Category Archives: Uncategorized

In my first year at UBC, I joined the Science One program. It’s a truly interdisciplinary program based on integrating biology, physics, chemistry, and math concepts. It is also unofficially known for its huge work load and intellectually demanding environment. In my year (and probably every year), Science One was filled with students who were exceptional at what I would now call “hard core” science. My fellow learners were great at abstract thinking. They had the drive and discipline that […]

I can’t believe I haven’t posted in so long. Needless to say, again, a lot and a lot has happened. I’m still trying to sort out and learn from what I went through, and hopefully apply it to the future as personal and professional growth. As for now, I am working on three main projects: starting an organic farm and semi-off grid homestead working on teaching an online course on how to start a career in international development work. take […]

I’m involved in a new project these days, aside from my formal work. It’s making life more interesting because there’s a very concrete problem to be solved that needs to combine market research, demand confirmation, and technology. I intuitively have a good feeling about this project. And I think it came at just the right timing, which means it must be fate. Dar always seems to find the right things to pull me back just when I’m about to leave.

As in most other places, I interact mostly with the middle class on a daily basis, in work and personal life. While the definition of middle class may be changing, there is still a distinct culture that defines those who are not born with a golden key, who obtain a good education, and who take it for granted that the future will be better than the past. What I have realised eventually is that while it is the middle class and the elites who […]

I have moved homes! My old blog (http://blogs.landfood.ubc.ca/tiffanyt/) has been forced to shut down, so I migrated to the new UBC blogs site. I have a new resolve to blog more regularly. Specifically, at least 3 times a week. (Yes, I know, I have said this many times before!)

And of course I never kept my promise. This thing called discipline is such an elusive little rascal.

I think I’ve decided what to do with my work confusion situation. Thanks to very good advice from a friend and dad recently. Money really doesn’t matter that much. I can live off what I learn and I will always have a back-up (ha, shamefully, my parents). There is a time in life where you do need to earn enough money, now isn’t the time. There’s no other time in life where I can experiment with different sectors and fields […]

Being in a constant state of stress and panic for work has become so natural to me I don’t even react anymore. Is that paradoxical? Probably. Yes, Friday evening. And my boss just told us we have only been working on 1/4 of the full workload for last two weeks. And I’m actually a bit excited. I think I must have a tendency to torture myself. Well, I’m excited because I suddenly got a much bigger picture idea about how […]

Sometimes I wonder if it really isn’t such a good strategy to attract so many young, ambitious, talented, able-to-see-in-multiple-perspectives, progressive people into development work. Development is a big industry. It’s an important industry, in my opinion. It is still an industry, with mechanical inputs, and not so predictable outputs. Yet, the problems we try to fight are so vast and complicated, that I’m not sure being an industry would actually make much of a difference. This thought came about when […]