My Top 5

What?

I am very amazed at how Clifton StrengsFinder provides each and every person with their personalized Signature Themes after taking a string of more than a hundred questions. I’m not sure if it happens to anyone else, but I think that these themes really affect my thoughts and actions. I think if you believe that these Signature themes are a part of your life, you will see that they become more prominent and obvious in you day after day. That happened to me. I have taken it twice, but the most recent one is obtained from the Strengths Based Leadership Book by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. Basically, these 34 Signature Themes (The Clifton test will provide you with your Top 5) will be categorized into the 4 domains of leadership strengths: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking.

My copy of Strengths Based Leadership

So What?

My Top 5 Signature Themes in increasing numerical order are Restorative, Adaptability, Relator, Analytical and Consistency. According to Rath and Conchie (2008), leaders with dominant strength in each of these domains are able to do the following:

Executing:  They know how to turn ideas into reality.

Influencing: They are advocators in the organization; they usually take charge and speak up.

Relationship Building: They keep the whole team together and going.

Strategic Thinking: They keep the team focused by constantly analyzing information and  help the team make better decisions.

Can be seen below is the result of my top five Signature Themes grouped under the four leadership domains. None of them is in the Influencing domain. That may explain why I don’t usually speak in front of a crowd, but I still do if I have to. That’s because I am more to the Executing and Relationship Building domains.

My Top 5

Now What? 

The Clifton StrengthsFinder is a good way for one to discover one’s strengths and learn how to focus on them to achieve success. It certainly helps to gain confidence by knowing that you are good in something, when all the while, you think that “there’s nothing special about me – I’m just an ordinary person with no talent whatsoever”. The downside is that the Clifton StrengsFinder is not available for free. The website needs a special one-time-use access code that can be purchased through the books by Gallup or on its own online. It’s definitely an interesting experience for me to discover and pave my own roads based on my strengths.

The access code at the back of the book

Endless Activities

What?

I got a ticket to the Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech game this Thursday evening! I got it through the student lottery this time around and it’s my first time! I’m really excited! How time has passed, it’s the end of October now and winter is on its way. This week has been very good indeed, thanks to my positive remarks in my previous blog, “The Best Week Yet”. My Horticulture test went quite well and I had a great lunch with Anja at Gillie’s after the test. I am still on the lookout for the best deal for my trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. I had a difficult time completing my homework because I was in “Disney mode”. I ended up spending the night watching Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella on YouTube even though I promised myself to at least do some work. (Thursday night was “Glee” time while Friday evening was “Chuck” night.

My ticket

Anja and her brocolli pizza

My catfish sub

So What?

I spent a lot of time on the “Cooking with Dog” channel on YouTube this week. It was difficult to stop as I love Japanese cuisine so much! I have a few tests and assignments due this coming week and yet I am procrastinating. I figure that I deserve some entertainment during the weekend because I can sometimes be very productive when the deadline is near. It’s bad but I couldn’t help myself. I had dinner at a friend’s place on Thursday evening; I got to know him though another close friend of mine. Even though the meal was just instant noodles, I enjoyed myself very much as I got myself a few new friends and laughed a lot that day. Then I went grocery shopping in Kroger and saw Keyana, my fun and friendly teaching assistant. It is very comforting to have good friends when I’m far away from home.

Cooking with Dog

Now What?

I hate to say it but this week is going to be an extremely busy week again. I hope that I can get all my assignments done in time and do well for my MATH 1526, RAT (Reading Assurance Test) and Food Science tests. I can’t stop thinking about my dinner appointment with Sul and Nam-yi, and the football game – both on Thursday, one after another. I know I’m going to have a lot of fun after all the hard work! Hakuna matata!

The Best Week Yet

What?

I had a really good week this week. There were not much homework and I got a few surprises that made me a very happy person. On Friday night, I went for the Fall Community Dinner for international students at the Donaldson Brown Graduate Life Center with my friend, Mousumi, a Computer Science major from India. We see each other regularly thanks to the Toms Creek bus that takes us to and from school every day! During the dinner, I met so many of my friends: Seul and Na Mi from South Korea, Jing Jie from China and many others. We were very excited as we haven’t seen each other for a long time. After that, I went to the War Memorial Hall to play badminton (my favorite sport) with my fellow Malaysian graduate students and I saw Bella (she’s from Mongolia!). We talked for a while before my game starts. I’m glad that all of them are doing very well.

A picture of me and Na Mi in Cranwell back in August

So What?

There are too many reasons for me to be happy this week. I went for my first football game on Saturday! – Virginia Tech versus Duke! I got a student ticket and found myself a company. I saw my classmate Anne, while waiting for the bus and we basically stopped talking when we had to separate at the Coliseum. Sadly, I was baked alive that day as I was standing on the North stand with the sun smiling right onto my face, without a cap and a camera. I was quite frustrated but there is no need for that. Two hours in the sun and Duke hadn’t scored anything. It was an easy win for Tech (44-7). Many left early because the game was kind of boring and the winner was obvious. I left early too and managed to grab a Slurpee on my way home. At 5 p.m., my badminton-mates and I went shopping for winter apparels at Ross and T.J. Maxx in Christiansburg. Then we head over to Hunan King for a wonderful dinner!

Virginia Tech won!

Now What?

What a fulfilling weekend! Now, I really hope to get more football tickets (I’m hooked) and have more wonderful weekends like this. I have two tests this week and the coming week, quizzes as usual, and I wish that weekends don’t end as fast as they start. Great experience and great weeks ahead! Can’t wait to spend my first winter in Florida! Disneyworld, here I come!

My First Fall

What?

It is truly amazing to watch the colors of the leaves change from green to a myriad of yellow, orange and red. It reminds me of the first Korean drama I watched in 2004 titled “Autumn Fairy Tale”; I used to be crazy over it. Back in Malaysia, it is hot and humid all year round, so the trees are usually non-deciduous evergreens. This weekend was good and bad for a few reasons. I had two wonderful dinner sessions with the Malaysian families in Blacksburg. We had Fish head curry, which I missed terribly (I love seafood). The bad thing was, I went to my friend’s apartment to prepare something for the dinner session and we forgot to turn off the stove. What’s worse, we went out straight after that, so something was burned and that triggered the smoke alarm. What’s left was a notice from the Blacksburg Fire Department, asking my friend to call the leasing office. The both of us were so careless! I wondered if the whole building has to be evacuated.

Burruss Hall in Fall.

Really pretty leaves.

These reminded me of the singing Pansies in Alice and Wonderland.

Love letter from the Blacksburg Fire Department

So What?

So after this week, I learned yet again a few lessons in life. The first one is obvious: there are many life challenges that should be considered as life experience, not failures. I doubt that I will forget the stove incident though. Even though there are many things that hold me back, there are also many reasons why life is great. Life is tough but it has to go on. I have so many hopes and dreams that keep me going: backpacking with my sister in Europe, getting a few Coach hand bags and a Volkswagen Beatle, bringing my parents on a trip around the world, visiting the Wonders of the World and so many others. The moral of the story is if nothing ever happens in life, it would be dull and meaningless.

Now What?

Life has been pretty much the same for me. Mistakes and success, sadness and happiness, they come and go. Lately, I have been searching for a microwave oven. I almost got one today after receiving a moving sale email, but due to the absence of a cellphone and a car, I lost my chance. I guess I would have to wait for another chance. Everything seems to be testing my patience these days. Thank goodness for Utz, Snickers and Hershey’s, my happy hormones are back in check.

Unit 3

What?

I found myself struggling to finish writing this blog. I did not score well on the Readiness Assurance Test for Unit 3 as I was confused about all the approaches and theories. I think I did not pay enough attention to them; I mixed up the criteria in each topic and could not remember some of the terms used. So far, the ones that I understood best are the “Situational Leadership” and “Leader-member Exchange Theory of Leadership” (LMX) mainly because I have encountered them before.  As I understand it, situational leadership revolves around four leadership styles: directing, coaching, supporting and delegating where they offer different degrees of support and direction to followers. The LMX theory, on the other hand, talks about the leader-follower relationship that is divided into the in-groups and the out-groups. I suppose this theory can be very obvious sometimes.

                Image obtained from http://leadershipchamps.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/leader-member-exchange-lmx-theory/)

In-group and out-group in LMX theory 

So What?

When I entered high school, I joined this specific organization that requires me to take a practical and a written test to become a member. That was more than 6 years ago but I could still remember the whole situation vividly. The supposed leader was supposed to teach me and my friends the skills needed for the practical test but he did not. When the officer asked us to demonstrate, we hesitated. So, the officer asked the leader for an explanation. He then looked at us with the meanest facial expression and said that he did teach us. I was furious and disappointed that he treated us that way while he was being extraordinarily nice to some (usually pretty girls). I never liked being in that organization until someone else replaces him when he graduated. Apparently, according to the LMX theory, my friends and I might be categorized in the out-group, the alienated newbie group that did not meet up to his expectation.

Now What?

After reliving this old memory, I realized that a follower does expect a lot from the leader. I suppose I will expect a lot from my leader too. Whichever leadership style, all of them emphasize on the leader-follower relationship. For if the leader-follower relationship is nowhere near perfect, productivity and loyalty will automatically decrease. One thing for sure, I will not want to be in an out-group anymore just because the leader is biased and is neither directive nor supportive. 

Image obtained from http://www.cvtc.edu/pages/502.asp

Midterm Madness

What?

I’m amazed how exams can affect my sleep schedule and stress levels. I had my midterm tests last week and I realized just how much time is needed to prepare for them as there are other quizzes and assignments due the same week. I used to be a last-minute person back in my preparatory college but I found out that it doesn’t work here now. Nothing goes into my head when I’m tired and sleepy. My sleeping schedule is topsy-turvy; I either sleep from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. or 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. I have been experimenting to see which style suits me best. It was not easy at all as the cool temperature makes me turn off the alarm and go back to sleep.

Image obtained from http://labs.ee.psu.edu/courses/ee458/exam-med.jpg

So What?

I have a goal of reaching certain GPAs and I am trying as hard as I can without ruining my health. I can still remember how I was struggling to answer the fill-in-the-blanks question for my Introduction to Food Science and Technology exam 2 weeks ago (my first ever exam in Tech). I underestimated the Koofers and thought it will be easy. The same thing goes for my Horticulture Science and Industry exam last week, it was easy until I realized I read the wrong topics and could not answer a few questions. Thank goodness I could hear my professor’s voice ringing at the back of my head, which proves that I paid attention in class. I made a few guesses but some of them were still wrong. The Global Forest Resource Sustainability exam was not too bad because it was an open book; I still had to make guesses though. Luckily, the results were not too bad. Moral of the story, study harder and pay more attention to certain things that might be too teeny-weeny to remember. As for my MATH 1526, I need to put more time and effort into it. Exam 2 is due this Tuesday and I haven’t prepared anything for it. I have made mistakes in my past quizzes and that was because I have been revising them last-minute for the past few weeks. I need to do something about it stat. The last thing I need is math ruining my GPA.

Image obtained from http://shipmanlibrary.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/cram.jpg

Now What?

The next exams are catching up real quick. They love giving me butterflies that not only fly but jump as well. My stress levels just peaked. My current strategy is to get enough sleep and pay attention in class instead of feeling sleepy in most of my classes. Since I know the instructors’ exam styles, I can be more prepared when the time comes. I definitely need to manage my time well as the procrastination virus in my system attacks during weekends when I should be most productive.

Image obtained from http://www.pittsburgrotary.org/22373203_thb.jpg

Two Extremes in a Week

What?

Another month has passed and this is the coldest week I have ever experienced in my life. The beginning of the week was a lot of fun! Our AEE1004 class went to the Lane Stadium for class activity and believe it or not, that was my first time standing on Worsham Field in Lane! However, later this week, things didn’t go that well; I did really badly for my tests and quizzes. But I’m happy again that the weekend is here and I cheered myself up by watching 2 episodes of “Glee” on Thursday night. The Britney Spears episode is epic; I love it!

So What?

This week is the busiest yet. I’m trying my best to manage my time and figure out my most effective study hours. So much to do, so little time! I figure that I am definitely not alone; my friends all over the United States are facing the same thing, we brag about our badly done quizzes and tests, Organic Chemistry, roommate problems and many others. Even my Facebook page’s latest notifications have decreased significantly. It is really weird to know that these are the things that made our week. I really miss Malaysian dishes, especially those spicy ones.

Now What?

As I’m typing the blog, I can see the moon outside my window; it reminds me of Cheshire cat’s enigmatic smile in Alice in Wonderland. It keeps me awake and happy.  Next, I’m looking forward to the “Stop Hunger Now- Rice Packaging Event to Benefit Haiti” in 12 hours’ time. My friends and I have signed up for the 3-5pm shift. As I have 2 tests on coming Monday and Thursday, quizzes and papers, I sincerely hope that everything goes smoothly.