2011 December « Barbara Leung « The Life of an NYU Student

December 30, 2011 by Barb

Victoria Peak

This winter break, I’m spending approximately two weeks in Hong Kong for vacation. With a hectic schedule of deadlines and life prior to departure, I didn’t put a lot of thought into researching what to do in the city, and decided that I would create my itinerary by the day according to the weather and my mood. That and I never saw much a point to detailed day planning of a city that I’ve never been to.

Instead of opting for a direct flight – which I probably should have – I went for a flight from Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD), followed by the fifteen hour haul to Hong Kong International (HKG). When I booked the flight, I was under the impression that it would be a Continental flight, but it turned out that both legs were serviced by United. Seats were three per side, as opposed to the usual three, and there were no individual TVs like Air France or Air Canada. Needless to say, I spent much of the flight with my eyes concentrating on a overhead television with no control over programming. I wish I could say that the price befit the flight, but it was only marginally less (about $200 to $400 since I booked rather late) than other airlines that I have flown on beforehand. Not to mention, both flights delayed themselves by over an hour each. Needless to say, the experience of flying with United hasn’t really warranted a second chance (apart from my return flight).

Arriving at the airport at 8PM meant that there was to be no exploring that day, especially since I only arrived at the hotel closer to 10 after the Airport Express and hotel shuttle bus.

Evidently not familiar with the area, I thought that Victoria Peak and the Big Buddha on Lantau island were the same thing; that is, until I looked at the tourist map that I picked up at the airport and realized how far apart they were. With an easy-to-use and incredibly cheap metro system, I hopped on the MTR to get to the bus that would take me to the Peak. The original plan was to take the bus up, and then take the famed tram down, but that didn’t quite happen. I thought it would be a great idea to explore the area and take what I thought to be a circular trail – it turned out that I took a 2.8km walk down the hill. Granted, it was a terrific walk with magnificent views and lots to see in terms of flora and history (there are markings and plaques that detail significant plants and monuments/objects), but it was most certainly tiring with the downhill portion; going downhill is never that easy, especially for extended periods of time since it is quite hard on the joints. Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, I decided that I would try what I believed to be a shortcut back up the hill only to find that it was another trail that led me farther away from the peak. With the post-signs telling me that it would be another 3km back up the hill, I decided that it would be best to call it a day after a couple hours of walking, I headed back down to the bottom of the hill and took one of the mini buses back to the MTR station.

This week (and in the new year), I’ll take the tram up to the Peak so as to visit it again and walk around the actual top, as opposed to meandering back to town.

View from one of Victoria Peak's trails

City boundary marker from when Hong Kong was known as Victoria City

Along Victoria Peak's 2.8km 'Morning Trail'

Preface to an Open Letter

December 13, 2011 by Barb

Empty chair (image via sxc.hu)

A variation on the the talking to an empty chair technique, the unsent letter is a means of communicating what was never, but always desired to be, said. The two differ in terms of witness. In employing the empty strategy method, the message bears witness by the therapist’s presence, whereas the letter has no witness excepting its author. This difference can better be articulated as a message that either lives in the (intimate) public sphere (empty chair) or in the private/internal sphere (letter). I label this public sphere as an intimate one, since therapy is in a limbo of sorts – not necessarily private because of the presence of an external witness but also not necessarily public, either, because therapy teases out what is not meant for the general public. So it would be fitting to label it as the “intimate private.”

In the online sphere, the witness’ role and presence are further complicated. The empty chair technique finds itself lumped together with the unread letter. I make this statement on the premise that in order to work through the empty chair technique, there needs not only be a witness but also an empty space – owned by no one – for expression to be dumped upon. It is to say that the conversation, in some ways, is triangular, with the two base vertices focused on the apex. Verbal expression distinguishes the two in the offline sphere, whereas, this marker of voice is lost online. At best, we can determine the intention of which stream by tone of writing and stylistic/linguistic choices (i.e. “dear,” “sincerely,” etc.). In my following post, for instance, which technique is it that I am employing?

I will, after all, be writing a letter, but it is no longer private. The empty canvas on which I write could be said to be the empty space or “chair” and because of the fact that readers function like witnesses, it is therefore the “empty chair technique.” But is it classifiable so? After all, I will make linguistic choices characteristic of a letter and I am creating my message in private before I share it. There is no co-occurring existence as I create my message, as there would be in the traditional offline empty chair technique. Again, we question the online sphere, which facilitates a “stop-go” action. The dynamic space, such as chat rooms, do not have that third empty space, so is it by default that I label this as an unread letter with the added quality of witness?

There is no particular answer that I have in mind; what I have written is merely a thought. This questioning merely serves as my preface to an open letter that I wish to write.

The Value of Twitter Chats

December 9, 2011 by Barb

Aberthol, like Twitter chats, is sometimes forgotten about

I often hear how Twitter can be used as a networking source by means of following important figures and taking note of their updates, and sometimes interacting with them to get on their radar. That method of networking is an incredibly passive one that may or may not lead to any results, depending on how popular the figure is and how often they look at their mentions to spot new talent or contacts. That said, I don’t find Twitter to be useless; in fact, there is a much more active approach that can be taken online to gain different insights and gain contacts. Though, it can be incredibly intensive (dedicating an hour to tracking a fast paced conversation), it certainly can pay off; yes, I’m talking about Twitter chats.

The chats function by means of having the common note of a hashtag, which permits other users to track what is being said in the “conversation.” There is often at least one moderator that throws out a question every now and then, in which users flock to answer and offer insights. The beauty of it is that there are numerous mavens and experts that do in fact participate, along with the occasional corporate host. Sometimes, the exchange of ideas isn’t anything revolutionary, but rather, a reinforcement that what you may be doing is right. Then there are other times in which you can find yourself seeing things in a different light based on someone’s short 140 character comment.

But most importantly, you can meet great people that you wouldn’t have otherwise had you stuck to your current circle of followers. Granted, I’m not saying that a Twitter chat will immediately create for you a connection, but it certainly does give some context to you as a person if that is where you “met.” Plus, if you become a regular of a chat, then people certainly become more familiar and are more apt to listen to you and follow you back.

Unfortunately, the whole concept of a Twitter chat can be a bit stressful what with the multitude of flowing comments in any given minute during that one hour. Coming to chat every week isn’t a must, and neither is the “obligation” to stay the full hour. You can jump in at any time, pitch advice at any time, or simply listen throughout. The way to use this particular resource is up to you and the beauty in it is the fact that not only a collaboration of thoughts, but also dynamic. It is to say that nothing in particular is static about the conversation, there is seldom a particular veering towards one narrow direction.

Below is a presentation that I co-presented on a couple of weeks ago discussing networking and features some great Twitter chats for students, along with a link to a grand schedule of chats for a variety of industries and age groups.

Networking: Professional, Social, and Everything In Between

View more presentations from Barbara Leung

Image via Ugly Bird Icons for Twitter

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December, 2011

Hong Kong: Victoria Peak

Preface to an Open Letter

The Value of Twitter Chats