renjie's posterous
too long for a tweet, too short for a blog post...
too long for a tweet, too short for a blog post...
So I have decided to head back to Waterloo for the fall.
After a lot of reflection and trying to figure out next steps in my life, something about returning to Waterloo for the next little while feels right. Only this time, I am returning back to the city where it all began with a lot more experience, but more importantly, a broader perspective of the world and the realistic possibilities and opportunities that are abound.
I also know a lot more about myself—I know exactly what it is that I am capable of having pushed the boundaries of my personal comfort zone numerous times this past year driven by a sense of restlessness as well as a curiosity to explore the world. I have discovered that I am my own worst critic and often times in the past, this has gotten in the way of my own success. One key lesson that I have learned is to ease up a lot more on myself—to strive not to be a perfectionist and to JFDI (a play on Nike's Just Do It). On this note, I know that there are still a lot of significant areas of improvement in my own personal and professional development, but as the saying goes, it is never too late to be the person you could have been.
Although I can't say much for the time being as nothing is set in stone yet, I will be working on a number of exciting projects within the Waterloo Region including a number of community building projects similar to TEDxWaterloo and Ignite Waterloo that I have had experience with in the past. I am also hoping to pick up a number of paid freelance consulting gigs or short-term contracts in the Waterloo Region and Toronto areas, so if anyone has any leads, I would sincerely appreciate an introduction.
In the meantime, I will also make sure to set aside dedicated time each week to read, research and complete my MA dissertation with the goal of submitting and graduating with a Masters degree in hand from ISES-Corvinus University of Budapest by the summer of next year. I will treat this as my own personal consulting gig where I am my own boss—this will require a lot of self-discipline and is something that I am prepared for as returning to Europe sooner rather than later is a trip that I am already looking forward to.
There is absolutely no substitute for hard work.
With my youngest sister Lorel about to begin her studies at the University of Calgary in September and my other sister Loubelle about to finish at the University of Western Ontario this coming year, it seems that times when the whole family is together have been limited to 2-3 weeks every summer as well as reunions over the Christmas holidays.
If this past month in Cranbrook has been characterized by a conscious effort not to spend a lot of time 'online' doing 'work' but instead, spending time with my family hanging out at home as well as on family road trips to Vancouver, Calgary, Lake Louise, Banff and Drumheller, then the next few months back in Waterloo look to be the exact opposite.
Tomorrow morning I embark on another cross-country road trip. This time with the destination of Waterloo, Ontario in mind where I hope to be on Friday.
I can't wait to create and make magic happen with some amazing people, both in Waterloo Region as well as in Toronto.
My road trip itinerary is listed below. Let's do this.
I have posted a blog post recap of my recent cross-Canada road trip, complete with pictures taken on my Nikon D5000, on my new photography website, photography.renjie.ca/blog
The full gallery of photos and accompanying blog post can be found at http://photography.renjie.ca/2010/08/photos-of-the-canadian-landscape/
Vancouver in September 2010
As for what my tentative plans are now moving forward, it looks like I will be making my way to Vancouver at the beginning of September for a period of two/three weeks to see what’s going on. There are no definite plans as of yet, I’m hoping to confirm some dates in the next couple of days as well. During this time in September, I’m hoping to meet with some really cool people involved with the social entrepreneurship/social innovation community, and to see where I could possibly fit in.
So if you are in Vancouver in September and would like to grab a coffee or a drink or two, please let me know by getting in touch via email (renjiebutalid at gmail dot com) or hit me up on Twitter/Facebook. Would love to hear from you!
Looking forward to the next step in this adventure.
Your friend,
Renjie
Looking forward to spending some quality time with my parents and two sisters over the next couple of weeks.
Look out for a wrap-up blog post of this trip across Canada within the next couple of days, as well as the photos from my Nikon D5000 once Ive gone through them and uploaded them onto my Flickr. Huge thanks to everyone who hosted my stay at all my stopovers, and many thanks to everyone for your kind words of encouragement as I made my way from Toronto to Cranbrook.
Calling it an early night tonight, looks like I'll be needing a vacation from this vacation.
Cheers,
Renjie
