When I think about what my home life will be like in the future, I must admit it's all still very blurry. I can't picture what job I'll be doing, where I'll be living, or who I'll be living with, if anyone at all; the only thing I AM sure about is that I plan to enjoy life. I also know that I would really like to raise my own kid, whether it's my own or even adopted. Anyways, before I get onto the main meat of this post, let me go through the motions of some updates--academic, and non-academic.
So, I just started my study term this week. I'm taking 6 courses and 1 lab:
BIOL 373 (online) - Human Physiology 2: I took the BIOL 273 course last summer online as well...and with the same prof too. Shouldn't be too bad, except all the lectures are only in audio form--they used to come with a powerpoint visual. This makes it a bit harder to focus and it takes longer for me to listen and formulate my own notes on the spot, but oh well. It's definitely the preferrable alternative to sitting in a boring biology lectures 2-3 times a week; somehow I never seem to absorb anything biology-related that I hear in lecture. Too boring.
ECON 102 - Macroeconomics: WAH! I missed my first class because they changed the room last-minute due to building construction. Now it's in a dark, stuffy physics room...makes me sleepy, and the overly redundant/obvious course content doesn't help either.
ENGL 108M - Youth and Adolescence: The books on the course outline are:
-James Joyce: Portrait of a young man (or something along those lines)
-Neil Gaiman: The Graveyard Book
-5th Business - by somebody I forget
-Persepolis Marjand Satrapi (?)
+other short stories (e.g. Freudian-inspired psychoanalysis of Little Red Riding Hood, Gertrude Talks by Margaret Atwood)
Sorry, avid readers, I probably butchered all those titles/authors, but you have some idea of what I mean. Again, I apologize for being too lazy to even confirm the names on my books right here in my room or to even google them for that matter. By all means, condemn me, gossip, criticize--whatever makes you feel better.
Anyways, I'm so excited for this course! It's been almost 3 years since I took an English course! Oh, if you're wondering how that's possible:
1. I don't take English courses in my uni program.
2. I boycotted English at my school for summer school and online courses because I kept getting the same crappy teacher. Yes, it made a SIGNIFICANT difference, if you're wondering.
MATH 128 - Calculus 2 for Scientists: So, I did my best to avoid this course by going into Science and Business (Biology specialization) JUST to avoid this course and physics. As you can tell, I ended up taking both nightmares anyway -_-" Not that I was ever good at math, but now I'm SUPER rusty cuz I haven't taken MATH 127 since Fall 2008. To top off this never-ending mound of good news, my prof is boring, doesn't really teach, goes pretty fast, and calls on the entire class sequentially to answer questions. I still haven't been called on, but I try to seat myself farthest from the seat where I think she will start calling on students. I think I'm too terrified of being called on to focus on the actual content. As if I didn't already have enough trouble with Math.
Interesting fact: I almost didn't get into university because of the vectors unit in math. I needed to maintain a 75 in Math, and I started off the term with a 66 from this unit. Oh, the trauma.
PHYS 112 - Physics 2 + lab: My prof makes stupid analogies and keeps poor notes. Recall: This is my second physics course in my life, but I'm not too discouraged YET, since I did decently in 111. :) *Gasp WAS THAT OPTIMISM?
PSYCH 101 - Intro to Psychology: Boring so far, definitely overrated. Why do people like going into psychology again? It seems just like a bunch of data collection...very reminiscent of stats/data...who in their right mind would want to study this unless you have a very "special" mind indeed...
So, that's this term in a furry chestnut shell. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I guess it's about time I revived my dismal study habits.
NB. For anyone who feels like performing the social convention of asking how my courses went last term: I somehow ended up doing okay on my lab and course. Then again, when you don't study and prepare yourself to receive a 60, anything looks good right?
As for the non-academic updates, I truly made some great friends at my co-op term, as mentioned in my earlier post (in good co-ompany): Brian, Cathy, Cynthia, Devon, Justina, Kyle, Matt, Qi, and Sirisopha. I really doubt we'll ever be able to enjoy the same friendship as before, but I have learned to expect this cyclical rotation of friends. It's just a way of life.
Not to overruse my annoyingly recurring transition word, but "SOOOOoooooo"...
onto the main "meat", as promised.
What plans do I have in store for Christie Jr.? Well, from my own life and personal preferences, I think I already have some ideas of how I will raise my child.
1. First of all, you may ask, "Is there a gender preference? If not, how would my approach differ?" I think I would prefer a girl, despite all the times where I sincerely wished that I was a boy. Let me explain my reasoning. Well, I think that boys are already tough and have a certain extent of self-confidence and esteem; thus a girl would benefit more from my version of parenting. I see myself doing the female gender some good--not saying that I would create a tomboy or a "butch feminist" (I know Alex enjoys that phrase), but definitely not a ditz/fob/[insert other derogatory classification] :) I'd like to raise a girl to be emotionally tougher and more practical/realistic, both traits that many girls (especially asian ones) today seriously lack and this bothers me, naturally. For a boy, my parenting would more or less be the same, but it would definitely make the job easier.
2. I feel really useless being monolingual, and I would like to spare my child this inconvenience. I will travel around the world with my child at an early age and temporarily settle in different areas, in hopes that they will pick up other languages. Of course this depends on what income I end up making, but at the very least, I will send them to Korean school from a very young age and eventually a French immersion program in elementary and secondary school.
3. I will read lots of books with my child from a very young age. Almost every person I know who read a lot of books from a young age has strong English writing and reading comprehension skills--both extremely valuable skills no matter what career they end up pursuing.
4. I will provide my child with at least cable TV. I think it's an important social and cosmopolitan-ic learning tool. Also, by providing them with sufficient access to a TV from a young age, the novelty and excitement associated with cable TV will hopefully wear off by their mid-adolescent years at the latest.
5. No physical discipline. Ironic coming from me eh? Personally, I think this method might work for a dog or hamster, but humans can be reasoned with. If they can't, physical messaging cannot be any clearer than what is said in words.
6. Keep lectures short. Before I approach my child about a serious issue, I think it would be more effective to just emphasize the main points. If you go on and on about your complaints, it becomes a nag to your kid and they tune you out, and you eventually lose their respect, and they start to get annoyed whenever it looks like you're getting into one of your 'talks', and whether you realize it or not, all your talks are pretty much saying the same things anyway, and this is just filler text; I can't believe you are reading it...blah, blah, blah, etc.
7. Provide the sex talk. I know my parents didn't tell me anything about sex. Maybe they were too scared or embarrassed to talk about it to me, but it made sex somewhat intriguing. I also ended up asking my best friends to share their views and personal experiences on puberty. Essentially, I received the notorious sex talk secondhand, with possible stretching of the truth here and there. You would want your kids to get the story right the first time, or do you?--bringing me to my next plan of action...
8. I don't want to be one of those parents that lazily makes up an answer to a 'complex' question. Unless there is some life-threatening piece of knowledge that I don't want my kids to know, I would like to tell them the right thing the first time, or at least as much as they are willing to hear. Otherwise, I'd have to sit down with them once they hit a mature enough age and essentially "revise" all the half-truths I told them when they were younger. Of course, there is also the chance that some of these half-truths will never be corrected in time to save them from some embarrassing conversation with their friends or a cute boy/girl later on in the future. I'd like to spare my child this inconvenience as well.
9. I want to teach my kid the underlying principle of my life: marginal utility>marginal cost, otherwise no purchase. Basically, only invest time in something, if you are getting more out of it than it is costing you...whether it's enjoyment, service, convenience, pleasure, self-satisfaction, etc. Don't just buy something because it's cheap. Don't just get something because everyone else is. Really evaluate what something means to you. I'm not trying to be a snobby capitalist in this point; it can apply to helping others as well. You should only help others if you are really interested in helping them out--as opposed to being afraid of what they/others will think if you don't help them out (i.e. doing the right thing for the wrong reasons). Only if you follow this rule, will you be satisfied with anything that you invest in, my child.
10. Live in the now. Something my English prof said today really struck me...something along the lines of how our society currently encourages everyone to be constantly setting themselves up for the future rather than reflecting on the past or even stopping to enjoy the present. Take time now to enjoy your youth and adolescence before it's too late and you have later regrets. However, while still being slightly realistic and conscious of the future, I would ensure I emphasize to my child the importance of getting job experience, over more frivolous extracurricular activities such as piano lessons or art classes.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Always Afraid to Make Amish-take
Short and sweet--Top 10 Reasons Why I Accept My Title as Being "Amish"
Note: Some of these points are not necessarily AMISH, but still advocate my role as an inexperienced, naive, and useless human being.
1. I don't watch TV; I don't understand how people can do other things while a TV is on...I get so mesmerized by the moving figures on the screen...
2. The most extreme sport I've ever participated in was water skiing...and I sucked.
3. I've never used an ATM machine until a few weeks ago. My friend had to guide me through it, and the guy behind me was laughing at me.
4. I used my debit card for the first time today--prior to that, I have always paid in cash.
5. I only speak one language.
6. I can be easily entertained by a simple ipod game like solitaire for hours at end.
7. I don't know how to cook; recently food poisoned myself.
8. I am an inexperienced buyer, not knowing the going rate for most things.
9. I would rather ride a horse for the rest of my life than own a car.
10. I'd rather sit by myself and read a book than have to venture out into the real world and meet people.
Note: Some of these points are not necessarily AMISH, but still advocate my role as an inexperienced, naive, and useless human being.
1. I don't watch TV; I don't understand how people can do other things while a TV is on...I get so mesmerized by the moving figures on the screen...
2. The most extreme sport I've ever participated in was water skiing...and I sucked.
3. I've never used an ATM machine until a few weeks ago. My friend had to guide me through it, and the guy behind me was laughing at me.
4. I used my debit card for the first time today--prior to that, I have always paid in cash.
5. I only speak one language.
6. I can be easily entertained by a simple ipod game like solitaire for hours at end.
7. I don't know how to cook; recently food poisoned myself.
8. I am an inexperienced buyer, not knowing the going rate for most things.
9. I would rather ride a horse for the rest of my life than own a car.
10. I'd rather sit by myself and read a book than have to venture out into the real world and meet people.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Boys Go to Jupiter to Get More Stupider
If you knew what I was about to write about, you would understand the irony of me being in the DC library and writing on my blog instead of tackling my horrendous workload. Ah well, in a mindless, endless, fruitless effort to keep my posts short, lets get to the point.
This weekend I went home again--HOLY CRAP, the world must really be ending in 2012--and had a relaxing weekend with my parents. Oddly enough, the euchre addiction gene seems to run in my family, as Yahoo Euchre was kind enough to babysit Robert for the duration of a peaceful weekend. I had a chance to enjoy lots of nice meals, conversations with my parents, and of course...MOVIES! What did you think we were going to watch--TV? So my parents buy tons of pirated movies from the local Chinese malls, and whenever I come home, I am obligated to get through that pile. So I started with a random one called An Education.
Synopsis pulled from the Internet: Jenny (Carey Mulligan) a very bright girl on the cusp of her 17th birthday, finds herself in a whirlwind romance with the much older David ( Peter Sarsgaard). Prior to meeting him, Jenny was working hard at secondary school to ensure getting to Oxford University. When she sees the lifestyle David can provide, one she never imagined could be hers, she's hooked and thoughts of Oxford are forgotten. Then, when things are looking pretty good for Jenny with the dashing (yet a little too smooth) David, the truth hits her like a ton of bricks. Jenny goes from being a bright eyed school girl and a sophisticated young lady, all the way back to questioning if she really knows who she is at all. 'An Education' won the Audience Choice award and the Cinematography award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Out of all the random new movies I could have chosen to watch, I was strangely drawn to this one. Can you see why? If the most you know about me is what you read from my blogs, I'm not sure if I have ever emphasized my wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights outlook on life. I basically have no idea what I am meant to do or if there is a place for me in life--particularly when it comes to a career. Especially at this point in my life when I have recently turned the blessed age of 19, I am more confused than ever. A HUGE part of me wants to ditch all my schoolwork, stock up on party clothes, and live the life I have stuffed under my bed for so long. Yet size is not always strength, I suppose; my tinier, vaguely obedient self longs to make anything that was ever invested in me worth something someday--especially for my parents' sake. Like Jenny, I reallllllllllllllly want to get out there and have fun, for once, but something keeps me shackled to the prospect of, what I guess you could call, a slower suicide. Sometimes I wonder if this makes me a weaker person--and not necessarily obedient. We all want to have fun. I just want to take the safer route, stay far inside the edge, and find some shallow comfort in the idea of "long term prosperity". Especially since Jenny actually had a goal and I don't, I feel I have even more reason to let loose and party...but I know realistically, if I let myself step any further into that kind of freedom and actual LIFE, I might never come back.
I'm gonna stop the post here because I feel so guilty for postponing my work again despite in-your-face looming deadlines--and the shackle is dragged along another few steps before stopping at the end of the slack.
This weekend I went home again--HOLY CRAP, the world must really be ending in 2012--and had a relaxing weekend with my parents. Oddly enough, the euchre addiction gene seems to run in my family, as Yahoo Euchre was kind enough to babysit Robert for the duration of a peaceful weekend. I had a chance to enjoy lots of nice meals, conversations with my parents, and of course...MOVIES! What did you think we were going to watch--TV? So my parents buy tons of pirated movies from the local Chinese malls, and whenever I come home, I am obligated to get through that pile. So I started with a random one called An Education.
Synopsis pulled from the Internet: Jenny (Carey Mulligan) a very bright girl on the cusp of her 17th birthday, finds herself in a whirlwind romance with the much older David ( Peter Sarsgaard). Prior to meeting him, Jenny was working hard at secondary school to ensure getting to Oxford University. When she sees the lifestyle David can provide, one she never imagined could be hers, she's hooked and thoughts of Oxford are forgotten. Then, when things are looking pretty good for Jenny with the dashing (yet a little too smooth) David, the truth hits her like a ton of bricks. Jenny goes from being a bright eyed school girl and a sophisticated young lady, all the way back to questioning if she really knows who she is at all. 'An Education' won the Audience Choice award and the Cinematography award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Out of all the random new movies I could have chosen to watch, I was strangely drawn to this one. Can you see why? If the most you know about me is what you read from my blogs, I'm not sure if I have ever emphasized my wide-eyed, deer-in-the-headlights outlook on life. I basically have no idea what I am meant to do or if there is a place for me in life--particularly when it comes to a career. Especially at this point in my life when I have recently turned the blessed age of 19, I am more confused than ever. A HUGE part of me wants to ditch all my schoolwork, stock up on party clothes, and live the life I have stuffed under my bed for so long. Yet size is not always strength, I suppose; my tinier, vaguely obedient self longs to make anything that was ever invested in me worth something someday--especially for my parents' sake. Like Jenny, I reallllllllllllllly want to get out there and have fun, for once, but something keeps me shackled to the prospect of, what I guess you could call, a slower suicide. Sometimes I wonder if this makes me a weaker person--and not necessarily obedient. We all want to have fun. I just want to take the safer route, stay far inside the edge, and find some shallow comfort in the idea of "long term prosperity". Especially since Jenny actually had a goal and I don't, I feel I have even more reason to let loose and party...but I know realistically, if I let myself step any further into that kind of freedom and actual LIFE, I might never come back.
I'm gonna stop the post here because I feel so guilty for postponing my work again despite in-your-face looming deadlines--and the shackle is dragged along another few steps before stopping at the end of the slack.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
(Spring) Showers
So the weather these days is lovely, but someone told me we are getting snow this weekend. That is terribly unsettling, but I won't let it spoil my mood for the moment. Anyways, that's not really what this post is about.
Here we go: Showers. I'm sorry if you catch me on the wrong day, but I don't shower nearly as often as social convention demands. Typically I shower about once every few days, but only a few years ago was I informed that "normal" people shower daily. Basically, the times whenever my hair gets gross dictate when I take a shower --and here we go back on the path of unfounded opinions, gotta love it...
So why are my showers such a rare and miraculous event? Simple. I don't really feel the need to shower. If I just played soccer or sat in a really hot environment sweating my salts out, then I will be disgusted into taking a shower. Of course, I have to understand that most guys have odour issues, perhaps an effect of their manly pheromones, but what about girls? A lot of girls who just sit around looking pretty--don't really engage in any activity that causes them to break even a drop of sweat--insist on taking a daily shower. WHY? People are always talking about ways to save energy, water, resources, etc. WHY NOT start with hot shower water? Personally, I feel that people can still look good by cleaning themselves up without a daily full-length shower. I hear that many girls take showers without washing their hair--what is the point of this? Showering has evolved from being a simple hygienic survival instinct to another mechanical routine encoded into the great social convention Bible. Can we not tolerate a bit of discomfort everyday? In fact, some of the showers that girls take to just "rinse themselves" take longer than the duration of my full shower (complete with hair washing). If you're not willing to tolerate the minor discomfort, can you at least shorten the time you are spending on this "unofficial" shower?
Understandably, people may argue issues of hygiene and personal health, but I'm sorry that just doesn't cut it for me. You can DEFINITELY survive without a daily shower without contracting some kind of bacterial disease/infection. Looking at the bigger picture, showers are a definite luxury. People survive all around the world by using a little tub of water to clean themselves. Why can't we sacrifice even a few showers to make the ecological difference we so ardently whine about?
Once again, this is just another one of my ridiculous opinions; if you don't like this disturbing revelation about myself, I'm not forcing you to be my friend (refer to BF...F post)--just want to let you know I won't be the only one who stinks.
Here we go: Showers. I'm sorry if you catch me on the wrong day, but I don't shower nearly as often as social convention demands. Typically I shower about once every few days, but only a few years ago was I informed that "normal" people shower daily. Basically, the times whenever my hair gets gross dictate when I take a shower --and here we go back on the path of unfounded opinions, gotta love it...
So why are my showers such a rare and miraculous event? Simple. I don't really feel the need to shower. If I just played soccer or sat in a really hot environment sweating my salts out, then I will be disgusted into taking a shower. Of course, I have to understand that most guys have odour issues, perhaps an effect of their manly pheromones, but what about girls? A lot of girls who just sit around looking pretty--don't really engage in any activity that causes them to break even a drop of sweat--insist on taking a daily shower. WHY? People are always talking about ways to save energy, water, resources, etc. WHY NOT start with hot shower water? Personally, I feel that people can still look good by cleaning themselves up without a daily full-length shower. I hear that many girls take showers without washing their hair--what is the point of this? Showering has evolved from being a simple hygienic survival instinct to another mechanical routine encoded into the great social convention Bible. Can we not tolerate a bit of discomfort everyday? In fact, some of the showers that girls take to just "rinse themselves" take longer than the duration of my full shower (complete with hair washing). If you're not willing to tolerate the minor discomfort, can you at least shorten the time you are spending on this "unofficial" shower?
Understandably, people may argue issues of hygiene and personal health, but I'm sorry that just doesn't cut it for me. You can DEFINITELY survive without a daily shower without contracting some kind of bacterial disease/infection. Looking at the bigger picture, showers are a definite luxury. People survive all around the world by using a little tub of water to clean themselves. Why can't we sacrifice even a few showers to make the ecological difference we so ardently whine about?
Once again, this is just another one of my ridiculous opinions; if you don't like this disturbing revelation about myself, I'm not forcing you to be my friend (refer to BF...F post)--just want to let you know I won't be the only one who stinks.
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.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
In Good Co-mpany
So this term I am on co-op by some divine miracle. Not taking this term for granted, I am also taking Microbiology (distance ed), a Monday night Physiology Lab, and coordinating the UW English Tutors Club. If you didn't know yet, I am currently working as a Marketing Associate at Co-operative Education and Career Services at UW. "What do you do?", you may ask (and many of you already have). Well, seeing as how I am interviewing for my position tomorrow, it can't be a bad thing that I've managed to narrow down my broad responsibilities to a few key points:
1. Event planning/coordination: Prepare event briefs, develop post-event surveys for internal review, attend meetings, and assist in leads followup (e.g. prepare communications templates and research key contacts in target organizations).
2. Undertake independent projects that are geared towards improving the usefulness/availability of marketing and/or sales tools. For example, conduct a SWOT Analysis of the Field Co-ordinator website. Looking into improving the organization and incorporating facilitative marketing materials.
3. Long-term team projects within the co-op student team of the Marketing&Communications Department. For example, we are creating a unified brand image for three very different publications and drawing up a proposal + cost summary for a new tradeshow booth design. Both very exciting projects!
4. Interview Duty Services: All co-op students at TC are scheduled for 3 hours at a time to either greet employers, work at the paging desk, or help coordinate phone interviews at the call centre.
The first few weeks, I started off with my lovely little packed lunches, 10pm bedtime, a disciplined studying schedule for managing my courses, an 8:00 wakeup time--and now none of that remains true to date. Anyways, as the title somewhat implies, I have been able to survive this term mainly because I am surrounded by great co-op co-workers at Tatham Centre.
1. Justina: When I first came into work, I saw her name tag in the cubicle right next to mine. I thought it must have been someone else--there's no way we're working beside each other! Lo and behold, she showed up and her supervisor tried to introduce us--"Oh, we already know each other." Don't you love when that happens? =) Anyways, for some reason in the first few weeks of the term, Justina and I always brought our lunches on the same days and forgot to pack it on the same days, so we always went over to the Festival Room for random meals. As Kyle says, we're N'SYNC. O_o. It was/still is quite an adventure to see what random dish they were going to serve today. Justina's job is pretty dependent on whether people have submitted their forms or not, so a lot of the time she is discovering hilarious new websites and thankfully has no problem sharing them with me, which is probably the only thing keeping me sane at work. Both of us have also decorated our ugly old-school computer monitors with random origami paraphernalia. We also stay an extra hour once in a while doing intense overtime tasks......
2. Cynthia: I didn't know this crazy little Asian very well before this work term, although we're also in the same program-ish. Trust me, now that I know her, I can still say SHE IS CRAZY. SHE GOES OUT AND DOWNS BEERS LIKE NO TOMORROW. FRIDAY NIGHTS--YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND HER! But seriously, Cynthia's such a nice, cute person, you can't help but make fun of her and want to hang around such a nice person. She also asks the funniest questions, "Okay, so tell me is _____ a guy or a girl?!?!?!?!" I have recently converted her to the religion: Euchremania.
3. Qi: My fellow Marketing&Communications buddy! Poor Qi is always stuck updating her brutal excel inventory of the CECS website, so I try to send her entertaining emails or pay her visits as often as I remember to. To be honest, when I first met Qi, I thought she was a very serious Asian--one has to be if they're in Math and Business Double Degree right?!--WRONG. Qi's so hilarious because she makes the driest comments when you least expect them. She's also very smart and down-to-earth. Normally, I get along better with guys because they're less ditzy, but Qi can make guys seem ditzy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she's MANLY--no, that's apparently my job--you should see her play badminton; she drives the bird over the net and then manages to pull off that Asian sign so well without looking like an annoying fob. ^-^V
Interesting Fact: I recognized that Qi lived on my street within the first few days because I recognized her distinctive red Coach purse. THAT'S RIGHT I AM THE PRO CREEPER. No, seriously--no one appreciates brand names fashion and style more than Qi (mind you, an appreciation practiced in healthy moderation).
4. Cathy: If I had to vouch for anyone's dedication and hard work in TC, it would be for Cathy. She always takes a half lunch and stays late whenever she has to hang around campus for class anyway. At first glance, Cathy seems like a shy, quiet Asian. Wrong. Again. Not only is she a valuable employee, but she is also a great friend and fun to hang around. However, I am extremely mad at her because she has shown up to 1 out of our 4 outings--NOT A PASSING GRADE--forget Macroecon, Cathy. Come to the darkside; we have cookies. ^-^
5. Brian: So after I talk about this co-worker, I'll talk about the guys--oh wait, I completely forgot Brian was a guy because he's always showing up to the outings when all the other guys ditch!! My first impression of Brian was that he was a nerd, only hanging out with us to invite us to play DS during our breaks. Annnd my impression hasn't changed--just kidding. Brian's a nice guy, my mixed doubles buddy, and my partner in crime for bullying Cynthia. *high five, Brian Kim Chi.
6. Matt: Okay, this is the only person at CECS that I do not like AT ALL. Like seriously. He always makes me laugh, he makes amazing lunches for himself every day, and he visits me at least twice a day just to say what's up. I call him my guidance counsellor for what English courses to (not) take. Seriously, how can you not hate him too? P.S. He and Cathy are tied at a failing grade of 25%. Tsk.Tsk.Tsk.
So yeah, pretty much I've made some amazing friends at CECS. At the beginning of the term, I was a little hesitant about going on co-op outings--like oh man things are going to be so awkward! Nothing against these people or my first impressions of them, but I'm just not that good at getting to know new people. Now that I know them much better and our hangouts have become a must (instead of some strange networking/co-worker courtesy thing), I hope our new-found friendships are meant to last us through our dreaded extended education here in UW.
Thank you, co-op. We indeed have a love-hate relationship going on here.
1. Event planning/coordination: Prepare event briefs, develop post-event surveys for internal review, attend meetings, and assist in leads followup (e.g. prepare communications templates and research key contacts in target organizations).
2. Undertake independent projects that are geared towards improving the usefulness/availability of marketing and/or sales tools. For example, conduct a SWOT Analysis of the Field Co-ordinator website. Looking into improving the organization and incorporating facilitative marketing materials.
3. Long-term team projects within the co-op student team of the Marketing&Communications Department. For example, we are creating a unified brand image for three very different publications and drawing up a proposal + cost summary for a new tradeshow booth design. Both very exciting projects!
4. Interview Duty Services: All co-op students at TC are scheduled for 3 hours at a time to either greet employers, work at the paging desk, or help coordinate phone interviews at the call centre.
The first few weeks, I started off with my lovely little packed lunches, 10pm bedtime, a disciplined studying schedule for managing my courses, an 8:00 wakeup time--and now none of that remains true to date. Anyways, as the title somewhat implies, I have been able to survive this term mainly because I am surrounded by great co-op co-workers at Tatham Centre.
1. Justina: When I first came into work, I saw her name tag in the cubicle right next to mine. I thought it must have been someone else--there's no way we're working beside each other! Lo and behold, she showed up and her supervisor tried to introduce us--"Oh, we already know each other." Don't you love when that happens? =) Anyways, for some reason in the first few weeks of the term, Justina and I always brought our lunches on the same days and forgot to pack it on the same days, so we always went over to the Festival Room for random meals. As Kyle says, we're N'SYNC. O_o. It was/still is quite an adventure to see what random dish they were going to serve today. Justina's job is pretty dependent on whether people have submitted their forms or not, so a lot of the time she is discovering hilarious new websites and thankfully has no problem sharing them with me, which is probably the only thing keeping me sane at work. Both of us have also decorated our ugly old-school computer monitors with random origami paraphernalia. We also stay an extra hour once in a while doing intense overtime tasks......
2. Cynthia: I didn't know this crazy little Asian very well before this work term, although we're also in the same program-ish. Trust me, now that I know her, I can still say SHE IS CRAZY. SHE GOES OUT AND DOWNS BEERS LIKE NO TOMORROW. FRIDAY NIGHTS--YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND HER! But seriously, Cynthia's such a nice, cute person, you can't help but make fun of her and want to hang around such a nice person. She also asks the funniest questions, "Okay, so tell me is _____ a guy or a girl?!?!?!?!" I have recently converted her to the religion: Euchremania.
3. Qi: My fellow Marketing&Communications buddy! Poor Qi is always stuck updating her brutal excel inventory of the CECS website, so I try to send her entertaining emails or pay her visits as often as I remember to. To be honest, when I first met Qi, I thought she was a very serious Asian--one has to be if they're in Math and Business Double Degree right?!--WRONG. Qi's so hilarious because she makes the driest comments when you least expect them. She's also very smart and down-to-earth. Normally, I get along better with guys because they're less ditzy, but Qi can make guys seem ditzy. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she's MANLY--no, that's apparently my job--you should see her play badminton; she drives the bird over the net and then manages to pull off that Asian sign so well without looking like an annoying fob. ^-^V
Interesting Fact: I recognized that Qi lived on my street within the first few days because I recognized her distinctive red Coach purse. THAT'S RIGHT I AM THE PRO CREEPER. No, seriously--no one appreciates brand names fashion and style more than Qi (mind you, an appreciation practiced in healthy moderation).
4. Cathy: If I had to vouch for anyone's dedication and hard work in TC, it would be for Cathy. She always takes a half lunch and stays late whenever she has to hang around campus for class anyway. At first glance, Cathy seems like a shy, quiet Asian. Wrong. Again. Not only is she a valuable employee, but she is also a great friend and fun to hang around. However, I am extremely mad at her because she has shown up to 1 out of our 4 outings--NOT A PASSING GRADE--forget Macroecon, Cathy. Come to the darkside; we have cookies. ^-^
5. Brian: So after I talk about this co-worker, I'll talk about the guys--oh wait, I completely forgot Brian was a guy because he's always showing up to the outings when all the other guys ditch!! My first impression of Brian was that he was a nerd, only hanging out with us to invite us to play DS during our breaks. Annnd my impression hasn't changed--just kidding. Brian's a nice guy, my mixed doubles buddy, and my partner in crime for bullying Cynthia. *high five, Brian Kim Chi.
6. Matt: Okay, this is the only person at CECS that I do not like AT ALL. Like seriously. He always makes me laugh, he makes amazing lunches for himself every day, and he visits me at least twice a day just to say what's up. I call him my guidance counsellor for what English courses to (not) take. Seriously, how can you not hate him too? P.S. He and Cathy are tied at a failing grade of 25%. Tsk.Tsk.Tsk.
So yeah, pretty much I've made some amazing friends at CECS. At the beginning of the term, I was a little hesitant about going on co-op outings--like oh man things are going to be so awkward! Nothing against these people or my first impressions of them, but I'm just not that good at getting to know new people. Now that I know them much better and our hangouts have become a must (instead of some strange networking/co-worker courtesy thing), I hope our new-found friendships are meant to last us through our dreaded extended education here in UW.
Thank you, co-op. We indeed have a love-hate relationship going on here.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Silly Pumpkin Eaters
Relationship-wise, cheating is not cool--in fact it's stupid. If you're cheating on a girl/boyfriend or spouse, you don't really love them or your relationship arrangement isn't what's best for either of you. As usual "in my personal opinion", there are two possible reasons for cheating:
1) There is something wrong with your partner
2) There is something wrong with you
Either way, the relationship is not somewhere you want to be.
Reason #1: Perhaps you are cheating because there are certain things that your partner cannot provide for you, and you look elsewhere for these things. Clearly, if this is the situation, why stay with them at all? By cheating on them and avoiding the problem, you're going to be stuck with a lousy partner. If/when they ever find out about your affairs, you'll be obliged to make it up to them or the take the blame for the whole thing (that is, if they don't dump you and everyone gets to know you as the cheating jerk/hoe). Even if they don't dump you and they forgive you, who knows when you'll ever get away from them at that point--congratulations, you now owe them your life, so to speak. Alternatively, in the case that they never figure out you were cheating, you'll carry that guilt with you and so will your cheating partner. Why do that to yourself?
Reason #2: If you cheat on your significant other, there are a number of things that could be wrong with you.
-Commitment Issues: If this is you, why do you need to be in a relationship in the first place? Why rein yourself in with a nagging woman or a jealous man--go out and have fun; enjoy the single life like you were born to! If it suits your fancy, get involved in a number of random flings, live double, triple, quadruple lives (they'll never know, as long as you don't forget their names).
-Insecurity: Sometimes people cheat because they're developing a "backup" or they want to see who else wants them--don't ask me I don't come up with these crazy rationales. If you are insecure about your relationship with your significant other and you really want it to work out, the best way to resolve this is to talk to them. Being in a relationship or marriage comes with a certain responsibility that you discuss problems or concerns that either of you may have and address them accordingly. If you're meant to, you will be able to work this out legitimately and with the least amount of bloodshed.
-Lack of Interest: Similar to Reason #1, if you're drawn to someone more interesting, you don't truly love your current partner. Break up cleanly and do things right.
To sum things up, I feel that if you have a truly "justifiable" reason for cheating, you shouldn't be in the relationship in the first place. End things right and be humane--there's no need to put your partner or yourself through the drama of a spoiled affair.
1) There is something wrong with your partner
2) There is something wrong with you
Either way, the relationship is not somewhere you want to be.
Reason #1: Perhaps you are cheating because there are certain things that your partner cannot provide for you, and you look elsewhere for these things. Clearly, if this is the situation, why stay with them at all? By cheating on them and avoiding the problem, you're going to be stuck with a lousy partner. If/when they ever find out about your affairs, you'll be obliged to make it up to them or the take the blame for the whole thing (that is, if they don't dump you and everyone gets to know you as the cheating jerk/hoe). Even if they don't dump you and they forgive you, who knows when you'll ever get away from them at that point--congratulations, you now owe them your life, so to speak. Alternatively, in the case that they never figure out you were cheating, you'll carry that guilt with you and so will your cheating partner. Why do that to yourself?
Reason #2: If you cheat on your significant other, there are a number of things that could be wrong with you.
-Commitment Issues: If this is you, why do you need to be in a relationship in the first place? Why rein yourself in with a nagging woman or a jealous man--go out and have fun; enjoy the single life like you were born to! If it suits your fancy, get involved in a number of random flings, live double, triple, quadruple lives (they'll never know, as long as you don't forget their names).
-Insecurity: Sometimes people cheat because they're developing a "backup" or they want to see who else wants them--don't ask me I don't come up with these crazy rationales. If you are insecure about your relationship with your significant other and you really want it to work out, the best way to resolve this is to talk to them. Being in a relationship or marriage comes with a certain responsibility that you discuss problems or concerns that either of you may have and address them accordingly. If you're meant to, you will be able to work this out legitimately and with the least amount of bloodshed.
-Lack of Interest: Similar to Reason #1, if you're drawn to someone more interesting, you don't truly love your current partner. Break up cleanly and do things right.
To sum things up, I feel that if you have a truly "justifiable" reason for cheating, you shouldn't be in the relationship in the first place. End things right and be humane--there's no need to put your partner or yourself through the drama of a spoiled affair.
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