Keeping Creative and Organized

I am definitely two things: creative and organized. The internet makes it so easy to both explore and express my creativity.  One of my favourite hobbies is checking out professional blogs, DIY blogs, food blogs or researching ideas for up coming events and parties. My bookmarks list has become so long it is no longer effective.

A real corkboard

Pinterest has allowed me to keep brain less cluttered. Basically, it is an online "board" where you post photos. Remember those corkboards we all have in our homes or office? Yup, just like those ones. I am a highly visual person; if it's important, I need to see it. Pinterest allows you to add as many boards as you like for different categories. My two fullest boards are my food and DIY boards. These boards have become a home for my projects waiting to happen. By "pinning" a photo, you are virtually adding it your board,
along with the link to the website where it came. You can refer to it anytime, instead of trying to clog your real corkboards or your brain with all your ideas.  You can "follow" other people's boards and you can share yours with friends. You can also just browse through the latest and most popular pins on the home landing page. It's a great way to save the important stuff you want to refer to later on. It's great inspiration!

Your own personal virtual boards!

The other tool I recently discovered and have been using non-stop is Bloglovin. Do you ever have trouble keeping up with all your favourite blogs? Do you ever wish you knew the instant a new post went up on your favourite blog? Bloglovin does both for you! You add the blogs you like and seperate them into categories (mine for example are: food, fashion, health, DIY). When you login, all the newest posts from all the blogs you follow show up from newest to old. ALL in ONE place! You can even mark them as "read" to help you keep track.Both Pinterest and Bloglovin work marvelously together for me. Most of my "pins" come from blogs, so essentially these tools help save me time. I say essentially, because I have now created another problem for myself: I spend too much time distracted on both! Fortunately, all the free time I used to spend on facebook is now directed towards these more efficient and useful organizational tools for my life.

A pat on the back goes a long way

Everybody likes a compliment. I especially love a work-related compliment. I like to know that I'm on track, doing a good job, or simply appreciated.

In my last post I mentioned I'd gotten a new job. I didn't hate my old job, in fact I quite enjoyed it but it was leading me in a direction away from my personal career goals. So I made a change and it was the best decision I ever made. I had felt stuck in a rut for months and felt ignored and overlooked. That all changed when I announced I would be leaving. I was then told how much I was appreciated, and complimented for jobs well done. That got me thinking about whether or not I would've left had I gotten that all along. 

I had yearly performance reviews which were great, but they only provided feedback to me once a year. When in doubt, I always asked questions but it would have made a difference to receive a few moral boosters. I used to have a coworker who was the opposite. She got her head patted a lot, but that was because she reported on every project and task numerous times a day. She received the compliments she wanted and the confidence she needed. I sat there quietly doing my work and was complimented on my way out. Nothing wrong with either scenario, except I left. She is still there.

My point is, entry to mid-level employees require feedback. Both good and bad. In my new position, I have been nothing but enthusiastic. I love every responsibility I have, and in the two months I have been there, I have learned so much from the feedback that I have received. It makes me happy to be able to take credit for my work and to continue to work hard accomplish what I need to. 

A happy employee is a loyal employee. 

Mean Girls and Bitter Women

We've all seen the Lindsay Lohan film Mean Girls, which takes place in a high school setting, but most females know that means girls don't go away after high school. We continue to encounter them all throughout our lives. You may even be that mean girl without even knowing it.

I've been fortunate enough that "mean girls" in the workplace has never been too much of a problem with me. However, after a certain age, I prefer to use the term "bitter women" instead. There are two women I know that are perfect examples of "bitter women". One is full blown bitter, and the other is bitter-in-training.

The older women, is someone I deal with with, but not (thankfully) work directly with. After two years and ten months, she still doesn't remember my name or what my job is. Or so she claims, probably only to be condescending. I know for a fact she knows both, because I have met with her one-on-one plenty of times,  and I am one in a staff of five people. From what I can tell she is over worked at a job she does not love, but has been stuck at for years. She complains about her job, the people she works with and the company she works for. That is why she seems so bitter to me. Of course, I could be entirely wrong and she may love her job. But if so, it would show in her attitude and she'd be a positive person to be around. Unfortunately that is not the case.

The bitter woman "in-training" is somone who is much younger but reminds me a lot of my first example. Fortunately there is hope for her; since she is younger, she can flip her attitude around. I see promises of that sometimes. However, if she gets stuck in the industry (by choice) and continues to shove and put others down in order to outshine them, she will end up in the exact same spot as my first example 10 years from now. There is nothing wrong with trying to work your way to the top. There are just two ways to do it: taking the high road and moving up with class, or by ditching moral and ethics in order to have your ego stroked.

Kelly Cutrone

Both of these women are what I fear I will become. So, I am being proactive. I have been reading books and articles on how to get ahead in life and in your career without resorting to being a bitch to others. One of my favorite women in PR is Kelly Cutrone, who is known for her cut throat personality ( I am currently reading her book "If you have to go cry, go outside"). I admire her but I know very well I just do not have the personality to be like her. That works for her, but I argue that who I am works for me.

 I guess I am on the right track because I recently got a new job! I am very excited about it, and I didn't have to be mean to anyone to get there. One of the mean girls congratulated me, and quickly followed up with two negative comments about how she "did not envy me". A backhanded compliment - classic mean girl jab. I smiled and laughed it off; I am moving on to where I want to be. Guess who is not?

My Encounter With an American Ex-President

Yes, the ex-president I am refrring to is Bill Clinton, but no, the title doesn't refer to what you think.

It has been an exciting few weeks for me, hence the lack of posts. Ironically, I have been on the computer and engaging in social media a whole lot and that is whee my post begins today.

At the end of May, I had the pleasure of attending the Canada Western Region IABC (International Association of Business Communicators) Dare to Lead conference in Vancouver. I recently joined the board of IABC Manitoba chapter (more about that later) as Director of Professional Development, so this conference is held annually for IABC leaders in BC, AB, SK and MB. 

On my first day there, I decided to take a walk down Robson to do a little shopping. As I approached the Roots Clothing store I saw a crowd gathered outside, most of them with their phones up in the air. I got excited and immediately whipped out my phone too and held it up. without even knwogin who it was. I thought, this ia Vancouver, I'm sure it someone famous. Steve Nash maybe I thought. Or Bif Naked or Nelly Furtado who call BC home. I couldn't see anything so made my way to the very front of the crowd and walked right into -Bill Clinton! His body guards surrounded him, but he was stoipping to take pics and shake hands. I snapped a quick shot of his profile and walked away, not beliveing my luck. In fact, after I snapped my pic, he tunred around and I was so emabrassed I'd held my camera right in his face I just rturned away even though he greeted everyone right where I had stood. I went into my destination, La Vie En Rose, and came back out. He'd moved around the corner of the street, still followed by the crowd so I took a few more pics ad some video.

Then I walked away and tweeted my pic on twitter. Withing an hour CTV BC tweeted me asking if they could use my photo on their newscast that night. I said yes and emiaeld them more pics and the video. After an afternoon of shopping I went back to the hotel and told me friend and fellow board member what had happened. I turned the tv to CTV while we changed and sure enoguh - they broadcast my photo and video!

It was thr highlight of my weekend and hot topic at the conference, espeically in the session we had on social media.

Within an hour of taking the pic, I'd sent it to my sister, my boss, and posted it on facebook. Had I not posted it on twitter, CTV BC would never had caught wind of it and showed it on tv. I wouldn't had my 15 minutes of fame and my story would not have been as exciting.

Communication lessons learned from the world of fitness

When I am not communicating by day, I am communicating with lots of people another way in the evenings. Two out of five work days a week I am a Zumba fitness instructor and I love it.

One of the things I love about teaching Zumba classes the most is the influence the class can have on people. It can as simple as broadening their knowledge of international rhythms, or making an even bigger difference in their lives -which any Zumba instructor can tell you happens often. People are always willing to share the positive effects this workout has made in their life, physically, mentally and emotionally.

One of the things I love is having a person who has never tried Zumba, come to a class. Sometimes they're nervous, shy, excited, or all three. Sometimes they feel obligated to tell me they're uncoordinated. None of that matters - what I love is testing myself with these participants. I do not have a fitness background, therefore the "instructing" part scared me when I first started. I have learned so much since then. One of the most fascinating things to me is the rhetoric of visualization in fitness instruction.Providing participants with visual cues is crucial to the Zumba fitness program; and doing it well takes a lot of learning, practice, and even more practice. 

The way I test myself, is by watching how the participants move and how precise they are in mimicking my moves and transitions. When I sneak in a nose scratch, or throw in an accidental extra arm manoeuvre, and they do the same - I know they are watching me well. I know they're relying on my visual cues and I feed off of that;  in return I get even more energized and the adrenaline really gets flowing, which is then passed on the the class.

The creator of Zumba, Beto Perez, didn't speak a lot of English when he invented Zumba and first starting teaching it in Miami back the late 90's. Therefore, he relied heavily on visual cueing, and that become a part of the Zumba brand it is today.

If you don't know what Zumba is, or want to see an example of an instructor relying only on visual cueing, click here. It is an older video from 2006, and the people at the back were likely trying Zumba for the first time. The instructor is Tanya Beardsley, a Zumba Education Specialist who has become one of the faces of Zumba, and she is great to watch, I have learned so much from watching her on DVD's.

Worst week to not have cable...or not?

The week of Monday April 25 to Monday May 2nd, I was without cable at home. It was without a doubt, what I remember as being the worst week not to have cable.

I was fine without it for a few days, I got an extra run in that week, I went to a book sale and picked up all my summer reading. Then Thursday came. Game 7 of the NHL playoffs of the Habs and Bruins series was apparently crucial to watch, since Montreal is my boyfriend's favorite team and we ended up at the bar across the street to watch it.

Then, on Friday morning, I missed the Royal Wedding. Shucks. I did not plan on getting up any earlier than usual, but I did want to catch some of the highlights on the morning shows afterwards. I missed it all. I missed the wedding of the century.

Then came Sunday night, May 1. A night significant to Americans and many others around the world. It will be like 9/11 - you will always remember what you are doing the moment you first heard the news. I was watching a movie - the Kings' Speech ironically enough, when I checked twitter and saw Obama was going to make an announcement later that evening. rare, for a Sunday night I thought. I moved on to watch Old School, and then checked twitter on my iphone again. Twitter was abuzz with the news that Osama Bin Laden had been captured and killed, Obama was to make a speech about it within an hour. I left my boyfriend with Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson and headed to the computer. "Worst week not to have cable!" I tweeted. Within 5 minutes someone had tweeted me back telling me the White House website would be streaming his speech live.

Turns out, I certainly did not need cable to keep up with all these events. the NHL game could have been streamed, I saw pictures of the Royal Wedding online, and most importantly I was able to still watch Obama's speech live. Plus, being the speech lover that I am, I even downloaded a full transcript of it online from the White House website the next morning. Thank you WH.


What really excites me, is how the news of Bin Laden's death broke on twitter.

1) One of the earliest sources, Keith Urbahn chief of staff for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, tweeted nearly an hour prior to Obama’s confirmation “So I’m told by a reputable person they have killed Osama Bin Laden. Hot damn.”

2) by Monday morning, twitter was full of updates linking to articles and blogs that told the story of
Pakistani IT consultant, Sohaib Athar. He was tweeting about the event as it was happening, and he didn't know it.  His first tweet mentioned that a helicopter was hovering above.  Shortly after he said  “a huge window shaking, bang here in Abbottabad…I hope its not the start of something nasty”.

These two tweets caused a worldwide reaction within minutes. I could barely keep up with the twitter updates before the Obama speech, let alone afterwards.

In Canada, the next morning (May 2) was Election Day. We were electing a new Prime Minister. The government realized that social media could create problems once the results starting coming in. Elections Canada announced a media blackout period concerning reporting on the election until the polls had closed at every polling station. Social media activity was a no-no, but people couldn't be stopped, especially once Elections Canada confirmed they would not be monitoring social media sites.

I got my cable back, the night of the election. I followed the live news coverage and twitter simultaneously. It was more entertaining to interact and engage with others online, than it was to follow on tv.

So, was it the worst week not to have cable? Absolutely not. I didn't miss a thign and by making a presence on twitter, I felt even more informed than others. My sister texted me Sunday night about the announcement. They with their satellite didn't know what was going on, and I was filling them in on what I was seeing on twitter.

It was an eventful week on earth, and an even more so in the virtual world.

May 5 UPDATE:  For a more in depth analysis and metrics on this see this article.

Is liking what you do the same as not hating it?

Do you love your job? Do you enjoy the industry you are in, even if you do not love your job? Are you good at doing what you do? If the answer to all of these is NO, I have to ask –what are you doing?

During your young professional years, no matter what position or industry you are in, should be a time of continuous learning and taking advantage of professional development opportunities. Whether you’re a baker, a truck driver, an accountant, a nurse, a lawyer – I have never known anyone being terminated for “knowing too much”. (Not to be confused with being a know-it-all, that is a different story altogether).

My background is in Communications. One of the things I love about the job, is how interdisciplinary it can be. Because most Communication positions are based on writing and public relations, it is a job that requires the ability to research and understand the background of your industry and employer in order to succeed. I landed my current position in an industry I knew nothing about –because I had the communication skills they required, and the rest was up to me to develop in.  A writing test on a subject I had absolutely no knowledge of was a part of my hiring process. That was almost three years ago and I’ve learned a lot about the industry I work in to say the least. Is it one I ever thought I’d find myself in? No. Do I love what I do? No. Do I hate it? No. But have I learned enough to stay and advance within the industry if I choose to? Yes.

I see a lot of people come through my office door looking to get into the transportation industry.  Young, old, retired, fresh out of high school, experienced, inexperienced, hard working and lazy. I can immediately tell who is going to be successful in the program they are applying into. Various factors indicate success, the most common ones being speaking and listening skills. This is mainly in part because in my brief interactions with them, these are the two that leave a lasting impression.  I receive numerous inquiries everyday, and it amazes me how ignorant, rude and unprofessional people are when inquiring about a program that combines tuition funding, training and a job. Here are a few tips I’ve comprised from my experience:

1)   Don’t let mommy do the talking for you.  If you are interested in something and looking for information, YOU make the call. I get countless calls from mothers (or girlfriends or wives) who claim their sons/boyfriends/husbands to apply for the program. If that were true, the sons/boyfriends/husbands would be the ones calling. She can’t do your job for you and she can’t apply for you so you might as well try out that independence.

2)   Provide your phone number. Do not put down your mom’s work number, or your girlfriend’s cell on your applications unless someone it is necessary. I once called an applicant to congratulate him on being accepted into the program, only to be greeted with a “who the #&%@ is this?” from his girlfriend. Big mistake.

3)   Use an appropriate email address. If gangsta69@hotmail.com is the email on your application, chances are you are not getting a call in for an interview. Email accounts are free - please get a new one for job applications if your existing one lacks in professionalism.

4)   Is this really what you want to do? Sometimes that pushy female in your life (see tip #1) wants you to do something your heart isn’t 100% in. This is a recipe for failure. Sooner or later it will catch up to you, so assess your repercussions first, and make sure you are applying for that job or program because you want to. These mistakes can cost more than your relationship with that person (for example, the program I accept application for will cost you over $8000 if you do not complete the program requirements.)

5)   Keep your records clean. Things happen, everyone make mistakes. But some of those can haunt you the rest of your lives.  Finding a job in a position of trust may be challenging for someone who robbed a bank 10 years ago. They didn’t think they’d get caught and have that record stand between themselves and that supervisor position at the grocery store one day down the road.

Once something appears on a criminal record or driving record, it is there to stay.  For example: how can someone who can’t afford a regular class 5 licence because their fees are too high (due to countless at-fault accidents and speeding tickets) possibly be serious about wanting be become a professional long-haul truck driver?

Asses your career and job options and opportunities well. In this day and age, we are the only ones who can stop ourselves from doing anything.