Over the past few days I’ve had the opportunity to meet some incredible people and to say the least, I feel pretty lucky considering that this door opened very unexpectedly.  But maybe sometimes that’s the best part, when you’re caught off guard!

To keep this post short and sweet, what I’m saying is to simply take and make every opportunity something worthwhile.  I’m confident that I made a great impression but whether or not things turn out positively, I sincerely believe that it was definitely still a good experience.  It’s true, I am really drawn to passionate people… and yet again, I’ve been inspired (:

Happy Friday!

Anywho, #6 of Project Me is all about planning.  Naturally a planner at heart, scheduling, organizing and prioritizing my life has always been a very simple process to me.  I am never without an agenda (whether it’s Outlook, BB calendar, or notebook agenda) because for some reason I feel that it’s important to always optimize my day(mayble less now than before, but still)!  But for those who aren’t very organized or like to think that you’ll remember it later, a month or even a year from now, let’s be honest - it’s not going to happen.

The reason why this post made Project Me is because I really have to get back on track and ’stick to it’ (#3 below).  I haven’t been following my schedule simply because I think I have a lot of time.  My tasks feel less urgent  - i.e. job apps, studying CMA, etc. - but in reality, the more time I think I have is the more procrastinating I will do and the more cramming and regret I will later feel.  So here I am, making my commitment and sharing it with you!

I hope this helps!

Four Tidbits to Planning (/Managing Your Time)

1)  Write everything down! 
It may seem silly to schedule in  “Girls’ Night” or “Running errands” but the truth of the matter is that those things take up time, your time!  Whether it is work, an assignment, a volleyball game, lunch or BFF’s birthday - everything that you do should be written down.  That way, you know where the gaps are and exactly when and what you can reschedule, if need be.  Writing everything down doesn’t mean you need to go into excrutiating detail, it just means you can refer back to it.

2) Be realistic
In reality, “shit happens” and sometimes you need to reschedule plans that you already made.  A good friend/mentor once told me to leave Sundays open just in case things happen and need the extra day.  Whether it’s Fridays for you or  Saturdays for some, it’s good to leave a full day empty in your week.  This way when something comes up on Thursday, you still have time to go to the gym on Sunday!  And if all goes well that week, then you have yourself a day off!

3)  Stick to it
The hardest part of planning isn’t the scheduling/organizing part, it’s the sticking-to-it-and-folllowing-the-schedule-part!  Of course, appointments and fun events are easy to abide to but what about more daunting tasks like studying, or cleaning your room, or even cooking instead of take-out tonight night? Exactly.  Following through with your plans is the deal breaker; if you don’t, there wasn’t really a point in planning now was there?

4) Make it fun
Now that you’ve been good and stuck to your schedule, why not have some fun with it?  No one really likes routine, people are just comfortable with it (at least I think so).  To get out of the grind, change it up and fill your weeknights after work with different activities.  Whether it’s having dinner with friends at least once a week, or making time for the gym 3xs a week (without setting strict days) - whatever it is, change it up and make it fun!  (Make it fun also relates to making daunting tasks fun, so that you will stick to it!  For example, instead of just cleaning your room make it a project!  Clean your room so that you can paint or redecorate, this way you have more of an incentive to complete the task!)

Later days!

As a result, I’m asking for suggestions/ways/challenges - whatever you want to call them - that I can do to improve the professional me.  Leave them in the comment box, thanks! (:

All in all, Day 5 wasn’t a good day for me but a recent episode of How I Met Your Mother may have inspired me to do something truly unique. In fact, I think video resumes are awesome/inspirational - awespirational! lol Maybe not all of them, but Barney Stinson’s sure is!

Back in the summer I was able to go for at least 45 mins on the treadmill and elliptical combined at the Y but now I can’t even go 15 mins without running out of breath!  ha ha oh well. I’m thinking I should just stick with volleyball and call it a day. 

Here are two videos I took before I started and mid-way through. Enjoy!
Before…

Mid-way through…

P.S. It’s ironic because I thought my Day 4 run would make me feel better, but it hasn’t… instead everything that is wrong is dancing circles around me!  lol Until tomorrow…

Today I was going to jog/run for at least 30 minutes outside after being inspired by some joggers I saw in my neighbourhood over the weekend!  But unfortunately, my boyfriend has been sick all weekend and instead, I’ve spent my day looking for a Walk-in Clinic to take him to.  In case you’re wondering, he’s sound asleep now and should be better for work tomorrow.  I don’t think he can or wants to miss another fun day of work away from his colleagues at Daily Challenge.  He’s an inspirational one, but it must be awesome doing something you thoroughly enjoy. (:

Anyways, I saw this mid-aged chinese lady running in shorts while I drove by in my car on my way to volleyball on Sunday afternoon and thought, if she could do it, why can’t I?  Of course I wouldn’t dare to bare my legs in Toronto’s winter cold, but nonetheless I’d like to take up the challenge of jogging this week!  Tomorrow seems like a great day for it too as the weather will be warming up to 10 degrees! Stay tuned because I will be filming my jog for at least parts of the way.

A little side-tracked, but because I couldn’t jog today I resulted to ordering some books from Chapters instead. What sparked this sudden urge to read? Well recently, I started reading “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell and it’s been a good read so far. It’s an oldie, but I’ve been told that it’s one of the best books ever and definitely a must read on any marketer’s list.  Also, I’ve always been told that reading helps build vocab, makes you more knowledgeable, etc, etc, so it’s about time I worked on that!

Anywho, I ordered ”Outliers”, again by Malcolm Gladwell for an intellectual read, and another two more books by Emily Griffin called “Something Borrowed” and “Love the One You’re With” for fun-reads.  All of the above were recommendations by friends so I’m hopping on the bandwagon.  Better late than never right? ha ha.

Later days!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a new habit but since Project Me started just one day ago, I might as well make this commitment worthwhile. As a result, I’ve decided that from Day 2 onwards I will be all about productivity. To set my schedule right, I will sleep early tonight and wake up early tomorrow - simple enough. I’ll let you guys know how that goes… but knowing me, it’s going to be a lot of tossing and turning before I get some shut-eye tonight.

Later days!

I’m tired of letting the economy take a toll on my life - it’s time for a change.  Over the past two weeks I have been boggled down by a temporary road block in my career.  And to say “it sucks” would be the least of how I feel, but nevertheless I’m going to focus on turning things around. As a result, I’ve decided that for the next 30 days, I’m going to work on Project Me.  It’s maybe a bit unoriginal and perhaps a dibber dabber of bOooooorrrrrring… but I guess you’ll have to see!

What is Project Me?

A 30-day project that focuses on improving myself professionally and personally.

Day 1 | 10 Things I (Hate About You but) Like About Me

To start off my project, I’ll share with you some things that I like about myself or that I’m proud of.  Here’s my list (in no particular order):

Professionally…

1.  I’m passionate about marketing and consumers.  I enjoy it for simple reason that I can make a connection with and have impact on the lives of consumers (or the way I see it, every day people).  If I can positively affect a consumer’s life and add value through marketing then I’ve done my job well.

2.  I’m balanced.  I understand creative but cannot create/design for beans!  I understand numbers but would hate to do just that for the rest of my life.  I understand strategy but I think execution is just as important.

3.  I’m a leader and a strong team player.  I like working independently to test my brain from time to time, but nothing beats having a passionate, enthusiastic and intelligent team working by my side.

4.  I’m proud of having a BBA from U of T Scarborough [and am not ashamed nor will back down from applying against candidates with MBAs].  I’m not insulting/hating on MBAs because I’m sure it provides great education, similar to the one I have, but I’m simply stating that I can do the same job.  Fine, I might not have the extra 3 letters behind my name but why should I be punished because I knew what I wanted to do straight from high school?

5.  I believe in what I do.  I might not have a resume of 3-5 years ‘professional’ experience in marketing but I believe that everything I’ve worked towards has contributed to acquiring similar if not better real life skills.  Whether it’s from my co-op, p/t, or MESA, it’s experience.  Let me see your ‘marketing plan’ to reach university students without a massive budget and tell me it doesn’t take knowledge, skills and experience to make it awesome.

Personally…

1. I’m a pretty honest person and I think most people like that about me.  I don’t enjoy talking in circles (or listening to bs) and more often than not I’ll tell you how it is, honestly not rudely, not bluntly. 

2. I’m a good friend and I’ll go out of the way for them.  No I’m not the bestest friend in the whole wide world, nor am I the perfect friend but I’m a pretty darn good one. Enough said!

3. I try my best even when it doesn’t look like it.  I’m not naturally gifted in anything so I usually work extra hard to achieve my goals.  Whether I’m talking about school, or volleyball, or whatever… trying my best is all that I can do.  For those who didn’t have to try in high school, guess what? I did, I had to.

4. I’m a happy person, generally.  Mostly regarded to have a bubbly personality, you can usually catch me smiling and yelling (which is my talking when I’m happy) across the table. No, I wasn’t always this way but I’ve realized in the past couple of years that life is about living and being in the moment.

5.  I have a competitive spirit and thrive on challenge.  Of course there are times when I’ve failed and felt like an idiot, but at the end of the day what doesn’t break me only makes me stronger. 

The toughest part of any situation is the unknown;  not knowing and not having enough information to make a decision.  When we know things we feel more at ease (good or bad), at least I do anyways. 

At the moment, it’s really hard not to think about the economic downturn and how it might affect myself, family or friends.  Recently, I’ve heard more than a handful of people that I know, who are seriously worried about their (finances and) job security to say the least.  For example, at the company my Mom works for, they are trying to automate a lot of processes that a few employees currently do by hand.  Is this an honest move for the company to become more efficient? Or is this a tactic for them to downsize?  Or maybe both?

Prepare for the Worse and Hope for the Best

Despite all these uncertainties, one thing’s for sure - we can only prepare for the worst and hope for the best”(my boyfriend told me this last night so thought I should share!).  We can either see the glass as half full or half empty - losing a job can be an opportunity to pursue another career, spend more time with kids, go on vacation; but losing a job also means having to find another one, be broke as joke, and live at home!

Either way, with companies cutting jobs like trees around the world - it’s not a pretty sight.

Sorry I’m a little late with this post… but what sparked this topic was actually from a dinner I had with a couple of friends from University a couple weeks back.  One of them mentioned how much things have changed since work started and I think it’s true too.  But then again, with change also comes many countless memories that will make 2008 a year to be missed.

Here are my Top 5:

5. MESA - As much as I’ve moved on from the madness, there is something magical about being involved in this organization that will always be a part of me.  I hope I’ll be lucky enough to experience this type of togetherness in a team sometime in my life again!

4. Freedom of Travelling - Backpacking in Europe (esp with Belle) was an awesome experience.  Mmmm I miss those pastries and sleeping on the grass in front of the Tour Eiffel!  Oh yes, can’t forget about Vegas either; upgrading to a baller suite, watching cirque, clubbing at Palms… and all with awesome friends too! 

3. Having a summer (enough said) - The kicking-it-back lifestyle, aka sleeping in the AMs, waking up in the PMs and doing anything I wanted whenever. 

2. Volleyball 24/7 - Living and breathing volleyball (5x/wk court & beach) & of course Dream Team (:

1. Some awesome friends living in Toronto -  Above all, what I’ll miss most about 2008 is having some of my closest friends in Toronto (Jo, Car, and soon-to-be John) who has left (and will be leaving tomorrow) to pursue once in a lifetime experiences. I miss you all  ): … and know that 2009 won’t be the same without you… ): P.S. Come back soon.

And there we go, goodbye 2008 and cheers to 2009 - a new year with less swearing, more blogging, more savings, more championships, and the same most amazing friends ever.

 

What do my pictures say to you?

On the Left: I see an insecure girl who wakes up every morning thinking, “when will I ever” be able to walk confidently outside without make-up and not care about what people think.  Guys can do it, they call it the “waking up look” but me, like many other girls could never.  Some of you may look at the two pictures and think, “you don’t look that different” but get real people, the picture is taken on my webcam and hence falsifies what I really look like when I wake up in the morning.

Regardless, it’s not that I think I’m really ugly (despite what you may or may not think), it’s become more of a routine than anything else and even more a part of who I am.  Without a mask on, I feel genuinely naked, insecure and scared of what the world has to offer me.  It’s a little dramatic, but that little bit of foundation, eye shadow, eye liner and mascara changes how I feel about myself and my superhero abilities.

Whether this is a result of media or not, I’m not going to blame them for making women “feel like they have to be skinny/have to be pretty”  - I think it’s more of a personal choice.

On the Right:  I am the confident woman staring right back at you, ready to fight crime and scrumbags all over the world.  (:

Every good superhero story has a moral to their story

No matter who you meet or how confident you think someone is, deep down we are all insecure about something (and that’s okay!).  As confident as the cockiest person you know is, they are probably wearing a costume to make them feel capable to face the world too. So the next time you feel insecure, just remember that you can borrow my eye liner anytime! (:

–

If you’re wondering where the inspiration behind this post came from, it was a result of going out for lunch as Clarke Kent with my boyfriend this afternoon.  He tells me I’m beautiful but inside I’m still overly self-conscious without a cape on.