Why I love working at Rackspace

Breast Cancer Awareness month

I’ve worked in a couple of different environments so far, including a non-profit in the US, front line retail sales in the US, a Taiwanese corporation, a UK company’s HK office, and now Rackspace’s HK office. I’d have to say, in my current role with my current office, it’s the best place I’ve worked in and I can definitely see myself staying with Rackspace for long term. It boils down to 3 things that make me love my job: it’s the role itself, training, and also culture. It’s true that these things can be subjective to what’s on your personal agenda and what you want out of life. But personally, these are my reasons why I love working at Rackspace:

1)      The Role – Cloud Onboarding Specialist

To give an overview, my role is to help cloud customers that just signed up to get started using their accounts. It’s done by speaking to them on the phone, and screen shares to walk them through the cloud control panel. The role itself is critical to a customer’s experience with Rackspace because we are the first people they speak to after signing up.

Because I get to speak with start-up founders, CEOs, CTOs of different types of businesses, I get a lot of insight on how different companies build their IT solutions. And of course, to be able to speak to these customers about their solutions and help them use our control panel, I need to understand all of our cloud products and how it will be relevant to each use case. This really helps me grow my knowledge in the technology field and still keep my business acumen in check.

Besides constantly learning new things about businesses and the cloud, I also work with almost all teams within our business. On a regular basis, I work with billing, marketing, sales, tech support, solution architects, and account managers to help provide a better experience for our customers. The most common is to work with sales to understand if prior to the sign-up the customer discussed solution details with our sales consultants. During my call with the customer, I also work with solution architects and account managers to speak further about the customer’s solution if they need further advice. And after the sign up, I’ll reach out to billing and tech support if customers have inquiries. Lastly, my interaction with marketing includes long term projects to improve the campaigns customers experience throughout their journey with Rackspace, whether it’s e-mails, webinars, and so on. What I’m trying to say is: my role is very diverse. It’s perfect for my current phase in my career where it’s just starting.

Ice Bucket Challenge

2)      Constant training

Training usually makes sense during the first few months of joining a company. You need to learn the processes and understand the products. At Rackspace however, training is a priority and it doesn’t just stop after the initial months. We regularly have 3 hours a week of product training, which is really important especially in the tech industry where new products roll out all the time. Besides learning about the products, we also get trained on our soft skills from quarterly sales & service delivery training. We aren’t just a tech company, but a service company providing “Fanatical Support”. That’s why the art and skill of speaking and communicating becomes so important. Other than that, we’re even looking into providing Mandarin classes for the region because of its importance in the market.

What I’m so grateful about is that Rackspace is willing to invest in its employees. Whatever we need in order to perform better or to launch a new project, the managers are always there to back it up. I don’t have to be shy to walk up to the MD with a new idea and the right resources will get pulled.

(I've been in several roles that touch the sales side of things, and I can’t tell you how annoyed I get when the company blames the employees or the market for not performing, when reality it’s a lack of good quality and constant training for employees. That’s not working as a team, and that’s a demonstration of poor leadership.)

3)      Company culture

Working at Rackspace feels very comfortable, friendly and positive. The culture is very open and people treat each other like friends and family. I don’t need to be afraid to be myself and joke around, not even around management. The structure is very flat; it literally feels like we are a big group of friends even though there are still levels of title and difference in age. There’s no discrimination around people’s titles, age, gender, race, and I’ve never ever felt uncomfortable or offended in the slightest way. (Emphasizing this because I’ve been in those situations in other companies, but no actions were taken against those people who harassed others, mainly because they were management and were leading by very bad example) Overall Rackspace is just a very positive environment to be in and I’m always happy at work.

Besides the atmosphere, there are also lots of company events and team events and people enjoy having fun. Participation levels are high and Racker (Rackspace employee) engagement is high. No one’s left out or isolated, and people are usually excited to join events. So far we’ve had Halloween challenges, Thanksgiving Potluck, breast cancer awareness, and an amazing Christmas Party coming up. On a team level, we also have quarterly team outings where we’ve done: quad biking, rock climbing, bowling… and so on. There’s also quarterly incentive trips for top performing employees in terms of sales and also Fanatical Support. Previous destinations include Okinawa, Phuket, and Seoul. 

In the the office itself, we have a snack cabinet for all Rackers to enjoy which is replenished biweekly, also a relax room, and in the pantry area we have a ping pong table and also XBox 360 & WiiU (with the latest Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers). Unlike other more traditional companies, at Rackspace the managers trust you with being responsible of your time and work, so taking an occasional 15 minute gaming session won't result in you getting fired. 

The snack cabinet

Picnic outside Island East with live jazz band!

Mario Kart & Ping Pong happening

 Pumpkin Carving Challenge

Thanksgiving Potluck "Dessert Corner"

5 day Matching Outfit Challenge

I hope this blog post has given you an insight to my experience of working from Rackspace. I'm very excited about my future, and a big thanks to everyone who is part of this amazing journey.

So what's your office like? And what is your ideal work environment? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

My Hair Journey (Brown, Blonde, Red)

Today's blog post is going to be a very girly one, so if you're not interested in reading about hair, then it's probably a good idea to skip this one. I'm going to explain the journey I went through dying my hair. Covering the last 5 years, my hair goes from black, to dark brown, blonde, then red. And didn't start going to a salon until the last 6 months. I'll try to list as many products as I can so hopefully you find this helpful. And the results of the hair dye will be more accurate if you were born with black hair like me.

Phase 1: Black to Brown hair

If you're dying your hair for the very first time, it's most likely that the color will barely show. Also, depending on what type of hair dye you use, the results will be different. I've tried different western brands like Revlon and L'oreal, but they really don't work on my dark Asian hair. What works best is the Japanese hair dye brand - Palty. It's really simple to dye your own hair with Palty, you just need to mix bottle 1 with bottle 2, shake it and then apply it all over your hair. The results are usually pretty good. And that's how I started lightening the shades of my hair into a light brown hair color. I also recommend the foam or bubble hair dye, it dyes your hair much more evenly, and is easier to work with since it doesn't drip everywhere. In the US, I usually get Palty hair dye on eBay or just Chinatown supermarkets. In Hong Kong you can find them at 759 makeup store or SaSa.

Light brown hair - 2009

 
Phase 2: Brown to blond hair

In order to get blond hair, I had to use bleach dye, and I stuck with Palty. The first time I bleached it I was very careful because I was a bit worried I would ruin my hair. But after bleaching it my hair wasn't damaged at all. I just needed to make sure I condition it every day and it still stayed very slick and straight. I've never straightened my hair with chemicals in my life, and I only occasionally use a hair straightener.

2009 - 2011 Blonde hair

2012: As my hair grew out, I didn't continue bleaching my hair. Instead I just filled it with normal brown dye, and unexpectedly it had a very beautiful ombre effect.

2013 - 2014 Most of my hair is a light brown, a result from dying bleached hair with brown dye.

Phase 3: Dark brown to Red hair

I actually wanted a bright orange color, and I thought I should go to a salon and let the professionals dye my hair. I chose a Japanese salon (Chicca) just because I thought they would know Asian hair best. Originally I walked in prepared to have my hair bleached because I knew I need to lift several shades before the bight color can show. But then the salon suggested me to apply red dye twice to brighten my hair so I don't damage it. Respecting their professional opinion, I went with it.

So here's what I wanted vs what I actually got

It was much more red than I thought, but they said the red would fade as I wash it, and I trusted that. But actually I still liked the red a lot. What was disappointing though, they didn't say how fast it should wash off, or what I should do to keep the red dye in my hair. And after just 4 washes, my hair became a dark brown. I was absolutely disappointed and very pissed off, because I wasted money on not getting the color I wanted AND only had my hair colored for 4 days.

Day 4 after red hair dye - most of it washed off.

Phase 4: Back to Blonde again
I went back to Chicca salon after all the red washed off, all evidence ready (my pictures and also a towel covered in red dye that fell off), pretty much prepared to demand a full refund and redo of my hair. This time they bleached my hair for free, and I decided to tell them to stop at the bleach. I went back to dying my hair myself, and trusty old Palty bleach dye. (Salon visit was HK $800 or US $100 vs Palty dye HK$60 or US $7. Duh, of course I'm choosing Palty).

Blonde hair after first bleach (the salon didn't use very strong bleach)

Second wave of bleach, which was done by myself after the salon did it. You can see a clear difference, the bleach that the salon did was fading, AGAIN. At least the ombre effect looked nice. I actually really liked my blonde hair, but it was way too high maintenance. I was re-bleaching my hair every month and that was a pain but also felt very damaging. So I decided to give up having blonde hair.

Phase 5-1: Blonde to red
Now that I have a good base (blonde) to work with, dying my hair red was much easier. I was also much more prepared since my last disaster experience. This time I had a very bright red hair dye and a strong developer, I also bought some shampoo that helps keep color in for red colored hair. The results were amazing, but I also noticed patches of blonde that only turned orange and the dye wouldn't soak in (will explain more a bit later). It stayed bright red for about a week, and after 4 washes, my hair had a very beautiful red/orange ombre effect. I joked that I look like I bumped into a sunset and all the colors fell on me.

Immediately after the red dye

About a 2 weeks after the red dye

Phase 5-2: Staying red
About 2 weeks after dying my hair red, I decided to get a hair cut just because it was getting very long. I visited The Strand, only to get hair cut (I didn't get my hair colored there). The cut with a senior stylist was pretty pricy, at HK$600 (US $77). But I really only get a hair cut no more than 3 times a year, I like my hair long. The best part though was that the senior stylist gave me a ton of suggestions on maintaining red hair. He did not try to sell me any salon products or try to get me to color my hair at their salon. Instead he gave very honest and professional recommendations. He told me, the reason why some of my bleached hair wasn't soaking the red dye was because that the bleached widened the holes in my hair follicles. Red dye also has bigger and heavier particles so it's harder for red dye to stay in my hair. 

The solution? He suggested me to buy some semi-permanent dye to refill the red color. Semi-permanent dye doesn't have the damaging developer mixture so it won't damage my hair further. Hence I can use it more often and brighten the color more.The best place to get cheap, wholesale priced beauty supplies is near Temple street (Read more from this article: The Secret Spots Salons Don't Want you to Know About). This method really worked for me, and I'm very grateful that my hair stylist at The Strand was kind enough to explain to me and show me how it should be done.

From Temple street's beauty supply shops, I bought color stabilizer shampoo (the big white bottle on the left). Also 2 different types of semi-permanent hair dye. The grey bottles are from a Chinese brand (www.ida.com), and then the grey tube is a Japanese brand (Luchento Cosme). I'd say they are both good in different ways. All 4 items together was only around HK$500, which would last many rounds of color retouching.

Ida (Chinese brand) in color Burgendy and Magenta:
 - Pros: Easier to work with, thicker in texture so it doesn't drip everywhere, the pump makes it easier to use.
 - Cons: The color isn't as bright as I want it. Looks more like a washed out red as to a bright red.

Luchento Cosme (Japanese brand) in color "Ru":
  - Pros: Color payoff is very good, smells nice (not chemical-ish at all)
  - Cons: It's more runny so it drips everywhere, if you get it on your skin it's super hard to wash off. (I had to use a lot of makeup remover wipes)

So I guess my hair is going to stay red for a while. I might go for the Luchento Cosme orange color "Co" for a brighter look as we approach summer next year! But we will see. And I will definitely stick with coloring my own hair for the rest of my life. Never am I paying a salon to dye my hair again.

How do I keep my hair healthy and silky? Two products really, the TreSemmé smooth & silky conditioner and Ichikami hair treatment oil. I've been using TreSemmé through this entire 5 year journey of hair color changes and it's kept my hair silky smooth!

I really hope this blog post was helpful! Coloring dark Asian hair isn't the easiest, neither is keeping hair healthy after frying it with bleach and curling irons. But it's definitely possible. After salon disasters and trial & error, I want to share as much experience so I can to give insight to those of you who are struggling to get the hair color you want.

Top 15 Taiwanese Dishes

If you don't already know, Taiwan is famous for it's delicious food. With thousands of night market stalls you can choose from, you can definitely find something that you'll enjoy. Every year I go back to Taiwan once or twice, and I spend most of my time checking off a list of things I want to eat. So here is a list of my personal 15 favorite dishes that I must have when I visit:

蚵仔麵線: Oyster Noodles




火鍋: Hot Pot (Taiwanese Style)




粽子: Bamboo Rice dumpling




皎白筍: bamboo shoot & Mayo




雞心湯: Chicken Heart Soup




滷肉飯: Pork sauce rice




烤魷魚: Grilled squid




蛤蜊湯Clam soup




烤香腸: Grilled Taiwanese Sausage with Garlic




西米露 Taro Tapioca Pudding




芋圓: Taro Ball dessert




紅豆挫冰: Red bean shaved ice




珍珠奶茶 bubble tea




木瓜牛奶: Papaya Milk




太陽餅 Sun Cake

These are just my personal favorites, and there's obviously still a lot of different delicious dishes to try. I've found a pretty long list of famous Taiwanese dishes and their English name on This Website. You should be able to find most of these dishes in large night markets around Taiwan. So don't forget to try at least one of these items next time you stop by! I guarantee you wont' be disappointed.

Nom Nom Nom...