Thank you my sweetheart

Have came back home from the evening focus group. It was already the third one, another three are queueing up in the coming days. Every night, I miss all the three boys (my two babies and Jeff) terribly. However, once I enter the meeting room, I should perform professionally, because this is my responsibility, and I should treasure this learning opportunity.

Typhoon signal eight was hoisted this morning, at least I got half day to compensate my boys by staying with them and watching TV together. Simple is always beautiful.

Big kiss to my beloved hubby, sorry to let you handling the two demanding babies alone at home. I will behave as a gentle sweet little housewife this weekend.

Finding patterns

Jelly has just gone through the notes I have taken in the focus group last night. He teaches me Content Analysis.

It is always good to have learn something new.

Content Analysis is about grouping and categorization, coding and constructing maps of people idea and comment towards the issues.

"This is the essence of qualitative study." Jelly stressed.

I found this is the beauty of analysis. I also love finding patterns in a mess. This is similar to reading a detective story.

Still have five more groups in the coming nights, I miss my babies terribly, and also the big boy at home.

Jan 14- Jan 18 2008

I opened the page of week Jan 14-Jan 18 in my datebook mindlessly. The job lists were long. On Jan 18, I jotted a list of jobs that I should have to accomplish in the coming week.

It was quite a busy period, and I was pretty fragile, with the mixture of tiredness from pregnancy and stress from work.

Luckily (or unluckily, these two words carry multiple meanings in such context), I got rid of all these works since Jan 21 onwards, because Linus suddenly wanted to come out. All those burdens fell onto my teammates' shoulders until early May.

Okay, the feeling is a bit complex when looking at these particular pages again. I can feel I was so unprepared, unaware of the dramatic arrival of this new life.

Thanks god everything and everyone is on the right track again finally.

Girlish make up

Make up is more than simply applying some chemicals on face. It is an art, is like drawing a picture, to hide the imperfections and strengthen the attractive features, and also to toss some radiance on your appearance.

I loved nude style, but recently I am more interested in bringing twist of vibrant colours on face – such as gold, marine blue, orange, turquoise, etc. After all, summer is supposed to be colourful.

This morning I wear thick eye line and applied two coats of mascara. Blink blink.

In another day I bought the latest new product of Benefit – Posie Tint. I had Benetint before, the literally bloody red liquid in a bottle which provides long lasting natural blush and light stain on lips. Posie Tint is also a make up in bottle, but the difference is it gives the most girlish pink on face. I tried it last weekend; I can create a fresh pinkish look by fingertips.

A very user-friendly product, the colour is lovely, but do not expect there is any natural skin loving ingredient in it.

Rain

It had been raining for almost a month, I miss the sunshine.

The peak season is leaving. I feel a bit uneasy to stay in my cubicle without rushing or cultivating anything. I myself am really a pain in my ass, moan in both busy and idle periods.

I cannot ripe away the sense of lack of belongingness. Is it really the time to make some change? I thought I was a person preferring to be stable, but end up I am not, see the changes I have made over the past five years. I made robust, filp-over changing in my life.

Frankly, I do feel tired to the project I had managed for four years.

Four years, I am using four years always as an unit, why??

Rainy days really affect people's mood. Mine includes.

A research of market research

I am having a retrospect of my career development over the past four years.

Jelly treated us lunch today. I mentioned him an aggressive competitor emerged in the market recently. When I told him the company name, he claimed proudly that the guy who built that firm was working for him 15 years ago. He said he was the one who beat that guy up into the shape….. well…..

I said he also ‘beat’ me up in past four years but I had yet formed into the shape. He said because I kept disappearing (to give birth).

Well, he also kept disappearing (to handle his own more money generating business).

Anyway, go back to the first sentence of this entry. I found the interview notes with several directors when we were preparing the presentation during the young executive training. One of the questions was ‘must-haves of a successful market researcher’.

Here below are the criteria collected by our directors:

Be curious and inquisitive
Willing to ask
Hard-work
Knowledge in the whole research progress and client industries.
Read books from time to time
Learn the traditional way of thinking (theory, market norm etc) from books/journal etc, and formulate own recommendation based upon what we have learnt
Merge job with daily lives
More attentive to details and things happening around
Catch up with market information (e.g. read magazines etc)
Customer-focus (but not mean everything say yes)
Enjoy customer-focus
Sound technical skill
Like to think -> have strategic thinking to link up all the dots, which demands on fruitful experience
Positive
Willing to learn
Always remind a big picture
Always ask and learn, this is also the luxury of green peopleAnd the last but not least – be passionate to market research

Well… passion…it will be better if passion can get money returns.

Black Friday

The data just doesn't make sense. Jelly and I thought about the criteria for weighting (actually he instructed me to run the data, based on his designed filter). Now, the actual amendment cannot align with the handcount figures. He got back to me and blamed me why I did the weighting in this way.

Hello? Isn't it you were the one who made the decision?

Parenting is totally exhaustive

I did not write any entries the past week because I was busy at work, and I was even more busy at home. Apart from my full time office work, I have taken a part time job - parenting in evenings and weekends.

Exhaustiveness can create anxiety and frustration. Jeff and I had several little fights over the weekend, always for minor things - such as buying a book or not, some mindless comments, etc.

It is not worth to ruin our relationship simply because we burn out by the two kids. We believe babies can bring us joy and new sparkles in the first place. I kept reminding myself to appreciate instead of blaming this perfect teammate. Yes, we work as a team. It sounds not very romantic, but it is the fact.

To remind ourselves to perceive each other not only a pair of super parents, we had a date on Saturday night - we watched Sex and the City in the Elements. I was the one who drove to the shopping mall from home, with the amber rain signal hosted.

The movie was great and as hilarious as usual. I am envy on the quad - these four 40-50 years old ladies, how can they maintain the friendship after all these years? In Manhattan? I do not hang out with girls a lot. I hang out with boys always - two small and one big..... but I am sure going out with girls is fun!

64

Another year, today is Jun 4.

More and more people try to forget what happened 19 years ago, but I will not.

When the kids grow bigger, I will let them know the history.

This is what education means.