25Aug/092
Caveat Emptor
About this Blog and About Me
Angela May, Vancouver, BC
My name is Angela May, I'm 26 years old. I'm married to a great guy named Trevor and we live in a tiny concrete box in Vancouver's skyline. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering and I work in the sustainability industry (Industrial Energy Efficiency). In my spare time I write a silly webcomic , which a few people read. I've worked hard to get where I am today, but it isn't a rags-to-riches tale. I have a great family that supports me and a wonderful network of friends. I've never had to overcome injury or illness, tragedy or poverty. The only thing of significance that I've overcome is self-doubt.
So why should you listen to a 26 year old snot from Canada?
As my comic started to get popular, I realized that most of the reader email I was getting was asking me for life advice. "How did you decide to become an engineer?", "How do you ever find time to do a webcomic AND have a job?", "I feel lost, and you seem to have it together. What should I do with my life?"
I've had to learn a lot to survive my life so far. I can't summarize all of it in an email: all my thought processes, my self-motivation strategies, my time management techniques. So I started this blog.
Some of these strategies will not work for you. You might disagree with some of my philosophies. This is not a guaranteed path to "success", and none of it is particularly easy.
Some of the ideas might help you, but ultimately, you are in control of your own destiny. We all have different strengths and weaknesses, different ways of thinking and learning. Each of us will define success and happiness differently, as we should. Different things will motivate you, drive you. Your goals might be very different from mine.
For these reasons, I thought it might be helpful for you to know a bit more about the way I tick and what my own goals are. By recognizing the differences between us I hope you will recognize why some of my methods work for me, and how you might cater them to work best for you.
- I was born under the Cancer sign (Moody, Maternal, Stubborn), and in the Year of the Rat (Imaginative but Critical).
- I am moderately high-Mach (pragmatic), and have a high Need for Achievement (N.Ach - McClelland's Theory of Needs).
- I am INTJ ("Mastermind": Moderately Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging - Pragmatic contingency planners who love problem solving) .
- I am a kinesthetic learner (learn by doing).
- I'm flexatarian (a non-strict vegetarian) .
My parents are American (Brooklynese and Pennsylvanian), but I grew up in Canada (Montreal, mostly). My ethnic heritage is 7/8ths Northern-European, and 1/8th Italian.
My chosen career is Engineering. My chosen passion is Comics.
My hobbies include cooking, cycling, downhill mountain biking, photography, hiking, skiing, reading non-fiction and Science-fiction, watching documentaries and films.
- I'm assertive and honest (sometimes too much so).
- I'm often cranky and I like to rant, but I'm trying to learn to be nicer to people.
- I find it much easier to speak in front of a crowd of 200 strangers than quietly with 3 new aquaintances.
- I struggle with mild depression and stress, but I've developed many strategies that help me cope with both.
- I have Circadian Rhythm Disorder (I am nocturnal) but I have strategies to deal with that, too.
My ultimate goal is to make engineered products that will significantly affect the world for the better. I want to have enough books with my name on or in them to fill one shelf of a book-case. I want to have more letters (P.Eng, MBA...) around my name than in my name. I would like a weekend cottage on an island with chickens and a goat.
I want two children and enough money to ensure the health and happiness of this future family. I want to succeed at both Engineering and Comics (but I am still defining what success for me will look like).
So far everyone has told me that I can't have all that. But I guess we'll find out.
February 18th, 2010 - 06:56
I’m sorry that this is the first time that I have found this page. I’ve only being reading for twenty minutes…as I stopped in the middle to run inside to get a cookie bar for a friend…but I’m so inspired! I’ve been reading your comic for awhile now and had no idea about this page. Thank you so much and please continue. For someone who is a jack of all trades and master of none this means a lot.
April 1st, 2010 - 11:59
You should never feel sorry for such a thing, Mal! This is not a blog that I actively promote because it’s something I manage in my spare moments. I’m glad you’ve found it helpful so far!