Catherine Fang

I think, as a society, we have the tendency to look down on people who work in the service industries. We see them perhaps as less intelligent or less hardworking, because they haven’t managed to claw their way to the top, or they lack the ambition/dedication to work in a profession that makes them lots of money.

Despite having worked in the service industry myself, I sometimes fall prey to these kinds of prejudiced thoughts. They’re wrong. Services jobs are not necessarily easier than other jobs, but they require a different sort of skills, and, I think, a different kind of personality. Not inferior or superior, necessarily, just different.

Since graduating from UW, I have been trying to narrow down a career path, and I have found that I have an extra criterion. Certainly people think of what they really enjoy doing, and what they are passionate about, but lately I have been considering whether I can tolerate, so to speak, a job that doesn’t garner general societal respect. Continue Reading →

Recently, on a whim, I submitted written commendation for service provider that I thought was particularly outstanding.

April, is a “mere sales rep,” however whenever I have any questions or problems, she goes above and beyond the call of duty in order to help me solve all issues. She is extremely friendly, resourceful, efficient! and is everything you wish a customer service rep could be. Ask her anything, even if it outside of her jurisdiction. She knows where/how to find answers, and she will call you back in 10 minutes. When she does, she gives a thorough answer, for your future reference, but don’t worry this time because she’s already taken care of it for you.

Amazing. As a society, we commonly dread picking up the phone and waiting on the line for 20 minutes in the effort to finally contact a real person who might be able to pretend that he/she is helping you. Most of us come away from the phone an hour later, extremely pissed that we wasted precious time talking to the dumb-as-rocks rep who must hate his life. This is what we have come to expect when we have to make these sort of calls. Continue Reading →

1. Be more overtly optimistic – I think outside observers sometimes wonder if I’m bi-polar (exaggerating, of course) since I look so happy and bouncy one minute, but angry the next. The truth is, I’m not really angry, sad, or even agitated. I’m just finicky, and I tend to emphasize it more than other people, so I seem less happy or more pessimistic than I actually feel. Must curb my enthusiasm, heh.
2. Become “Highly Proficient” or “Advanced” at Photoshop, InDesign, Lightroom. Build a portfolio. Also, saving up for a pressure-sensitive tablet.
3. Become proficient at Illustrator, (auto?)CAD, HTML, and CSS.
4. Start dancing and rock climbing regularly again.
5. Cook more, eat out less.
6. Blog at least twice a week, on average.
7. Take pictures frequently.
8. Remember to take breaks and do eye exercises.
9. Sleep like a normal person, rather than excessively.
10. Reconnect with old friends.
11. Manage time more efficiently. Specifically, relearn to focus more on individual tasks rather than trying to start many at once, and never get very far on any of them. Must learn to be realistic in goal-setting.