The Million Dollar Question!

So, what are you doing after you graduate?

Are you going back to Malaysia?

Are you staying in Canada?

?????

***

I have fielded many such questions for the last six months while I still haven't an answer to it. Now that I do, I will put your mind to rest.

The Answer:

I have accepted a job offer in Edmonton, and will thus be in Canada for at least one more year! I am really excited about the job -- it is such a blessing because it is with a social enterprise. Indeed it is a miracle come true as I am able to use my business skills to benefit society. God is so good!

Check it out:
www.earthwater.ca

Are you competent?

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

2 Corinthians 3:5

Development Economics

Conversation with Voon on MSN:

Voon: Hello :)

Me: Heya! How are you?

Voon: I'm good, just got back from class. Such a nice day to sleep...

Me: Hahahaha! I just got back from dinner with my Econ Prof.

Voon: Wah, what you doing grace???

Me: Huh??

Voon: There's been enough cases of student-teacher affairs in America, Grace...

Me: He's married...and old...and we went with two other students...

Voon: Ok lah, just kidding jangan merajuk...

***
Conversing with people passionate about Development Economics just stir something in my heart. If I had more time, I would love to take up this field of studies. Needless to say, you can't do everything and time is a scarce commodity. As much as I enjoy business, development economics (ok, and politics, and philosophy, and religion etc etc) really intrigues me. This one course I am taking on development economics has challenged much of my 'conventional' mindset on aid. Like some political science majors, I used to be all for HIPC (debt cancellation to Highly Indebted Poor Countries) and aid aid aid for underdeveloped countries. But now that I am reading different aid theories, and loads of statistics of how aid doesn't work to alleviate countries from poverty, I am just astounded by the fact that the world has no answer as to how to end world poverty. So, I have read Jeffrey Sachs's "The End of Poverty" where he advocated donor countries keep their Millenium Development Goals (MDG) of providing 0.7% GNP for aid...and with a miracle grand plan, the end of poverty will be realized by 2025. Ok, if it were three years ago, I may agree with him and advocated the same thing, but with all these economics theories swimming around my head, I am more cognizant that the poverty problem is so much more complicated. It cannot be solved with free money -- non monetary accountability/non-accountability extinguishes the incentive factor pivotal to a stable economy. It is extremely complicated, and the worse thing is that the world doesn't have the answer. And that distresses me...

Will we be able to really cut poverty in half by 2015? How??

Quote of the day:

There is no wealth but life -- John Ruskin

Fair Trade in Malaysia?

I have a new plan. Just in case I don't meet a German apple farmer, get married to him and steal his apples to start my business initiative, I have come up with Plan B.

I am starting to get really intrigued about the whole idea of fair trade and have been researching quite a bit for a research paper. I have yet to go knee deep research on fair trade in Malaysia, but preliminary research is showing me no official data on fair trade as a percentage of trade. North America and Europe shows an average of 0.5-5% of fair trade as a percentage of trade.

So anyways, if I don't meet the apple farmer dude, maybe I may startup a fair trade company in Malaysia.

How does that sound to you?

Corporate Awakening

Will saving the world become the Ultimate Competitive Advantage?

Winter Speaker Forum: Corporate Awakening

Who: Adam Cormier – Social Entrepreneur and Producer of the documentary film “Fixing Capitalism”
Kori Chilibeck – President & CEO of Earthwater International
When: Tuesday, March 13
Time: 5:00 – 7:00 pm
Venue: ETLC, rm. E2-001

Sponsored by Eonfire - University of Alberta

Fellowship of the Heart

King's Fold Retreat Centre

Navigators Women Leaders Retreat

January 19-21 2007

Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:22-25

For those of you who have been asking:

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging lately. Yes, I am still well and alive for those of you who are wondering. Life has just been so busy, and this month of March is totally jam-packed. My schedule looks crazy, especially so with research papers datelines. I'm beginning to feel stressed about them, and the entire month will be dedicated to writing three of them. Wish me luck! Then there is the odd grad picture taking on Wednesday, of which is totally bad timing because I think I have just gained weight over the Chinese New Year celebrations. Argghh. Anyways, I still can't believe I am graduating -- it seems only like yesteday when I entered University. All in all, I have really enjoyed my University days, and there would have been nothing I would have done differently. We will see where the future brings me.

How are you doing?