By Rolly Ng

The Tenth-Week Mark (II) 

On Note-taking

I have a unique way of making notes to ensure I actually register the information.  I need to make information visually entertaining and write/draw them out using my understanding. At the start of the course, I wrote everything down on my note pad, then, I moved to use my Mac as I thought I could do research straight away if a mentor said something interesting. Turned out I was trying to type everything down word for word. I then went back to the traditional method of pen and paper, it was much better as I was part of the listening-writing process by only selecting what is important to me to be written on paper. Diagrams are way better than sentences, I start with the topic in the middle and make mind maps out of it. I do not take notes chronologically; last week, I started dividing them into sections: master class, briefs, agencies information, my diary, this is great as I can flip to the briefs section and note down my thinking instantly that it won’t be mixed into notes for a master class, the separation is also great when I need to write my emotions down to let them go during a class. I also use different colours and keep my hand-writing neat so that it’s not a pain to read the notes. 

On socialising

I am not a good person to text when it comes to having a meaningful conversation, many emotions disappear when I say something through text, which can result in miscommunication. I have learnt in a hard way that working in UK means I will encounter difficulty if I want to stay in contact with friends in Asia. I shouldn’t feel apologetic for not being able to keep in touch with them as often as before. It is my choice to be 11 hours away, compromises such as this have to be made. Do not take friendship for granted though, I will give my friends a call whenever possible. 

On money

I feel very lucky to be in a position which I do not have to worry about money. At the same time, I do find myself doing more serious thinking and research before buying something comparing to how I spend money back when I received my paycheque every 28th day of the month. When I received my first paycheque, I didn’t know what to do with it, that was the point I when realised that no one can tell me what I should do with my money, or what I should do with my life, there are so many possibilities! Then, I sat down, wrote down everything that I wanted to do or buy: over-the-knee boots, visit Malaysia, learn Japanese… It was a great feeling when I cross something off from that list. At the moment, many items and experiences are on hold as I am back into a life with financial constraints, I’ll just have to be patient and very soon, I’ll be able to be satisfied, both professionally and materialistically.