2010 Goals

Lame? Cliche?

Perhaps, but I think that one should always strive to improve themselves, and what better way than to write them down?

Writing down things helps me see more clearly what I want. It is more difficult for me to come up with a long term goal, but breaking the large goal down to smaller parts makes it both more attainable and also helps me see more clearly what comprises my long term goals in life.

I decided to break down my life into different parts, and figure out what I would like to achieve.

These are some of my short term goals.

1) Professional

I would like to be promoted to the next position and gain more experience in the field. I would also like to explore different venues of income streams, such as taking a course in Canadian Securities course. I would also like to take a continuing education course or interest course, in a Masters program I am considering in pursuing in the near future.

2) Charity

I have volunteered for a community program which mentors kids in my neighborhood. I think it's important for young people to have someone they have fun with and look up to. If I could help a child to realize their potential in society, it would be very rewarding and humbling experience.

3) Personal Food

I want to incorporate more fresh vegetables and fruits into my daily meals. I want to try to be "closer" to my food, and make myself more aware of the things I am putting in my body.

4) Personal Hygiene

I think I have a pretty good personal hygiene regiment, but things can always be improved. I want try weeding out as many chemical products I use on a daily basis, as I can, starting with shampoo and conditioner, and toothpaste.

5) Clothing

I like nice clothes, but I think that I am going to do with less this year. I don't think I can go cold turkey, but I want to set a very minimal clothing budget for this year. (After I get my bag, that is!)

6) Personal Finance

I would like to track my spending every month. I was very vigilant with this earlier on in 2009, but as I got more comfortable with watching my spending, I also got lazy and lost track of my budget. I would like to set individual goals for the different categories of my spending and saving, and stick to a monthly budget of $1000*. I am aiming to save 50% of my take home income.

7) Friends and Family

With so many goals and events happening around me, it's easy to take for granted the people who are constantly there for me, and have supported me throughout my current and previous goals. Everyone has a busier schedule than ever, but I am going to work harder to do little things - like go out for dinner or brunch, or go visit my parents two weekends a month.

*I will be writing a more detailed post of my financial goals, and will also update this budget amount based on my spending in 2009.

What are some of your goals for this year? How do you break down your goals?

Hair Experiment: Take Three

Every time I go to my stylist, I am always scolded for washing my hair everyday. It's very harsh on one's hair and working in a mostly office environment, there is simply no need since it doesn't really get that dirty. My hair is oily because my scalp has been trained to produce this much oil.

I started reading more about products I use, and realized the chemicals found in most shampoos are really harsh on the scalp. Essentially they contain very similar ingredients to detergent!

Essentially it's a cycle which I started way back in my elementary school days (I also had super oily skin and broke out a lot). I wash my hair every day, and my scalp is used to producing this amount of oil. The only way out of this cycle is to re-train my hair to produce less oils.

Simple solution, right?

Wrong.

I have attempted this THREE times this year, right now being my third attempt.

Attempt 1:

I was reading FabulouslyBroke's blog and was inspired to jump on the bandwagon of no shampoo. I made my own apple cider vinegar rinse and bought my boar bristled brush. I tried this for a little over a week and gave up. My hair was super oily. Very gross. I couldn't show up to work like this! FAIL.

Attempt 2:

I bought a shampoo (Kiss My Face) that was organic and much more gentle. I decided to try using this every other day and ease myself into the whole washing my hair less deal. This attempt lasted just under two weeks. My hair was still not used to this and looked oily.

Attempt 3:

I have been using the gentle shampoo for about a couple months now, and I felt that I was ready to try this again. I have cheat a little and tie my hair up the second day, and I also wash my bangs. I am no in my fifth week and I look presentable for work! Yippee! I finally noticed my oils decreasing this weekend on the second day!!! So excited!

Conclusion:

I wanted to see this experiment through a 6 to 8 week period, and decide where to go from there. It's hard for me to stop cold turkey on anything. So by easing my way through this, I think it works best, even if it takes longer. In the end, I want to take better care of my hair, and also my wallet. It's a win-win situation which just takes some adjusting to. Will report back results in a few weeks!

What are some of your hygiene habits that you want to kick??? Any experiments that you conduct that you would like to share???

Mentors and Flashbacks of my Childhood

I am applying to a volunteer program in my community that is similar to the "Big Brother, Big Sister" program. We are matched up with a youth and we spend three hours together once a week for an entire year.

There are a few reasons I have decided to do this.

1) Having worked for a year and half, I have a better feel for my job, and feel that this is something that I can and want to work into my schedule.

2) I had a lot of good mentors growing up, and they have set me on the path that has brought me to where I am today.

3) I think that everyone can use a good mentor.

4) Kids are bombarded with so many different messages from media every day, that its good to have someone who is real, and ready to share with them their experiences.

5) I truly believe that education is the best gift you can give to yourself. It opens up opportunities that are endless. I want to encourage this thought to the future of tomorrow.

6) I already am a real big sister. I have two little sisters, and since they are all grown up, I can now have another mentee (aka victim).

As a kid, my mentors growing up are my parents and my teachers. For a very long time, I always felt like the awkward kid in class, but I remember my teachers always saw the potential in me.

Even though I was born in Toronto, my family spoke Cantonese at home, and I hardly knew any English when I started kindergarten. I was enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) programs until I was in grade 3. I remember kids in my class would make fun of me and call me names like "ching chong."

My mom was always very strict with my school work, and would make sure that my sisters and I were on top of our homework. She would assign additional homework, since she didn't think that we got enough from school. I quickly became the "brainer" in my class, and was also teased and made fun of. "Brainiac" or "smarty pants."

I wore glasses and had bad acne from grade 7 to grade 10, I can assure you that I felt very unattractive for what felt like forever. I'm sure that no boy ever liked me because of this, and I was always afraid to admit (except to my close group of friends) which boy I liked, for fear of the boy reacting with "Ewwwww. Des likes me!"

For anyone who has ever suffered from acne, it's a terrible thing. And even though, it looks bad on the outside, it feels worse on the inside. I had very low self esteem, and I remember wanting to just sleep until it went away. I couldn't even imagine myself without it. Would I finally be pretty without acne?

I started seeing a dermatologist in grade 10, and eventually my acne went away. I started to feel a bit better about how I looked, but I was still very shy and reserved. I was sure that no boy would still like me. I always convinced myself that I would concentrate on school first, and everything else second.

I had great high school teachers whom I still think of today for helping me get where I am today.

Ms. D - She was my teacher for grade 11 and Calculus. She was a wonderful teacher who really cared about her students. She encourages myself and other young women to take control of our financial future, and start saving and investing in our future. I wish that I had listened to her in grade 12, but I guess it's never too lateputting those thoughts to actions.

Ms. C - It was in her class that I learned to combine class lectures with text books stuff. I also learned to ask for help when I needed it. A lot of kids in my class didn't like her because she was tough, and gave her a hard time. Bullying could happen to anyone and it is never acceptable.

Mr. S - He used to be a student at my high school and was a complete genius. He went off to university on a full scholarship, and became a published researcher during his graduate studies. He decided that this wasn't the thing for him, and pursued a teaching degree and started doing what he loved - teaching high school physics. He would make up crazy, entertaining test questions involving Gingerbreadman and Secret Agent 001 (himself), and do fun projects in class.

In high school, I worked part time on weekends at McDonald's and saved every penny towards college tuition. I also tutored several nights a week for classmates, younger students, etc, and pu that money towards my college tuition fund. My parents are poor, and I was scared shitless that I wouldn't have enough money to go to school, and have to work my entire life at a dead end job.

After working for 3 summers, all my part time work combined, I saved about $14,000. Enough to cover me for 1 year! I applied to an engineering school with a Co-op program which allowed me to alternate 4 months of school with 4 months of work after my first year. My work terms were also a great opportunity to sample various civil engineer fields.

College was a great time for me. It wasn't just the schooling, but meeting so many new people who are also like me. They might have been the "nerds" in their class, and been teased the same way I was for being "smart" or wearing glasses. The classes were definitely more challenging, and I was learning all the math and physics I could possible want (my 2 favourite subjects in high school!).

I am very lucky to have been touched by so many mentors. I hope that through my volunteer work, I can be a good mentor to a little girl with some big dreams. And share with her some of my experiences and help her reach her dreams.

Organization!

So, I've been trying to make some changes in my life.

I think I've gotten over the initial hump of "oh-my-god-I-am-no-longer-in-school-even-though-I-have-been-for-the-last-seventeen-years-of-my-life" crisis. Yay, me :)

I have gotten to the point that I am not that overwhelmed with my life. I have great sisters whom are my best friends and can talk about anything to. I have a great job right out of university as a consulting engineer. I am really liking dating a really great guy. I am on good terms with my parents. I have great friends, keep in touch even if we're far apart, and see my close ones as often as I can. AND I just paid off all my student loans.

Life is good, and I'm enjoying.

I think I was initially overwhelmed with everything because I felt like I had to know everything. Where I will be in 10 years from now. Even 5 years from now. From everything in terms of career, investments, house, car, boyfriend/significant other, etc etc.

Now, I know, and have convinced myself that that is silly. People are constantly changing. I am constantly changing, and to think that I can see into the future is silly. And also impossible.

So, instead of worrying about the future, I am just going to enjoy the present, and set some short term goals for myself.

A couple of areas of development, I am looking to improve are how I look at my finances and taking care of my body.

Not that I spend frivolously or eat very poorly. I think that is next to impossible with the way I was brought up (the Asian cheap genes). But I would like to know more about finances, track them and see where my money is going. Then, I can see if I am really spending my money where I want to be. I want to learn about investing, and do some of it myself. I would also like a place to record my journey along this path

I have a passion for food, and think it might be a good idea to have a place where I can record my cooking and eating woes (and triumphs). I usually only cook about twice a week, since I'm living on my own.

And even though, I can do all that on one blog. I would like to experiment with having 3 blogs. One dedicated to my weekly journal of my personal thoughts of my life (that's this one). One that is similar to a personal finance blog. And one more for my recipes and adventures dining out.

I like to have things organized into categories, and I'm actually really excited to get started on this little project of mine. I will post the links when I get them up and running :)

Wish me luck, and feel free to check them out!

$45 on diapers in May 1989

That's how much my parents spent on diapers in May of 1989. Their organization and financial detailing and spending is something that I wish I had half of. It truly is amazing.

It's crazy. The older I get, the more I am in complete and utter shock and how my parents were able to pull through raising us kids.

When I was little, and until I was in grade 7, my dad was the sole provider for my family. My mom babysat for cash when I was in grade 2 until grade 7, and after that she went back to work. Though, it was very little in hind sight, it was enough that we could save away and use my dad's income for most of the day to day spending.

Even though my dad was a book keeper in Hong Kong and my mom an accountant, when they came to Canada, they have always worked in factories. My was working making airplane wings at MacDonald Douglas until he was laid off. Then, he worked at a wall paper company in the press lines until he was laid off. And until lately, he has been working in the assembly lines of a car manufacturing company.

My dad's pay cheque for the month was just a little over what I make now in 2 weeks. I know that the dollar was worth more in the past, but it astounds me and humbles me that my parents were able to provide so much for their 3 little girls, when they had so little themselves.

This makes me feel quite guilty for not knowing where my money is going. It's not that I spend frivolously (or, at least I don't think that I do), I just realized that if you asked me how much I spend on groceries last month, I can't give you an exact number.

So this is one of my new year resolutions - too keep better track of my expenses.

Next step would be to start looking into some investments, but first I'm going to focus on paying of my student loan (so they can stop getting all that interest from me!), and tracking my expenses. Wish me luck! :)