The challenge with the profession that I am into is the month-end, quarter end, semi-annual end, or worse, the calendar year end or the fiscal year end as the case may be. It's really a hit when month end comes because all the energy that I have is like spend to the last drop in a few days. For the rest of the days of the month, the routine is normal: workload just enough. But when the hustle bustle ending days come, oh my oh my!

Despite all these, I have no complains. It is during peak hours and stressful moments we are able to discover some hidden talents that we have. Like dealing with stress and pressure, or as the comment of one of my directors in my very first work "Maintaining composure under pressure".... though at times this can be viewed as negative also by others who think you/I just don't care.

Anyway, just venting out as I need to write a story for my self composed stories web site here...

Mother: Grant, whhich among our vacation trips do you like most? The one in Singapore, Rome or that one we had in he United Kingdom?

Grant: Mom, I thought you always consider me as a child. Now it's the proper time. Well, what we had in SIngapore is to experience outside culture, for the UK, to see uncle's family as well while our moments in Rome, that was more of a history study that anything else... The Rimans, the Catholic Church, the old edifices, etc, etc, that they can't stick in my brain.

Mother: What do you mean, Son?

Grant: Well, Mom, the best ever is the one we had in Orlando a few months back! Thanks for that Mom. This time you can really assess me a "child". I did enjoy that Disney experience you and dad brought me too when I turned 9 years old!

Mother: But what do you like in there? Tell me.

Grant: Well, that's where I found my fantasy as a child Mom. I think when I reach ten, I will be a different child but I may want to go back in that place. I found in that Disney World my theme park of choice. Then the rides, do you remember those rides? Oh Mom! That's when I feel your love for me and dad's when you had to endure all those rides with me! Oh Mom! That's actually the thing that makes me remember that experience all the time. Your love as my parents are so true only as shown in that short moment but I knew and I feel it all the time.

Mother: Would you like to go back in that place, Son? After that we can stop by and visit your Aunt Susie a few miles away from the park or.... do you have better plans?

Grant: Hmmmm... if you and dad have extra cash, why don't we treat Liza, aunt Susie's daughter and have them go with us. Let's invite them!

Mother: Brilliant idea my little genius. All right, let's go son and see Disney Tickets to decide what we can do. No school today, you can help me with buying of tickets for our family and for your cousin and aunt. It would be a great surprise for her, I know.

Grant: When is uncle Ton coming back? Maybe he's home when we schedule the trip so ...

Mother: No son, your uncle is off to Australian waters this time of the year. I just spoke with your aunt Susie last weekend. You know how sea farers are and that's what she chose to marry. Sigh...

Grant: Okay Mom, ticket time! Let's see and buy them so we have lots of time to mix and match if we can do other stuff in Orlando.

Mother: That's my boy!

After a few weeks, the grass in my garden has recovered. I was also glad to see a certain flower, I don't have any idea what's the name or how it's called, is blooming in the garden. After work in the afternoon, I spend time in the garden taking the sun and I am glad of this. Summer is beautifu and I am experiencing the glory of it even at home. Amazing!


If you would click here, you would see how ugly this grass two weeks ago. I'm glad how quick they became healthy looking and how fast they grow. Before I know it, it's mowing time again.

While Grant is having his pancake and milk for his breakfast, an idea came to his mind and he's about to consult his mother about his plans. You can't imagine what responsible adult's thoughts run in this nine-year old's mind but it's amazing to hear them. 

One day, Grant was having another idea how to be more brilliant. He was surfing his computer when he stumbled into some tutoring services where he wanted to be a part of. He wanted to be more brilliant and at the same time, he would like to be one of those who tutors in the long run! Such a dream this young man has. See how he approached his mom and encouraged her to be part of Club Z Tutoring, first, as a pupil in that club!

Grant said: Mom, I would like to join a Summer tutoring program. - His Mother's reply: For what? You got all straight A's. What d'you need that program for? "For experience. The programs sounds very interesting to me. I just browsed their web site and heard a lot about them," said Grant.  "But son...," protested the mother but Grant cut her statement. "Mom... I want to be a tutor myself. And I believe, the best way to become one is to be in the shoes of the person being tutored. Right, Mom?" 

Grant's mother was amazed by her son's ideas, as usual, "Yes, but you're only nine years old," she told him.

Thus, Grant gave her the explanation she was hoping to hear, "Mom... you always emphasize that. Age, in this modern days, is the very least to consider. As long as I can function, I mean, if my brain functions or can function like that of an adult or even better, what's the difference? I am not playing like an adult, Mom but what I always propose to you is for my self improvement and at the same time, I do enjoy doing these stuff."

And what else can she do? She surrenders to his ideas as usual. "All right, all right. Tell me briefly about this tutoring thing you're in

Grant explained with all his enthusiasm, " It's called Club Z! Tutoring Services and currently, at least 200 thousand students have been helped by this world's largest tutoring program offering one-on-one tutorials. The rest about Club Z I iwill tell you when I get back home from school. I assume you approve of me enlisting in their program. Thanks a lot Mom. I love you." (Grant kisses his mother's cheeks)

"Take care son. I Love you, too." (She kisses Grant as he slipped away to run school).

As noted in this page, I wrote about having an intake interview for my Italian lessons. Good news is, it went well and it even exceeded what I have expected. In short, it was decided that I would be taking a course that will be starting this September.

Based on my exam results, my interview and other factors, I was advised to take an advance B+ level lesson and thus, I enlisted myself. All I wish for now is for the class to have the minimum required number of students so that we can succeed to have lessons at this level. I was informed that this level is quite higher than normal, thus, students are not as much in number as in the beginners. I just hope for the best.

I never rely on this study though. Last weekend I spend a lot of time reviewing some stuff regarding the language.

Why am I so intent in learning Italian? I am already halfway in reaching my fluency and once I learned this, Spanish and French would be easier to learn. I hope all go good and in a year's time, I would be speaking a fluent Italian. ^^

Performing the rest of the test drive activities is a very interesting activity. The actions required were varied, involving simulation of various financial activities from transfer of funds, its approval, making inquiries involving the General Ledger, creating and submitting cash receipt eDoc, completion of disbursement voucher eDoc, creation of purchase requisition, and creation of salary expense transfer among others. It gives a very good view to the driver the real route the documentation and transaction processing take until the financial cycle is completed.

Looking at the structure of Kuali and performing the test drive at the same time, one can only admire the effectivity of the system. While following the instructions, although they are very detailed coupled with screen shots, mistakes are still inevitable considering the capabilities of the driver, in this case, yours truly. Commission of mistakes however, simply further the knowledge when the driver discovers the reason behind some mistakes and try to get out of the “narrow curbs”safely within the test drive.

The simulation of of activities from the initiator to approver, both to the first and further approvers are very good. It is very interesting to note that from initiation of the document, the personality of the initiator (Khuntley) can also impersonate the role of the various approvers. While this is a good exercise to have the “driver” have the feeling of both roles, this is not a perfect setup.

Going through and performing the set of instructions laid out in the test drive manual, a lot can be learned from the system. Among these observations include both positive and negative reactions to the system that include:

1. Kuali is such a very interesting and useful tool as it has various means of locating transactions and documents, be it through direct searches or through looking up the desired documents;

2. Impersonation of various roles is a very clever way to show the driver how it is to be both the initiator and the approver of the action;

3. Showing the driver the “backdoor” entracnce is not a healthy example. In reality, backdoor logs are not encouraged that much. In fact, so rare the case that the same person who initiated the action can “take a peek” at the process from the approver's point of view. While it is only a test drive, the fact that the manual and the scenarios should simulate the real life transactions, back door logging is not a very good thing exhibited in the Kuali system;

4. Kuali system can be comparable to highly commercialized enterprise resource planning (ERP) such as SAP and others as it gives the user a lot of resources and options causing effectivity and efficiency to the users;

5. Setting up the “test driver” as both the initiator and the approver in any time he/she wants is another critic of the system. It should have been better to have two different sessions from the initiator side, first approver side and further apporver's side. The driver would have a deeper sense of how it is to be in the lowest ladder of the organization or the workflow after various exercises given the various scenarios and then advancing to the next level, the first approver and further on. This is how the real life functions: one has to be an assistannt accountant for a year or two, then be the accountant and then be the senior accountant and so on. It would be more realistic if this should have been the case instead of shifting from the initiator to the approver all so quickly at the wishes of the driver.

Despite some of the suggestions above and some of the not so good observations, it is modest to say that Kuali has a big potential to be really a very good system and be as highly commercialized and successful as the existing similar systems enhancing the efficiency and effectivity of various accounting and financial functions.

Required: When you have completed your activities here, write a 2 page report describing what you did during the test drive, your evaluation of the system at this point (now, hopefully, based on more information and experience), and questions that are still in your mind regarding the use of a financial information system such as Kuali.

Mother: Grant, hunny! Time for breakfast now. Come down or you'll be late for school!  |  Grant: Mom, one moment please, I'll be there! | Mother: What's keeping you there in your room again as early as this and during school days? | Grant: I'll tell you when I'm down Mom.

Grant is a child full of interests. A few days back, he was burying himself into some special studies of stock trading. You can find that story here while today another thing is keeping him from getting out of his room. His mother can only wonder what makes him so interested again. It can only be very useful stuff for the child, she knows.

Grant: 'Morning Mom (as he kissed his mother). What's for breakfast?

Mother: As requested, I prepared your favorite. (She kissed him back in the forehead)

Grant: Mom, I want to be in Australia someday. It sounds like a very interesting place to live and explore.

Mother: What's got into you? What makes you think of that at nine years of age?

Grant: Well, I got an assignment about Australia and I started surfing the Internet. Then I landed in the country's ProductReview.com.au, it is a consumer site and I found it very useful. I was so glad reading people's reactions about a lot of products and services and that intigued me. The place does sound very interesting to live. Then, I read about its natural resources and so on.... Hmmm, why don't you and Dad organize a vacation in Austalia instead this year? I'll come with you.

Mother: That sounds like a great idea, kid. You sound like an old man at your age.

Grant: Well Mom, I'm old now!

Mother: Oh boy! All righ all right. I will be checking ProductReview.com.au also to see what is in it that draw your interest deeply. Now finish your breakfast and run to school.

Grant: Sure thing, Mom!

Tomorrow, Thursday, the 18th of June 2009, I will have my interview at Radboud University with an Italian language professor for her to determine my language level. In fact, I have taken the preliminary tests that was sent to me online and I am excited for the meeting. Hopefully I will be able to speak clearly with her in Italian. Although I speak the language, I need a lot of improvement and to polish it up. I lived in Italy for 8 months and no school for language was ever entered but still, I was able to grasp and speak a bit.

The classes starts in September and I do hope I can pass for advanced level. I can't stand to start all over again so hopefully I'd be okay tomorrow.

The gardening challenge! That was my post last time. In fact, I was so engrossed with my 3-day gardening that I was able to imagine some stuff about it that I was able to create an “make-believe” story out of it. You can find such story in here. Talking about that gardening, I am proud to announce that at least, before the working week recommenced this Tuesday, I was able to finish mowing the 200 meter squared tall grasses. When I take a view from my window upstairs, I feel so good about that mowing “achievement” that I have. It was a big work! It took me three (3) days to finish considering the height of the grass. Now my project with this garden is to make the grass green as the heat here is really scorching at times causing these grasses to be lighter or worse, brownish.


I bet the garden needs more plants and maybe I’d go for medium sized pots and distribute these pots in the correct places. Moreover, I believe that my rose variety is not enough. I have only the light pink hue here which I don’t like so much. I like strong and striking colors for flowers so I bet I’d look for those colorful varieties and adopt them here. But all the same, it’s a very good feeling to see flowers in bloom like in that photo, though the color is really very pale!

Now don’t tell me that I sound like an oldie talking all about this gardening stuff! I just get carried away. The space is really very useful with the grass cut and that stuff. I play ball in there and try to do basketball! Well, if someone would come, a group maybe, a volleyball would do or even a small soccer game. Barbecue party? It suits this area too! To those who also get to do some gardening there, all I can say is, “Happy Gardening to you!”

Mother: Hunney, please come down and take your breakfast.

Grant: Am coming in a minute, Mom. What's for breakfast?

Mother: Your favorite choice with milk. Hurry or you'll be late for school.

Grant: All rigt Mom, 'be right down.

After ten minutes, Grant is still in his room and his mother lost patience and summoned him there. What makes her even more curious is the fact that Grant was always earlier but today is different. Grant is a witty child and only if something really interests him would he rish being late for school. He is a smart kid and he learns quickly almost anything that interests him.

Mother: Hey Mister! What takes you so long here? It's getting late, you have to run.

Grant: Mom, this thing here, I would like to read further. I read yesterday that there were a few people who became lucky with trading in the stock market. As early as now, that I am nine, I find interest in this subject and I would like to learn more.

Mother: Why can't that wait for tonight? Or at least this afternoon when you get back home? For Chrissake! You're only 9 years old!

Grant: Mom, I'm at the Day Trading website right now and this investing video I am watching is so educational. It is a great place for beginners like me as well as for advanced traders, with a place to learn winning stock trading. I want to succeed in this Mom, so let me finish in five minutes and I'll be running late for school if I spend more than that. I love you, Mom.

Mother: All right, all right. Take care then. I love you, son.

I share some weird news with you here at least three times a month and hopefully I can see how others react to it. I love seeing/hearing and understanding humans and hopefully your reactions would allow me to know you better. This one is about a young guy who tried to mate with dogs? That is a very disturbing behaviour, right? I just don't know what actually goes on in other people's minds. No idea, really!

That's the screen shot from the source, yahoo news. I know the news makes you think and wanna say something so say it! ^^.