It's over here now...
Monday, October 18, 2010
Mr. Tom Hanks!
My friend and I were talking about Tom Hanks this weekend and how we both forget that he started his career as a comedian. A lot of the movies he starred in at that time remain some of my favorite comedies to this day (well except for maybe Joe Versus the Volcano - I heard it had script problems from day one).
This conversation brought to mind what I believe to be one of the funniest movie scenes of all time - this and the entire movie The Burbs.
...wait for it...the best part is around the 2 minute mark.
This conversation brought to mind what I believe to be one of the funniest movie scenes of all time - this and the entire movie The Burbs.
...wait for it...the best part is around the 2 minute mark.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Statistics - friend or foe?
I took psychology in university and have had a love/hate relationship with statistic ever since. In one way I am fascinated by the idea of creating meaningful patterns and developing theories simply by looking at numbers. On the other hand I have sat through a plethora of graduate student meetings in which they discussed their research and then endlessly debated the best statistical theory to apply in order to get meaningful results. I never studied stats at a graduate level so perhaps I am speaking purely out of ignorance, but I never quite understood how you could analyze data one way, not have anything significant show up, analyze it a different way and BAM! There you have it, a valid correlation. It all seemed a bit blurry around the edges to me. (As a side note, I must mention that I have endless criticism about how the majority of psychological experiments are conducted so maybe I am just too biased to be writing about this.)
The reason I started thinking about this however, is because I just finished reading Super Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, both of whom are economists and both of whom consider stats to be their bread and butter. There has been a proliferation of books like this one in the past ten years or so, which mostly examine human behaviour and make it clear that we, as humans, are pretty irrational in our decision-making and thought processes. It is all well and good and interesting, but most of these books are based on results, which come from psychology experiments, which are based on stats. In fact, some reviews that I have read of Super Freakonomics argue that the authors' own conclusions, or the conclusions of the studies they mention, are faulty in that they twist the numbers and the wording to fit a certain model.
So where does this leave us? Especially those of us who may not know or understand the intricacies of data collection and analysis. I would argue that a highly skeptical and critical-thinking crowd is better than one that takes things at face value, but do we need to be critical to the extent that we cannot read something published by two highly educated economists without furrowing our brows and questioning each argument and piece of evidence they present? Seems like a pretty infuriatingly complex way to read something for enjoyment. I don't know where the answer lies but I can say this much - it's hard not to feel like a schmuck when you read something that you find interesting and well-researched, only to discover that there is more than a dozen people out there who can poke holes in every single premise you just accepted. I suppose that may be the real reason behind why I could never succeed in academia; sometimes reading something that makes the world make a little more sense is better left alone in my opinion.
The reason I started thinking about this however, is because I just finished reading Super Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, both of whom are economists and both of whom consider stats to be their bread and butter. There has been a proliferation of books like this one in the past ten years or so, which mostly examine human behaviour and make it clear that we, as humans, are pretty irrational in our decision-making and thought processes. It is all well and good and interesting, but most of these books are based on results, which come from psychology experiments, which are based on stats. In fact, some reviews that I have read of Super Freakonomics argue that the authors' own conclusions, or the conclusions of the studies they mention, are faulty in that they twist the numbers and the wording to fit a certain model.
So where does this leave us? Especially those of us who may not know or understand the intricacies of data collection and analysis. I would argue that a highly skeptical and critical-thinking crowd is better than one that takes things at face value, but do we need to be critical to the extent that we cannot read something published by two highly educated economists without furrowing our brows and questioning each argument and piece of evidence they present? Seems like a pretty infuriatingly complex way to read something for enjoyment. I don't know where the answer lies but I can say this much - it's hard not to feel like a schmuck when you read something that you find interesting and well-researched, only to discover that there is more than a dozen people out there who can poke holes in every single premise you just accepted. I suppose that may be the real reason behind why I could never succeed in academia; sometimes reading something that makes the world make a little more sense is better left alone in my opinion.
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| "There are three types of lies -- lies, damn lies, and statistics." — Benjamin Disraeli |
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Highschool Flashback Fridays!
No show defined my high school experience more than My So-Called Life. Despite the fact that it was only on for one season (apparently Claire Danes had had enough by then), it really struck a chord with girls my age for its brilliant portrayal of the my-life-is-total-crap-and-is-so-confusing-and-no-one-understands-me teenage turmoil. The jaded and confused Angela, the "token gay guy" Rickie, the nerd Brian, the funky but troubled Rayanne, and of course the dreamy (but dumb) Jordan Catalano. Much like The Breakfast Club, this show borrowed on the all-too-familiar tropes of high school life and brought them to life, and most importantly, up to date for the teenage viewers. I still cringe when I think of how awkward Angela is throughout much of the show, but I think it is because I am actually cringing at my memories of myself being that awkward in high school. Gosh, if I could just know then what I know now!
But for the record...this was my favorite scene of the whole show. Enjoy! *giggles*
But for the record...this was my favorite scene of the whole show. Enjoy! *giggles*
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Living Alone Without Becoming a Recluse: How to Strike the Fine Balance
I recently wrote about a book called Orchids on Your Budget by Marjorie Hillis and have just finished reading her other book called Live Alone and Like It. Although not as entertaining and helpful as Orchids (I found this one to be more dated), Live Alone and Like It was also chalk full of funny, witty, and ultimately practical advice. Some highlights below.
From the chapter "Who Do You Think You Are?"
"There are other good kinds [of self pampering]: a glass of sherry and an extra special dinner charmingly served on a night when you are tired and all alone; bath salts in your tub and toilet-water afterward; a new and spicy book when you're spending an evening in bed; a trim little cotton frock that flatters you on an odd morning when you decide to be violently domestic. The notion that 'it doesn't matter because nobody sees you,' with the dull meals and dispirited clothes that follow in its wake, has done more damage than all the floods of springtime."
From the chapter "Setting for a Solo Act"
"One of the advantages of your way of living is that you can be alone when you want to. Lots of people never discovered what a pleasure this can be. Perhaps it was because of its possibilities that the misused expression 'enjoy yourself,' came into being. The more you enjoy yourself, the more of a person you are."
From the chapter "Pleasures of a Single Bed"
"If this all sounds a little dreary, think of the things that you, all alone, don't have to do. You don't have to turn out your light when you want to read because somebody else wants to sleep. You don't have to have the light on when you want to sleep and someone else wants to read. You don't have to get up in the night to fix somebody else's hot water bottle, or lie awake listening to snores, or be vivacious when you're tired, or cheerful when you're blue, or sympathetic when you're bored. You probably have the bathroom all to yourself, too, which is unquestionably one of Life's Greatest Blessings. You don't have to wait till someone finishes shaving, when you are all set for a cold-cream session. You have no one complaining about your pet bottles, no one to drop wet towels on the floor, no one occupying the bathtub when you have just time for a shower. From dusk until dawn, you can do exactly as you please, which, after all, is a pretty good allotment in this world where a lot of conforming is expected of everyone." HALLELUJAH SISTA!
From the chapter "The Great Uniter"
"Of course the civilized place for any woman to have breakfast is in bed. We might except Mother on the Farm, or the Italian lady whose family took the prize for size at the Chicago Fair. But for you and me, who live alone and whose early mornings are uncomplicated by offspring, farm-hands, and even husbands, bed is the place."
Of course a book could be written of even greater length about the benefits of living with another person, or a whole family, but I thought this book was positive enough that even the gals who had to move out on their own due to unfortunate circumstances could still be inspired to make the best of their situation. And for just those kinds of gals who look forward to living with a special someone sooner than later, you need only look at the book jacket for the final words of encouragement: "Three years after the book's publication, at the age of forty-nine, Ms. Hillis bid a fond farewell to the live-aloners by marrying Mr. T.H. Roulston" (from the author bio)
From the chapter "Who Do You Think You Are?"
"There are other good kinds [of self pampering]: a glass of sherry and an extra special dinner charmingly served on a night when you are tired and all alone; bath salts in your tub and toilet-water afterward; a new and spicy book when you're spending an evening in bed; a trim little cotton frock that flatters you on an odd morning when you decide to be violently domestic. The notion that 'it doesn't matter because nobody sees you,' with the dull meals and dispirited clothes that follow in its wake, has done more damage than all the floods of springtime."
From the chapter "Setting for a Solo Act"
"One of the advantages of your way of living is that you can be alone when you want to. Lots of people never discovered what a pleasure this can be. Perhaps it was because of its possibilities that the misused expression 'enjoy yourself,' came into being. The more you enjoy yourself, the more of a person you are."
From the chapter "Pleasures of a Single Bed"
"If this all sounds a little dreary, think of the things that you, all alone, don't have to do. You don't have to turn out your light when you want to read because somebody else wants to sleep. You don't have to have the light on when you want to sleep and someone else wants to read. You don't have to get up in the night to fix somebody else's hot water bottle, or lie awake listening to snores, or be vivacious when you're tired, or cheerful when you're blue, or sympathetic when you're bored. You probably have the bathroom all to yourself, too, which is unquestionably one of Life's Greatest Blessings. You don't have to wait till someone finishes shaving, when you are all set for a cold-cream session. You have no one complaining about your pet bottles, no one to drop wet towels on the floor, no one occupying the bathtub when you have just time for a shower. From dusk until dawn, you can do exactly as you please, which, after all, is a pretty good allotment in this world where a lot of conforming is expected of everyone." HALLELUJAH SISTA!
From the chapter "The Great Uniter"
"Of course the civilized place for any woman to have breakfast is in bed. We might except Mother on the Farm, or the Italian lady whose family took the prize for size at the Chicago Fair. But for you and me, who live alone and whose early mornings are uncomplicated by offspring, farm-hands, and even husbands, bed is the place."
Of course a book could be written of even greater length about the benefits of living with another person, or a whole family, but I thought this book was positive enough that even the gals who had to move out on their own due to unfortunate circumstances could still be inspired to make the best of their situation. And for just those kinds of gals who look forward to living with a special someone sooner than later, you need only look at the book jacket for the final words of encouragement: "Three years after the book's publication, at the age of forty-nine, Ms. Hillis bid a fond farewell to the live-aloners by marrying Mr. T.H. Roulston" (from the author bio)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Milan Kundera Quote - made me laugh
"Kitsch is the inability to admit that shit exists"
— Milan Kundera
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Giving Thanks to Toronto
Happy Thanksgiving!
The National Post put together a little compilation of what people are thankful for about Toronto. Since I am in one of my "loving Toronto" moods, and have been for the past few days, I thought it appropriate to post this. Love ya T-dot!
The National Post put together a little compilation of what people are thankful for about Toronto. Since I am in one of my "loving Toronto" moods, and have been for the past few days, I thought it appropriate to post this. Love ya T-dot!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Things I Learned Today
What the Texas Sharpshooter Falacy is:
"The fallacy gets its name from imagining a cowboy shooting at a barn. Over time, the side of the barn becomes riddled with holes. In some places there are lots of them, in others there are few. If the cowboy later paints a bullseye over a spot where his bullet holes clustered together it looks like he is pretty good with a gun. By painting a bullseye over a bullet hole the cowboy places artificial order over natural random chance."
This comes from the most recent article from the site You Are Not So Smart: A Celebration of Self Delusion, a blog my brother introduced me to, which publishes articles about how humans tend to believe in dumb and/or irrational things (that is the psychologist in me talking).
The article on the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy also made me learn a new word!
Stochasticity: noun. the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan [syn: randomness]
I wonder how long it will take for this to turn up in pop culture? Instead of "how random!" I am going to start saying "how stochastic!" ... and they used to call me Nerdlinger.
"The fallacy gets its name from imagining a cowboy shooting at a barn. Over time, the side of the barn becomes riddled with holes. In some places there are lots of them, in others there are few. If the cowboy later paints a bullseye over a spot where his bullet holes clustered together it looks like he is pretty good with a gun. By painting a bullseye over a bullet hole the cowboy places artificial order over natural random chance."
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| "He's shooting at a barn! Get 'im!!!" and so on... |
This comes from the most recent article from the site You Are Not So Smart: A Celebration of Self Delusion, a blog my brother introduced me to, which publishes articles about how humans tend to believe in dumb and/or irrational things (that is the psychologist in me talking).
The article on the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy also made me learn a new word!
Stochasticity: noun. the quality of lacking any predictable order or plan [syn: randomness]
I wonder how long it will take for this to turn up in pop culture? Instead of "how random!" I am going to start saying "how stochastic!" ... and they used to call me Nerdlinger.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Working Girl...
All the jobs I have had (that I can remember)…in as much of a chronological order as I can remember. I included everything that I actually got a pay cheque for. There were some one-shifters that I ran from before they had a chance to get all of my pertinent information.
1. Cafe/Restaurant
• Total time employed: 6 years
• This was my first job! The job interview consisted of the manager asking “Will you do a good job?” and that’s it. It helped that my older sister worked here! I stayed at this job for far too long.
2. Tim Horton’s (kiosk in a hospital)
• Total time employed: 2 months
• I couldn’t call myself a Canadian if I had never worked at one of these (it was part of my citizenship agreement).
• Things that did not make this job fun:
• Quit by getting off the elevator on my floor, turning right back around and going home. My supervisor called 5 days later to ask if I knew I had missed my shifts.
4. Call Centre Two
• Total time employed: 2 months
• Cold-calling people to set up cost estimate appointments for student-run painting company – as exciting as it sounds
• I was one of the original staff at a new location which made it somewhat more exciting. Mostly worked as barista but also made all sorts of crazy deserts – that’s real whipped cream yo!
• There were days were ALL I did (that is 8 hours folks) is photocopy and/or file
7. Call Centre Three
• Total time employed: 8 months
• Verified credit card application information for major US-based bank. Paid well. Although we only called people who had applied for cards already, we would still get yelled at for asking personal questions. People are dumb. When I left this call centre I made the decision to never work in one again....not sure why it took so long.
• For a part-time student job this was pretty much as good as it gets. Could study while undergrads completed psych experiments, paid almost $20/hour, flexible schedule and would have looked great on a Grad School application (yeah, that never happened)
9. Summer temp job – head office of rental car agency
• Total time employed: two summers
• Filed keys, photocopied agreements, sorted license plates – yep, the high life!
10. Line Cook in University Restaurant
• Total time employed: 2 school years
• Probably the most fun job I ever had – really had to do with the fact that I was in university and working with undergrad hoodlums like myself.
• Lots of after work beer-drinking and/or karaoke and/or house parties that ate up all of the money I ever earned here.
11. Baker at Summer Camp
• Total time employed: 3 months
• Wish it was only 3 weeks – nice to be out in nature and on a lake for the whole summer but I still shudder when I think back to this time. My memoir will perhaps detail my time at this job in a chapter entitled “Stupid Mistakes Young People Make”
12. Cook in Tex-Mex Restaurant/Bar
• Total time employed: 3 years and counting (on and off)
• Although not the most fun job I have ever had (I am not longer a university hoodlum) it is probably one of the best overall places I have ever worked. Awesome, awesome people and lots of freedom! And that is what makes or breaks any job.
• My job interview consisted of "So you want to work here? When can you start?"
13. Line Cook at Music/Dinner club
• Total time employed: 1 shift (long enough to see the state of the kitchen)
• Lack of money makes one desperate
14. Baker - Catering company that specialized in providing healthy meals to day cares
• Total time employed: 1 year
• It was like working in a baked-goods factory - totally industrial set up. Their cause was good, most people who worked here were great, and I met would-be boyfriend of almost two years here - it did not last, but the relationship was my best yet!
15. Sandwich/Salad Prep person in Food Court lunch place
• Total time employed: 2 days
• Lack of money makes one desperate
• Lack of money makes one desperate
17. Paper-pushing 9-5 job
• Total time employed: 1.5 years – still here...
• Meh.
To be continued?
I really think I am missing some as my last "in-head" count was 21...
1. Cafe/Restaurant
• Total time employed: 6 years
• This was my first job! The job interview consisted of the manager asking “Will you do a good job?” and that’s it. It helped that my older sister worked here! I stayed at this job for far too long.
2. Tim Horton’s (kiosk in a hospital)
• Total time employed: 2 months
• I couldn’t call myself a Canadian if I had never worked at one of these (it was part of my citizenship agreement).
• Things that did not make this job fun:
- Shifts started at 6am every Saturday and Sunday
- SARS scare = paranoid hand-scrubbing every 5 minutes
- Old hospital = No air conditioning during a heat wave
- Shift supervisor position = counting the till at the end of every shift, which, at a place where everyone always comes with exact change, was a painstaking process.
3. Call Centre One
• Total time employed: 3 months
• Cold-calling to get people to switch their home phone providers. Got yelled at, hung up on, while still managing to get a few sales. • Quit by getting off the elevator on my floor, turning right back around and going home. My supervisor called 5 days later to ask if I knew I had missed my shifts.
4. Call Centre Two
• Total time employed: 2 months
• Cold-calling people to set up cost estimate appointments for student-run painting company – as exciting as it sounds
5. Café Demetres – ice cream/desert café
• Total time employed: 2 years• I was one of the original staff at a new location which made it somewhat more exciting. Mostly worked as barista but also made all sorts of crazy deserts – that’s real whipped cream yo!
6. Temp Position in fancy Bay Street financial firm
• Total time employed: 4 months• There were days were ALL I did (that is 8 hours folks) is photocopy and/or file
7. Call Centre Three
• Total time employed: 8 months
• Verified credit card application information for major US-based bank. Paid well. Although we only called people who had applied for cards already, we would still get yelled at for asking personal questions. People are dumb. When I left this call centre I made the decision to never work in one again....not sure why it took so long.
8. Research Assistant in university Psychology Lab
• Total time employed: 1 year as volunteer, 2 years as paid position• For a part-time student job this was pretty much as good as it gets. Could study while undergrads completed psych experiments, paid almost $20/hour, flexible schedule and would have looked great on a Grad School application (yeah, that never happened)
9. Summer temp job – head office of rental car agency
• Total time employed: two summers
• Filed keys, photocopied agreements, sorted license plates – yep, the high life!
10. Line Cook in University Restaurant
• Total time employed: 2 school years
• Probably the most fun job I ever had – really had to do with the fact that I was in university and working with undergrad hoodlums like myself.
• Lots of after work beer-drinking and/or karaoke and/or house parties that ate up all of the money I ever earned here.
11. Baker at Summer Camp
• Total time employed: 3 months
• Wish it was only 3 weeks – nice to be out in nature and on a lake for the whole summer but I still shudder when I think back to this time. My memoir will perhaps detail my time at this job in a chapter entitled “Stupid Mistakes Young People Make”
12. Cook in Tex-Mex Restaurant/Bar
• Total time employed: 3 years and counting (on and off)
• Although not the most fun job I have ever had (I am not longer a university hoodlum) it is probably one of the best overall places I have ever worked. Awesome, awesome people and lots of freedom! And that is what makes or breaks any job.
• My job interview consisted of "So you want to work here? When can you start?"
13. Line Cook at Music/Dinner club
• Total time employed: 1 shift (long enough to see the state of the kitchen)
• Lack of money makes one desperate
14. Baker - Catering company that specialized in providing healthy meals to day cares
• Total time employed: 1 year
• It was like working in a baked-goods factory - totally industrial set up. Their cause was good, most people who worked here were great, and I met would-be boyfriend of almost two years here - it did not last, but the relationship was my best yet!
15. Sandwich/Salad Prep person in Food Court lunch place
• Total time employed: 2 days
• Lack of money makes one desperate
16. Hostess at trendy (read: WASPY/Hipster) health food resto
• Total time employed: 2 weeks• Lack of money makes one desperate
17. Paper-pushing 9-5 job
• Total time employed: 1.5 years – still here...
• Meh.
To be continued?
I really think I am missing some as my last "in-head" count was 21...
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Savin' Money and Lovin' Life
I just finished reading a fabulous book titled Orchids on Your Budget by Marjorie Hillis. It is, by far, the sassiest, suave and fashionably savvy book on budgeting I have ever read, down to the wonderful illustrations and handy pocket-size. It was originally published in 1937, but I found it to be very relevant to 2010 - all you have to do is replace The Great Depression with the Economic Crisis that the USA, and the rest of the world, are currently crawling out of and the rest of it rings true. Below are some of my favorite excerpts.
 | |||
| Written by a woman who worked for Vogue for 20 years...could be called Your Guide to Fabulous for Less! |
From the chapter "Pleasure Dress":
"A cheap dress worn with good accessories will fool more people than an expensive dress worn with cheap accessories"
"Any wardrobe that hasn't at least one dress that makes you feel as pretty and as elegant as you can possibly feel is a wash-out."
From the chapter "Can You Afford a Husband?"
"The Smart Poor do not pretend to be rich, which makes everything different. Once you give up struggling to fool people, you can have a lot more fun on very little money. You can live in a funny flat in a poor city neighborhood or a remodeled barn in the country. You can go to cheap foreign cinemas and boast about it, instead of skimping in order to be seen at the Opera. You can hunt up bargains in clothes and rip off the gewgaws and - if you have the flair and figure - look like a million dollars. And on the other hand, you can buy orchids when you need a new rug and, if you feel like it, get yourself a husband instead of a bank account"
From the chapter "You Have to Eat"
"There may be those who can get along on peanuts and dates eaten at odd hours, but it is our inexpert opinion that they are queer ducks who like what it does to their ego more than they dislike what it does to their health"
Next on the reading list? Her other book titled Live Alone and Like It: The Classic Guide for the Single Woman. As a newly single bachelorette I think this book will be just the ticket!
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| Cover of Live Alone and Like It |
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| Me at age 2(?) - I was born ready for the bachelorette life! |
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
MUAH!
"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves." -- Albert Einstein
Friday, September 24, 2010
For the times they are ... um ... becoming different.
Fall is almost upon us here in Toronto and as much as I will miss patios, shorts and the feel of the sun on my skin, I am ready to put the summer behind me and move on to the next season. To me, fall feels like a warm over sized sweater on a crisp morning. As soon as the first hint of autumn hits me I immediately begin to cycle through the numerous 'symbols' of this season in my head. Such as:
- apples
- scarves
- squashes
- warm soup
- changing leaves
- awesome fall boots
- etc.
Most importantly, fall is the perfect prelude to the long winter nap. It is like the chamomile tea I drink to make sure my slumber is peaceful and easy. Although the winter does not always come and go as easy as a snooze in a comfy bed, there is a sense of suspended time when all of the plants are buried under snow and the sun is barely visible. Winter is the time that we plan. The time we take stock of the previous year and make resolutions (be they New Year's Eve inspired or not) for the following year. So it only makes sense that one should be properly prepared for such a soul-searching season. My personal preparation, which consists of spending more time indoors, and by myself, while drinking copious amounts of apple cider and contemplating new soup recipes to an unhealthy degree, is one that gets me ready to relax, slow down and go inwards.
I believe it was in an episode of the MTV reality show "The City" that someone (I believe it was a date of one of the main character's on the show) said they prefer places like NYC to LA mostly due to the seasonal changes. He said something (and I am sure I am paraphrasing) that seeing friends in the winter time is a much more intimate experience. Everyone is indoors and physically closer together than they would be out of doors, plus everyone has to make more of an effort to get all bundled up and venture out of their apartments. It separates the friends from the acquaintances I think!
I remember hearing him say this and right away I wanted to jump into the nearest dimly lit booth with my closest friends, while snow was falling outside and enjoy some red wine...or even better, mulled red wine! As much as I am sure this winter will be a fabulous one (I feel it in my bones) I am even more excited to experience the autumn months and take advantage of the natural beauty this season provides as much as possible. Plus this is the perfect time to start weeding out the "acquaintances" and making mental lists of who you will be enjoying mulled wine with come January.
- apples
- scarves
- squashes
- warm soup
- changing leaves
- awesome fall boots
- etc.
Most importantly, fall is the perfect prelude to the long winter nap. It is like the chamomile tea I drink to make sure my slumber is peaceful and easy. Although the winter does not always come and go as easy as a snooze in a comfy bed, there is a sense of suspended time when all of the plants are buried under snow and the sun is barely visible. Winter is the time that we plan. The time we take stock of the previous year and make resolutions (be they New Year's Eve inspired or not) for the following year. So it only makes sense that one should be properly prepared for such a soul-searching season. My personal preparation, which consists of spending more time indoors, and by myself, while drinking copious amounts of apple cider and contemplating new soup recipes to an unhealthy degree, is one that gets me ready to relax, slow down and go inwards.
I believe it was in an episode of the MTV reality show "The City" that someone (I believe it was a date of one of the main character's on the show) said they prefer places like NYC to LA mostly due to the seasonal changes. He said something (and I am sure I am paraphrasing) that seeing friends in the winter time is a much more intimate experience. Everyone is indoors and physically closer together than they would be out of doors, plus everyone has to make more of an effort to get all bundled up and venture out of their apartments. It separates the friends from the acquaintances I think!
I remember hearing him say this and right away I wanted to jump into the nearest dimly lit booth with my closest friends, while snow was falling outside and enjoy some red wine...or even better, mulled red wine! As much as I am sure this winter will be a fabulous one (I feel it in my bones) I am even more excited to experience the autumn months and take advantage of the natural beauty this season provides as much as possible. Plus this is the perfect time to start weeding out the "acquaintances" and making mental lists of who you will be enjoying mulled wine with come January.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Artist Recommendation
Christoph Niemann has a blog over on NYTimes.com that I recently discovered. Looking through his past posts I am amazed at his creativity and sense of humor. Great stuff!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
So there I was, standing on top of a chair in my bathrobe and fuzzy slippers, with a screaming fire alarm in my face at eight in the morning. Or, how I learned the importance of fire safety.
I live on the second floor of a fairly old house in an apartment that I rent from my landlady, who also happens to be the occupant of the two floors below me. When I first moved in she pointed out that the smoke/carbon monoxide detector in my hallway not only beeps when it goes off, but also speaks in both English and French to let you know what is going on. Last night I also learned that it speaks to tell you when the battery is low by yelling “LOW BATTERY!” alternately in English and French every few hours. I am not kidding…
I first heard the thing go off last night but decided to put off the hassle of climbing on top of a chair and fiddling around with it until I got some more sleep. Plus (as I later learned I quite accurately assumed) I figured the thing would be beeping and yelling the whole time I was messing around with it, so to be considerate to my neighbors I refrained from starting this process at 2 am.
Finally, at eight in the morning I could take no more…plus I had to get up for work. I found my spare battery, climbed on top of a chair and started the fiddling. Here are a couple of things that proved to be somewhat challenging, especially in the ‘keeping it down’ department:
The ordeal finally ends when the detector is securely fastened back on the ceiling, the chair is put away, and, as I walk away into the bathroom to get ready for the day, it lets out one final BEEEEEP, which I believe to be its way of saying ‘kudos’ to a worthy adversary. Kudos to you too, smoke/carbon monoxide detector. Kudos to you too.
I first heard the thing go off last night but decided to put off the hassle of climbing on top of a chair and fiddling around with it until I got some more sleep. Plus (as I later learned I quite accurately assumed) I figured the thing would be beeping and yelling the whole time I was messing around with it, so to be considerate to my neighbors I refrained from starting this process at 2 am.
Finally, at eight in the morning I could take no more…plus I had to get up for work. I found my spare battery, climbed on top of a chair and started the fiddling. Here are a couple of things that proved to be somewhat challenging, especially in the ‘keeping it down’ department:
a. The detector has both a battery and a hook up to the electric system in the house. When the electric system cords are unplugged the detector goes BEEEEEEEEP!
b. The battery chamber has a special tab called a ‘battery detector’ which must be placed under the battery or the detector goes BEEEEEEEEEP!
c. Upon the correct insertion of the battery, the plugging in of the detector back into the electric system also corresponds with a shrill BEEEEEEEEEEP!
d. When screwing the detector back into the ceiling mount, accidentally pressing the centre button (which is so huge it is pretty much impossible to miss) precipitates the “test” function of the detector, during which it emits a series of VERY LOUD BEEPS as well as a full run down in English AND French of what one would hear had the alarm actually gone off for legitimate reasons.Needless to say, at this point my poor cat is darting from room to room trying to make sense of this whole sorted affair and I have, at the very least, piqued my land lady’s curiosity about the alarming (pardon the pun) sounds emanating from my apartment. Which is why she knocks on my door and gets to witness the beauty of me in my bathrobe and slippers explaining to her that “yes, I know what I am doing”, “no, there is no actual fire in my apartment”, “yes, I do actually have a spare battery”, and “no, I don’t need help trying to figure this sucker out”.
The ordeal finally ends when the detector is securely fastened back on the ceiling, the chair is put away, and, as I walk away into the bathroom to get ready for the day, it lets out one final BEEEEEP, which I believe to be its way of saying ‘kudos’ to a worthy adversary. Kudos to you too, smoke/carbon monoxide detector. Kudos to you too.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Grandma and Gramps is gettin' down!
While in university, I took what ended up being a pretty lame course about the anthropological study of the human life cycle. It had potential, but unfortunately the professor’s high-school approach to the whole thing drove me bananas. She welcomed personal stories about students’ family members (boooring!) and actually made us watch an MTV show about spoiled brats celebrating their 16th birthdays and compare it to a well-respected ethnography by Margaret Mead. Ugh! (As a side note, despite the fact that my assignment was steeped in sarcasm and fairly open hostility towards the whole endeavour, I totally aced the thing which further lowered my respect for the prof…and on it went like that for the whole term.) Anyway, I digress…
The teacher’s assistant for the course was a graduate student who had chosen to focus her studies on the “autumn years” of one’s life. And not just focusing on seniors and what they are up to, but specifically looking at their sex lives. I have to admit the whole thing makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable, which I think is exactly why she chose this field of study. She was partially trying to examine North American’s inability to see people over a certain age as sexual beings. One of her examples that continues to stick out in my mind is about seniors in “old folk’s” homes fighting for the right to bring prostitutes into what, according to the managers of the homes, is a personal space to be treated as one would treat their house. A debate ensued; was it the lack of understanding and the pure “ewww” factor of senior citizens paying for, and enjoying, sex that was the issue, or was it purely the legal ramifications that were driving the managers’ ban? Needless to say, not one participant during this debate chose to start their argument with “well when MY grandpa is feeling lonely…”
The reason I started thinking about this is due to an article published today over on Salon.com discussing the sexual practices of older adults, and more specifically, the rise of STDs within this demographic. A report published by the Family Planning Association reveals that over the past 10 years the number of men and women in the over-45 age group with STDs has doubled. Chlamydia in women in the same age group has increased by a whopping 95% within the past nine years. The article adds that the Center for Disease Control reports a 17% rise in cases of AIDS among senior citizens! This is perhaps most surprising when examined within the current barrage of public campaigns about practicing safe sex.
And that is precisely where the majority of the explanation lies, according to Mary Elizabeth Kelly, the author of the article. Most people who are now over the age of 45 did NOT grow up under the same barrage of “safe sex” campaigns than those even a few years younger than them. I have also recently heard a similar explanation for why drinking and driving has decreased dramatically within the youngest drivers, but has remained relatively unchanged within the older age groups despite the somewhat recent “war” on this social evil.
Most importantly, as pointed out by Kelly, we cannot look at such sets of data and search for one simple explanation. A piece of this is no doubt cultural, but a piece of it is individual and is impossible to accurately gather and analyze into a comprehensive argument. It does make me think though about what the younger generations are learning now that will work to their advantage over “old folks” like me. It also makes me think about what my, as well as other generations, have been taught that will only work to the detriment of a healthy and happy life.
The teacher’s assistant for the course was a graduate student who had chosen to focus her studies on the “autumn years” of one’s life. And not just focusing on seniors and what they are up to, but specifically looking at their sex lives. I have to admit the whole thing makes me feel somewhat uncomfortable, which I think is exactly why she chose this field of study. She was partially trying to examine North American’s inability to see people over a certain age as sexual beings. One of her examples that continues to stick out in my mind is about seniors in “old folk’s” homes fighting for the right to bring prostitutes into what, according to the managers of the homes, is a personal space to be treated as one would treat their house. A debate ensued; was it the lack of understanding and the pure “ewww” factor of senior citizens paying for, and enjoying, sex that was the issue, or was it purely the legal ramifications that were driving the managers’ ban? Needless to say, not one participant during this debate chose to start their argument with “well when MY grandpa is feeling lonely…”
The reason I started thinking about this is due to an article published today over on Salon.com discussing the sexual practices of older adults, and more specifically, the rise of STDs within this demographic. A report published by the Family Planning Association reveals that over the past 10 years the number of men and women in the over-45 age group with STDs has doubled. Chlamydia in women in the same age group has increased by a whopping 95% within the past nine years. The article adds that the Center for Disease Control reports a 17% rise in cases of AIDS among senior citizens! This is perhaps most surprising when examined within the current barrage of public campaigns about practicing safe sex.
And that is precisely where the majority of the explanation lies, according to Mary Elizabeth Kelly, the author of the article. Most people who are now over the age of 45 did NOT grow up under the same barrage of “safe sex” campaigns than those even a few years younger than them. I have also recently heard a similar explanation for why drinking and driving has decreased dramatically within the youngest drivers, but has remained relatively unchanged within the older age groups despite the somewhat recent “war” on this social evil.
Most importantly, as pointed out by Kelly, we cannot look at such sets of data and search for one simple explanation. A piece of this is no doubt cultural, but a piece of it is individual and is impossible to accurately gather and analyze into a comprehensive argument. It does make me think though about what the younger generations are learning now that will work to their advantage over “old folks” like me. It also makes me think about what my, as well as other generations, have been taught that will only work to the detriment of a healthy and happy life.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A good post written by a guest author over on the Matthew Good blog regarding the planned burning of the Qu'ran by some crazies
...an excerpt
"I have no need for a “God” in my life, nor care to pray at bedside and yet, without attribution respect and love “God’s universe”, and hold fast to decent virtues and steady values, logical ethics and morality. I see my errors, and live to overcome them. I see my weaknesses, and work to strengthen them. I see how fallible and how fragile I, and others are.
The message I wish to send to extremists on 9/11 is this: I will not become extreme by you."
...an excerpt
"I have no need for a “God” in my life, nor care to pray at bedside and yet, without attribution respect and love “God’s universe”, and hold fast to decent virtues and steady values, logical ethics and morality. I see my errors, and live to overcome them. I see my weaknesses, and work to strengthen them. I see how fallible and how fragile I, and others are.
The message I wish to send to extremists on 9/11 is this: I will not become extreme by you."
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Down at the Ol' School House
Today is the first day of classes for many students, young and old, who are embarking on a new chapter of their education (including my sister! Good Luck A-B!). I am not one of them, yet I still see the Tuesday after Labour Day as the beginning of something new. For me this date, much more than January 1st, signals the promise of a new day and of new possibilities. I guess that makes sense since I have been a student for more years of my life than not, and as a student I always experienced a giddy mix of anxiety and excitement the first time I stepped foot in a high school corridor or on a university campus for the year.
In retrospect, the years within one particular institution seem to flow together with very few distinguishing features, but I suppose it was the feeling of possibility that made the first week or so very intoxicating and exciting. I remember even in my 6th year of university walking into every new lecture hoping for some new and entirely different experience. Unfortunately, the more lectures one attends, the more one realizes they are all pretty much clones of each other. Yes, there are good profs and bad profs who make the subject matter exciting or dull, but at the end of the day the same schema is being observed—2% excitement over a new idea or interesting presentation, otherwise a fairly dull 98% of note-taking, and, on my part anyway, crossword-solving.
And yet, I miss it. At least I was learning. Perhaps that is what the excitement was all about for me…because even though it is a rare 2%, sometimes my mind was challenged in ways that still linger with me years later. Sometimes the instructor or a fellow student can make things that you knew for sure seem like mere conjecture in a span of minutes. I suppose that is what I miss the most. Although the experience could occur on the last day of school – it was the first week of school that possessed the anticipation of such events to a palatable degree. The 9-5 experience has no such excitement for me…no such promise of a challenge to my world view or the possibility of a new idea taking root in my mind that will blossom into something that changes me as a person over the months to come. Yep, university, and even the rare high school class was that profound for me.
So, on this first day that signals the beginning of a new chapter for so many students across Canada I can’t help but feel jealous. It makes me sad that for many, this time is one of dread and loathing, when for me (at least in hindsight) it was one of great development and self-exploration. I am hoping that I can harness the residual excitement of that first week of school that I am experiencing today and use it to search out some new ideas or make some lofty goals based on my optimism of what the next few months can bring. And, as anyone who has ever been a student and can share my optimism about the near future knows, I need to get this going ASAP because those midterm ‘blahs’ set in pretty quickly.
In retrospect, the years within one particular institution seem to flow together with very few distinguishing features, but I suppose it was the feeling of possibility that made the first week or so very intoxicating and exciting. I remember even in my 6th year of university walking into every new lecture hoping for some new and entirely different experience. Unfortunately, the more lectures one attends, the more one realizes they are all pretty much clones of each other. Yes, there are good profs and bad profs who make the subject matter exciting or dull, but at the end of the day the same schema is being observed—2% excitement over a new idea or interesting presentation, otherwise a fairly dull 98% of note-taking, and, on my part anyway, crossword-solving.
And yet, I miss it. At least I was learning. Perhaps that is what the excitement was all about for me…because even though it is a rare 2%, sometimes my mind was challenged in ways that still linger with me years later. Sometimes the instructor or a fellow student can make things that you knew for sure seem like mere conjecture in a span of minutes. I suppose that is what I miss the most. Although the experience could occur on the last day of school – it was the first week of school that possessed the anticipation of such events to a palatable degree. The 9-5 experience has no such excitement for me…no such promise of a challenge to my world view or the possibility of a new idea taking root in my mind that will blossom into something that changes me as a person over the months to come. Yep, university, and even the rare high school class was that profound for me.
So, on this first day that signals the beginning of a new chapter for so many students across Canada I can’t help but feel jealous. It makes me sad that for many, this time is one of dread and loathing, when for me (at least in hindsight) it was one of great development and self-exploration. I am hoping that I can harness the residual excitement of that first week of school that I am experiencing today and use it to search out some new ideas or make some lofty goals based on my optimism of what the next few months can bring. And, as anyone who has ever been a student and can share my optimism about the near future knows, I need to get this going ASAP because those midterm ‘blahs’ set in pretty quickly.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
She is so purdddy!
This is pretty amazing! Video of rotating Earth as seen from the International Space Station.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Hodgepodge - somethin' for everybody!
It is only a matter of time
Don't you hate it when people ask you silly questions they could have easily answered themselves? This is a great solution to your frustration! I have been waiting for a stupid question at work so I could bust this one out. Google - even your grandma could use it
This one requires some dedication of time but well worth it - the results of a two year investigation by the Washington Post into what they call Top Secret America. Illuminating and frightening - much like Sex Ed in highschool.
Time to build an arc! The water is now this deep! How cutearrific!
Don't you hate it when people ask you silly questions they could have easily answered themselves? This is a great solution to your frustration! I have been waiting for a stupid question at work so I could bust this one out. Google - even your grandma could use it
This one requires some dedication of time but well worth it - the results of a two year investigation by the Washington Post into what they call Top Secret America. Illuminating and frightening - much like Sex Ed in highschool.
Time to build an arc! The water is now this deep! How cutearrific!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
To the person who stole my credit card information...
Thank-you for providing me a full 20 minutes of head shaking and giggling as I looked over the purchases you chose to make:
- Dallas Guns
- Online Buddies Inc (an online dating service)
- Terrific Pet (by the amount of money you tried to spend here I am guessing you either have some sort of small horse to feed or you are trying to spoil your numerous cats by getting them personal cat condos)
- Other colorfully named gun-related websites
I would also lilke to thank-you on behalf of my bank's representative who had a good chuckle himself as we went through the charges figuring out which were legit.
Lastly, I would like to apologize for keeping my credit card balance hovering around the "maxed out" point thereby making all of your attempted purchases impossible.
- Dallas Guns
- Online Buddies Inc (an online dating service)
- Terrific Pet (by the amount of money you tried to spend here I am guessing you either have some sort of small horse to feed or you are trying to spoil your numerous cats by getting them personal cat condos)
- Other colorfully named gun-related websites
I would also lilke to thank-you on behalf of my bank's representative who had a good chuckle himself as we went through the charges figuring out which were legit.
Lastly, I would like to apologize for keeping my credit card balance hovering around the "maxed out" point thereby making all of your attempted purchases impossible.
 |
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Interesting Facts of the Day...dum dum daaaaah!
1) Garlic pills = less mosquito bites
The summer I spent working at a summer camp one of my fellow co-workers let me in on this little secret. Having the “sweet sweet blood” myself that mosquitoes are irresistibly drawn to (true story: when I was 11 I was hauled into town from the summer camp I was staying at to be inspected by a doctor since the counselors were convinced I had come down with a case of the chicken pox), I have wanted to test this theory myself for a number of years.
At the beginning of the summer I found out I would have a chance to participate in a camping trip into Algonquin Park in mid-August and figured that early June would be a good time to start swallowing garlic pills daily. My hope was to stink up my skin so much that by the time I entered the park I would not only remain bite-free myself, but would also shield all of the outdoor enthusiasts around me within a 5 kilometer radius. (I have since learned that the smell of garlic does not drive these little blood-suckers away, but rather it acts as a cloaking device that makes you hard for the mosquitoes to find). So the garlic pill swallowing continued religiously for a few months and then the moment of truth – camping in the woods for 4 days.
The Results: I left the park with about 5 bites which for me is pretty incredible since similar trips have left me more within the it-is-easier-to-approximate-how-much-of-my-skin-surface-has-NOT-been-bitten ballpark than vice versa. However, I was also told that because the timing of our trip coincided with the natural decline in mosquito populations, a direct correlation seemed impossible to make.
Until this weekend that it is, wherein having been garlic-free for approximately one week I sat on a patio for the span of 4 hours and got bitten at least 7 times! Hallelujah!...kind of. My current itchiness is comparable to a ride through the Burlap Sack Tunnel (real ride: look it up), but I believe I was able to partially prove that the garlic pills do some good. Needless to say I am back on the garlic wagon and will be until first frost. It also helps that one of my camping mates had a very similar experience.
2) The elusive truth about eye-patches revealed.
If you wake up in the middle of the night and need to turn the light on to do something – cover one of your eyes prior to turning the light on and keep it covered until you turn the light off again. The covered eye will maintain its “settings” for darkness and you will therefore be able to get back to bed without stumbling around in the dark and knocking over that priceless grandfather antique clock at the foot of your bed. Isn’t that neat?! This is the real reason that a lot of pirates wore eye patches – this would enable them to go from the deck (sunlight) to the low light level below deck and not have to spend a period of time adjusting to the light. Genius!
I have resisted looking this one on Snopes.com because I so want to believe this to be true…the eye patch part…the stumbling in the darkness business would suit me fine. I secretly despise that antique clock…
The summer I spent working at a summer camp one of my fellow co-workers let me in on this little secret. Having the “sweet sweet blood” myself that mosquitoes are irresistibly drawn to (true story: when I was 11 I was hauled into town from the summer camp I was staying at to be inspected by a doctor since the counselors were convinced I had come down with a case of the chicken pox), I have wanted to test this theory myself for a number of years.
At the beginning of the summer I found out I would have a chance to participate in a camping trip into Algonquin Park in mid-August and figured that early June would be a good time to start swallowing garlic pills daily. My hope was to stink up my skin so much that by the time I entered the park I would not only remain bite-free myself, but would also shield all of the outdoor enthusiasts around me within a 5 kilometer radius. (I have since learned that the smell of garlic does not drive these little blood-suckers away, but rather it acts as a cloaking device that makes you hard for the mosquitoes to find). So the garlic pill swallowing continued religiously for a few months and then the moment of truth – camping in the woods for 4 days.
The Results: I left the park with about 5 bites which for me is pretty incredible since similar trips have left me more within the it-is-easier-to-approximate-how-much-of-my-skin-surface-has-NOT-been-bitten ballpark than vice versa. However, I was also told that because the timing of our trip coincided with the natural decline in mosquito populations, a direct correlation seemed impossible to make.
Until this weekend that it is, wherein having been garlic-free for approximately one week I sat on a patio for the span of 4 hours and got bitten at least 7 times! Hallelujah!...kind of. My current itchiness is comparable to a ride through the Burlap Sack Tunnel (real ride: look it up), but I believe I was able to partially prove that the garlic pills do some good. Needless to say I am back on the garlic wagon and will be until first frost. It also helps that one of my camping mates had a very similar experience.
 |
| yep. |
2) The elusive truth about eye-patches revealed.
If you wake up in the middle of the night and need to turn the light on to do something – cover one of your eyes prior to turning the light on and keep it covered until you turn the light off again. The covered eye will maintain its “settings” for darkness and you will therefore be able to get back to bed without stumbling around in the dark and knocking over that priceless grandfather antique clock at the foot of your bed. Isn’t that neat?! This is the real reason that a lot of pirates wore eye patches – this would enable them to go from the deck (sunlight) to the low light level below deck and not have to spend a period of time adjusting to the light. Genius!
I have resisted looking this one on Snopes.com because I so want to believe this to be true…the eye patch part…the stumbling in the darkness business would suit me fine. I secretly despise that antique clock…
 |
| HOLLA! Even in death pirates understand the importance of unimpaired vision in changing light conditions |
Monday, August 30, 2010
Gogol-iffic
Folks,
Let me say this. If there is one thing you do today it should be to discover Gogol Bordello. They are a fantastic band out of NYC that blends gypsy folk music, punk and dub. I would provide the link but I think your Googling skills require a brush up.
Let me say this. If there is one thing you do today it should be to discover Gogol Bordello. They are a fantastic band out of NYC that blends gypsy folk music, punk and dub. I would provide the link but I think your Googling skills require a brush up.
 |
| A little less conversation, a little more Gogol Bordello |
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
How cussing convenient!
This is just so ridiculous!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/04/rick-perry-oil-spill-may_n_562491.html
Texan governor claims the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may have simply been "an act of God". Wow! I guess next time I fail at something that I could have easily prevented I can say a higher power willed it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/04/rick-perry-oil-spill-may_n_562491.html
Texan governor claims the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may have simply been "an act of God". Wow! I guess next time I fail at something that I could have easily prevented I can say a higher power willed it.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Shifting Gears
"A highly successful electronics executive, this man compared perfect health to the kind of 'breakthrough thinking' that transforms corporations. Breakthrough thinking is a unique form of problem solving: it involves making a situation better by first raising your expectations much higher than anyone believes possible and then looking for ways to make your vision come true. 'If people continue to think and act in the same familiar ways' this man commented, 'they may accomplish five to ten percent improvements by working harder. However, to get improvements of two to ten times, targets must be set high enough that people say, 'Well, if you want that much improvement, we'll have to do this an entirely different way.' "
----from Perfect Health:The Complete Mind Body Guide Deepak Chopra
As someone who is extremely interested in "lean thinking", process flows, process improvements, and problem-solving in general as it can be applied to large-scale processes or daily activities, I was blown away by how I have failed to apply the same concepts to my health. To me, the transition of one to the other makes perfect sense. For example, I have noticed with myself, that I have broken my health issues into compartments - things that I want to fix right away, things that can wait, and things that are "nice to have"s but not necessary. Even when I talk to my Ayurvedic doctor and we discuss the holistic approach to health that Ayurveda embodies, there is some part of me that thinks I need to prioritize my symptoms and take care of them one by one, like checking items off a grocery list. I am very resistant to the idea that there is a one-stop solution for all bodily ailments, despite the fact that I can imagine clearly how this could be true.
After I read the above quote I realized that the best process fix is to revolutionize the whole tamale-set a really high goal which forces a complete re-thinking! Brilliant! This may still necessitate the breaking down of the whole into sections and dealing with them one by one, but the overall goal is one that affects it all.
So, how to go about this when it concerns my health? That is really the big question folks.
In the training I have received on how to facilitate events concerning the reduction of waste and the increase of efficiency in the workplace, the steps are as follows:
1. Identify all the key players that touch the process in question
2. Lock them in a room for a few days with a facilitator to drive the discussion
3. Create process maps for the way things are now
4. Identify gaps in the process (all using the language of 'opportunities of improvement')
5. Create tasks based on these gaps
6. Map out the new process
Having participated in/facilitated a number of these events I can definitely see in retrospect that the goals we outlined going in, set the stage perfectly for the 'five to ten percent improvements' mentioned above. They were more like spring-cleaning goals versus complete re-decorations. I wonder if this is what I have been doing with my health; puttering along making small tweaks here and there instead of setting a really high goal that makes me think completely differently. I am not talking here about running away to some ashram in India never to return, or becoming a level 6 vegan overnight (you know, the level where you can't eat anything that casts a shadow?), but what about shifting the gears in the mind? What about choosing to look at things in completely different ways? Ultimately, is this even possible or are we doomed to return to our habitual patterns of thinking? I am hoping that the further I get into Dr. Chopra's book, the more ideas I will have about how to proceed, but in the meantime the spring cleaning is underway and even if it's not enough, chasing out the proverbial dust bunnies from under the bed is still better than doing nothing at all. Ammirite?
----from Perfect Health:The Complete Mind Body Guide Deepak Chopra
As someone who is extremely interested in "lean thinking", process flows, process improvements, and problem-solving in general as it can be applied to large-scale processes or daily activities, I was blown away by how I have failed to apply the same concepts to my health. To me, the transition of one to the other makes perfect sense. For example, I have noticed with myself, that I have broken my health issues into compartments - things that I want to fix right away, things that can wait, and things that are "nice to have"s but not necessary. Even when I talk to my Ayurvedic doctor and we discuss the holistic approach to health that Ayurveda embodies, there is some part of me that thinks I need to prioritize my symptoms and take care of them one by one, like checking items off a grocery list. I am very resistant to the idea that there is a one-stop solution for all bodily ailments, despite the fact that I can imagine clearly how this could be true.
After I read the above quote I realized that the best process fix is to revolutionize the whole tamale-set a really high goal which forces a complete re-thinking! Brilliant! This may still necessitate the breaking down of the whole into sections and dealing with them one by one, but the overall goal is one that affects it all.
So, how to go about this when it concerns my health? That is really the big question folks.
In the training I have received on how to facilitate events concerning the reduction of waste and the increase of efficiency in the workplace, the steps are as follows:
1. Identify all the key players that touch the process in question
2. Lock them in a room for a few days with a facilitator to drive the discussion
3. Create process maps for the way things are now
4. Identify gaps in the process (all using the language of 'opportunities of improvement')
5. Create tasks based on these gaps
6. Map out the new process
Having participated in/facilitated a number of these events I can definitely see in retrospect that the goals we outlined going in, set the stage perfectly for the 'five to ten percent improvements' mentioned above. They were more like spring-cleaning goals versus complete re-decorations. I wonder if this is what I have been doing with my health; puttering along making small tweaks here and there instead of setting a really high goal that makes me think completely differently. I am not talking here about running away to some ashram in India never to return, or becoming a level 6 vegan overnight (you know, the level where you can't eat anything that casts a shadow?), but what about shifting the gears in the mind? What about choosing to look at things in completely different ways? Ultimately, is this even possible or are we doomed to return to our habitual patterns of thinking? I am hoping that the further I get into Dr. Chopra's book, the more ideas I will have about how to proceed, but in the meantime the spring cleaning is underway and even if it's not enough, chasing out the proverbial dust bunnies from under the bed is still better than doing nothing at all. Ammirite?
Sunday, April 25, 2010
I call him Fluffy
I have become a cat person. The kind of person that has a whole album dedicated to their cat on Facebook. The kind of person that talks about their cat like it is a child. Luckily, almost all of my friends are also "cat people". We sit around and compare stories of cute/annoying/funny/abnormal things that our cats do. This conversation always starts with one simple story and then, before we know it, we are an hour deep into cat lore. I worry about this. Before I owned a cat, my friends' cat stories were boring and tedious to listen to. This all changed when I got my cat and had my own stories to contribute. The thing is, I know that this will happen again when my friends start having babies, and frankly I don't think I could do another round of listening to stories without being able to contribute. It is just downright boring. I guess this will force me to a) have a baby, b) get better at steering the conversation towards something else, c) get new (childless) friends. At least I have a few options.
Friday, April 23, 2010
I'm a white person!
I am apparently quite late at discovering this but I think it is fantastically funny and recommend it to all y'all!
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/
I am particularly fond of #128
http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/
I am particularly fond of #128
I can never look at him the same way again...
I had one of those dreams last night that lingers in the back of your mind all day. For some reason it is not just swept away with the morning coffee, but rather breezes in and out of your unconscious for at least a few hours, but sometimes a few days. When I took a course in altered stated of consciousness in university, during our discussion of dreams, my professor said that there are some dreams that mean something and should be paid attention to, and there are others that are just left over garbage that we typically do not remember. Or if we do remember them upon rising, they are quickly forgotten.
I would also add that from my experience even the "garbage" dreams have a high level of memory stickiness if they are highly emotionally charged. Although, perhaps that would remove them from the "garbage" category as the high emotional value could be the sign that we should be paying attention.
Nevertheless, the dream I had last night involved my friend's brother. Him and I are not close at all and never have been, and yet here he was, the star of the 4am show. As with most dreams, the details are sketchy but the plot line involved some sort of Skytrain-like trip and most importantly a Blue Jays game that I went to with this fellow when his friend cancelled last minute. Throughout this dream there was this underlying feeling of flirtatiousness and playfulness that, once we were seated in the baseball stadium, quickly turned to be undeniably sexually charged. It felt, like a speeding train that couldn't be stopped, and not giving into it at that moment was just delaying the inevitable. It seemed like I was at the threshold of giving in. The moment of my final decision of whether to proceed with this physical affair was almost at hand. Then I woke up. I don't know whether people actually talk like this, but "in the movies" this is often how forbidden acts of passion are described; something that can't be controlled and will not cease until the deed is done.
I am not about to start getting into what I think this dream "meant" as I am not sure it has a meaning at all and I also have no intention of making myself extremely uncomfortable around my friend's brother by discovering some weird suppressed high school fantasy, but I will say that I have been feeling like a teenage girl experiencing her first crush all day...and I kind of like it!
I would also add that from my experience even the "garbage" dreams have a high level of memory stickiness if they are highly emotionally charged. Although, perhaps that would remove them from the "garbage" category as the high emotional value could be the sign that we should be paying attention.
Nevertheless, the dream I had last night involved my friend's brother. Him and I are not close at all and never have been, and yet here he was, the star of the 4am show. As with most dreams, the details are sketchy but the plot line involved some sort of Skytrain-like trip and most importantly a Blue Jays game that I went to with this fellow when his friend cancelled last minute. Throughout this dream there was this underlying feeling of flirtatiousness and playfulness that, once we were seated in the baseball stadium, quickly turned to be undeniably sexually charged. It felt, like a speeding train that couldn't be stopped, and not giving into it at that moment was just delaying the inevitable. It seemed like I was at the threshold of giving in. The moment of my final decision of whether to proceed with this physical affair was almost at hand. Then I woke up. I don't know whether people actually talk like this, but "in the movies" this is often how forbidden acts of passion are described; something that can't be controlled and will not cease until the deed is done.
I am not about to start getting into what I think this dream "meant" as I am not sure it has a meaning at all and I also have no intention of making myself extremely uncomfortable around my friend's brother by discovering some weird suppressed high school fantasy, but I will say that I have been feeling like a teenage girl experiencing her first crush all day...and I kind of like it!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Maiden Voyage
Since I took my blog name from this article I think it only fair that I write my inaugural post about it. I read this when it first came out and practically fell out of my chair laughing. I was at work. I had to keep it quiet. It was difficult.
The article is called "How do you solve a problem like IKEA: All I wanted was a bed. What I got was a Kafkaesque nightmare" by Craig Davidson. You can find it here:
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2009/10/19/ikea_nightmare
Just a sample of the author's funny-isms:
"A portrait hangs beside a model bedroom. The man in the photo is identified as Lars Engman, Ikea’s design director. He wears a beige turtleneck and a supercilious smile. You'd think he's staring over ice-clad fjords in smug contemplation of the wildly profitable shell game he's playing with gullible shoppers.
Would you believe people buy this wacky stuff? I picture him saying. It's so weird! (Except Lars says it in a Scandinavian accent: Vould joo believe people buy zis vacky schtuff? It's zo veird!)
Not only are you constricted to the path, there are arrows to make sure you go the right way: forward. No arrows point backward. There is something mildly threatening about this. Why can’t I go backward?
Alvays forvard, not backvard. Nevah back!
An authoritarian tone creeps into Lars’ voice. Frankly, he sounds dictatorial.
If joo valk backvards vee vill haff no choice but to unleash evil vood sprites who liff in Schvedish forest, unt zey vill eat your belly guts! Ah! Ah!"
I was thoroughly entertained. The author mentions at the outset that he is a fellow Toronto-dweller. By the end of the article I am imagining him and I hanging out at a local pub...him amusing me with his wit and me keeping up with my share of puns and intelligent humorous remarks. This is quickly followed by a period of self-doubt during which I come to the conclusion that said author would not find me in the least bit funny and that my attempts at being funny in that high-pressure situation to impress would be the equivalent of a fifth-grader telling knock-knock jokes at Hugh Hefner's roast.
I opt to keep the "nouveau shanty" bit in mind for future usage and get back to work.
The article is called "How do you solve a problem like IKEA: All I wanted was a bed. What I got was a Kafkaesque nightmare" by Craig Davidson. You can find it here:
http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2009/10/19/ikea_nightmare
Just a sample of the author's funny-isms:
"A portrait hangs beside a model bedroom. The man in the photo is identified as Lars Engman, Ikea’s design director. He wears a beige turtleneck and a supercilious smile. You'd think he's staring over ice-clad fjords in smug contemplation of the wildly profitable shell game he's playing with gullible shoppers.
Would you believe people buy this wacky stuff? I picture him saying. It's so weird! (Except Lars says it in a Scandinavian accent: Vould joo believe people buy zis vacky schtuff? It's zo veird!)
Not only are you constricted to the path, there are arrows to make sure you go the right way: forward. No arrows point backward. There is something mildly threatening about this. Why can’t I go backward?
Alvays forvard, not backvard. Nevah back!
An authoritarian tone creeps into Lars’ voice. Frankly, he sounds dictatorial.
If joo valk backvards vee vill haff no choice but to unleash evil vood sprites who liff in Schvedish forest, unt zey vill eat your belly guts! Ah! Ah!"
I was thoroughly entertained. The author mentions at the outset that he is a fellow Toronto-dweller. By the end of the article I am imagining him and I hanging out at a local pub...him amusing me with his wit and me keeping up with my share of puns and intelligent humorous remarks. This is quickly followed by a period of self-doubt during which I come to the conclusion that said author would not find me in the least bit funny and that my attempts at being funny in that high-pressure situation to impress would be the equivalent of a fifth-grader telling knock-knock jokes at Hugh Hefner's roast.
I opt to keep the "nouveau shanty" bit in mind for future usage and get back to work.
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