Just slightly more than a year ago I decided to go to Toronto, Canada to pursue a Graduate Certificate in Technical Communication, as a back-up plan to secure my family’s future. Despite the sacrifices I would have to make, and the uncertainties that would follow, I still wanted to go so that I would not look back one day and wonder “what if”. Well, ironically, now that I’ve returned to Grand Cayman and am job searching, I’m left wondering — what if I never went to Canada and studied Technical Communication? What if my Technical Communication qualification has now set me back with career in advancement in Cayman?
While living in Toronto, I found that employers in the financial services sector were interested in me. Even when interviewing for a technical writer role I was told that my client serving background would give me an advantage. In the end it didn’t, but the bottom line is that my client serving experience was being acknowledged in the context of a technical writer role. I was amazed. If only the reverse could be true in Cayman.
As I prepared to move back to Cayman I wondered if the financial services sector there would find my technical communication background to be of any relevance. I didn’t think so. I contacted a couple recruiters who pretty much made me feel that a technical communication career in Cayman was next to impossible for me; because I didn’t have a computer science degree and I didn’t have the required years of technical writing experience. I tried to express that I wasn’t seeking anything particularly technical that would require me having a computer science degree. Instead, I just wanted a role that would allow me to utilize my ‘documentation’ skill set. I don’t think I was able to get that across to recruiters. Or somehow they just didn’t see me getting any such role. So I wondered, what have I done? Surely I can’t just discard one whole year of technical communication experience from my resume, but if employers don’t care for it in Cayman, then what? Either way, I couldn’t help but wonder what if I had stayed in Cayman? By now I would completed at least one qualifying course toward my ICSA designation in Offshore Finance and Administration.
One day I picked up the newspaper and to my surprise there was a job ad titled “Document Specialist”. I thought no way. Are you kidding me? As I read through the description I saw a need for basic experience with “InDesign” and knowledge of “Styles”. Again, I thought no way this is crazy, I just learnt those in Toronto. As I got down to the salary though I saw where it was way too low for me. Nonetheless, my thoughts were now modified wondering what if my technical communication training and experience are what would now shape my destiny to have a documentation role within the financial services sector? What if the opportunity in fact existed for me to have a role that combined client relations and technical communication? Naw, I didn’t want to get my hopes up at first. But then a few days later I saw a job advertised in the newspaper for a Document Controller/Investment Clerk. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I wondered what if there’s hope for me after all. Time will tell. I guess no matter what, I will always be left wondering “what if…”
September 27, 2012 – 6:40 pm
Categories: Uncategorized
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Tagged Cayman, Certificate, client relations, communication, designation, document, Document Controller, Graduate, ICSA, InDesign, Investment, job, Styles, technical, Toronto, what if
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Recently, I was having lunch with a group of friends, and one of my colleagues who is apparently just as crazy and imaginative as I am, joked that he’s going to create a Facebook for dogs. I thought what a lovely idea. Since then my mind has been running wild, imagining what such a site would be like.
I imagine some people would put up profile pictures of their dogs and express their views on politics and religion while pretending that those are the thoughts of their dogs. They would take on a greater level of confidence in expressing all their taboo feelings while role playing their fantasy that it’s really not them speaking, it’s their inhibited dogs.
Then there would be other people who would get super creative by dressing up their dogs to look like the animal versions of themselves. Some would have their dogs converse about cats they’d like to tear apart, and juicy steak bones they’re looking forward to eat for dinner. There would be dogs on Facebook representing various races and nationalities, so they’d be having written conversations in French, English, Mandarin, German, you name it. Would be so cute to see little Irish dogs making comments like “feck off”, and the Rasta dog jammin inna Jamaican patois.
Maybe some people would want to take it a step further by having a Facebook cat invasion to create some Facebook drama between dogs and cats. I wonder what they’d argue about besides…, actually I have no idea what they’d argue about, but I’m sure their owners would think of something.
Love it, love it, love it. Cheers to Facebook for dogs! 
Recently, I was having lunch with a group of friends, and one of my colleagues who is apparently just as crazy and imaginative as I am, joked that he’s going to create a Facebook for dogs. I thought what a lovely idea. Since then my mind has been running wild, imagining what such a site would be like.
I imagine some people would put up profile pictures of their dogs and express their views on politics and religion while pretending that those are the thoughts of their dogs. They would take on a greater level of confidence in expressing all their taboo feelings while role playing their fantasy that it’s really not them speaking, it’s their inhibited dogs.
Then there would be other people who would get super creative by dressing up their dogs to look like the animal versions of themselves. Some would have their dogs converse about cats they’d like to tear apart, and juicy steak bones they’re looking forward to eat for dinner. There would be dogs on Facebook representing various races and nationalities, so they’d be having written conversations in French, English, Mandarin, German, you name it. Would be so cute to see little Irish dogs making comments like “feck off”, and the Rasta dog jammin inna Jamaican patois.
Maybe some people would want to take it a step further by having a Facebook cat invasion to create some Facebook drama between dogs and cats. I wonder what they’d argue about besides…, actually I have no idea what they’d argue about, but I’m sure their owners would think of something.
Love it, love it, love it. Cheers to Facebook for dogs!
I often questioned what if I could have progressed much further in my communications career if I had made better choices along the way. I questioned how come God never felt I deserved a job in advertising or with UNICEF as a children’s advocate.
Instead, my first job basically landed in my lap after my former University program coordinator recommended me for the job. So without even applying or knowing that place existed, I interviewed and got the job as an Executive Assistant, then soon moved up to the post of Corporate Communications Specialist.
While in that role I got a call from an advertising executive who offered me a job as a copywriter, but I turned it down due to guilt in having just started a new role. Quickly enough I felt really dumb about that decision because I soon left the communications role due to feeling intimidated by a boss who had belittled me every chance he got.
I then went on to a publishing company where my tasks included editing, but also data entry, scanning and photocopying. Having just graduated with a first class honors degree I was on my “high horse” and saw the administrative tasks as demeaning so I became disinterested and was fired without even an hour’s notice. Upon leaving I told my boss my true feelings and she informed me of plans she had to make me lead the marketing functions of the company. Again, I felt that I had made such a huge mistake, and very often I’d ask myself what if I had just worked well and communicated my feelings earlier to my boss, then my communications career would have taken off.
I then moved on to a temporary role as a writer in a public relations company. The management was very pleased with me and offered me a full time role as an Account Executive. I expressed dissatisfaction with the salary and the offer was retracted. Once more, I wondered what if I had just taken the lower salary, then my communications career would have taken off.
It seems I had blown every chance I got to have a blooming communications career. Then I later found myself working in client relations and investor relations. I enjoyed the role and having that feeling of ownership — having a portfolio of clients whom I viewed as “my clients.” But I also felt like a failure. I looked at the accomplishments of other communications graduates who were now working as communications specialists, and some even became consultants, while I seemed to have change fields.
It took me a long time to discover that it is all about perception. Despite having published two novels, and having written numerous articles that were published in newspapers from I was 16 years old, I still felt that my communications career was a waste, until it hit me that all along I had been succeeding, maybe not as communications specialist, but as a Writer. It also hit me that while I did not have the title “communications specialist”, in my client relations role I was always “communicating” with clients. More importantly, I realised that all along I had been gaining new and varied skills, becoming all the more equipped for the diverse work force.
March 19, 2012 – 1:43 pm
Categories: Uncategorized
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Tagged account executive, administrative, advertising, boss, career, communications, company, data entry, degree, diverse, editing, first class, honors, public relations, publishing, skills, specialist, UNICEF, woes, work force, writer
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Maybe it’s just me, but you know those times when your mind plays tricks on you making you see or hear something completely different from the truth? Maybe I need to change my glasses, or try to get more sleep. Either way, my mind definitely did a number on me recently. Heading to my apartment one night I read a notice which warned that on February 27 water would be shut off in the building from 9am until 12pm. So I anticipated that since I wasn’t home during those hours I had nothing to worry about. Guess what? The sign hadn’t said 12pm, hadn’t said noon, not even 12am. The notice had actually stated between “9am and midnight.” Bloody hell, midnight! Unfortunately, I only realised this on the same day of the occurrence, so despite “the advance notice”, I had seen the real warning too late to catch up some water. So I rocked my brain to see what kind of damage control I could do. I thought — ok I have a jug of drinking water so Jason is fine. And thank God for wipes and hand sanitizer if the water runs out. Although I didn’t want to have to resort to using wipes and hand sanitizer as if I was experiencing a national disaster. Then another troublesome thought was what if I need to do number 2? Oh crap! If I had just double checked the sign, or even asked the front desk to be sure.
Well I got through the first hour and a half quite fine since I only got home at 6pm. I figured the water I had should definitely last until around 8.30 or 9pm and then I would go off to sleep anyway. If push came to shove I could just go downstairs and buy a bottle of water. But how annoying would that be to be spending money on water when if I had just realized the correct time on the notice I would have filled Jason’s tub up with some water. I would have filled those two red bowls. I could have even filled up that water bottle on the table.
Well I hate to spoil the fun people; some story this could have been huh if I really had to go all the way until midnight without water, right? But unfortunately for you and fortunately for me the water was back by 7.30pm :-). THANK GOD!!!
I moved to Canada last Fall and faced a major culture shock in learning the price of winter boots, and winter jackets. Being from a tropical island I never had a need before to wear winter boots and winter jackets, and had no prior guidance, so was completely clueless. I became friends with a girl who advised me to purchase a good pair despite the cost of around $120 including tax. I thought no way, absolutely not. I am not spending over $100 on shoes. What’s so special about them that I need to pay over $100? I told her I planned on buying all my shoes and clothes from Walmart.
Well I didn’t end up buying any winter shoes or jackets from Walmart, but came across a few stores that sold boots for the prices I was looking for. At the time I thought all “boots” were winter boots, so I bought two pairs that were each $20. The black pair looked good but then they started to crack a bit and ever since a male classmate compared them to his shoes I couldn’t get over thinking that they look like male boots. So I decided maybe $20 was too cheap, but $50 didn’t seem too bad, and the boots looked really hot and they were high all the way up to my thighs, so I thought they must be good stuff for the winter. Not quite. I introduced them to my friend and she made me aware that they were that high so women can wear them with short skirts. Hmmmm, that makes sense. By then I knew I seriously had to do better at getting the right winter boots. So when I saw a pair referred to as “winter boots” at Old Navy I figured I’m good to go. They were so cute and the price was right – on sale for only $40. I felt even better when a lady up by the cashier mentioned seeing them in another store for $80. I thought I finally hit the jackpot. But as the days grew colder and colder I realized my choice wasn’t so good after all. The cold was surely making its way into my boots and onto my feet. If I had just listened to my friend when she told me to buy a decent pair of winter boots, even if it cost $120.
And while all that madness was going on with the boots I was busy spending a fortune on jackets. Every time I noticed a winter jacket on sale I bought one. I had no idea one or two was enough, until speaking with an older woman one day who mentioned that she had two, and she had been living in Canada her whole life. I had bought one that was going very cheap for just $50, then realized two months later when I was ready to wear it that it had a faulty zip. I saw one that looked so elegant it was hard to resist, then I saw one that was absolutely perfect in every way, then I saw one that would work better on a day when it was only mildly cold. I wasn’t sure if I should go with black or grey so I bought them both, and I went on and on until I ended up with seven winter jackets. Yes, seven.
Now back to the boots. After all my mistakes I eventually bought a sensible pair of winter boots on sale from Old Navy. I still didn’t pay $120, well at least not on one pair, but with all the boots combined I had spent way over that amount. So I ended up with five pairs of winter boots, yet only one can withstand -15 degree temperatures or worse. If I had just listened to my friend I could have saved all that money. But at least now I can reflect and LMAO about it, and I am surely set for all other winters to come. Wish I had done things differently, but sometimes life just happens. So I face the winter like a diva with several jackets and boots to choose from.
Growing up I’d hear kids say “what if your nose was a door post, where would you put the hinges?” It was a bit of an upsetting query because surely there’s no way my nose would ever transform into a door post, so why on earth would I wonder about that? Well the same thing could be said about more realistic things in life that we spend our time wondering about. I’m 100 % guilty of always reflecting and thinking if I had just, or what if were to do this or that. It gets a bit frustrating at times. But one day I thought, you know what I’ll just get my frustrations out in writing, as I always do. So I decided, I’ll write a book about it. Maybe that will get it out of my system. I started writing what I thought would become my third book, but then of course, I wondered, what if I were to do this is a blog? I wonder what kind of “what if” stories other people may have. I’d love to hear their stories and share mine with them, and voila, that’s how this blog began.
There’s so much I think back on in my life about and wish things had gone differently, if I had just had a different attitude, if I had just been a bit more patient, and the list goes on. But despite all my should have, would have, could have, whatever was ever meant to happen, happened, and one day it just finally hit me, sometimes life just happens. So get over whining and pining already. We may think we ought to have full control because we are in the driver’s seat of our lives, but sometimes we don’t have full control of the situation; there are circumstances often beyond our foresight and beyond our control. Even if we feel bad about certain outcomes, we just never saw those end-results coming so we didn’t know how to stop them. And we don’t have all the keys to the future either. I know, easier said than done, it’s like a drug. So why not have some fun with it? Let’s see how often in our lives we get caught up with this ‘what if’. I know a common ‘what if’ facing most of us right now is ‘what if I were to win the lottery?’ Well all I can tell you is that if you don’t have a ticket you don’t stand a chance. I bought a pick 3 ticket recently with the numbers 2,7,3 but just my luck the winning numbers were 3,7,1. So I almost won the lottery, but almost doesn’t count. If I had just played a 1 instead of a 2. But you know what, sometimes life just happens.
whatifsometimeslifehappen 