Beau Lotto's Vision - Neuroscience and Creativity

My company has done a lot in the past year or so to foster people whom they perceive to have leadership potential. It really helps to have someone who doesn’t come from a pure HR background administering this as well, as the energy and ideas they bring to such a programme have been truly refreshing. One of the benefits of this programme that I have been able to enjoy is my company’s membership of the London Business Forum which allows us to attend talks by renowned speakers, and not just in the traditional business sense.

One such talk was the talk by Beau Lotto, perhaps best known from his appearances as a TED speaker, on Vision held at the beautiful BAFTA space in Piccadilly. Beau is a neuroscientist whose work focuses on human perception, and the purpose of the talk was meant to show us how and what to change in order to be more creative.

How to make infographics – a workshop by Delayed Gratification

“What’s an infographic?” my colleagues asked me last Thursday as I was packing up to leave. At the time, it wasn’t a question I knew how to answer without resorting to a Google image search, but, now, having attended a workshop on how to make them taught by none other than the masters of infographics themselves, Delayed Gratification.

First off, I should stress that the workshop ticket was a gift from my husband, and wasn’t something I would normally have gone to.

I’d initially thought this wouldn’t have any relevance for me in terms of what I do at work or even on a personal level. I’m not a designer by any stretch of the imagination, and I can’t draw for nuts. But that, intriguingly enough, wasn’t what this workshop was about.

The unintentional hiatus

Has it really been that long since I last updated this?

I could have sworn I started on a post earlier this year, having had a wondrous month of dancing in January. Clearly, that was only in my head.

There has been so much that has happened, and, at the same time, so very little to write about.

First off, yes, we got married and we are tremendously happy. Just in case anyone was concerned that that was the reason there hadn't been an update since a few days before the wedding!

It has been hard to find the time to write, and harder still to find the words that could encapsulate the busy-ness of the last few months, the frustration that comes with living in UK (mainly housing prices and taxes), the stresses that come with working a new role in which one seems to be constantly making mistakes, the fears that come with working in an industry in which the survivors are those best able to adapt – and not knowing if your employer will be one of them – and the joys that come with enjoying wedded bliss.

Engagement photos with Jonathan Ong

We got our engagement photographs back over the weekend, two weeks earlier than expected, and they were well worth the money we spent on them.

We were a little nervous when we had our session in early July; after all, we are not natural theatrical people who can strike up a pose when the moment calls for it. The boy points out that my whole demeanour changes when I notice a camera trained on me, and I just freeze up. But I was adamant I wanted some photos of us in London so that we could show them at our wedding in Singapore. After all, this is where we live. I also wanted photos of us when we would be relaxed and just free to be ourselves, instead of being under a fair amount of stress and having to deal with multitudes of people.

Go, me!

Yes, I know it’s been a while since I blogged. Work’s kept me far busier than I expected to be (which, in this day and age, can only be a good thing, no matter how operational some of it is), and, outside of that, I just haven’t had time to be as on top of London activities as I used to be.

Or, rather, I didn’t have the time to research and still live. So I chose the latter, all the while intending to write about the interesting things I ended up doing, such as heading back home to Singapore and catching the F1, going on a street art tour of East London upon my return, going for brunch at Caravan King’s Cross and randomly sighting Wossy himself celebrating his birthday, enjoying West Coast Swing, or managing to attend the soft openings of some of the awesome new restaurants that have opened up recently, including Zoilo, Chrysan and Moo Grill.

Work has been pretty interesting too, with my having to travel to one of our regional offices for an away day involving everyone doing my role within Europe, having to attend a management skills workshop (which has actually made me excited about having to manage… who knew?) and even having a talk with my global functional head about what I wanted to do in the mid-term which, while not having quite provided me with any answers, has meant that I have some interesting goals and initiatives to get involved with next year.

But that’s all for several other posts.

For now, I just wanted to give myself a virtual pat on the back. I went for my first full-on fitness session today, which involved doing several TRX exercises. TRX, in case you don’t know, is a form of suspension training, whereby you suspend yourself, whether by your arms and legs, and use your body weight to help you train. At least, that’s how I’d explain it. This site properly does it better.

Not only did I survive it, but the trainer commented that I was in pretty good shape. Not bad for someone who’s only been managing one yoga class and one dance session a week for the past few months. I’m pretty lucky in that it doesn’t take too long for me to get muscle definition, so the abs I lost while back in Singapore have now returned. On top of that, I even have guns, man.

So, yes. Go, me!

Where’s Wal… Little Miss Random?

Tomorrow, I hope to have found this awesome looking street art gallery and all-round good coffee shop.

Copyright of the awesome-looking coffee shop.

No, it’s not that I’ve suddenly gone bonkers and decided to take a mid-week one-day trip to the continent. It’s because a company has decided it wants to seriously consider having me join them. And who am I to miss out on such an opportunity? Particularly in this bad economy, when I’m watching my beloved former industry fall to pieces?

I’ll post more details on where I’m going when I’m back.

Memories

Just under a decade ago, Caffe Nero was one of my favourite places in the whole world.

Caffe Nero - Old Brompton Road

Cognitive dissonance

I wrote the previous post in a fit of despair and despondency, following a phone call regarding a job I thought I was a shoo-in for. Never mind the fact that I’d been waiting two months to hear back from the hiring manager. After all, it’s been a slow economy and HR had tied him up with all sorts of approvals he needed to get. I’d had a great meeting with him and another colleague, and one of my friends who works in the company had put in a good word for me, unasked. This was a company well-known in my industry for being particularly good in the sector I prefer to work in.

I had high hopes for that role – although I’d also written it off given the passage of time. A perfect illustration of cognitive dissonance.

Hanging in there… just barely

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt, “Citizen in a Republic,” Speech at the Sorbonne, April 1910 (my emphasis)

For those of you who’ve been following my tweets in recent weeks, I think it’s been fairly clear that, among the usual cheery and sarcastic tweets, there’re been signs that I’m feeling very down. It shouldn’t be too hard to figure out why.

Noah And The Whale - Blue Skies

Self-Praise

Wow, I can’t get over how many people have viewed my coffee shop Easter opening list. It’s registered over 300 views, and that’s quite a lot, even with repeat visits. Like, dude.

I mean, of course, I compiled it for people to use, and I’m happy it’d been publicised by some coffee stalwarts (*cough* one of the top baristas in the South East *cough*), and, been used by some coffee heavyweights (*cough* a former world barista champion *cough*). I’m also happy that some people have tweeted to thank me, but, honestly, just knowing that people were using it warmed my heart.

“Create freedom” - Tina, We Salute You

April Foolish

I’m not sure what the aim of this post is other than to be a general update as to my personal situation. For me, it's just a chance for me to blow off some steam, so if you're new to this blog, this may not be the best post for you to start with.

In some sense, I guess 2012 has been steadily getting better. Of course, given the circumstances in which I started the year, it wasn’t exactly hard anything at all to be an improvement. Still, when March began, I was just so glad to see the back of February, having felt my lowest in a while, as the festive season glow wore off and the reality of my joblessness set in.

Was March any better? I suppose it was, if you count that I met up with three potential employers, one of which was through my first ever speculative application ever, and all of whom seem to be good fits for me, and I, them. Still, I’m waiting to hear back on them, and I’m dreadfully afraid anything I say on record will jinx things, so, suffice it to say that, at this point in time, I am still reasonably optimistic about them.

No such thing as a stupid question

I attended a speed-mentoring event as part of the Women of the World Festival held at the Southbank Centre just under two weeks ago (more on that in a later post). I had to do some preparation for the event, and found the process rather useful, which is why I felt it deserved a separate blog post in of itself.

The day before the event, I was e-mailed an instruction sheet, describing what I should do beforehand so as to maximise the benefit I would receive from speaking to the mentors:

Think
 about 
2 
or 
3 
problems/issues/challenges 
you 
would
 like
 to
 address
 during 
the 
session:


1. Develop
 a 
brief 
description 
of 
each 
problem/issue/challenge

2. 
Place 
this 
problem 
in 
the 
context 
of 
your 
personal 
goals, 
priorities, 
and 
values
3. 
Try 
to 
identify 
any 
options 
you 
are 
considering
4. 
What 
are 
the 
advantages 
and 
disadvantages 
of 
these 
options


Now
 develop
 a
 2‐3
 minute
 description
 of
 yourself
 that
 provides
 the
 context
 for
 the

problems/issues/challenges
 you 
want
 mentoring 
about.

During 
each 
speed-
mentoring 
session, 
you 
will 
want 
to 
start 
with 
the 
description 
of 
yourself
 and
 then
 move 
on 
to 
the 
description 
of 
your
 problem/issue/challenge.


Now, this, as I discovered, was far easier said than done. I realised I wouldn’t necessarily want to rehash the same question with each of the four mentors, but, for me, there’s really only one burning question that keeps going through my head and that’s “what on earth is it that I want to do?”

Burnout II

I've been attending a whole bunch of Social Media Week events in the hopes of finding out more about this particular field. I've learnt that social media is much more wide and encompassing than what I'd originally thought.

But that isn't the reason I'm writing this post.

My reason for writing this is that the most valuable thing I've gleaned from Social Media Week so far is from a conversation I had with someone I met at TweetCamp last year.

He'd experienced several episodes of burnout so far in his life. He said, on average, it takes between three and six months to fully recover from. And, you know what? I've only been in it for three and a half months. No wonder I'm still feeling so worn out.

I certainly never expected to still be feeling this way, not sure when the light at the end of the tunnel is going to appear. I guess all I really can do is give myself time.

Keep on keeping on

It's been a funny few days. I've been finding it incredibly hard to be focussed and motivated over the past few weeks. Perhaps it's because of burn-out, perhaps it's because it's cold, perhaps it's just down to the fact that I find it incredibly difficult to work in my own flat, because I want to keep my flat insulated from the stresses of work and have it remain as my refuge from the outside world when things get too tough.

Despite exhortations from friends and family that this is my year and that I can't afford to think like I'm not going to be able to get work, I'm still kind of iffy, particularly because, if nothing else, I've had a rough time with respect to job-hunting in relation to what I've years of experience doing. To be honest, this is the first time ever I've not been called in for a first-round interview, despite the fact that, prior to my last job, I had an excellent track record doing what it is they're looking for. Never mind the fact that I may not have the passion to do that job any more, but if you're looking just at skill sets alone, I can guarantee you that you won't find anyone better, even if I've had a couple of months off.

Girl Talk

Finally met up with the bride face-to-face for the first time in just about a year (as we've been living in different countries).

Me: You do realise I've had to turn down many dates because I was flying off home and had to get things ready for your wedding?
Bride: Really? Do tell.

(Several stories later)

Me: So, yes, I'd love to have you both as guests at my wedding, but, at this rate, it's never going to happen, and it'll be all your fault as to why I never got married.
B.: Pshaw, none of them sound good enough for you anyway.

Some things never change

Upon my arrival, I mentioned to my mother the great discrepancy I discovered in the sheer number of places which offered free wifi in Buenos Aires and Washington, D.C. compared to London and Singapore*, despite the latter two being considered among the top financial centres of the world.

My mother: We've got wifi at home.
Me: Really? That's cool.
My mother: Though we're not entirely sure, as your father doesn't know how to set it up properly. But now that you're home...
Me: Okay.

Augmented Manifestations of Geek-hood

While demonstrating the wonder that is ColorSplash to a fellow iPad owner:

Friend: Wow, did you design that?
Me: In all of the time you've known me, have I ever demonstrated a single ounce of artistic ability?
F: Well, I thought it might have manifested in your thirties.
Me: Like a latent mutant power.
F: Yes!
Me: There's a far higher chance of my suddenly being able to fly than my ever learning how to draw.

Decision-Making 101

This is what I do to my friends when they're trying to make major decisions (except I use a flip of the coin, rather than a Magic 8-ball).

And it works.

If you're unsure as to what you want to do, and you end up leaving it to chance, so to speak, and the results of that coin toss or shake of the ball disappoint you, then there's a good chance you already know what it is that you want.

Of course, this only works if you're able to frame your decision as a binary one, rather than an open-ended question. And, sometimes, you're just not able to do that.

Blog-pause

Been rather busy of late, hence the lack of updates. This week has been filled with gigs, going out with colleagues, resting a strained ankle, and a little bit of planning with respect to Buenos Aires, a trip which is filling me with excitement and utter terror simultaneously. I've got the same feeling about my new job, so I'm starting to think all great opportunities will come with the same combination of exhilaration and terror. I'll get used to it. One day.

I really do need some time to plan my trip out properly, but, seeing as I am usually also Little Miss Busy Bee, I haven't quite been able to find the time to do so. I haven't been working out that much this week as I've been so utterly exhausted, and, perhaps that has something to do with a wisdom tooth eruption/infection/emergence which is making me feel a little ill, but, I'll power through as I usually do.

In any case, this weekend will consist of dancing (samba and other Latin dances), power plate, and a lot of eating.

I'll also be meeting up with someone who has hit on me exactly the same way twice in three years: by running after me in the streets and telling me how gorgeous I am. This time around, however, I am single, and, while I'm not feeling it (owing to circumstances surrounding the first time he tried it), I'll be giving him a chance and seeing how we get on. At least, this time I don't have an irrationally jealous boyfriend to tie me down.