I Could Take 21 Justin Biebers in a Fight
This is AWESOME. I gotta learn some karate and be in more fights so I can take down more Biebers!
How many Bibers can you take?
The Dash
At the awesome SLC Mini-Retreat I had yesterday, I was introduced to this mind-blasting (Russell Peters reference) poem. One of the best things I’ve ever read, and not just poems.
Mad props to the SLC team for this pick-me-up during midterms season. Totally made my 2 weeks.
The Dash
by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
And spoke of the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own,
The cars, the house, the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard;
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
And more often wear a smile,
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
I Don’t Have PSD
But I wish I did though…
“Photoshop dexterity (PSD) is a skillset acquired by proficient users of Adobe Photoshop, the world’s most ubiquitous digital tool for creating visual ideas. Qualities of PSD include supernatural powers of imagination and an overwhelming desire to constantly make the world more beautiful. PSD affects people from different walks of life. In fact, there is a high probability that you have PSD.”
– Hyperakt
I want to go so “Bad”
I don’t know how “immortal” this concert is going to be, but if Cirque du Soleil is recreating MJ’s hits, I’m there.
“Skin like Baby Peaches”
Currently: trying to remember the most awesome dream I had about Taylor Swift.
What is the best way to start your day? Watching David Beckham and Ellen Degeneres have some hidden camera fun with an unsuspecting masseuse.
The Smartphone Addiction
Currently: popping some baked cod into the oven. Cravings: 1, Eric: 0
You see them everywhere: smartphones. It’s like everyone has either an iPhone, Blackberry, or some sort of Android phone and they are staring at them while doing pretty much everything. People walk and Twitter. People Facebook during lectures. People check their inboxes at parties. Sports, dinner, hair cuts, washrooms (yes, I’ve heard the “pings” in washrooms”). You name a place and I bet that someone uses their phone there, however ridiculous the place. It’s an epidemic. Or pandemic. Don’t know the difference.
I don’t hate smartphones, hell, I’ve been wanting an iPhone 4 before it came out. Any smartphone is better than the one that I have right now, although I’ll give it credit for not breaking after the dozens of times I’ve dropped it, not because of being careless, but because it is so crappy that I don’t care about its condition or wellbeing.
The thing that bothers me is that people always have their phones on them, doing something so important that they can’t pay attention to the person they are having lunch with. I guess I’m a bit jealous.
The new Windows Phone 7 commercial sums it up quite nicely.
Exaggerated? Yes. Far from the truth? Not really.
I’m pretty sure that I’ll turn into a smartphone addict once (here’s hoping) I get an iPhone. But for now, I have a crappy phone that doesn’t let me customize my ringtone, forgets words I add into the dictionary and refuses to die. I’d take a picture of it, but my camera is pretty bad too (3.5 MP from 5 years ago). Here’s one from the internet so you know what I’m dealing with.
On a side note, Windows Phone 7 looks pretty good, a fresh take on smartphone operating systems. Not good enough for me to switch from iPhone 4 though. There are talks of iPhone 5 as early as January next year and the white iPhone before the end of the year. Don’t think it’ll happening but that’s not keeping me from crossing my fingers.
10,000 Blog Views
Currently: studying for midterms. AKA: giving my life to school and being socially isolating.
What this blog tells you:
- I look at my blog stats.
- Some people find my blog interesting.
- I’m taking a break from studying, better known as procrastinating.
Freedom is Friday.
City Chase vs. 9%
Currently: debating on doing some pre-reading or going to bed.
Today, I had to make the choice between participating in City Chase @ UBC, a Vancouver-wide scavenger hunt on October 15th, or losing 9% from my PSYC217 course grade because I will miss the mandatory lab session and presentation of my group’s experiment. What did I, a student who said “academics > pretty much everything else,” do? I chose not losing almost 1/10 of my course mark instead of doing something really fun and exciting that would make my university experience a whole lot better.
Of all days, WHY DID THEY HAVE TO HAPPEN ON THE EXACT SAME DAY!?
There’ll be a lot more things that I will miss because academics are more important. Hopefully not too many. Here’s hoping the classes I have on City Chase next year are not mandatory.
On a lighter note, check out this fantastic Student Leadership Conference (SLC) Vlog that is the brain child of me and the SLC Communications and Promotions team! I’m also on camera, awkwardly talking about coffee and fumbling with the video camera I used for the first time. Just what everyone needs: evidence of one’s awkwardness.
While you’re at it, check out the Facebook Fan Page, Twitter and website. The first 2 are pretty much completely run by me, so if you’re my friend on Facebook, all the spam rethinking discharges you receive are by me. It’s actually my job requirement to do this, so haters to the left.
Signup deadline for City Chase is October 8th! Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity to explore the city. People in my class: 9% or fun times?
Lifts in a Box
Currently: being sick.
It’s the rain, the tons of people on Transit, UBC, the new courses I’m taking, astrology. There are a billion things I can blame for getting me sick, but that’s not going to change anything. I’m sick and it sucks and I hope you’re not currently sick.
This made me feel a bit better though 
The Silver Lining at Playland
I worked as a ticket seller this year at the Playland which is pretty much the best job you can find there. You get to sit inside a booth, have a partner(s) to talk to and get paid more than most part-time workers at Playland. It was a great change to my previous job as patrol attendant, with a job description as handing out maps, answering questions, and standing all day.
But with this awesome job, you get to see the good and bad of the guests. Frustrated guests, concerned guests, guests who don’t understand or speak English, guests who complain about the price of ride passes, guests who can’t afford ride passes for all their children, guests of every kind. As ticket sellers, we try our best to help these people, refunding coupons when clearly printed on them say “NO REFUND”, be patient when they are discussing what to buy with their friends, and direct them to guest services if all else fails. Most guests are great, but some are more complicated.
And then you find the kindest people you can find. One example comes to mind:
I was working at the Kids Playce ticket booth one night. I was with another ticket seller and we were pretty bored. It was late and it was not busy at all. Just parents and their children going from ride to ride, hoping to fulfill the promise to go to Playland once before school starts.
And then I saw this happen: a woman gave two unused ride passes (costs $42.75 each) to complete strangers. For free. She said, “Take them. We have no use for them,” and went on her merry way.
That’s a lot of money, close to a hundred dollars worth. She could have gotten a refund at guest services probably, but she chose to give it away for free. I’ve seen older guests treating their friends to the roller coaster, I’ve seen some people give away their coupons ($1.50 each). But unused ride passes? Never.
You hear in the news of all the unfortunate events in our time. Earthquakes. Wars. 9/11 was only 2 days ago. But in the most unexpected place (which charges at very inflated prices), you find kindness and sincerity.
We could all do better, I know I can. I don’t know the situation of that woman. She didn’t look rich or well-off. Just one person doing a good deed, offering something to another. Aren’t we all expecting a bit more caring, a bit more happiness everyday? Why not be that person today?
