Tag: self-improvement

How to Spend Winter Solstice: A Time for Reflection, Renewal, and Connection

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A moment of stillness amidst the chaos, a reminder of the beauty of change. This is a perfect time to write my first post in this new-old blog. Winter Solstice: the word “solstice” comes from the Latin words “sol” (sun) and “sistere” (to stand still). This is because the sun appears to stand still in the sky at the solstice.

Winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, marking the transition from autumn to winter. There are many different winter solstice traditions around the world.

Winter solstice is a time of year when many people feel introspective and reflective. The long nights and cold weather provide an opportunity to slow down and connect with ourselves and our loved ones.

How spend winter solstice: 

Spend time with loved ones. Spend time talking, playing games, or simply enjoying each other’s company. Don’t take company for granted. Today, I read that relationships drift apart due to a lack of connection, and a big cause of disconnection is micro-rejection (credit to Jillian). It is the small stuff that adds up, like looking at your phone while talking to someone. Some people celebrate the solstice by lighting candles, burning incense, or giving gifts. 

Reflections on the past year. Take some time to think about the things that have happened in the past year. What have you learned? What are you grateful for? 

Set goals for the new year. The winter solstice is a time to start thinking about the future. What do you want to achieve in the new year? Wherever you are in your life journey, know that you can always start anew, in the new hour, in the new day, or in the new year!

Practice self-care. The long nights and cold weather can take a toll on our physical and mental health. Make sure to take some time for yourself to relax and recharge. Identify the things you do that makes you filled with joy and energy, and make time for it!

Get outside. The winter solstice is a time of year when many people feel spiritually connected to the Earth. Even though it’s cold outside, getting some fresh air can be beneficial for your health. Go for a walk, hike, or simply spend some time sitting in your backyard.

There are many different ways to celebrate the winter solstice. Find what works best for you and make it a time of reflection, renewal, and joy.

Where am I this year? I am stepping into my 30s era and am looking forward to it. This year has been an adventurous one with many milestones! We had travels to Vietnam, taking a first cruise with parent-in-laws, a road trip to multi-cities Canada, travels to various places in my new remote job, bought my first car (!), taking some serious thoughts to settling down with my husband, and learning to take it easy and appreciating moments. 

In the next year, I would like to focus my next year on staying appreciative, enjoying moments with loved ones, pursuing hobbies and learning things that suit my fancy. 

No matter what spiritual journeys you are on, from darkness to dawn, take the time to enjoy the slow pace. Enjoy the stillness of the long nights. When the light comes up, enjoy the start of a new season, with hope and renewal.

Working From Home: Language Interpreting

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As you know from my previous post, I have recently been working online with my second remote job (see my first remote job post here) with a language company.

As a lot of people are quite interested in what it’s like to work from home, I decided to make a post about what it’s like to be a language interpreter, why I decided to do this, and where I want to go from here.

Do you know a 2nd language? Do you care about helping people surpass communication barriers? Want to improve on industry specific vocabulary?

I found a company that had allowed me to pursue an interest of mine, and had taken me lots of efforts to pursue. The results were quite rewarding because I was able to work from home full time, improve on a language, and help people!

Here are some details I have compiled for those who are interested.

Hiring Process

Onboarding was a long and gruesome task to of testing my fluency in Vietnamese. I was required finish a 40-minute long recorded call, specifically regarding Medical and Insurance vocabulary. I was required to do a drug test and other phone interviews. The entire process of interview, waiting, and training process takes up to 3+ weeks.

The nice thing about this company is that their training on an entry level interpreter is very thorough. Though I rolled my eyes at a lot of the common sense customer service tips, I was learning a lot of how the company works.

A lot of interpreting companies still use the telephone as the means to interpretation. In contrast, LLS stepped up their game and uses an wifi audio/video call program to manage all their call flows. The interpreter can transfer calls, mark themselves as taking a break, or receive video calls.

Free Stuff, yay!!!

I was quite surprised the day LLS send me my equipment. I arrived one day to 2 giant boxes full of equipment for my home office, consisting of:

  • Dell Inspiron Intel Core i7 laptop
  • 1080p webcam
  • Plantronics headset
  • A blue backdrop
  • 2 desk lamps
  • 2 work uniforms
  • and more!

When requesting replacements, they were very fast with their shipping. They even randomly send equipment that I may need in my interpreting work– for example: whiteboard, shredder, etc. So thoughtful, LLS! They don’t even require most of them back when the employment terminates!

5 stars for treating their employees nicely <3

Paid “Free Time”

Because I get paid per the hour I work, whenever I don’t have calls, I can work on improving other aspects of my life. I use a lot of my time to organize my thoughts, write, and plan out the rest of my day. Pretty nice, pretty nice.

Work in My Pajamas

One of the best things about working from home, however, is that I get to do it in my pajamas! I set my alarm 10 minutes before work, and when the time comes, I hope out of bed, brush my teeth, then get to work. Sometimes, I take quick breaks to go to the kitchen to whip myself up a hot meal.

I love this so much compared to the 2 hour commute in NYC. I certainly don’t missed the crammed subway and traffic in the city. I definitely don’t miss an opportunity to tell people what a comfortable life I’m living (for) now.

Flexibility

I have traveled with my equipments twice. All I need is WIFI, laptop, backdrop, camera, and headset. It’s been great in allowing me the flexibility to go somewhere new. Days off are requested through the Impact 360 portal online. I request the days off electronically anywhere I see an available opening slot.

Making a Difference 

Interpreting work covers a wide range of needs. Calls for help include medical visits, EMS calls, court hearings, insurance, legal matters, and more. On some level or another, I feel like I’m contributing my skills to help those who need it.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve hit some rough patches while working with LLS. I’ve had emotional breakdowns because of people’s problems. Why are there so many problems in this world??

That’s not all, I’ve also learned of the many ways people treat each other. I’ve learned that nurses can be rude and disrespectful. Elders can be stubborn, hopeless, and depressed, and humanity can be quite selfish at times. However, I’ve also learned that parents are ultimately those who care about their children the most and vice versa. I’ve learned that certain people have a true desire to help others, and I’m quite happy to be a part of the process.

Slowly, I learned to detach myself to all the problems. Once I took a step back, I’m able to seamlessly direct the flow and do my job as efficiently as possible.

Educational Value

My initial reasoning of becoming and interpreter is to master my industry vocabulary in Vietnamese. (What better way to learn than jumping in head first?) I’ve never received proper schooling in Vietnamese, and have learned all that I can read and write on my own.

Though I am not even close to becoming as scholarly fluent as I’d like, I am happy to pursue the the cause that keeps my cultural identity intact. My parents have been a tremendous pusher to keep the Vietnamese language alive. That I can achieve the ability of becoming an interpreter is all thanks to them.

As I began my interpreting work, I have become more adept in many other skills.

Because the context of what I interpret can make a sizable effect, I learn to choose my words carefully. I’ve learned to deliver bad news, deal with impatient clients, to negate all the negative things that I hear and not let it affect my life.

Are you going to do this for the rest of your life, Winta? 

Unfortunately, this is not my life career path. I never intended it that way. I’m doing this to make my life more meaningful. I’m learning my mother tongue, while getting paid. What can beat that?

My next steps are to actually discover my mother country. Yes, I’m taking a 3 month long backpacking trip through Vietnam for the first time in my life! I’m psyched, and hopefully, so are you. I will try to keep my adventures updated. <3

Thanks for stopping by! You might also like:

Summer Reflections!!!

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Hi everyone!!! ~~~

I’d like to thank all my readers and travel blogging companions for all the wonderful interactions through the summer. This community has been so helpful in shaping my goals, interests, and writing. I’m incredibly happy to have kick-started my blogging project over the year, and writing has been a constant source of stress relief and support.

I like to write reflections from time to time to remind myself what goals I have and where I’m at in my life. During these time in my moods, I tend to get existential, and rant about all the things I could do better. Let’s see then, shall we?

Some mini-milestones I’ve passed this summer!

Took a family vacation (We haven’t had one in years! Post to come…) to Florida, gulf side. Wow, are the beaches there beautiful.

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Started my 2nd remote job. My office is set up right in my bedroom. I was so surprised when I received my equipment set: laptop, backdrop, camera, etc. I am so thrilled to be part of this work-from-home team. Honestly, before I got my 1st remote job as an English instructor, I never knew these things existed.

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Saw Queen in New York! Who knew that I would get to be in the same breathing space as the rocking legends? Adam Lambert was fantastic. They threw a spectacular show unlike any other concert. I was up and dancing pretty much the whole way. While we’re there, we also saw some awesome shows: Regina Spektor, Dear Evan Hansen, Great Comet, Waitress

 

Went on a 3-day timeshare vacation. We’ve all heard of the horror stories and how people get stuck in these presentation for 4+ hours! We got out more than alive, loved it, and will be coming back. Aaaaand, we didn’t buy any timeshares. 😉

Hope you enjoyed my shiny new adventures! Don’t forget to let me know what you think.

Fun travels aside, these few months, I’ve been struggling with some thoughts and issues that I’d like to share. Maybe I’ll have some input from all of you.

I’ve pondering whether or not I could be doing more, career-wise. Should I give in to one of those boring 9-5 office jobs, but pays more and is more professional?

Doing something to make a difference should be today’s form of currency.

Graduate school? I’ve been constantly asked whether or not I want to go. It’s not that I don’t want to go, but the risk of spending $100K on getting a piece of paper when I could be learning from all these available online resources doesn’t make sense to me. I was fortunate enough to graduate college without debt, and I love that. I’m able to use all my hard-earned money for things I love to do. But then, there’s always that pressure from people to get an advanced degree. What’s the right answer?

I could improve….

I’m so sorry, everyone! I’ve been so off my game with keeping up with blog posts. Honestly, doing a weekly post is harder to keep up with than I could ever imagine. I admire my fellow blog challenge friends who schedule their posts. To make up for it, I’ll share this picture

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Another thing I need to keep in mind: languages and learning! I’m constantly trying to remind myself to practice my Spanish and Chinese, the languages I learned in high school and college. There are so many free online resources, yet I’m so lazy and complacent, that I’ve been slowly forgetting all these awesome lessons.

Also, music! I keep forgetting in my moments of most stress, I could be learning some new tunes on my uke, guitar, keyboards.

What are some of your goals and reflections the last few months? Cheers!

Review: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

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Hi, everyone!! Today, I’d like to share one of the best books I’ve read this year. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz is essentially a book of conducts that can transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, happiness, and love. It eliminates needless suffering and self destructive thoughts through simple agreements. With only a little over 100 pages, this book is packed with deep revelations and logical reasoning.

I should first mention that I’m not a huge fan of self-help books. I’ve always felt that reading it meant that I needed help and I have to follow what some author decided was best. Of course, my views has changed over the years. This book, in particular, has changed my entire perspective and way of life in the most fundamental ways.

I first heard of The Four Agreements from Cuong about two years ago. The book had seemed interesting, and I added it to my to-read list. I encountered it again when we visited in a perma-culture farm in El Salvador where a group people lived by the principles of this book. It wasn’t until recently that I had the chance to read it.

The book is based on the philosophy of the Toltec, an ancient tribe of men and women with immense knowledge. According to Ruiz, humans have domesticated to believe everything they have been told. Because each core belief, or agreement, reflects whoever passes on that agreement and may have a detrimental effect in your lifetime.

Check out The Four Agreements on Amazon here!

What are these four magical agreements?

Be impeccable with your word.  Stresses the importance of the words you use, and how it affects on you and others. I believe this is the most important agreement of them all. We should never make empty promises, say things we don’t mean, or gossip about others. There is no use for them, as it decreases our own credibility and hurt other people.

Don’t take anything personally. Too often, we’ve let ourselves get hurt by people’s word and actions. We become depressed or take revenge. We become belligerent or passive aggressive towards people. If we keep a clear head by not taking anything personally, then we will be able to learn much more from life.

Don’t make assumptions. Like it or not, our assumptions causes a lot of misunderstanding and fights. Assumptions cause disappointments, hurt, and unfair expectations. It stresses the importance of transparency in communication.

Always do your best. Ruiz acknowledges that some days aren’t good as others, and that’s okay. However, one must always put their honest hardest efforts into the work they do so that they don’t regret it later on. As long as we all are able to stand behind the work that we do, then there is nothing to be upset about.

The Four Agreement, written in 2005, was supposed to be a standalone book, containing all the agreements needed to master ourselves. It has been quite successful and well-liked by many readers. In 2010, Ruiz wrote another book, The Fifth Agreement, which is basically a summary of the first book with some added sugar, which I thought was kind of a strategy to milk the money. But since I haven’t read it, I can’t say much.

As with many self-improvement books, the chapters in The Four Agreements felt somewhat redundant. Regardless, the message passed on by Ruiz is powerful and worth reading. I finished the book in a couple of days and have been improving my way of life since. It taught me the core foundations it takes to be a happy individual. Ever since reading it, I’ve become more conscious about not partaking in gossip. I’ve also become a more impeccable speaker, saying only things that I mean and keeping to my word.

Each chapter is built upon the previous one, The Four Agreements guides us towards true realization of how important it is to follow these. It’s amazing how ancient Toltec philosophy remains relevant with today world. Sometimes the most elegant solution to a problem is the simplest one. I enjoyed reading Ruiz’s take on self-improvement, and will make an agreement with myself to re-read this book again in the future.

A Response to Daily Prompt: Better

Thanks for reading!!! I’m always searching for book recommendations. Have you read this book/similar books? Please leave your thoughts in comments or shoot me an email! <3