One week down and it continues to be more exciting!

It’s been an interesting week to say the least and to be honest, my life and the opportunities that I’ve come across this week continues to grow.  No, they are not all job opportunities but they sure are important ones – opportunities to meet new people, to be introduced into different insights and perspectives, to be challenged in ways that I did not test and to learn – each and every experience deemed unique and exciting in their own way.

But none of this would have ever been possible without the love of and support of AWESOME people.  Surround yourself with awesome people, not just when you need it, but all the freakin’ time!

Say hello to,

• Friends that know nothing about your work and you can just be silly with
• Friends who know every single thing about you and can read you better than you can yourself
• Friends who will be straight with you and set you right
• Friends who will throw down some beers when life is a female dog
• Friends who you do stuff with with because you just love their company
• Friends who you haven’t talked to in years but that’s okay
• Friends who you can call at 4am because sh!t went down
• Friends who will just listen because you have to vent
• Friends who will have career talks with you because you need to figure things out
• Friends who tell you they have no idea what to do but will share  their experiences, mistakes and learnings with you
• Friends who genuinely care
• Friends who are half way across the world and find a way to get updates
• Friends who believe in you
• Friends who will introduce you to their other awesome friends because they think you’re awesome too
• Friends who will give you a hard time if you haven’t called in half a year
• Friends who do not judge
• Friends who are mentors but have become real friends
• Friends who are work friends that will care when you’ve parted ways
• Friends who will call you in the middle of busy season just to say what’s up
• Friends who will be there through thick and thin

… and these my friends, are what I call awesome people, you!

Thanks for all the support and love – emails, text messages, dm’s, phone calls, telepathic messages (haha) – I got them!

Cheers to the AWESOME people in your life and a second hooorah to my heroes!

I, Cheryl Ho, will make you and me very proud (:

- C

It’s Day 1 of my official search.

And what I am looking for is a career that I am passionate about – one with ongoing opportunities for growth, challenges that keep me learning and thinking in different ways, and a great team, environment and culture that puts the icing on the cake!

It has taken a lot courage to step back and start again, but this time refreshed with a sense of optimism and a new perspective.  The past few years have led me to a few interesting job opportunities – all of which I am thankful for and learned lots from – but knowingly not the path I had envisioned for myself.  What I do know is that I want to work with brands in a significant way – I want to touch the lives of people and create a nostalgic/emotional impact every time they experience the brand.  That to me is a success; when I can say that I’ve touched millions of consumers and helped them create a good awesome memory with my brand.

And so my journey starts…

Over the past few weeks, I’ve met with a handful of very great people over coffee (thank you so much) and it’s been one self discovery after another.  It’s refreshing to meet people who are genuinely passionate about their job, are real with you AND are successful too!  True passion  inspires me and I want to be someone who loves to go to work everyday, full of creative ideas, different ways of thinking and the magic formula that ties it altogether. And trust me, I will be that person.

Today, I took the time to update my LinkedIn Profile, connect with a few recruitment agencies, apply to job board postings and  set-up a few more coffee chats for this week.  And what I’ve learned so far is that it is super important to meet with people who are where you want to be.  And surprisingly, beyond my expectations of this entire networking process, most people are more willing to meet with you than you think.  Of course, you need to come from a genuine approach and referrals are often the golden ticket, but so far so good.  In the end, you really do need to have a good heart and hey, I can always attest to that!

I also bought my first Moleskin notebook today, after having a mini freakout at Chapters when I couldn’t find them.  Who knew that Moleskin notebooks had their own shelf!  I stood for another 15 minutes deciding which one to buy; the new Volant series really distracted me with their bright blue, pink and green shades, but I ended up purchasing the new soft cover legendary notebook in black, haha boring I know.   But I am pretty excited to use it to document my journey, and more importantly, things I learn from people at my coffee chats.

“The legendary notebook of Hemingway, Picasso, Chatwin.”

My first!

Hmm… and yes, LEGEN… *wait for it*…DARY it will be!

Until tomorrow!

- C

Welcome to cherylho.com! A unique blog filled with interesting experiences of my travels: including stories about delicious food and drink, adventures, sight-seeing, and nightlife. Hope you enjoy it! (:

I’m so excited and I just can’t hide it!

Departing in roughly 13 hours to Europe with my best friend Belle, I can barely hold in the excitement of backpacking overseas, experiencing new cultures/food and meeting new people. For over a year now, it’s been a far distant plan to travel in Europe, but now it’s finally happening. And although I’m a bit nervous, I can’t say much else besides that all my bag(s) are packed… and I’m ready to go!!

Itinerary: (18 days, 3 countries)

Departing June 29, 2008 from Toronto Pearson Airport

Day 1 – 4: Paris, France
Day 5 – 6: Nice, France
Day 7 -8: Milan, Italy
Day 9 – 10: Venice, Italy
Day 11 (half day): Florence, Italy
Day 11 – 14: Rome, Italy
Day 15 – 18: Barcelona, Spain

To end things off, there are three things I need you to promise me while I’m gone.

1. Become a superfan by subscribing to my RSS feed (at the top right-corner of the site)
2. Leave comments and/or share your stories
3. Smile, laugh, and have fun reading as I take you along for the bumpy backpacking adventure to Europe

See you in Paris. Au revoir and bon soir (: