Wordscapes

I said I was going to sleep but I had to check one last thing online and then one thing led to another to this TED video and 20 minutes later I'm still up. 

Deb Roy is a researcher at MIT who studies how children learn language.  He wired up his house with video cameras in just about every room to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son's life.  He and his grad students then parsed 90,000 hours of home video to watch "gaaaa" slowly turn into "water."   The process leads to the analysis of social media and how we interact with each other and TV.  The implications of this research just blows my mind.  There's research for the sake of science, yes, but considering how companies are trying to figure out how to leverage the power of social media, if they can figure out how to productize this in a way that companies can action against it, they could make a LOT of money.  And I mean A LOT a lot.

Friday in Sao Paulo

It’s Valentine’s weekend in Brazil and I came back to my room at the Intercontiental to find roses waiting for me. Lovely, right?

The best thing about the Intercon, besides the comfortable bed and pillows is L’Occitane’s Verbena line of toiletries. My favourite scent! I’ve tucked away the little bottles every night before going to bed and when I come back to my room the next evening, there are new bottles waiting for me.

Anyway – this trip to SP has been muito otimo (very awesome), despite the usual intensity of traveling with senior execs because I’ve a colleague, J, from Toronto who’s here part-time that I’ve really bonded with. The execs left yesterday afternoon and I’m now able to get down to the work I was meant to do on this trip. I spent the day in the office and we called it a night around 7pm and spent the next 4 hours at a local pub for “happy hour.” I ordered a caipirhinia followed by a couple caipirsakes which are far smoother then the former. A Caipirsake is apparently unique to Sao Paulo and is a caipirhinia with the cachaca swapped out for sake which results in a drink that taste like limeade. YUM!

We ordered a fantastic carpaccio pizza and stewed beef 2 ways – one flavoured with gorgonzola and the other with mustard – and had a fantastic time. There was a lot of talk about work, but also about life.

J has raved about how generous and open all the Brazilians have been towards her – from our partners here and how open they’ve been in taking care and seeing that she’s felt welcome to the cab drivers who’ve given her a discount on her fare because her ride took longer than it should have because of construction which is clearly beyond their control. After tonight, I can attest to kindness of the cabbies myself. I don’t know any Portuguese so it was a very silent ride but my cabbie was attentive enough to notice my interest in all the furniture and home décor shops on the street we were driving down so he turned on the light when I pulled out a pen and paper to write down the street name. He said something to me in Portuguese – I didn’t understand precisely, but I know it was a comment on the concentration of shops, so when he wrote out my receipt for me, he turned it over and added something extra, and the something extra was “Gabriel Monteiro da Silva, Lojas,” the street name. How sweet is that? I left the cab smiling.

Meanwhile I’m crazy-itchy. Mosquitoes have feasted on me – my left side in particular since I’ve a bite on my elbow and not one, not two but THREE bites on my the lower half of my leg. Plus I’m allergic so they’re super-swollen. UGH!

Heading back to SP

I've been working much of this weekend in preparation for a business trip back to Sao Paulo. I leave tomorrow night with 4 others but instead of returning before the weekend as I have the 2 other times I've been, I fly home Sunday night! This means I'll finally have my chance to see the city beyond my hotel, the offices and the restaurants our partners take us to for dinner in the evenings.

I will be spending the weekend with another colleague from Toronto who will be staying for an extra week thereafter.  We'll be there for the kick-off to the World Cup so there's bound to be lots of festivities in soccer- (or should I say football?) mad Brazil.  Ooh!  And maybe I'll go shopping!  I don't know what the big tourist attractions are in Sao Paulo.  I know there are football stadiums and a public park comparable to Central Park....and there's a fancy mall with a really cool bookstore that I want to see.  Other than that, I'm just going to go with the flow.

I'm already planning my wardrobe for the week ahead so I don't over-pack!  Now, back to work!

30 hrs in Sao Paulo

I found out last Thursday afternoon that I would be flying back to Sao Paulo Sunday night to spend a day and a half in meetings before leaving Tuesday evening to return to Toronto. Given that it's a 10+ hour flight one-way, I was gone for 3 nights - 2 of which were spent in-flight.

Now, I never really imagined that I would be jetting off at such short notice - I used to think that it sounded rather glamorous but it's not really....although I must admit that I did enjoy flying Executive Class to and fro.

It was the same crew on the plane for both flights and the attendants remembered me which was rather nice. I got my champagne at the start of the flight and my port with dessert. Yum. I shouldn't have given my training and diet but I decided to throw caution to the wind and indulge because when next I fly on my own dime, there certainly won't be a choice of wines with my choice of entrees for the in-flight meal!

We landed around 5:30AM and after cabbing it home, I unpacked and took an hour-long nap to make up for the very light sleep I had on the plane - despite ear plugs, the roar of the engines is deafeningly loud. I managed to haul my butt into the office around 9:15 and then spent a fairly productive day, though I hit the wall around 3:30. I stuck it out until 6:30 though and was rather proud of myself for that. I don't know how people who travel regularly for business do it.

Alright then. Time for bed! Early morning meeting tomorrow! G'night.

3 nights, 4 days

Our trip to Brazil was short, intense and very productive. Our flight late Sunday night was delayed a couple hours because of mechanical problems so we didn't leave until 1:30am, which meant we had more time to enjoy the Maple Leaf Lounge at Pearson. This was my first visit to any First/Exec Class lounge so I have nothing to compare it to - the furnishings had a retro-60s vibe which were forgettable but what impressed me the most was the self-serve open bar!

There was beer on draught, wine and various liquors available for mixed drinks. I was hoping that there would be a bottle of port in the mix and found one sitting on the bar with the Grand Marnier and other after-dinner liqueurs. Happy!

The flight was supposed to be 10hrs+ but our pilot knew of a "short-cut" that shaved about an hour off our time. We had Executive Class seats and our 767 was re-furbished with sleeping pods so I was actually able to lay flat and have my best sleep on a plane ever! I waited anxiously for the seat belt light to go off and when it did, I quickly adjusted my seat and laid back for what turned out to be about 6hrs of shut-eye. As a result of that, I didn't get to enjoy all the other perks of flying Executive like the Grilled Alberta Beef Tenderloin with Morel Mushroom Sauce and the better wine selection - a small price to pay though for some rest. We arrived in Sao Paulo in time to head to our hotel for a quick shower and made it to the office around 4pm. We spent a few hours there setting the agenda for the next few days and before heading out for a low-key dinner at a pizza restaurant which was surprisingly good.

The next few days took on the same rhythm - we'd meet in the hotel's executive lounge for breakfast around 8am, get picked up around 9am, work until about 7:30 and then head out for dinner with our partners. We usually arrived back at our hotel around 10:30 and then we'd have our own de-brief over drinks in the hotel bar for the next hour or two before finally calling it a night. All in all, it was a great experience as business trips go.

The flight back was unremarkable. We arrived back in Toronto around 5:45am yesterday and I took a cab to my mother's since that's where my car was. I slept a couple hours, woke up in time to catch up with my mom over dim sum and then headed back downtown to my place. I was a bit torn between going back to bed and fighting through the fatigue. I opted for the latter, fully expecting to hit the sack early so I did a bit of cleaning and then soaked in the tub for awhile before settling in to catch up on my TV. My quiet night in didn't play out as expected though - I joined a couple friends for dinner and drinks in the Annex and finally got home to reunite with my bed around 10:30. What a great sleep!

Hello 33

Image from The Cupcake Shoppe

Today's my birthday.

I turned 33, and frankly, it doesn't really feel all that different from 32. The day was notable for the many lovely well wishes I received today: postings on my Facebook wall, MSN messages, emails, text messages, phone and video calls, and a very well attended lunch with my team at work.

I celebrated tonight by heading to the gym to work-out with my trainer, KB, who I have a serious school-girl crush on. (I've been meaning to blog about my decision to work with a personal trainer but haven't had the time to organize my thoughts properly thanks to the project that's kept me busy the last 9 mos.) Anyway, I feel like a silly minor-niner for admitting this but he made my day by giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek when I told him I was spending my birthday working out with him. And when we ended our session, he opened up his arms to give me another hug to wish me a good trip as I'm leaving for Brazil on business Sunday and will miss training next week. *sigh* No joke, just thinking about it makes me feel like a dope.

So, to recap the last year:

* I'm still single and (admittedly) half-heartedly looking;
* My niece, Piglet, continues to bring so much joy - I have this one photo of her smiling the sweetest smile you ever did see as my wallpaper and it never fails to make me smile too;
* I had a fantastic 2.5 weeks in Europe this Spring and spent some really good QT with my extended family;
* I've settled into my new home and have met some really great neighbours; and
* My work life is progressing well - I'm on another major strategic project that has raised my profile considerably and has challenged me to grow.

Life is good.

Generation by KNOLL

This is totally geeky, but how wicked-cool-fantastic-fun is Knoll's new Generation task chair for the office?


Play the video and check out the flipbook on the site. I tried embedding the link for the latter but it doesn't seem to work...Available for order online July 31st!

Soft Skills 101

I had a meeting this morning with my SVP that I was worried about because while I'm pretty good at the technical stuff, I'm fairly weak at packaging it up for consumption. But thanks to the coaching from J, the VP I've been working with on my current project, it went really well and I wanted to blog about it so as not to forget the lessons learned:

1. Pre-meeting, set the expectations: Send ahead an agenda via email outlining why you want to meet and what you want to cover in the meeting, along with any pre-read materials.

2. In the meeting, set the scene: Re-cap why you're meeting, what you'd like to cover and how you'd like to do it - I typically dive right into the subject at hand without setting up the context, mistakenly assuming that everyone else is on the same page as me. The truth though, is that everyone else has at least a dozen other things on the go, senior executives even moreso, so it's really important to make sure the people present all understand the purpose of the meeting and what you want to accomplish. If possible, bring along a summary to guide the discussion - this could be the pre-read material, but not necessarily.

3. Ask for clarification: If you don't understand something, don't be afraid to put your hand up and say so.

4. You don't have to have all the answers: If something comes up that you don't have an answer to, it's OK to say, "Let me look into that and get back to you."

5. Review the next steps: At the end of the meeting, play-back the next steps and the decisions made to make sure everyone's in agreement as to what's been decided and what's left to-do.

Stretching

I had a coffee date first thing this morning with my manager-twice-removed to talk about my career development. What was supposed to be a 30 minute conversation stretched into almost an hour and I'm thrilled but terrified at the same time at the opportunity I've been given.

This project is another high profile one, so high in fact that our head honcho called it out recently as one of the big drivers for our company's growth in the next couple years - absolutely no pressure, right? And I've been given the lead to develop the strategy! Talk about stretching my skills and growing in my role!

After reviewing the opportunity, we talked about coaching and how she sees me growing into a more senior position in the next 18-24 mos...so there's some plan in mind for me...which is gratifying because my effort has been recognized. I worked for my previous SVP for 3.5 years and we only ever talked once about my career, and that was in reaction to someone else leaving the company and their direct manager asking for me to step into the role, so he wasn't necessarily interested in my development...my new SVP has been with us for 6 mos and already she's articulated a career path for me.

We also talked about how I can improve my performance in certain situations...be more assertive and less deferential, particularly around male superiors and take note of people I can model myself after, i.e. study senior leaders as I interact with them and consider what I like or don't like about their leadership style and why that is and begin building a tool kit to reference. All very useful advice.

I was rather intimidated by her and still am to a certain extent...but I'm also a bit more comfortable around her too because she really does care and really is supportive. So the hard work begins! I just have to remind myself not to think about the profile of the project too much...if I did, I just might freak myself out.

Finally...

...managed to haul my lazy butt into the gym tonight for my first run of the year and it was pretty good. I was a bit of a mess getting ready for it though because I had to charge up my ipod and find my misplaced runners. If I hadn't found them when I did, I might have bailed, but it's a new month and I received a reminder email about the Sporting Life 10K today with a free online training program to get ready for the upcoming Sunday in a few months so this was it. Besides, with my latest project more or less settled, I didn't have the excuse of work to keep me from going.

In fact, aside from a morning of meetings and a few minor to-dos coming out of them, I was a bit at a loss in terms of what to do in the afternoon. I've been so used to being on the constant go the last month that it felt really weird to actually have the time to think about what to do next...I actually had options.

Funny too, I'd forgotten how hungry I get after running...something I'll have to get used to again with a more regular running schedule.

Woohoo!

The big meeting I've been working so hard for all week was today at 11am and it went really well! I didn't have to say very much but when it was all said and done, we got the thumbs up from our CEO who told us we did a good job and it was a huge relief.

I left work early today and am now slightly buzzed from the wine I've drunk. :) My only plan tonight is just to play a vegetable. The weekend looks good - free of work (for the most part), catching up with friends over brunch, and date #2 with a fun boy. My initial impression is that it won't lead anywhere - he's a touch short for me - but he's pleasant company so we'll see...

I am slowly...

...going crazy. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 switch!

You know when you're just so stressed and under pressure that if you don't laugh you'll just cry?

Well, that was me today. After my 8am meeting, I had a couple hours to make a bunch of changes in preparation for the noon meeting with one of the head honchos of our parent company and I didn't have time to think about how little time there was to get what I needed done done. All I could do was do.

Our 1 hour meeting went on for an extra hour and I somehow lost an hour because when I met my team for our status meeting at 3pm, I somehow thought it was 2pm! After stepping out of it for 20 minutes because I'd agreed to a 3:15 huddle with my work team, I finished the meeting laughing so hard I cried for a couple minutes. And it wasn't even that funny! My manager was wearing a striped sweater with striped socks and he's not the type to plan such things - you know, he's the guy who just pulls out whatever he pulls out of his sock drawer and puts them on without even noticing? Well, I, of course, noticed and asked him if he made a conscious decision to wear them...and he looked at me and said, "You know the answer to that question." And I started laughing so hard I couldn't stop and the tears started rolling out of my eyes and I felt soooo much better.

I laughed about it again the second time when I shared it with the manager on my work team. She looked like she could use a laugh too - but it wasn't nearly as funny to her...she only laughed because I was laughing again, so hard that I was crying. I know. Lame, right? Sometimes it's the little things that keep us from going crazy. This was it for me today. Thank you and good night.

Spring Festival

Given that the lunar new year is also known as the Spring Festival in China, I thought it appropriate to pick up a couple bunches of tulips last night on the way to dinner. Not only do they brighten up the space with their cheerful colour, but they also made working through the new year weekend a little more bearable.

I'm going to soak in my tub now and then ready for bed since I have an 8am meeting tomorrow...

Keep Calm and Carry On

I have an 8am meeting Monday with, among others, my SVP, and in preparation for that, I have a 5-year business model to create so guess what I'll be doing this weekend? This project I've been working on, while interesting, is the bane of my existence and I can't help but blame my colleague (and I use this term loosely because she sees me as a threat and therefore underminds me at every opportunity and resents me) who dropped the ball to spectacular effect in October. So, instead of having a model which should have been started then with much time allowance for refinements and validation, I've had maybe a month to try to work through everything and now a couple days to turnaround something that'll be taken to the Head Honcho of our parent company later next week. Stressed much? Ya.

Anyway. So I'm feeling a touch overwhelmed by the work ahead....nevermind that it's Chinese New Year on Monday and I've got to clean and launder before that in preparation for a fresh start to the new year.

Really?

I've been consumed with my current project at work, so much so that it feels like I've been back at the office for 2 months instead of 2 weeks. The last few days have been all about last minute conference calls and impromptu meetings and I'm so glad that it's Friday tomorrow because it's exhausting to be go-go-go all the time.

On a more personal note, my condo closed on Wednesday and I have joined the mortgaged. The last week and a half was made more stressful by the surprise levy the developer decided to tack onto my closing costs, in addition to the payment in advance of 2009 property taxes which, apparently, is not unusual. I was just shocked by the amount. My words to my lawyer: "They're robbing me. I feel like I'm being robbed." Anyway, long story short, I'll likely get some of that tax payment in advance back once my building is assessed (likely in 2010) and I disputed the levy which they agreed to remove 1.5 hours before I was due at the law offices. It was rather anti-climatic, actually. No bells and whistles or balloons or anything. Just a bunch of documents that needed my signature and then I was done.

It doesn't feel so different...except when I log into my banking online and see the 6 figure sum in my mortgage account. Talk about a shock. Such is life.

Stressing

So, I was all set to go with Bank T for my mortgage because I'd locked in a variable rate of less then prime back in August, before the financial meltdown, which was great because if I was shopping for a variable mortgage today, it'd be prime plus. Anyway, I'd also locked in a fixed rate with Bank R as a hedge in case my closing date extended beyond the 6 month period my variable rate was good for....but my condo's closing in time so it's moot.

Why all this exciting talk about mortgage rates you ask? Well, I got a call from Bank R today to follow-up on my closing - the developer must have notified them. I informed them that I'd decided to go with another bank because they offered me a variable rate of prime less and Bank R countered with an offer that was better by 5bps. Granted, .05% doesn't sound like a big difference...but when I do the math, it adds up to almost a couple thousand dollars in savings! So, now I'm scrambling to gather up all the necessary documents to send to them.

At the same time, I feel guilty because the mortgage manager I dealt with at Bank T has been very nice and was referred to me by a friend. She's on vacation though and won't be back in time to counter the offer before my condo closes...besides which, I do most of my banking with Bank R anyway, so it'd just be easier all around if I kept all my banking in one place. Oh, and I went in this past Saturday to sign mortgage papers with Bank T so I'll have to call and cancel those proceedings...I called today to speak with the person who's covering for my mortgage manager and he's out of the office until Thursday!

Sigh.

My head hurts thinking about it. I know I shouldn't stress about this because it should be fairly simple, but I do because this is the biggest grown-up thing I've ever done on my own. I just have to calm down. Deep breaths...Breathe in. Breathe out.

Oh, and my current project at work is at a critical point this week with meetings in front of the bigwigs to get approval...so that's not helping either. Funny, JM, the VP who's leading my current project has been singing this familiar refrain: It gets worse before it gets better.

The bright spot is that I've made a date for this Saturday to paint. NL, who's back from 6 weeks in China with his family, is coming over to help me paint my bedroom. Maybe we can get the bathroom done too! And then I can organize and prettify my place for photos to share with you!

My head...

This is what happens when you agree to host a team offsite on a Thursday afternoon (the Perrier was mixed with Vodka):

I was sooo hungover this morning that I really should have "worked from home" but I had a 10 o'clock meeting that in hindsight, I really didn't need to be at, and threw up not once, but twice at work. So not cool.

Free Day

My boss stopped by my desk for a status update on the last-minute urgent project that dropped into my lap Thursday and to give me a free day off my first Monday back to recover from jetlag because I've been working so hard recently.

Super-nice of him...but I think there might have been a touch of guilt in there because he and a couple other guys on the team are off golfing this afternoon thanks to the free passes they got for the Big Kahuna's private club in the Muskokas. I don't golf, but I think I'd rather have a free day off to spend however I wish...like maybe a visit to the new West Elm....??

Status Check

It's mid-term appraisal time at work and I've begun thinking about my job and whether or not it's perhaps time to move on. This thinking was spurred by the announcement that one of my contacts in Finance is leaving, as well as a conversation with AL. Then today, I got an email from AD, who I haven't been in contact with in over 6 months.

He forwarded a job posting for a role that is not dissimilar to the one I have now, but likely pays better...so I'm definitely re-evaluating, whereas when AL asked me if I had given any thought to new options, my answer was that I was pretty content and engaged still in the work I was doing.

Now that I've thought about it...am I really learning anything new? A model is a model is a model...the variables change but the framework is essentially the same. Perhaps a new challenge in the way of a change in industry wouldn't be out of order...or would setting up a new home AND looking for a new job be just a little too much new-ness?

I've got a date....

...for my condo's pre-delivery inspection!! I got the news via email today and it's the end of the month!!! Which made me realize OMG, it's for real! I am moving into my own place!

The anxiety and excitement has been building...I've been thinking the last few weeks about shopping around for a better mortgage rate as they've dropped since I first signed for the builder's rate almost 3 years ago. And I've begun to think more seriously about what I have to do for my move.

I had this grand plan to begin purging and sorting stuff this past long weekend but work has been crazy and now that I've got co-op boy to manage, between meetings, my own work that comes from these meetings and making sure that he has work to do, there really isn't time for me during the day...so I've been bringing work home which SUCKS!

Anyway, I was on the subway heading into work this morning and finally had to buckle down and begin a list of things to do because I just couldn't focus on my reading anymore for all the noise that's in my head. There has GOT to be a handy-dandy checklist online somewhere I could leverage to organize myself!

The battery's running low on my Macbook...I promised myself I would only work as long as there was juice so I'm calling it a night!