Hi Folks,
It's been 6 months since I have last posted here, which goes to show just how well I have been managing my work/life balance, a la post #3. Or maybe just that priorities shifted.
So much has happened since September 29th...Too much to really cover right now, but overall I feel pretty different. I think I have increased my self-awareness, and still continue to do so every day. I think I have increased my confidence. But maybe not, since I keep saying "I think" I have things. I almost deleted the "I thinks" but decided to leave them for kicks and just run with it. Actually, that's another area that I think I have developed: going with the flow.
I also hope to develop this skill more by taking improv classes. Turns out they're pretty expensive though, so hopefully I can set aside a good chunk of money. Regardless, I feel that improv will help take me out of my rigid structure and plan/organize/schedule mode. Perhaps it will enhance my creative prowess and encourage more free-form thinking.
On that note, Draw Something is currently filling that role. It's really working out my right brain...I'd say approximately 30 reps per day! I am enjoying it way more than I thought I would, which is cool. It also shows how maybe I needed some right brain activity for balance, since I'm usually so analytical and wordy. I never thought myself to be good at art or drawing (unless it was word-based art, like designing around a name or a word) but I'm at least good enough to get people to guess right most of the time!
I'm also considering taking up some light photography as another artistic, creative outlet. I've never been one to be good at creating from scratch, but I can definitely work with what I am given. Hence photography. There have to be at least one million great shots in this crazy city.
Anyway, until I find the money for classes or a new camera, Draw Something will have to suffice. And blogging.
About Me
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Work-Life Balance?
Work-life balance is something I fully believe in.
This last week I have felt incredibly busy and overwhelmed so I got a manicure on Thursday and went out for drinks at a lounge on Saturday with TimLoc and cousins. This was fun, but two drinks proved to be pretty powerful. I was dizzy for quite a while and very chatty. Anyway, after a partying night, I had to wake up at 9am for a 10am brunch...crazy. I don't know who's capable of these things......
Anyway, after brunch and a little more hanging out, I had to go back to the work side of life and do some reading. It was very difficult. I went to Starbucks and attempted to read an article. I think I read every sentence at least 3 times and still couldn't understand much of anything.
So, back to the life side of things and I'm home blogging (I apologize for the lack of structure and flow in this post - my brain is still sort of off) and watching Arrested Development (one of the best television shows to grace the airwaves). Teehee!
Thanks for reading,
- SA
This last week I have felt incredibly busy and overwhelmed so I got a manicure on Thursday and went out for drinks at a lounge on Saturday with TimLoc and cousins. This was fun, but two drinks proved to be pretty powerful. I was dizzy for quite a while and very chatty. Anyway, after a partying night, I had to wake up at 9am for a 10am brunch...crazy. I don't know who's capable of these things......
Anyway, after brunch and a little more hanging out, I had to go back to the work side of life and do some reading. It was very difficult. I went to Starbucks and attempted to read an article. I think I read every sentence at least 3 times and still couldn't understand much of anything.
So, back to the life side of things and I'm home blogging (I apologize for the lack of structure and flow in this post - my brain is still sort of off) and watching Arrested Development (one of the best television shows to grace the airwaves). Teehee!
Thanks for reading,
- SA
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
I Need Caffeine!
Holy Coffee Grounds, Batman I can't stay awake!
No, I have not started drinking coffee. Yes, I have been reconsidering my avid disgust with the drink. I am just so tired all the time. I mean, I don't think I have any kind of actual sickness. I know I spend my time on (the) facebook, checking my various email accounts, checking Blackboard to see if class has been cancelled, and most recently, on this blog.....all instead of doing work actually tied to the success of my career.
Two nights ago, I got about 7-ish hours of sleep which is normal compared to the amounts of sleep I got in undergrad and while working. To be honest, I know that 7 hours isn't actually a good number for me, given my sleep cycle of about 3 hours. However, with an adequate amount of sleep, along with TWO cups of black tea in the morning, I did not expect to yawn all day and be almost passed out by the time my 5:30pm class rolled around.
Last night, I also hit about 7 hours of sleep, and the same thing happened!
Now, prior to Sunday night, I had been sleeping late and waking up really late......This started about a year ago after I finished my GRE's. (Sidenote: Can't believe it's been that long.) This habit got progressively worse as I had nothing "real" to do pretty much every day. Therefore, I suppose I should cut myself some slack as this has become a 9-month long habit, right? I tried to kickstart a more normal/productivity-conducive sleeping schedule this Monday, so maybe I need to be more patient to let it take effect.
Right now, I had one cup of tea at about 10:30am as I did the aforementioned procrastinating tasks and also while I tried to read my I/O book. I was so sleepy nonetheless that I was re-reading sentences to no avail, so I decided to lay down and see what happened. I fell asleep and stayed asleep for about an hour and twenty minutes. I just drank one cup of Coca-Cola to try to wake myself up, and am contemplating another one - if not right now, perhaps as I head out the door later this afternoon.
Perhaps I should give in, but my distaste for coffee is one of the things that makes me who I am. Should this be part of my "reinvention?"
Arguments for and against coffee:
For:
- Will (theoretically) keep me awake
- Studies show drinking coffee has certain health benefits
Against:
- Gross! =)
- Will eventually lose its effect if I grow dependent
- Could make me jittery, at least at the beginning
- Studies show drinking coffee has certain negative effects on health
- There are other means of getting energy I have not yet tried
Obviously, I am biased.
Anyway, as I mentioned, I haven't tried other ways of staying energized, the main one being going to the gym. Also, the gym is about halfway between school and home. So should I go to the gym in the morning, go back home, shower, etc, and then go back out later? Or just go straight through and maybe shower at the gym? I haven't found a working schedule yet, which may also be a reason that I'm having trouble with sleep/being awake. It's just difficult for me to have class at the time when I should be winding down from class and the rest of my day. If I get home at about 8:45-9pm (assuming I leave class right away), then I only have a couple hours to do anything before it's really time to head to bed. I've already missed the 8/8:30 TV shows, still have to/would like to watch TV till about 10, then need to shower, do any catch up work, then talk to Courtney...All this with the goal time of sleeping at 12 midnight...to leave me from 7-9 hours of sleep.........
One of these I'll get it all done, most likely without coffee. Seeing as how last night at an introductory meeting I decided that one very interesting fact about me is that I've never had a cup of coffee, I think I should maintain that fact. But first, maybe another nap.
Thanks for reading,
- SA
No, I have not started drinking coffee. Yes, I have been reconsidering my avid disgust with the drink. I am just so tired all the time. I mean, I don't think I have any kind of actual sickness. I know I spend my time on (the) facebook, checking my various email accounts, checking Blackboard to see if class has been cancelled, and most recently, on this blog.....all instead of doing work actually tied to the success of my career.
Two nights ago, I got about 7-ish hours of sleep which is normal compared to the amounts of sleep I got in undergrad and while working. To be honest, I know that 7 hours isn't actually a good number for me, given my sleep cycle of about 3 hours. However, with an adequate amount of sleep, along with TWO cups of black tea in the morning, I did not expect to yawn all day and be almost passed out by the time my 5:30pm class rolled around.
Last night, I also hit about 7 hours of sleep, and the same thing happened!
Now, prior to Sunday night, I had been sleeping late and waking up really late......This started about a year ago after I finished my GRE's. (Sidenote: Can't believe it's been that long.) This habit got progressively worse as I had nothing "real" to do pretty much every day. Therefore, I suppose I should cut myself some slack as this has become a 9-month long habit, right? I tried to kickstart a more normal/productivity-conducive sleeping schedule this Monday, so maybe I need to be more patient to let it take effect.
Right now, I had one cup of tea at about 10:30am as I did the aforementioned procrastinating tasks and also while I tried to read my I/O book. I was so sleepy nonetheless that I was re-reading sentences to no avail, so I decided to lay down and see what happened. I fell asleep and stayed asleep for about an hour and twenty minutes. I just drank one cup of Coca-Cola to try to wake myself up, and am contemplating another one - if not right now, perhaps as I head out the door later this afternoon.
Perhaps I should give in, but my distaste for coffee is one of the things that makes me who I am. Should this be part of my "reinvention?"
Arguments for and against coffee:
For:
- Will (theoretically) keep me awake
- Studies show drinking coffee has certain health benefits
Against:
- Gross! =)
- Will eventually lose its effect if I grow dependent
- Could make me jittery, at least at the beginning
- Studies show drinking coffee has certain negative effects on health
- There are other means of getting energy I have not yet tried
Obviously, I am biased.
Anyway, as I mentioned, I haven't tried other ways of staying energized, the main one being going to the gym. Also, the gym is about halfway between school and home. So should I go to the gym in the morning, go back home, shower, etc, and then go back out later? Or just go straight through and maybe shower at the gym? I haven't found a working schedule yet, which may also be a reason that I'm having trouble with sleep/being awake. It's just difficult for me to have class at the time when I should be winding down from class and the rest of my day. If I get home at about 8:45-9pm (assuming I leave class right away), then I only have a couple hours to do anything before it's really time to head to bed. I've already missed the 8/8:30 TV shows, still have to/would like to watch TV till about 10, then need to shower, do any catch up work, then talk to Courtney...All this with the goal time of sleeping at 12 midnight...to leave me from 7-9 hours of sleep.........
One of these I'll get it all done, most likely without coffee. Seeing as how last night at an introductory meeting I decided that one very interesting fact about me is that I've never had a cup of coffee, I think I should maintain that fact. But first, maybe another nap.
Thanks for reading,
- SA
Monday, September 12, 2011
The Reinvention of Stephanie Ang
Hello, World!
I have finally created my blog. In doing so there were many aspects to consider, i.e. the Title, the Layout, the Fonts...all of which were supposed to somehow represent me. Would that really be possible? I mean is it really, truly possible to say that "The Reinvention of Stephanie Ang" is an accurate description of what this blog will cover? Am I really being reinvented as we speak? In a way, yes.
In the short time since moving to Manhattan this past August of 2011, many things have already changed. First and most obvious, I have moved "home base" from LA to NYC. In doing so, I have also entered the dreaded Long Distance Relationship (or LDR, which I recently discovered was the new acronym) and committed to it for at least two years.
However, my wonderful LDR is not my only two year commitment, and that brings me to the second aspect of my reinvention. I have entered New York University's Master of Arts Program in Industrial & Organizational Psychology. Yes, it's a mouthful.
Yes, TWSS.
Anyway, this program is likely to reshape me in ways yet unknown. What I can say as of now is that I will be rapidly and harshly thrown into a world I barely know - the business world. Thanks to years of learned distaste, I know next to nothing about the industry, and will thus have to make up those years of avoidance in a just few short weeks (if that) in order to keep myself relevant and competitive in my new chosen field. I'm going to start reading the Wall Street Journal, people. This is big.
Furthermore, this program will challenge me to improve not only my business acumen but myself as a whole. I will be stretched to my limits, and once they are redrawn, stretched again. I will have to overcome my fear of seeming stupid in order to network. I will have to read more in a shorter amount of time than ever. I will have to develop even better interpersonal and leadership skills in a professional setting. Mainly, there's a lot I have to do, and I can't make excuses anymore. This is it, people. This is it.
Another change I've noticed, while of less import, is still noteworthy. My chosen wardrobe is different. For some reason, I'm wearing colors I wouldn't have chosen just two months ago. Around last spring, I somehow got into prints, and that has taken off for some reason. And now, I'm wearing green...and red. It's so strange. Also, I guess it's due to the crazy humidity, but I'm wearing shorts, skirts, and dresses despite my insecurities about my legs. If you want to extend the fashion change even more, I'm using cross-shoulder and messenger bags more, and I chose pink for my blog background color (I did like pink a LOT in college - I think almost every day I wore at least one pink thing - but that color preference has shifted to purple in the last year or so, and therefore would have been the predicted choice).
At my core, I'm sure I'll remain the Stephanie you've known. Silly, caring, nurturing, sympathetic, laughs at her own jokes, Stephanie. But in a couple years, or maybe a few months, I'll be Stephanie+. Like Google.
There's much more I could say, but I have to keep you coming back, right? So for now, that's all folks!
Will Stephanie really change? Will she succeed in NYC? At NYU? Tune in next week, same time, same blog to find out! Da na na na na na na na (Batman)!
Thanks for reading,
- SA
I have finally created my blog. In doing so there were many aspects to consider, i.e. the Title, the Layout, the Fonts...all of which were supposed to somehow represent me. Would that really be possible? I mean is it really, truly possible to say that "The Reinvention of Stephanie Ang" is an accurate description of what this blog will cover? Am I really being reinvented as we speak? In a way, yes.
In the short time since moving to Manhattan this past August of 2011, many things have already changed. First and most obvious, I have moved "home base" from LA to NYC. In doing so, I have also entered the dreaded Long Distance Relationship (or LDR, which I recently discovered was the new acronym) and committed to it for at least two years.
However, my wonderful LDR is not my only two year commitment, and that brings me to the second aspect of my reinvention. I have entered New York University's Master of Arts Program in Industrial & Organizational Psychology. Yes, it's a mouthful.
Yes, TWSS.
Anyway, this program is likely to reshape me in ways yet unknown. What I can say as of now is that I will be rapidly and harshly thrown into a world I barely know - the business world. Thanks to years of learned distaste, I know next to nothing about the industry, and will thus have to make up those years of avoidance in a just few short weeks (if that) in order to keep myself relevant and competitive in my new chosen field. I'm going to start reading the Wall Street Journal, people. This is big.
Furthermore, this program will challenge me to improve not only my business acumen but myself as a whole. I will be stretched to my limits, and once they are redrawn, stretched again. I will have to overcome my fear of seeming stupid in order to network. I will have to read more in a shorter amount of time than ever. I will have to develop even better interpersonal and leadership skills in a professional setting. Mainly, there's a lot I have to do, and I can't make excuses anymore. This is it, people. This is it.
Another change I've noticed, while of less import, is still noteworthy. My chosen wardrobe is different. For some reason, I'm wearing colors I wouldn't have chosen just two months ago. Around last spring, I somehow got into prints, and that has taken off for some reason. And now, I'm wearing green...and red. It's so strange. Also, I guess it's due to the crazy humidity, but I'm wearing shorts, skirts, and dresses despite my insecurities about my legs. If you want to extend the fashion change even more, I'm using cross-shoulder and messenger bags more, and I chose pink for my blog background color (I did like pink a LOT in college - I think almost every day I wore at least one pink thing - but that color preference has shifted to purple in the last year or so, and therefore would have been the predicted choice).
At my core, I'm sure I'll remain the Stephanie you've known. Silly, caring, nurturing, sympathetic, laughs at her own jokes, Stephanie. But in a couple years, or maybe a few months, I'll be Stephanie+. Like Google.
There's much more I could say, but I have to keep you coming back, right? So for now, that's all folks!
Will Stephanie really change? Will she succeed in NYC? At NYU? Tune in next week, same time, same blog to find out! Da na na na na na na na (Batman)!
Thanks for reading,
- SA
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