JL's Hyper Journey

Three weeks since I submitted my Masters thesis on social integration, and now back from Manchester. Done with the jet lag, and adapting better to life back home. It feels like IRP II now.

What I would do differently:

Survey and decide: lay out options and make a decision on high value ideas

Faster turnaround: test ideas more quickly. Prototype!

Watch my time well: Make a timeline and be disciplined in making and monitoring progress.

Have fun: Life is short! Make time for family and friends too, and enjoy the process.

Obama at SXSW 2016: My Reflections

There are so many learning points from Obama’s speech at SXSW, including his well-argued opinion on the privacy versus security debate. A substantial clip worth revisiting again in future. My reflections below about how I applied the learnings to defining my next step in life:

What affected me most from Obama’s speech:

I was impressed by Obama’s honesty in recognising how bloated government can be, especially when he recounted the ills of the Obamacare website, a painful implementation experience after the painstaking efforts to pass healthcare reforms. He emphasised on the importance of collaboration between government, third sector, and private sector (35:40). On complex social problems which the government is tackling, he rallied the tech community to get out there and join forces to change things for the better, rather than passively wait for somebody else to solve it - be the change, everyone has a role to play. Yes, we can! 

He also talked about issues which he cared about, and he is not gonna stop just because his term in the Office is ending.

What I learnt about myself:

As a new-to-hardcore tech person, I recognise that technical knowledge such as coding and Adobe suite stuff were my weaker areas, and I am working on them. My strength lies more on building user empathy to understand underlying user needs, and I derive joy whenever my research teams could uncover them. 

However I can get bogged down by constraints, and then allow my enthusiasm to wither away. I should apply the recognition of learning as a lifelong process, and learn to operate with constraints. The constraints could present themselves in the form of my deficiencies in knowledge e.g. lack of proficiency in coding and Adobe suite. Or in the environment, e.g. lack of creative space in Singapore. “Sometimes I’m just trying to get the connection” (40:08), quipped Obama as he described the difficulties he faced when trying to get things done, in contrast to popular impressions of the high-tech tools at the disposal of the President. So I need to learn how to live better with constraints, be it in the environment or within myself, and still create a level of impact that is meaningful to others. While at the same time evolving and pushing myself to shape myself and the environment to take on more effective forms.

Then again, like Obama said, the government took on more difficult problems which the private sector might not be willing to take on. That said, it also meant that I need not always make things difficult for myself. It is possible to get by with life comfortably, without having to take on the toughest and most challenging problems all the time. I learnt that I can be idealistic in my pursuits, but I need to keep an eye on the practicalities too to make ends meet. 

What I would do differently:

For my next step in life, start by looking inwards. What skills/superpowers do I have? What are my ambitions and goals? What issues/problems irk me the most?  While I am at it, what means do I have to cover my bills? How best should I approach the problem - whom could I work with to bring resources and attention together to tackle the problem? I realised that these formed my criteria for deciding what step to take next, and what success would be.

Evaluate which are the ones that seemed most likely to fulfil my criteria above. Make a plan, and then get out there to test and implement it. Is the plan sound? What were my assumptions? Did I choose the right issue to work on? Is that an issue which I am best placed to tackle now?

What happened which affected me: 

Some days left to IRP submission deadline and I am at the 5,400 word mark.

One more workshop to run this evening - it’s the final one, and I hope there would be a good mix of immigrants and locals today. Will there be many no-shows today? Will I be able to seed at least one idea for real and watch it develop into something meaningful?

IRP aside, I am also applying for service design positions in dream companies. How would my next career look like? I feel some tingling excitement at the prospects of tackling new challenges - after IRP is over, I wanna rest my mind for a couple of days, and then look at my list of side projects and start initiating some independent work while looking for a paid opportunity to arise. I hope to be able to apply some of my IRP insights too and deliver a solution in some form in the real world.

So much to do!

What did I learn about myself?

The above captured my fascination with the wonders of the world, and amazement at the possibilities all there to explore, I just gotta to start somewhere, and keep the curiosity going instead of just being busy. Often times, like now, I would be so narrow-minded on IRP or whichever seemingly huge task, and either lose sight of other things, or go into “drift” mode when overwhelmed - either extreme was not productive. 

At times, I also now realised more that there were more than simply forces of good and evil at play. “Good” and “evil” were subjective terms. People had different interpretations of what was just - and I have mine certainly. Pushing my brand onto others simply won’t work, and I should not “kill” myself if things did not work out my way. I need to be an effective altruist, through a strength-based approach, and be kind while trying to make social impacts.

What would I do differently next time?

Continue resisting the lures of procrastination and set clear goals to achieve for the week or day. I started adopting the Pomodoro methodology (thanks for Nat) and it has been helpful. Using the Business Calendar on Android helped give me a clearer sense of time nowadays. 

On a longer term basis, I need to start defining what areas I would want to focus on, and work towards that in a semi-structured way. The Grounded Theory and Action Research approaches seemed to reflect my style of living / discovery, and I would like to apply those research approaches into my life too.

Gearing up for the journey ahead.

Me (after losing my MacBook charger’s protective cap”

90 days passed just like that, and it is almost time to go. 

Travelling has been a humbling experience. Getting into trouble and hoping someone was around to help, or just sucking it up and finding a way out when sh** happened. Stepping into the unknown still made me anxious, but I accepted that while I can prepare as best as I can, there will be hiccups, and I have just got to deal with it.

Lots of memories collected, be it with Hypers, Forumites, SMUggers, Singaporeans, Asians, or New Yorkers. Perhaps on the plane later, I would realise just how much I got through in 90 days. 

I also felt that for many things I could have done better. Got to pull my socks up.

2015-12-27. Day of Synthesis.

What happened which affected me:  I was supposed to meet a friend for hot pot round II and pay money for round II food too. But I started doing synthesis while waiting for open house visitors to view my flat. After the open house ended, I felt I got into the flow of things and continued doing synthesis again, thinking a little more would be good, otherwise my brain would lose the train of thought and it would take too much to catch on again later. And so I did. And I ended up very late for the meet-up. Bad time management.

I felt malu when I had to apologise for being late, and seeing that there were other friends around too, who had by then mostly finished their turn eating. I ate with a heavy heart for failing to manage time properly. I thought about IRP being behind schedule and now I am behind for appointment - it summed up a feeling of being off the pace in general.

I watched and listened to my friends’ piano performances in the home studio afterwards. I thought how fortunate I was to be inside the house of musicians once again, listening to the pros trying new stuff and mixing things up behind the scenes. Who said classical pianists read from scores only and could not improvise without scores? It must have taken years of hard work, and I got to see them in action, up close and personal. As a piano music lover, I just sat there, *mesmerised*. IRP crept into my mind quietly - how might music bridge the cultural divide between peoples - but each time I just told myself to enjoy the moment, and let there be music and nothing else, if just for now. 

Later at Howl at the Moon, I saw Nate and Debbie’s performance - it was superb. The performers could switch around percussion, guitar, piano, and singing effortlessly. The crowd was up for it too, a few jumping onto stage.

Which made me miss my Hyper folks. I am too serious for my own good I realise and would certainly not be the most hyper person at bars. I would feel out of place, but with my crazy Hyper folks around, I could just be at ease among them as they danced and partied the night away.

Coincidentally, I had friends in Singapore who texted me and would comment how cool and inspiring my journey had been to them, how they would like to be in an environment where they could be exposed to other cultures and many people too. These extrinsic motivations reminded me to appreciate how privileged I am to be in such a position, and also how difficult it was to make the move in the first place.

What did I learn about myself:  

At the moment, I question my intrinsic motivation, especially in terms of IRP progress. I wish I could have done more during my time here e.g. developed prototypes and gotten industry feedback, talked to more industry people about internships and jobs than just research, picked up coding and sharpened digital prototyping skills. I wonder if I had picked up all I could from my time in NYC, and if I had been lazy and let time slip through my fingers again.

I have another chance now. This time in Manchester. What would I do differently to make the most out of it?

What I would do differently: 

Lauren said something along the lines that I have the tools I need and already know what to do and how to do - I just have to do it. Do something. I think I have been lazy.

I will draw a timeline. Mark out clearly what I want to do - not to overpromise myself and underdeliver, but within reasonable means, finish the project, on time. SHIP SOMETHING. BUILD IT. Coding and digital prototyping were some things which I felt lacking in, so I ought to make up some ground here too. And then get in touch with UK-based organisations - design practitioners and community groups - to secure industry feedback and sustain a few rounds of iteration.

Secondly - jobs and paid internships. Based on current trajectory, it has to be Singapore-based, and if I want to, wish to change anything, I also need to put in more effort here now.

And lastly, as Dmitry said, don’t forget to have fun.

Just need some courage.

After the Fuller Challenge 2015 event, I continued to volunteer with BFI, helping out with outreach efforts for the next Fuller Challenge in 2016.

Staff here was very friendly, and being part of the Bucky world added a little sense of excitement. The team was small, but I liked the vibes of this office :))

I finally got to visit the Hyper Island NYC office. It’s in a cosy spot at WeWorks. The Manchester school certainly had much more space!

21 Dec 2015. NYU ITP Winter Show. 

19 Dec 2015. The Lowline. 

19 Dec 2015. Christmas feeling. At Seaport.

Christmas is coming.

Shortly after I shot this video, my phone battery “died” - but I last saw that was more than 20% battery power left. 

18 Dec 2015. Theatre: The Things That Don’t Translate. NYU.

“The Things That Don’t Translate is a play about what it means to be vulnerable. Throughout the play, we see three different stories unfold. In the first story, Emma travels to Vienna to search for her missing best friend, and along the way, she meets several Viennese strangers who shape her understanding of loss. In the second story, two unnamed characters have a pseudo-intellectual and philosophical conversation over the course of one night. In the third story, childhood friends Mimi and Ben tease each other, are awkward, have their first drink, and grow up together on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. By the end, the audience understands how these stories are connected. The Things That Don’t Translate asks us what it means to really connect with someone and asks what role vulnerability plays in our ability to deeply understand - or perhaps even, find - one another.”