with Pat Taylor, a temp agency specializing in legal sector, this afternoon. I was referred to Pat Taylor by Salman, who had work for them since he came to DC in February. He got hired to a permanent position later in June by the client company.
The interview went well, and there was no test whatsoever unlike the other temp agencies. The interviewer seemed pleased, and she said she would try to find a suitable position for me. Eventually, I got no assignment from them. My guess is because I am a bit too "technical" for their openings, or because I didn't follow-through aggresively, or because they simply didn't have anything suitable for me. At least, I know from our correspondence that they tried, but for some reasons, it just didn't work out.
Later that afternoon though, I met up with Fari to pray together at the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI). I had forgotten how big the Embassy was. The Embassy building stands in stark contrast with the surrounding embassies. Not only it is large, but it has artistic Europen style, though the new extension is of modern design. The Minister of Forestry happened to be in DC, and he delivered the sermon that afternoon. I guess he was part of the President's entourage during the President's visit to the States that week.
Fari and I then had lunch in Malaysia Kopitiam, a Malaysian restaurant in downtown DC. Our server was in fact, an Indonesian, go figure. The food were delicious and filling, and it was a bargain given the price. I got myself Nasi Lemak, and if only they weren't out of Cendol, it would've been perfect.
We continued exploring DC and our destination was the National Air and Space Museum. I remembered visiting this place in '94 and I don't think it has changed a lot. Though, I have to admit that it seemed like an endless fun back then.
The interview went well, and there was no test whatsoever unlike the other temp agencies. The interviewer seemed pleased, and she said she would try to find a suitable position for me. Eventually, I got no assignment from them. My guess is because I am a bit too "technical" for their openings, or because I didn't follow-through aggresively, or because they simply didn't have anything suitable for me. At least, I know from our correspondence that they tried, but for some reasons, it just didn't work out.
Later that afternoon though, I met up with Fari to pray together at the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI). I had forgotten how big the Embassy was. The Embassy building stands in stark contrast with the surrounding embassies. Not only it is large, but it has artistic Europen style, though the new extension is of modern design. The Minister of Forestry happened to be in DC, and he delivered the sermon that afternoon. I guess he was part of the President's entourage during the President's visit to the States that week.
Fari and I then had lunch in Malaysia Kopitiam, a Malaysian restaurant in downtown DC. Our server was in fact, an Indonesian, go figure. The food were delicious and filling, and it was a bargain given the price. I got myself Nasi Lemak, and if only they weren't out of Cendol, it would've been perfect.
We continued exploring DC and our destination was the National Air and Space Museum. I remembered visiting this place in '94 and I don't think it has changed a lot. Though, I have to admit that it seemed like an endless fun back then.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Washington DC - Day 2 (May 25, 2005)
Crap. I just found out last night that my internship didn't go through. CAIR just e-mailed me that I wasn't selected for the summer internship. Well, now what? Now, the plan could either be saved or let it fell through. I've traveled this far (3 hrs. flight but still), so I won't let it fell through. Today I set plans in motion, which over the next 6 weeks or so, would bring me through numerous job applications, several interviews, and a hell of a ride in between.
Still, the question beget, why Washington? After all, I could just stay in St. Louis and continued my job search there or at least until I got some sort of job offer before deciding to move out. Well, it didn't work. Externally, people would be unlikely to hire someone far away especially if it's just for entry-level positions. Internally, my motivation to keep this thing going was slowly dying out. There was nothing for me in St. Louis job-wise, so I better get back on track or it is time for me to go home.
I know, it still doesn't answer the question, why Washington? Well, Washington was on top of my list for a potential relocation city. Even before I graduated, it had been among the top three. The non-profit is one of the industry sectors I want to get involved in, and Washington is like the mecca of non-profits. I also flirted with the idea of working for public administration, so Washington is the logical choice.
I have visited Washington twice before, once in Summer 1994 and most recently on Summer 2002 (a road trip worthy of its own posting series). I like the city of Washington, DC. It's accessible and beautiful, it has good public transport system, and the city is moderately paced (not bustling like NYC, and not too laid-back like most cities I've been in). Boston and Chicago would probably the only other cities that rival Washington in that respect (I haven't been in Seattle so I don't know about it).
Well, I hope that answers the question, more about my adventure coming up.
Still, the question beget, why Washington? After all, I could just stay in St. Louis and continued my job search there or at least until I got some sort of job offer before deciding to move out. Well, it didn't work. Externally, people would be unlikely to hire someone far away especially if it's just for entry-level positions. Internally, my motivation to keep this thing going was slowly dying out. There was nothing for me in St. Louis job-wise, so I better get back on track or it is time for me to go home.
I know, it still doesn't answer the question, why Washington? Well, Washington was on top of my list for a potential relocation city. Even before I graduated, it had been among the top three. The non-profit is one of the industry sectors I want to get involved in, and Washington is like the mecca of non-profits. I also flirted with the idea of working for public administration, so Washington is the logical choice.
I have visited Washington twice before, once in Summer 1994 and most recently on Summer 2002 (a road trip worthy of its own posting series). I like the city of Washington, DC. It's accessible and beautiful, it has good public transport system, and the city is moderately paced (not bustling like NYC, and not too laid-back like most cities I've been in). Boston and Chicago would probably the only other cities that rival Washington in that respect (I haven't been in Seattle so I don't know about it).
Well, I hope that answers the question, more about my adventure coming up.
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