2011 Annual Review

At the end of the year, the blogosphere is alive with many annual reviews as a way to reflect on the past year and to help in the planning for the upcoming year. Previously, I’ve done more comprehensive reviews and found them to be a good way to see all the adventures, successes and failures I’ve had in a year.

This year, I’m going to this review process slightly differently. Chris Guillebeau, one of my favourite bloggers, challenged his readers to answer just two simple questions: what went well in 2011 and what did not go well in 2011?

What went well in 2011

Leaving a job I didn’t like for a job that I really enjoy – This was probably one of the best decisions I made all year. Having a fulfilling and enjoyable job goes a long way to happiness. Its not just a cliché! I’m happy that I was able to get myself out of a miserable situation and into a fulfilling job. I’m learning loads with each passing day. Not to mention in another country! Which brings me to my next point…

Living and working abroad – I had always talked of going on an AIESEC internship. I wanted something where I would be living abroad for a long period of time – at least a year. Well, I am currently in month 8 of an 18 month internship in Budapest. I was scared to be away from home for so long, but it has worked out so far and I’m really enjoying my time in this European country.

Hero`s Square in Budapest during my first week.

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Today I’m Thankful For

This post should have been posted on Monday, Thanksgiving for those back at home, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I’m posting it now. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here we go!

Today, I am thankful for…

- The amazing friends that I have at home who are making every effort to keep me connected to home, arranging Skype chats and keeping me sane.

- The fantastic network of people that I have met here without whom I really would have lost it. Being able to find a strong network of friends where I can be 100% myself has been such a blessing. And I know, if anything were to happen to me, they would have my back in a heart beat.

- The job that I currently hold. The past four months of working at SELTI has been the most fun I’ve ever had at work. Yes, there have been many trying moments, but at the end of the day, I enjoy what I do and I do it well. There still are days when I don’t really want to do anything, but once I get started, I can move past it. I love being able to decide for myself what is important and what needs to be done ASAP. I love the ability to make decisions and to impart changes that affect how things are done. I feel like I’m actually making a difference.

- The technology that enables me to keep in touch with friends and family at home. I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have Twitter, Facebook, Skype, and Whatsapp to keep in touch with those at home. At a drop of a hat, I can send a note off home to share my current thoughts and moods. I can schedule impromptu Skype chats with friends to catch up on life. Without these little things, I don’t think I would be as well adjusted as I am here. This online network that I’ve built keeps me grounded and not overwhelmed when dealing with the challenges of living abroad.

- And the most important: my parents without whom I wouldn’t be where I am today. I wouldn’t be here in Budapest if they didn’t support me. When I told them of my plan to go work abroad, certainly they were concerns, but ultimately they let me go and that has made all the difference. I will be forever indebt to them for raising me in an environment that allows me to explore the world and expose myself to new things.

All in all, I’m really loving where I am today and what I’ve created for myself. It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop pushing my limits and it definitely doesn’t mean that I’m going to settle.

Photo Source

The Power of the AIESEC Network

Mid way through the day yesterday, I received an email from AIESEC International from the online AIESEC system. Even though I cease to be an active participant in the AIESEC organization (other than being an exchange participant), I still subscribe to their news as a way of keeping up to date on what is happening world wide. It was shocking to read the most recent update:

Read the full letter here.

Even though I’ve never met the Bolivian AIESEC President, this news still came to a shock. News of this spread quickly through the AIESEC community online and off. My Facebook and Twitter feeds were filled with condolences and shock at the news. The AIESEC community here in Budapest was all abuzz over this as well. It seems like everyone knew about what happened and everyone all felt the same way.

I was speaking to my roommate who was at last year’s International Congress and she was saying that if this happened last year, it could have been any one of the people that she met. And that is what it boils down to. It could have been any one of us. We’re a network of 60,000 students from around the world, united in one way: providing exchange and leadership opportunities to young people.

The AIESEC community has rallied behind this news. Its actually rather awe inspiring. People that don’t know one another and yet, we all feel as one.

Pecha Kucha Night Vancouver vol. 16

Last week, I attended my first Pecha Kucha Night Vancouver and was completely blown away by the number of passionate people in the city. Pecha Kucha is a style of presentation: 20 images, 20 seconds, resulting in each presentation being approximately 6 minutes and 40 seconds. It keeps presentations short and concise and keeps the momentum going from presenter to presenter.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect. In many ways I thought it would be like TED talks, which I absolutely love. The line up of presenters sounded really interesting and I was looking forward to seeing and hearing what they all had to share.
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2011 New Year Resolutions!

Reading List

I have such a long reading list but it’s nearly impossible for me to get any reading done. Right now I’m making my way through Chris Brogan‘s Trust Agents. Its a very interesting read on what is happening right now with social media and the explosion on the internet. I’ll be posting some of my thoughts on parts of the book in a couple days time.

Here are some more books that I want to start reading:

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown- I started this book when it first came out but I still haven’t finished it. I’ve started and restarted it a couple times. I’ve even tried “reading” it via an audiobook but that didn’t work. I think I prefer my books to be read by me than read TO me.
2. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson- I bought this book on my most recent trip to Victoria but have yet to crack open it’s pages. I leave it in my desk at work in hopes that I would read it during my lunch hours but it never happens.
3. Unmarketing by Scott Straten- A book recently release by a prolific blogger, Scott Straten. All the reviews and hype around it’s tour makes me really want to read this book.
4. The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau- Another book by a blogger from a blog of the same name.  Chris Guillebeau, the man behind the book and blog, is committed to traveling to all the countries in the world. He blogs about his adventures, the people he meets and the life lessons he learns. He is able to take these lessons and apply it to real world situations that his readers are able to understand and apply.
5. The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha- Another blog based book. It just sounds so awesome, who wouldn’t want to read it?!  I’ve flipped through it a couple times, but haven’t had a chance to purchase my own copy.
6. Socialnomics by Erik Qualman
   - I’ve seen this book being recommended a lot lately and I really want to get my hands on it and see what the fuss is all about.

What books are your reading list?

P.S. Why are books so much more expensive in Canada??

(photo source)

Reflections on Changing Technology

The other day I came across this article that listed 10 things that kids today wouldn’t experience.  I started thinking about things that I use to have or do, that I don’t anymore.

1. VHS tapes and player – My parents still have one in the house.  They were huge fans of recording everything my brother and I did and then transfering them onto VHS tapes.  A lot of memories on these things.  My mom has talked of transfering the footage onto DVDs, but it has yet to happen.
2. Life without the internet – I grew up just as the internet was gaining popularity.  I remember my parents were really adament against having cabled internet.  I have vivid memories of dialing up, along with the noise and the inability to use the phone, when I need to do research on the internet.  When we finally got cabled internet, it was a whole new world had opened for me.  Do you remember ICQ?  I was so excited when I got my first account.  Now, the internet is everywhere and I’m so obsessed.  I’m not sure if I could revert back to pre-internet days.
3. No cell phones – Align with no internet not having a cell phone is probably a weird concept to today’s kids.  I didn’t get my first cell phone until my last year of high school.  I didn’t get a plan until I moved out and needed one.  I use to have people’s phone numbers memorized.  Now, all I remember is my home number.  Every thing else is programed into my phone (and google contacts as backup).
4. Reading physical books – Today on the bus, the person sitting across from me had a kindle.  More often than not, I see people reading on their iPads when I head to work.  When I was a kid, I read a lot.  I would stay up until odd hours of the day reading just so I could finish it.  Now, I do most of my reading online and if I do read a physical book, I have a lot of trouble trying to finish it – I’m working on it though!  Trying to get back into a habit of reading consistently.
5. Buying CDs – What was the last CD you bought?  Mine?  I don’t remember.  Probably back in high school.  What was the last song you bought online?  This is probably more recent for most people.  I definitely don’t remember the last time I walked into a physical store to purchase a CD.

Its just strange to think that many things that I grew up with and only vaguely remember are not as prevalent.  My brother who is only a couple years younger than I am, probably doesn’t remember dailing up for the internet or buying CDs.  Its just so strange.  Technology has changed so fast in my life span.  I love it.  So exciting to see what else could be invented in the coming years.

UPDATE: Another thing I came up with – being able to spell properly aka life without spell check.  It always annoys me when there are careless mistakes and spelling errors when reading online, especially on Facebook, Youtube and other places people can post.  With computers and word processors with built in spell checks, dictionaries are barely used.  I’m guilty of being using spell check to double check my spelling, but the computer can’t catch all grammatical errors.  Soon people won’t be able to string together a decent sentence!

Ageing with Style

I spend a lot of time in transit between home, work and other engagements.  Tonight, I was at a Skytrain station, waiting for my bus to take me home.  I noticed to the side, an old couple sitting down on a concrete wall and the gentleman had his arm around her waist.  I thought that was interesting, but didn’t look twice.

It was when the bus came that things became interesting.  He walked her to the bus and helped her get on, but didn’t join her.  She then proceeded to walk all the way to the back of the bus and sat on the last bench (where mostly teens like to sit and put up their feet).  He waited outside, standing near where she was seated.  It sort of looked like they were talking with their hands.  When the bus started to pull away from the curb, he blew her a kiss.  As we passed him again, he gave a final wave that she returned.  That exchange was so adorable.  I feel like they were on a date and she was headed home after a long day of adventures.  At least that is what I would like to believe.

Moments later, another elderly gentleman got on the bus.  He had ear buds in his ears and you could clearly tell he was enjoying his music.  Where are all these cool seniors coming from?  Maybe they only come out at night?  When I get older, I want to be like them.  Ageing with style.  Guess the saying is right: “growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional.”

Why I Wake Up Early

It’s Monday morning and I’m up and awake before 8:00am. Early mornings are good for the soul.

I don’t start work until11:30 and I don’t have to leave my house until 10:15.  Most people my age would use this to their advantage and stay in bed until 9:30 or even 10:00 and yet, this morning when I woke up I leaped out of bed.  I do this almost every day, even on the weekends when I don’t have to work.  Most of my friends think I’m crazy to wake up this early, but I like it and I feel like I get so many more benefits.

1. Waking up without an alarm clock – I love being able to do this.  There is no need to be disturbed in your sleep by a loud ringing noise.  I find waking up with an alarm clock jarring and uncomfortable.  I’m happy to be able to consistently wake up early and not need that alarm to do it for me.  The summer sun has been doing wonders for that as well.
2. Getting more done – When I get up early, I feel like I’m more productive.  There are so many more hours to fill now and in doing so, I get more things done in a day.  I like the feeling when I go to bed, of accomplishment.  Plus, by the time I do get into bed at night, I’m so utterly exhausted, I fall into a deep sleep almost instantly.
3. No rush to get out of the house – I have all this extra time in the morning and I don’t have to rush around like a crazy person to complete all aspects of my morning routine.  I can take all the time I need to figure out what to wear, change, shower, eat breakfast.  Its a great way to slowly wake up and embrace the day.
4. Personal time – Because I usually don’t have to leave the house until 10:15, I get a lot of my personal goals and interests completed early in the morning (such as writing this blog post!).  I can catch up on my RSS feeds, read whats happening on twitter, check Facebook, write blog posts or work on putting together my website.  The rest of the day I can concentrate on what I’m suppose to be doing (work!) and being with family and friends.

I still manage to get my 8ish hours of sleep.  Sometimes a little less depending on what time I go to bed.  Last night I was in bed around 12:30, which is late for me.  Usually I head to sleep around 11:30pm or midnight.  The weird thing is no matter what time I go to bed (even if it was 2 or 3am), I would still wake up around 7:30 – 8:00.  It has turned into such a habit that I naturally do it even if my body says I haven’t gotten enough sleep.  If that happens, usually a nap in the middle of the day is in order, but usually, I’m so exhausted by the time it hits 11 I have no problems sleeping.

Everyone is different and have different ways of making it work.  What about you?  Do you prefer to sleep in and work late into the night?  Or are you an early riser?  Do you need your full 7-8 hours of sleep or will just 4 or 5 hours suffice?

AIESEC Victoria – A Year in Review

The past weeks I’ve been working on putting together a yearbook for Andrea, our Local Committee President (LCP) for the past year. Its definitely been a crazy ride for all of us and whenever any one of us were having problems, she was our constant. She gave so much to the organization =) I wanted to give her something concrete to remember her accomplishments. And plus – I wanted something to remember Western Regional Conference (WRC) as well. Here are some of the pages I made:

You can see the rest of the album here

I made the yearbook using photoshop and some digital scrapbooking things I found online. The layouts, however, are of my own design. Most digital scrapbooking uses 12 x 12 layouts, but I needed 8.5 x 11. It got frustrating trying to put together unique page layouts for each page, but I think the whole project turned out really well. I’m glad I did it – years down the road I’ll be able to look back and see all the great things we accomplished this year as a team.  It was a great year.  I also left a copy in the AIESEC office, so hopefully they will remember our legacy too.