“You may have a task to complete, a plan to fulfill, or a dream to pursue, whatever it is, start doing it today!” An American, who has lost a lot of weight,  said that on a NBS TV morning show when she was asked about the secret of successfully losing half of her body weight quickly. She continued to explain that people always procrastinate in taking the first step, and eventually, it never happens

Like many other people, procrastination is my greatest enemy. I have made many resolutions and good plans about my life and career, but I always find myself having difficulties in taking the first step to do them. I am either too lazy or the task needs too much dedication. Eventually, those good plans become my mind’s burden by piling up in my schedule and nagging in my mind. As I got to know myself better, I realized that procrastinating was eating up my energy. I didn’t feel good about myself and I always worried about those incomplete tasks and unfulfilled plans.

What the weight the American said on the TV show has greatly inspired me. Therefore, on 09/09/2009, which was a very special day, I decided that I should stop procrastinating and starting doing things today. So far I have done quite well in moving from procrastination to action. I have started working out with Sushi in the morning, reviewing designing computer programs, applying for jobs, and studying English. Actually, I found that I enjoy doing those things after I started doing them. I feel good about myself and I am more energetic now.

Read More 0 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

August 29, 2009

Before fall officially comes, Mason and I took a short trip to Canada to enjoy the nice weather on  August 29. Early in the morning, we took Sushi to a boarding clinic and then hit the road. We drove three hours to get to the Canadian border from where I live. It was the longest road trip I have ever had. Surprisingly, it was not as boring and tiring as I expected, maybe because I was not the driver. Mason and I ate McDonald, listened rock music, chatted and enjoyed the scenery along the drive. The ride was actually fun. 

We visited two cities, Richmond and Vancouver, during this trip. I like Richmond better because it felt like being home. Before the trip I had already heard that the majority of residences in Richmond are Chinese, but I was still surprised to see how many Chinese were around when I arrived in the city. If you are a Chinese person who wants to live in a western country but doesn’t  want to give up your language and custom, Richmond is definitely the city for you to move to. In Richmond, I felt like I was in Hong Kong. Chinese people were everywhere. I couldn’t tell how many people were speaking Chinese around me. Banners on the stores, road signs, and even menus in the restaurants were written in Chinese. The rhythms of the city was just like that of Hong Kong too. Stores and roads were always busy. Parking lots were always full and free parking was only available for three hours. Drivers were impatient and very rude. You will feel the pressure when parking on the street in Richmond.

Asian food is another thing that made me feel Richmond was like home. Mason and I ate a lot of delicious Asian food during the trip, like Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice, traditional Dragon Candies, Japanese Car wheel Bread with Red Bean, Korean Deep Fried Twist-Potato, Mongolian Sheep Grill, Thai Sweet Soup etc. If you are a fan of Asian food, you should go to Richmond in summer, because the night market, which is famous for Asian street foods, only opens during summer. Even though we arrived to the night market quite late, the market was super crowded. Every stall had a long line of people waiting. Everyone was holding food in their hands. People couldn’t wait to eat; they were eating before they could find a seat. You will see everybody was eating while waiting in line or walking to another stall. We filled our stomachs with a lot of special street foods, some of which can’t even be founded in Hong Kong anymore.

Mason and I have gained a few pounds after the trip, but both of us think that gaining weight for such delicious food is worth it. Why did I find this city so late? I wouldn’t have been so homesick if I had travelled to the city earlier.

Read More 3 comments | Posted by Edith Chan

People make good decisions and horrible decisions. Making a terrible decision can affect your whole life badly. That’s why old Chinese people always say that a decision shouldn’t be made until the situation has been contemplated seriously three times.

I don’t know how people move on after making a terrible decision, but I am still making up for mine to this day. I have to admit that studying Advertising in China is one of the biggest mistakes in my life. Many people asked me why I got my degree in Advertising. Actually, it was a compromise between the different desires of my parents and mine. I grew up drawing and knew that I wanted to be a designer since I was a little girl. My dream was to study graphic design in Taiwan. However, my parents didn’t want me to study in Taiwan and thought that being a designer wouldn’t make any money. Then they found the nearest university in China that carried a major called Advertising, and thought that it would be the best fit for me. Advertising was a pretty new major in China back then. My dad thought that the major would fulfill both of our wishes because it combines arts and business. I didn’t insist on studying graphic design in Taiwan, and I agreed with my parents thoughtlessly. Back in those days, I was young and a push-over, so I didn’t know that that compromise was going to make a big impact on my life.

I think studying Advertising in China was a bad move because of several reasons:

First of all, my major led me nowhere after I graduated from the university. The advertising industry in Macau totally sucks because of the fierce competition from Hong Kong and China. In Macau, clients either do advertisement through Hong Kong agencies for high-end products or China agencies for low-end products. Therefore, I had to shift my career to other fields. I thought I could apply for marketing jobs because there were some overlapping classes between marketing and advertising, but then I found employers always prefer Marketing major candidates over me. I was totally lost about my career path. I have been a news reporter, hotel receptionist, hotel reservation agent, hostess, and finally, settled down as an office administrator, a position that doesn’t even require a bachelor degree. Isn’t that ironic?

Secondly, it has never been easy for me to look for a job because I lacked the networking in Macau after being away for four years. According to the statistics roughly done by my classmates, because of networking, students who graduated from the University of Macau are more likely to get a job faster than students who graduated in China.

And lastly, I was significantly lacking in the English language after studying in China. Believe it or not, I didn’t have any English education at the university in China for 3 years. Even though I attempted to keep up by studying English myself, there was no way I was able to compete with the students who graduated in Macau when it comes to English level.

Even though I did quite well in my last job as an administrator, I was not happy because it was not what I love and what I am good at. After struggling in the job market for 6 years, I walked away with diverse yet unprofessional experiences and some cash for me to remedy my wrong decision by going back to school to study graphic design. Perhaps it was not a wrong decision and I blame my failure to my parents. But at least I learned that I should never let other people make life decisions for me.

Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Edith Chan