It's such a gorgeous day out and I'm stuck in the office. Came into work as one of the weekend shifters is on holidays. Ahhh...this bites! Oh well...I can work on Social Club stuff or just surf the net during the slow periods.
Last night I met up with Tanya, Shannan, Tracey and Nicole for dinner at My Greek Restaurant in Coquitlam. The food was filling, the conversations funny and the restaurant was packed so it made hearing difficult. Thank goodness Shannan had called in earlier to make reservations otherwise we would have been waiting a long time for a table. It was nice to see the girls and chit chat. Everyone's lives are so busy now that we're loosing touch with who's doing what. We all came straight from work so everyone was dazed. After finishing as much as we could on our plates we all started to lose focus and were getting sleepy. :-) Signs of age...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
falling for nature
Here are some pics from Shannon Falls.
paddling strong
The weather was spectacular and the crowds excited. We stayed till 1pm then had to take off so that we could clean up and go to some open houses back in Coquitlam. I spent the morning climbing up and down the dike trying to take pictures of the paddlers. Ugh...these are the days when I wish I still had my longer lens. :-)
Here are some pics from the race: Richmond Dragonboat Race
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
doctors without borders
I attended an outdoor yoga class for the first time today. My Yoga Online hosts these classes to raise money for different charities. One of my coworkers thought it would be cool to check it out. The donations benefit Doctors Without Borders, which is one of the few charities that I like.It's been such a long time since I've done yoga and it felt great being down by the water with the wind blowing in your face and the sun beating down on your skin. Because the location was infront of the IMAX theater at Canada Place, it was not as serene as a yoga studio that I'm so use to. Plus there were 2 cruise ships docked at Canada Place today. There were about 40 of us in the class and we provided quite the show for the cruise ship patrons. Many took pictures of us while we did our poses. I don't blame them as the image was unique. A mass of colorful yoga mats strewed on concrete with people in awkward poses against a background of a setting sun and stunning mountains. If I had my camera I'd probably be on the upper deck taking pictures instead of doing yoga!
The best part is that because the class is "by donation" - they do draws at the end for gifts. Whoohoo!! Amazingly I won a new yoga mat from HalfMoon yoga products (Granville Island). This must have been karma as I've misplaced one of my yoga mats and the one I brought today is normally used for hot yoga so it's pretty thin. I could feel every rock of the gravel ground today which made some poses almost painful. I'm cursed with not enough bum-padding and bony ankles. I think I'll have to double up the mats next week in order to make things more comfortable. Bummer part is that the class is so late and the seabus only runs every half hour. So it was nearly 9pm when I got home today, haven't even had dinner yet. Blah...hobbies hog up so much precious eating-time!
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
here fishy fishy fishy...
In another moment of spontaneous purchases - Chicky and I got a fish tank! How did this come about? Well - instead of enjoying the Canada Day celebrations we went to the mall in search of a honeymoon package. Feeling disappointed about not finding somewhere to travel to - we headed out to Petcetera to look at pets that we can't have. :-) Walking around the store we figured if we ever get a pet - it'd have to be fish because Chicky's parents don't like animals. There goes the doggie dreams if we live with the parents. Walking back and forth for 1/2 hour, we talked about getting a tank and setting it up in Chicky's room. Both of us were hesitant but finally we said "let's just do it!" So we did. We got home with our purchases and Chicky's mom said that she knows a friend who could give us a tank for free. Chaching! That's perfect. So at 8pm we head out to Richmond to pick up the tank. Kay - free isn't always "free". The tank was used for salt water fish in the past and was heavily calcified. Chicky and I spent most of the night washing and scraping it. We finally gave up and put our stuff in. We're in it for the instant gratification. We had wanted to buy fish at Petcetera but they wouldn't let us. They wanted us to have the tank functional for 3 days before introducing fish. Boo to them! We got an underwater plant instead. :-) It's no fun having an empty tank. I think we'll go to a pet store during the week to get something. We want it to be a freshwater tank so maybe goldfish or koi?! There are still not enough supplies though. We had originally boughten a 10 gallon tank from Petcetera but was given a 20 gallon tank from the friend. So we don't have enough gravel or the correct gravel for live plants on top of that. I just hope we don't end up killing everything in the tank at the end of this little experiment.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
more speed
Another episode of analysis-paralysis. My incompetent laptop doesn't respond fast enough. This prompted me to open up the internet and go searching for a solution. I can get so distracted sometimes...
For those few geeks out there that are interested - CNET has some registry cleaners and defragers that are "suppose" to increase performance.
CNET
For those few geeks out there that are interested - CNET has some registry cleaners and defragers that are "suppose" to increase performance.
CNET
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
damn interesting
Every now and then I stumble across interesting sites while surfing the net. Here's one that might raise your IQ. If nothing else - it might provide you something to say in those awkward have-to-be-social moments.
Damn Interesting
5 Minutes
Pick The Brain
OR 100 most useful sites on the web
Damn Interesting
5 Minutes
Pick The Brain
OR 100 most useful sites on the web
Thursday, June 05, 2008
getting smart
I finally bit the bullet and upgraded my phone. I'm the proud owner of a BlackBerry wanna-be! What is it? The HTC S640 smartphone. It's been a brutal battle with Telus and many empty threats from the both of us. :-) Haggling is not my forte.I'm still getting use to using it. I enjoy the luxury of a battery that lasts longer than a day. Having the convenience of Windows Mobile 6 is exquisite. With my Outlook synching to the device - I do not have to manually manage contact information. :-) The phone is larger than your average cell phone but that's alright because I normally carry large purses. Plenty of room for the phone and other girlie-necessities.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
May updates
It's been about a month since the last time I've written. What a long hiatus!
Here's what I've been up to in the last while:
My Wedding:
Here's what I've been up to in the last while:
My Wedding:
- the invitations were completed and international ones sent
- rental cars have been booked
- flowers have been selected and booked
- cake has been ordered
- bridesmaids dresses have been selected, booked and paid for
- hair stylist is booked - still debating about the services of the currently selected makeup artist
- The bridal shower was wonderful - it was good to see so much family and friends sharing in Tracey's joy. It was hosted at Tracey's house. There was lots of delicious home-made food. The were fun games too!
- The bachelorette party was right after the shower. We went to Tantras for some pole and lap dancing lessons. PussyCat Dolls in the making. After that it was dinner downtown and back to the hotel for some girlie bonding time.
- The wedding day was spectacular. The weather turned out to be perfect - not too hot or cold. Tracey looked beautiful in her dress and Shawn wasn't too shabby in his outfit either. :-) The ceremony was in the garden at Westwood Golf & Country Club. There were some heartfelt speeches at dinner and the standard slideshow.
- I haven't had a chance to post any pictures from the wedding yet - but will do so soon.
- this has been on hold while Chicky's parents were away for the month
Friday, April 25, 2008
2010
Sunday, April 20, 2008
the dress
This morning I woke up intending to take a day away from house hunting and concentrate on the wedding stuff. After a morning or running around doing errands, I picked up my mom after lunch and took her dress shopping. A spur of the moment thing.
We went down to Hastings street and viewed 3 stores down there. The smaller stores didn't have anything that I was interested in. I have an idea what type of wedding dress I want and basically needed to find a store that carried it.
The dress criteria was:
We went down to Hastings street and viewed 3 stores down there. The smaller stores didn't have anything that I was interested in. I have an idea what type of wedding dress I want and basically needed to find a store that carried it.
The dress criteria was:
- had to be sold on the floor in my size (as I wasn't going to order a dress due to time constraints and a need for security - I want to hug "my" dress at the end of this venture)
- a-line design as I'm uninterested in the "Cinderella" looking dresses
- corsette back because they are much more forgiving then zipper backs
- detailing on top and bottom - simple is good but not TOO simple...
birthday surprises
Saturday was full of surprises. I got up intending to spend the day house hunting with Chicky's family. Instead he took me to Milestones in which I was greeted with good friends and family all wishing another year of success and happiness. I'm very fortunate to have such a caring group of people! Don't know what I'd do without you guys/girls!
After brunch was another wonderful surprise - a relaxing massage at the Syncopa Spa in Port Moody. I've been so tense the last month between work, wedding planning and house hunting that my muscles were aching for a rub down. Chicky has been absolutely sweet and supportive in the last couple of months. His enthusiam in all aspects of the wedding is endearing. :-) The idea of a massage is always alluring to him and I. We're suckers for pampering. Chicky filled out his essay length questionnaire and indulged in some massage therapy while I had my treatment.
Before I could fall asleep on the warm spa bed, it was time to go meet up with the real estate agents to view a couple of more homes. Feeling so limber and relaxed, I didn't want to go out looking at homes and get all bunched up in knots.
The homes we viewed were OK - nothing jumped out at us. I think the 4 of us are getting tired of looking and might need a break from this to rejuvenate our enthusiasm. Chicky and I even went up to Burke Mountain to check out the new development. All the show homes are stylishly build but the bedrooms aren't big enough for our needs.
The events didn't end there. For dinner we invited all of my family and Chicky's family out to eat at Jade Restaurant (where we'll be hosting our wedding reception). It was a good chance for everyone to meet each other and check out the venue. We got our own party room so it was easier for the kids to run around and for us not to worry. The food was delicious and the service was nice. From dinner we invited the whole gang over to my parents house for tea. Things went pretty well considering a minor language barrier. Ideally we'd like to be able to have both families over for more dinners, etc.
After brunch was another wonderful surprise - a relaxing massage at the Syncopa Spa in Port Moody. I've been so tense the last month between work, wedding planning and house hunting that my muscles were aching for a rub down. Chicky has been absolutely sweet and supportive in the last couple of months. His enthusiam in all aspects of the wedding is endearing. :-) The idea of a massage is always alluring to him and I. We're suckers for pampering. Chicky filled out his essay length questionnaire and indulged in some massage therapy while I had my treatment.
Before I could fall asleep on the warm spa bed, it was time to go meet up with the real estate agents to view a couple of more homes. Feeling so limber and relaxed, I didn't want to go out looking at homes and get all bunched up in knots.
The homes we viewed were OK - nothing jumped out at us. I think the 4 of us are getting tired of looking and might need a break from this to rejuvenate our enthusiasm. Chicky and I even went up to Burke Mountain to check out the new development. All the show homes are stylishly build but the bedrooms aren't big enough for our needs.
The events didn't end there. For dinner we invited all of my family and Chicky's family out to eat at Jade Restaurant (where we'll be hosting our wedding reception). It was a good chance for everyone to meet each other and check out the venue. We got our own party room so it was easier for the kids to run around and for us not to worry. The food was delicious and the service was nice. From dinner we invited the whole gang over to my parents house for tea. Things went pretty well considering a minor language barrier. Ideally we'd like to be able to have both families over for more dinners, etc.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
ones and twos
This weekend was a flux of birthday parties. Chicky and I got to celebrate Katarina's 2nd birthday Saturday afternoon and Nathan's first birthday in the evening. The food was wonderful and the company even better. Looking forward to seeing the kids grow up.
I've posted the pics into my album.
I've posted the pics into my album.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
decade of memories
~Marceline Desbordes-Valmore
Yesterday Chicky and I celebrated a decade of knowing/being with each other. I'm happy to say that the journey has been worth it. Over the years we've shared love, laughter, heartache and tears. I've learned that our relationship is not perfect in the typical sense, but in it's own dysfunctional way - it's perfect for us. Our strong friendship is probably what kept us sane through all the trials and tribulations. ;-) In a way the drama kept the passion alive and crowds wondering what's going on with us.
No celebration is complete without food! We went to the Boathouse Restaurant in Port Moody after work. The atmosphere was romantic and we were just happy to take a break from our crazy schedules and enjoy a private moment for ourselves. We've been so engrossed in wedding planning and house buying that we haven't really had time to ourselves to just relax and enjoy the good things in life. Deciding that we deserved this wonderful break from the hectic world, we ordered the biggest thing on the menu. Chicky and I are big eaters. The 'surf & turf' meal for 2 was the best choice for us. I sure wished I had my camera as the meal was worthy of a kim-food-pic-moment. The platter had 2 sirloin steaks that were juicy and succulent. The fire grilled jumbo tiger prawn skewers, Alaskan king crab legs and whole lobster made my mouth water! Toping that off was wild rice and grilled vegetables. The warm butter dipping cream sauce was also oh-so-yummy as it had a hint of lime. Unfortunately while waiting for our meal and appetizer, I succumbed to the warm bread and ate like a whole loaf by myself. Warm crusty bread is my weakness. I was full before I could really enjoy the main course. We talked about the last 10 years and how we've grown as a couple. It was fun reminiscing about the early years and how much fun it was getting to know each other. We're at the "old-married-couple" stage in the relationship. I like this better as it's comforting to know that I don't have to entertain him and that we can have our own interests. Not that I didn't enjoy spending 24/7 with him in the beginning. :-)
The service at the Boathouse was spectacular. We had a very enthusiastic waiter named Natalie. She saw Chicky eying the dessert tray after we finished stuffing the last morsels of our food down our throats. I literally was feeling sick from being so full - so was Chicky. I couldn't fit in dessert even if I wanted to. Chicky was too full to eat one on his own so he reluctantly passed on the tray. Low and behold she comes back with the dessert that he was eying and gave us 2 forks. Apparently dessert was on her. Cool! :-) We also had our appetizer comped by the restaurant as it arrived late (same time as our meal). The good times just kept coming. After dinner we took a stroll down the pier to walk off some of the food and look at the lights reflecting off the water. It was sweet - minus the group of kids smoking weed at the pier entrance - and a perfect ending to a fun night.
Before the days of internet, I use to keep paper journals. The ones pictured above document Chicky and my life together. Every now and then we take a peek into one of the books to see how I was feeling or what we were doing at the time. I was pretty sentimental in the beginning and tried to keep everything that was given or said to me. As the years wore on - the scrapbook/journals became sparse and became more like documentaries. Thank goodness for the internet! It's made expressing my thoughts so much easier!
Yesterday Chicky and I celebrated a decade of knowing/being with each other. I'm happy to say that the journey has been worth it. Over the years we've shared love, laughter, heartache and tears. I've learned that our relationship is not perfect in the typical sense, but in it's own dysfunctional way - it's perfect for us. Our strong friendship is probably what kept us sane through all the trials and tribulations. ;-) In a way the drama kept the passion alive and crowds wondering what's going on with us.
No celebration is complete without food! We went to the Boathouse Restaurant in Port Moody after work. The atmosphere was romantic and we were just happy to take a break from our crazy schedules and enjoy a private moment for ourselves. We've been so engrossed in wedding planning and house buying that we haven't really had time to ourselves to just relax and enjoy the good things in life. Deciding that we deserved this wonderful break from the hectic world, we ordered the biggest thing on the menu. Chicky and I are big eaters. The 'surf & turf' meal for 2 was the best choice for us. I sure wished I had my camera as the meal was worthy of a kim-food-pic-moment. The platter had 2 sirloin steaks that were juicy and succulent. The fire grilled jumbo tiger prawn skewers, Alaskan king crab legs and whole lobster made my mouth water! Toping that off was wild rice and grilled vegetables. The warm butter dipping cream sauce was also oh-so-yummy as it had a hint of lime. Unfortunately while waiting for our meal and appetizer, I succumbed to the warm bread and ate like a whole loaf by myself. Warm crusty bread is my weakness. I was full before I could really enjoy the main course. We talked about the last 10 years and how we've grown as a couple. It was fun reminiscing about the early years and how much fun it was getting to know each other. We're at the "old-married-couple" stage in the relationship. I like this better as it's comforting to know that I don't have to entertain him and that we can have our own interests. Not that I didn't enjoy spending 24/7 with him in the beginning. :-)
The service at the Boathouse was spectacular. We had a very enthusiastic waiter named Natalie. She saw Chicky eying the dessert tray after we finished stuffing the last morsels of our food down our throats. I literally was feeling sick from being so full - so was Chicky. I couldn't fit in dessert even if I wanted to. Chicky was too full to eat one on his own so he reluctantly passed on the tray. Low and behold she comes back with the dessert that he was eying and gave us 2 forks. Apparently dessert was on her. Cool! :-) We also had our appetizer comped by the restaurant as it arrived late (same time as our meal). The good times just kept coming. After dinner we took a stroll down the pier to walk off some of the food and look at the lights reflecting off the water. It was sweet - minus the group of kids smoking weed at the pier entrance - and a perfect ending to a fun night.
Before the days of internet, I use to keep paper journals. The ones pictured above document Chicky and my life together. Every now and then we take a peek into one of the books to see how I was feeling or what we were doing at the time. I was pretty sentimental in the beginning and tried to keep everything that was given or said to me. As the years wore on - the scrapbook/journals became sparse and became more like documentaries. Thank goodness for the internet! It's made expressing my thoughts so much easier!
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
moving along
I'm falling behind in blogging. :-) The last couple of weeks have been pretty hectic. What have I been up to? Engrossed in home buying and wedding planning. My weekends are literally spent talking to vendors or viewing homes.
Wedding:
Wedding:
- We confirmed our reception location - Jade Restaurant in Richmond. This was the easiest part of planning as Chicky's parents scoped out the restaurant for us and helped us book it.
- The ceremony site had been a struggle as we debated about an outdoor vs indoor ceremony. Last week we decided to do it at a Church. Chicky and I spent Saturday morning talking to a few churches and have selected the Richmond Chinese United Church. We're finalizing the booking this week.
- I'm really relieved to have these 2 major milestones achieved as I was afraid that Chicky was losing focus with the wedding planning in lieu of the house hunting. Now that the ceremony site is booked. We can order the invitations this weekend! Yah..one more thing to check off the list. The invitations was actually the second thing that Chicky and I picked out (after the restaurant and before the ceremony site). There's a bit of a time crunch on it as we're expecting some international guests who have a stop over in Vancouver in the middle of April. We'd like to give them their invitations in person...which means the invitations need to be printed in the next week or so. :-)
- I went to the Vancouver Wedding Show on Sunday afternoon with my mom. I didn't have much time to spend walking around as Chicky and I had to visit the grave site with his family for All Souls Day in the morning and I had to be back in a few hours for an house viewing appointment. :-) My mom and I made good time though and was able to look at all the vendors and watch a bit of the fashion show. I saw Lisa (Nick's wife) and her mom there as well. They were helping Lisa's brother's fiance pick out stuff. Though I didn't win the Grand Prize (a $56,000 wedding package), I did book the tuxedo appointment for Chicky and his groomsmen. :-) I got lured into a "one time only deal".
- If I haven't told you by now, Chicky and I have decided to buy a home with his parents. We had discussed our living arrangement for after the wedding and this option was the best for all of us in the long run. The 4 of us have been on the hunt for a home for the last 2 weekends straight.
- On the long weekend we spent every day out with the real estate agent looking at potential homes. Not many met our criteria.
- This weekend we were out viewing show homes again - some more possibilities but nothing definite.
- I think we've short listed 2 homes and will make an offer this weekend.
Monday, March 17, 2008
mascot mayhem
"Here comes Peter Cottontail...hopping down the bunny trail..."
Yesterday was the Social Club's annual Easter Egg Hunt. I took the girls (Angelina and Teresa) with me on the Hunt this year. It was a good turn out - 180 people showed up. I was very impressed with Jo's organizational skills, she always thinks about the little details like coloring contests for the really little kids. :-) Takes a type-A to appreciate another Type-A's detailed work! Jo is one of the other super-assertive event organizers in our Club. She's sometimes hard to handle (too aggressive for the introverts in the group) but always reliable/dependable to take on large or unpopular events.
So on Friday I picked up my bunny costume from the costume shop. I've been fighting a cold for a week or more now and thought that I would have to enlist the help of Chicky for Sunday as I could barely breathe. So he willingly got into the costume Friday night to see if it fit. :-) It was too snug for him. Plus he was a SCARY bunny. Nope - definately not cute! I tried to convince him to wear the costume to surprise his parents - he refused as he didn't want them to have a heart attack.
If you've ever been a mascot then you can relate to the following. The bunny head was big and I couldn't see out of it. Knowing this well in advance - I enlisted a bunny-bodyguard. Her job was to keep the kids from stampeding me and keep me from killing myself as I "lead" the Hunt. The good thing about being a mascot is that you don't have to talk. Just wave in no particular direction, bob your head when told and try to look in the direction that your handler is telling you to. Some kids were freaked out by having a giant bunny staring down at them. Poor kids. I was having a really hard time with the head piece as it was too big and the apparatus underneath literally clamped my eyes shut. So I was bonking kids in the head as I have no spatial perception and tried my best not to molest them as I "felt around" for them. Half way through the gig I figured it's easier to just hold out my arms and hug whatever came between them. I think the worst part was that when I made my grand appearance - guess who happened to push their way to the front of the mob? The girls! And they were trying to pull on my costume to find out who was underneath. :-) I was unsuccessfully trying to kick them out of the way - hahhaha...what a bad auntie eh?
After 2 grueling (really hot) hours of picture taking, holding screaming kids, walking blindly around with baskets full of candy and trying not to knock over little kids or be beaten by the older ones (man...some big kids are just cruel to mascots!) - I was released from my bunny duties. It was a fun experience but I'm glad that I've put in my time and don't have to be the bunny next year! Hmmm...I might just pick up a larger bunny outfit for Chicky next year....
Yesterday was the Social Club's annual Easter Egg Hunt. I took the girls (Angelina and Teresa) with me on the Hunt this year. It was a good turn out - 180 people showed up. I was very impressed with Jo's organizational skills, she always thinks about the little details like coloring contests for the really little kids. :-) Takes a type-A to appreciate another Type-A's detailed work! Jo is one of the other super-assertive event organizers in our Club. She's sometimes hard to handle (too aggressive for the introverts in the group) but always reliable/dependable to take on large or unpopular events.
So on Friday I picked up my bunny costume from the costume shop. I've been fighting a cold for a week or more now and thought that I would have to enlist the help of Chicky for Sunday as I could barely breathe. So he willingly got into the costume Friday night to see if it fit. :-) It was too snug for him. Plus he was a SCARY bunny. Nope - definately not cute! I tried to convince him to wear the costume to surprise his parents - he refused as he didn't want them to have a heart attack.
If you've ever been a mascot then you can relate to the following. The bunny head was big and I couldn't see out of it. Knowing this well in advance - I enlisted a bunny-bodyguard. Her job was to keep the kids from stampeding me and keep me from killing myself as I "lead" the Hunt. The good thing about being a mascot is that you don't have to talk. Just wave in no particular direction, bob your head when told and try to look in the direction that your handler is telling you to. Some kids were freaked out by having a giant bunny staring down at them. Poor kids. I was having a really hard time with the head piece as it was too big and the apparatus underneath literally clamped my eyes shut. So I was bonking kids in the head as I have no spatial perception and tried my best not to molest them as I "felt around" for them. Half way through the gig I figured it's easier to just hold out my arms and hug whatever came between them. I think the worst part was that when I made my grand appearance - guess who happened to push their way to the front of the mob? The girls! And they were trying to pull on my costume to find out who was underneath. :-) I was unsuccessfully trying to kick them out of the way - hahhaha...what a bad auntie eh?
After 2 grueling (really hot) hours of picture taking, holding screaming kids, walking blindly around with baskets full of candy and trying not to knock over little kids or be beaten by the older ones (man...some big kids are just cruel to mascots!) - I was released from my bunny duties. It was a fun experience but I'm glad that I've put in my time and don't have to be the bunny next year! Hmmm...I might just pick up a larger bunny outfit for Chicky next year....
oh baby baby
I just wanted to extend my CONGRATULATIONS to:
Charlene and Scott who are expecting their first child this August. We wish them all the best and look forward to seeing the little one. Click here to read more about her pregnancy.
Charlene and Scott who are expecting their first child this August. We wish them all the best and look forward to seeing the little one. Click here to read more about her pregnancy.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Art of Facilitation
I've spent the the last two days in a facilitation course. Basically learning how to lead meetings. :-) It was held at UBC downtown campus with the Sauder school of business. I enjoy "executive education" because it's POSH. For the price of the course (mucho mula), we got breakfast before class, a lounge with food all day long, a mini fridge in the room for drinks, lunches at the law court and great gifts. As you can see I'm all about the give-aways then the content of the course. Actually it was interesting as there were about 30 participants. Majority of which were managers, CEOs, team leads or some do some other type of leadership role. This course is part of a "leadership" series.
Day 1 of the course was centered around the Insights profiles. I've done a fair share of personality inventories in the past and it's always amusing to try the "newest" trend. There was nothing "new" about my personality revealed in this test. The results are consistent with those in the past - to summarize: I'm an extrovert, assertive and energetic. :-) The type to go-go-go-crash and repeat. I'm happy to have been able to learn, apply and challenge myself in terms of leading teams. The course taught me to be more aware of my leadership and facilitation style. With the tips and tricks provided by the instructors (we had a tag team of instructors) - I feel more comfortable with self managing my "red" energy. :-) The hands on learning was "Apprentice" style. One facilitator trying to manage a team. I volunteered to facilitate in Day 1 as normally with these courses - Day 2 tasks are usually harder! I got a team of people with personality types that were exact opposite of mine (greens!!!). That was the most challenging part - not the task itself - but the people management. There were many moments where I had to literally step back, be quiet and flip styles. I naturally want to be directive and push people to make snappy decisions. For some types of tasks/goals - this type of approach is all wrong. :-) Oh well - too bad for them! On a side note - a couple of the team building games were very familiar as I've done them in other management classes or have deployed them to my own department. So I found myself not volunteering for them as I know what the result should be and what the "lessons learned" are. Boohoo...itchying to be involved but standing on the sidelines watching. :-)
I'm hoping to be able to do more management/leadership courses to improve myself. Some day in the distant future - I'd like to play the role of a team lead or some other type of "official" leadership role. If your companies pay for training - I highly recommend this series of seminars.
Day 1 of the course was centered around the Insights profiles. I've done a fair share of personality inventories in the past and it's always amusing to try the "newest" trend. There was nothing "new" about my personality revealed in this test. The results are consistent with those in the past - to summarize: I'm an extrovert, assertive and energetic. :-) The type to go-go-go-crash and repeat. I'm happy to have been able to learn, apply and challenge myself in terms of leading teams. The course taught me to be more aware of my leadership and facilitation style. With the tips and tricks provided by the instructors (we had a tag team of instructors) - I feel more comfortable with self managing my "red" energy. :-) The hands on learning was "Apprentice" style. One facilitator trying to manage a team. I volunteered to facilitate in Day 1 as normally with these courses - Day 2 tasks are usually harder! I got a team of people with personality types that were exact opposite of mine (greens!!!). That was the most challenging part - not the task itself - but the people management. There were many moments where I had to literally step back, be quiet and flip styles. I naturally want to be directive and push people to make snappy decisions. For some types of tasks/goals - this type of approach is all wrong. :-) Oh well - too bad for them! On a side note - a couple of the team building games were very familiar as I've done them in other management classes or have deployed them to my own department. So I found myself not volunteering for them as I know what the result should be and what the "lessons learned" are. Boohoo...itchying to be involved but standing on the sidelines watching. :-)
I'm hoping to be able to do more management/leadership courses to improve myself. Some day in the distant future - I'd like to play the role of a team lead or some other type of "official" leadership role. If your companies pay for training - I highly recommend this series of seminars.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
workflow processes
Work has been quite busy in the last couple of weeks with projects coming up. There are days when I feel like 12 hours in the office is not enough. This feeling probably stems from the fact that I waste too much time in meetings. Aside from "real" work I've been trying to keep up with the Social Club event planning. I'm looking forward to being the Easter Bunny and the Dodgeball tournament. Lots of planning involved but as always - once the event happens - it's all worth while seeing the smiles on everyones faces. :-)
On the wedding front. Chicky and I haven't talked much about the wedding since the engagement last month. In the last couple of weeks we've been busy with family parties, etc. On the Sunday we went into Richmond so that he could go to work. Unfortunately his new office building was locked and we couldn't break in. So we took the opportunity to drive around Richmond and contemplate restaurant locations. We're going to do a Chinese restaurant reception so locating a venue is the top of our list of "to do" list. One thing we did decide upon was having the wedding this year. We made that decision last week after much discussion between a 2008 or 2009 wedding. Financially they would be equivalent. Seasonally - it's a whole other story. So we're aiming at a September/October wedding. I was hesitant about having a fall/winter wedding as the weather is unpredictable and frankly I like taking pictures in the park. A summer wedding would totally be out of the question for 2008. Too little time to plan. :-) I prefer to reduce "known" stressors when possible.
The last 2 days I've been in a Workflow Process Modeling course for work - should have taken this course when I first started my job last month...would totally have helped then! The material is dry so to keep myself from falling asleep, I would sometimes mentally visualize mapping out my wedding on a Visio drawing (with all the decision diamonds, swimlanes, etc). :-) Yes - I know...geeky!! My instructor loves post-it notes...makes me want to go crazy with post-it notes too. So many colors and sizes! Kay - back to my first thought.
Being unsuccessful at thinking of a restaurant to "pop into" while in Richmond. I convince Chicky that we should do something more productive - so we head down to Chinatown to look at invitations. :-) I'm not making my own. The one thing I learned from past experience with event planning is the "keep it simple & buy when possible" moto. If I have a September wedding - that leaves me 6 months to get all activities aligned. This is possible if I don't introduce any manual processes into the plan. :-) Ah...still in workflow process modeling mode...where's the critical path?! Anyhow we look went to 2 stores. One was run by a super old chinese couple - we weren't too impressed with their stuff. The other store had more potential. After 1/2 hour of sitting there we put together a design, selected various paper, layout, caligraphy, artwork and color scheme of the invitation we wanted created. After that we got the quote for the order of invitations - a bit more then what I budgeted for but still within scope. Because Chicky and I have a tendency to be "spontaneous" purchasers and often suffer from "buyers remorse" - we left our information and the design specs with the company and told them that we will confirm the order later. They only need a month to produce the product so we still have plenty of time to change our minds if need be. Plus we need a venue and date first! I'd prefer not to change our minds about the invitations as it's such a good feeling thinking that one thing has been "completed" for the wedding. :-)
On the wedding front. Chicky and I haven't talked much about the wedding since the engagement last month. In the last couple of weeks we've been busy with family parties, etc. On the Sunday we went into Richmond so that he could go to work. Unfortunately his new office building was locked and we couldn't break in. So we took the opportunity to drive around Richmond and contemplate restaurant locations. We're going to do a Chinese restaurant reception so locating a venue is the top of our list of "to do" list. One thing we did decide upon was having the wedding this year. We made that decision last week after much discussion between a 2008 or 2009 wedding. Financially they would be equivalent. Seasonally - it's a whole other story. So we're aiming at a September/October wedding. I was hesitant about having a fall/winter wedding as the weather is unpredictable and frankly I like taking pictures in the park. A summer wedding would totally be out of the question for 2008. Too little time to plan. :-) I prefer to reduce "known" stressors when possible.
The last 2 days I've been in a Workflow Process Modeling course for work - should have taken this course when I first started my job last month...would totally have helped then! The material is dry so to keep myself from falling asleep, I would sometimes mentally visualize mapping out my wedding on a Visio drawing (with all the decision diamonds, swimlanes, etc). :-) Yes - I know...geeky!! My instructor loves post-it notes...makes me want to go crazy with post-it notes too. So many colors and sizes! Kay - back to my first thought.
Being unsuccessful at thinking of a restaurant to "pop into" while in Richmond. I convince Chicky that we should do something more productive - so we head down to Chinatown to look at invitations. :-) I'm not making my own. The one thing I learned from past experience with event planning is the "keep it simple & buy when possible" moto. If I have a September wedding - that leaves me 6 months to get all activities aligned. This is possible if I don't introduce any manual processes into the plan. :-) Ah...still in workflow process modeling mode...where's the critical path?! Anyhow we look went to 2 stores. One was run by a super old chinese couple - we weren't too impressed with their stuff. The other store had more potential. After 1/2 hour of sitting there we put together a design, selected various paper, layout, caligraphy, artwork and color scheme of the invitation we wanted created. After that we got the quote for the order of invitations - a bit more then what I budgeted for but still within scope. Because Chicky and I have a tendency to be "spontaneous" purchasers and often suffer from "buyers remorse" - we left our information and the design specs with the company and told them that we will confirm the order later. They only need a month to produce the product so we still have plenty of time to change our minds if need be. Plus we need a venue and date first! I'd prefer not to change our minds about the invitations as it's such a good feeling thinking that one thing has been "completed" for the wedding. :-)
Lily's shower
On Saturday we had Lily's baby shower at my house. Kim Anh did the majority of the planning - thank you!! I got the easy job of decorating, goodie bags, etc. My mom was in charge of coordinating the food. KA is pretty creative with her games. She even made Carol a cake of DIAPERS! :-) Here's a picture of it. I liked it - very creative. It was fun having the kids and family over. The party started at noon but didn't end till 10:30pm. Wow - we weren't quite prepared (food wise) for guests to stay that long! It was mostly family left by that time at night so we played some RockBand and poker. What's a weekend without the family game of poker eh?
Next weekend is another opportunity to show everyone my kareoke skills! Lol...should be interesting. Here are the pics from the shower.
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