Communication is Key

So, I unfortunately do not have much time to blog. I have gotten a large load of work mainly consisting of proofing, proofing, and more proofing. Did I mention proofing?

Anyways, my main (and I would like to think “short”) entry today is about a basic but very important aspect when working anywhere: Communication.

When I say communication, I am talking of all forms, from word-of-mouth to responding to emails or even texting. The better the communication, the less confusion and the more productivity (since you don’t waste time asking each other back and forth what is going on).

A perfect example happened last week. I had e-mailed a request to change something on a cover page to our graphic designer. She emailed me back with the changes and said that if I needed anything else to email her. I thought that the cover was perfect, so did not email her back. A few days later, she sent me a message and said that she likes confirmation when she emails. She asked me whether or not I received her email. I felt bad that I didn’t email her back, and emailed her right away and told her that the cover was just fine.

The lesson (and Workplace Survival 101 Tip) here? Communication is key. I could have saved my graphic designer stress and time if I had just replied to her.

Well, there we go. That’s it for now, back to –well, more proofing.

Yours, tired and working,


-Poppy.

Imagination and Power Point

So, it is in the middle of the day, and it takes an absolutely gorgeous sunny afternoon to make me realize that I would much rather be outside than inside right now. From where I sit, I can see an overhanging shrub in front of a backdrop of cloudless, deep blue skies. Am I jealous of students out for the summer? Answer: Yes, I am, very jealous. Could I possibly implement a proposal to move my computer and desk under the lilac tree outside for the summer? Answer: Most likely not.

True, my opinion might change once winter hits, and also my opinion could easily be altered if I was currently living in the eastern half of Canada (the heat wave, I hear, is so ridiculous, it is causing people to stay at work longer in order to reap the benefits of their office’s air conditioning).

Well, I guess it could be better, but it could also be worse. It seems dissatisfaction and complaint are just a part of the human condition. C’est la vie.

Anyways, this week, I have a pretty hearty workload, which, to be honest, is nice, for it takes my mind off of the summer weather and also passes the time quickly. Idleness in the office gets boring very quickly. I have some newsletters to work on, some editing/proofing, a sponsorship package to prepare and the journal I have been put in charge of to compile (which I am very excited about). While I was compiling a sponsorship package for a certain company, I came across a very interesting website with the URL: http://www.imagination.com. The URL caught my attention right away, so I clicked on the link. It appears to be a huge communications company that helps market companies. Check it out, they have a very neat and eye-catching website.

Another thing I also discovered this week was that I (and most likely many other people) have been referred to IASTED before without realizing it. If you have ever Googled (yes, that is a verb, at least, it should be) “Power Point Tips”, you most likely have been referred to IASTED’s tips on how to create effective Power Point Presentations. My supervisor referred me to the site and showed me that those PPT tip slides were one of the biggest entry points for our site. One of my co-workers has compiled the slides together in a YouTube video for anybody curious. Click here to see them! They are very good tips that (if you are going to make a presentation for a proposal or a class) you should follow and learn from.

Well, here is the usual to sign out of this entry:

-Workplace Survival 101 Tip: ALWAYS ask questions when you are unsure. I have had to ask so many different people left, right, and centre questions in order to complete assignments. If I just “winged it”, I think I would be lost and completely off track. SO ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS!

Yours, yearning for the summer sun,


-Poppy

Tuesdays

Hello everyone. Well, let me update you.

So, compared to last week, my work load has gone down substantially. Most of my projects, I have completed, and this week I am currently just cleaning up some loose ends. What was keeping me very busy for the last two weeks was the process of editing a journal. The process of publishing is something I have always been interested in, so the fact that I, yes, I, Poppy, get to be in complete charge of a journal is quite an exciting thing.

Anyways, this week, I have a lot of a lighter plate of work to, well, “work on”. Yes, in co-operative terms there are lull/slow periods, and the key thing is to find something to do, not just sit around and wait for someone to tell you what to do while you do nothing, at least, that is what I found by working here at IASTED. Right now, I am sending out some e-mail reminders, researching some U.S. Universities, and trying to design a new cover page for a journal.

Now, I am mostly going to dedicate this blog entry to (as the title of this post suggests) Tuesdays. While working on this co-operative term, I have noticed something: I, personally, have always disliked Tuesdays. Yes, yes, I understand many of you will be opposing this statement immediately. Reasons:

1. Cheap movies on Tuesday (yes, such a thing still exists).
2. Cheap deals at restaurants on Tuesday.
3. It is not Monday.

My arguments to counter:

1. Who goes to a movie on Tuesday? If you do, it will probably be late and consequently make you even more tired on Wednesday.
2. Eating at home is healthier and cheaper (usually).
3. You still haven’t gotten into your total work groove yet.
4. You still have Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday to go.
5. On Monday, you still feel mildly rejuvenated from the weekend, but by the time Tuesday rolls around, the rejuvenation has worn off.

Case and point, as illustrated above. Not convinced? Then comment, and tell me what you think about Tuesdays, your despised day of the week, your weekend activities, or even your plans for world domination.

Well, just some things to wrap this entry up:
-Workplace Survival 101 Tip: Take initiative. Find something to do, or even better, propose something to do. Many people are afraid of rejection or suggesting their own ideas, but you will be surprised how many people are open to new ideas.
-I just want to wish everybody an early “Happy Canada Day!” for everyone in Canada.

Yours, as always,


-Poppy.

Ads and Ice Cream

Hi everyone.

So, I am terribly sorry about this, but I will have to cut this entry short. I have just been SWAMPED with things to do. My first week here, I was still settling in and eager to take on anything that anyone gave me. Now, I’m just trying my best to stay above the workload.

I have been editing/proofing, researching, and uploading. Additionally, I have had to create an ad for IASTED’s Eighth International Conference on Biomedical Engineering (BioMed 2011) being held in February in Innsburck, Austria. I have to admit, I had quite a bit of fun creating this, especially since I had the freedom to design the layout myself. There were a few specifications (such as the size of the ad), but other than that, I pretty much had free reign. The only trouble I ran into with Adobe Photoshop was the “resolution” of the photo. It was set to 72 (which is quite low) when I initially created the ad, so I had to redo part of the ad when I fixed the resolution to 300. It took a bit of work, but I’m glad the way it turned out.

The one awesome thing about last week was that on Thursday, in the middle of the day, everyone at the office got together and ate ice cream (Strawberry and Cookies and Cream for me!) in celebration of my co-worker’s marriage.

Office celebrations = pretty sweet (literally)

Alright, well, some things of note before I go:
-Workplace Survival 101 Tip: Say ‘yes’ to invites for lunch with co-workers during lunch hours. It is a great way to get to know your co-workers.
-Notably: I want to express my congratulations (once again) to my co-worker. He just got married, and I want to wish him the best =).

That’s it for now.

Yours, busy and overwhelmed,


-Poppy

Newsletters, Nao, and Disarray

Well, this is my second blog entry. Sorry for the lateness, but I have been quite busy. Well, time to update the masses on “life at IASTED”.

So far, the busiest part of my week has been making electronic newsletters. I have been playing around with the format –I tried text-only, I tried with pictures (I noticed IE always seems to alter my images), and some other formats. I’m wondering what is most effective. Anyone have an opinion: text-only vs. newsletter with pictures, which would you choose?

On top of this, I have written some e-mails and created a few advertisements. I wrote an e-mail to a company that participated in IASTED’s 10th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Applications (AIA 2010) and was asking them to participate in AIA 2011. This company is called Aldebaran, and if you have never seen their “Nao” robot, please click here! I watched a few videos and browsed around, and I thought it was one of the cutest and neatest inventions.

Do I want a Nao robot?

Answer: Who wouldn’t?

So, if anyone read my status, they probably understand that my neck is having issues. That is a major downfall with an office job: since one is sitting at a computer for so long, they are stressing their body. Everyone learns about ergonomics one way or another, but I don’t think anyone truly understands the importance of stretching and relaxing when sitting at a desk until they experience it firsthand.

I have started to participate in some conference planning. Yes, the conference is a secret, but as time progresses, you all might be hearing more about it in the near future ;).

So, here, I leave you all with the question of the day: If you could have an exhibition on anything (and I mean ABSOLUTELY anything!), what would it be? Leave your comments at the end of this post and be heard. I’m very curious as to what everyone has to say.

So, to wrap up this entry:
-Workplace Survival 101 Tip: Bring leftovers from dinner (if you have any) for lunch to switch things up –it is cheaper than buying and will add a change up to your usual workday.
-Goal for the week: Get organized.

Well, that’s about it. Over and out.

Yours faithfully,

-Poppy.

First Week at IASTED Calgary

So, it is approximately 3 in the afternoon on a Monday, and I feel that I should recap what the first week of working at IASTED Calgary was like.

Before I go into the major details of my escapades at working at IASTED, I think I need to outline the major preconceptions of (highly likely) most Co-op students:

1. You are going to be the coffee maker/server.

Myth Busted: The only coffee getting that occurs is if you want to make it yourself. Seeing as I don’t drink coffee (sacrilege, I know), I haven’t made any, not even once =).

2. No one would actually give you tasks requiring responsibility.

Myth Busted: This one is completely untrue. In my first week alone I have created 3 different newsletters, an advertisement for a journal, re-done a brochure for ordering journals, and sent out and prepared a sponsorship package for a potential sponsor.

3. Working an office job is easy.

Myth Busted: Not at all. You would think sitting down in front of a computer is easy, but it certainly is not, and it also is most certainly not just sitting down. I have had to commute from one desk to the next in order to correspond with various people in the workplace to approve and complete projects.

So, given we have all the misconceptions out of the way, here are my initial observations from working at IASTED Calgary.

First of all, the hours are flexible. This means that there are two sets of hours, and you can come in and leave between those two sets as long as you fulfill the minimum requirement of 37.5 hours per week. This I find very useful, for I can leave early if I need to or stay a bit later or come earlier if I need to get work done. Secondly, the people here are very friendly and made me feel quite comfortable when I was settling in the first week. Also, IASTED is located very close to the Calgary’s Farmers’ Market, which is convenient especially when the summer months roll around. After work, I can easily pick up some fresh fruits and veggies. Yum.

The Downside is probably the traffic jam coming and going home. It takes quite a bit of time to go to and from work, but of course, almost everyone probably understands exactly what I am talking about.

So, some things to wrap up this entry:

-Workplace Survival 101 tip: Remember to stretch every once in a while. I came home stiff in the neck the first day. Not a pleasant sensation.
-Goal for this week: Fix up a brochure I have been struggling with.
-Quote for the time being: "No pain, no gain" –Unknown

Well, that’s it for now.

Yours, confused but staying optimistic,

-Poppy.