Category: Chona

Networking

Hi everyone! Dualities are the best. You keep passing them – right/left. In a similar sort of way, networking plays on the ball and catcher theme. What do you think?

Life can be unfair.

If you’re like me, you always want to know the perspective of others. I try to emulate it using my ‘super sensory assumptions’, but that  doesn’t give perspective any justice. I just cannot circumvent the topic enough. I even wrote an elaborate letter to a stranger, expecting some sort of comeuppance for the amount of energy I divulged throughout. I think that’s when I discovered my passion for technical writing, ironically by asking about technical writing. So, returning to the main topic, I wrote a letter to Duncan Kent.

Mr. Kent is my good friend’s uncle and the firm founder/senior project manager at Duncan Kent & Associates Ltd., a technical documentation company based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. For the past 27 years, his company has guided and developed more than 300 manuals and technical publications. His team’s work and client list span many industries, from construction and project management to law enforcement and security.

I was inspired to write to him because of his company’s success. Or perhaps, more realistically, I wrote to him to feed my desire for positive constructive criticism…from anyone…someone…please.

My apologies for continuing to fall off of our topic. As I started planning (this elaborate letter you see), I wondered to myself, “Imagine if my client list was in the thousands?” I thought, I’m prepared to ride this wave, although, I do not surf. This is much more important – to change the course of history vs learning how to write effectively. Alas, I tend to jump the gun, but that is only my proactive personality. The unfortunate thing is – when things don’t turn out, and especially because I rely so heavily on fate – I get extremely disappointed, saddened to say the least. I suppose I will be able to save the documents for a record of my process. Egad!

Let’s have a read –

Good morning Duncan,

Thank you for your time. I am excited to share a bit of my background with you and hope that this will be the beginning of a new adventure! (Edit Jan. 4, 2020 – and holy f what a crazy ride it has been!)

I have spent the past 8 years managing corporate accounts for the medium and enterprise-sized business market segments of Canada’s #1 telecommunications brand and wireless service provider, Bell Mobility. I write about 50 emails a day, corresponding with important decision-makers like billing analysts, IT coordinators, managers and/or executives.

Writing business emails has taught me how to approach language in a linear and logical manner, so that the complexities of the technologies and services we implement can be communicated to our clients with clarity and ease.

My passion for writing was originally theoretical (art school approach), but my role at Bell Mobility changed that. Now, making words make sense in a technical fashion has me completely converted, if not entirely fascinated by the precision of writing in and of itself.

I have achieved positive results in account management by way of technical writing:

  • Optimizing processes
  • Maximizing workplace efficiencies
  • Minimizing client expenditures through routine jargon
  • Organizing & streamlining daily communications
  • Thinking critically
  • Taking proactive approaches to solving problems in writing
  • Building dependable & long lasting relationships with my team & clients

So here I am, graciously connecting to you thanks to your nephew, Chris Kent. I understand you must be very busy, but if possible, could I ask you some questions about technical writing? My goal is to determine if it is the right career for me and what steps I would need to take to get there.

Cheers,

Chona Fe Canlas

There is always a way to make things simpler.

*Note: I ended with that sentence and amazingly, I can see now that it is the beginning of my brand! (Edit Jan. 4, 2020 – Simpler & Larger guys!)

The success of your pursuits can be measured infinitely. (Edit Jan. 4, 2020 – OMG, did Simon Sinek steal that?) What will you cherish once your work is done? For myself, it is truly gaining the perspective of someone else ego holds a different holistic experience. I am continually examining this philosophy, why not!

Technical Writing

Hi everyone! How technical can you be with creative content? This is a good question. Let’s start by looking at how we can define a technical writer.

A technical writer is an organized communicator for a company. They present the company in specific ways and focus on areas that require clear and succinct communication. They also work on creating and formatting material effectively to increase overall communication efficacy.

A technical writer for a communications company would be responsible for the below (and later on can assist with other areas like research, project management and customer advocacy):

  • Creating/formatting proprietary documents (i.e.: emails, meeting minutes, customer welcome packages, social media posts, blog and website content etc.)
  • Developing instructions, guidelines, training material, strategies and plans
  • Creating templates, marketing collateral, brochures, promotional materials, ad copy and presentations

Higher-level roles:

  • Writing contracts, proposals, RFPs, white papers, reports, feasibility studies and reviews
  • Acting as an interviewer, trainer, organizer, facilitator or mediator
  • Designing visual communication strategy, information graphics and/or data interpretation

Another advanced role is analytics (excerpt from Wikipedia):

The use of computer skills, mathematics and statistics, combined with descriptive techniques and predictive models to GAIN valuable knowledge from data. The discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data; and the process of applying those patterns towards effective decision-making.

In other words, analytics can be understood as the connective tissue between data and effective decision-making, within an organization. A technical writer also observes and collects data from customers that suggests the product and/or customer experience can be changed or improved in a way that customers would prefer or benefit from.

So, technical writing can be used to enhance communication to a specific audience and can create simplicity from abstract or conceptual ideas. These specifications can improve user experience, time management, levels of customer satisfaction and other customer-centered metrics. 

Desirable traits of a technical writer: 

  • organized and able to optimize process
  • detailed and extremely focused
  • able to portray different styles and perspectives 
  • a leader and team motivator
  • easygoing and confident personality
  • insightful, intelligent and innovative
  • transparent, accurate and responsible

Blox. Communications would like to define technical writing as it specifically relates to creative entities. What traits (quality) and aspects (quantity) do you think would be important to operating a technical creative company?

Sales Specialist

Hi everyone! As VanWhistle Media’s Lead Sales Specialist, I have been building the foundations for a new digital marketing brand. How will we stand apart from others? How do we get customers to commit?

In my mind, it’s a combination of creative direction (standing apart) and content (establishing commitment). Also, a strong brand is everything. It is about locality plus some other concept I haven’t figured out yet (internationalism?). Meet your neighbors and start building connections any way.

I wanted to design some storefront posters and presentation slides (with animation) and this is what I came up with in the discovery stage –

Header: VANWHISTLE MEDIA IS HERE TO HELP! (large, black + white)

Sub-header: Social Media (rainbow)

Done correctly, you can tell everyone that your brand is ACTIVE and that you are FOCUSED on promoting ongoing and thriving communication with your customers. We will show you where your efforts have worked and where they are falling short! DO SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT with VANWHISTLE MEDIA today!

Sub-header: SEO (blue)

Progress to the next level with a definite increase in traffic by organizing your content by keywords; this will ensure your brand appears HIGH on Google’s list of results. Your business will need a powerful strategy as search tactics are always evolving. Let’s get you to the top of the list! DO SEO with VANWHISTLE MEDIA today!

Sub-header: Web Design (orange)

Everything about your website (content, appearance, functionality) is determined by the QUALITY of its design. Aim to establish expertise & credibility. We can manage this process from start to finish! DO WEB DEVELOPMENT with VANWHISTLE MEDIA today!

(include at bottom in smaller typeface, maybe white on gray?)

Small print: We can also help with – Email Marketing, Pay Per Click Management, Blog/Content Creation, Designing, Auto Dealership Package, Storefront Signage, Business Cards, Branding, Creative Direction & Idea Development. Contact us, we’re flexible and talented!

(contact info)

Background tip – I repeat ‘DO…with VANWHISTLE MEDIA today’, because repetition has been shown to be an effective selling tool. Scientists have found that repetition increases processing fluency. In other words, our brains find repeated words easier to process and remember. I really want to establish a focus in my message (do = doing = done). What will drive people to stop and read/look at our poster? The word DO repeated equals the word DOING repeated equals the word DONE repeating in their heads, thereby increasing desire and attracting demand. It’s always about thoughtful language, usage and placement!
Coming back to this project, I question the use of ‘talented’. For whatever reason, people hate that word. Like, a talented person couldn’t have an honest mandate. Or, to say one’s talented is to say, I’m egotistical. It really makes me wonder. What do you guys think?
I suppose at the end of the day, people are going to think how they want. So…if you’re going to do it differently, find trustworthy research to support your ideas!

4 – The Sycophant

This cannot be happening right now.

Daisy expired and shook her head as time and time again she did. We don’t exist. We are bars of Nanaimo treats screwed up on Haloperidol mixed with a touch of boxed salad greens.

So where do we begin?

She approached Alice who was expecting her. As she sat cross-legged on a slice of Dream, Daisy asks, “Miss Alice, are you here? Did you have anything?” This role reversal thing was just so complicated.

They were all messed up. The transition from wifi to digitization wasn’t her, pretty much everyone in town KNEW and it felt like people could FEEL the change, but no one would talk about it in actuality.

It’s just so much more interesting. 

What? 

This new job!

I figured out 5 routes to sudden insight in writing, they are –

Fast, 

Open and shut, 

Take your time, 

Who cares and 

Believe.

Shall we keep going?

The weekend felt like an eternity. She wished she could swoon over these feelings, but she just craved having her own office and working. Daisy gathered her yellow skirt which had fine white polka dots, a fine white mesh of squid tulle and an admirable edging of white eyelet lace. She pronounced with a deep breath to whomever was not there – Here ye, here ye are. We are short, we are tall, we are bright, we are dull. We are equal and there is something out there telling us we aren’t. Try not to be confused, but to trace your steps back towards home, it isn’t where you feel your bones turn cold and your face falls flat.

That’s all she had to do for today, but she was exhausted because she spent days preparing. Social media nowadays did just that. Having to bring together Others was painstakingly dull, hence why the word always made its way into her announcements. Daisy tried to remember why she wanted this job in the first place.

I don’t feel right. 

Alice from Wonderland awoke from a banana split second to comment, “Recall in your sleep, then awake and for the next every day of your life, return to your commonplace and remember what stands as your truth and reality – resolve, confidence and ultimately, sobriety.” Then her eyes shut, but bulgy and half-peeped. She yawned, turned around onto her Dream and went back to bed. 

Chona had a look at where she was. White Spot…hmm…Telus and an escalator…as ‘white’ as pine chairs…hmm. She was just waiting to see Seventeen and Each Other. It was A Day and she felt 92, but was probably more like a 93. “Don’t forget to measure your immeasurability.” Ugh. It always came out the wrong way. Immeasurability is when one does not make sense for various points and reasons not to be discussed. Still, wearing a t-shirt from which her periphery seemed pink, she was holding onto a couple of secrets and there was a good reason for it.

“It has left.”, “It has gone for good.”

I just get worried because I force myself to smile for having an image of my face cropped up in my mind where I look exhausted and homeless. Dr. Waterson at least said I always look flawless.

Daisy quipped brightly and dull, “Ya don’t NEED to eat dessert, hasn’t this body image disturbance issue been cured?”

Oh ok, as you say.

They were both wearing matching lumber jackets. Difficulties often arose in their marriage, however as times were different at least they still had the capacity to travel through about the same rate of simultaneous combustive think. It frustrated them both – training – making them more porcelain and less matte.

“We are old.”, “Yes, we are.” 

Daisy remembers crashing the car in 2006, there were banks of snow everywhere as large as clouds plopped down from the sky. She was psychotic and he was possibly Hindu, but as she sped away jacked on thoughts and cigarettes, A Tree followed her, off the main road. She tried to get away, but she just couldn’t and then, they stopped right next to a previous residence to talk. He parked behind the car and walked up to her window that was crusted with ice. 

Daisy remembers the solid air inside her vehicle, her paranoia and delusions stuck amidst cold breath and the dark matter of her leather seats. She was so scared, more scared than she had ever been in her life. A burly thick man with a bushy red beard approached her on her left side. She rolled down the window and two pairs of eyes extremely intense, proceeded to think. There was silence and patches of foggy air between them. He questioned her actions realistically, but Daisy was determined.

“He didn’t die! He was protected by a higher being, I swear this on my life!” It was as if two different realities were panning out at the exact same time, one that was cold and real and the other which was super paranoid and just too hard to bear.

A Tree stood there in silence in between moments of questioning, sort of half-intrigued and semi-empathetic to Daisy’s arguments. And then, he just let her go. Just like that. She drove away, further and further into it all, arriving at an underground graffiti show that wasn’t worth any of her time, but as per usual she showed up, walked around like she gave a fuck, because that was her job. 

Allow me to circumvent. How many years did it take?

Oh, I don’t know, maybe 10.

I don’t think we can act godlike. The brain gets confused. Then, we become accountable for our actions and if we cannot explain what we’re doing (and these days, throw thinking into that pot), we might be in trouble!

Preface to Elevententeen

Hi everyone! My aim is to develop Elevententeen into a movie script. Think Alice in Wonderland/Being John Malkovich/Harry Potter. Feel lost in my words? Close your eyes and imagine the characters in context. This is a great exercise for reading comprehension!  

In a fictive story, we follow Daisy, our protagonist and an offshoot of author Chona Fe Canlas. Daisy is humbly inappropriate and disillusioned. She deals with the transitions of her environment while trying to succeed as a social media specialist. Her role is futuristic, because she lives in a different time, within a different time frame called Elevententeen.

She takes adventures throughout this realm, as she tries to comprehend her reasons for being. She is an individual facing an array of identities, positioned to question new technologies and variations in time and space.

Intermingled with Daisy’s adventures are the author’s personal anecdotes, commenting on a career change and her attempt to comprehend the complexities of communication and the human brain. The author uses her own writing to cure a plethora of falsehoods, habituated over years of resisting Western culture, process & medicine.

Throughout it all, the characters must defend humanism and learn to praise their metaphysical accomplishments in a purely logical, but theoretical landscape.

A note from Chona –

I hope you can follow the wild ride! Linearity is scarce, because the story is intended to be read from varying angles (literally and conceptually). You will be following an infinite number of perspectives, while becoming aware of language’s transformative effects. Some important elements to consider – how do we (Daisy and Chona Fe) end up in the same place? Why don’t things change? What is considered to be change? What is the standpoint of time and space from the inside? And from the outside? What is real or constructed by our minds? How do we relate this to other living or non-living entities like animals, colours or feelings? What does the dual dialogue signify? What will be the ultimate outcome? Good, bad, happy?

Let’s figure it out everybody, enjoy the story! 

3 – A Day

“Dude, I’m not coming up yet.”, “I’m not ready.”

Daisy was so frustrated. Why did he have to control her like that? Why was he in charge and not her? The green tag of her Champion jumper rubbed the back of her neck and she irritatedly scratched, like a black spider would trying to climb a slippery tent. From here on out, she was done being told what to do. “I am going to succeed, if it’s the last thing I’m capable of, dangit, I WILL!” She expired her smoke, while tiny violet pills leapt off her dress making their way down onto pillows marking the street. Today there were no jewels or yams protruding from the earth. Wait, what? Where…am…I? Daisy slapped her forehead feeling silly and stern. “I thought the map was taking me through that way…hmm…I am going to have to reconfigure.” She stuck her finger down her throat to feel the recess between her clavicle and sternum. The bump was still there, and it felt mightier than before. With a giant sigh of relief, Daisy whipped her hand out and quickly rubbed her brow of the pink and yellow sweat trickling downward toward the edge of her puffy orange UVC (never reaches the earth) slippers. The colours were debating with the sunset, arguing in agreeance with this theory: Can we reproduce smells using sight? If only I could see my thoughts, Chona thinks.

“Is it still not working yet or?”, “No.”

Okay, well then…let me think. I have zero capability of calculating the difference between time and space using true visuality AND I have thus far only found value in doing nothing. Everything was trying to pinpoint the exact ‘moment memory’ Chona experienced most frequently while driving. Today, June 24, 2019, she smelled/saw the winter time, the time around Halloween and a few other things. But they came and went so fast, she couldn’t ascertain every detail in time to truly discern the event. And, she most definitely could not determine how in the hell this was working and how she would even begin to explain it. Everything was creating. Everything was putting it together. Everything was adding it up.

Daisy’s mind went blank. She sat solemnly in the imitation art chair wearing a torn out neon pink giant Cotton Ginny t-shirt, and appropriate underwear of course. “To shower or not to shower, that is the key,” she thought. Her boss quipped, “To remember everyone! Cucumber! Coffee! And, no sex please!”

According to the Kama Sutra, a person with the principles of this science, who preserves his virtue, his Artha and his pleasure, will obtain the mastery of Each Other.

“Daisy, are you listening?”, “Yes.”

Seventeen always looked like that, predisposed to sleep, knowing she needed time for rest. Chona Fe yawns and gives up for a bit, then hands the paper over to Alice. She bites into it like a rabid snail, because snails are like tricky people. Alice goes back into hiding and the teen just shrugs again. The adventures have now begun, but where will they take us? Because in this moment, none of this makes sense, right? And, do you truly think it will be a thing? A real, true, regular, normal way of being? Chona thinks, “Probably yes. But, I dunno! I just have to try and will probably die doing it!”

Daisy was listening, darting her eyes toward the light. Alice puffed some letter s’s in the same general direction. Can we begin to read it now, the way to it should read?

2 – The Hiatus

Our explorer has taken a hiatus, she is tired and as she peers across the street, he seems tired as well. She puts on her best coat and slips her feet into some cherry red rain boots. The moment she steps outside, she feels the cold tingle in her bones and her hair sashays as the wind hits her with a warm whisper asking again, “Hey. Are you there?” Flipping your hair in A Day can take you somewhere.

Don’t worry, just keep it as it is, she said. She says these types of things happen to her often, she must partially remain motivated to live and she must secondly rid herself from the despair of The Need. I need my comb, where is it? She reached into her purse, not the one from Vestiaire, but a second-hand Coach made of well-used garbage beige calfskin tin.

A desperate voice in her head urges, “These are the lines, the shapes, the colors, the values, the forms and the textures. There is no SPACE.” Repenting and refusing, Daisy shakes her head vigorously and steps into an oily pink puddle seeing only her reflection for a brief second in time.

“Come to the spot, dabble in delight, peruse my space with wonder and might; question clients A, C and J. Find a way to see, see connections and see separations. Come from away, come from near, be the bearer of untimely cheer.” – The Pause and the solemn inquirer of Where

And with that, Alice from Wonderland appears, presenting Daisy with another conundrum, this time more real: “Where can you gather your answers from? Is it online, has it been written by another? When the answers come, make it right, make it right, make it right.” She takes off in a haste, not really caring about her hair and for some reason this time, she is riding an umbrella as if it were from Life Space.

Hmm. That was somehow puzzling. But onto the next block, still in the rain, the sky still bleak, wet, gray. Daisy just can’t seem to pull up her head. She envisions red and yellow amongst oily pink and purple.

“Why is this taking forever?”, “What has become of the perspective?”

It is all askew and small, but still very vast. Very vast? I used to dream in this perspective, really…well…I was awake, burning my eyeballs trying to fall asleep.

“Somehow, there has been someone toying with this section.”

Elevententeen was just that, a constant slideshow of places that required definition.

There was no consistency or realness.

There was so much dismay.

Her entourage had miniature plastic smiles plastered to their faces and there was still that nagging colour red pinned to each user like a little umbrella badge stitched with tiny banana-shaped thread.

Chona has nowhere to go, although her urge to run, to run uphill…is strong.

1 – The Pen

How do you write anew? How do you continue to post after a long weekend of stuffing your face with turkey and cranberry sauce, to the point where, by holiday Monday you’re lost in a hazy misconstruction of football episodes, your daughter’s Super Monsters Halloween edition and extra pumpkin pie/pumpkin coffee cake streaming through your veins?

I drove into work this morning feeling like I took a 5 month mental hiatus and that it would take another 5 years to get back to where I was last Friday in terms of thought processes and drive. But this sobering feeling, is it better than the former? Which should I be chasing?

I finally arrived and tried my best to ignore CBC and Stephen Quinn. Parked and ready to nap, Daisy thought frustratedly, “If I don’t get to my desk, I will fall further and further away into this sluggish slump. It will impact the rest of my week in a very negative way. I can’t be doing it this way!”

Dang it. “It’s starting already,” quipped a voice on the radio, when suddenly two of them proclaimed, “I’m not ready to travel! Dang you, dang it, DANG YOU!”

Are YOU ready?

I’ve fallen! This will last for 2 hours, then the clock will stop ticking on October 21st. I only have so much time to regroup and reiterate my success using succinct words and a logical progression of content.

She’s gone again. Don’t worry, she will return!

Daisy looked upward, toward the roof and saw a glowing star leaning on its edge, skirts away from abandoning friends and arriving onto a dust covered pillow. Puffy like an oyster, she rolled over in bed, drawing her arms over her face and pushing down to feel that cozy, cold feeling she longed for throughout the day. Today was bright and sunny. Bold rays peered through large windows, allowing light to enter her Brooklyn studio apartment. The girl was ready for A Day, ready to do the job she did best – ‘social media marketing’ for an up-and-coming TED startup company in the SoHo district of Elevententeen.

Elevententeen was a designated area for a group of bright communications pupils. They had three things in common. One – they were all Bipolar Type 10. Two – they had recently quit ‘drinking’. And three – they lived with the intent to impact the digital landscape, as no previous humans could have done it before them.

Daisy grabbed her pillow and immediately clicked on Instagram. That nagging suspicion to see The Need fed her like a rich, decadent chocolate drink costing tons more than a third-hand Prada bag nabbed off Vestiaire (for Seventeen). She quickly clicked, but then something else happened. It did not open, she did not see the grace of her favorite celebrity and his infantry women. She just heard a sound, a long-drawn, slowly creeping vibration of ‘digital air’. The only thing she could think of was, “The content has become redundant however, I can see the validity in re-writing and re-working the same concept several times. That way it will not become null and void. The success that emerged from it originally will still be there. That’s editing!”

“It’s locked!”, “Were you able to get back in?”

No. So, I decide to just write. Write down your thoughts Chona, write them down and write them down again. Get back to your spot on the list, get back to you, this new you. But sadly, I have already developed a headache from the idea of it. Will she be able to leave the content as it is? Will she usurp the value of its flow by editing it down, editing it all out to make complacent sense? Can you back away and still smile and feel success? That is something Alice from Wonderland would say, “Things aren’t worth that much once you start editing out the originality Miss Chona Fe, but I think this is what you think then isn’t that the way?”

Chona looks inward at her periphery, flips her hair, then walks away.