Day 287: Sis takes over

I was chatting with my sister as usual. Then I glanced at the corner of my living room...and there she is...taking over my chair. (It's a weird looking pillow she gave me as a birthday gift several years ago.)

Day 236: ...and we sent her off.

Here is my own message I put together real quick this morning for her. It's in the scrapbook we gave her now. Wish I had time to do a nice little painting. (So you have to come back and get it, Rebecca!)

So everyone, I'll promise a watercolor painting for Day 237!

Day 235: The party day is here...

...and also the farewell.

Day 234: Timeline

It is going to be a lengthy post today. Ready ?

Going through each day is hard enough especially folks living in the city. Don't you think ? The speed of the daily life is amazingly fast that everything seems very blurry.

Let's look at a big picture today. The first quarter of our life is pretty much in other people's hands such parents, guardians, teachers, friends, etc. But we need them at that age.

But do they know how you want to live your life ? And do you know ?

Suddenly we're out of high school, feeling rushed for the first time and most of us have to choose a career path. (And if you're from Thailand like me, we have to choose our major even before entering a college. And we can't change it without going through crazy requirement.) Often I think this is totally insane. It's like asking a baby what they want to do for the rest of their life. But I don't really have a better solution to offer. 

Then we study so hard and try to get a job to pay off loans and bills. Suddenly we're half way of our life. We feel we have gone so far down the road and so deep into the career we chose (or being told to choose) that we think it's wasting time to start new.

Is it really wasting ? Or keep going is more wasting ?

What's your goal now ? Is it what you want or what others want you to be ? Do you want to be at the top of your career or simply want to enjoy working ? Have tons of savings or tons of experience ? Do you want explore the world or you want to settle ? Focus on your career or your family ? Do you decide to have a family because you find the one you can't live without  or because of the fear to be alone ? 

There is no right or wrong answer. Many can do all of it. Some has more obligations than others. Just make sure we are after what we want. Don't get dragged and drown by the flow. This is like creating a design concept of our own life. And we can't just have a grand idea. We need to execute it as well.

Otherwise, suddenly, we will be right at the end of our life and realize that it is really too late. And the annoying part is that we don't know if it will end late or soon.

Have you heard of Steve Jobs' speech "Connecting the Dots" ? A must read. It is very encouraging. 

Oh and about Rebecca ? She's totally my role model in this case. I was listening to what she has done in her life and just in awe.  Actually I should ask her to tell me about it again. It's been a while and I am sure I miss a bunch of things. She's out of the house and on her own at the age of 18, joined the marine, worked as a flight attendant, got her degree, learning accounting through her job, studied to be in a law school, be a business manager and a cooking master. She plays flute (and attempted to play Ukulele). She paints. She makes jewelry. She knows how to skate, canoe and bind the books.

Nutty.

But I always admire people who make a change in their life.

So you can be so many things you want to be and do so many things you want to do. Write your list down and just do it because life is really really short.

Day 233: The Breaking Point

I am honestly not sure how to draw or write about this, the breaking point.

Everyone is different. Each is good at different things and wants to be treated different ways. When one quits the job, the reason is, of course, different. The reason could be a long commute, too much work, too much responsibility, nothing he or she has done is ever good enough, boring task, low salary, no raise, no promotion etc.  Or all of them.

Keep in mind that not everyone always wants money or promotion on the top of their list. Some people simply want an appreciation. 

And that's all that keep them coming to work everyday. Who says less-than-a-star-work is less important ? We need different type of people to make a company survive.

So don't let one reach his or her breaking point or you lose that person for real.

Day 232: The Busy Person

You probably notice I have a hard time posting my 365 in time there days. :P Usually the reasons would be 1) I fell asleep or 2) I was lazy. 

If it's Rebecca, those would never be a reason. She can't sit still. At work she will have proposals to write (sometimes 10 of them lining up), billing to do, collections, trouble shooting the problems for her babies (aka us), putting interview material together, bugging us to get timesheet done (oh shoot I haven't done mine!), decoding our messy timesheet input, taking garbage and recycle bags out to the dumpster (because our cleaning lady is small), buying milk, buying office supply, getting Friday breakfast, watering plants in the office, cleaning glass door at office entry and conference rooms when it gets dirty during the day and picking up phones call or greeting people when our receptionist is not available. On special occasions she will get birthday cards, making birthday cakes for us (in my case buying ice cream), organizing office outing and office's annual party which the work includes sending out invitations after checking the party list, budgeting, coordinating with caterer, sometimes cooking the food herself, decorating the office. Don't let me start on her task outside the office such as cooking for 200 people at her church or babysitting, making jewelry, cleaning house (doesn't sound like she gets much help at home), making wedding cakes when someone asks her. 

I am sure I forget a lot of things she does. 

And on top of these she commutes 100 miles per day and she's not the healthiest person I know.

So if you have this type of person in your office or at your house, tie him or her to the chair or just simply say "thank you", will you ?

Day 231: A Great Gift

In 2004 I got my driver's license and bought a little Volkswagen Golf, my very first car. Rebecca gave me this fancy emergency car kit. Out of the blue and out of nowhere. Isn't it a great gift for a new driver ? So I gave her one of my favorite paintings as a thank you. The kit is always in my car. :) She always gives me (and others) gifts on Christmas, birthday and when I feel down. Thank you~

Day 230: No Nut!

Rebecca can't eat nuts but secretly has them from time to time. So I love sneaking around to see if she has any. (I usually get help from people on the other side of the wall too.) So if she has one, I often spank her or send a message "No Nut!" to her all the time. : P

Day 229: A Cup of Coco

Almost a decade ago (OMG! it's that long.) I had a second interview with this company. I had been looking for a job since graduation in May. It was pretty stressful because I wanted to gain some experience working in US before going home at the time. I wasn't here just for a degree. Experience is far more important than that. My dad already sent me a note at that point that I needed to go home and get a job there instead.

The interview was set in December. Pretty cold for a girl from Thailand and studied in Arizona. And I probably broke all the rule the job recruiters had such as dress professionally. I think I had something like a ski jacket on instead of a wool coat. I didn't speak English that well. And let's not talk about my listening skill at that time (or even now!) I didn't know how to drive so I took a bus to go for an interview. (You must know about the bus mass transit here.) 

I don't remember much what I said or what I heard. But I remember pretty clearly that I was asked if I would like a cup of chocolate before an interview and if I needed a ride to a metro (train) station afterward by our Rebecca. 

Do you know any business manager who would drive an interviewee to a metro ?!

Amazingly I got a job and am writing about her on my blog.

Day 228: Let's talk about my neighbor

Some of you probably wonder what on earth I was drawing yesterday. The reason is that our greatest business manager of 19 years is leaving the company. Her last day will be next Thursday.

So let's start talking about her! She doesn't like a surprise so let's prep her a bit, shall we ? :D

Since we moved to the new office my manager has become my office neighbor. We have only a tall low wall separate us. So you know there can be a lot going on. 

Have you seen my post about the rubber band war ? 

Day 227: My Desk = No Rebecca Zone

I am sure everyone at the office wants to tie my business manager to her chair this week.

HA! I know you gonna see this post, Rebecca.

:D

Day 174: Prone to Trouble ?

I thought talking to a stranger about Thai food, Japanese food, travel, Arizona, cars and dogs for over an hour while waiting for my car to be serviced would be a highlight of my day. (I didn't have a chance to know her name but she was a very nice lady who recognized my super long Thai last name called by the staff at the service. She's working for a government and used to live in Arizona and Japan. And she was in Thailand over two weeks for her vacation not long time ago.)

Anyway...Nope! The highlight of my day was my paddling. I hope my little comic strips telling my story pretty clearly!

Happy ending with all the boats safely returned and were securely tied to the dock.

I'll post photos from today paddling some time soon!

*2012/06/22 Update Photos are up! Just click here.

Day 172: The opening night of the SCAR Project at the Dune, DC

I was at the opening night of the SCAR Project, a portrait project of the breast cancer survivors, at the Dune in DC earlier this evening. 

Honestly I am still overwhelmed by the event. I decided to just draw the plan and the location of this venue today. There is really no word or drawing could express what I experienced. 

These ladies are so brave to come out, to post in front of a camera to tell everyone about living with the breast cancer. One of them was diagnosed while finishing her master's degree...and she was just 22. A beautiful girl. Her mom was at the event with her tonight. One was a soldier who just got deployed. One was a disabled...

I had a chance to talk to one of the survivors, Sharon. She is in her late 40's and a mom with 2 kids. She was diagnosed at Stage 3 and the cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes. She kindly told me what she went through and answered all my questions. I also told her that I lost both of my parents to cancer. We agreed to keep in touch. 

I also did a quick chat with the photographer of the project, David Jay. I even asked for his autograph which was so not me but I couldn't help it this time. His next project will be about the wounded soldiers. I look forward to it.

If you are in DC area, the exhibition will be from October 1-7. The gallery to be announced. The 47-minute documentary of this project, "Bare It All," just won the Daytime Emmy award under Outstanding Special Class Special. 

Viewer discretion is advised.

Or simply read stories from their blog.

Day 152: Working Process

Good morning, everyone! Yesterday was such a long busy day (so I fell asleep again) but there was a small little email my project manager forwarded to me that brightened up my day. 

The client loved one of the schematic design I proposed. The design was almost axed during the in-house review because "we thought" that it's not for this client.

I bet you have heard a comment like this from your boss or others before.

First don't get upset about it. Listen to them. Their comments are most likely based on their experience (or it might be purely just an opinion sometimes). But be sure that your idea is based on good observation and an analysis that makes sense and can be understood by others. Then work your _ _ _ _ off  to make it happen (wow, I curse a lot this week.). Finally, express your idea confidently (and strategically because you need to make them listen).

In my opinion the observation is the most important part of the design process no matter how good you are as a designer. This raw data is a great resource that I can grab, process and tailor my idea for any particular problems with a custom design approach. It is dangerous to just design based on what you like without an observation or listening to your client's requests and critiques because you will end up with a generic work instead of the custom one.

The schematic design I proposed was purely based on my site survey. The building we are renovating is in the metro area where art is appreciated. You can find huge sculptures along the streets. So why not bring art onto the site if we want people to come here ? Architecture is not only about designing a building it is about accommodating people.

I found that an observation is also a great tool to live through this chaotic world and stay true to yourself especially when there are so many people out there express themselves so loudly that sometimes you hardly hear your own voice.

Have a great day! Gotta head to work now!

Day 146: Paddling with Christine at Lake Anne

Boat rental at Lake Anne now opens! I invited Christine, my former 5-year roommate, to stay over during this long Memorial Day weekend since we have a lot to catch up (including more paddling to do together) and she is deserved a mini-vacation after a bad car accident last year.

Hope you enjoy the stay, Christine!

Day 145: A Fist Fight

And I was completely defeated. Little Elise won!

In case you haven't seen my posts on Day 79 and 103 Little Elise is my friend's baby. :) It's amazing to witness a baby development. We decided to take an hour off during working hours to pay them a visit.

Day 144: 45 Cards Sold!!!

Today I've just learnt that last week 45 copies of my Food Drive Volunteer Thank You cards were sold (in one order) to someone in California! This was my first big sale since I joined Greeting Card Universe over a year ago. I am so excited! Yeah~  

(To my customer...Thank you so much ~~ I hope you got a lot of food donation!)

You can check out the card by clicking here.

Day 128: Would You Adopt Callie ?

This is not what I have ever planned for my 365 project. But this is very personal to me since it is about a life of the cat I used to live and play with and now her life depends on us.

I am helping my former roommate putting together a flyer adopting her cat, Callie. I lived with them for over a year so I can tell you that Callie is smart, energetic and quite unique.

Currently we are fine-tuning the information on the flyer. Please keep an eye on an official one on my Facebook and your email inbox if you are in DC area. It will be posted in a day or two. You will find out more about her personalities, reason and contact info from there. 

Please help us by forwarding our flyer to your family, friends and friends of friends. We really want to find a real home for Callie soon otherwise my friend has no choice but giving her to a shelter which we don't really want to. No matter how nice a shelter is it is not a home.

*Update (5/11/12): The flyer is now available for download from my Facebook. 

*Update (5/30/12): Callie just got adopted!