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jessa

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Everyday Stories, Lived

Work

  • Collaborations and doing the actual work

    Perhaps I said goodbye to the office many times in my life. It was actually a tension building inside me, more like a dread when I was about to graduate from college. I don’t want to be enclosed in an office space forever. And the pandemic normalized what I crave: I don’t have to go… Read more

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  • (Almost) a day without the internet — real story

    The moment I arrived at the office, it felt like déjà vu. Because unlike this imagined scenario which happened on a Monday, I experienced a localized internet blackout on a Friday. And instead of receiving a public announcement, I got a headstart about what was about to greet me at the office, thanks to our… Read more

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  • Where our money goes

    It’s funny how we convince ourselves to give into buying stuff because we deserve it, that we’ve earned it. That the hard work we’ve put into it should be paid back, so we pay ourselves with more stuff (and perhaps more food than we generally consume). But did you forget that our hard work was… Read more

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  • Are deadlines evil?

    I don’t think so. Deadlines are fantastic because they provide our days structure. I think what’s evil is finding everything else worth doing except that one you’re supposed to. I think what’s evil is being lazy to get the work done. I think what’s evil is entertaining ourselves too much that we end up accomplishing… Read more

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  • Decarbonization means differently for different people

    Before we talk about decarbonization, let me first share a story… #AcademicTwitter made it possible for me to be connected to people I never thought I would. Why? Because they are renowned people and professionals in their own right. Meanwhile, I feel like a striving academic (making ends meet) in an identity crisis. Anyway, back… Read more

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  • Moving on from past successes

    As I ruminate on my past successes, I am haunted by what got you here won’t get you there idea. And it’s true. We must keep improving at what we do, creating new things, and acquiring new skills we’ve never done before so we can progress. However, when we are so preoccupied with the has… Read more

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  • My workplace in a bag

    I still thought about Seth Godin’s ‘Goodbye to the Office‘ blog post from 12 years ago. Here it goes: Factories used to be arranged in a straight line. That’s because there was one steam engine, and it turned a shaft. All the machines were set up along the shaft, with a belt giving each of… Read more

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