I don’t think many people have even seen a campfire before, yet I was fortunate enough to participate in numerous campfires. There were several occasions when I could even participate in helping to build the structure!
It’s amazing. It has been so many years yet I still feel the passion to go help out. It’s really a part of my life.
Will my life be different without it? Definitely!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Self-belief
It’s not what we say out loud that determines our lives. It’s what we whisper to ourselves that has the most power.
Can I do it?
(Yes I can!)
Can I do it?
(Yes I can!)
Saturday, October 18, 2008
ES2007S 6th Blog: Biodata
Name: Jimmy
Height: Rather tall, according to his own standards
Weight: Very light
Hair: Almost dropping
Hobbies: Basketball
Personality: Likes to think of himself as someone who is caring and fun-loving
Figure: Someday, I will be like him.
Height: Rather tall, according to his own standards
Weight: Very light
Hair: Almost dropping
Hobbies: Basketball
Personality: Likes to think of himself as someone who is caring and fun-loving
My lively character and witty quips are a big part of a small me. Besides being known as an animated and jovial kid, I get along well with others and enjoy leading teams. That is why I like basketball- it is a team-oriented sport that tests my physical endurance and mental toughness and pushes me to my limits.
Jack Welch said: “Control your destiny or someone else will”. This makes me realize the importance of grasping every opportunity in my life so that I know I am on the path to greater knowledge and success. I know I can succeed!
Jack Welch said: “Control your destiny or someone else will”. This makes me realize the importance of grasping every opportunity in my life so that I know I am on the path to greater knowledge and success. I know I can succeed!
Figure: Someday, I will be like him. Sunday, October 12, 2008
ES2007S 5th Blog: Reflections on the Research Project Experience
Figure: Spiral of Experience- http://www2.fhs.usyd.edu.au/arow/arer/004.htmLeadership development is enhanced when experience involving the 3 different processes of Action- Reflection- Observation. We can also relate this message to our everyday life. It means that if a person acts, observes the consequences of his actions and reflects on their significance and meaning, he has truly learnt from an experience.
I could feel a sense of satisfaction when I saw my group’s completed survey report. There was all our blood and sweat in those twenty plus pages of diagrams and words. While it has been tedious, I realized I discovered more about myself while working in this group.
One of my tasks was conducting the interview with the manager from Campus Security. This was my first time doing it, and frankly, it was rather nerve-wrecking! I have seen people conducting interviews on television and I had this initial assumption that it would be simple- I would ask questions and just note down the responses. I was wrong. Audio recording was prohibited, and as I was the only one from my group at the interview, I knew I could only count on myself. The fact that I write awfully slow did not help much. Though I had rehearsed the questions beforehand, there were times when I needed to make changes like rearranging the sequence of the questions. Interviews, as I found out, are dynamic conversations and not what I perceived as a simple question and answer sessions. The worse thing was trying to decipher the scribed notes that I had hastily taken down during the interview. It took me 3 hours to read my horrible handwriting.
Working in a group has the advantage of being able to create many ideas during brainstorming sessions. As they say, ‘the way to create good ideas is to have many ideas.’ On the other hand, too many ideas sometimes hinder a group’s progress, especially when people tend to be overly protective of their ideas. Nonetheless, I believed that I have done a fairly decent job of balancing the need to let my group mates speak their mind and to share my own opinions. I would listen to them express their ideas first before I explained to them why some things can/ cannot be done. To avoid any miscommunications, I would normally paraphrase and ask the speaker whether I understood his/ her point. Having created numerous unnecessary misunderstandings that almost resulted in wrecked friendships, I firmly believe in seeking first to understand, then to be understood. And understanding others means to listen actively and to clarify my doubts before I speak my views.
It was interesting to note that our group was a small intercultural group on its own. LN was from China, ML was from Malaysia and I was a local. Through close interaction with them, I realized that there were indeed differences in the way we behaved. No textbook could have given me the real world experiences of intercultural communication. Through this research project, I appreciate the importance of intercultural communication and the need to be empathetic, assertive and patient in order to manage intercultural interaction effectively.
My professor used to tell me that what we have gained cannot be taken away from us. It is the experiences from doing this research project that mark this passage of time that I will treasure, and the experience gained would definitely serve me well when I step into the corporate world.
One of my tasks was conducting the interview with the manager from Campus Security. This was my first time doing it, and frankly, it was rather nerve-wrecking! I have seen people conducting interviews on television and I had this initial assumption that it would be simple- I would ask questions and just note down the responses. I was wrong. Audio recording was prohibited, and as I was the only one from my group at the interview, I knew I could only count on myself. The fact that I write awfully slow did not help much. Though I had rehearsed the questions beforehand, there were times when I needed to make changes like rearranging the sequence of the questions. Interviews, as I found out, are dynamic conversations and not what I perceived as a simple question and answer sessions. The worse thing was trying to decipher the scribed notes that I had hastily taken down during the interview. It took me 3 hours to read my horrible handwriting.
Working in a group has the advantage of being able to create many ideas during brainstorming sessions. As they say, ‘the way to create good ideas is to have many ideas.’ On the other hand, too many ideas sometimes hinder a group’s progress, especially when people tend to be overly protective of their ideas. Nonetheless, I believed that I have done a fairly decent job of balancing the need to let my group mates speak their mind and to share my own opinions. I would listen to them express their ideas first before I explained to them why some things can/ cannot be done. To avoid any miscommunications, I would normally paraphrase and ask the speaker whether I understood his/ her point. Having created numerous unnecessary misunderstandings that almost resulted in wrecked friendships, I firmly believe in seeking first to understand, then to be understood. And understanding others means to listen actively and to clarify my doubts before I speak my views.
It was interesting to note that our group was a small intercultural group on its own. LN was from China, ML was from Malaysia and I was a local. Through close interaction with them, I realized that there were indeed differences in the way we behaved. No textbook could have given me the real world experiences of intercultural communication. Through this research project, I appreciate the importance of intercultural communication and the need to be empathetic, assertive and patient in order to manage intercultural interaction effectively.
My professor used to tell me that what we have gained cannot be taken away from us. It is the experiences from doing this research project that mark this passage of time that I will treasure, and the experience gained would definitely serve me well when I step into the corporate world.
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