A New Turning Point – Introductory Note

Note #1 – Back to Square One, A New Turning Point

Question: Why call it “A new turning point” when you are changing into a new person every day? Answer: Well, because everybody likes ‘novelty’, so calling it ‘a new turning point’ is more appealing that ‘just another turning point’. It’s the art of ‘Using the right language’ and ”Talking to the right audience’, ha ha!

My first attempt in posting on linkedIn some years ago did not attract a lot of viewers, so I thought I could try my luck again here, in my own space, with some updates as I grow wiser with the years go by…

Source: my own Thought of the Day (unpublished) on what was published on LinkedIn

“Hi All LinkedIn connections,

I am invited to start my first blog on LinkedIn and am delighted to do so. Here are some thoughts for the day:

If somebody told me that I am ambitious and career-minded person, I would deny it vehemently because I don’t consider myself as one. But I must admit I am a workaholic. And work does make me happy, especially when I can communicate with someone who share the same attitude to work and life like I do.

In fact I love to do something that is structured and well organized. So reading a dictionary brings me a lot of joy, because all the words are defined clearly and systematically, one after another, like the piles of clothes in my cupboard, sorted out by color, size, material and meant for what activity.

So at work, I also love to classify, categorize and assemble my documents under topics. I don’t know whether it is my first training as a secretary that gives me that habit or my first job in statistics that kicks off this almost obsession of order, at least on paper. But something is for sure, being trained in Switzerland, where you are required to re-do your whole letter just because of 3 typo-errors do turn you into a fussy spinner old maid.

What is bad with me is that I tend to embrace a lot of fields: history, international relations, psychology, religion, zen, law, sociology, intercultural communication, translation, marketing, socio-media, you-name-it, etc…

Can we call this greed? Certainly, considering the Buddhist definition.

Can we call this being insecure? yes, In a way, considering Nietzsche’s and Hegel’s viewpoints.

Can we consider it healthy? Well, it depends on how you see things.

My husband assures me that I don’t cost much as I don’t do shopping. Hehe. That is a good point, because it’s true, if you get bored you go shopping and you spend money. Me, I don’t get bored. I have so much to do. Reading tons of dictionaries, for example, “The (English) Penguin Dictionary of International Relations” which I took more than three (3) years reading through, and still not finishing it yet; then “The Vietnamese Dictionary of Buddhism” which I took some five (5) years since I bought it, and still have not finished even one tenth (1/10) of this thick volume; or the “French Lexique des termes juridiques” (French Legal Dictionary) which I took almost another five (5) years since I decided to read law, starting with the “Glossary for English Legal System” and the “Latin Dictionary of legal terms”…

Well, the list goes on, and since it has so many years I keep doing the same exercise, I have decided to take advantage of the new apps to put my research findings to share them with fellow researchers through some blogs and online publications.

One of them is http://yourvietbooks-references.blogspot.com which I used to keep references on MBA management topics. I am about to finish my series of bilingual English-Vietnamese manual to help students for their preparatory steps to an international MBA course.

Another blog which I dedicated to my research findings on Research Methodology for my Doctorate thesis at UPEC is http://sbi-training.blogspot.com, which I use as my “desktop” to keep track of my readings or books to read, videos, podcasts and other references in the field of philosophy, sociology, economy, politics, in relation to my topic of research.

But my favorite project is still aiming at the promotion and translation of BOOKS ON VIETNAM AND ABOUT VIETNAM, under http://yourvietbooks.com. In this blog, I recommend a series of books by Vietnamese Authors which are already translated into English or French, and available for sale on Amazon.com.

I am planning to work on a collection of Vietnamese books in History, Philosophy or Literature and wish to have them translated into English and/or French for non-Vietnamese readers.

I have also started the translation of a series of books donated by English-speaking authors wishing to reach out to Vietnamese readers. The first series of them is “Dharma Space” series by Author Dillon Masters, an American Zen Author. The second project is “A Story of Vietnam” by Author Truong Buu Lam, a Vietnamese-American History Professor. The third project which I started by early 2014 the “English for MBA Management Basics for Vietnamese students” is now used as manual for teaching the core subjects of most MBA programs. This is the main motivation that keeps me doing all the work, to help young Vietnamese scholars get the education they desserve to have a better understanding of the fast moving World, and face the challenges of globalisation with a more solid understanding of English as a medium of learning.”

I have started re-lauching this “ENG-4-MBA” programme on the newly created Moodle http://www.sbi-training.com.vn created for Vietnamese learners.

Hope that friends and colleagues who are reading me here support this important mission.

Looking forward to hearing some feedback from you all. Have a nice day.

Anita H.