Life in the office

My life in the office might or might not be different than many people who have work experiences.  Some of you may only have to work in the office 5-9 hours/day or could be more.  Some of you may have to work in the office 50% or less and to work outside the office for another 50% or more.  It depends on the job responsibility we all are assigned.

For me, being hired for a job is about the right time, the moment of opportunity, the faith, and our attitude.  I believe so because sometimes many people have been applying for many jobs for 6 months or more and they could not even get a chance for the job interview although they don't have the ugly profile.  It is also related to the presented resume and application as well as the personality and skills.  Anyway, my office jobs, I have experienced, have been unexpectedly offered to me in such a great time.  And they were all awesome job and extensive experiences.

I have work experiences in the area of Human Resources Management.  Most of my experiences have been in Selection and Recruitment function.  Then I also have some experiences in the other functions of Human Resources which are Compensation and Benefit, Employee Relations, and Training.  I honestly do not like paperwork and working with the number but my works have been related to paperwork and the number related to the report and the record about 70-75%.  And I am still alive!

Works I have experiences had the fun parts and the boring parts as many other jobs.  But the important thing is that they provided me the great opportunity to learn more everyday.  Everyday can be a different chapter of life which keeps me moving and looking forward to.  Even though someday were uneasy, they were such a great experience for me when I look back.  In conclusion, it depends on ourselves how we would perceive, what we choose to take it further, and how we would like to adjust it to our current and next best situation of life.


Everybody has different formula of success.  I also have mine and I believe in it.

 Perspective  + Attempt + Opportunity = Success

Life of Travel & Adventure

Travel and adventure are something to add the color in our lives.  I love the travel and the adventure.  Whenever I have an opportunity and I can afford to travel, I would love to travel or to do some adventure as often as I can.  Dalai Lama said "Once a year go some places you have never been before".

To me, traveling is a part and a tool of learning.  If  we have never moved or taken any steps, we would never learnt and known what we would see from standing in the different spot.  Myself, I open to learn and I love to try.  If we don't try, how can we know if it is good or how can we know if we can do it?  We may see the little tiny opportunity right in front of us.  If we don't try, it means we shut down that opportunity by ourselves because of whatever reasons or excuses we have.  But if we try, the result may be good, great, awesome, not good, bad, or worse.  How could we know if we close our little tiny door of our opportunity?  So I always love to try and I always say "Just Try".  Sometimes it may not work at first time but it may work at the second or the third time.  Or it may not work at all.  Someone may say that it looks like wasting the time then.  That could be true BUT coin always has 2 sides so thinking another side, I learnt, I experienced, and I grew myself. 

I might have the To-Travel List as many people do and I hope someday I will complete all of the list I have even though it seems to be very long list.  But nothing is wrong to dream and to hope about it, isn't it?  There are many people in the same with me now who have traveled a lot more than me.  I don't think that I have traveled a lot but I have traveled to many wonderful places and I did some adventures as well.  

Mostly I have traveled in my home country.  My first time of traveling by plane was when I was 24 years old which I traveled to the United States to be an au pair.  After that it seems my life is familiar to the airplane because I have been traveling by the airplane more often.  It is not bad or not that scary to travel by the airplane. I think it is fun.  It is nice to see the ground and the little houses and buildings or even the top of the mountain from the sky.  I also like the food and the snack in the airplane included it is a good time to watch a movie.  So we can actually spend some good time on the airplane if we think about it.  

After I have traveled to the United States, I have traveled from one state to another state for traveling and visiting.  Sometimes I traveled with my friends but sometimes I traveled by myself.  I also did some road trip with my friends and that was so much fun.  I love driving so definitely I love doing the road trip.  I will share you my road trip experiences and also some of my driving experiences in my future posts I will keep sharing and updating for you.  How many states have I traveled to in the United States?  Um...let me count...  NY, OH, CT, MA, RI, NH, NJ, PA, VA, MD, DC, NC, SC, TN, GA, AL, FL, WA, CA, and AZ.   If I don't miss any states, I remember that I have traveled to 20 states out of 50 states in the United States.  Not even half so definitely many of them are still on my To-Travel List.  

Besides traveling in the United States, I traveled with my aunt to Cambodia for the great ancient architectures.  I traveled with my mother and my aunt to Myanmar for the wonderful pagodas.  Also, I traveled with my mother to Vietnam where is the nice place that I did not think about it.  Another country I have a chance to travel to is Singapore which I traveled with my co-workers and I was a trip planner as well as a guide for everyone.  It was exhausted but so much fun with this trip.  I believe that all of my former co-workers remember this trip very well.  I will definitely share you all later.  

As you see it doesn't seem that I have experienced a lot of traveling or any adventures but you shall follow my posts and you will see how much fun I have done and experienced for my LIFE of TRAVEL & ADVENTURE.  Follow me!!! ^_^ 

Life as a student

Who said that student life is easy? .... I don't think it is that easy.
Who said that student life is difficult? ... I don't think it is that difficult.
Who said that student life is boring? ... Maybe sometimes. But I don't really think it is that boring.
Who said that student life is fun? ... ME! I THINK THAT IT IS FUN!!!

Many people around me may think that I am a bookworm but I have to say that I am not.  When I studied in a course of my graduate school, I had to take a test and the test result showed that I have only 10% of the learning orientation.  First I knew that result, I was so shocked because I thought that I love learning so much and how come my percentage of learning orientation was that low.  My professor explained about this issue that this test indicated that low percentage of learning orientation means that that person doesn't like mathematics and doesn't like to learn in class but love to learn from experience or learning by doing.  So I totally got it!  I don't like to learn in class because I always fell asleep in class even I sat the front of the class.  I don't like reading the book because the book is always my sleeping pills.  I am very slow reader, really slow.  Mathematics is fine for me but it is not my strength at all.  I love to learn from doing, from my experiences, and from people around me.  Don't get me wrong.  I still like to go to school because I think going to school gives me the extensive opportunities to meet new people, to learn some knowledge (as much as I can grab from the classroom and the book), and to open the door for finding a job.  For my life as a student, I had spent more than 50% to study outside the classrooms or I would say that I studied at outdoor classrooms.  What does it mean???   This post I will tell you the overview of myself about my student life but definitely you will find my experiences both of indoor and outdoor classrooms from my column of Life as a Student.

What did I study?
In Thailand, we started choosing the program or what we would like to focus on in upper secondary school (M.4-M.6) which are about the age of 14-16 years old.   There are the fields of study to choose which mainly are science and arts.  Then for the arts, there are 2 mainly focuses which are mathematics and languages.  I chose to focus in arts-languages and also I chose to study French as my 3rd language because in my opinion French language is beautiful language and also I like many attractions in France as I have seen in the magazines or travel guide books.

After upper secondary school, we had to take the tests to get into the undergraduate school for obtaining the Bachelor Degree.  I chose and I passed the test for studying Political Science with major of Politics at Thammasat University in Thailand.  And for my graduate school for obtaining Master Degree, I studied Industrial and Organizational Psychology with major of Organizational Development and Consultant at University of New Haven in Connecticut, USA.

Between my undergraduate school and my graduate school, I also studied Human Resources Specialist Certificate Program and Management Specialist Certificate Program at Gwinnett Technical College in Georgia, USA.

I know that many people still think that I am a bookworm from seeing my education background but I would still say that I am not.  We will see later why I still insist that and what I had done during my Life as a Student.  Stay tune!    

  

Overview of Life as an Au Pair

Welcome to my page of Life as an Au Pair!

My first post on the page of Au Pair Life is the overview of my Au Pair Program.  For the detail, au pair experiences, specific experiences, and helpful information regarding becoming and au pair as well as being and au pair, you will be able to find out from this page of my blog.  I will continue posting from  my experiences and my memories.  Also, if you have any questions, idea, or opinion regarding Au Pair Life, feel free to give me your comments or to send me your messages.  Love to hear from you too!

What were my goals of attending the Au Pair Program in USA?
1. To improve my English language.
2. To study in the college here for obtaining either Master Degree (Graduate Degree) or a professional certificate program.
3. To travel in the U.S. and to see many places I had only seen in the books or the magazines.
4. To broaden my points of view and to exchange the culture with other au pairs and the host family.

I completed all of my goals I set within 2 years.  For the detail of the path to complete each goal, you will find out later because I will keep posting.

I decided to participate the Au Pair Program in the United States in 2003.  First, the Au Pair Program was only 1-year program. But during my first 6 months of au pair program, the Au Pair Program has announced the extension program of 6 months, 9 months and 12 months.  Thus, I had a chance to choose if I would like to extend my au pair program and if I would like to stay with the same host family or find the new host family.  It was difficult to make a decision because I missed my family and friends in Thailand since it had been almost 1 year that I was far away from home.  Finally, I decided to extend 6 more months with the same host family because I would like to finish studying my certificate programs in the U.S. and also I would like to experience the graduation ceremony here how it would be because I believed that it would be different from the graduation ceremony in Thailand.  Then, I still had 1 more course left to graduate and the graduation ceremony would be held after my 6-month extension.  So I decided to extend 3 more months to be 9-month extension.  But my host parents asked me to stay until the end of 12-month extension.  Finally, I decided to stay and to complete 2-year Au Pair Program with only one host family.

I must say that my first 5 months was not easy but not too difficult as well.  Coming to stay in the U.S. in the Au Pair Program was my first time of traveling abroad.  Sometimes I felt homesick but I considered that I did very good about adjusting myself into the new environment, different culture, and different lifestyle.  I tried to go out when I had free time and I tried to focus on my goals of attending the Au Pair Program. To stay with the same host family for the entire 2 years, it did not mean that there was no problem at all.  Yes...I had some problems with my host parents and my host kids as other au pairs have had.  But I learnt the situation and solved the problems in order to get through every day's life.  After that my first year went fast.  But my first 6-month extension flew by very quick.  It was because I learnt how to handle with people and to deal with situation as well as to enjoy my life more.  

My host family and rules!!!

I was an au pair in Georgia, USA for 2 years from September 2003 - September 2005.  My host parents are both a doctor and my host father is also served for the military as well.  I had to take care of 2 children, 9-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl.  Also there was a beagle in the family whom I had never had the problem with.  My host parents were easy-going, treated me as an adult, and provided me the space and the independence but also they were welcome to give me any advice if I need.  Rules in the house?  My host mother told me at the first time I talked to her over the phone that there was no rule in the house and that was true.  My host parents did not have the curfew for me. They only told me to be responsible of my schedule and my work.  That was awesome!

The 12 Things in 12 Weeks Challenge

The 12 Things in 12 Weeks Challenge

The Challenge:
Complete 12 preset tasks in a period of 12 weeks. (Start March 1, 2014 - May 23, 2014)

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined.  Tasks must also be realistic and stretching.

Why 12 Weeks?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple challenge such as New Year's resolutions.  The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic.  To me, 12 Weeks is a decent period of time for starting my challenge at this moment because it allows me a decent amount of time to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks. Moreover, I got married on December 12th.  So 12/12 is my favorite number.

12 Things:
1. Cook 5 meals from 5 different countries
2. Lower my weight to be under 140lbs
3. Complete 30 day squat challenge
4. Go running every day for a week
5. Read and finish a book within a month
6. Go to the dentist
7. Get a massage
8. Make a list of 3 person who have positively influenced me and write them letters
9. Make my first full cake by myself
10.Drink 4 bottles a day for 30 consecutive days
11.Go to eat at sushi all you can eat
12.Create an inspiration board

About me

Who am I?

My name is Aimy.  It is not my first name but it is the name I have been using it as my nickname for more than 25 years now.  I am originally from Thailand.  I love to meet new people, to travel, to write, to help others, and to learn.  During my undergraduate school, I love to participate in the active group such as cheer club and volunteer camp.  I have work experience for almost 5 years in human resources field specifically in the recruitment function.  I also have work experiences as a nanny and a waitress.  I attended the Au Pair Program in the United States for 2 years.  I completed my graduate school in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, major in Organizational Development and Consultant, in the United States.  Now I am married with my husband whom I truly love and look forward to spending everyday's life together.

What is this blog for?

- For sharing my life and my experience

- For sharing my passions of traveling, self-development, helping others

- For giving myself the self-awareness and self-motivation

Why did I start this blog?

I started to think about sharing my life experiences with everyone long time ago but I always thought I did not have time to do it. Honestly, it actually was not true. It was just an excuse. Our time depends on ourselves to manage our time efficiently. Finally, today I found some inspiration to remind me to start "Sharing". Sharing is a great way to give and to take. To give is giving an information, giving an experience, giving an instruction, giving a suggestion, and giving an idea. To take is taking your life experiences you would like to share with me to be my instruction, my awareness, and my inspiration. I believe nobody is perfect but everyone has different lives and thoughts which we can share and help each other in some ways. Just only need to be opened to tell, to share, to listen, and to take. We all will be able to realize what we desire and what our goals are. Then we will reach our life goal, fast or slow it is because of ourselves. Do not procastinate. Do not hide it behind your fear. Do not afraid to fall down. Challenge yourself..Take a deep breath..Move your feet..Review your feeling and your mind..Try it further.. We can do it!

Is my name "Aimy"?
I am Aimy.  Yes I spell it as A-I-M-Y.  I have got this name for a reason.  My family calls me "TEM" which is a part of my first name "TEMSIRI", in my language means full (Tem) of good things (Siri).  One day my aunt took me for a day-trip with the tour, a girl heard that my nickname wa "Aim" so she called me "Aim" for the entire day.  I did not correct her because I did not want to embarrass her and I felt that actually having the nickname that was not the part of the first name was cool and I liked the name "Aim".  So I took that as my nickname since then.  Once I wrote it in English, I spelled it as "Aim" and I found out that it was a great meaning because its meaning is "GOAL" so I love it more.  The girl who was my host family during my Au Pair Program in the United States asked me to call me "Aimy" because "Aim" is too short so I said yes.  Then she introduced me to other people that my name was Aimy and I thought it was easy for everyone to call Aimy since its sounds is common here but I did not want to change my spelling so I only added "y" at the end.  After that day-trip, my life has been valuable journey and I have been ambitious toward my AIM.  That is why my blog is Aim-Aimy.