Renjie Butalid

The life & times of a young person interested in social change

Archive for the ‘- Family’ Category

Embarking On A New Adventure

Posted by renjie On July - 2 - 2010

Beyond SiG@Waterloo

After two amazing years working for Social Innovation Generation at the University of Waterloo (SiG@Waterloo), my contract has come to an end and I am ready to begin the next chapter of my life. I chose not to renew my contract for Communications Coordinator at SiG@Waterloo. Instead, I have decided to take the next two months off in order to embark on an adventure that I know will drastically change a number of aspects of my life by the time September rolls around. This includes what I choose to work on next in my professional career, and more importantly, where I choose to live and call ‘home’ for the time being.

Of course, I will forever be grateful to Frances Westley, Cheryl Rose and the entire team at SiG@Waterloo and the SiG national collaborative across Canada, for having had the opportunity to work with a great group of people and to further my own understanding of the social innovation process and the possibilities that lie therein.

As of Monday, July 5, I will be joining the ranks of people without a “full-time job”. However, for a great number of reasons which include being in the very fortunate position of not needing another job right away in order to pay the bills, as well as adopting the very powerful mindset of considering myself a “free agent” rather than “unemployed” for the next little while, I am perfectly ok with this arrangement.

The Creative Class

Richard Florida recently wrote in the New York Times, that people used to follow the jobs; they would move to where their company sent them. However, as Florida has observed, people today often pick a place to live first and then look for work. It may be where we live, rather than who is employing us at the moment, that attaches us to our work and careers.

I’ve been asked by many people what my plans are, moving forward beyond SiG@Waterloo and living in Kitchener-Waterloo itself, especially by my parents who I know are always looking out for me and have the best of intentions in mind. To be honest, I have no clue what I will be doing or even where I will be living (a nod to Richard Florida) come September, all I know is that my interest lies deeply in this emerging field of social innovation, especially with social entrepreneurship and its potential for transformative change in society. I know for a fact that there are many opportunities out there, my goal now is to find the right one.

I have a shortlist of cities in mind which include Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, San Francisco, Washington DC, New York City, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Singapore and Hong Kong. I will certainly be exploring opportunities in each of these cities in August through to September, by reaching out to friends and colleagues within my network. After thinking it through over the next couple of weeks, I may even decide to visit one of these cities in September for an extended period of time just to see where things go.

For the time being, all roads lead to the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Cranbrook, BC where my parents currently reside, in order to spend some much needed down time reflecting on where my life has been these past few years. I intend on doing a lot more reading and writing, especially on this blog, exploring developments in the social finance and impact investing landscape, both in Canada and abroad, as well as the use of mobile technology for the alleviation of poverty in developing countries - two areas in the social innovation landscape that have piqued my interest in recent years.

I also have a number of personal projects on the horizon that I know will keep me busy for the next little while, including:
- working on my newly launched photography blog, Photography by Renjie; now that I have purchased by first DSLR camera, the Nikon D5000, the possibilities are endless;

- making my way across Canada from Waterloo, ON to Cranbrook, BC at the end of July (details to come) and documenting the entire road trip along the way;

- hiking, swimming, camping and generally exploring the great outdoors of British Columbia while I am there;

- building a kite from scratch, now that I have seemingly found a new hobby after stumbling across it almost by accident back in April;

- beginning to plan TEDxWaterloo 2011 via email and Skype working sessions with a solid team, after the success of the inaugural TEDxWaterloo back in February this year;

- imagining the possibility of an Ignite Cranbrook taking place in mid- to late September, modelled after the success of Ignite Waterloo;

- and of course, looking forward to my keynote speech at the Global Young Leaders Conference in Washington, DC later this month.

I always strive to push myself out of my comfort zone. This journey that I am about to embark on over the next eight weeks, will push me so far out of my comfort zone that all I can do six months from now is sit back and laugh to myself on how things have turned out. Wish me luck.

Each day forces us

to totter on planks we hope
will become bridges


~ Haiku by Australian Poet Kevin Hart in
The Ethical Imagination” by Margaret Somerville

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WOOF @ SUPERSKILLZ TORONTO 2010

Posted by renjie On March - 15 - 2010

My final edited video of my sister’s dance crew performance in Toronto at the Superskillz 2010 Talent Show, held at the Opera House on March 6, 2010.

My younger sister Loubelle is part of the Western Ontario Organization of Filipinos (WOOF), a student club at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Loubelle plays the main female lead in the performance. A previous WOOF video that I put together from their performance at the Ontario University Competition for Hip Hop in November 2009, can be found here.

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Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

Posted by renjie On February - 15 - 2010

Im definitely getting the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics fever, after watching the (at times) visually stunning opening ceremonies on Friday, Jen Heil’s silver medal win in the women’s moguls Saturday (she didn’t lose gold, she won silver), and yesterday’s golden boy Alex Bilodeau breaking Canada’s dry spell of no gold on home soil since the 1976 summer Olympics in Montreal.

In case you missed it, watch Bilodeau’s gold medal run in the men’s moguls here.

I even went as far as giving in and buying a Vancouver 2010 sweatshirt at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto earlier this afternoon. Im glad that I did however, because the Olympic Torch was on display at the Eaton Centre and I was able to get a photo with it. I have to admit, a part of me was disappointed when I missed the Olympic Torch relay when it passed through the Toronto/Kitchener-Waterloo area at the end of December (I was out west in Cranbrook, BC for the holidays then), and I missed it again when it passed through Cranbrook, BC at the end of January (I was back in Waterloo already).

GO TEAM CANADA!!!

Of course, I would also like to express my heartfelt condolences and prayers to the friends and family of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luger from Georgia who died in that horrific Olympic training crash just hours prior to the start of the opening ceremonies. Shame on CTV for needlessly showcasing video footage of the horrific crash, sensational journalism at its worst.

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Photos Courtesy of the Toronto Star

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Happy Valentine’s Day Monika!

Posted by renjie On February - 14 - 2010

Happy Valentine’s Day baby… I love you!

And a happy Chinese New Year to everyone as well, I hope you’re all spending today with your loved ones.

Posted via email from renjie’s posterous

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Merry Christmas & Seasons Greetings

Posted by renjie On December - 25 - 2009

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Merry Christmas from my family to yours! I wish everyone the best this holiday season, looking forward to the year ahead, 2010 is going to be amazing!

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About Me

Location: Waterloo & Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I am a 20-something young person keenly interested in learning how transformative social change happens, and passionate about building resilient communities. I also have a strong background in student and youth engagement, and I am convinced that young people have the power and opportunities like never before to affect positive change in the world. Learn more.

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    Photos

    Road Trip Diaries: 5 days later, at the Manitoba-Saskatchewan border. Contemplating a slight change of plans as well, Calgary tomorrow? Anyone in town? More details hereRoad Trip Diaries: Driving through the Prairies, it's not called Big Sky for nothingRoad Trip Diaries: Driving through the Prairies, it's not called Big Sky for nothingRoad Trip Diaries: Driving through the Prairies, it's not called Big Sky for nothingRoad Trip Diaries: Driving through the Prairies, it's not called Big Sky for nothingRoad Trip Diaries: 4 days and 1 time zone later, finally at Ontario-Manitoba borderRoad Trip Diaries: Arrived in Kenora safe and sound. iPhone photos of the day together with some thoughts of trip so farRoad Trip Diaries: Arrived in Kenora safe and sound. iPhone photos of the day together with some thoughts of trip so farRoad Trip Diaries: Arrived in Kenora safe and sound. iPhone photos of the day together with some thoughts of trip so farRoad Trip Diaries: Arrived in Kenora safe and sound. iPhone photos of the day together with some thoughts of trip so farRoad Trip Diaries: iPhone Photos from today's drive from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay #CanadaRoad Trip Diaries: iPhone Photos from today's drive from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay #CanadaRoad Trip Diaries: iPhone Photos from today's drive from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay #CanadaRoad Trip Diaries: iPhone Photos from today's drive from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay #CanadaRoad Trip Diaries: iPhone Photos from today's drive from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay #CanadaRoad Trip Diaries: iPhone Photos from today's drive from Sault Ste Marie to Thunder Bay #Canada