July Tue 06 2010
Something has been really irritating me for the last few days at work. One of my colleagues (who works in a different country to me) is continuously spelling my name “Skpe” in emails. And to top it off, today he called me “Skype” on the phone.
So the reason why this irritates me is two-fold. First of all, my name is clearly “Skye”. I don’t see or hear a “P” anywhere!
Secondly (and this is why this is one of my biggest office pet peeves), I think it’s the absolute height of unprofessionalism and disrespect to spell someones name incorrectly in correspondence. Particularly when their email (which you have) and email signature (which you also have) and business card (which again, you also have) and all other instances of their name (available to you) are clearly spelled in a different way. To me, a mistake such as spelling someone’s name incorrectly shows that you don’t care about the impression you make and leave on other people – and the service driven world that I work in, this is an absolute no.
Now I concede that occasionally there are genuine mistakes. I’ve seen a colleague email another colleague using a completely different name, and I’ve had the odd email where people have genuinely made a typo because they have been in a rush (or emailing from their Blackberry). But when you have the extra 5 seconds that it takes to check your email for spelling errors, and you have a nice, clear monitor in front of you… And again I return to how unprofessional I think it is.
I will call out my team members if I see them doing this to other people, and if need be, I will lecture them because I want my team to be seen as a highly professional, service driven team.
Am I being too harsh?
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June Fri 25 2010
When I’m sick, I always catch myself thinking that the severity of my “symptom” is not as bad now that I’m older, but lately I’ve decided that my symptoms might be just as bad – I’ve just had plenty of years to get used to them when they pop up. Why do I mention this today? Because I’ve been sick!
And in the process of being sick and reflecting on my experiences as a child, I’ve been thinking about those cool things I used to do in infant (grades k-2) and primary (grades 3-6) school around arts and crafts. Things such a lino printing, screen printing, potato stamps… finger painting…
And then of course, the activity that inspired the 60 minute sketch… coloured paper, black oil pastels and a stick!
I decided venture down the path to find the colours in my life by reflecting on the things I used to find really enjoyable when I was younger and applying them in the digital space. So for the above image was created in Photoshop (and using my trusty webcam), with a mix of brushes, filters, and colour filters.
I feel like I’m a teenager just discovering Photoshop for the first time, but how excellent is that feeling?
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June Tue 15 2010
Where should I go to find inspiration when my brain is too tired to be inspired?
Ugh. I feel so tired right now, and I have a proposal to write for tomorrow to sell something I do not understand, with a scope that I’m struggling to define. Where did the colours go in my life?
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June Mon 07 2010
I’ve been wondering what to blog about… Life has been so hectic lately, that there is almost too much to say! Instead let me summarise in a few (?) bullet points.
- Penang laksa = awesome
- Penang loh mee = double awesome
- Last minute business trip = tiring
- Last minute business trip combined with assignment due dates = no sleep
- Shanghai subway @ peak hour = not as bad as KL monorail @ peak hour
- Travel delays = inevitable, frustrating, and please can I shove the woman who just pushed in front of the queue out of the way?
- More travel delays = tears
- Langkawi = relief to get off the freaking plane. Now if only I had had time to go home and pack clothes for a holiday.
- Langkawi seafood = I don’t eat it, but ohmigod, is that really a prawn? How huge is that??
- Flight home = more delays? Thank God this time I’m with family
- Home = hot shower. Clean clothes. Heaven.
Read the rest of this entry »
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May Thu 20 2010
It is coming up to the end of my first week back at work. I’m having a good time. It has been great to meet new people, and I think my team is really lovely. They have been incredibly welcoming and extremely helpful. I’m also enjoying having new challenges in my day. I don’t like it when I don’t know something, but the journey and that feeling when you finally work something out/learn something new is awesome.
Anyway, next week I’m hosting a “team meeting” using Adobe Connect and apparently I need to prepare a 5 minute piece to introduce myself. First things first, I love Connect. I really wanted my team in my previous company to start using it, but for some reason they weren’t so keen. But on the other hand… this task feels like homework! Lol. My manager said “do something quirky”. What on earth is quirky?
I think the problem is that because of my background (in creating interactive learning presentations) I may be overreaching. A 5 minute quirky, online presentation, all about me? Theoretically speaking, there is scope to do SOOO much. I can imagine it now – a bouncy, quirky, not-powerpoint-driven presentation. Practically speaking… unless I do it after hours, it’s going to be a little more bland 
I realise I need to find a compromise. Any ideas?
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