February's Updates! =)

Hello people! Sorry for the hiatus as I got very lazy to update my blog lately after a whole day of classes and gym training (again on alternate days). Happy news! I've dropped 0.1kg in 4 days! Well not that impressive, but my bodyfat percentage dropped from 28.9% (on Monday) to 27.6% (on Friday), which is surprisingly lower than that before CNY (28%)! Good progress I think, lose fats but gain muscles to accommodate the weight lose. My dinner for every weekday is just as simple (and healthy?) as follow: 1 apple, 2-3 small bananas, 2 slices of wholemeal bread with peanut butter spread and about 200ml of low fat milk.  That sounds a bit like my breakfast, without eggs. I'm done with my dinner. =) Yes I might get hungry when the time passes 11.30pm, so I would usually drink some low fat milk or maybe just plain water to kill my hunger temporarily. And I will sleep early, usually around 12.30am.

Biological fact about hunger is, to my amusement, hormones balancing between leptin and ghrelin. Whenever stomach feels hungry, it would secrete hunger hormone called ghrelin, turning on the hunger cell and off the satiety cell, reducing metabolic rate and inducing the desire to eat something to kill hunger. Whenever stomach feels full, it would secrete leptin, turning on the satiety cell and off the hunger cell, increasing metabolic rate and that's when one will start feeling full and stop eating. Haha so much of biological facts! But I wanted to convey is, drink plain water can actually temporarily kill hunger until you fall asleep. Well you wouldn't feel hungry when you are sleeping like a dead pig, right? I hope not. =p

Recently I've asked a question to a staff working in the HR department with my sponsor, and the answer clarified everything that I would need to know regarding my decision on UK universities. I was proposing an alternative whether I could self-sponsor for my final year of MMORSE in the University of Warwick, and what she replied was, reaffirming yet hope crushing, answer. It would be a deferment of my service with the Bank by so doing, which is not permissible since year 2011. Strong answer, I thought. Because of this answer I've since decided my firm and insurance universities. 

Actuarial Science (3 years) at Cass Business School would grant me maximum number of 8 papers exemption from the Institute of Actuaries UK, while MORSE (3 years) at the University of Warwick would only grant me maximum number of 2-3 papers exemption. Before this, MMORSE (4 years) is longer in time frame and less one paper exemption (7 papers) than Actuarial Science (3 years) at Cass, but the fact that I am opened to choosing many interesting and fun optional modules totally surmounts the disadvantages of longer time frame and lesser paper exemption. 

Now, the cost of taking another 5-6 papers on my own (should I choose MORSE over Actuarial Science) is, in my opinion, more immense than the satisfication I would otherwise gain by taking up those optional modules offered in MORSE. I still can't believe that I would not have the chance to learn number theory formally. =( Number theory, Geometry and Motion, Quantum Phenomena, Particle Physics, Astronomy, Classical Mechanics and Relativity, Stars, Galaxies etc. All these are some of the optional modules that I find it interesting and yearn to learn, and would never had the chance to learn it in Cass. This is one of many moments when I'm envious over the freedom of private students. 

On the bright side, Cass is not at all that bad. Cass is afterall one of the top, if not the top, institutions to prepare students for actuarial profession, with Heriot-Watt, Oxford (Maths & Stats), Warwick (MMORSE) be others (in no particular order). Cass is the first institution in England to offer Actuarial Science degree (second in the UK, with the first be Heriot-Watt), and also the forth best business school in the UK (behind London Business School, Said Business School (Oxford) and Imperial College Business School), based on the Financial Times's business school ranking 2011. Judging the fact that Cass is a business school located in the center of financial district in London, I know I would have a very high chance to meet people with similar interest and share knowledge with them, particularly on finance, investment and even trading! Can't wait for another 8 months and definitely looking forward to it! =) 

I would put Cass Business School as my firm and Heriot-Watt University as my insurance. Oh by the way, congrats to those who received offers from LSE to read Accounting and Finance! Some of my friends have already received offer from LSE to read Actuarial Science, and I'm still waiting for mine. =/ But I'm not really keen to going there anyway. Just trying to join in the hype and excitement with an offer from LSE! =p Cass FTW! =D