Not sure what happened over the break, but I feel less stressed and uptight about school since I came back after Christmas. I know school is still picking back up, but I feel like I'm also in a better mood and my hobbies are changing. Gone are the days where I got my daily guilty fix from online (usually MOBA) gaming and non-stop board gaming. Instead, I've been sleeping earlier, getting back into reading (non-academic literature FINALLY), watching a few strongly recommended TV shows and movies, and listening to Classical music.
For those interested, a bit more detail on each of the changes I mentioned:
1. Sleeping earlier around 10:30 pm - 1 am (vs. my previous 2-4 am bedtime).
2. Reading up on classics I only ever heard about but never read. Currently working on Dickens' Tale of Two Cities. Reading this classic piece of literature serves as a sad reminder of how long it's been since I've read a decent book. Some of the language is hard to wrap my head around, so I have to give certain passages a few tries before it sinks in. I feel like my reading maturity/skills stopped around grade 12 (i.e. like most people, around the time high school English ended and university started); this is something I'd like to work on. This change is particularly refreshing because I feel like I'm getting back in touch with everything I love about language, words, and fresh storytelling. Also trying to get back into the habit of noting new/unfamiliar words that I come across to expand my own vocabulary (the growth of which probably also halted around grade 12).
3. I've found a few TV/movie buddies (one in particular!) that have very similar tastes. As a result, I've been exposed to goodies like There will be Blood, Cube, and Fargo (TV show). I also finally watched Sin City 2. I don't care what the ratings say; I loved it.
4. Classical music listening...this probably started when I visited my friend's website promoting his music school. Every time I hear him play a serious Classical piece, (it sounds crazy and totally cheesy, I know) I fall into a trance-like state. This experience reminds me of the days when I used to support my brother at his violin competitions and he pulled off an amazing performance that made me proud to be seen with him (for once, jk). I think I might be approaching that age that I was forewarned about all my life...where I regret not putting more effort into practicing piano. Everyone (especially my mom) taunted me with this forecast, and I'll never admit it to their faces, but I think it is finally coming true...now...? For those who don't know, fun fact: my favourite Classical composers are Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninov (roughly in that order). Yeah, surprise (or not) I'm essentially a Romantic girl.
I can't even attribute these positive changes to the new year because I didn't make new year's resolutions, and I barely remember to write "2015" or "xx/xx/15" at the top of my notes. It all just feels very new and strange...is something wrong with me? Am I having some sort of personal crisis with oddly beneficial side effects? Maybe after school gets back into full swing, I'll just lapse back into the game-addicted, sleep-deprived slob I was/know/am comfortable with...I'll report back with whatever happens.
Yeah, this was a post of me complaining about how happy (?) I am...
Showing posts with label me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label me. Show all posts
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Cooking at Varied Speeds
For those who know me pretty well, you know that I'm not much of a cook. While I love living away from home for school, one thing I really hate about it is having to fend for my own "consumables". Like any student, I go into each year with nauseatingly optimistic expectations/plans about my diet for the school year. And every time I have attempted to improve my cooking skills, save money, eat healthier, etc., I have failed...until now! :)
This year I am living with one of my classmates, and it's working out pretty well! We are quite compatible in our living and study habits. Having a roommate that I can really connect and interact well with has motivated me to care more about the cleanliness of the apartment and take more initiative with my cooking. It helps that she is a good cook who is often willing to offer me tips. She also shares her meals with me from time to time, and this compels me to make some food of my own and share it with her in return (at her own risk of course). So far some of the dishes that I have been successful with include:
1. My classic foolproof dish...Pasta
2. Mapo tofu - the chinese flavour packets are amazing for this.
3. Korean curry - I figured this out last year when I was living on my own, and I manage to get it right from time to time.
4. Asian style noodle stir fry - inspired by one of my classmates who recommended a Chinese hot chili bean sauce. The Chinese are honestly lifesavers with their delicious sauces. Just make sure you check the label for MSG-free products.
5. Korean pork belly with side dishes (aka Samgyup sal) - also a relatively recent discovery from last year. Easy to do and makes me feel healthy when I wrap it in lettuce with a korean hot pepper paste. Unfortunately this go-to recipe will probably go into hibernation for a while because I'm getting sick of it.
6. Kimchi fried rice - another one of my classic go-to's. It's pretty hard to go wrong with this dish, but I can't make this recipe too often because I rarely go back home during the school year, which is where I usually get my kimchi.
7. Sausage stir fry - spur of the moment dish where I added tomato sauce and peppers. I consider this dish to be an especially significant accomplishment because it's the first time I've successfully made (or even attempted) a sausage dish since I food poisoned myself with uncooked sausages. I guess I was a bit traumatized...
8. And my latest experiment is also inspired by one of my classmates. One time I was at her place when I smelled something amazing cooking in the kitchen. That was my first encounter with the wonderful invention called the slow cooker. If I wasn't sold at the smell, I was definitely convinced I had to have one when she proceeded to explain that slow cookers were ridiculously simple to use: just throw things into it.
So...lengthy prelude out of the way, here I am waiting to see how my slow cooker recipe turns out. This weekend I prepped a random slow cooker recipe that I found on the internet. It's super basic (and I mean that word in the least trendy way possible). Just-literally-THREW IN carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, and pork ribs with some wine, rosemary, and italian dressing to the slow cooker. I had to prep this in advance for tomorrow's meal because this is a super busy school week for me (a complaint for another time). I'm excited to try it tomorrow because it already smelled delicious while it was cooking.
Anyway, after my few (yet notable!) cooking successes this year, I feel I've already improved a lot from where I was before. Hopefully I can keep it up and continue to expand my boundaries. Before I know it I'll be able to actually look forward to making and eating my own food--a vital life skill that I've always wanted to acquire but without prior success.
--Then again, it's still quite early in the year; it's not too late for my old patterns to resurface. What's a Christie post without a little realism?
This year I am living with one of my classmates, and it's working out pretty well! We are quite compatible in our living and study habits. Having a roommate that I can really connect and interact well with has motivated me to care more about the cleanliness of the apartment and take more initiative with my cooking. It helps that she is a good cook who is often willing to offer me tips. She also shares her meals with me from time to time, and this compels me to make some food of my own and share it with her in return (at her own risk of course). So far some of the dishes that I have been successful with include:
1. My classic foolproof dish...Pasta
2. Mapo tofu - the chinese flavour packets are amazing for this.
3. Korean curry - I figured this out last year when I was living on my own, and I manage to get it right from time to time.
4. Asian style noodle stir fry - inspired by one of my classmates who recommended a Chinese hot chili bean sauce. The Chinese are honestly lifesavers with their delicious sauces. Just make sure you check the label for MSG-free products.
5. Korean pork belly with side dishes (aka Samgyup sal) - also a relatively recent discovery from last year. Easy to do and makes me feel healthy when I wrap it in lettuce with a korean hot pepper paste. Unfortunately this go-to recipe will probably go into hibernation for a while because I'm getting sick of it.
6. Kimchi fried rice - another one of my classic go-to's. It's pretty hard to go wrong with this dish, but I can't make this recipe too often because I rarely go back home during the school year, which is where I usually get my kimchi.
7. Sausage stir fry - spur of the moment dish where I added tomato sauce and peppers. I consider this dish to be an especially significant accomplishment because it's the first time I've successfully made (or even attempted) a sausage dish since I food poisoned myself with uncooked sausages. I guess I was a bit traumatized...
8. And my latest experiment is also inspired by one of my classmates. One time I was at her place when I smelled something amazing cooking in the kitchen. That was my first encounter with the wonderful invention called the slow cooker. If I wasn't sold at the smell, I was definitely convinced I had to have one when she proceeded to explain that slow cookers were ridiculously simple to use: just throw things into it.
So...lengthy prelude out of the way, here I am waiting to see how my slow cooker recipe turns out. This weekend I prepped a random slow cooker recipe that I found on the internet. It's super basic (and I mean that word in the least trendy way possible). Just-literally-THREW IN carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, and pork ribs with some wine, rosemary, and italian dressing to the slow cooker. I had to prep this in advance for tomorrow's meal because this is a super busy school week for me (a complaint for another time). I'm excited to try it tomorrow because it already smelled delicious while it was cooking.
Anyway, after my few (yet notable!) cooking successes this year, I feel I've already improved a lot from where I was before. Hopefully I can keep it up and continue to expand my boundaries. Before I know it I'll be able to actually look forward to making and eating my own food--a vital life skill that I've always wanted to acquire but without prior success.
--Then again, it's still quite early in the year; it's not too late for my old patterns to resurface. What's a Christie post without a little realism?
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
It's been a while crocodile
Hello there! Feeling boring of my games and not having much going on with school right now, I decided to return to my blog. After all, you know me, I can never complain enough. Enough with the inverted sentences though...
So where am I in my life right now? Literally, I am in a single apartment 5-minutes walk from class. Where is my class? Class is at the Medical Sciences building at Western University. I am now open to stalk, but trust me I'm not even worth stalking. Life-wise/less literally, I am almost done my first year of my doctor of dental surgery degree. In a lighter shade of English, that means I'm almost 1/4th dentist! :) Yes, I have finally picked a definite direction for my life, and I have to say it's pretty exciting. I love being able to quantify how much more schooling I have and count down the days until I enter the real world! I'm so ready to finish school, get my own place, buy car insurance, have 100 percent control over what goes into and out of my bank account, and have the right to allow whoever I want into my own place whenever I want! All this sounds amazing when I think about it, yet when I get so bogged down in the details of my current schooling situation, I tend to feel depressed and overwhelmed at times when I should instead be thankful and try to enjoy life a little more. Then again, that's always been my problem: I focus so much on the little problems despite the things that are going my way and end up skewing the overall picture.
Anyway, just writing this post has definitely served its purpose. To be honest, I came here to sulk and basically perform an emotional vomit on the Internet; instead talking out what my situation actually is has reminded me (yet again!) to see the good in my situation and to go with the flow. Now to go do girly things and try on my friend's dresses for a potential formal event that I will be attending this weekend. It really is true that we make our own happiness...just wish I was a better, more consistent maker.
So where am I in my life right now? Literally, I am in a single apartment 5-minutes walk from class. Where is my class? Class is at the Medical Sciences building at Western University. I am now open to stalk, but trust me I'm not even worth stalking. Life-wise/less literally, I am almost done my first year of my doctor of dental surgery degree. In a lighter shade of English, that means I'm almost 1/4th dentist! :) Yes, I have finally picked a definite direction for my life, and I have to say it's pretty exciting. I love being able to quantify how much more schooling I have and count down the days until I enter the real world! I'm so ready to finish school, get my own place, buy car insurance, have 100 percent control over what goes into and out of my bank account, and have the right to allow whoever I want into my own place whenever I want! All this sounds amazing when I think about it, yet when I get so bogged down in the details of my current schooling situation, I tend to feel depressed and overwhelmed at times when I should instead be thankful and try to enjoy life a little more. Then again, that's always been my problem: I focus so much on the little problems despite the things that are going my way and end up skewing the overall picture.
Anyway, just writing this post has definitely served its purpose. To be honest, I came here to sulk and basically perform an emotional vomit on the Internet; instead talking out what my situation actually is has reminded me (yet again!) to see the good in my situation and to go with the flow. Now to go do girly things and try on my friend's dresses for a potential formal event that I will be attending this weekend. It really is true that we make our own happiness...just wish I was a better, more consistent maker.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
These are a few of my favourite things
Unlike many of my posts, this one is actually happy and (mostly) complaint free. Just wanted to post a list of my favourite things. Thinking about them makes me happy and realize how much I'm changing all the time.
FAVOURITE...
Food - avocado (in sandwiches, with nachos, and spread on bread)
Movie - The Christopher Nolan Batman series (EPICNESS)
Music - Billy Talent AND Bruno Mars (distinct genres but can't decide between them!)
Colour - Red (I know I had a purple fling, but that's over now...mostly)
Actor - Matt Damon andddd (not to be disloyal) but I'm starting to like Joseph Gordon Levitt (and not just for his acting ;))
Actress - Catherine Zeta Jones (always was, always will be...maybe?)
Online game - LoL (no brainer)
Board game - Clue (but Bang! is right up there, just need to play it recently, and I'm sure it will shoot to the top again!)
Drink - V8 Peach and Mango (sooo good, especially right after work)
Clothing store - Haven't been able to pick any clothes lately, but my largest most recent purchase was at Joe Fresh
TV Show - Dexter HANDS DOWN (my other shows Once Upon a Time and Arrow have been EXTREMELY disappointing as of late)
Friends: Alex and Justin (alphabetized)
FAVOURITE...
Food - avocado (in sandwiches, with nachos, and spread on bread)
Movie - The Christopher Nolan Batman series (EPICNESS)
Music - Billy Talent AND Bruno Mars (distinct genres but can't decide between them!)
Colour - Red (I know I had a purple fling, but that's over now...mostly)
Actor - Matt Damon andddd (not to be disloyal) but I'm starting to like Joseph Gordon Levitt (and not just for his acting ;))
Actress - Catherine Zeta Jones (always was, always will be...maybe?)
Online game - LoL (no brainer)
Board game - Clue (but Bang! is right up there, just need to play it recently, and I'm sure it will shoot to the top again!)
Drink - V8 Peach and Mango (sooo good, especially right after work)
Clothing store - Haven't been able to pick any clothes lately, but my largest most recent purchase was at Joe Fresh
TV Show - Dexter HANDS DOWN (my other shows Once Upon a Time and Arrow have been EXTREMELY disappointing as of late)
Friends: Alex and Justin (alphabetized)
Thursday, October 11, 2012
OCD Diagnosis Confirmed?
Yesterday's Toronto Star had a front page article on nail-biting as a type of OCD. Seems I was more correct than I thought when I jokingly had my suspicions in an earlier post. Of course there is a range of nail-biting severity, but I think that I am pretty close to or (more likely) included in the OCD group. Just like the OCD-diagnosed individual mentioned in the article, I bite my nails, as well as the skin, which quite often leads to bleeding. Also, it has been an ongoing habit since as far back as I can really remember. Sometimes I am able to refrain from biting for a few months at a time (during which period I celebrate by painting them regularly), but the escape from the "habit" has only ever lasted that long at the most. Other symptoms they mention are superstitious or magical beliefs (sound familiar?) and tapping. As I might have mentioned before, I sometimes tend to type out lines of dialogue as I'm watching movies. Furthermore, I do other strange things like try to have an even number of steps between sidewalk slabs and parking spot lines. This last set of counting symptoms I never really took seriously because it just seemed like a childish habit that I couldn't kick. But in the context of these other "OCD-like" symptoms, I guess it might mean something a little more than that. Anyway, the name of this condition is onychophagia. Pretty awesome name, I must say. I wonder if this self-diagnosis means I need psychiatric attention of any kind? Weirdly enough, these possibilities don't frighten me in the least; they rather excite me.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Stuffing and Stuff
So, this week wasn't good from a practical standpoint (I've been told it's practical to worry about your GPA and career development). I had two midterms, and I'm pretty sure neither of them went too well. Unfortunately, all I can honestly say about it is, "Oh well." I don't know where this indifference is coming from, but my apathy for school is creeping up on me again, and I don't know whether to feel scared or relieved--I am even apathetic about my apathy.
Up an octave, physically, I feel better about everything...and I guess, myself. :) Last night, I went to sleep at a reasonable time: 1am. Baby steps right? Oh! A major reason why I haven't been sleeping lately is because I've been studying so hard. OH GOD, I hope you didn't believe me; I'm not nearly as dedicated as my ethnicity makes me out to be. -_-" The REAL reason why I've been staying up late is that I recently received Fire Emblem: Sealed Sword for GBA emulator, and it's been distracting me from schoolwork all term. I guess in a way I am a dedicated Asian because I just couldn't put the game down without beating it to completion. AND LAST NIGHT I FINALLY BEAT IT--well sort of, but lets not get into that. :(
This weekend, I went home and ate turkey with my family! It was less dry than turkey usually is, and the stuffing was amazing. THE END. Good stuffing means an amazing meal. Period. Well, I guess I should mention the other stuff anyway...so I had dinner with my family on the Saturday, and my mom made TOO much food. Hah, at least I'm not at home, so I don't have to help with all the leftovers. Sunday, I went to my Aunt's and we had Hakka takeout. It was interesting: a bit saucy and we could have chosen spicier dishes, but it was something new. It was also a celebration of my little cousin's birthday! She is turning 2 this year, and she seems to be developing faster than other kids her age. I'm rather interested to see how she turns out. I hate how my aunts, uncles, and parents keep comparing her to the development of me and my cousins. It pokes me right in my competitive spot; I feel like I want to go back to that age and show them that I can be advanced too...
Well, this week I've been reflecting on how I interact with my peers and "friends", and I think either I'm getting better at it or they are. Not exactly sure which, but somehow they've become more tolerable, and I'm starting to enjoy their company more (as I imagine I should be). I don't know what else to think or write, so I shall end that thought there.
Something random that occurred to me today:
Not that I'm emo or seeking attention, but I was thinking about people who have attempted or succeeded at suicide. Somehow it occurred to me that if I attempted suicide and backed out at the last minute or was completely unsuccessful, not only would I have to continue living, but I would also have to deal with the repercussions of my perceived emotional instability and failed attempt. Aside from all the friend/family shock, I again looked at this from a "practical" standpoint: If I ever wanted to apply for professional schools or "higher-end" jobs, my attempted suicide probably screwed whatever slim chances I ever had. Moral being, if you're going to do something, go for it all the way, I guess? I'm not sure there's really a moral in that, but it's what was going through my convoluted brain on the long walk to orchestra rehearsal.
Anyway, I'm going to try to squeeze in some forced productivity and attempt a self-imposed curfew. Good morning, good afternoon, and good night!
Up an octave, physically, I feel better about everything...and I guess, myself. :) Last night, I went to sleep at a reasonable time: 1am. Baby steps right? Oh! A major reason why I haven't been sleeping lately is because I've been studying so hard. OH GOD, I hope you didn't believe me; I'm not nearly as dedicated as my ethnicity makes me out to be. -_-" The REAL reason why I've been staying up late is that I recently received Fire Emblem: Sealed Sword for GBA emulator, and it's been distracting me from schoolwork all term. I guess in a way I am a dedicated Asian because I just couldn't put the game down without beating it to completion. AND LAST NIGHT I FINALLY BEAT IT--well sort of, but lets not get into that. :(
This weekend, I went home and ate turkey with my family! It was less dry than turkey usually is, and the stuffing was amazing. THE END. Good stuffing means an amazing meal. Period. Well, I guess I should mention the other stuff anyway...so I had dinner with my family on the Saturday, and my mom made TOO much food. Hah, at least I'm not at home, so I don't have to help with all the leftovers. Sunday, I went to my Aunt's and we had Hakka takeout. It was interesting: a bit saucy and we could have chosen spicier dishes, but it was something new. It was also a celebration of my little cousin's birthday! She is turning 2 this year, and she seems to be developing faster than other kids her age. I'm rather interested to see how she turns out. I hate how my aunts, uncles, and parents keep comparing her to the development of me and my cousins. It pokes me right in my competitive spot; I feel like I want to go back to that age and show them that I can be advanced too...
Well, this week I've been reflecting on how I interact with my peers and "friends", and I think either I'm getting better at it or they are. Not exactly sure which, but somehow they've become more tolerable, and I'm starting to enjoy their company more (as I imagine I should be). I don't know what else to think or write, so I shall end that thought there.
Something random that occurred to me today:
Not that I'm emo or seeking attention, but I was thinking about people who have attempted or succeeded at suicide. Somehow it occurred to me that if I attempted suicide and backed out at the last minute or was completely unsuccessful, not only would I have to continue living, but I would also have to deal with the repercussions of my perceived emotional instability and failed attempt. Aside from all the friend/family shock, I again looked at this from a "practical" standpoint: If I ever wanted to apply for professional schools or "higher-end" jobs, my attempted suicide probably screwed whatever slim chances I ever had. Moral being, if you're going to do something, go for it all the way, I guess? I'm not sure there's really a moral in that, but it's what was going through my convoluted brain on the long walk to orchestra rehearsal.
Anyway, I'm going to try to squeeze in some forced productivity and attempt a self-imposed curfew. Good morning, good afternoon, and good night!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Summer Updates
THE INTRO PART
I can honestly conclude that this summer has been a relatively good one--and I feel like it's been long overdue. What made it good? Well, after a long dry spell of pretentiously reassuring ourselves that "Our house is pretty much like a cottage. It's nice to just relax here, and we don't have to spend any money either!", my family went on an ACTUAL vacation this summer. It's been...what, 10 years?
THE PART ABOUT THE NOT-AS-LAME-AS-EXPECTED VACATION
It was about an 8-day vacation in the Canadian Rockies. It was an active, somewhat relaxing trip. Most days were spent hiking. I'm not a big fan of it, and I wasn't actually looking forward to the trip beforehand, but it turned out to be okay. Plus, the outdoor activity helps to justify my excessive eating habits at home. The highlight of my trip was probably going whitewater rafting for the first time with my dad, brother, and cousin. For those of you familiar with the grading system of rapids, we went on a level 2/3. It was fun, but we all conceded that next time we'd have to go with a higher grading to up the excitement. As for the rest of the trip, we spent most days hiking mountains and exploring lake areas. It's amazing how the highway is just filled with trees and mountains--not a building in sight, so it was quite a shock when we got back to the GTA. Still, I've never been much of a landscape person, so after a few drives and hikes everything really starts to look the same.
THE PART ABOUT DRIVING
Also, I've finally gotten around to booking my G test. I planned to do it the weekend of the first week back to school, but I stupidly booked it for the Monday thinking Sept 19 was a Sunday. No idea what calendar I was looking at... Ugh, and missing an entire day in the second week of classes--GREAT start to the term. It's a real pain, and I'm not sure I even know anyone in those classes to get notes off of, but I really just want to get my stupid G out of the way before it expires. -_-" Live and learn--for me, both have been quite painful.
THE PART ABOUT THE MINI NIAGARA TRIP
In the past few days, I've also been in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area on a mini-trip with some of my family. It was another active/semi-relaxing trip with biking and hiking all over again. My aunt made some nice pasta. My favourite part of the dish was the arugula and basil that she topped it with. It tastes amazingggg to have the fresh ingredients on an otherwise slightly-above-average pasta. I highly recommend it!
THE PART ABOUT SCHOOL STUFF
As for school, I'm dreading it. If you didn't know, I just switched out of the Science and Business program into Biomedical Sciences this past winter, so I'm scrambling to obtain all the graduation requirements. Plus, it would be nice to finish school when I'm supposed to (vs. 1 year later because of the co-op program I was previously in). Unfortunately, all this amounts to me taking 4 consecutive school terms with only a few weeks of break between each--and I'm only halfway there.
THE PART DEMONSTRATING MY TYPE A PERSONALITY
I don't really want to rant about my usual life worries because I feel like I've already over-publicized that subject. Just know they're still alive and more than well.
THE OVER-ANALYTICAL, SELF-SYMPATHIZING PART
For some reason, I feel really down these days. Not even angry or irritable anymore, but just apathetic and lethargic. I'm certain it's not depression or anything seriously medical, but I feel stuck between needing major change in my life and being too afraid to leave my comfort zone. I've thought about it, and a lot of it seems to do with the friends I have and the things I'm doing. I feel like I need to meet new people and make friends that are more compatible with me. A change of scenery. I'm not even sure whether it's me or my surroundings that are the problem, and I don't think it will be easy to change either. I don't really know what the next steps in my life are, and when my options are presented to me, it just feels so overwhelming and intimidating. I wish I had more courage, more independence. Can anyone just develop those traits if they work hard enough at it, or are some of us just stuck with what we are? What if what I am is not enough? Nobody wants to consider that alternative, so we optimistically settle with the motto that anyone can do anything if you just put your heart into it. I wonder if that's really the case.
I can honestly conclude that this summer has been a relatively good one--and I feel like it's been long overdue. What made it good? Well, after a long dry spell of pretentiously reassuring ourselves that "Our house is pretty much like a cottage. It's nice to just relax here, and we don't have to spend any money either!", my family went on an ACTUAL vacation this summer. It's been...what, 10 years?
THE PART ABOUT THE NOT-AS-LAME-AS-EXPECTED VACATION
It was about an 8-day vacation in the Canadian Rockies. It was an active, somewhat relaxing trip. Most days were spent hiking. I'm not a big fan of it, and I wasn't actually looking forward to the trip beforehand, but it turned out to be okay. Plus, the outdoor activity helps to justify my excessive eating habits at home. The highlight of my trip was probably going whitewater rafting for the first time with my dad, brother, and cousin. For those of you familiar with the grading system of rapids, we went on a level 2/3. It was fun, but we all conceded that next time we'd have to go with a higher grading to up the excitement. As for the rest of the trip, we spent most days hiking mountains and exploring lake areas. It's amazing how the highway is just filled with trees and mountains--not a building in sight, so it was quite a shock when we got back to the GTA. Still, I've never been much of a landscape person, so after a few drives and hikes everything really starts to look the same.
THE PART ABOUT DRIVING
Also, I've finally gotten around to booking my G test. I planned to do it the weekend of the first week back to school, but I stupidly booked it for the Monday thinking Sept 19 was a Sunday. No idea what calendar I was looking at... Ugh, and missing an entire day in the second week of classes--GREAT start to the term. It's a real pain, and I'm not sure I even know anyone in those classes to get notes off of, but I really just want to get my stupid G out of the way before it expires. -_-" Live and learn--for me, both have been quite painful.
THE PART ABOUT THE MINI NIAGARA TRIP
In the past few days, I've also been in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area on a mini-trip with some of my family. It was another active/semi-relaxing trip with biking and hiking all over again. My aunt made some nice pasta. My favourite part of the dish was the arugula and basil that she topped it with. It tastes amazingggg to have the fresh ingredients on an otherwise slightly-above-average pasta. I highly recommend it!
THE PART ABOUT SCHOOL STUFF
As for school, I'm dreading it. If you didn't know, I just switched out of the Science and Business program into Biomedical Sciences this past winter, so I'm scrambling to obtain all the graduation requirements. Plus, it would be nice to finish school when I'm supposed to (vs. 1 year later because of the co-op program I was previously in). Unfortunately, all this amounts to me taking 4 consecutive school terms with only a few weeks of break between each--and I'm only halfway there.
THE PART DEMONSTRATING MY TYPE A PERSONALITY
I don't really want to rant about my usual life worries because I feel like I've already over-publicized that subject. Just know they're still alive and more than well.
THE OVER-ANALYTICAL, SELF-SYMPATHIZING PART
For some reason, I feel really down these days. Not even angry or irritable anymore, but just apathetic and lethargic. I'm certain it's not depression or anything seriously medical, but I feel stuck between needing major change in my life and being too afraid to leave my comfort zone. I've thought about it, and a lot of it seems to do with the friends I have and the things I'm doing. I feel like I need to meet new people and make friends that are more compatible with me. A change of scenery. I'm not even sure whether it's me or my surroundings that are the problem, and I don't think it will be easy to change either. I don't really know what the next steps in my life are, and when my options are presented to me, it just feels so overwhelming and intimidating. I wish I had more courage, more independence. Can anyone just develop those traits if they work hard enough at it, or are some of us just stuck with what we are? What if what I am is not enough? Nobody wants to consider that alternative, so we optimistically settle with the motto that anyone can do anything if you just put your heart into it. I wonder if that's really the case.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Amish-ed A Few Things
First, I'd like to apologize for the bad puns. I just thought I should be consistent with the lame title for my previous "Amish" post. Hopefully this is the last of my posts on this subject, so you will not have to endure further excruciation...
If you've been following along with my blog for a while, you might recall that I once posted a list of reasons that make me Amish. Basically, I'm not with the times and have odd similarities with the Amish stereotype. Even though I called them my "Top 10", they were really only the ten things that I could remember while writing that post, so I've decided to continue the list here...
1. Never traveled on a boat, plane, or train completely by myself.
2. Never seen the Grammy's or Academy Awards or Oscars.
3. Not sure what the distinctions are between the items mentioned in #2.
4. I have trouble talking to people older than me, regardless of how chill or cool they are...family members are no exception, sadly.
5. Have never ordered anything online, other than course registrations (even that was with the express permission/command of my parents).
6. I am STILL afraid of looking at, nearing, and (God forbid) entering lingerie stores.
7. Although the purpose of comedy shows is to relax and have a good laugh, I find them stressful because if the jokes aren't funny, watching becomes pointless, and thus I feel forced to laugh.
8. I feel nauseated just before I have to write a test or do something nervewracking (e.g. performing something for others).
9. Bought my first real posters a couple months ago at my school's poster fair.
10. I don't have a camera of my own, and thus I do not have any awesome pictures/polaroids of me and my friends plastered all over my wall. (Instead I have reflective stick-on butterflies from Dollarama :( )
If you've been following along with my blog for a while, you might recall that I once posted a list of reasons that make me Amish. Basically, I'm not with the times and have odd similarities with the Amish stereotype. Even though I called them my "Top 10", they were really only the ten things that I could remember while writing that post, so I've decided to continue the list here...
1. Never traveled on a boat, plane, or train completely by myself.
2. Never seen the Grammy's or Academy Awards or Oscars.
3. Not sure what the distinctions are between the items mentioned in #2.
4. I have trouble talking to people older than me, regardless of how chill or cool they are...family members are no exception, sadly.
5. Have never ordered anything online, other than course registrations (even that was with the express permission/command of my parents).
6. I am STILL afraid of looking at, nearing, and (God forbid) entering lingerie stores.
7. Although the purpose of comedy shows is to relax and have a good laugh, I find them stressful because if the jokes aren't funny, watching becomes pointless, and thus I feel forced to laugh.
8. I feel nauseated just before I have to write a test or do something nervewracking (e.g. performing something for others).
9. Bought my first real posters a couple months ago at my school's poster fair.
10. I don't have a camera of my own, and thus I do not have any awesome pictures/polaroids of me and my friends plastered all over my wall. (Instead I have reflective stick-on butterflies from Dollarama :( )
Friday, July 2, 2010
A Thirst for Power
Today I spent Canada Day in Waterloo. Most of the day was unfortunately wasted away in sleep. In the evening I decided to visit my buddy John's place, and we shared food, good times, and an entertaining movie: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.
The main reason why I wanted to watch this movie is that I've read about half of the book, I'm in it (PERSEPHONE!), and most importantly...It has powers.
Before I go into the last reason, let me clarify why persephone = me. For those who didn't know, it's my middle name--and well, I gotta say, I really like the middle name that my parents have chosen for me. Not to be maliciously offensive or anything, but that's just the way I am: I dislike the usual middle names that girls take on (i.e. Elizabeth, Sarah, Michelle, Anna[optional: -mari(a/e)], or just plain Maria, etc. --you get the point). Plus, if I didn't have Persephone as my middle name, I'd just have my lame Korean name Mee-young. This supposedly means source of beauty. HAHAHAHA, SO unfitting--but Persephone, on the other hand, is the goddess of spring. I suppose it fits well enough because I was born sort of near the beginning of spring, and I could TOTALLY see myself marrying the god of the underworld/dead/evil(?), can't you?
Anyways, I vaguely recall people saying that this was a crappy movie, don't see it, etc, etc...then again people think HP is amazing, AND I have lost my faith in people long ago, so why should I care or even trust what they think anyway? I actually enjoyed it. Okay, so the acting was pretty crappy, there were some major plot holes, and the girl wasn't that pretty. On the bright side, I'm heterosexual (surprise!), and the guy was pretty darn cute; I'd definitely do--I mean date him. I was also surprised to see many big actor/actress names in the opening credits: Uma Thurman (as Medusa), Pierce Brosnan (as random person--forget the name), and Rosario Dawson (as ME!). Note: I've gotta say, the scene with Uma Thurman as Medusa was pretty hilarious, as the setting and characterization of her role eerily resembled her Batman-seducing identity as Poison Ivy.
Hold on...since when did famous actors and cute boys make a movie for me? Never...and that's where my last point comes in: POWERS!
I LOVE Powers.
Doesn't it all make a little more sense now? I mean think about it...
1. My favourite TV show is Charmed.
2. My 2nd favourite TV show, as of late, is True Blood.
3. My favourite book genre is fantasy/science fiction.
4. When I'm in a tough spot in dreams, I tend to give myself ____--you got it, powers.
+more...
As I realized when discussing the movie with a friend shortly after watching it, I really enjoy magic, superheroes, and supernatural powers because it provides an escape from life. Life is stressful, and I'm not saying this in a whiny Asian way or even in self-pity. Life IS hard for everyone equally, but that doesn't make it not hard period...I'm not sure if I'm making sense but bear with me anyway. People find their own ways with coping with hardships, using other outlets, channeling this energy for good, etc. Me? I depend on powers.
By imagining myself with powers, everything seems a little more conquerable, people a little less frightening, and challenges a little less intimidating. All of this is possible when you have a supernatural ability to fall back on whenever all else fails. I know this makes me ridiculously immature, but I acknowledge and admire those who have found the maturity and strength to actually channel the negativity from their hardships to fuel the positives. I look forward to the day when I can finally outgrow the safe haven I have built up in the mythical worlds of fantasy and magic to tackle life's challenges purely on my own strength and courage. Until then, I will continue to improve my ability to freeze time and blow up objects. ;)
The main reason why I wanted to watch this movie is that I've read about half of the book, I'm in it (PERSEPHONE!), and most importantly...It has powers.
Before I go into the last reason, let me clarify why persephone = me. For those who didn't know, it's my middle name--and well, I gotta say, I really like the middle name that my parents have chosen for me. Not to be maliciously offensive or anything, but that's just the way I am: I dislike the usual middle names that girls take on (i.e. Elizabeth, Sarah, Michelle, Anna[optional: -mari(a/e)], or just plain Maria, etc. --you get the point). Plus, if I didn't have Persephone as my middle name, I'd just have my lame Korean name Mee-young. This supposedly means source of beauty. HAHAHAHA, SO unfitting--but Persephone, on the other hand, is the goddess of spring. I suppose it fits well enough because I was born sort of near the beginning of spring, and I could TOTALLY see myself marrying the god of the underworld/dead/evil(?), can't you?
Anyways, I vaguely recall people saying that this was a crappy movie, don't see it, etc, etc...then again people think HP is amazing, AND I have lost my faith in people long ago, so why should I care or even trust what they think anyway? I actually enjoyed it. Okay, so the acting was pretty crappy, there were some major plot holes, and the girl wasn't that pretty. On the bright side, I'm heterosexual (surprise!), and the guy was pretty darn cute; I'd definitely do--I mean date him. I was also surprised to see many big actor/actress names in the opening credits: Uma Thurman (as Medusa), Pierce Brosnan (as random person--forget the name), and Rosario Dawson (as ME!). Note: I've gotta say, the scene with Uma Thurman as Medusa was pretty hilarious, as the setting and characterization of her role eerily resembled her Batman-seducing identity as Poison Ivy.
Hold on...since when did famous actors and cute boys make a movie for me? Never...and that's where my last point comes in: POWERS!
I LOVE Powers.
Doesn't it all make a little more sense now? I mean think about it...
1. My favourite TV show is Charmed.
2. My 2nd favourite TV show, as of late, is True Blood.
3. My favourite book genre is fantasy/science fiction.
4. When I'm in a tough spot in dreams, I tend to give myself ____--you got it, powers.
+more...
As I realized when discussing the movie with a friend shortly after watching it, I really enjoy magic, superheroes, and supernatural powers because it provides an escape from life. Life is stressful, and I'm not saying this in a whiny Asian way or even in self-pity. Life IS hard for everyone equally, but that doesn't make it not hard period...I'm not sure if I'm making sense but bear with me anyway. People find their own ways with coping with hardships, using other outlets, channeling this energy for good, etc. Me? I depend on powers.
By imagining myself with powers, everything seems a little more conquerable, people a little less frightening, and challenges a little less intimidating. All of this is possible when you have a supernatural ability to fall back on whenever all else fails. I know this makes me ridiculously immature, but I acknowledge and admire those who have found the maturity and strength to actually channel the negativity from their hardships to fuel the positives. I look forward to the day when I can finally outgrow the safe haven I have built up in the mythical worlds of fantasy and magic to tackle life's challenges purely on my own strength and courage. Until then, I will continue to improve my ability to freeze time and blow up objects. ;)
Monday, May 10, 2010
The Latest...in FOOD
So, this post is uncharacteristically short. Mainly because I'm trying to compensate for my previous "double post", and I'm feeling a bit guilty about neglecting my work yet again. Omg, and I even decided to spare unfortunate readers a bit of pain by adding...*GASP visuals.
Wellll, I suppose it's a bit redundant to state it, but I will anyway: CHRISTIE + FOOD = LOVE
I don't just mean a widespread player-like love, but I have certainly enjoyed my share of short and long term relationships (i.e. food fads).
The oldest fad I can remember is good 'ol Cesar salad. Of course, this is the notorious pedophilic vegetable that has managed to be the only vegetable in the hearts of young children. It may be the crisp croutons, the juicy bacon bits, or perhaps the classic Cesar dressing itself. Whatever it is, children cannot avoid being drawn in by its irresistible promises and charm, myself included. Some days, we would go at it--4 or even 5 consecutive servings. I know, I was such a hoe from such a young age (i.e. 10-12).
Years after my puppy l
ove with cesar salad, I met couscous. SOOO GOOD! It's basically a pasta type that is in the form of tiny rice-like granules. It's of Mediterranean origin, I believe--one of my favourite food cultures! YUM. I ate so much couscous for about a month until I got sick of it. I still love it, but I don't think we will ever feel the same about each other again.
I shortly rebounded to sundried tomatoes. YUMYUMYUM!!!!!! Our eyes first met through delicious Italian cuisine, namely my favourite Italian restaurant in Toronto: Terroni's ^-^ We did it everywhere--on crackers, with bread, top(ping)less--you name it, we did it. ;)
You may be interested to hear this scandalous bit of information. I actually started my next relationship midway through the previous one...oops? Can you blame me? Things just sorta...happened while the sun-dried tomatoes sort of lost my interest. The flirting began and what do you know, sparks were flying everywhere. Enter: THE JALAPENO PEPPERS. I'm not even lying, this is an exact picture of the jar I was involved with. I devoured it with pasta, bread, and topless once again.
After a few months of this infatuation, we had a terrible breakup. I don't think I can really touch or even look at him again. From time to time, I'll help myself to a little nibble or enjoy his flavour in a subtler form, but we both know things can never return to the way they once were.
This next little bugger has proven to be a real tease with serious commitment issues. I was first drawn to its pleasing black appearance (right), but when I tasted its distinctive, flavourful inside, I knew I was in love. Little did I know, he didn't really reciprocate those feelings. I was instead passed onto his more envious cousin (below). We had a thing for a few months, and from time to time I would revert between the two. I guess you could say I was a bit of a player--and now? Well, lets just say we're a messed up triangle of friends who offer each other favours/benefits under the table from time to time...I don't think I can really complain, for that would just be plain ungrateful.
After a long history of ups and downs, I have certainly experienced a wide variety of tastes. Even after such a journey, I am still in search of that ONE flavour for me that will love me in sickness, in health, and even beyond death. Until then, let me introduce you to my latest sweetheart. I like to call him "Eggy". Isn't he just the cutest?
Wellll, I suppose it's a bit redundant to state it, but I will anyway: CHRISTIE + FOOD = LOVE
I don't just mean a widespread player-like love, but I have certainly enjoyed my share of short and long term relationships (i.e. food fads).
The oldest fad I can remember is good 'ol Cesar salad. Of course, this is the notorious pedophilic vegetable that has managed to be the only vegetable in the hearts of young children. It may be the crisp croutons, the juicy bacon bits, or perhaps the classic Cesar dressing itself. Whatever it is, children cannot avoid being drawn in by its irresistible promises and charm, myself included. Some days, we would go at it--4 or even 5 consecutive servings. I know, I was such a hoe from such a young age (i.e. 10-12).
Years after my puppy l
ove with cesar salad, I met couscous. SOOO GOOD! It's basically a pasta type that is in the form of tiny rice-like granules. It's of Mediterranean origin, I believe--one of my favourite food cultures! YUM. I ate so much couscous for about a month until I got sick of it. I still love it, but I don't think we will ever feel the same about each other again.
I shortly rebounded to sundried tomatoes. YUMYUMYUM!!!!!! Our eyes first met through delicious Italian cuisine, namely my favourite Italian restaurant in Toronto: Terroni's ^-^ We did it everywhere--on crackers, with bread, top(ping)less--you name it, we did it. ;)
You may be interested to hear this scandalous bit of information. I actually started my next relationship midway through the previous one...oops? Can you blame me? Things just sorta...happened while the sun-dried tomatoes sort of lost my interest. The flirting began and what do you know, sparks were flying everywhere. Enter: THE JALAPENO PEPPERS. I'm not even lying, this is an exact picture of the jar I was involved with. I devoured it with pasta, bread, and topless once again.
After a few months of this infatuation, we had a terrible breakup. I don't think I can really touch or even look at him again. From time to time, I'll help myself to a little nibble or enjoy his flavour in a subtler form, but we both know things can never return to the way they once were.
This next little bugger has proven to be a real tease with serious commitment issues. I was first drawn to its pleasing black appearance (right), but when I tasted its distinctive, flavourful inside, I knew I was in love. Little did I know, he didn't really reciprocate those feelings. I was instead passed onto his more envious cousin (below). We had a thing for a few months, and from time to time I would revert between the two. I guess you could say I was a bit of a player--and now? Well, lets just say we're a messed up triangle of friends who offer each other favours/benefits under the table from time to time...I don't think I can really complain, for that would just be plain ungrateful.
After a long history of ups and downs, I have certainly experienced a wide variety of tastes. Even after such a journey, I am still in search of that ONE flavour for me that will love me in sickness, in health, and even beyond death. Until then, let me introduce you to my latest sweetheart. I like to call him "Eggy". Isn't he just the cutest?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
EUCHREKA--wait, wha?
Soo...I started off my entire blog trying to keep everything cohesive, and logical by using fonts styles/colours in a reasonable order (i.e. the RAINBOW), but I realize the aesthetics of my posts are just as instrumental in getting out my emotions as the content--in fact, considering how much I just blab about nothing with a bunch of redundant, unnecessarily extraneous, essentially, even irritatingly, quite possibly meaningless, and incredibly lengthy adjectives, I should try to keep things shorter.
For a refreshing change, I'll stop sharing my unfounded opinions, and just update my remaining few friends on how I am. On several occasions, my close friend Randall has complained that whenever asked "how are you?" or the chic-er version "sup", I always give a crappy, non-descript answer, which frustrates him. Consequently, not really being a fan of the lame-o statement we have come to know as the apology, I've decided to speak louder through the action of posting an update of what I've been up to in this post.
Let me reiterate pokemon #... 152.5, I believe? That's right, iPwn mew.
Pokemon: Christiemon
Status: Poisoned--food poisoning...from a stupid sausage dish that I made myself, to be exact. MAN! This makes me so mad because I actually stopped voluntarily eating sausages about a year ago, but NOOOoooo, my friend John has to say "Sausages are so cheap! I guess you're so filthy rich you don't need to worry about money..." So obviously, being a weak-minded 19 year old, starved hobo, I bought sausages and caved to this pressure from peer John. But anyways...I have had food poisoning for the past few days because I refuse to throw up. Summing up all the juicy details, I have been going to the washroom a lot and I haven't been eating or sleeping much.
Health: If you had the most updated version of Pokemon, my health bar would currently be reddish-orange, if they have the health bar...not sure.
Mood: Tired. Tired. Tired. HHHHHHYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPEEEEERRRRR! Imeanlikewhowouldn'tbewhentheweatherissooooooooofriggennice! In addition to the fact, that I've been feeding my euchre addiction every night. Psh, who needs Zz's? They're the last letter of the alphabet for a reason. Ohandiforgottomentionthefactthatiwenttoalightsconcertonfriday--with my soulmate, nonetheless. $10. ^-^V Konnichiwa (dunno how to spell...). We ALMOST went on my first pub crawl. Yeah, you know you're sad when you don't have the will power or determination to seek out a bar. Essentially, you have proven that nothing in life can possibly motivate you.
Secret Ability: Epiphany. Yeah, I never mentioned this one before. Hence s-e-c-r-e-t. Who knew I could pwn mew AND be like one of the unknowns (p.s. apologies for the spelling...I have a feeling it's one of those pun pokemon names with a diff spelling than boring social convention). So recently, once I had charged up enough PP to use this ability, I discovered why I am "nocturnal". This revelation came about through a number of observations actually:
1. I am taking forever to complete my silly little PD 2 report.
2. I haven't been keeping on top of my courses and activities because I am addicted to euchre.
3. I'm too lazy to make myself dinner...been eating out a lot lately...:( Sausage situation surely sdoesn't support sthis.
So what did I determine? WELL...I don't think I'm actually a night person. I'm just INCREDIBLY lazy---well maybe it's credible for some of you. Basically, the reason why I sleep in is because I'm too lazy to get up. The reason why I don't sleep is because I'm too lazy to sleep. I don't know how that's possible, but I have done it...achieved the impossible.
I suspect my laziness comes from years of working hard and being a diligent, parentally-obedient little Asian. You just get tired of doing the "good" thing all the time. Grade 11 and prior, I hardly went out with my friends, never partied, never had alcohol without my parents present, never had cable TV, and my parents would cut the Internet whenever they wanted. Grade 12 rolls along, and I stop wanting to do my work, cut back on just studying the bare essentials, look for fun things to do...and here I am. Poor grades. Poor health. Poor habits. Poor cooking. Poor social skills. Rich in problems.
Anyways, I guess I ranted enough for one post/essay. Time to go do one of the few things I still enjoy: Play clarinet in the uni orchestra :)
P.S. I can get you free tickets if you're interested in seeing our concert. I forget what day it is, but look us up on the UW website. I'm too lazy to link you, sorry.
For a refreshing change, I'll stop sharing my unfounded opinions, and just update my remaining few friends on how I am. On several occasions, my close friend Randall has complained that whenever asked "how are you?" or the chic-er version "sup", I always give a crappy, non-descript answer, which frustrates him. Consequently, not really being a fan of the lame-o statement we have come to know as the apology, I've decided to speak louder through the action of posting an update of what I've been up to in this post.
Let me reiterate pokemon #... 152.5, I believe? That's right, iPwn mew.
Pokemon: Christiemon
Status: Poisoned--food poisoning...from a stupid sausage dish that I made myself, to be exact. MAN! This makes me so mad because I actually stopped voluntarily eating sausages about a year ago, but NOOOoooo, my friend John has to say "Sausages are so cheap! I guess you're so filthy rich you don't need to worry about money..." So obviously, being a weak-minded 19 year old, starved hobo, I bought sausages and caved to this pressure from peer John. But anyways...I have had food poisoning for the past few days because I refuse to throw up. Summing up all the juicy details, I have been going to the washroom a lot and I haven't been eating or sleeping much.
Health: If you had the most updated version of Pokemon, my health bar would currently be reddish-orange, if they have the health bar...not sure.
Mood: Tired. Tired. Tired. HHHHHHYYYYYYYPPPPPPPPEEEEERRRRR! Imeanlikewhowouldn'tbewhentheweatherissooooooooofriggennice! In addition to the fact, that I've been feeding my euchre addiction every night. Psh, who needs Zz's? They're the last letter of the alphabet for a reason. Ohandiforgottomentionthefactthatiwenttoalightsconcertonfriday--with my soulmate, nonetheless. $10. ^-^V Konnichiwa (dunno how to spell...). We ALMOST went on my first pub crawl. Yeah, you know you're sad when you don't have the will power or determination to seek out a bar. Essentially, you have proven that nothing in life can possibly motivate you.
Secret Ability: Epiphany. Yeah, I never mentioned this one before. Hence s-e-c-r-e-t. Who knew I could pwn mew AND be like one of the unknowns (p.s. apologies for the spelling...I have a feeling it's one of those pun pokemon names with a diff spelling than boring social convention). So recently, once I had charged up enough PP to use this ability, I discovered why I am "nocturnal". This revelation came about through a number of observations actually:
1. I am taking forever to complete my silly little PD 2 report.
2. I haven't been keeping on top of my courses and activities because I am addicted to euchre.
3. I'm too lazy to make myself dinner...been eating out a lot lately...:( Sausage situation surely sdoesn't support sthis.
So what did I determine? WELL...I don't think I'm actually a night person. I'm just INCREDIBLY lazy---well maybe it's credible for some of you. Basically, the reason why I sleep in is because I'm too lazy to get up. The reason why I don't sleep is because I'm too lazy to sleep. I don't know how that's possible, but I have done it...achieved the impossible.
I suspect my laziness comes from years of working hard and being a diligent, parentally-obedient little Asian. You just get tired of doing the "good" thing all the time. Grade 11 and prior, I hardly went out with my friends, never partied, never had alcohol without my parents present, never had cable TV, and my parents would cut the Internet whenever they wanted. Grade 12 rolls along, and I stop wanting to do my work, cut back on just studying the bare essentials, look for fun things to do...and here I am. Poor grades. Poor health. Poor habits. Poor cooking. Poor social skills. Rich in problems.
Anyways, I guess I ranted enough for one post/essay. Time to go do one of the few things I still enjoy: Play clarinet in the uni orchestra :)
P.S. I can get you free tickets if you're interested in seeing our concert. I forget what day it is, but look us up on the UW website. I'm too lazy to link you, sorry.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
It's a new day, But it all feels old
So today's a Saturday. I think my favourite part of university life is actually exam period. It's so peaceful and you can be all flexible with how you spend your time. As long as you don't have a killer exam schedule, it's pretty nice. =)
Right now I'm taking a short break from studying physics. It feels great to blog again! From a very young age, I was always interested in keeping a written diary that I hoped to update regularly. Unfortunately most of those ended up being filled with profanities when I recorded a heated entry or other people's secrets that I had nowhere else to divulge them to...and my brother would always find these and try to read them. In fact, that happened with my previous diary...and I ended up grabbing it from him, ripping out the most secretive pages and threw the whole book into the huge garbage dump on our driveway (this was used to dispose of our renovation debris).
But anyways, I guess the longstanding reason why I ever decided to keep entries of my life was to monitor how I've changed. Not only through my handwriting and writing style, but also my outlook on life, opinions, and interests. I remember once when I was little, I also tried to start a sheet of paper that I got my brother, myself, and my two cousins to sign. I wanted us to sign it every year to see how our handwriting matured, but I don't know that that paper lasted even one day without being thrown out.
All in all I suppose online "diary keeping" is somewhat a compromise. It can't be destroyed as easily, but I can't just write about anything that comes to or is locked away in my mind. On the bright side, sometimes I can get people's opinions on what I blog about, and they can, in turn, get to know more about me. I guess I can really understand why so many people are drawn to studying psychology or the more mystical social sciences involving the brain. Personally, I love figuring out why people do things or what their real motivations are. Hence, whenever people comment on my blog and I already have an idea of what they're like in real life, it's interesting to see whether their response is typical of my prior opinion of their views or maybe I will have learned something new about them. Also, whenever I hear a secret or some undisclosed information about someone, I find it fascinating to observe how they act when the conversation approaches that topic. I guess you could say I'm a people person--just not a sociable people person.
Right now I'm taking a short break from studying physics. It feels great to blog again! From a very young age, I was always interested in keeping a written diary that I hoped to update regularly. Unfortunately most of those ended up being filled with profanities when I recorded a heated entry or other people's secrets that I had nowhere else to divulge them to...and my brother would always find these and try to read them. In fact, that happened with my previous diary...and I ended up grabbing it from him, ripping out the most secretive pages and threw the whole book into the huge garbage dump on our driveway (this was used to dispose of our renovation debris).
But anyways, I guess the longstanding reason why I ever decided to keep entries of my life was to monitor how I've changed. Not only through my handwriting and writing style, but also my outlook on life, opinions, and interests. I remember once when I was little, I also tried to start a sheet of paper that I got my brother, myself, and my two cousins to sign. I wanted us to sign it every year to see how our handwriting matured, but I don't know that that paper lasted even one day without being thrown out.
All in all I suppose online "diary keeping" is somewhat a compromise. It can't be destroyed as easily, but I can't just write about anything that comes to or is locked away in my mind. On the bright side, sometimes I can get people's opinions on what I blog about, and they can, in turn, get to know more about me. I guess I can really understand why so many people are drawn to studying psychology or the more mystical social sciences involving the brain. Personally, I love figuring out why people do things or what their real motivations are. Hence, whenever people comment on my blog and I already have an idea of what they're like in real life, it's interesting to see whether their response is typical of my prior opinion of their views or maybe I will have learned something new about them. Also, whenever I hear a secret or some undisclosed information about someone, I find it fascinating to observe how they act when the conversation approaches that topic. I guess you could say I'm a people person--just not a sociable people person.
Confessions of a Desperately Shy Interviewee
Whether you care or not does not cause me to care. I stopped posting for a while because someone who I respect felt my posting was directly criticizing them. Although I had no intention of the sort, respect forces you to do things outside of your will and logical reasoning. Being an immature, unempathetic individual, I have decided to post again to potentially gain some personal gratification. Just getting my thoughts out here in this pretty font makes me feel...satisfied somehow. I guess a lot of this has to do with the narcissistic pleasure of narrating one's own life (me?, not so much a protagonist...more an anti protagonist)--not to mention the mesmerizing clicking of the keyboard. :)
Sitting here in a rather melancholy, non-medically depressed state shifts my thoughts towards "bigger questions" like what is the meaning of life? EXCEPT...for me I tend to ask what is the meaning of me? Other people seem to be doing well in life, so the real question lies within myself. Being actively involved in the job search process for my first co-op term has forced me to evaluate what I hope to get out of life as well as my own strengths, skills, weaknesses, potential, and long term goals.
First round seemed okay. I didn't know what to expect, but my friend Alex gave me a rough idea of how the pre-interview sign in process worked. Other than that I was told to be confident, interested, and honest. I typically went in knowing a bit about the company and why I was generally interested in that job, and I went with the flow, assuming I knew myself well enough. At the time, I didn't realize that answers are (apparently) better long than short, so alarm bells didn't go off whenever 30 minute interviews ended in 15 minutes or 1 hr long interviews ended in 20. I ended up with 7 rankings out of 10 interviews, no offers or resulting matches. I was a little saddened but not overly concerned. Friends, as obligated, assured me there were plenty of opportunities to come in second round; so second round I awaited.
This round goes pretty fast, so I've sort of lost track of all the interviews I've had and their respective ranking results. I don't know if it had to do with the jobs that I was getting interviewed for (marketing, sales), but by this point I felt like I didn't actually have anything to offer companies. To compensate for the waning sense of motivation, I attempted to put in a little more effort to prepare main points for standard interview questions as well as familiarizing myself with the company and (making an attempt at) identifying what attracted me to it initially. I could feel the desperation settling in when I went into a Sales Associate interview for Target Directories and the interviewer asked me to SELL HIM SOMETHING. I don't really know what I drank or ate prior to that interview, but I changed into this entirely energetic and perky person who was going on and on about winter jackets (i.e. telling him he had a need for the product, outlining its specs, bringing up great seasonal deals, and customizability of the product). It was great--just not great enough. For me, that interview was probably the pinnacle of my desperate interviewing attempts a.k.a. personal humiliation. Mainly because I felt I had to put on a mask to sell myself at the interview and act like the kind of people I don't personally admire...all this for a job I didn't really want.
Another great thing I've gotta love about co-op is the interviews where you feel great about your performance, yet the results just don't come through for you--it's a cruel tease, I tell you. For Copernicus Educational Products' Junior Account Manager, I hassled many of my friends for more tips and feedback on my general approach to the interview. Thus I had good reason to go into that one confidently and wholly convinced that this was the job for me. It went really well. I gave full, intoned answers to all the questions, and I truly felt confident. The interviewer and I even made a slight connection through our interest in music. I had a strong connection with Classical music training, and she was into vocals, piano, and guitar. We even talked a bit about the small band she used to be in. If I had gotten that job, there may have been the potential for a social connection beyond the typical employer-co-op student one. We could have been more, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be...but what's that saying--no homo?
I guess the last situation I wanted to mention was my most recent phone interview with Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. For the first time in a long time, since first round, I was genuinely interested in this position of working in the R&D department of this upcoming biotechnology company. My friend Luke helped me practice my phone interviewing skills a week prior, adding 30 minutes to my dreadfully expensive phone bill, but I think it was pretty helpful. We haven't conversed much on the phone, so it was interesting to get fresh feedback on my voice, intonation, and answers because my friend Sandra and I couldn't figure out why I was failing so many interviews so miserably. I discovered that when I got nervous, I tended to say umm a lot and was advised to pause longer before answering and vary my tone in the interest of the listening interviewer. I did my very best to incorporate these tips into my interviews by practicing with my housemate, on my own, and writing notes to myself on a paper during the interview.
Amorfix was coming out with a new epitope-based technology for treating neurodegenerative disease.
Boring Biology Stuff Here...Skip at your leisure.
Basically, a big issue is to attack the Aggregate Misfolded Proteins that are leading up to these diseases without harming normal protein. With Amorfix chemical agents, the epitope markers on normal cells are altered so that only AMPs can be detected.
Having analyzed numerous companies' technologies similar to this one, I found this opportunity to get firsthand involvement extremely enticing! When I actually did the interview, she asked me a few technical questions, which were pretty simple to answer. I thought my soft skill answers were weaker, as usual, but I left satisfied that I gave my best effort.
THE SAME DAY...
I ended up with a ranking...and the next day a successful employment match! I'm really excited to start my new work term. My interviewer even mentioned the opportunity to expand into other R&D projects. It is going to be a challenging but engaging work term! =)
THE END.
...
...
Sorry what? Was I dreaming again? Let me rewind a bit.
I actually was dreaming. I dreamt that I got the job on jobmine, which helped me to surprisingly wake up from only 6 hours of sleep. Lo and behold, when I checked, I eerily got the job. At first I was slightly creeped out by my dream. Honestly, the chances of me getting a job? No...it's not real--it can't be, after all these weeks of intense job searching????!!!! I ran up to my housemate's room and made her look over my information too, and got her to respond independently of what I thought was my dream world. It seemed legit. A few hours of blissful studying, a halved burden of stress, and surprisingly productive group studying with my housemate left me content for a few hours. I had eagerly emailed my supervisor to confirm details and reassured my parents I had not totally wasted their money on my education. Only a few hours later, my field coordinator calls me on my cell phone. To notify me. That the company made a mistake. In their rankings. And they had to. (VERBATIM) Rescind your offer.
I guess I can just look back on this as a huge learning experience filled with suspenseful twists and turns. I also obtained some insight into myself and how I fit into society. People always ask me what I want. As a self-proclaimed realist, does it really matter? Interviews have further confirmed this. In the end, it doesn't matter what you want, only what you're good at. In this aspect, I believe I am on the right track in life. I am doing what I have the most potential for--a mechanical science career with supporting business background.
It's probably safe to say that I did close to 20 interviews. Understandably, you're saying wow you have a lot of experience. What did you learn? Simple. I learned the co-op program is not really for me. I'm introverted, "overly realistic", and driven by the desire to experience any kind of success, without having any specific inclination or interest in a particular field. Employers don't want me. If I was an employer, I wouldn't want me. I also learned about myself that all I really want is to feel special or useful to someone or some company someday. Preferrably not as some kind of sexual slave or maid, but whatever life serves me I guess I will have to settle for.
Currently, I'm going to persist in trying to find a job up to the last minute, but even if I manage to find a job, it is unlikely to be one that I want and I will have to experience this plaguing process every work term to come. We shall have to see what happens, after all I'm sure my parents are looking to see some sort of investment return on the $500 co-op fee.
Overall, it's been a rough term having co-op. Surprisingly, it sneaked up on me and became my hardest "course", but it's all good. Honestly, thanks to the fact that my near-employment experience all started off with a dream, the full impact of this "cherishable" experience is not hitting me all at once. Sometimes my estrogenic weakness provokes some ocular irrigation, but I'm determined to suck it up and be a man/beast. =) After all I have a reputation to uphold amongst my friends.
Sitting here in a rather melancholy, non-medically depressed state shifts my thoughts towards "bigger questions" like what is the meaning of life? EXCEPT...for me I tend to ask what is the meaning of me? Other people seem to be doing well in life, so the real question lies within myself. Being actively involved in the job search process for my first co-op term has forced me to evaluate what I hope to get out of life as well as my own strengths, skills, weaknesses, potential, and long term goals.
First round seemed okay. I didn't know what to expect, but my friend Alex gave me a rough idea of how the pre-interview sign in process worked. Other than that I was told to be confident, interested, and honest. I typically went in knowing a bit about the company and why I was generally interested in that job, and I went with the flow, assuming I knew myself well enough. At the time, I didn't realize that answers are (apparently) better long than short, so alarm bells didn't go off whenever 30 minute interviews ended in 15 minutes or 1 hr long interviews ended in 20. I ended up with 7 rankings out of 10 interviews, no offers or resulting matches. I was a little saddened but not overly concerned. Friends, as obligated, assured me there were plenty of opportunities to come in second round; so second round I awaited.
This round goes pretty fast, so I've sort of lost track of all the interviews I've had and their respective ranking results. I don't know if it had to do with the jobs that I was getting interviewed for (marketing, sales), but by this point I felt like I didn't actually have anything to offer companies. To compensate for the waning sense of motivation, I attempted to put in a little more effort to prepare main points for standard interview questions as well as familiarizing myself with the company and (making an attempt at) identifying what attracted me to it initially. I could feel the desperation settling in when I went into a Sales Associate interview for Target Directories and the interviewer asked me to SELL HIM SOMETHING. I don't really know what I drank or ate prior to that interview, but I changed into this entirely energetic and perky person who was going on and on about winter jackets (i.e. telling him he had a need for the product, outlining its specs, bringing up great seasonal deals, and customizability of the product). It was great--just not great enough. For me, that interview was probably the pinnacle of my desperate interviewing attempts a.k.a. personal humiliation. Mainly because I felt I had to put on a mask to sell myself at the interview and act like the kind of people I don't personally admire...all this for a job I didn't really want.
Another great thing I've gotta love about co-op is the interviews where you feel great about your performance, yet the results just don't come through for you--it's a cruel tease, I tell you. For Copernicus Educational Products' Junior Account Manager, I hassled many of my friends for more tips and feedback on my general approach to the interview. Thus I had good reason to go into that one confidently and wholly convinced that this was the job for me. It went really well. I gave full, intoned answers to all the questions, and I truly felt confident. The interviewer and I even made a slight connection through our interest in music. I had a strong connection with Classical music training, and she was into vocals, piano, and guitar. We even talked a bit about the small band she used to be in. If I had gotten that job, there may have been the potential for a social connection beyond the typical employer-co-op student one. We could have been more, but I guess it just wasn't meant to be...but what's that saying--no homo?
I guess the last situation I wanted to mention was my most recent phone interview with Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. For the first time in a long time, since first round, I was genuinely interested in this position of working in the R&D department of this upcoming biotechnology company. My friend Luke helped me practice my phone interviewing skills a week prior, adding 30 minutes to my dreadfully expensive phone bill, but I think it was pretty helpful. We haven't conversed much on the phone, so it was interesting to get fresh feedback on my voice, intonation, and answers because my friend Sandra and I couldn't figure out why I was failing so many interviews so miserably. I discovered that when I got nervous, I tended to say umm a lot and was advised to pause longer before answering and vary my tone in the interest of the listening interviewer. I did my very best to incorporate these tips into my interviews by practicing with my housemate, on my own, and writing notes to myself on a paper during the interview.
Amorfix was coming out with a new epitope-based technology for treating neurodegenerative disease.
Boring Biology Stuff Here...Skip at your leisure.
Basically, a big issue is to attack the Aggregate Misfolded Proteins that are leading up to these diseases without harming normal protein. With Amorfix chemical agents, the epitope markers on normal cells are altered so that only AMPs can be detected.
Having analyzed numerous companies' technologies similar to this one, I found this opportunity to get firsthand involvement extremely enticing! When I actually did the interview, she asked me a few technical questions, which were pretty simple to answer. I thought my soft skill answers were weaker, as usual, but I left satisfied that I gave my best effort.
THE SAME DAY...
I ended up with a ranking...and the next day a successful employment match! I'm really excited to start my new work term. My interviewer even mentioned the opportunity to expand into other R&D projects. It is going to be a challenging but engaging work term! =)
THE END.
...
...
Sorry what? Was I dreaming again? Let me rewind a bit.
I actually was dreaming. I dreamt that I got the job on jobmine, which helped me to surprisingly wake up from only 6 hours of sleep. Lo and behold, when I checked, I eerily got the job. At first I was slightly creeped out by my dream. Honestly, the chances of me getting a job? No...it's not real--it can't be, after all these weeks of intense job searching????!!!! I ran up to my housemate's room and made her look over my information too, and got her to respond independently of what I thought was my dream world. It seemed legit. A few hours of blissful studying, a halved burden of stress, and surprisingly productive group studying with my housemate left me content for a few hours. I had eagerly emailed my supervisor to confirm details and reassured my parents I had not totally wasted their money on my education. Only a few hours later, my field coordinator calls me on my cell phone. To notify me. That the company made a mistake. In their rankings. And they had to. (VERBATIM) Rescind your offer.
I guess I can just look back on this as a huge learning experience filled with suspenseful twists and turns. I also obtained some insight into myself and how I fit into society. People always ask me what I want. As a self-proclaimed realist, does it really matter? Interviews have further confirmed this. In the end, it doesn't matter what you want, only what you're good at. In this aspect, I believe I am on the right track in life. I am doing what I have the most potential for--a mechanical science career with supporting business background.
It's probably safe to say that I did close to 20 interviews. Understandably, you're saying wow you have a lot of experience. What did you learn? Simple. I learned the co-op program is not really for me. I'm introverted, "overly realistic", and driven by the desire to experience any kind of success, without having any specific inclination or interest in a particular field. Employers don't want me. If I was an employer, I wouldn't want me. I also learned about myself that all I really want is to feel special or useful to someone or some company someday. Preferrably not as some kind of sexual slave or maid, but whatever life serves me I guess I will have to settle for.
Currently, I'm going to persist in trying to find a job up to the last minute, but even if I manage to find a job, it is unlikely to be one that I want and I will have to experience this plaguing process every work term to come. We shall have to see what happens, after all I'm sure my parents are looking to see some sort of investment return on the $500 co-op fee.
Overall, it's been a rough term having co-op. Surprisingly, it sneaked up on me and became my hardest "course", but it's all good. Honestly, thanks to the fact that my near-employment experience all started off with a dream, the full impact of this "cherishable" experience is not hitting me all at once. Sometimes my estrogenic weakness provokes some ocular irrigation, but I'm determined to suck it up and be a man/beast. =) After all I have a reputation to uphold amongst my friends.
Friday, October 2, 2009
What's the secret password?
Just to make the topic of this post clearer...
Club: a group of persons organized for a social, literary, athletic, political, or other purpose; an organization that offers its subscribers certain benefits, as discounts, bonuses, or interest, in return for regular purchases or payments
All my life, I've never really been much of a club person, other than the time my cousin and I set up a little clubhouse in her old van to plays cards and keep random thingamajigs in. I suppose this has something to do with my introverted personality and reluctance to meet new people. In fact, I have a reluctance to get involved with anything new or outside of my regular routine, but that's a post for another day.
For some reason, I just can't ignore this haunting scenario of me standing awkwardly in the corner while everyone is socializing and engaging in intelligent conversation. I am horrible at just MAKING conversation. IN FACT, this scenario is very much like my situation when I was in the UW Euchre club in the fall term of last year. I made one friend, and she was the only one that I felt brave enough to talk to because everyone seemed to know each other and have different favoured topics of discussion and interests from myself--and yet I still went because I just love euchre that much -_-" . The rest of the time, I felt awkward and out of place because everyone seemed to know each other pretty well, they have similar interests to discuss, and I didn't feel like I had anything useful to contribute to the discussions, other than "pass" or "spades, going alone". Again, my lack of conversational skills relates to my being out of touch with the world, a big part of which I will blame on the absence of cable in my house.
Throughout elementary school, high school, and even my first year of university, I always heard about clubs being advertised and all sorts of announcements for general meetings, but I never seriously considered joining any of them. I always found some excuse or other not to join whether I supported their goals or not. For some reason, I felt they were a waste of time because they were student-run. I thought, what could you possibly learn from other students in a club that you couldn't learn on your own? Besides, I can talk to most of these people in any of my classes. Only until this year did I even start to realize the importance of joining clubs.
To be honest, elementary and high school clubs are not so much a big deal. They are pretty closely monitored by teachers, and they hardly benefit society on a bigger scale. Yeah, I know, if everyone does a little, it becomes a lot--just like litter--but for the sake of this post lets separate theory from practice.
Side Note: an interesting thing my AFM prof said in class a few weeks ago, "In theory, theory is practice, but in practice it's not." Something about quotes, which use a few words repetitively yet succinctly, appeals to me.
Since I never really joined any clubs, I can only share my impressions of the responsibilities that the "execs" of these kinds of clubs have. As usual, feel free to express your utter outrage and disappointment in my opinions, minus the profanities please. So yeah, it seemed like these execs mainly collected money, took attendance, or announced dates of events--simple errands that my elementary school teachers would often select random volunteers to do. So how many skills or qualifications does it really take?
Back to secondary school clubs and earlier, the real value in joining them is to gain what I'd like to call "resume experience" for university clubs. "Resume experience" is basically when you hold a position or participate in something that doesn't really develop either your soft or technical skills, but on paper, the job title or tasks sound more significant than they really are. Really, you're just killing another inch of a tree trunk. Anyways, the point of filling up your resume with a bunch of elementary and high school experience is to make yourself LOOK more prepared than your peers when you enter university. When you enter university, the meaning of a club is a whole new story.
1. Networking
As much as I HATE this concept, it is sadly one of the keys to being successful in life. Yes, that also means suckups will rule the world (but this doesn't mean you can't still hate them ;) ). In university, you pretty much get scared into joining clubs because it's difficult to fill up your resume with actual work experience that will relate to co-op job requirements. Plus, you have to make sure the execs at least know you exist, in case you need reference letters or something. When I say networking, I don't just mean for academic or professional work purposes, but also social. By joining clubs or extracurricular groups, I made some interesting friends and witnessed a diversity of students that I would never have noticed otherwise. University or college is SO big that you don't really get a chance to meet everyone or at least see what they're like. Uni clubs are a great opportunity for this.
2. Exec positions
Unlike clubs in the earlier stages of education, clubs are actually FULLY student run, and students are always busy people. Thus, the responsibilities of the club are pretty well organized to fairly distribute various "housekeeping" tasks for the club amongst several members--much like the organizational structure of a company. I actually find this very interesting and useful for application in real life when you're out in the workplace. Having actually gotten involved in a club this year (first time in my life), I realize it's a lot of work and responsibility. To be honest, responsibility and real-life applicable things scare the hell out of me. I AM NOT READY TO GROW UP!! Thus, my natural coping mechanism is to pretend I'm playing house, store, or some kind of make-believe life game. That's basically how I dealt with my grade 11 accounting course, learning how to drive, cooking for myself, and being an Internal Relations Coordinator for the UW English Tutors. Btw, this reminds me of the good old elementary school days when I would feed my friends grass salad. Mm-mmm.
3. Fun
A lot of the clubs at UW are pretty random and obviously based on sincere interest in something (e.g. photography, swing dance, hip hop, ballroom dancing, and I believe I saw some sort of cheese tasting club Yummmmyy...). In high school and elementary school, I don't really remember a club being based on a random interest, except for anime club, but I refuse to count it! I guess since the school's population is smaller there is a lower probability that enough people will have similar interests in the same thing to establish a substantial member base for that club.
IF YOU'RE TOO LAZY TO READ THE WHOLE POST START HERE:
Clubs are important for filling up your resume and developing practical skills for living life. Believe me, if you plan on going anywhere in life, force yourself to join at least one club, and you may even be lucky enough to enjoy it.
Club: a group of persons organized for a social, literary, athletic, political, or other purpose; an organization that offers its subscribers certain benefits, as discounts, bonuses, or interest, in return for regular purchases or payments
All my life, I've never really been much of a club person, other than the time my cousin and I set up a little clubhouse in her old van to plays cards and keep random thingamajigs in. I suppose this has something to do with my introverted personality and reluctance to meet new people. In fact, I have a reluctance to get involved with anything new or outside of my regular routine, but that's a post for another day.
For some reason, I just can't ignore this haunting scenario of me standing awkwardly in the corner while everyone is socializing and engaging in intelligent conversation. I am horrible at just MAKING conversation. IN FACT, this scenario is very much like my situation when I was in the UW Euchre club in the fall term of last year. I made one friend, and she was the only one that I felt brave enough to talk to because everyone seemed to know each other and have different favoured topics of discussion and interests from myself--and yet I still went because I just love euchre that much -_-" . The rest of the time, I felt awkward and out of place because everyone seemed to know each other pretty well, they have similar interests to discuss, and I didn't feel like I had anything useful to contribute to the discussions, other than "pass" or "spades, going alone". Again, my lack of conversational skills relates to my being out of touch with the world, a big part of which I will blame on the absence of cable in my house.
Throughout elementary school, high school, and even my first year of university, I always heard about clubs being advertised and all sorts of announcements for general meetings, but I never seriously considered joining any of them. I always found some excuse or other not to join whether I supported their goals or not. For some reason, I felt they were a waste of time because they were student-run. I thought, what could you possibly learn from other students in a club that you couldn't learn on your own? Besides, I can talk to most of these people in any of my classes. Only until this year did I even start to realize the importance of joining clubs.
To be honest, elementary and high school clubs are not so much a big deal. They are pretty closely monitored by teachers, and they hardly benefit society on a bigger scale. Yeah, I know, if everyone does a little, it becomes a lot--just like litter--but for the sake of this post lets separate theory from practice.
Side Note: an interesting thing my AFM prof said in class a few weeks ago, "In theory, theory is practice, but in practice it's not." Something about quotes, which use a few words repetitively yet succinctly, appeals to me.
Since I never really joined any clubs, I can only share my impressions of the responsibilities that the "execs" of these kinds of clubs have. As usual, feel free to express your utter outrage and disappointment in my opinions, minus the profanities please. So yeah, it seemed like these execs mainly collected money, took attendance, or announced dates of events--simple errands that my elementary school teachers would often select random volunteers to do. So how many skills or qualifications does it really take?
Back to secondary school clubs and earlier, the real value in joining them is to gain what I'd like to call "resume experience" for university clubs. "Resume experience" is basically when you hold a position or participate in something that doesn't really develop either your soft or technical skills, but on paper, the job title or tasks sound more significant than they really are. Really, you're just killing another inch of a tree trunk. Anyways, the point of filling up your resume with a bunch of elementary and high school experience is to make yourself LOOK more prepared than your peers when you enter university. When you enter university, the meaning of a club is a whole new story.
1. Networking
As much as I HATE this concept, it is sadly one of the keys to being successful in life. Yes, that also means suckups will rule the world (but this doesn't mean you can't still hate them ;) ). In university, you pretty much get scared into joining clubs because it's difficult to fill up your resume with actual work experience that will relate to co-op job requirements. Plus, you have to make sure the execs at least know you exist, in case you need reference letters or something. When I say networking, I don't just mean for academic or professional work purposes, but also social. By joining clubs or extracurricular groups, I made some interesting friends and witnessed a diversity of students that I would never have noticed otherwise. University or college is SO big that you don't really get a chance to meet everyone or at least see what they're like. Uni clubs are a great opportunity for this.
2. Exec positions
Unlike clubs in the earlier stages of education, clubs are actually FULLY student run, and students are always busy people. Thus, the responsibilities of the club are pretty well organized to fairly distribute various "housekeeping" tasks for the club amongst several members--much like the organizational structure of a company. I actually find this very interesting and useful for application in real life when you're out in the workplace. Having actually gotten involved in a club this year (first time in my life), I realize it's a lot of work and responsibility. To be honest, responsibility and real-life applicable things scare the hell out of me. I AM NOT READY TO GROW UP!! Thus, my natural coping mechanism is to pretend I'm playing house, store, or some kind of make-believe life game. That's basically how I dealt with my grade 11 accounting course, learning how to drive, cooking for myself, and being an Internal Relations Coordinator for the UW English Tutors. Btw, this reminds me of the good old elementary school days when I would feed my friends grass salad. Mm-mmm.
3. Fun
A lot of the clubs at UW are pretty random and obviously based on sincere interest in something (e.g. photography, swing dance, hip hop, ballroom dancing, and I believe I saw some sort of cheese tasting club Yummmmyy...). In high school and elementary school, I don't really remember a club being based on a random interest, except for anime club, but I refuse to count it! I guess since the school's population is smaller there is a lower probability that enough people will have similar interests in the same thing to establish a substantial member base for that club.
IF YOU'RE TOO LAZY TO READ THE WHOLE POST START HERE:
Clubs are important for filling up your resume and developing practical skills for living life. Believe me, if you plan on going anywhere in life, force yourself to join at least one club, and you may even be lucky enough to enjoy it.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
I swear the happiest day of my life is the day that I die
Apologies to anyone who is having an awesome day or is just plain unsettled by the title of my post. Today just seemed like the perfect day to quote a lyric from one of my favourite songs from elementary punk rock/emo music days.
An intriguing quote that I randomly found on the Internet one day and posted on my fb page was, "Do not mistake happiness for the absence of misery". Somehow I liked it because I'm sort of drawn in by the ever-so-elusive secret to happiness. I wonder if it also works in reverse: Do not mistake misery for the absence of happiness...? If so, today would be a pretty humongous mistake on my part.
That said, how shall I describe today? Well, technically, my day started really early because I didn't sleep until 3 or 4 am--not because I finally made a lifestyle choice to begin partying or because I was having some kind of TV show or Asian drama marathon. Instead, I was coughing my brains out. Lovely, I know. In a wonderfully horrible chain reaction of catastrophe, my body wanted to get its full 10 hours of sleep. Hence, I ended up waking up around 1 pm. Immediately, I went over to my friend John's apartment to borrow his washing machine. That took about 3 hours, and I had to walk back and forth in the cold rain because all of my warm layerable clothes were stashed in my 2 weeks' load of laundry. I even had to take off one of the 4 layers I was wearing because it was dirty--talk about hoboish. -_-"
Anyways, I spent the rest of the day trying to fix up my resume format for jobmine and applying to a bunch of random jobs. Apparently, most people will be applying for 35-40 jobs, and I could only find 17 that I was even only slightly undercapable of. Oh, and if you didn't know, I kind of hate my program, so if I don't get a co-op job, I'm seriously considering switching out of my program into Honours science. On top of that, I'm not doing well in ANY of my courses. None of them are bird courses, and even though I expected most of them to be hard, they are surprisingly exceeding my expectations in difficulty, thus defeating my previously undefeated emotional safeguard. I am gradually falling behind in all of my readings, assignments, and practice questions, and I'm too sick and drugged up to make any considerable progress in a time-efficient manner. Just knowing this stresses me out like hell. To sum things up, life is not going well, but what else is new?
On the bright side, I have become less stingy with the utility bill and have turned on more lamps in my room. Now I can happily clickety clack away on my keyboard because I have finally found something substantial to really COMPLAIN about. :)
An intriguing quote that I randomly found on the Internet one day and posted on my fb page was, "Do not mistake happiness for the absence of misery". Somehow I liked it because I'm sort of drawn in by the ever-so-elusive secret to happiness. I wonder if it also works in reverse: Do not mistake misery for the absence of happiness...? If so, today would be a pretty humongous mistake on my part.
That said, how shall I describe today? Well, technically, my day started really early because I didn't sleep until 3 or 4 am--not because I finally made a lifestyle choice to begin partying or because I was having some kind of TV show or Asian drama marathon. Instead, I was coughing my brains out. Lovely, I know. In a wonderfully horrible chain reaction of catastrophe, my body wanted to get its full 10 hours of sleep. Hence, I ended up waking up around 1 pm. Immediately, I went over to my friend John's apartment to borrow his washing machine. That took about 3 hours, and I had to walk back and forth in the cold rain because all of my warm layerable clothes were stashed in my 2 weeks' load of laundry. I even had to take off one of the 4 layers I was wearing because it was dirty--talk about hoboish. -_-"
Anyways, I spent the rest of the day trying to fix up my resume format for jobmine and applying to a bunch of random jobs. Apparently, most people will be applying for 35-40 jobs, and I could only find 17 that I was even only slightly undercapable of. Oh, and if you didn't know, I kind of hate my program, so if I don't get a co-op job, I'm seriously considering switching out of my program into Honours science. On top of that, I'm not doing well in ANY of my courses. None of them are bird courses, and even though I expected most of them to be hard, they are surprisingly exceeding my expectations in difficulty, thus defeating my previously undefeated emotional safeguard. I am gradually falling behind in all of my readings, assignments, and practice questions, and I'm too sick and drugged up to make any considerable progress in a time-efficient manner. Just knowing this stresses me out like hell. To sum things up, life is not going well, but what else is new?
On the bright side, I have become less stingy with the utility bill and have turned on more lamps in my room. Now I can happily clickety clack away on my keyboard because I have finally found something substantial to really COMPLAIN about. :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Christiemon, I choose you!
Type: Fire
Hp: Undefined
Attack: Excruciating
Defense: Impenetrable
Speed: Light is relatively slow
Weakness: stressed easily and slightly pessimistic
So I am currently trapped in my room writing up answers for practice interview questions in my PD Co-op preparatory course. I figured since I probably won't have time to post very often anymore, why not kill two birds with one stone? So...For the "classic question" I went with:
Hp: Undefined
Attack: Excruciating
Defense: Impenetrable
Speed: Light is relatively slow
Weakness: stressed easily and slightly pessimistic
So I am currently trapped in my room writing up answers for practice interview questions in my PD Co-op preparatory course. I figured since I probably won't have time to post very often anymore, why not kill two birds with one stone? So...For the "classic question" I went with:
4. Describe one of your weaknesses.
One of my characteristic weaknesses is that I get stressed easily and am slightly pessimistic. This becomes evident in situations where I have too many tasks in progress at once or I am preparing for a significant event. However, I believe this trait is an essential motivator for some of my most effective work habits. Since I often get worried and overwhelmed by ongoing academic projects or extracurricular events, I motivate myself to tackle one item at a time in an organized fashion by writing down due dates, preparing checklists, and aiming to complete tasks well before the deadline. Often, if something seems too overwhelming, I manage to calm myself down and focus my thoughts better by simplifying concepts, prioritizing my activities, and preparing for the worst case scenario. Not only does my pessimism help me to be technically and emotionally prepared for the various outcomes, but it is also a way to push myself to exceed the standard expectations of any task I undertake.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Another reason to stress
2A COURSES + a bit of personal insight about each:
BIOL 130L: Took this course in my 1A term. Hopefully, I do better on the lab, even though I don't even remember stuff that I learned in my 1B term.
AFM 123: Accounting for Managers or something hahaha...hopefully my one easy course.
PHYS 111: basic first year physics that I just managed to fit into my schedule since I changed from Bio specialization to non-specialization--now I can keep dentistry an option. YAYs all around EXCEPT for the fact that I didn't even take grade 11 physics... + LAB...oh god.
CHEM 266: Organic Chemistry. Enough said. + LAB
SCBUS 223: uhh...I hated SCBUSS 122 or SCIBUS 123. Learned close to nothing. Full of presentations and group projects. You never know, this one could be...different...or...maybe...not...
STAT 202: Yeah, so I got a 69 on my first data management test, and I still don't know why I got some of those questions wrong.
It's gonna be a great term.
BIOL 130L: Took this course in my 1A term. Hopefully, I do better on the lab, even though I don't even remember stuff that I learned in my 1B term.
AFM 123: Accounting for Managers or something hahaha...hopefully my one easy course.
PHYS 111: basic first year physics that I just managed to fit into my schedule since I changed from Bio specialization to non-specialization--now I can keep dentistry an option. YAYs all around EXCEPT for the fact that I didn't even take grade 11 physics... + LAB...oh god.
CHEM 266: Organic Chemistry. Enough said. + LAB
SCBUS 223: uhh...I hated SCBUSS 122 or SCIBUS 123. Learned close to nothing. Full of presentations and group projects. You never know, this one could be...different...or...maybe...not...
STAT 202: Yeah, so I got a 69 on my first data management test, and I still don't know why I got some of those questions wrong.
It's gonna be a great term.
Summer Dreams Ripped at the Seams
Until last year, I always used to get excited to start school. I felt the summer was boring and lonely because my parents usually sent me and Robert to sports, arts, or music camps...most of the time the kids here are immature and often mean. On other occasions, my parents would send us over to my grandparents' where we would just sit around watching TV all day. It always started fun, but I ended up with a massive headache from my uncontrollable addiction. I always thought, "Summer sucks; I want to go back to school and see my friends..." Now, a little older and wiser, I know better.
Even last year, I was excited to start my first year of university. Not because I was eager to learn, meet new people, or any other cheesy reason--actually, my family was annoying me. My parents were nagging me about the same things over and over, blaming me for things that weren't my fault, and my brother was annoying the hell out of me, even MORE than usual. For me, first year was an escape from my house. In fact, I only went home for commencement, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Reading Week, and after school was over. The few times I phoned home were to ask for a new printer cartridge or for medical advice and supplies when I was majorly sick. Poor grades, getting frustrated with my friends or coworkers, or bad dreams--experiences that I would usually vent to my parents, those kind of conversations I burdened my roommate and a few friends with.
This year, is already starting off totally different. In my entire life, I have never dreaded going to school this badly as I do this year. I don't really know why. I suppose what my friend Amy said about this topic is true, "You know what to expect." University is a tough transition for me because I have to push myself to study and obtain decent grades, eat properly, support myself, and maintain balance in my extracurricular activities all at the same time. All my life, my parents have provided a comfortable, sheltered lifestyle for me, and suddenly I'm being pushed into the middle of the ocean with a tiny rowboat and a pair of oars. You know what sucks the most about all this? This is pretty much what the rest of REAL life is going to be like...survival. Childhood actually isn't a fair thing. It's so innocent, sweet, and protected then it just gets taken away from us in a heartbeat. It's a really poor representation of what life is like, and it leaves us unprepared for the real challenges to come.
I admire my parents' hard work and wonder how they ever got through this? Then I remember, oh yeah, we're a more competitive and spoiled generation. They received sufficient "survival training" from a young age by having to help out more in the kitchen and having to take on whatever job they could find to help support their families.
I don't know how people can be excited for university until they've actually experienced it. In fact, I find it kind of annoying, no offense to all my first year friends. Living in res...Sure it's a great way to meet people, but it still protects us from what living away from home is really like. As my friends and I discovered in frosh week, it feels just like camp. You get up, go to your "activities", do whatever you want whenever you want (often in groups), and walk into the cafeteria where you help yourself to whatever food is on the menu. In reality, university is a life-sized preview of the challenges to come later on in REAL LIFE. Until a person is living entirely on their own hard-earned money and survival skills (e.g. cooking), life hasn't really begun, so don't get too comfortable yet.
School hasn't even started and already I'm stressed about maintaining the house, improving my grades, getting enough exercise, honouring a balanced diet, and landing a co-op job. To accomplish these goals even half-decently, I'm going to require a lot of motivation, time, and talent. On the bright side, being able to appreciate all that my parents have done for me up to this point has enabled me to miss them. I haven't left yet, but I have a feeling I'm going to realize their absence during my studies more significantly than last year. Even if I manage to survive year 2 of hell, I still have to fight my way into whatever decent career I can establish for myself--not to mention all this is to be somehow accomplished on my own?! So much to do and so little confidence.
Even last year, I was excited to start my first year of university. Not because I was eager to learn, meet new people, or any other cheesy reason--actually, my family was annoying me. My parents were nagging me about the same things over and over, blaming me for things that weren't my fault, and my brother was annoying the hell out of me, even MORE than usual. For me, first year was an escape from my house. In fact, I only went home for commencement, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Reading Week, and after school was over. The few times I phoned home were to ask for a new printer cartridge or for medical advice and supplies when I was majorly sick. Poor grades, getting frustrated with my friends or coworkers, or bad dreams--experiences that I would usually vent to my parents, those kind of conversations I burdened my roommate and a few friends with.
This year, is already starting off totally different. In my entire life, I have never dreaded going to school this badly as I do this year. I don't really know why. I suppose what my friend Amy said about this topic is true, "You know what to expect." University is a tough transition for me because I have to push myself to study and obtain decent grades, eat properly, support myself, and maintain balance in my extracurricular activities all at the same time. All my life, my parents have provided a comfortable, sheltered lifestyle for me, and suddenly I'm being pushed into the middle of the ocean with a tiny rowboat and a pair of oars. You know what sucks the most about all this? This is pretty much what the rest of REAL life is going to be like...survival. Childhood actually isn't a fair thing. It's so innocent, sweet, and protected then it just gets taken away from us in a heartbeat. It's a really poor representation of what life is like, and it leaves us unprepared for the real challenges to come.
I admire my parents' hard work and wonder how they ever got through this? Then I remember, oh yeah, we're a more competitive and spoiled generation. They received sufficient "survival training" from a young age by having to help out more in the kitchen and having to take on whatever job they could find to help support their families.
I don't know how people can be excited for university until they've actually experienced it. In fact, I find it kind of annoying, no offense to all my first year friends. Living in res...Sure it's a great way to meet people, but it still protects us from what living away from home is really like. As my friends and I discovered in frosh week, it feels just like camp. You get up, go to your "activities", do whatever you want whenever you want (often in groups), and walk into the cafeteria where you help yourself to whatever food is on the menu. In reality, university is a life-sized preview of the challenges to come later on in REAL LIFE. Until a person is living entirely on their own hard-earned money and survival skills (e.g. cooking), life hasn't really begun, so don't get too comfortable yet.
School hasn't even started and already I'm stressed about maintaining the house, improving my grades, getting enough exercise, honouring a balanced diet, and landing a co-op job. To accomplish these goals even half-decently, I'm going to require a lot of motivation, time, and talent. On the bright side, being able to appreciate all that my parents have done for me up to this point has enabled me to miss them. I haven't left yet, but I have a feeling I'm going to realize their absence during my studies more significantly than last year. Even if I manage to survive year 2 of hell, I still have to fight my way into whatever decent career I can establish for myself--not to mention all this is to be somehow accomplished on my own?! So much to do and so little confidence.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
I'm Breaking the Habit Tonight
If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to cover things that I included in my profile description, so that I can shorten it. Today's topic is habits throughout my growth. WOW do I sound like some kind of lecturer...
Anyone who knows me or has ever seen me in person knows that I have no nails. Sadly, I am the worst nail biter I know--and by worst I mean addicted. I have been able to cut the habit for about three months at a time. During those few months of sweet (but not taken for granted) victory, I put on lots of nail polish and do my fake homemade french manicures. Then the vicious disease comes right back. Not that nails taste good either, but I just can't stop. I bite when I'm nervous, when I'm preoccupied with something else, sometimes I even stop responding on MSN because I can't type with one hand on the keyboard and one hand in my mouth--I bite pretty much whenever I'm not fully engrossed in something or even when I'm TOO engrossed. -_-" Basically whenever, and it's a pretty serious thing I guess, especially when there are serious germs going around (e.g. H1N1 virus). My parents are always nagging me to "take your finger out of your mouth...Now away from your face. blahblahblah..." I don't know if this is part of my extremely mild OCD or what, but whenever I look at my nails, they don't look symmetrical, there's always a little hangnail sticking out, or some other reason to coat my fingers with saliva. Yeah, gross, I know. If you see me with my finger in my mouth, slap my hand then hand me a nail clipper pronto or else it'll just keep going back in.
Like any other human being, I also had weird habits when I was younger. From what my parents tell me, my brother used to run into walls...explains his brilliance---or lack thereof... Anyways, I assume most people had a cherished "blankie". I LOVED my blankie (or at least from what my parents tell me, seeing as how I remember almost nothing from my childhood). Apparently, I LOVED it so much that my parents had to throw it out because I was chewing it up. My mom said I cried when blankie was captured and lost to me forever. At least he's moved onto a better place now.
A few years older (thought not sure about maturer), I began to eat my hair.
Hold on, I wasn't some weird kid who actually DIGESTED my hair, but my side bangs were JUST long enough to reach my mouth. I used to put that in my mouth, and it would get all crusty. Don't ask why I did that; it's probably because my brain had not yet fully formed at such a young age.
Also, I used to lick my lips a lot, and my mouth was always dry, itchy, and swollen. Yeah, I'm a pretty gross human being, I know. My dad ended up bringing home some serious lip cream. No, it wasn't lip balm or any of that amateur stuff; this was LIP CREAM...some ointment that I had to smear on my lips. After a while, my lips sort of went back to normal, but I had all this greasy stuff on my mouth. It didn't even taste that good. :P
Anyways, a common trend that I realized in all my different habits is that I like putting things in/irritating my mouth. Maybe this is somehow related to my love of eating. Who knows why, I'm just a weirdo?
Anyone who knows me or has ever seen me in person knows that I have no nails. Sadly, I am the worst nail biter I know--and by worst I mean addicted. I have been able to cut the habit for about three months at a time. During those few months of sweet (but not taken for granted) victory, I put on lots of nail polish and do my fake homemade french manicures. Then the vicious disease comes right back. Not that nails taste good either, but I just can't stop. I bite when I'm nervous, when I'm preoccupied with something else, sometimes I even stop responding on MSN because I can't type with one hand on the keyboard and one hand in my mouth--I bite pretty much whenever I'm not fully engrossed in something or even when I'm TOO engrossed. -_-" Basically whenever, and it's a pretty serious thing I guess, especially when there are serious germs going around (e.g. H1N1 virus). My parents are always nagging me to "take your finger out of your mouth...Now away from your face. blahblahblah..." I don't know if this is part of my extremely mild OCD or what, but whenever I look at my nails, they don't look symmetrical, there's always a little hangnail sticking out, or some other reason to coat my fingers with saliva. Yeah, gross, I know. If you see me with my finger in my mouth, slap my hand then hand me a nail clipper pronto or else it'll just keep going back in.
Like any other human being, I also had weird habits when I was younger. From what my parents tell me, my brother used to run into walls...explains his brilliance---or lack thereof... Anyways, I assume most people had a cherished "blankie". I LOVED my blankie (or at least from what my parents tell me, seeing as how I remember almost nothing from my childhood). Apparently, I LOVED it so much that my parents had to throw it out because I was chewing it up. My mom said I cried when blankie was captured and lost to me forever. At least he's moved onto a better place now.
A few years older (thought not sure about maturer), I began to eat my hair.
Hold on, I wasn't some weird kid who actually DIGESTED my hair, but my side bangs were JUST long enough to reach my mouth. I used to put that in my mouth, and it would get all crusty. Don't ask why I did that; it's probably because my brain had not yet fully formed at such a young age.
Also, I used to lick my lips a lot, and my mouth was always dry, itchy, and swollen. Yeah, I'm a pretty gross human being, I know. My dad ended up bringing home some serious lip cream. No, it wasn't lip balm or any of that amateur stuff; this was LIP CREAM...some ointment that I had to smear on my lips. After a while, my lips sort of went back to normal, but I had all this greasy stuff on my mouth. It didn't even taste that good. :P
Anyways, a common trend that I realized in all my different habits is that I like putting things in/irritating my mouth. Maybe this is somehow related to my love of eating. Who knows why, I'm just a weirdo?
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder...a Gift?--or a Curse?
One of my favourite shows is Monk. It's about an OCD detective, Adrian Monk, whose condition is a result of the traumatizing death of his beloved wife. He can't stand to shake people's hands, his house is all symmetrically organized and dust-free, he can't stand walking in the mud or getting his clothes dirty, and he wears the same straight-laced shirt and jacket outfit for every day of his life. He is also a former cop and a brilliant detective. Since he has a multitude of phobias and odd habits, he always has an assistant to give him a sanitary wipe whenever he touches something likely infected with bacteria or to do his literally "dirty work". His disorder is so comically severe that he was discharged from his position as a police officer and just works as a "private consultant". At the end of each case, he says "here's what happened..." Pretty epic. :)
The show has, I believe, finished, and my family owns roughly up to the 7th season. Some of the humour is a bit corny, and Adrian Monk probably doesn't win any appreciation from hormonal girls, but I still find the cases to be pretty clever...definitely more thought-inducing than that soap opera-like garbage in the OC (I still have no idea why that was so popular--or House...) Each episode is a mystery where Monk works with his friends in the police department to solve unsolvable cases. This seems to be the obvious common thread with all the detective-y stories: Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, The Mentalist, House, etc. I actually find the Monk cases pretty interesting because it really causes you to think outside of the box. Another element about the show that makes it extra enjoyable is the fact that the show has a modern setting, the story is understandable to the common public, and they present all the clues so it's possible for audiences to ACTUALLY guess the criminal before they're revealed. After watching about 6 seasons of Monk, I find that I'm getting more used to the style and am often able to guess the endings, but the show still has not lost its appeal just yet.
Another interesting thing that the show has brought to my personal attention is that I have a lot of habits that parallel the OCD symptoms.
1. When I'm nervous or kind of spaced out (e.g. during a movie) I tend to type words that I hear. WEIRD, I know!
2. Sometimes when I'm walking up stairs or between sidewalk slabs, I count the number of steps I took and make sure it is an even number.
3. When I'm eating a dish with multiple things in it, I make sure that I have a mix of all the different tastes in my mouth at once. Perhaps this contributes to my somewhat speedy eating speed. I also leave a little bit of my favourite thing to eat last. I guess this habit tends to linger more on the normal end of the spectrum.
4. I generally like symmetry and taking even numbers of things (e.g. adding ice cubes, cooking ingredients even if it's slightly more than what the recipe calls for).
5. Whenever I add skill points to my character in a game (e.g. Mafia Wars), I like to make my levels all even numbers or multiples of 5/10.
Anyways, just wanted to share a little bit more about my strange habits and a bit of info about one of the few shows that I am interested in. If you do decide to check out an episode or something, don't be outraged if you don't take to it for a few episodes. :)
The show has, I believe, finished, and my family owns roughly up to the 7th season. Some of the humour is a bit corny, and Adrian Monk probably doesn't win any appreciation from hormonal girls, but I still find the cases to be pretty clever...definitely more thought-inducing than that soap opera-like garbage in the OC (I still have no idea why that was so popular--or House...) Each episode is a mystery where Monk works with his friends in the police department to solve unsolvable cases. This seems to be the obvious common thread with all the detective-y stories: Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, The Mentalist, House, etc. I actually find the Monk cases pretty interesting because it really causes you to think outside of the box. Another element about the show that makes it extra enjoyable is the fact that the show has a modern setting, the story is understandable to the common public, and they present all the clues so it's possible for audiences to ACTUALLY guess the criminal before they're revealed. After watching about 6 seasons of Monk, I find that I'm getting more used to the style and am often able to guess the endings, but the show still has not lost its appeal just yet.
Another interesting thing that the show has brought to my personal attention is that I have a lot of habits that parallel the OCD symptoms.
1. When I'm nervous or kind of spaced out (e.g. during a movie) I tend to type words that I hear. WEIRD, I know!
2. Sometimes when I'm walking up stairs or between sidewalk slabs, I count the number of steps I took and make sure it is an even number.
3. When I'm eating a dish with multiple things in it, I make sure that I have a mix of all the different tastes in my mouth at once. Perhaps this contributes to my somewhat speedy eating speed. I also leave a little bit of my favourite thing to eat last. I guess this habit tends to linger more on the normal end of the spectrum.
4. I generally like symmetry and taking even numbers of things (e.g. adding ice cubes, cooking ingredients even if it's slightly more than what the recipe calls for).
5. Whenever I add skill points to my character in a game (e.g. Mafia Wars), I like to make my levels all even numbers or multiples of 5/10.
Anyways, just wanted to share a little bit more about my strange habits and a bit of info about one of the few shows that I am interested in. If you do decide to check out an episode or something, don't be outraged if you don't take to it for a few episodes. :)
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