Month: December 2012

2013 – The Year Ahead

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Time to start thinking about my goals for next year. After my mixed success with goal-setting for this past year, I’m going to try and make these ones as specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound (SMART) as possible. Lets go!

Need to happen:

  • Pass the HSK Level 5. I really want to have an official document that demonstrates my proficiency. I found this great website called Skritter to help me practice my Chinese and it’s going well so far. I’d like to sit for the Level 5 by December. Before that though, I hope to test the waters and sit for the Level 4 exam by June.
  • Get at least a 720 or higher on the GMAT. I’m not sure when I’ll head back to grad school, but I eventually want to earn a joint MBA/MA. Hope I can get this out of the way by June.
  • Run a half-marathon. This has been a goal for three years, and it still hasn’t happened. I’d like to run the Philly Half-Marathon next November. Before running the Half, I plan on doing a couple 5/10/15k races just to get comfortable running in a race. Relatedly, I hope to hit the gym at least once a week for strength training.
  • Blog at least once a month. In addition to this blog, which will continue be mostly a log of my ongoing projects, I’m thinking about starting another blog focused on the challenges of urbanization. Hope I can get that off the ground!
  • Go to mass at least once a month. I don’t think I’ll really have any problems getting this one done.

Want to happen:

  • Learn Python and R. Related to my coding goals from last year, but with more focus. I’d like to be competent enough to make at least one submission on Kaggle by October.
  • Dive deeper in HTML/CSS/JS. I launched a landing page earlier this fall, but quickly realized I really have no idea what I was doing. For now, that project is shelved. Hope to continue practicing by completing more modules like those on CodeAcademy or on Udemy.

2012 in Review

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Just three days left this year. Here’s my recap of this past year.

January:

Ringing in the New Year at Taipei 101!

Ringing in the New Year at Taipei 101!

Living the life of a student. I was deep in the heart of my language study program in Taiwan. Classes were challenging, but what I recall most from this month was all the fun I had enjoying my time in Taipei. Whether it was hitting the bars, exploring the parks and neighborhoods, or even just hanging out with friends from around the world, I finally felt like I was easing back into “normal” life, albeit in a foreign country. This was also the month when I was forced to leave Taiwan for Hong Kong due to an expired visa, and when my Chinese skills were put to the test when I served as essentially the translator for my groups’ adventures around Taiwan during CNY.

 

February:

Banana pratha for breakfast in Singapore.

Banana pratha for breakfast in Singapore.

 

Enjoying freedom, traveling solo, saying goodbyes. I had finally decided that I wouldn’t be doing another semester at Taida. I had already traveled around Taiwan during CNY, but made an effort to visit some additional places around the island before l departed. I also visited Singapore and Malaysia before coming back to Taiwan for my return flight to LA. I was traveling solo for most of these trips, but despite that fact I still had an amazing time. So much good food, really interesting people, and I still couldn’t believe that I was living out a lifelong dream. Having the freedom to just go is something that I’ll definitely remember from this month. That, and saying goodbye to all the people I had met in Taiwan. Hope to meet up with them some day.

 

March:
Back to the States. I spent two weeks in LA before heading back to DC. I had considered settling back down in other cities – SF, LA, NYC, and Seattle were on my shortlist – but I chose to head back to DC mainly because I felt like I left the city too soon. Coming back to DC was a great, mainly because of all the people that welcomed me back with open arms. It felt as if I had never left! Catching up and enjoying my time in DC while funemployed is what I remember most about March.

Spring time hiking at Great Falls Park

Spring time hiking at Great Falls Park.

April:

Kicking the job search into high gear. After the novelty of being back in DC had worn off, I was ready to turbo charge my search for an enjoyable job. April was the month that really tested my tolerance for uncertainty. Although I had been out of the workforce since October, it was only until April did I really feel like one of the thousands of recent college graduates (let alone millions of unemployed Americans) desperately looking for work but with no luck. I was growing anxious, but at the same time wasn’t too worried since I still had a backup plan to attend grad school or head back to Singapore.

May:

New job! And a wake up call. Lots of things happened this month. I was offered a job (!) doing research for a public affairs firm. Shortly after starting though, I had to head back to Hawaii for my grandma’s funeral. It was certainly unexpected, and the event was a wake up call to make sure I’m not wasting my time. Life is too fleeting to put up with nonsense.

June-August:

What a blur. This past summer was honestly probably one of the more fast-paced ones that I’ve had since leaving Hawaii 7 years ago. The learning curve for my new job was incredibly steep, and there were numerous times where I felt utterly incompetent and had no idea how I managed to land the position. I spent many of my out-of-work hours trying to get a grasp on how to effectively do my job. Despite the difficulties at work, I had a great appreciation for what I was learning and doing each day, something that in hindsight, is a rarity for someone my age to say about their job.

Endless coding. Summer was also the time that I kicked my coding aspirations into high gear. I spent many weekends and early mornings absorbing as much information as possible. Most days I was confused and had no idea how things worked, but I look back on these moments as periods of perseverance. I had no idea what I was doing, and only a general reason why I wanted to code. Regardless, I’m glad I stuck to it, no matter how slow-going my efforts were.

September-October:

In search of balance. If the summer months was a time of non-stop work, September and October were the months where I sought to achieve more balance. During these two months I traveled all over the country, heading to NYC, Philly, LA and Hawaii once again. The workload hadn’t abated, but I was getting more comfortable with figuring out how to balance work with the rest of my life.

The view of Santa Barbara, California

The view of Santa Barbara, California

November-December:

Appreciation. From a career perspective, these two months helped me realize just how far I’ve come professionally speaking. The workload has abated largely due to the addition of a new team member. Work is much more fun now that I have a decent grasp of how things work. And did I mention how fantastic the benefits are at my work!? So far I have 21 days of vacation for next year — which is ample time to go out and explore the world! Beyond work, these past couple of weeks of holiday parties and get togethers have affirmed my belief that people truly make a place more than just a temporary base. Friends (and family) really do make a place feel like home. I’m so glad that wherever I’ve been, both Taipei, DC, and even as a traveler around Southeast Asia, I’ve been so thankful for being able to share my experiences with so many people – it’s been great!

 

The Year I Began to Code

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One of the most challenging goals I set for myself this year was to learn to code. As a business and policy wonk, I’d never had any experience whatsoever with coding. Like math (something that I’m completely terrible at), coding seemed like this huge mass of knowledge too confusing to understand. Why bother learning something as difficult as coding?

A couple reasons compelled me to actually start coding. First, CodeYear did a great job with marketing their efforts. It seemed like everyone and there mother was making 2012 the year they’d learn to code, and Code Year was going to make everyone coders. Second, I’ve always had an interest in innovation and technology. Learning to code, in my perspective, seemed like a natural progression. Third, and most importantly, is that I viewed coding as a way to make products – in the form of applications – for public consumption.

It’s been a year, and I’ve certainly learned a lot. I’ve yet to launch a fully operational web application, but I can honestly say that 2012 definitely was the year that I began to code. After a year of starts-and-stops, here are my three takeaways from a year trying to learn to code:

1. Know why you’re doing it. I began coding because I wanted to have the ability to create great products for users. It was hard to keep this in perspective though, when I was struggling with just the basics. I think what kept me going throughout all those long hours spent in front of the screen was the fact that I genuinely actually did like the process. Specifically, I liked the fact that coding was about problem solving, it allowed for a lot of creativity, and it was just plain cool being able to create something!

2. Persistence. If you’ve got a good reason (the more reasons the better), stick to it. It helps when you have clear goals so as to have clear indicators of progress. For me, this was relatively easy since I was working through courses.

3. Know when to quit. If you haven’t already, check out this great speech by HBS Professor Deepak Malhotra on quitting early and often. It’s a little lengthy, but essentially Prof. Malhotra argues that if things aren’t working out, quit. Obviously, quitting is pretty much the opposite of being persistent, but I think it’s all about context. When in doubt, re-evaluate and act. For me, even though my coding goals were vague beyond completing a course or module, I never gave up because I found coding fun. If it isn’t fun though, or there aren’t any pressing reasons to continue, quit.

So, those were the three takeaways that come to mind as I look back on this year when I began to code. I’m pretty sure I’ll continue to develop my coding skills in the new year, but I’ll definitely need to solidify my coding goals going forward. Here’s to hoping that 2013 will be the year that I take coding from just a side hobby to something more!

Goal Review: 2012 Recap

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It’s hard to imagine that there’s less than a week left in 2012. A year ago, I was a bit hesitant to publicly share my goals. In my opinion, goals are a highly personal matter. Did I want to make myself vulnerable and publicly share? I decided to share because of Brene’s Brown’s Ted Talk on vulnerability. Plus, I wanted to see how important of a role public accountability would play in my efforts to achieve my goals. In retrospect, my goals broke down into two categories: need to happen, and want to happen. Lets see how I did:

Professional:

Get into graduate school. At the time, this was a need-to-happen goal. I was still in Taiwan and had planned to return to DC in the Fall of 2012 to begin a masters in international relations. I got into both schools I applied to, but got no financial aid from either. After turning down one and deferring the other, I finally decided to let my deferral lapse. I’d love to go back to school, but I was definitely not interested in adding more loans on top of the ones I still have for undergrad. School can wait. Maybe Fall 2014 or 2015?

Get published in an academic journal. This was a want-to-happen goal. After deciding to postpone grad school for another year or two, this goal no longer was something I wanted to achieve.

Pass the TOCFL Master or HSK 5. This was a want-to-happen goal. I had been in Taiwan for a month when I wrote my goals for 2012, and passing a government proficiency test seemed like a great way to demonstrate competency in Mandarin. Even after I decided to end my stay in Taiwan, I was still determined to earn the certificate, if only to justify the months I spent abroad. Despite signing up for the HSK in April and November, I skipped both exams knowing full well that I wasn’t adequately prepared.

Getting a policy- or IR-related job, preferably in DC. At the time, this was a want-to-happen goal. My intention last year was to work full-time while going to grad school part-time. Getting a job, however, became a need-to-happen goal after I decided I’d need to wait another year or two before heading back to school. After a lot of luck and determination, I finally managed to land a position with a fantastic PR firm! It’s not directly related to domestic or foreign policy, but the position enables me to be at least familiar with the policies that impact my team’s clients. I’m okay with this, because the projects I work on are incredibly interesting, I’m learning a lot, and I still see a lot of opportunities for growth and development in the months ahead.

Personal:

Learn to code. This was a want-to-happen goal. My efforts to code likely warrant its own blog post, but overall I think I accomplished what I had set out to do. I’m aware of structures and objects, and I have a general sense of how things work. I’ve dabbled in HTML, CSS, Javascript and Python. I still haven’t made anything useful for the public – which was my ultimate goal, but I’ve certainly learned a lot about the basics of coding.

Run a half marathon. This was a want-to-happen goal. I really began trying in earnest to accomplish this goal over the summer when I began a training regiment. After two months though, I fell off the wagon. I began training again in October, but again soon stopped running. I’m a bit disappointed that I didn’t accomplish this goal, which has been something that I’ve wanted to do for a couple years now.

Blog at least once a week. This was a want-to-happen goal. I didn’t post every week, but I did at least once a month. Good enough for me!

Go to church at least once a month. This was a want-to-happen goal. I also stuck to this goal!

Overall, I’m glad that I shared my goals this past year, if only for my own personal benefit. After twelve months, I can honestly say that public accountability had only a marginal impact on getting me to accomplish my need-to-happen goals, but were instrumental in at least getting me started on my want-to-happen goals. Documenting this journey has been a great experience, and I’m glad to have shared it with you all. I’ll be sharing my goals for the coming year soon, so stay tuned!