What happens when Phoebe spends a plethora of time in a dreary study room before midterms, with only markers and a whiteboard for company?
She draws (and talks in third person).
SPOTTED IN IRVING K. BARBER.
I think I should make it my personal mission to add a little pizzazz to the whiteboards on campus, many of whom are simply begging for the kind of nurture and attention only a colourful marker can give them.
Lately I’ve been caught in a whirlwind of ‘je ne sais pas’. Everything just seems to be happening, happening, happening, and I’m almost losing in touch with myself. I felt LESS busy back when I still had two jobs. *sigh* But the oddest thing is, when I settle down and blog and think about what exciting things happened in the last while, I come up with nothing at all. That is not to say that people or events are dull, but rather I’m going through the motions and the daily grinds mechanically without any thought whatsoever. To quote my dear friend Andrew, “losing the conscious thinking, becoming such a daily routine”.
Well, this blog entry is to just let you know that I’m still alive. I’m hoping that by actually writing things down, I’ll add a little more meaning to my life.
Hmm, speaking of life meanings, I went to the Me Inc AMPLIFY workshop the other day (aha! So exciting things did happen, maybe I just have a horrible memory). Great speakers. Amazing PowerPoint slides (especially the last one). Powerful messages about what to do in life. Sign up for the conference if you haven’t already! Matt Corker, who hosted my Sauder Frosh back in September, was one of the speakers. We’re both bloggers so I had to go over and introduce myself afterwards. We had a nice chat so I’m quite glad I did! Thanks for knowing my name Matt!
ALSO ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to involvement, THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING TIME OF THE YEAR ON CAMPUS. Almost every organization is hiring for the coming year so get out there, update your resumes, and APPLY APPLY APPLY. Rejection are no fun (I’ve had one already), but the experience is worth it.
CAMPUS EVENTS FORECAST #3
International Business Club AGM [Facebook Link]
Description in ten words or less: wonderful guest speaker, election of executives, events overview
My two cents: You’re all probably aware of my non-creepy adoration of the International Business Club already. If you’re not coming to show your support for the wonderful folks who brought you State of Gateman Address, World Cities Night, Language Groups and Emerging Economies, or the future execs who will bring you even more goodies, at least come for the food, mingling, and o!m!g! election!
Food: Dinner will be provided.
Other info: Tuesday, March 17th 5:00-6:30, Irving K. Barber 261.
I’m calling it a night. Slept at 5AM yesterday and adrenaline’s all about gone.
When I was in sixth grade, an eager classmate introduced me to the joy and excitement that was email and MSN. Oh yes, we had a blast giggling in the computer lab messaging each other online while sitting side by side. Back then, kids were creative. So when someone came up with the idea of email signatures, we all flocked to add sigs in a dizzying display of emoticons, pink comic sans fonts, and blinking unicorns.
Circa 2002 – The :] Age of Comic Sans. Emoticons in the prehistoric email world is like fire in prehistoric times – it looks good and expresses fluttering emotion, but can burn you if you use too much. To compound the damage, I also went through a phase where I wanted to appear wise above my years, hence the corny cliche.
Circa 2003 – The Age of Disco Flashback. Some genius then introduced graphics attachments. I erred on the side of conservatism and refrained from overdecorating my signatures in a nauseating shade of magenta. But I do believe some of my friends’ emails ended with the following.
Circa 2004 – The Age of cHtSpk 2lzy2TyPe. Soon, the excitement worn off and emails got tied to school work. The messages stopped having greetings and signatures. What previously said
“Dear Amy, Hope you are well. Sincerely, Phoebe.”
Now read
Amz, wassup?? u okz? ttyl brb!!
Oh how low we sunk.
Circa 2006 – The Age of Formality. As high school drew to a close, I felt the need to be more mature and professional, and thus ended my email with something simple and polite. Yawn.
Regards,
Phoebe Yu
(604) 555 – 5555
Circa 2008 – The Age of “Hey look, mine’s longer! Har Har”. This is the main point of this entry, I promise. After I entered the sacred pearly gates of UBC Sauder and started receiving emails from upperclassmen, I was COMPLETELY blown away by the level of involvement and sophistication each signature seemed to display. Sauderites also have a distinct style where people put dots instead of dashes in phone numbers. It’s all very amusing. Observe one such gem (fictious, of course).
—
Sau Derkeener
VP Logistical Administration | UBC Logistics Club
Executive Manager | Management Conference, UBC
Marketing Coordinator | Association of Marketers Vancouver Branch
Acronym Director | AFPWRAAACRAA
Bachelor of Commerce 2012 in Marketing
Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia
Email: sau.derkeener@gmail.com | Website: www.sau12.com
Linkedin: SauDerkeener | Skype: Sau12
Mobile: 604.555.555 | Fax: 604.555.3456
Behold the greatness that is business school signature (though only midly exaggerated). It’s twice as long as the body of the email and three times as long as most professors’ (although the disclaimer “The content of this email is confidential and meant only for its recipient. If received in error please destroy immediately” has yet to catch on. Oh I dread the day someone popularizes that!) . I have to confess that my own email signature currently looks like an abridged version of above. From experience, I have compiled a very handy dandy guide for you called “How to Create Your Email Signature to Ensure SUCCE$$”.
Step one. Open the Word Document that contains your most recent two-page resume.
Step two. Select All and Copy.
Step three. Paste into signature of email.
Step four. Send emails and earn the lusting admiration of your peers, TA’s, professors who bother checking their emails, random-dude-who-never-responds-to-your-group-meeting-requests, and love interest you tend to flirt with by email.
You know you’ve been studying too much computer science when you hear the lyrics “there are only 2 kinds of people in the world” in Britney Spears’ Circus, and immediately correct it in your head to, “No, there are 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don’t. Take that Britney.”
Midterm today.
And now, to borrow a concept from the website Overheard in New York: SPOTTED IN UBC.
SPOTTED IN THE SUB. Last Friday evening – five middle-aged men intensively playing a game of Yu-Gi-Oh cards next to the food court. I was tempted to stay and watch.
SPOTTED IN THE COMPSCI BUILDING. The day before Valentine’s Day – a couple who looks like they’re about to consummate their relationship on the sofa in the atrium in open view. OH MY EYES! MY EYES!
Did you spot something outrageous, delicious, hilarious, or gorgeous (like Jennifer Aniston’s dress at the Oscar’s)? Feel free to email them to me and share the *cough* learning experience.
So there I was, all dressed up in business formal and (literally) killer patent heels, standing in front of an audience of a hundred in the Ponderosa Centre, ready to launch into the speech that I have been working on for the past month. Why do I subject myself to the scrutiny of the public, the shaky nerves, and the horror known as Impromptu Speech? Because I actually find it VERY. VERY. FUN. *cue fangirl squeeeeee*
UBC’s Business Communication Club hosted a public speaking contest this past Thursday called SpeakOut – the first of its kind on campus in almost a decade. We went through an auditions round earlier in the month where they narrowed it down to six finalists. We then paired up with professional Toastmaster coaches and practised our speeches with the topic “The Next Great Idea”.
I passed along my two complementary tickets to my parents, as it has become kind of a tradition for them to attend all my speech contests (and give me their brutally honest opinions). The room was set up with a dozen or so round banquet tables and seated about a hundred. I along with a few of the other finalists got there early to test out the lapel mics. The event was heavily sponsored by CGA (Certified General Accountants) hence we had a wonderful keynote, John Noonan, from CGA to talk to us about the fascinating nuances of public speaking.
The competition itself was AMAZING, mainly because all the finalists were talented in so many different ways! A big congrats to Samantha (Sauder ’09) for winning the competition! You rocked girl! And a big congrats also to Roy (Sauder ’11) for winning People’s Choice!
What I Liked
Points for Improvement (personal opinions)