Writing = fitness training?

Writing is like fitness training, which requires persistence, perseverance, determination and motivation. I personally believe that the more you train (in terms of writing), the fitter (the more eloquent) you'll become. However, I'm extremely "unfit" at the moment because I haven't been "training" (my writing) for a while. Consequently, I'm feeling uncertain with my writing and often I need to revise a sentence multiple times before feeling content with it. I did try to write (a blog) daily, but failed to sustain this endeavour because of the lacking of motivation and determination. I do write momentarily, such as writing this blog right now, but this is not a good training approach because I'll never achieve the optimal performance. From today onwards, I need to get back to my writing training. I must set aside 10 minutes for writing, regardless the content of it. Eloquent writing develops from constant training and perseverance because writing is never a straightforward but an iterative process. It commences with drafting (accounting), revising, and expanding (elaborating) and the goes back to revising and so forth. Writing can be a never-ending process especially if you're aiming for perfection.  There are so many different ways to express an identical idea.

Back to reality

Spring is here; the sun is shinning and you smell the fresh grass busting from the ground. It has been two weeks since I returned from Malaysia. I miss my family dearly, my desirable life, personal and working, is here in UK. I have not written on my blog for a while and thus my writing fluency has suffered. I generally enjoy my job very much, but there are times I feel "throwing the towel" and call it quit. Occasionally I feel ungratified with the ratio of my workload & pay. Some people may argue that I am being unrealistic and ungrateful, maybe I am? Being an academic, one of our gratification stems from quality students, whom demonstrates original & critical thinking. This expectation is particularly expected at MSc level. Sadly, this expectation is frequently unfulfilled and thus results in our constant demotivation and job dissatisfaction. I know there is not much I can do, as an individual to the quality of the student cohort at a university. Blogging is of my whinging outlets.

Countdown to Christmas

14 more days before Christmas. People seem joyful and hopeful, and busily engage in various activities, such as, shopping for Christmas presents, hunting for 'look-at-me' party outfits, and arranging social events. Last Saturday I walked through the thoroughfare of the Guildford high street for my haircut appointment. The high street was heaving, the atmosphere was dynamic, and it was full of pedestrians milling around, and hawker stalls selling various knickknacks (e.g. handmade soft toys and hand painted, glass platters). It was really good to see a high street full of people and energy. However, I cannot help wonder how long this buoyancy and optimism will last, particularly in terms of retail trading. Do retailers have to intensify their sales promotional activities after Christmas and New Year to lure shopper traffic and spending? Before Christmas many retailers have already atypically and aggressively engaged in sales activities to drive their businesses. How much and how long can retailers continue with sales activities to sustain their survival? Consumers will undoubtedly rein their spending to prepare themselves for the hefty credit card bills that are lurking to arrive by the end of January. Maybe I'm worrying too much. Maybe I should learn more to enjoy the 'present' (the current state). While I don't celebrate Christmas much, I do look forward to the break that is bestowed by Christmas and New Year.

Is whining good or bad? Or some mix of both?

Whine, as a verb, refers to ‘complain in a feeble or petulant way’ (The New Oxford American Dictionary). Whining seems to be a natural skill we are born with (or we are inherited from). I am sure most of us would have indulged ourselves with some whining, sporadically or frequently. A frequent or obsessive whiner may be labelled as a whinger. Whinging seems to denote a repetitive and obsessive form of whining. As a verb, whinge refers to ‘complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way’ (The New Oxford American Dictionary).

Why do people whine? A straightforward answer can be because people are disgruntled with a situation or an event. We whine about all sorts of issues, either crucial or trivial. These issues can span from job dissatisfaction, poor salary, failing to secure a job application, a domestic quarrel with partner (or a friend) to a bad haircut, poor customer service at a café, and missing out on a sales. The range of issues that can trigger whining is almost endless. Sometimes I wonder if whining is, to some extent, personality-prone. That is, are certain individuals more likely to indulge in whining than others? Are these individuals likely to be introverted, pessimistic, and attention-seekers? Of course, this notion needs further scientific testing and verification.

Besides the relationship between whining and human personality, I am also interested in the effects of whining on our well-being. That is, is whining constructive or destructive? Or, some mix of both? Does whining help alleviate our disgruntled feelings, reduce stress level, or encourage us to take corrective action in an unpleasant situation? Thinking from a reverse perspective, does whining do more harm than good? Does whining exacerbate dissatisfaction, develop avoidance behaviour, or infuse others with negative perceptions of a brand?

In a business environment, should customers be encouraged to whine? Can customer whining be harnessed to develop useful insights and business strategies? Is it why social networking sites are increasingly being integrated into a business’s media plan as a strategic attempt to encourage customer whining? How do businesses differentiate ‘good’ from ‘bad’ customer whining?

I never thought whining, a common human behaviour, can raise so many questions. Please feel free to contribute if you happen to have some answers to those questions.

Writing is a journey, not just a destination!

As compared to last week, I feel chirpier and more content with my writing performance. I feel that I am making progress albeit it is a little more. I feel I am in better control of my writing fear. Whilst I have not completely eradicated it, I believe I have managed to alleviate some of my obsessive-compulsive behaviour with editing. Yes, I am ‘editing addict’. In the past I could not refrain myself from editing. Now I have managed to do less of it. I hope one day I can totally get rid of my writing fear and editing addiction. It will be a major milestone I aim to achieve, and when I did achieve this it will give me great satisfaction and confidence-boost. I know I can do it as long as I stay focused and have faith in myself. Now thinking back, I am really glad that I have been asked to prepare the PGCAP portfolio as it has made me think a lot about learning and writing.

Writing is like a project management, which entails managing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. More specifically, writing requires you to organise your thought, tackle your writing fear, manage your time, positively respond to criticisms, either constructive or destructive, and so forth. To sum up, I am enjoying writing more than before, more than when I was writing PhD thesis. I only wished my supervisor was more encouraging with my writing. I, nevertheless, understand that she had many personal and work issues to deal with at that time. My passion for writing is growing as the process helps clarify my thought, question my existing knowledge about a topic (sometimes I thought I know plenty about a topic, which turns out to be not the case), and take a more critical approach when reviewing a concept (I need to consider the pros and cons or the various possible interpretations when reviewing a concept). Writing also helps me realise that the development of a concrete and sound idea is like wine making which takes time to develop and fine tune. The crystallisation of an idea is iterative, which often involves moving forward and backward in terms of thinking and writing, and experiencing trials and error.

Real Food Festival - mixed experiences



Figure 1: Demonstration on
how to butcher a lamp

 Earls Court 1, Warwick Road, London, a festival is taking place. It is called Real Food Festival, which has commenced since 5th May and will end on 8th. Because of my interest in gastronomy, I visited this so-called festival with some friends. If I were to be critical with this event, it is more like a convention than a festival. The word 'festival' conjure up the images of multiple food stalls, some bands performing their gigs, some artists singing and dancing, children running around with laughter, and roving entertainment. Whilst not all of these images were seen at this Real Food Festival, it did have a broad diversity food stalls, parents wondering around with their little ones, and food lovers milling around in their goodies bags. Instead of performances by bands and/or artists, there were cooking demonstrations, cheese-tasting sessions, and cheese-education workshops.

In some occasions I have the inclination of being a conspicuous consumer, and this was one of them. Instead of buying a standard ticket, I bought a VIP ticket with the intention of having some special experiences at the festival. To my disappointment, the experiences promised by the VIP ticket were somewhat ordinary. I didn't feel like a VIP after visiting the VIP tent. The word 'VIP' usually conjure up the images of glamorous, glittering decor, funky furniture, red carpet, well-dressed doorman and waitresses or waiters, scrumptious canapes, and cool music. None of these ostentatious, VIP attributes were evident at the VIP tent. Instead, the tent appeared to be hastily set up. The door-lady, although not grumpy, was somewhat lukewarm when greeting us. The floor was covered with maroon carpet and was scattered with leaflets and empty, plastic cups. No scrumptious canapes were offered. Whilst the VIP ticket promised one fine-quality cocktail, it tasted more like a low-priced sugary fruit punch. No funky background music. The goodies bag consisted of a recipe book authored by an ex-rugby player who later became a cook (he is not a chef as he doesn't own or work in a restaurant), a food magazine, and loads of promotional leaflets. Because of these reasons, this is why I classify my experiences with the VIP ticket as ordinary and disappointing.

Despite I was unimpressed with the VIP experiences, I was quite satisfied with the experiences offered by the food stalls trading the festival. There were many quality and authentic food stalls, mostly home-grown or home-produced. There were cheese makers, chutney makers, ice-cream manufacturers, producers of alcoholic beverages (eg wine, champagne, cider, and vodka) and non-alcoholic beverages (eg energy drink, fruit drink), bakers (eg cup cakes, breads, and fruit loafs etc), and chocolatiers. There were organic and non-organic food traders. In addition to the multiplicity of food stalls, various cooking demonstrations were scheduled at different areas and different times. Diversity and variety are, I believe, two major appealing characteristics of the Real Food Festival. As a conclusion to this blog, I would say my experiences with the Real Food Festival were mixed, both positive and negative.

Figure 3: Cooking demonstration
by Jun Tanaka



Figure 2: One of the many chutney makers



Managing my writing 'disease'

I thought once I have conquered my PhD, I could take a slower pace with my writing. I now realise that it is only a wishful thinking. Writing never stops after the conclusion of the PhD journey, not when one aims to succeed or excel as an academic. Writing is like the Never-ending Story in academia. Our promotion, job security, and eligibility for research grants hinge, largely and significantly, on our writing and publications. I took a few weeks off from writing between March and April; I now need to re-engage with it fast and aggressively. If I were to pass my probation and secure my lectureship promotion in August, not only do I need to write and publish two journal papers from my PhD, I also need to write a negotiated essay for Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP). I quite enjoy writing. However, every time I try to write, fear emerges. I seem to have writing-phobia. I cannot help or refrain myself from editing a sentence repeatedly before moving on to the next one. Sometimes, after several revision, I can still be discontent with the sentence. The editing process, hence, continues. I do wonder sometimes if I also have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) for writing. Whether it is writing-phobia or OCD or some mix of both, it will not deter me from writing. Whilst I may not be able to remove my writing-phobia or OCD, I will do everything I can to learn to manage it. One way is to practise 'snack writing, which is to write a short narrative or blog regularly. This blog signifies my first step of managing my writing disease.