October 20, 2014
I have a thing for them. They’re just pretty.
On this gloomy Monday, I’ll leave you with Sarah Lewis’ Embrace the Near Win TED Talk to lift your spirits. It’s just fabulous.
Author Archives: Charlene Precious
October 19, 2014
I love that my “eyes” will change perpetually and will never be the same as yesterday. I love having new eyes today, tomorrow, and the day after. And not just in the context of travel but in the context of life and everything in it. Every new experience, no matter what it is, brings you a slightly altered perspective and makes you see things just a little differently. It’s actually a beautiful process.
Random note: I want to think much faster on my feet! There’s a workshop that’s held in Toronto except it’s $1,500. Why so much?
October 16, 2014
And already missing the summer we didn’t have.
October 15, 2014
Today, the dream team and I are delivering a presentation on the House of Marley in our Customer Experience Design class, which is quite a phenomenal class. In a nutshell, take everything you know about marketing and turn it on its head because they’re no longer the most effective ways of reaching your consumers. It’s hard to say whether the concepts and frameworks being taught work flawlessly in practice but the value is in challenging/stretching your thinking rather than giving you a set linear formula to follow. And of course, convincing others of this new way of thinking is a challenge in itself – you’d have to a) know it really well so that b) you can articulate it really well so that c) you can sell it really well. I wish I could share all the lectures. Professor Markus Giesler teaches this course and boy does it help to have someone as passionate and energetic as him to deliver such spectacular content. The combined power of stellar delivery and engaging content is unbeatable.
I’m also really looking forward to our kick-off meeting with our site on Friday for our capstone course project, the 7-month Strategic Field Study (“601”). Our team is made of rockstars and that’s always half the battle. Funny enough, all my MBA teams thus far (no matter self selected or randomly selected) have been made of rockstars and have brought very pleasant and successful experiences. So great an experience that there is always bittersweet sadness when it’s time to adjourn. This is quite contrary to the undergraduate days where you almost always had at least one free rider in every team project who made you want to rip your hair out. Reading week officially starts next week as well. Can’t wait.
Some days I’m completely good and other days, I want to book another small trip before the year ends to hold me over. I’m flip flopping all the time. Below is Pier 39 in Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco.
October 13, 2014
I haven’t thrown a promotion in a while and felt an urge to, so I’ve launched a FREE SHIPPING sale at my Etsy shop for all orders up to an 8×12! Offer is valid until Monday, October 20th. Use promo code: HAPPYSHIPPING. Enjoy! The print below is newly listed.
I wish you a happy thanksgiving (although every day is a GREAT day to reflect and be thankful for everything you have rather than sulk about what you don’t have :)).
October 11, 2014
It takes me hours to get out of bed because I keep watching “just one more” TED Talk and quickly reach 8-10 TED Talks in one sitting. I’ve come across some pretty compelling ones the last couple of days but I’ll leave you with Simon Sinek’s How Great Leaders Inspire Action. That was probably the most relevant one for me. Every business has to have a purpose. Seriously, shut up with the features and benefits. That’s all secondary. :)
Chris and I have decided not to take another trip this year. It’s smarter to save the money and splurge on a bigger trip next year for the combined MBA graduation/honeymoon trip. So, in the mean time, I’ll just have to keep the nostalgia coming by visiting old travel photos. I couldn’t decide which version of these photos I liked better, so both will get some love.
October 6, 2014
Quick documentation of the Pancakes & Booze Art Show! I didn’t really know what to expect at this show from a format standpoint and was a bit underprepared as a result of not asking enough questions and being completely distracted by other things in my life. Luckily, it was more of an art showroom exhibit and therefore, wasn’t a marketplace for selling, which minimized the effects of my underprepared-ness in a big way. I was also fortunate to have caught a gentleman come back to my wall four times, which lead me to eventually introduce myself without feeling intrusive. He ended up buying the oceanside piece for his girlfriend. :) Feels so good every time. You know what else is extremely satisfying? Just watching people peruse through your work and take pictures of it. I can’t even explain. Anyway, thank you to my amazing husband for ALWAYS supporting me through my little side projects that can be a huge pain in the butt.
I’m in the middle of my application to the One of a Kind Show for March 2015. Wish me luck!!! This one’s a big one and I really want to do it. Did I mention that the application process is arguably more intense than a job application? I like it.
I’ve been procrastinating today. I have to get started on a case study analysis that’s due tomorrow. It’s on Louis Vuitton, so it’s at least interesting.
Photo below was taken with my iPhone 4S, so the quality sucks but it’s always better than nothing! I picked up my iPhone 6 yesterday though and I JUST LOVE IT.
September 30, 2014
Guys & gals, these favourite pieces of mine will be available to buy at a Show Special price at the Pancakes & Booze Art Show this Friday, October 3rd! Tickets are only $5! If nothing else, then just come hang out and celebrate art! The show starts at 8pm.
Side note: I’ve added a section in the Abouts to start covering off shows I’ve participated in. I’d like to do more and more and more. :)
September 25, 2014
I’m not caught up on the rumours at all but love this performance by Jay Z and Beyonce for what it is. I love, love, love video reels of sweet nostalgic footage stitched together like that and man, what a beautiful touch on their part. “This is REAL LIFE”, it says! Way to turn on the water works.
I’ve always hoped to have enough footage of my life with people I love captured so that I can make my own reel one day. And I’m beating myself up for still not making this a priority. Videos play such a critical role in memory keeping. And let’s just make sure we understand that I’m not talking about skillfully edited, stylish, funky videos by any stretch. I’m just talking about plain, simple raw footage of LIFE. It sounds like I’m stating the obvious but judging by the time it took me to realize what I’ve been missing out on, it may not be as obvious as we think! It takes more effort to capture on video but it’s completely worth it. The last time I had this exact same realization and then went on to harp all about it was in this post from November 2013!! I swear, this blog keeps me accountable. We’ve actually just ordered our iPhone 6’s yesterday (YAY!) and our new video camera with purpose will either be that device or a real video camera but a super compact one like the Canon VIXIA mini X. We’re still deciding but this needs to get done.
Speaking of iPhone 6’s, why am I only hearing about #BendGate today? After I ordered the phone? (Haha.) Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We love Apple too much.
Photo below was shot in Santa Cruz, California. “Forever Young” caption is inspired by Jay Z and Beyonce’s performance of course.
September 24, 2014
I did not cut my hair for at least 6 months because I was growing it out for the wedding. So as one can reasonably expect, there was a split-ends epidemic going on. It felt amazing to finally get a hair cut!!! And most importantly, I got bored, so I got bangs. I generally love it except for the fact that it takes a long time to blow dry them to the right shape. It’s shocking how incredibly easy it is look stupid with bangs if not styled properly! I don’t have too much patience for the blow drying, so I hope it gets easier. :)
