#strandedinnewyork

[fahmeenaodetta]

Georgia

In this blog, I wrote about my experience when I was stranded in New York. It was 5 years ago when I was in NY stranded. I wanted to also mention that I was stranded in Georgia many years prior. I am grateful to the kind people who assisted me when I was stranded there. Here are some posts from Facebook on my experience in Georgia:

[fahmeenaodetta]

Valentine's Day

It is Valentine's Day!

A verse on love came up today as the verse of the day. I believe the app/system made an appropriate choice based on the day.

My thoughts on love today:

I love it when I feel the love from people around me

A special gift from a relative

Or a helping hand when I need it

Or an inquiry about my wellbeing with a "How is Fahmi?"

When I was stranded in New York, friends assisted me

I recall that strangers assisted me also

So did people from churches

I appreciated their kind, thoughtful actions.

These are the different ways people say "I feel for you"

"I want you to be okay/well" and

"I love you."

The love of a partner or spouse may be more special.

I thought I would be married by now

But that didn't occur

I would welcome a spouse.

I trust in the Lord.

[fahmeenaodetta]

Scents

My previous post made me think of skin and beauty products I like to purchase. I enjoy lotions/creams, perfumes, and so on because of their pleasant smells. In the past, I stocked up on the products from stores such as Bed Bath and Beyond and CVS. I like to smell or sample lotions before purchasing so that I select one that would work for me - one that is not too strong or smells funny.

One of the bags I lost in New York had several lotions and creams. I recall that I was into lavender then - I purchased lavender lotion, lavender soap, and so on.

Months ago, I purchased a big jar of cocoa butter (it is documented in this blog). I always liked cocoa butter. It reminds me of chocolate. Many years ago, I used cocoa butter regularly. I stopped using it for a long while and then went back to the product.

[fahmeenaodetta]

Strengths

Good afternoon from Linden, Guyana!

One of my strengths is that I handle stress well. I am usually not panicky and flustered during high stress or emergency situations. My mother would say this too (in a previous post (https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/06/ikea-signature-assignment.html) I mentioned that my mother thinks I handle stress well). I fared well in New York because of my ability to handle stress well.

I think everyone needs to spend some time thinking of their strengths, including things they are good at and what they are known for (areas of competitive advantage). There are several posts in this blog on areas/topics that would work well for me. An example is this post: https://fahmeenaodetta.blogspot.com/2022/11/training.html.

It is not always clear what is best for a person's talents/skills - the area(s) that match their "best" talents/skills. For example, people in emergency management need to handle stress well so this is an area that could be a good fit for me. I don't have training or experience (on the job) in this area though. I needed to use the skill/talent in a different way when I participated in a foreign exchange trading exercise during the finance master's program at GWU. 

[fahmeenaodetta]

Last time I visited Guyana

I moved to the US right after completing my economics degree at the University of Guyana (UG) and lived there for over 22 years. In the US, I lived in several cities/locations and states. I lived in MD and in Gainesville, FL for several years. I moved around quite a bit in MD. Years ago, I lost my bags in NY. I stayed there a while hoping the contents of my bags will be returned to me.

This is my second "trip"/vacation to Guyana since moving to the US. Last time I was in Guyana, I was in Georgetown first and then traveled to Linden. I walked a lot - I walked along Brickdam, along Regent Street and so on. In Linden, I visited a lot of places with my mother (who looks young for her age).

I was skinny then. This time, I am heavier. I gained weight (due to illness, less exercise, and so on). My health issues are mostly behind me.

I will be in Guyana for a while longer.

[fahmeenaodetta]

Parks

Yesterday's post on the use of parks for Fourth of July celebrations got me thinking about different parks I visited in the U.S. I am not a frequent park user/visitor but I have visited a lot of small recreational parks over the years. I was a part of quite a few outings/events at parks, including church-related events and school-related events. I am yet to visit national parks such as Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Canyon National Park.

I also recalled my experience at Bryant Park in NY years ago. It was a difficult situation, but some good came out of it. I got an idea for a project on cell phone privacy tradeoffs while at the park. It is included in the Summary section of my LinkedIn research profile here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fahmeenaodetta.

There were likely lots of posts on social media from parks across the U.S. yesterday. Such posts are being used in research. I found an interesting journal article that used Twitter posts by individuals while at a park in NY. The research question is very interesting: "Will people’s sentiment towards a place be more positive when they are in New York City parks as compared to their sentiment when they are in other places?" The results are interesting too. Read the paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204618305863.

[fahmeenaodetta]

Pen And Paper

Sometimes, I just need to use pen and paper to jot down my thoughts or make edits to a document. Maybe you have noticed this in my other blogs - for example:

- In this post, I used my pen and a notebook to organize my thoughts and make major changes to my paper for the Research Methods course: http://fmooresignatureassignment3.blogspot.com/2016/08/rewrite.html. 

- In this post, I used pen and paper to jot down ideas for a presentation: https://bus7130phd.blogspot.com/2019/01/working-working.html.

- And, in this post, I started working on an assignment (a presentation) using pen and paper: http://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/started-working-on-presentation.html. I had limited access to a computer then. I was stranded in New York at the time.

Sometimes I print the document and then make edits to it using a pen. I do this when I find it difficult to work on the electronic version of the document (on my screen). I also prefer to read some books in print. My background probably has something to do with this preference. I grew up reading 'regular' books and wrote in notebooks in school. Electronic books were not available then.

At UMBC, I recall reading research on whether it was easier/simpler/better to read from the screen or from paper.  I think it was the Readings in Human-Centered Computing course. Research shows people learn more when they read print rather than digital text.

[fahmeenaodetta]

Next Paper

Now that I am finished with the organizational structure (behavior) paper, I am moving on to another paper from the Business Environment course. The first paper for the course (the week 1 paper) was on ethics/fraud. I could modify/extend the paper and then submit it to a journal for publishing. It would be my first submission to an ethics journal. The presentation on leadership theories would also make a good paper. Of course, I need to work on publishing the signature assignment for that course - the paper on IKEA. IKEA is in the furniture market. I learned a lot about the furniture market in my ECommerce course at UMBC - that was good background. I "carried over" a lot of the topics from UMBC.

A lot from papers (a course) I completed when stranded in New York. (Link to course: https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com)

[fahmeenaodetta]

Update Dec6

I am still working on the marketing paper. I like what I have so far.

So far, I have submitted about 5-6 papers for publishing. I used papers from 3-4 courses for those manuscripts. One of the courses was Business Environment - the course I was taking when stranded in New York. I actually started with that course because one of the assignments was to prepare a paper for publishing. As you may expect, another course was the Literature Review course. My topic was online reviews.

I could have started with the signature assignments since all my signature assignments were major papers. I will get to the signature assignments later. Those need to be published.

The review of papers in a course to determine which should be published worked well. I noticed themes. For example, I noticed that I focused on innovation during a part of the Business Environment course. That could be one of my research areas.

On the subject of themes, I am thinking of the theme in the 'Inside Fahmeena Odetta's Head' blogs. The webpages look different but they "belong together". Only the main blog - Blogspot - has a featured post right now. I would like to add a featured post to each blog. I will work on that sometime in the future. I tried to use the standard, out-of-the-box options for each blog.  

[fahmeenaodetta]

Elevator Pitch

You may have heard that I was stranded in New York a few years ago (see posts on my experience at this link: https://fahmeenaodetta.tumblr.com/tagged/strandedinnewyork). At first, I was horrified because I had lost important items and could not retrieve them. Afterwards, I calmed down and started thinking about strategies to retrieve my important items.

After a while, I started enjoying New York. I enjoyed Bryant Park. I enjoyed walking around Times Square. I found quite a few tea shops and went in to look at their offerings. I even pitched my pickled meat business idea at a bank. I wasn't totally prepared but I did a good job.

It is important to sell your ideas and even “sell yourself” especially when seeking a job. In the past, I practiced an elevator pitch in case I needed to pitch an idea (here is an article on perfecting your elevator pitch: https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/4034-elevator-pitch-tips.html).

This reminds me of my 7 Ps of success. One of the Ps is for Persuasion.

(Partial LinkedIn profile of Fahmeena Odetta Moore)

(New York Experience by Fahmeena Odetta Moore)

[fahmeenaodetta]

I am out and about today. It is a rainy day but I don’t mind too much. Like they say in Guyana, I am not salt; I wouldn’t melt in the rain.

Today I am thinking of the fall (accident) in New York that led to the loss of one tooth. Late one night, I fell face forward on the sidewalk. I hit the tooth and also cut my lip. I rode to the hospital in an ambulance where I received stitches. The incident occurred near Grand Central Station not too far from Bryant Park.

[fahmeenaodetta]

Death In Family, Stranded In New York, And Another Example Of Ambidexterity

A great aunt of mine died recently. She was the mom of Sonia who also died recently. I have fond memories of that great aunt, Aunt Magnel. She gave me lots of food. I ate a lot of her cassava balls (we called puff), her dhal puri, her pholourie, and her icicles - all stuff she made to sell to school children. She was an excellent cook. RIP Aunt Magnel.

Aunt Magnel makes me think of those childhood days when I ate a lot (my tummy was full) and I was happy. I have since seen other days - days or times of want. This makes me think of New York.

When I was stranded in New York, I had no money. I could not buy food. I was hungry a lot. I even joined the bread line at a church organization (for the homeless) to get free food. It is the sort of thing you don't want to talk about, but I think I should. Being stranded in New York was very difficult.

Even though it was difficult, I managed to get to places that could assist. I found creative ways to get food and complete assignments. I was lucky a few times. For example, I happened to see the Queen's Library while riding a bus (it was at the end of the line). That library turned out to be an excellent resource.

I recall a bathroom incident in NY. I had an accident when the janitor would not allow me to use the bathroom because she was cleaning it. It turns out that I had a medical issue. I had surgery later that solved the problem.

Thankfully, the nightmare ended when my father managed to get in contact with me in NY. I got a new phone. I was on a flight to Guyana a few days later.

I am not complaining about the NY experience. It made me a lot stronger. It made me realize I can deal with difficult, very stressful situations that could easily drive a person crazy.

Moving on to other topics.....

I realize that I worked at another company that adopted the structural differentiation approach I wrote about in my paper yesterday - ICF/Lockheed Martin. I was a member of a team formed to work on a new, innovative solution that would replace the legacy application. The other team worked on maintaining the legacy application. It was a case of ambidexterity.

I was lucky be somehow involved in (a part of) ambidexterity to achieve exploration/innovation. It just worked out that way.

[fahmeenaodetta]

Still Working On Paper For Publishing

After reviewing one of my old blogs, I now understand why I selected the three articles included in the paper mentioned yesterday.  In the paper prepared the previous week (during the course), I noticed that the selected company - Google - was known for:

"an innovation-oriented and change-prone top management and board; an innovation-oriented and change-prone culture; competent and committed individuals with a passion to innovate; leaders that empower, coach and remove obstacles for innovation; a semi-structured and ambidextrous organisation; innovation-oriented performance and incentive systems; continuous learning; and open innovation." (From Steiber and Alange (2013))

I selected papers that included innovation and ambidextrous-ness. Maybe I should include the Google example in the paper I am editing.

I read the descriptions expressing all the difficulties I was experiencing. In the post on 09/10/2018 (https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/paper-finally-submittedreceived.html), I wrote:

I like the course. I am learning a lot But everything feels rushed & I feel pressured all the time. This is because of the resource constraints I am dealing with right now (issues with my laptop - need to use library resources, need to read an entire book for the assignment, and so on). I hope it gets better. I am working on solutions.

I was reading the books and articles on the go. The post on 09/12/2018 (https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/week-4-assignmentjournal-articles.html), shows that I checked out the book on Organization Behavior from the library. I read that book hurriedly and was not able to sit comfortably to read it. The included Facebook post shows me holding the book (with my face).

In the post on 09/14/2018 (https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/reading-articles.html), the notes I scribbled on the printout of one of the journal articles is shown.

I guess I can handle a lot.

[fahmeenaodetta]

More Work For Publishing

I am currently working on modifying a paper I prepared for one of my PhD courses many years ago. The assignment was designed to teach the student how to prepare a paper for publishing and how to select the journal to submit the paper to. I prepared the paper in New York and it was done hurriedly. I will make some changes plus add more details (to make the paper longer). I will submit it to a journal when it is complete.

A section of the original paper:

A section of the modified paper:

[fahmeenaodetta]

Contribution to Queen’s Library

I recently contributed funds to the fundraising campaign of one of my PC friends who “helped me out” in NY (in Facebook). I am truly grateful for the assistance during my time of need.

I am thinking of contributing funds to the Queen's Library in New York - the main library I used in New York when I was stranded to research and write my PhD papers. I noticed the Donate button on their website that I visited just today.

My mother always encouraged me to say "thank you" to folks who assisted me in some way. I guess I get that from her. Come to think of it, my mother is the one who got me into creating greeting cards and design. In my (immediate) family, we made greeting cards to celebrate birthdays.

I wrote "very good" papers in New York. I recall the paper on HR Strategy at Google (screenshots of the paper-in-progress shown in this blog post: http://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/paper-in-progress.html). For that paper, I needed to select a company to analyze their HR strategy. I wanted to focus on NY Transit, but that fell through. I stumbled upon Google. I found excellent resources in the library that made the difference. For example, I found an excellent book that provided insights on Google's work rules (the last picture/image at the end of the blog post: http://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/week-4-assignmentjournal-articles.html)

The general blog for the course showing "under the hood" information is: http://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/

Will contributing to the library present an ethical issue?

(Queen’s Library, NY)

[fahmeenaodetta]

Preparing Papers While In New York

The situation in New York was overwhelming, maybe more than the average person can handle. I managed to hold it together (stay sane), get to the library, research papers, write papers, and submit. For example, the post "This is a challenging week, but I will try to get my work done. I need to hold on to the reins....while I try to steady/calm the storm around me." - https://fmoorephdbus7110.blogspot.com/2018/09/work-continues.html reminded me of my situation then. The entire course blog is a record of what a stranded PhD student can achieve.

The papers turned out pretty well. I received very good grades. I thought of publishing a few, especially the paper that required theoretical analysis for a "hypothetical" published article.

The library was very helpful. I remember walking the aisles looking for books/resources for my papers. I even asked a librarian to pull old resources that were stored in a separate section of the library.

Of course, my background was also useful, maybe more than I realize. For example, I have a background in public management that was very useful for several assignments that dealt with management theories. Example: Paper/Presentation: Three Theories Compared (Analysis of transactional and transformational leadership)

I needed to analyze marketing theories for the week 6 assignment. I didn't have much experience analyzing marketing theories - my review of online reviews does not focus on the marketing aspects. Also, years ago in undergrad, when I had to choose between marketing and computer studies, I chose to take the computer studies courses. I ended up selecting marketing theories that intersected with areas in my background. I used a tea business example, which was based on my research into a tea business. Here is the paper: https://fahmeenaodetta1.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/moorefbus7110-6_final.docx (one of the few saved in my Wordpress account)

Note: Updated LinkedIn profile to indicate that I changed major at the U of Guyana. My first major was Public Management.