STORIES, STORIES

This is part of a mini project of Q&As with people I know whom I look up to for doing what they want to do. Read all the posts from the series HERE .  Meet Chukwudi Barrah .  Where do you live, and what do you do? I live in Malaysia; I recently moved to Kuala Lumpur city centre from the suburbs (Damansara Perdana). I'm a copywriter in corporate communications and marketing with a digital engagement platform startup—we provide SaaS solutions to help companies better engage employees and customers. I create and edit internal and external communication materials, content for offline and online media (including social networks), as well as dialog for mobile apps. Which specific part of your job do you enjoy the most, and which do you like the least? I love writing new feature dialogs for the app and creating fun emails—it’s not something I was used to doing. I usually do business writing, so making my writing more fun and happy is a good challenge—for now—that als...

This post is part of a small series of Q&As with people I know whom I look up to for doing what they want to do. Here's the previous post .  Meet Mariam (also Mellie).  Where do you live? In the present moment.  I wish. I live in my head mostly. I spend most of my waking life at Humming Tree , which is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. What do you do? Most of the time, I'm just struggling to get my heart, mind and actions to work harmoniously. I also manage a community center and co-working space that focuses on creativity and well-being ( Humming Tree ). Which specific part of your job do you enjoy the most, and which one do you like the least? I love that I get to deal with so many different kinds of passionate people and listen to their ideas and goals and be part of the journey of it evolving into something tangible and seeing that person grow and transform along the way. I learn so much, grow and get inspired along the way, too. It's an ...

This post is part of a small series that has big meaning. 2016 was filled with internal reflection for me, especially in the areas of productivity and creativity. During this time, I sought inspiration from so many famously successful people, but at the end of the day, it was always the people in my phone book that I turned to for real advice and motivation, who ultimately helped me inch along towards my goals. To pay this forward, I've asked them about their work process and now share them here. The hope is that you, reader, get inspired, get pro-tips, and get entertained by these people and their dedication to their work, just as I have been.  Meet Alia Makki . Where do you live and what do you do? I’m nomadic. I live between Jeddah, Jakarta, Jatibarang and Ubud. I live out of a suitcase. My office fits into a backpack. In every place, I have a different job role. In Jeddah and Jakarta, I freelance (online), meet people and read Tarot cards. In Jatibarang, I serve my t...

I met with a group of millennials looking to collaborate on an innovative media project. We talked over traditional Malaysian food at a hipster joint in the forever-hipster plaza Publika. Here was my nasi lemak   plate pushing my notebook to the side. Millennials are fascinating in the way that they have one foot in fast-paced tech and the other in old-school culture. They are simultaneously just one step above your regular Facebooking, social-media-nut adult, and one step below the Facebooking, social-media-nut Gen Z cohort. ~END~ This post is part of a series of photos and stories very creatively called 100 Days of Malaysia .

The publishing industry is famous for being in the business of networking, but I didn't realize how much of it I needed to do in my job. We go to so many events to "show face" as we say here, just shoot the shit and make small talk and recycle anecdotes with a steady stream of strangers. Every so often, we meet interesting people from different places and backgrounds.  That's the stuff movies are made of, but all apples lose their shine.  My colleagues and I were out on a weekday until the wee hours of the morning networking. And singing along to Argentinian music. We were back at work a few hours afterwards. ~END~ This post is part of a series of photos and stories very creatively called 100 Days of Malaysia .

Can you spot the Bey? I currently work at AMG International , a Malaysian publishing house that produces closed distribution (in-house) business magazines and corporate publications. We have a sizable stable of magazines that we produce content for and then send off to print a few times every month (one of them pictured above, a magazine for the country's electricity utility). Right before we do, my Malay co-workers at the Graphics Department hold up the proofs to me in mock seriousness and say, " Du3a2 ? Bismillah?" to which I nod, signaling my approval and acceptance of full responsibility for any costly error that might just bite us all in the ass when thousands of copies are finally in print. In many ways, the things we do here as Southeast Asian Muslims, the Arabic words we say in worship, look and sound like parodies or parroting of the Arab (Saudi?) Islamic culture, but in many other ways, they're not. It's the Asean Muslim brand of Islamic cultur...

I took Monday off from work to recuperate and regroup my mind, body and soul. It largely meant staying in bed and appreciating the fact that I didn't have to get up for any old reason, but it only lasted until 11am. Pretty soon, I was at my desk doing work and side-work, and no, I don't think it's because I'm a workaholic, I just happen to really be interested in a lot of the things we do at the office. Love the things you do and do the things you love. ~END~ This post is part of a series of photos and posts very creatively called 100 Days of Malaysia .

I pretty much Gregor Clegane the editorial department at work. Hard. One of my responsibilities is making sure that copy is clean, which is not easy to do when I have tons of other non-editing-related tasks throughout the day. Style guides are the obvious answer to 99 of my work problems as they do the explaining for me, and they settle editorial arguments on our floor. A production meeting at work. Not in picture: Gregor Clegane. If you’re looking to invest in creating your own style guide, be it for your work (I work in publishing, but many non-publishing companies have style guides, too), or your blog, or just for fun if you’re a massive productivity nerd, here are some tips that might help you out. What is a style guide? A guide to your brand and all its parts. The style guide can work as a good base, to understand why you do what you do, and to remind you of your core values when you try something new and get confused about whether or not you’re doing the r...

IN SEARCH OF THE ARC by Kathryn Narciso She takes a long, deep drag off her cigarette, stares a hole through me, and blows tendrils of cloud into the air between us. What is he? she interrupts my pitch. It’s like telling the story of Jesus in two sentences, and just as I have crucified him all over again, the blood red-lipped evangelist goes back to the major character’s obsession. She blows a split second smoke in my face again. He is…   She exhales another.  I watch it curl up in the air and disappear into everywhere. He is a carpenter? Except he’s not. If I were really telling the story of Jesus, I would have not seen her eyes narrowed at the unsure tone of my voice. You didn’t watch it. But I did, I approached her cautiously. I just can’t remember. Perhaps teased by her own sneaking suspicion, she smiles at me. No, you didn’t watch it. I really did. Let me tell you another story. FIRST ACT Against her genius, ready to prey on any si...

You guys. I turn 32 today. My first order of business at this new age is to reinforce (to myself) my worth as a person by doing my best at what I do, which currently is my job, as a publishing manager slash editor slash publication writer slash proofreader. And I do that while sitting at the Media Room of the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here in Malaysia, where my editorial team and I are covering a 3-day event – the International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC) 2015 . All around me are journalists, activists, government officials, NGO members and start-up CEOs who are crazy serious about transparency and fighting corruption. They are angry, driven, impassioned as they discuss, debate, step around and propose actions on the topic of promoting integrity in all aspects of their professional and personal lives. IACC Chairman Akere Muna wears a bow tie. Bow ties are cool. The all-female panel moderated by Jess Search (in blue), Chief Executive at ...