having some fun

Norman Alm dropped by the lovely MDes studio this morning to chat about his recent work, the CIRCA project. In a nutshell, he and his team are trying to create an interactive touch-screen device that will help people with dimentia to reminisce about the past and, in what I think are the most successful cases, remember a long-lost story to share with those who are caring for them. He shared wonderful tales of stories that have never been told being shared with family members for the first time—pretty powerful stuff. Its safe to say that we could use more Norman Alms around this planet.

During the lecutre, he weaved (or is it inter-weaved?) stories of his own project and tips for conducting our research work quite masterfully. As he was commenting on working in interdisciplinary teams, he mentioned the value in working with people that you like—he suggested getting to know them on a social level. If you can't enjoy somebody's company, it doesn't matter how valuable they could be to the team, that person has to go (or, perhaps, you do). Why? Because the project would not be enjoyable, and therefore, not sustainable in the long term. Word.

I consider myself somewhat knowledgeable on the "unsustainability of something uenjoyable" front. I've held a job that I have not enjoyed—I'm talking about waking up in the morning feeling sick to my stomach—as well as a job that I've absolutely loved–I'm talking about waking up in the morning and singing with pleasure. Although both have helped shaped my current outlook on life, I would not wish the experience of doing something unejoyable, on a daily basis, on anybody. It's not worth it.

Mr. Lif, the Boston MC, has a great quote: "life is a gift to be enjoyed, every second, every minute, it's temporary not infinite."

As I continue to ponder where to perform my 3rd semester research project (see previous post), these tips keep piling up. Again, there is a base of people I absolutely love working with back in the states. Do I take the risk of trying to recreate this—considering the small timeline I have—in another location?

---

In the afternoon, Kirsty Miller, a representative of the Career Services office at the uni and possibly the nicest person on our planet, dropped in to help us with our CVs.

In all honesty, I almost didn't attend. It went something like this in my head "I have written a resume or two in my day...I am pretty confident in my abilities". How foolish. I had almost forgotten the famous line from Kansas' mega-hit "Carry on Wayward Son": "And if I claim to be a wise man, well it surely means that I don't know".

Anyway, at one point, the topic of including one's interests/hobbies on your CV/resume came up. Kirsty's opinion was that you should somehow tie them to the a skill relevant to the job you are applying for. My opinion is that this is unnecessary.

Two things about this:
1. I fear I tried to get my opinion in (which in itself was pretty unnecessary) in a very nonconstructive manner. For sure, there would have been a better way of getting what I had to say across (maybe shutting up?). I sent Kirsty an apology. I hope she doesn't hold it against the entire program.

2. I still believe that interests/hobbies can be on your resume/CV without tying into the job. It goes along the lines of what Norman Alm said about working with people you can enjoy. How better to know this then to discover what that person is interested in? I always touched upon the interests section at some point when conducting (is that word a bit too grand for this use?) an interview. It usually provides the best conversation, as well as a glimpse into a person's "non-interview" mode.

(Get ready for some anti-"the man" writing). I think it is important to convey your personality on your CV. If you take it away, you make it okay for your employer to also take it away. We shouldn't fall into the trap of all trying to be the same person, with identical looking (and I'm not talking about the design) CV's. We should be proud of who we are and let those potential employers know it. Otherwise, it seems we are just admitting that we are the "rats" in the "rat race".

---

The saddest story I've read in some time. You should have seen this guy in action. He knew how to command an audience, and he absolutely loved peeling carrots. Now here is someone who had passion.

---

PS. If you made it this far, you deserve a prize. Here you go (give it 8 seconds).