New Directions in Virtual Space

This will be a short post. I just want to say …

This city girl is back in the city! Yes, I’m in Singapore, my birth country.

To keep being connected to my learning network, I try to tweet and stay in touch with as many Twitter pals as I can. It wasn’t and hasn’t been easy. Due to some home renovation, I had no electricity and water for a few days. I still have no kitchen cabinets or a sink to wash dishes. I have 2 bathrooms though and plenty of space, so I’m grateful for what I do have to compensate for what is lacking. Real estate in Singapore is astronomically pricey, so I am blessed to have a wonderful home, a place which I grew up in.

I am learning to be a virtual buddy in Virtually Connecting now because I believe in the cause. Maha and Rebecca have this ingenious idea to bring conferences to people who cannot easily access or attend conferences across continents. Kudos ladies for creating access!

Like Simon, I felt somewhat out of place at these sessions because I’m new at this and I’m out of sync with the conference time zone. Another major factor is that I just relocated back to Singapore and am still looking for a new position. This in-between feeling is somewhat awkward because everyone seems to have a title or role and I don’t. My preoccupation with the home renovations and cleaning up of my parents’ stuff didn’t help too much either.

Despite all these transitional challenges and awkwardness, I feel an immense gratitude to Maha and my Twitter network. They keep me grounded at some professional level so that I’m in touch with the latest happenings in teaching, learning and education.

Anchoring me a step(s) deeper in professional life are Kevin Hodgson, Maha and Sara Honeychurch. They invited me to guest-write for DigiWrimo, short for Digital Writing Month. Of course! I love writing! It is an honor and great fun to join the cast of writers guest-writing for the event. Again, I’m so thankful to Kevin, Maha and others for looking out for me.

Though Twitter has its challenging moments, as when people spam my tweets (porno tweeters), I’ve found a lot of kind people and a community of folks who continue to teach me and take care of me during this transition time. I cannot name them all to thank each one individually, but you know who you are, I hope.

“Your greatness is measured by your kindness; your education and intellect by your modesty; your ignorance is betrayed by your suspicions and prejudices, and your real caliber is measured by the consideration and tolerance you have for others.” —William J.H. Boetcker

Thank you for bearing with me during this time of transition, I hope to have more to contribute to Virtually Connecting and the network as I get more settled.