Final Interview with Deloitte

I am done with my interview and to be honest, I have no idea if I did well or not. I mean overall it was OK. The people are really nice, I had free breakfast and lunch and also free goodies including $10 iTunes gift card. As for the interview itself, I had 2 interviews for 30 mins each with 2 partners. I think we had a great time and we laughed. But again, who knows other candidates were like that too and even better than me. Oh by the way, I am the only SJSU interviewee out of 10 candidates from other schools such as BYU, Santa Clara, UCLA, Cal Poly and UC Berkeley. Definitely very competitive and tough. I do not know what to expect next. Even though I am not nervous but somehow I feel helpless. Probably in my mind I feel that I won't get the offer? Really really, I don't know if I impress the interviewers enough. The recruiter said that she will let us know by next Friday. From my experience, if I get the offer, they will call in a few hours. But I asked my buddy that he actually received a call from Deloitte 2-3 days after the interview. So probably if Deloitte does not call me today, I might have a chance.

If Only I Had

As I am nervously going to sleep to better prepare myself for tomorrow, I remember Ci linda forwarded her devotion email today. So just seconds before I close my gmail, I open her email. It turns out to be a blessing for me as it really relates to my condition now.

The devotion titled "If Only I Had..." Click here to read more on this.

There's a simple little script many of us play in our mind—simple, yet incredibly dangerous. Dare I say it's one of the biggest things that hold us back from feeling fulfilled in our relationship with God. It's a script tangled in a lie that typically goes something like this: I could really be happy and fulfilled if only I had … … a skinnier body.
… a husband.
… a husband who was more tender and romantic.
… more money.
… a more successful career.
… a better personality.
… a baby.
… smarter kids.

Instead of saying, "If only I had" and filling in the blank with some person, possession, or position, make a choice to replace that statement with God's truth.

Position
I no longer say, "If only I had a better position .…" Instead, I say the words of Psalm 119:105: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." I don't need a better position to get where I should go. I don't have to figure out my path and jockey to get ahead. I need God's Word to guide me. As I follow Him and honor Him step-by-step, I can be assured that I'm right where He wants me to be doing what He wants me to do.

And so with this I pray that I will follow You and be obedient to Your words. Whether or not I get the job at Deloitte or somewhere else, You will continue to guide me. My life has been very interesting and I trust that You that no matter what, You will bless me as I become Your faithful child.

I can't believe tomorrow is my second round interview with Deloitte. I am so so nervous now. I keep thinking that this is my only chance to get a job, at least the good one, before I graduate. Even though I will graduate next May and will have some chances to find a job next year, but it will be nice if I can get it now. So, next year, I can relax and enjoy for a couple of months being a housewife hehehe. I keep saying to myself that it's gonna be very competitive, i mean very very! I don't know how many SJSU tax people got the 2nd round with Deloitte. But at least I am lucky enough to be one of those who get the final round interview. Tomorrow, the interview will start from 9AM to 3PM. Gosh!! I am afraid if I run out of words to talk with the interviewers or the assigned buddy or even other interviewees. And I am afraid that I won't impress the partners and managers there. I need to be sociable and be myself definitely. I need to be relax. But I am so nervous now. I know I had been in this situation 3 years ago, and I got the offer 2 hours after the interview. So I am thinking that if I got the offer, they should be calling me within hours, at least that's what they did in the past. If no phone calls, my hope is gone. But considering that Deloitte always let me know pretty late compared with other firms, if they don't call me right away, there might be a slight chance. a very slim chance. I am praying hard......

"Do your best and let God do the rest"

5 More Days

I begin to feel the pressure and feel nervous for my interview with Deloitte this Friday. It was 2 weeks ago when I received the invitation and was very happy about it. As I research on google on what to expect for a second round interview, generally the firm is looking for 2 things:
1. Am I competent to do the job?
2. Do I fit into their culture?

This week will be a long week for me. I will start preparing for interview, wondering if I will do a good job or not and also definitely hoping that I will get the offer. Basically after interview on Friday, I can guarantee you that I will keep checking my phone and waiting for a call from Deloitte. I look forward to next week around this time because by then I will have an idea if I will be joining Deloitte or not. I am so so anxious and nervous Lord!! But, I know you will do the rest and let your will be done in my life. Of course right now the only thing I want is to get a job at Deloitte (basically this is the only interview I got), but I know that your plan is way better than my plan. And so Lord, please give me humility and obedience to trust you no matter what the result is.

God's Timing v. Ours

I just want to share the blessing I got from this morning's sermon by Pastor Paul of ALCF. The sermon was taken from Genesis 45:1-15. This story was about Joseph forgiving his brothers for what they did to him 22 years ago when they got jealous of Joseph and sold him away to Egypt. I am so encouraged by Joseph's faith specially in verse 8 that he said "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God". He realized that it was God who had a divine purpose for him to be Pharaoh's right hand and a leader in Egypt to be eventually the provider for Israel in times of famine. If it wasn't because of Joseph, no one will know the years of famine that will come because Joseph was the one who interpreted Pharaoh's dreams per God's guidance.

You know when Joseph was "sold", I am sure that he felt sad, lonely, fearful, angry. Everything seemed to go wrong. In the same way, maybe there are some circumstances that we feel the same way that we feel God is not there. Probably about job, relationship, status, family, or other things. God is a sovereign God. He does not move according to our own timetable, but He moves according to His divine purpose for our lives.

Just like Mary, Martha and Lazarus story when Lazarus was very sick, and Mary and Martha asked Jesus to come to heal Lazarus. They were good friends of Jesus and they knew that Jesus is a healer. However, Jesus did not come in time to save Lazarus and the sisters were unhappy and undermined Jesus' power and questioned him that if he were there in time, Lazarus would not be dead. Here, Jesus wants to show them that He is more than a healer, He has the power to resurrect dead people. And Jesus would not be able to show that power if Lazarus was still alive. God has His own timing, sometimes we are just being impatient and angry for not being answered.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Nasi kuning + Ayam Kalasan + Soun Labu

Today I cooked ayam kalasan, soun labu kuning & nasi kuning for my bible study. I think they taste really nice and complement each other. Ayam kalasan is sweet, soun labu is salty and of course yellow rice will never go wrong with any dishes :) Below is the pics and recipes.

Yellow rice --> white rice + yellow rice Kokita mix

Ayam kalasan ala ci lilyRecipe ayam kalasan:

ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut into smaller parts

1 coconut water plus water

4 shallots

4 garlic

1/2 palm sugar

white sugar

salt

4 bay leaves

2 galanga

Method:
minced shallots and garlic, stir-fry using vegetable oil.
Add chicken and the rest of ingredients.
Cook until tender and until the water has mostly evaporated.
Fry or (deep fry) just a little bit.
Eat with indonesian chilli --> more delicious :P

Soun Labu
Recipe courtersy of ci lily again:
2 bawang putih, 1 merah chopped..
3 cm kencur
1 tsp terasi
garam
1 soun
1-2 labu
kunyit powder
santan

tumis bawang, masukin labu, airin dikit, masukin santan, ksh bumbu2nya, masukin soun terakhir.. sampe mateng semua.. kelar deh..

ENJOY :)

2 More Months To Go

Getting excited and nervous.

To be honest, because the wedding is mostly prepared by my parents so I feel more calmed and relaxed. Hehehehehe

Follow up from Deloitte

Okay, so on Tuesday evening around 6pm when I was in class, I had a miss call from a blocked number. But luckily the person left a voicemail. During the break, I listened to the voice mail and.. ta da... it was from Deloitte. I knew as soon as I hear the message that I got the second round interview because they usually call if it's a good news and email if it's bad news. And the recruiter said that she would email me the next morning (Wed) for the details. So I waited on Wednesday, but no email. Again on Thursday, no email.. until around 9pm that I got the email. I am happy that I got the second round interview. I emailed my interviewer about the good news and she hoped that I will join them and look forward to working with me. How wonderful was it!! I know that my 1st round interviewer really like me. But hopefully, I can impress the other interviewers as well. My interview and office visit will be on Friday, October 30th, from 9AM to 3PM, including breakfast and lunch.

I remember in my previous posts I was hoping to get the 2nd round. And God answered my prayer!! Thank you God. This time, of course, I really hope that I will get the job offer.I can't wait.. and hopefully, it will be a good news.

Thai Spoon

This is my favorite restaurant of all time, well since I came to the US. It's like Thai fast food where you pick and choose from the front stalls. I like gad pad phei (fried chicken) and eggplant delight. Eat the chicken with the sweet sauce is a must!!

Mango with sticky rice

R & G Lounge

R & G lounge is located at San Francisco and they offer one of the best crabs so far. I think the crab is deep-fried and battered and sprinkled with their specialty seasoning. It's so good. I want to lick all the skins because of the seasonings & perhaps the MSG haha

We tried salted egg yolk crab.. YUMM

On The Bridge Cafe

We visited this restaurant after our counseling with Pak Hosea. It's located at Japan Town, SF. Per Yelp's review, curry is the popular pick among the eaters. So I tried Chicken Katsu Curry. It's good but not great. I think I can make one on my own :P. In fact, I will try one next time on my own..All the ingredients needed here are: chicken, panko tempura batter, egg, tomatoes, parmesan cheese and pre-packaged curry from the Japanese grocery stores.

Sophie's Crepes

Crepes with banana, ice cream, whipped cream and chocolate

Like rachel ray said: YUMMOOO!!!

Too Many to Thank for

I am Thankful to God for....

Sunday:
Today's sermon at ALCF by Pastor Paul from Genesis 41 specifically the meaning of Joseph's sons: Manasseh, which means God has made Joseph forget all his trouble and all his father's household and Ephraim which means God has made him fruitful in the land of his suffering (v. 51-52). The moral of the story is that first, we need to forget things that are negative about our past, all our troubles and bad things that other people had done to us and don't hold the grudges in order to have a fruitful life. Thank God for this reminder.
I am also thankful for the strawberries that I bought today at Costco... hehehe.. I used to hate strawberries because it tastes sour but because Costco's one is sweeter, I am lovin' it. :)

Monday:
Gloomy, cloudy, cool weather..
the motivation to exercise today..yay..
i ran on treadmill for 2 miles for 30 minutes...

Tuesday:
The Rain :P
I got my fav ham and cheese bread from Donut Wheel this morning :)
I am thankful that my sis is on shut down week.
And finally, Deloitte miss-called me when I was in class today and left a voicemail. Basically saying that I got the 2nd round interview on Friday, Oct 30. Thank God!! :) :) :)

Wednesday:
My exam is take home and group work... Woww!!

Thursday:
Yay...thank God!! finally the email I have been waiting for is here.. :) I received the formal invitation for 2nd round interview with Deloitte :)

Friday:
I am thankful because Lily's car is finally sold!! Yay!! We got a good deal, reasonable offer and a good buyer. :)

Saturday:
Yossi & Alvin's bridal shower, the games and the fun we had, and of course the fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ

Grace Alone

As I discuss the songs for my wedding ceremony with my pastor, he asked me if there's any favorite christian song that all or most of the guests can sing. And "Grace Alone" comes out through my mind. I think it will be a good reminder to all of us that everything, all things are only by His grace. My future marriage with Richard is by His grace alone.

GRACE ALONE

Every promise we can make
Every prayer and step of faith
Every difference we can make
Is only by His grace.

Every mountain we will climb
Every ray of hope we shine
Every blessing left behind
Is only by His grace

Grace alone Which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us, our cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone.

Every soul we long to reach
Every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace.

Every loving word we say
Every tear we wipe away
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace.

Week of Oct 4

I've heard some of my friends begin listing their daily thanksgiving to God. I thought it will be a good idea to start one on my own, to count God's blessings and grace each day.

So here I am:
I AM THANKFUL FOR:

Thursday:
No class today.yay!!, my bible study groups, the fact that I have not anything back from Deloitte --> it means that even though I can be rejected anytime soon, but I may have a chance to get the 2nd round interview...

Friday:
A brand, new day. Again, I can wake up very late HAHAHA

Saturday:
My last pre-marriage counseling session with Pak Hosea, Thank you Pdt. Hosea for your time and counseling to us. It's definitely helpful for our relationship. Eat good food in Japan Town SF and had some banana ice cream crepes..yummmoo.. Drive to Point Reyes safely and ate fresh oysters with Richard's friends. Be able to view God's creation of nature at the top of Point Reyes --> beautiful sand dunes, lakes, cows and deers :P

At Point Reyes eating Fresh Oysters + Lime + Hot Sauce

Beautiful isn't it?

Frank Rimerman's Interview

I interviewed with Frank Rimerman today. Since I have interviewed with this firm last semester and with the same person, she is kind of already know who I am. So most of the time, she always asked me if I have questions for her or about the company. I feel it's weird because she doesn't even ask me anything.

I think I am 99.999% sure I won't get the 2nd round :(

Btw, up to now, I haven't received any email from Deloitte yet. So still waiting for the news. Hopefully, good news.

Next Step?

Tomorrow is my interview with Frank Rimerman. But, I am not as prepared as Deloitte's. I think because deep down, I know that FR don't sponsor H1B.

Starting today, all the Big 4 will notify us regarding the next step of the interview process. To be honest, I am not as nervous as 2 weeks ago about the decision to proceed with the 1st round. But anyway, some of the people I know already got rejected by the firms. Deloitte even has sent out rejection email to audit applicants. But I am guessing that tax is always late.

Porbably tomorrow.

October is here

Can't believe that it's already October!! Which means that 2.5 months till we tie our knot.. yay
I am so drowned with my busy-ness and not realizing that time does go very fast. I remember it was still January, my Master has just started, i am looking for an internship, we were going back to indo for engagement.. and now.. i am almost done with school, looking for a job and getting married soon.

I am starting to feel nervous, excited, basically a mix of emotions here :)