Baby steps

I've completed - well, browsed through, more like - my compulsory readings of notes before I attempt my first Development Appraisal & Funding assignment. And I'm actually quite proud of myself. I haven't exactly read my study notes thoroughly at all ever since the first semester - and this is the 4th semester! :P Exaggerated a bit I know (I have managed miraculously to pass my subjects so far - I'm still crossing my fingers for the previous semester's). But, with the studying done, tomorrow night I can proceed to decipher my assignment.

I'm actually kinda looking forward to this assignment actually. Development Appraisal & Funding's a subject that I'm interested in - for once. You know how everything you study in your degrees don't really apply in your job? Well, this subject does for me. And this first assignment needs me to put on my developer's consultant thinking cap and assess viabilities of possible projects for redevelopment. Hah, too many nouns leh? Anyway, in short, I can pretend to be a property developer - a theoretically sound one :)

I've put off quite a lot of things recently. Like redeeming a discount coupon I was offered, the deadline for redemption having passed a week ago. Thankfully they still accepted my redemption - because I've been such a loyal customer :) I've also just re-indulged in reading once again. My newest reading list obtained just this evening from my regular rental store - My Book Place, 2nd Floor, Amcorp Mall:

1. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory - I've read her earlier book "The Queen's Fool" and it was really truly an absorbing book. Could hardly put it down. If you like books about England's scandalous monarchy during Henry V's reign, give these 2 books a try. It's fiction, of course, but the writer makes it seem like very believable fiction. Can't wait to start on this book.

2. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept by Paulo Coelho - Heard praises about it. Read the first chapter while killing time in MPH Jusco Ipoh a couple of months back. Another one of those inspirational books that gets you thinking, I guess.

3. The Fabulous Girl's Guide to Grace Under Pressure by Kim Izzo & Ceri Marsh - Ooh, this book has an expensive rental deposit : RM60/-!! But, I was quite taken by the candid and straightforward writing. Not fiction, more like a how-to guide. If I don't learn something from it, at least I'll have had a good laugh.

4. The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes - The book to fill my regular dose of chick lit. Chick lit does seem to be trendy these days in the bookstores, doesn't it? I can understand why, actually, because they're easy to read, fun, light, totally fictional, transports the girl in you to fairyland for that few minutes before bedtime, and requires zero brainpower. I haven't read Marian Keyes before, but have also heard that she's good.

And I should think these 4 books should be able to last me for another 2 months. Or, at least, they'll keep me company while my darling's traipsing around in Spain for the next 2 weeks. 'Course, got my job, studies and log book to keep me occupied. And yes, it shall be baby steps towards achieving everything I need to achieve this year. But, now's a good time to start, since the dear's not in the way - not like he ever is (I do so need to explain). But, by the end of 2 weeks, or more like 11 days, we shall see a newer, more accomplished me. Definitely. The countdown has begun - 11 days to go ...