The fact that I’ve found a 20-minute window to blog is a miracle. I took the week off to get ready for my Finance exam in about a week and a half and to work on my Skills for Leadership monster of a final project due in a week. I was up by 9am every day of the week and grinded until 11pm. It has been 6 days straight of that grind and I’m still not done. Next week is the home stretch and then this semester is officially over. I’m actually in a working daze and feel a bit disjointed. The dishes in the sink are getting old and gross, my dog is feeling abandoned, Chris is feeling abandoned…

On a brighter note, I do understand Finance better and better every day, thanks to two amazing souls. It is not every day that you find people who are willing to take chunks of time out of their day to help you understand Finance. I’ve been extremely resourceful this semester, more so than before because the course has definitely taken me for a ride and without seeking out the extra support that I needed to learn the material more deeply, I’d have a much weaker shot at doing well.

The notion that “Finance is boring” is absolutely not true and you are totally hearing this from a marketer and photographer. I find Finance extremely stimulating and I think that it is an incredibly interesting and useful field of study. It is also hard as hell, much harder than Accounting, so I have a new found respect for CFA designations. I appreciate the material from the bottom of my heart; my brain is just not wired quite perfectly for it to be exceptional at the subject, although it does try and try.

I’m doing everything that I can to learn the material and all I can say for the exam is, come what may. :)

Oh! I’m also trying energy drinks… I like them. A lot.

The other night in my Skills for Leadership class we were discussing the power of being able to see differently. For instance, the way you see someone (in your realm of influence) has the power to actually impact the way they seem themselves. This may seem common sense but we don’t often consciously think about these things. For instance, if I made you feel smart and capable, you are more likely to feel and believe that you are indeed smart and capable, and because that belief would build your confidence, you are more likely to do more and do well. If I made you feel stupid and incapable, you are more likely to feel or believe that you are stupid and incapable, and because that belief would adversely impact your confidence, you are less likely to apply yourself and do well. Numerous studies have been conducted to show that if you treated criminals (certain types) like university students rather than social delinquents, they will never commit another crime. The way you see, treat, communicate with, or project your thoughts about a person to that person, has an impact on how they see themselves. I think it’s an incredibly powerful tool and is one of many golden nuggets for leaders to hone in on. It’s easier said than done but just the simple awareness of it is sure to make a difference. (Self)-awareness is the first step to any behavioural changes!

On another note, this has been my crazy day: had a meeting bright and early this morning with our wedding decor team, studied, had lunch, studied some more, napped because I could no longer focus, studied some more, blogged, then off to a tutoring session for Finance in about 5 minutes, and then catching a movie. Happy Saturday!

If you haven’t already noticed, I’ve re-named my blog. It is with bittersweet emotions that I retire A Photo A Day. Life has gotten so busy that taking a photo a day is virtually impossible. In fact, it has been impossible for a while but in failing to let go and trying to hold on to the roots of the blog for as long as possible, I procrastinated the re-naming. I was also too busy to think about it, to be honest. But after some brainstorming, I got it done and the new blog name is Picture My World. I tried to come up with a name that I would never have to change again even if my life continued to evolve and I think this one can do just that. The idea behind Picture My World was to capture the photographs I take that portray the way I see beauty around me alongside the random notes and journal entries I write up. My pictures and writings collectively are a window into my world, and therefore, Picture My World. :) I am writing this during my 15-minute class break so forgive the hasty explanation!

I need to update a few areas in this blog like the About section to reflect some of these changes, but we’ll save that for another day.

Side note: Today is Chris and my anniversary – I love the man dearly.

Blogging again, yay! I bought pearl earrings today – I’m going through a phase. I also bought some really obnoxious phone cases.

Today I brought up the fact that I reminisce to old times and look at old photos quite often and that it brings me so much warmth, joy, and nostalgia. I’m a total memory keeper and I want everything in my life documented in some way. Chris on the other hand is not a reminiscer and documents almost nothing in his life. So we made an agreement today. Documenting is easily more important than not documenting, so it was no subject of debate. Starting from our wedding day, he is the designated videographer of our lives while I am the designated photographer. He will learn to take videos. We’re going to arm him with a Go Pro camera and strap it around his forehead permanently so that we’ll have decades of sweet, nostalgic footage and memories of us and our family, :), lol. I’m totally kidding about strapping it around his forehead but we laughed pretty hard at the thought of it. The bottom line is, I want tons of candid home videos on top of photographs.

To rewind a little bit – we were actually at my parents’ house last weekend and my mom and dad pulled out an old home video of my 4th birthday party and it was the most beautiful thing to watch as an adult today. I obviously know how important it is to document events and memories and I value it more than words can say but watching that home video and seeing such amazing footage made me turn to Chris and say, “we’re going to videotape and photograph absolutely EVERYTHING.” It is all you have when that memory chip no longer serves and things get fuzzier as time passes.

Etsy Shop
1. My Etsy sales are directly correlated with the frequency of my blog posts and as a result of my lack of posting, sales have slowed down. I’ve been trying to find time to blog but haven’t been able to until now! I still need to re-name this blog to something other than the no-longer-accurate A Photo A Day, so whenever I get some free time, I’ll be on it!

Wedding
2. After 65 dresses, I said yes to the drop dead gorgeous dress.
3. I’m in the midst of locking down my hair and make-up artists.
4. I’ve finished designing our wedding invitations and will be sending them for printing soon.

Work
5. We’ve just launched this bad boy today.
6. The Canon VIP Video Maker contest with Buffer Festival has been a fabulous ride. Public voting for the grand prize VIP Video Maker winner starts on Monday.

School
7. I didn’t do well on my Finance midterm. But my team did very well on our Sustainability Project for the Skills for Leadership course.
8. Exams and final projects are coming due in the next 3 weeks, so it’s crunch time and I’ve just finished drafting a frightening study schedule.
9. I’m absolutely in awe of everything I am learning at school and I want to share a summary of one of my latest and fascinating readings for class. Food for thought!

A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink

“The last few decades have belonged to a certain kind of person with a certain kind of mind — computer programmers who could crank code, lawyers who could craft contracts, MBAs who could crunch numbers. But the future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind — creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers. These people — artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, care-givers, consolers, big-picture thinkers — will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.

There is a seismic — though as yet undetected — shift now under way in much of the advanced world. We are moving from an economy and a society built on the logical, linear computer-like capabilities of the Information Age to an economy and a society built on the inventive, empathic, big-picture capabilities of what’s rising in its place, the Conceptual Age. This summary is for anyone who wants to survive and thrive in this emerging world — people uneasy in their careers or dissatisfied with their lives, entrepreneurs and business leaders eager to stay ahead of the next wave, parents who want to equip their children for the future, and the legions of emotionally astute and creatively adroit people whose distinctive abilities the Information Age has often overlooked and undervalued.

There are six essential aptitudes—“the six senses”— on which professional success and personal satisfaction increasingly will depend: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. These are fundamentally human abilities that everyone can master.

A change of such magnitude is complex. But the argument at the heart of this summary is simple. For nearly a century, Western society in general, and American society in particular, has been dominated by a form of thinking and an approach to life that is narrowly reductive and deeply analytical. Ours has been the age of the “knowledge worker,” the well-educated manipulator of information and deployer of expertise. But that is changing. Thanks to an array of forces — material abundance that is deepening our nonmaterial yearnings, globalization that is shipping white-collar work overseas, and powerful technologies that are eliminating certain kinds of work altogether — we are entering a new age. It is an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life — one that prizes “high concept” and “high touch” aptitudes. High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative, and to combine seemingly unrelated ideas into something new. High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning.

There’s something that encapsulates the change — and it’s right inside your head. Our brains are divided into two hemispheres. The left hemisphere is sequential, logical and analytical. The right hemisphere is nonlinear, intuitive and holistic.

We enlist both halves of our brains for even the simplest tasks. But the well-established differences between the two hemispheres of the brain yield a powerful metaphor for interpreting our present and guiding our future. Today, the defining skills of the previous era — the “left brain” capabilities that powered the Information Age — are necessary but no longer sufficient. And the capabilities we once disdained or thought frivolous — the “right brain” qualities of inventiveness, empathy, joyfulness and meaning — increasingly will determine who flourishes and who flounders. For individuals, families and organizations, professional success and personal fulfillment now require a whole new mind.”

– – – –

And of course, a photo. :)

It’s a crazy busy time at work with multiple (awesome) projects on the go but I feel like I’m on vacation because there are no classes this week and I haven’t done any school work. It’s funny that I actually feel like I’m on vacation despite being nowhere near a real vacation. I’m still working my butt off at the office every day, I’m running my Etsy shop, and I’m planning a wedding. But yes, I feel like I’m on vacation because my workload tolerance has gotten so high. I kind of really like these reverse effects.

My parents threw Chris and I a small engagement party last night and it was so much fun. Both of our families met for the first time and it could not have gone better. We are both blessed with amazing families and are so, so, so grateful. Thank you mommy and daddy and family for the party!!!

Although these are arguably some of the most unflattering photos of myself, I had to post them for two reasons: 1) a blog-worthy memory despite looking like a monkey in the pictures and 2) I was dying of laughter when this was happening and found it exceptionally funny. You could quickly look at all four pictures and be quite convinced that I could not contain myself, hence the unflattering factor. We were getting our family photos taken and realized that we should bring Chris into the photo. So he made his way into the photo and we all bursted out laughing at the mental image of him standing behind the entire family, significantly taller, and could literally hold us all together with the span of his arms. We felt like little people in a big world for a moment. Mostly because we are actually so little.

Yesterday night was an amazing time. I’ll post more photos later. I still have a long to-do list to get through this evening.

Happy thanksgiving. I am the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you to my unfailing God, my family, my friends, and my one and only love, Chris. Having said that, I’m celebrating thanksgiving by myself with my Finance textbooks and Skills for Leadership project. Don’t you love my life? Sigh. It’ll all be worth it someday.

I love taking pictures of seniors. They have the most awesome expressions. I think the lines on their faces are beautiful. This gentleman is Chris’ stepdad’s father. We celebrated his 80th birthday last weekend. This post reminds me of my grandma – there was a time when I was obsessed with photographing her (flash back here). I miss her.

I went to work on a Thursday and it was business as usual until I signed onto my emails and received an e-greeting card from Chris. Now, we do send each other greeting cards quite often so I thought it was simply one of our regular cards. Boy was I wrong. The card was drop dead cute with a note attached that upon reading, would change my life forever. He said that he was taking me away for a four-day long weekend getaway and that I shouldn’t worry about having to drop all my work with such short notice because he had already cleared my required time off with my manager. I peeked over at my manager and of course, he was smiling mischievously. Between walking on sunshine, wrapping up everything at work as quickly as possible, and excusing myself from a team meeting I had for school that Saturday, it was a very hectic Thursday. But alas, I got myself ready for a weekend away in Old Montreal.

We took our time heading to Montreal that Friday morning. I definitely knew that the proposal was lurking but I had no idea when or how it was going to happen so the anticipation that it could literally happen at any moment just killed me slowly. When we arrived in Montreal, Chris brought me to a nail salon to get my nails done. God knows that the nails had to be polished to complement the sparkle I’m about to wear on my finger! I got my nails done and we went back to the hotel to get ready for a nice dinner. We headed down to the lobby at 6:45pm and as we walked towards the front door, there it was, a horse carriage parked right outside, ready to take us on a tour around the old city and to our restaurant.

The city lights were dimmed, the weather was absolutely perfect, and romance was in the air. The whole time we were on the carriage, I tried to feel his pockets for a box but had no luck, so I was starting to think that the proposal was not going to happen that evening. But then a part of me still felt that it was going to. We went around the old city with a ton of storytelling from Jacques, our horse carriage driver. I’m usually very fascinated by history and love learning about different cities but I could not pay attention because, as you’d expect, I was completely preoccupied by the anticipated proposal. It’s a good thing that I had been to Montreal before.

45 minutes came and went and the carriage finally pulled over to the sidewalk in front of a dashing restaurant. I was ready to exit the carriage when my knight in shining armour says “hold on, let me help you down.” As he got off the carriage, he pulls out a Canon PowerShot camera, hands it over to Jacques, and gets down on one knee. At that point, my brain froze, my heart exploded, my stomach swarmed with butterflies, and I began to weep tears of joy. There were many spectators on the streets and all I could see were phone cameras pointing at us, while I listened hard to the speech Chris had prepared. I don’t remember much of what he said because the moment was just that overwhelming. I said ‘absolutely yes’ and the crowd cheered.

But that’s not all. The owner of the restaurant came out with two glasses of champagne and made a toast to us. He said he has been happily married for 26 years and wanted to pass that good luck to us. Then Jacques jumps in and says he, too, has been happily married for 45 years and wanted to pass that good luck to us as well. Of course, I cried some more. Chris and I went inside the restaurant to another cheering crowd, who toasted to the engagement and thanked us for a great show. What a night to remember.

And just like that, we’ve started a new chapter. We are sooo damn excited.

Let’s see here: full time job, part time MBA, Etsy Shop, and now wedding planning. As if my life isn’t chaotic enough. I am so busy. I really think my hair is starting to fall at an alarming rate because of stress. Here’s to hoping that if you workhorse through your 20s, that you can cruise control your 30s (and not be bald). Wedding planning is really exciting though. I am working on our website at the moment, it’s coming together quite nicely. :)

I still intend on sharing my romantic proposal story in detail but as expected, I don’t have time right now. In five minutes, I have to hop on a team meeting for school via Skype. I will get to the story though! Or maybe it’s something I save for the wedding blog…! Happy October!