My introduction-in-verse won the Slideshare Best Presentation Contest Category for "About Me"! Which probably means that at some point, I brought a smile to the illustrious panel of judges: Guy Kawasaki, Nancy Duarte, Garr Reynolds, and Bert Decker.

I'm sure I'll put the iPod Touch to all sorts of good use!

I had a lot of fun making the presentation on my Nintendo DS. I've since then given to my mom so that she can do yoga, but I upgraded to the Cintiq 12WX and it's really fun to sketch on. Still, I feel very much like a fledgling artist:

As promised, I'll be sending some of my favorite presentation books to one of the lucky people who voted for me. Hello, Randell! I'm looking forward to sharing Presentation Zen and Back of the Napkin with you. =D

Squee!

Technorati Tags: slideshare

Lots of learning this week!

The Cintiq tablet I ordered from Vistek arrived the very next day. After learning way too much about X.org in the process of setting it up, I've gotten it to work as a tablet and as a second screen. Hooray! Someday I'll get GIMP and Inkscape to recognize pressure and the eraser tip, but for now, it's good enough.

I used the Cintiq to quickly process and layout the pictures we took during the vacation. The last time I made a photobook, I used Shutterfly's predetermined layouts. This time, I used the open source Scribus desktop publishing program to make everything from scratch. Now I just need to find a nice printer and binder who'll take a PDF…

New dish of the week: pad thai, from a mix. It was okay.

We borrowed some magazines from the library and I flipped through them to get an idea of things I might play with this fall. My wardrobe's already been tending towards warm earth colors, so maybe I'll try playing with metallics.

At work: propagated a few good ideas, including persistent chat rooms; worked on accessibility.

Love: W- is totally awesome. =) This week's reason: he hung up the memory scroll my friends and family had made for me before I left for Canada. =) Aww!

Next week:

• More sketching and photography
• Prepare presentation
• Cook salmon and couscous
• Sort out new sewing machine =)

But it's worth it.

Okay, it doesn't seem obvious from the quality of my drawing, but it's certainly fun…

Technorati Tags: cintiq

It's only one minute and 25 seconds, and it'll probably make you smile. Plus, it's a (mostly) working sitemap, and how cool is that? The prize for this category is an iPod Touch, which (if I win it) I will promptly put to good use. After all, if I used my Nintendo DS to make a presentation, what might I do with something like the iPod Touch?

Honorable mention would get me a copy of Presentation Zen book, which I liked so much I bought it already, so I'd be happy to raffle it off and keep just the warm and fuzzy feelings that my fledgling sketching and writing skills got noticed. Want it? Leave a comment on this entry (just one comment is fine), and I'll pick a random commenter if I win the book.

In addition to either blog posts about doing interesting things with the iPod Touch or a chance at winning a free book, you'll also get the satisfaction of supporting a geek in an area dominated by graphic designers. =) (Not that graphic designers can't be geeks, of course.)

Anyway, please vote for my presentation! =) Voting ends on July 31, 2008.

World's Best Presentation Contest

This week gave me an opportunity to think about time, work, and money.

I had spent much of Sunday and my evenings on conference-related work. As much as I enjoyed the opportunity to reach out and touch people I wouldn't ordinarily get to meet, I also realized that it was time I took away from my personal projects and my other relationships. By the time the conference wrapped up on Wednesday, I was looking forward to a quiet day working at home.

Although I'd already worked the typical number of hours for the week, I still felt that I needed to keep working on Thursday and Friday. I wanted to make some more progress on my main billable project, and I was also helping a number of volunteer efforts get off the ground. I put in a full day of work on Thursday, and I headed into the office on Friday.

After I did some more work on my main billable project, demonstrated some of our internal Web 2.0 tools, and replied to my e-mail, I looked into the process for filing overtime. I had given the company my personal time because the company wanted the value I could create, so I figured that I should be able to get some of that value back. I knew I could be compensated in either money or time, but I needed to do some paperwork.

Catching myself getting frustrated by the process for filing overtime, I decided to put off the paperwork until next week and enjoy some of the time that I had earned.

Don't get me wrong–I love the opportunities I have to grow and work with such wonderful people. I just want to make sure that I'm living the values that I want to live, because I won't be effective if I'm not authentic. This doesn't mean that I don't love my work. This means I love it enough to want to always love it, instead of coming to resent it or losing touch with myself.

During my commute back, I looked at the options of no overtime, overtime for money, overtime for time, and free overtime, thinking about their effects on my happiness, relationships, increased opportunities to help, career progress, and bank balance. This is the chart I sketched on the subway ride home.

VALUES: Personal happiness and relationships are very important to me. I enjoy opportunities to help, but I'm not too worried about it because there are more than enough awesome opportunities to reach out and make a difference, both inside and outside work. I think about but am not overly concerned with career growth, because that tends to follow opportunities to help. Money is flexible. I don't mind growing wealth and I'd like to share in the value I create, but because I enjoy being frugal and I don't have many financial demands, I'm not driven to earn more and more.

OPTIONS:

No overtime: If I try my best to stay within the 40-44 hours that forms a "typical" work week, I think this will have a terrific effect on my happiness and my relationships. I'll be able to explore other areas, exercise my creativity, and keep myself from going overboard. I'll miss out on some opportunities to help at work and my career won't progress as quickly as other people's might, but I'll have more opportunities to help outside work and those opportunities may turn into things that can make money for me, too. This doesn't stop me from volunteering on things I love about work during my free time (but only the things I love!). =) What will I do with the rest of the time? Experience new things, think, learn, write, dream, doodle, listen, share, grow…

Overtime compensated by money: Ideally it would be overtime for something I really enjoy and would be doing anyway, but even in that case, I'd still have to deal with the paperwork. Once I sort out the paperwork, though, this will be less stressful. (I should revise this chart after I complete the process a number of times.) On the downside, I might find myself doing overtime on things I don't particularly care about, in which case I'll probably feel the strain of not enough rest, reflection, or creative randomness. I may also end up finding it easier to focus on work than on relationships, so that's not too good either. In addition, money is flexible, but time is irreplaceable. On the upside, it'll open up more opportunities to help at work, it would be good for my career (particularly that utilization target), and it would grow my bank balance (well, after taxes). It's also a good way of making sure that I spend time on things that other people will find valuable.

Overtime compensated by time later on: This depends on the circumstances. I would need to fill out paperwork and coordinate with my team members, which will take effort. On the other hand, if this allows me to move time around so that I can have more chunks of free time, then that can work out well for personal happiness and relationships. If I can put in work when demand is high and take time for myself when demand is low, then my opportunities and career would probably be positively affected. On the other hand, there will probably always be demand, and it's hard to take a break when other people are working hard.

Free overtime: I can skip the paperwork, but that doesn't solve the problem of being more stressed because I give up time spent on rest, reflection, learning, or relationships. It's good for opportunities and career, and has a neutral effect on money.

SUMMARY: My intuition tells me that the no overtime case gets me closest to living my values without too much stress, and even if that might limit my career advancement, it opens so much more of life to me. Overtime for money and overtime for time are pretty much tied, but it'll be a moot point because overtime is going to be phased out for my job category next year. Free overtime is good for the company, but it doesn't help me confront and try to live my values, and it's too easy to get sucked into work.

I'm going to work on the paperwork so that I can get what I'm eligible for and so that I can understand the process. After that, I'll avoid working overtime unless the company really really needs it, and then I'll see if I can either take that as time off (preferably) or as money.

I think it's good to think out loud about things like this. I've learned more about my tradeoffs, and I'd love to hear your insights. If my employer disagrees with the way I currently think, I'd rather hear about it now (and maybe work out a different view?) than later. It doesn't mean that I don't love my work. Again: all this means I love it enough to want to always love it, instead of coming to resent it. I hope that by thinking about my values and decisions, I can make the fit better and better.

Like it? Please vote for it!

World's Best Presentation Contest
I'd love to see how far this… err… sketchy style of presentations can go. =)

Here's the text:

Hello, I'm Sacha Chua and I'm really pleased to meet ya.
How can I assist ya? I would love to find out how.

So what can I connect you to? Ideas that would help you through?
Some tools, perhaps, to help you do the thing you're working on right now?

Are you changing your bulletin boards and stickies, your e-mail and Notes twisties
for bookmarks, blogs, and wikis? I can help you strategize.

Are you looking for a presentation 'bout Web 2.0 and my generation?
(It has caused a small sensation–all this interest in Gen Ys!)

If you're also into Drupal and you're searching for something useful,
then I hope, my fellow pupil, that I've written what you need.

Are you an Emacs fan at home with M-x plan
and all that Emacs can? You'll like my Emacs feed.

Are you looking for a book that's worth a second look
and some time in a nook? We might see eye-to-eye.

Can I teach you what I learned from the pancakes that I burned?
(Too late the things were turned!) For my notes, read CookOrDie.

I'm a person full of passion (and a hacker of some fashion).
I reflect and I take action, and it's all there on my page.

There are few things I've not written (even times that I've been smitten,
and my darling psycho kitten) because all the world's a stage.

There's more in my six years of blogging hopes and fears
and laughter, anger, tears–and there'll be more to come!

I'd love to hear from you, your thoughts–and comments too.
Thanks for clicking through. I hope you've had some fun!

Technorati Tags: drupal sketches

Thank you for your comforting thoughts.

I was horrified to hear what happened to Ollie. It's sad that people can do things like that. I cried and cried and cried, and J- and W- put their arms around me and comforted me. There was nothing I could have done to prevent it or to call him back, and there was nothing I could do to prevent that from happening to other animals in the future.

When the initial shock passed, I found myself faced with a decision: I could either let this close me up and discourage me from caring so much that I could get this hurt, or I could defy that and keep myself open. I realized that–at least for me–the only way to fight the darkness within the world and within ourselves is to blaze even brighter with light. The only way to deal with random acts of sickness is with kindness. The only way to deal with hate is to love more fiercely. The only way to face death is to live.

Ollie was a good cat, and I'm glad I had that time with him. You can read about the time my dad rescued this poor drenched little kitten off the street and our daring cat rescue when Ollie decided to go and get lost on the roof. It was more than just the adventures, though. Ollie taught me a lot about the kindness of my parents, Kathy, and the other people at home. That's what I treasure most about him: that a rather dusty orange cat with an endless appetite for food, the most piteous kitten-like meow (really quite out of place on a tomcat), and a penchant for getting stuck (in the same place! sweet but not very smart - that meow certainly helped persuade us to keep rescuing him), could teach me more about people and love.

I am sad that people can do such things to a cat, but I will not let that eclipse the goodness of other people or the happy stories Ollie was part of. I'm happy I got to know Ollie.

(And I am trying very hard not to run off and adopt another stray cat.)

UPDATE: My mom said that Ollie might have been in an accident; no one knows. But it's beautiful that a stray and fearful kitten could find in our house something to call home.

This can be hard to remember this several decades after you've joined the company and when you've developed a wide social network, but people who are starting out might not only feel tremendously isolated, but also not know about opportunities to use their strengths.

Gallup has an article about helping newcomers make friends in order to increase employee engagement and retention. This reminded me of the Human Capital Institute's webcast and whitepaper on relational onboarding and how social networking accelerates new hires into star performers, which said:

Rather than abandon highly motivated new hires to orientations, hard to navigate intranets, and stacks of dusty manuals, successful organizations help new hires build a strong network of relationships with colleagues who can help transform them into star performers. Building strong relationships from day one makes new hires feel more connected to the workforce, resulting in decreased turnover, shortened time to contribution, greater engagement and job satisfaction. This webcast will examine how HR executives can make the shift from ‘administrative’ onboarding’ to ‘relational onboarding,’ and how Corporate Social Networking technology can help build the network of connections integral to a new hire’s and the company’s success.

Sally Colella and Nancy Wheeler, Human Capital Institute

I've been with IBM for seven months, and I want to share this kind of onboarding experience with everyone. As a new hire, I'm learning so many things every day. Writing about what I learn helps me not only understand and remember things better, it also helps me share what I'm learning with other new hires and with other people throughout the company. Isn't that amazing? I get to create value for other people while I'm learning. Blogs have helped me make friends, ask for help, give help, get plugged in… It's terrific stuff, and I want to help as many people connect as I can.

That's one of the reasons why I love working with IBM. I want to help organizations figure out how to use social networking to help bring new people on board, connect passionate people with each other (employees, customer evangelists, whoever!), and join the conversations inside the company and in the world. This is challenging because it's not just a matter of introducing a blogging platform or putting up a wiki - it requires a lot of thought about the work culture, and yes, even the occasional cheerleading. But this is work I love to do, and if there's any way you can help me find organizations who want to consult with me and my team, please feel free to e-mail me at sachac@ca.ibm.com. =)

I worked on a little sketch presentation on "Web2.0@Work: In Pursuit of Passion" over the weekend, trying to explain why this is just so cool. I put it up on Slideshare on Saturday, and today it's the Slideshow of the Day. That probably means lots of people are interested in this topic. =) Are you? Let's talk about it so that we can figure out how wonderful it can be!

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Link from myventurepad: Make Friends with Employee Engagement

But how do you know what to draw?
You don't know until you start drawing.

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Useful sites:

• DSTT - one of the homebrew chips
• DS Colors at CollectingSmiles.com
• ColorsDraw, a Java applet for playing back .DRW files

I like sketching on the DS because it's something I can always take with me. I've thought about getting a digitizing tablet, but I've always held off because, well, I don't think of myself as an artist. Not a proper artist–not like Diane, one of my best friends. She has sketchpads full of good stuff, and would definitely make the most of a tablet. Me, I doubt my artistic skill and hand-eye coordination. But I've been working on developing my visual vocabulary by taking pictures, looking at photos and great presentations, and trying to explain abstract things with analogies, and I'm discovering that maybe I do have a little bit of an artistic side. Sketching is actually a lot of fun. Maybe my drawings aren't as cool as the sketches that people have posted in the Colors Gallery, but they're my drawings, and they make me happy. =)

I'm starting to save up for a tablet PC. =) I think that would be fun to play with, and I've learned that it's good to follow my intuition. I would love to mindmap and storyboard my presentations with a tablet PC, and if I can use that to sketch bigger things, even better! So I've made room in my spending plan, and at my current rate of saving, I'll have the sum saved just in time for my 25th birthday. =) I want the Lenovo X61 multi-touch model, but maybe an even better one will come along by the time I've saved up for it. (And maybe there'll be more software for it, too!)

In the meantime, I want to learn more about communicating with the tools I have. I've got so many things I want to share: things I've learned, things I'm learning from other people and from books and from the world around me. You can come along and learn with me as we figure things out. That's what this blog is for. =) So I've checked out a whole bunch of books on visual storytelling, and I'm going to be drafting and drawing some other ideas over the next few weeks. (My Wicked Cool Emacs book may turn into a cartoon guide to Emacs… Yeah, right. )

What would be some great ways to improve on this without springing for new gadgets? I'd really love to figure out how to work with the videos I can get from ColorsDraw and turn them into a slideshow where the pace is controlled by the viewer. I'd love to be able to move things around, cut things apart, and crop and greenscreen… I'd love to do proper animations of stick figures and drawings, too. (Wouldn't it be awesome if someone came up with a DS homebrew app for that?) And there's plenty to learn even with static images. =)

So that's where I am with this Nintendo DS sketching thing. I'm learning a lot, and it's fun. <grin>

She very obligingly posed for me the last time I was in the Philippines. I miss my cat.

Let's see how well this works.