When You're Ripe You Rot!

Like all good little Chinese Americans, I filled my Sundays with Chinese school and summers with SAT prep, and walked away with absolutely no clue of the days' lessons because I was too busy socializing. And yes, I took SAT prep since the age of 13 and no, I am not a genius and almost hit 1400 but didn't...which meant enduring 5 months of my father crying over my broken future devoid of a Harvard or Stanford education, and ultimate convincing on my part that 1380 was perfectly average. He stopped his sniffling when I was accepted into NYU.

Somehow I missed this mythical racial genetic programming and only got a slightly above average mathematical acumen in life. I was always somehow unsure of whether or not I should be disappointed that I was not an Asian rock star at quantum physics or even basic functions, but when I really applied myself I got by and understood enough. My father claims my saving grace to life is my right brain and the fact that growing up I read 40-60 hours a week. No lie. My parents ran a Chinese restaurant out in the cowtowns of Damascus where I had no friends and was dumped at the local library from 2 PM until 8 or 9 PM when the library closed. I read for six to seven hours straight, then came back with 20 books in hand and continued to read until my parents closed shop.

It's no surprise that giving up summers and weekends was accepted without a question. Time not spent studying in some fashion, especially as an extracurricular, was unproductive to my parents. And then of course, we're reinforced from middle school into college years of the same thing, and even more so, of multitasking subjects.

There's been notable schools and educational systems established in which students study one subject inside an out for an entire semester before moving on. Whether or not that's any more effective than being scattered and learning to learn within different disciplines that hopefully will inform each other as cross disciplines, I do not know. I haven't tried singular systems.

I have noticed, however, that post graduation, people tend to read one book at a time, or not read at all. I tried this for a year or so and I've covered decent ground. However recently, I've found myself picking up three to five books at a time and efficiently finishing each one within two week periods.  I have increased my reading and informational intake rate threefold, and find that I retain more information this way.

Upon reading my latest pick, Culture and Imperialism by Edward Said, (a book I was supposed to read in college but never did) I'm made aware of Said's theories of culture as non-monolithic. Each culture is to be read with a conscious structure of attitude and reference. That is, each culture and narrative being presented needs to be both read and produced with a multitudes of perspectives and references in mind. It is necessary to constantly read, consume, evaluate all material that you take in and produce with ever shifting paradigmatic views and discard of the referential vacuum in which one usually finds themselves. It's an idea about multitude, about overlapping efforts.

So my latest experiment which I hope will continue for a long long time: Perhaps if we can learn to consciously apply our attention to a number of books at a time, more connections can be made, a broader experience can be established, and self education can proliferate at a faster rate. Maybe this way we can consume a number of cultures (novels and narratives are cultures too, as Said claims) together at the same time. Maybe this way you can inform yourself of three different world views and reads of the world at once instead of one at a time. And even if these novels don't overlap in subject or authored time frame, at least they are overlapping in your world. Some will be my morning commute book, some will be my evening book, some will be my weekend book.

My SAT professor taught me my MO 11 years ago:

When you're green, you're growing.

When you're ripe you rot!

This week's picks:

• Culture and Imperialism by Edward Said
• The Generalissimo by Jay Taylor
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kahled Hosseini  

Obvious Secret

Halfway through my first ever internship in advertising during college, I learned one of the most valuable lessons that I will take with me throughout life above any other skill. My direct supervisor, who was only an Assistant Account Executive when I started, was surprised with a promotion announcement during a client dinner. Everyone clapped, everyone congratulated him, and the clients were all pleased to share in the celebration. And nobody even thought twice about whether or not I, as an intern, should be included that night--I was for all intents and purposes, a temporary family member and of course I should be there.

When I finally left that summer, I did my typical rounds (for anyone who knows me, I have a habit of giving everyone handwritten cards and all the women roses) around the office. One of my final stops was at the office of my Director, David, who was warm and welcoming from the beginning, and one of the few people in my life who I immediately respected and admired. I knew from the first handshake. He said to me, "Do you know why Dan was promoted?" I obviously offered up the textbook answer: Because he does a good job. David said, "No. It's because people like working with him. Everyone in this agency wants to work with him. Be the person people want to work with. There is no other secret to this industry."

In recent struggles in the workplace I always remember this, as I encounter the people I don't want to work with, but have to. For some of my friends who I know are having parallel problems of their own at work, I am quick to remind them that they are anything but failures. It's not always about doing everything right or everything perfect, it's about how to figure out how to become the person people want to work with, despite the hiccups.

Fresh, Simple, Candid

No Subject.

the world the way is

the world you would like to see

what you are fighting against to make this new world real

what actions you want people to take to make this world possible

I'm in the business of beauty. My account is a day in and day out subjection of creating naturally beautiful girls to become even more beautiful than any normal human being could be, and then recycling it into advertising's "au naturelle". It's a billion dollar whisper of a promise that sells more products than self-reflective security; it's putting money where your heart is and then silently siphoning out the quarters and dimes by the bucketfuls. It's like a pickup artist's perfect balance of both negging to lure you in, and complimenting you to seal the deal. It's the drug dealer's exact calculations of 40% bullshit ingredients and 60% glory, to ensure you're hooked just enough but not enough to lose a profit on the real stuff. It's advertising, and it's my job.


All too often we buy into the anti-bandwagon approach--chasing organic and farm fresh labels, opting for Dove because it's the "real" beauty, forking over $40 for a T-shirt at American Apparel because it's home grown. And there's nothing wrong with that, really. In the end it does proffer a healthier perspective that often is lost among the hunt for dollars. My bigger issue, which is ultimately beyond hypocritical just by the sheer fact that I make a living off of it, is the need to brand the obvious. 


My recent trip to New Zealand was an introduction to a world of unadvertised, good, obviousness that is not publicized or promoted but simply, is. I only spent my time in a limited portion of North Island, around Auckland, North Shore, Rotorua, KareKare and Piha Beaches, and Hamilton. Save the usual downtown hustle and bustle and occasional tourist promotions, billboards are scant in the area. The only advertisement is the land itself. It's a given that everyone serves grass fed beef, freshly caught oysters, and locally grown wine. It's understood that it is everyone's duty as a citizen of New Zealand and as a visitor, to keep the country green and environmentally sustainable. That people should care and live in a fashion that shows they care about themselves, their bodies, their health, their world, is deeply rooted and programmed into the general mentality to such an extent that an American like me can walk away and say, "Wow, those New Zealanders are just so much better minded than us." It becomes true because they are, the idea simply is, and it's natural. It's obvious. 


This showed up in my email box from my daily subscription to Gaping Void this morning:

Yesterday my client showed up unexpected for a meeting that was supposed to have been a call.  In a rush to throw the room together as though we all work without papers on our desks, as though we always have nuts, wine and steak salads ready, as though we're always this naturally pristine, I realized just how little people in advertising embrace candidness...unless it's behind some campaign to turn dollars. Perhaps unfair, since we ARE in the business of client services and branding ourselves. However I have always appreciated a messy desk, a stack of charts and documents scattered--so my client knows I'm working. And my previous clients have happily made themselves at home in my mess because it's not always the disturbing ripples that should be noticed, but the source of what made them. My coworker was most concerned with the surprise not because he was showing up, but because she didn't have the right shoes on. As if we were hired for our shoes! 


I just also redesigned this blog. I tried to make it intense, deep, masked by layers of thoughtful backdrops of candles and moods. Finally I got sick of it all and figured it all looked so fake that people would be so overwhelmed by the sleepiness and the romantic personality I was accidentally conveying...and not even read what I really wanted to write. So simple, fresh, white, non-descript it is. 


All of this has been a circumlocution for the first thing that really caught my eye: in going through my old mail, I found this "No Subject" email to myself. I love it when I don't package good things for myself. I love it when I surprise myself. Four things to think about, and no subject line, no direction to affect how I'm supposed to digest these four perspectives of how to see the world the way it is, the way I want it to be, what I am fighting against, and the actions I want people to take. 


Action? No subject. No labels. Just be. Obviously!