Category Archives: Meta

Reframe

Back in December, I was catching up on my alumni magazines and saw this article. Not too long ago, but prior to reading said article, I wrote a comment on one of Sparky’s posts that basically said exactly what the professor in the article advocates. So, a) validation! and b) I really need to work on marketing my ideas. 😛

Anyway, the short version of the article is that there are three ways to view work: as a job, a career, or a calling. Job people are the TGIF, watch the clock, counting the days to retirement crowd.

So I read this and I think: ah yes! the “3 categories” game. I have a few versions of this myself. Interestingly, they all fit into the job/career/calling scenario.

  • There are 3 types of law students: the ones who want the money / prestige (= law as career), the ones who want to save the world (= law as calling), and the ones who really want to write (= law as job).
  • There are 3 types of undergrads: the ones who want a degree because “a BA is the new high school diploma” (job people); the ones who need a specific degree to reach a predetermined professional goal (career people); and the ones who are studying what they’re passionate about and for whom a degree is icing on the cake of learning (calling people).

Which is not to say that just because you’re in one category now, you’re stuck there forever. You can, of course, move from one category to another. To that end, in the article there’s some discussion of how you can find work that you find more fulfilling. And then it goes on to say:

If we aren’t willing to switch to another kind of work, then he advises us to reframe the work we do.

AHEM. Reframe. My comment:

You’re not going to quit your job, so I think you need to reframe your feelings toward it. There are obviously things you value about it (the money it provides you, the fact you can retire early, etc.) and those outweigh the negatives for you.

Look, I even used the same word. Moral of this post: listen to me. I am wise like Yoda 😉

Blogiversary

Before I run out of day, just wanted to say HEY! It’s my 10-year blogiversary today. Here’s my first post, way back on October 26, twenty-aught-two.

This is where I’m supposed to insert my obligatory remark about being an old-timer or what blogging was like back in the day. So… I think it’s telling that I wrote that I was ‘finally’ starting a blog, i.e. in no way did I think I was a pioneer; I actually thought I was behind the curve. In retrospect, obviously not. And, on the other end of things, maybe a handful of the blogs I read back then are still active. There’s a lesson in that, I’m sure 😉

Thus to conclude this post, a quote from Dr. Seuss:

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…

—Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Oh, the places this blog could go…

Art Vandelay, Architect

I’m not sure what compelled me to do this now2, but… I figured out my Myers-Briggs personality type. This is the general description of the difference between each of the 4 choices, with my preference in bold:

  • Favorite world: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).
  • Information: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).
  • Decisions: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).
  • Structure: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

Based on those either/or choices, I’d be an INTP:

Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.

So that sounded about right, but could it be that easy? Don’t people take tests to determine these things? So I found one. And the result was: INTP.

Introvert(67%)  iNtuitive(88%)  Thinking(50%)  Perceiving(11)%

You have distinctive preference of Introversion over Extraversion (67%)

You have strong preference of Intuition over Sensing (88%)

You have moderate preference of Thinking over Feeling (50%)

You have slight preference of Perceiving over Judging (11%)1

That site also offered this bit of info:

Generally, INTPs build successful careers in areas requiring quite intensive intellectual efforts and calling for creative approach. INTPs are often found in research, development and analytical departments. INTPs often make a very successful career in academia thanks to their strong and versatile way of thinking and originality.

You don’t say! 😉

Of course, me being me, I couldn’t stop there. And also, couldn’t help but question the accuracy of every category (except introvert, obvs.), as well as, you know, whether this was all too much woo-woo to be believed. More after the jump!

Continue reading →

Summer Berries

Changed my header again. Already happier with this one.

Am pretending it’s really summer. Even if it doesn’t feel like it. Brr.

Book(mark)s

Thought it was long past time for a new header. I had this idea a while back to do something with my “collection” (accumulation?) of bookmarks, but when I dumped them out of their container, I realized half of them were probably from Munro’s. Which is kind of weird, considering I haven’t lived in Victoria in years. So, good marketing, Munro’s! Not so much, all other bookstores.

Anyway, I did try the messy scattered on the table thing (my original plan), but since I had a rainbow of Munro’s bookmarks, I guess the rainbow of Books Books Books! was inevitable. Then I played around with it in Gimp. Not sure if I love it, but maybe it will grow on me.